The crunch decision making that turned the Springboks' tide
Was there ever a point where they didn’t believe it would happen? Every time the camera switched to the Springboks coaches’ box Rassie Erasmus, Jacques Nienaber and the rest wore pained expressions as if they were men on a sinking ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The players on the pitch looked similarly despondent. With the Paris sky chucking it down, they made the ball seem like a bar of soap. A usually efficient rugby machine was rusting and misfiring before our eyes. They were supposed to walk this contest against a previously disjointed England outfit. Instead, they were walking out of the World Cup.
Manie Libbok had a stinker. So did Cobus Reinach and Damian Willemse. The 9-10-15 axis is one that has been a cornerstone of South Africa’s march to glory over the past eight years but tonight, in a game that mattered more than most, it was coming undone.
Of course, it wasn’t only their fault. Eben Ezebeth produced arguably his worst performance for his country in 118 Tests. Around him the rest of the tight five was getting outfought and out thought. The line-out was a damp squib. Even the scrum failed to produce the requisite go-forward grunt.
Before the restart, with South Africa trailing 12-6, Siya Kolisi and his players were out on the pitch much earlier than England. No doubt they received a deserved bollocking. Something had to give.
Except it didn’t.
Not initially. The early moments of the first half were as abject as all 40 minutes of the first. And when Owen Farrell slotted a drop-goal on 53 minutes, it felt as if this World Cup dream was over for the reigning champions.
South African fans, how did you feel at that moment? Like your brain was dividing by zero? You’re not alone. It was hard to compute. This wasn’t what was promised on the tin. This wasn’t how it was meant to be.
Credit must go to England. They were just as pugilistic, pugnacious and pragmatic as they’d been all tournament. They started the weekend as the only unbeaten team in the competition though this fact was dismissed as a consequence of their relatively pedestrian route to the semi-finals. Perhaps we had it all wrong. Maybe they slogged out ugly wins not only because that was the only way they knew how to get the job done, but because they reduced even fluent teams to stuttering bumblers.
And that is what they did to South Africa. England won the line-out and the battle in the air. They harassed the Boks’ back three and were quicker at the breakdown. Every time a man in green tried to do something, anything, someone in white made a mess of it.
To their credit, the coaches acted decisively. At the time it felt reckless to make so many changes so early in the game. Libbok for Handre Pollard after just half an hour. Willemse and Reinach for Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux shortly after the break. Etzebeth for RG Snyman. But in retrospect, all of those switches made a difference. Pollard’s boot secured the winning points and Snyman’s drive over the line registered an important try that confirmed the momentum shift with a little more than 10 minutes to play. But it was the replacements in the front row that truly won the game for the Boks.
Ox Nche was a monster. A titan. A consumer of worlds. After heady nights like this, no superlative is too hyperbolic. He is famous for quipping that salads don’t win scrums and Springboks fans will hope that the renowned cake-eater inhales every gateau in France over the next seven days. Lettuce leaves be damned!
Along with Vincent Koch, the replacement heavies won three crucial penalties at set piece. The first helped alleviate pressure when England had the feed in South Africa’s red zone after Kurt-Lee Arendse fumbled a bouncing ball. Then they won a penalty that led to a line-out down field and Deon Fourie charging from a splintered maul and Snyman touching down. Then they won a penalty which gave Pollard a shot at goal from just inside England’s half on the angle.
Without those three penalty wins at the scrum, South Africa would be competing for a bronze medal next week. Now they’ll take a shot at their fiercest rivals, the New Zealand All Blacks, for a fourth World Cup crown.
Those are the minute margins of elite sport. Epic encounters – and this was epic, even though it wasn’t clinical – are determined by events that ripple across time like scattered pebbles on a still lake. Each one adds to the whirling, swirling picture. Each one impacts on the other.
But clashes of this nature, and especially those involving a team like the Springboks, are also swayed by things beyond our sight. It’s hard not to get swept up in the magic of a side that believes it is compelled by a sense of destiny when it triumphs from despair. Was ever a point where they didn’t believe it would happen? Don’t bet on it.
Comments on RugbyPass
Crazy he’s only 28, feel like he’s been around forever - don’t mind the move, safe pair of hands and creates depth in a thin position for ABs. Hopefully aides Kemara’s growth also without thrusting too much responsibility on him
1 Go to commentsMen should show strength and be mean, but they should be able to show emotion to those close yo them in certain times, birth of your child, death of family, proud moment. This article is stupid
4 Go to commentsWhat a weak article…absolute drivel and clickbait, well done. Will stick to rugby365 thanks
4 Go to commentsHonest, discipline, humility… Priceless.
2 Go to commentsSo many excuses. No mention of the SA number 2 being taken out illegally in the 2nd minute. That act of foul play had a massive impact on the SA game. Face it, NZ play pretty dirty very regularly, and it’s only since 2016 they’ve been held to higher officiating standards via stricter officiating and TMO reviews. They deserved to have a man down. Sorry. Fix the yellow and red cards and NZ will win more RWCs. Plus, there WAS a knock on invalidating the one try, so it was NOT a try. Period. Here’s a Kleenex…
212 Go to commentsOverheard conversation between NZ and SA rugby fans everywhere: We’re the greatest! No! we’re the greatest! We’re the greatest! No we’re the greatest! Ireland are arrogant! True but they beat you! We’re the greatest! No! we’re the greatest! Etc. etc, etc.
23 Go to commentsTypical crap Aussie weather
11 Go to comments“If they’d have beaten England, I still feel we would have been talking ‘is this the best team ever,’ ‘is this the best team that’s ever played in the Six Nations'” he said. “I still think they’re not quite that good. I actually don’t think they’re that good.” So Trimble is saying he doesn’t think this is the best 6N team of all time. He is silent on if it is the best Irish team of all time. Can’t disagree with him. Just another misrepresentative clickbait headline from the guys at RP.
23 Go to commentsWow, do we really still have to listen to all the excuses and “unfairness” of it all. Even blaming the bounce of an egg shaped ball for the loss. But the article is about context, so what about the Springboks having to play the other 5 teams in the top 6 and still beating a comparatively rested AB team on a very empty tank.
212 Go to comments“Teams would generally have three coaches below their head honcho; attack coach, defence coach, forwards coach” do they? I’m not sure what the NZ set up is tbh, but the other 4 sides top 5 sides all have very different structures to the one outlined in the article! As well as attack, defence, and forwards coaches, SA, Ireland, and France also have specialist scrum coaches. England have a specialist scrum coach too, but arguably don’t have a forwards coach, with that role taken on by Borthwick. SA also have a backs coach in addition to defence and attack, and Ireland and England have fitness coaches, with England also having two skills coaches.
2 Go to commentsWorst article I've read in a while. Trying to disguise a backhand slap as a compliment. The whole article is a bit weird and negative. I think South African men are emotional in general… think Clad le Clos’s father 2012 London Olympics.
4 Go to commentsIreland are going to win the world cup.
23 Go to commentsIt was the strangest result ever. Etzebeth should've been yellow card for his cynical retiring move and a penalty try. Birth second half tries by the Allblacks were fantastic and the TMO operating outside the law to rule out the first try was egregious. Yes, the boks got the win but it was through some bizarre officiating that allowed them to sneak home against 14 men that dominated them. The quieter Bok supporters know and acknowledge the Allblacks were the better and dominant side. Justifying the win because they beat a pre world cup Allblacks selection is silly.
212 Go to commentsA very English thing to do hey Courtney, blerrie kant
4 Go to commentsIt sounds like Andrew is trying to convince himself or has just lost all perspective. The team did look jaded for the last couple of games of the six nations but a few things were wrong there. Italy tackled their hearts out and made Ireland work hard for every try. Outsmarted by Scotland? Huh? Ireland got held up over the line about 4 times. Scotland did nothing on attack the whole game other than one breakaway near the end. A recharge and reset is needed which they hopefully will have had before the SA your.
23 Go to commentsIncluding SA and Argie teams was great for the quality of rugby, but middle of the night games and player travel/ jet lag make that unworkable. I think that SA in Europe and Argie building an American league with USA, Canada etc would be better long term. If Oz can't sustain Rebels then next cab off the rank should be a Japanese team. Keep regional comps to time zones, both club and test rugby. Then existing test windows for test tours plus RWC.
8 Go to commentsMisogynists have feelings too!
4 Go to commentsCrowd sizes of the URC v the Premiership must be a big factor.
1 Go to commentsWell you’ve made a proper tit of yourself, haven’t you! 😂
173 Go to commentsBen it's beyond their comprehension-
212 Go to comments