'The fullback?': Springbok forwards robbed of Man of the Match

A demolition job took place at Twickenham on Friday night, with the Springboks inflicting a record defeat on the All Blacks just two weeks out from the Rugby World Cup.

The bulk of the game was played through the forwards, with the Springboks earning penalties every conceivable way at the set piece.

The game started with a scrum penalty, three lineout penalties followed and before long, two yellow cards were dished out to the All Blacks.

The set piece dominance was unrelenting and the pressure applied at the breakdown was only furthering the Springboks’ chokehold on the game.

A second yellow card to Scott Barrett saw the lock sent to the bin for the rest of the match and outside of a brilliant solo effort from replacement halfback Cam Roigard, the All Blacks failed to fire.

Despite the game being won by the South African forwards, the man of the match award was handed out to the Springbok fullback, Damian Willemse.

Willemse was gracious in accepting the award, citing the last test between the two teams as a match his side learnt a lot from and praised his forward pack for their effort.

“I think the forwards gave the backline a very good foundation to play off and, I’m the recipient of the man of the match but credit to the forwards, they had a hell of a shift tonight.”

New Zealand pundits couldn’t believe the call to give a fullback man of the match after such a thorough dismantling from the notorious Springbok forward pack.

“I watched a completely different game to that interview right there,” Jeff Wilson reacted on Sky Sport. “I watched two lineout drive tries and a short move just after halftime that Malcolm Marx scores.

“That was a dominant performance up front, it had nothing to do with Damian Willemse. Damian Willemse, don’t get me wrong was solid, but it’s the 16 forwards, no, 15 forwards they had in their team that dominated that game.

“I just don’t understand. It wasn’t about the ball going wide, we gave them an intercept try.

“Seriously? What game are we watching here?

“Scrum penalties, lineout steals, and we’re talking about the fullback?”

During the hysteric rant, Wilson’s co-panellist joyfully pointed out the veins bulging in the pundit’s forehead.

“The Springboks have made their statement,” the former All Black added. “They’ve put the World Cup on notice, the fact that they are the world champions.

“If you allow them to play that way, and they are so dominant and their seven forwards they rolled off the bench, when you’re under that much pressure and you played with 14 men, ultimately, I’m not surprised by the end result.”