The Springboks’ forward-oriented game plan, so absent in the opening Test defeat, returned with a vengeance in Cape Town, writes CLINTON VAN DER BERG.
It was driven by set-piece dominance and a physical edge that repeatedly punished the All Blacks up close.
The template was set early. Jesse Kriel’s try, with Deon Fourie driving hard, laid down the marker for what was to come, a statement of intent built on the maul rather than width.
It was a theme that would resurface throughout the half, most tellingly in the 36th minute, when a penalty scrum, followed by another, created the platform for Siya Kolisi’s try after Ruan Nortjé had carried powerfully.
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That sequence carried an extra edge given Rassie Erasmus’ curious 11th-hour change to his front row, with two of the first choices subbed into the fray at precisely the right moment to force the second scrum penalty.
It was a flex of coaching muscle, timing a personnel switch to maximise pressure on a fraying New Zealand pack. Depending on where you sit, Erasmus’ switch was either shrewd game management or something closer to cynical, but nobody can argue it did not work.
Crucially, South Africa converted every 22m entry into points in the first half, a marked improvement on last week’s wastefulness at Ellis Park, where clinical finishing deserted them at the crucial moments. This time, power was blended with aggression at the collision, and clinical execution followed.
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It was not a flawless defensive display. The Boks missed 16 tackles in the opening 40 minutes, a number that would balloon further after the break, 40 in all, echoing some of the same soft edges seen across the series.
New Zealand remained typical in their ability to soak up pressure before capitalising ruthlessly on a single lapse, and Will Jordan again looked dangerous early, exposing a one-paced Bok midfield to help set up an All Blacks try inside the opening quarter.
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Where this performance differed from the first Test was in the scramble. South Africa found a gear last week’s side could not locate, covering ground and getting bodies across to smother linebreaks before they could be exploited.
Their swarming line speed also disrupted New Zealand’s attacking shape, forcing the visitors into broken, unstructured play exactly when their instinctive game usually thrives.
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If the frenetic final few minutes set pulses racing, the platform the Boks built through power and physicality gave them the foundation to control the contest in the moments that mattered most.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Bruising Boks rediscover their power game appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The Springboks’ forward-oriented game plan, so absent in the opening Test defeat, returned with a vengeance in Cape Town.
The post Bruising Boks rediscover their power game appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
