Rugby Asteroid

Full credit to the never-say-die Boks who pulled off a remarkable upset in Dunedin on Saturday night. In beating the ABs 30-28 they snapped both a one hundred year drought at Carisbrook and they ended a record 61 month home-winning streak by the All Blacks. Saffas rejoice – you did something you haven’t managed in ten years – win in NZ. Some might argue that the Boks are now legitimate World Champs. But a 2 point margin in a game that could’ve gone either way means for me, the jury remains very much out.

The Boks played with their usual level of intensity and in the first half they looked far more composed than the home side. But the ABs found their groove in the second half dominating territory, possession and time in the opposition 22. Victory looked well within New Zealand’s grasp until a break-away try by Ricky Januarie in the 75th minute boosted the Boks’ score by a hefty seven points. It’s probably premature to say Janurie’s try was the try of the tournament, but it was a masterpiece of individual talent.

And there lies the rub. The Springboks two try-scorers on the night were arguably their most inconsistent performers on the field. Apart from a try gifted to him by øåØåJoe van Niekerk, JP Pietersen’s performance did nothing to dispel doubts that he should’ve been left at home. And although Ricky Janurie cleared the ball well out of the scrum, he often looked to be in two minds in distribution.

But the 10 points contributed by Pietersen and Janurie means that their shortcomings will be probably overlooked and both will be hailed as heroes back in the RSofA.

For my money, the five best players on the field were all wearing Black jerseys. åØåMils Muliaina had a near flawless performance. Conrad Smith also played well making huge tackles and breaking the advantage line often, as did Ma’a Nonu. Sione Lauaki came off the bench early in the second half and continued his blistering form of last week. He looked like the Lauaki of two years ago – menacing with every touch of the ball. And Rudi Wulf, the new wing, kept his side of the field in good hands.

The Springboks were a mixed bag. The much-heralded Schalk Burger played both brilliantly and stupidly, as is his way. Butch James had less of a role in this week’s game but played with his usual high-level confidence, even drop-kicking a very important goal in the second half. Captain Victor Matfield owned the line-outs, as usual, but then got himself sin-binned for high-tackling Lauaki. Stupidly this came right after referee Matt Goddard had warned both captains that he would be carding the next player to tackle high. Habana was rendered impotent by an All Black defense that wrapped him up pretty much every time he touched the ball. But for me the best Bok player was the replacement hooker åØåBismarck du Plessis’s who made a number of barn-storming runs up the middle. Pity about the alleged eye-gouging that’s earned him a 3 week suspension.