All 18 points: Morne Steyn
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Morné Steyn kicked all of South Africa's points as they beat New Zealand 18-5 in Saturday's Tri-Nations clash in Port Elizabeth.
The All Blacks scored the only try of the game, but were outmuscled up front by their hosts. The whole Bok team tackled their hearts out and Steyn's strong tactical kicking, especially in the second half, allowed them to keep the visitors pinned back.
As has become the norm in clashes between these sides, the All Blacks looked the more dangerous side with ball in hand, but the Springboks can count themselves deserved winners and will take encouragement from their improvement in defence and at scrum time in their final game before the World Cup.
It was South Africa's best performance of the year - by some margin - but the Springbok management will continue to be concerned by their team's inability to cross the try line. (Peter de Villiers' team have scored just three tries this year - all by hookers John Smit and Chiliboy Ralepelle.)
By contrast, Graham Henry's task of picking his backs for the World Cup was made no easier by strong performances by Israel Dagg, Isaia Toeava and Hosea Gear. However Adam Thomson's hopes of making the starting XV on September 9 took a step backwards as his overeagerness cost his side a number of penalties.
Just how much can be read into this result is debatable as it would be overly harsh to judge New Zealand on the performance of a make-shift side.
New Zealand did most of the playing in the first quarter but it was the hosts who held a 12-0 lead after half-an-hour as their charged-up pack forced the All Blacks to infringe at the rucks and at scrum time.
Steyn moved the Boks further ahead with a neat drop-goal but it was the men in black who would cross the whitewash for the game's only try, courtesy of Richard Kahui, who muscled his way past three defenders after Gear had cut through the Boks' defensive curtain with a searing run.
South Africa led 15-5 at half time with Steyn's fifth penalty the only points of the second period.
Man of the match: The home side's cover defence saved their bacon on a number of occasions with Jaque Fourie coming to the rescue two or three times. But we'll go for Morné Steyn who not only scored all the hosts' points, but generally controlled the game.
Moment of the match: With the All Blacks trailing by ten points, Jimmy Cowan's disallowed try will be subject of debate for a long time to come. Dagg's final pass was certainly forward... and television match official Johann Meuwesen made sure referee George Clancy knew about it.
Villain of the match: It wasn't tiddlywinks but no one deserves a mention.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Pens: Steyn 5
Drop: Steyn
For New Zealand:
Try: Kahui
South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ashley Johnson, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Butch James.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Isaia Toeava, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Adam Thomson, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (capt) 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Jarrad Hoeata, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Cory Jane.
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Comments
joyce1bro says...
@ bruce
No I didnt want and for the record I think the right outcome was made however the way in which the official/s (TMO being from the home side) clearly went outside the laws to get the decision even if right is worrying.
I hate to bring it up but the clear forward pass in the *cough* french game I put fully onto the ref. If the TMO had jumped in and said forward pass 50mtrs back, yes Id be happy that someone picked it up but Id be still saying that the TMO shouldnt be saying jack.
On another note at least we are saying it was forward cant say that about the french who said it was a great ball LOL... I need to get over that one hahahahaha
Well played SA great result and long over due.
Posted 00:06 21st August 2011
mrtaylor says...
At least the B side officials got a run before NOT BEING PICKED FOR THE RWC. Oh, what a surprise the TMO was South African - and a late replacement - maybe the other guy drank something a bit dodgy.....only in South Africa, Anyway, bring on next week and the RWC, no B rated players and officials then to influence the game. And well done Bakkies, I only saw you use your head once in a maul. Hopefully you will use it again in the RWC when the A team offcials are watching you. Must check the TAB to see what odds you are paying to be binned, sent off and suspended. Odds on I reckon.
Posted 23:48 20th August 2011
wassup says...
To everyone who think the ABs are on the way down - you're dreaming. This game meant as much as the Springboks' first two tests this season. Except that the ABs genuinely had a chance to win it.
Full credit has to go to the Boks. They tackled their hearts out and prevented about another four tries being scored agains them.
The ABs have themselves to blame for poor execution, school-grade ball handling and giving away kickable penatiles.
Oh, and no-one here in NZ is saying 'that try' should've been given. Common sense prevailed and it was disallowed. But now this opens a can of worms cos any try that has had any sort of debatable aspect could be commented on by the TMO (and if it doesn't will create controversy). It was a silly law anyway.
Posted 23:43 20th August 2011
carpelone says...
The referee was good, he made a mistake on Thomson in the first half, then he made good calls. Is kahui going to be cited for his spear tackle?
Posted 23:34 20th August 2011
carpelone says...
On the AB's side, I think that this game made the selection more complex. Toeava and Dagg had a good game, Gear and SBW had not. Who will make the last spot between Gear, Dagg and Toeava?
Posted 23:28 20th August 2011
geronimo says...
i have to say well done to SA.but would like to note that rugby for me is pure entertainment, sure i want the AB's to kick butt but if they were to resort to kicking mostly to win matches as SA did then the purpose for my enjoyment is lost.
if they play thrilling rugga durring the wc and fail to win it then life still goes on.isnt this how we want to live by ,excitement.
as another posted give the ab's b team more time 2gether and half them trys would have bin scored,to SA's nil.
Posted 23:24 20th August 2011
JayStarr says...
Just a footnote:
PR is too harsh on Adam Thompson... He is a brilliant player who was unlucky in this game. It would be sad to see him left out of the WC squad... I would see him in the Bok team any day.
JP Pietersen was simply not up to standard today, period. He need to shape up or slip out.
Bryan Habana showed why he is still the best 11 in SA. If anyone couldn't see that, then you don't know rugby.
I didn't see who was rewarded man of the match... Heinrich Brussouw was fantastic and Morné stepped up like I said he would, but if Jaque Fourie did not get it, then it would be a great injustice. He single handedly saved our arses at least three times - and defended like a Trojan... He should be the first name on the WC team sheet. I'll excuse Bobby's un-objectivity - I agreed with him.
For the All Blacks I think it would be very sad if Liam Messam and Adam Thompson are not in the WC 30 due to this performance. They are incredible players and just fantastic to watch. For me they are certainly two of the best loose-forwards in New Zealand this year. Read shmead - I'll have Messam any day...
Bring on the World Cup - business is about to pick up..!
Posted 23:22 20th August 2011
mjgoodyer says...
A win is a win, but if I was a SA supporter, having the A team with home support manage 6 x 3 vs the NZ B team that botched several tries, there is little cause for over-celebration. And Bobby Skinstad IS a dreadful commentator - does anyone else really think Jacques Fourie (good player that he is) is the world's best player?? There would be debate about best centre (BOD, CS) let alone best player.
Posted 23:19 20th August 2011
KiwiLad says...
Valuable lessons to be learned by G Henry..
Adam Thompson is not an international # 7
Israel Dagg still has the goods.
The ABs need Brad Thorne.
Playing an untested, b grade side, against the Bokke, in SA, is foolish..
Well done Boks, ABs took off with a hiss and a roar, but were never in control of the game.
Posted 23:17 20th August 2011
eddie says...
Well done Boks!
Tackled their guts out, pinned back Blacks with telling kicks by Steyn, outmuscled Blacks scrumtime-and breakdown at times- and knocked over every penalty on offer.
NZ not good enough to finish, frustrating! Also frustrating about a TMO decision that was wrongly called but to hang your hat onto a blatantly forward pass, well-fair enough through gritted teeth. Probably a game turner, but NZ should've been good enough with all the rugby they played.
My man of the match would've been Brussow, what a warrior! So jonesy, handle it-best team won on the day whilst team -that- looked- most- likely- to -score- but -didn't- well, didn't. Again, well done Boks.
Posted 23:16 20th August 2011
carpelone says...
Well done, Boks! Still lots of improvements to be made. Bring back Schalk, Spies some good runs but can do more. The backline needs to be ignited better. Brussouw MoM, simply incredible.
@ jonesy2
Did you bet as I told you?
Posted 23:13 20th August 2011
JayStarr says...
Glad to see my (last-minute-come-out-of-retirement) prediction was right... once again! Seriously, PR - if you're interested, I'll charge much less than your usual suspects... :P
I know many people will now bring up the fact that this was not the full strength AB team... as well as raising "concerns" about the Springboks being unable to cross the "white wash". Bla bla bla... they went out there to win - and they did.
The next WC game is not the Springboks vs. the All Blacks. At the very least that is still six to seven games away... The Boks will have a very tough pool to sharpen them up before that. All that matters from this game is that the Boks improved from their previous performance. Their next game is against Wales - and even if they lose, it won't be the catastrophe people might think... it could actually be a blessing in disguise. Not only because it would give these Boks a much needed slap in the face - a bit like an old diesel engin which needs a few kicks before it runs properly - but mainly because it would put the Boks on an easier path to the finals.
I'm happy from what I saw tonight - they only performed at about 50% of their potential, and won. So job done.
Lastly, I can't resist saying something about the ref. I am not a big fan of Craig Joubert, but his performance in the Ireland v. France game was as close to perfect as I've seen from a ref this year - he seemed like he had all the time in the world. On the contrary, Clancy's performance reminded me of that joke where the tortoise went to the police to report that he was mugged by a bunch of snails... and when the police asked him what happened he said "I don't know, it all happened so fast". I shudder to think that refs like Mark Lawrence were left out of the WC in favour of some of these NH novices...
Posted 22:48 20th August 2011
Bones7 says...
I agree bruce, for Henry the most important thing was individual performances. Morne Steyn must be the most relieved man in PE tonight, he needed a superb performance to put himself on the plane to NZ and he did what he did best and booted his way back into safety. Adam Thompson on the other hand won't be happy but I still think he'll be safe for the WC.
Posted 22:16 20th August 2011
Rosco1971 says...
As an AB supporter I hate to lose any game but it is time to give credit where credit is due. The Boks defended very well and deserved their win. They took every points opportunity they had and NZ did not. Thats the difference at this level.
Saying that I think there are definite positives for NZ and that is their outside backs looked extremely dangerous with ball in hand and constantly cut up the Boks 1st line of defence. Slade's "mixed bag" may have played himself out of the RWC and Gear needed to get more involved but the others looked good, especially Toeava, Kahui and Dagg . SBW was ok in my opinion.
In this game I have no doubt the Boks won the breakdown, did their set plays well and scrambled well in defence. (Aided by too many 50/50 balls from NZ.) The return of Reid, MCaw and Thorn will make a huge difference to those aspect of NZ's game. I would play this same team against Oz and see how they fare with the benefit of some more time playing as a unit. NZ made all the running in this match and on another day could easily have won this game especially if they kicked their goals early. It's all about pressure.
NZ supporters lets keep our eye on the prize. I think the NZ management team would have learnt a lot about that game, good and not so good.
Again congrats to the Boks for turning their game around after their very average display against the Wallabies last week. A test win is a test win and they are a proud rugby nation and I for one never count them out of any RWC. I have been to 3 of them.
As for the disputed Cowan try, Regardless of what the TMO is allowed to say, or not say, it WAS a forward pass and the correct call was made. If the teams were reversed NZ supporters would be gutted as no doubt would have been a huge turning point
I still believe NZ will win the RWC
Posted 21:39 20th August 2011
jjooste55 says...
joyce1bro...it is high time that the IRB give more power to the TMO because he's in the best position to see a forward pass, etc. so in my opinion, justice was done cause there were two forward passes in that move. I just hope that ref is not seen near the World Cup.
Posted 21:38 20th August 2011
jjooste55 says...
Brussouw was all over the ABs and he will still get better! Most of the Boks need a few more games (play-offs) and then I'm afraid they can beat the ABs A-team. McCaw will be caught out at World Cup, he plays on the off-side line all the time. Bokke on the way up, no doubt.
Posted 21:33 20th August 2011
SACanuck says...
Congrulations Boks. Played much better then I expected, and I did call that all the points would come from Steyn. except I called Boks by 7 and 2 drops from Steyn. Ah well next time. Must be a concern for AB's as I thought they went into every game wanting or expecting a win and dont consider any AB team as a B team. I guess Henry may be getting a little over confident?? Good to see that even though the Boks refuse to use the new laws in their game plan they showed that they can win with the kicking game and some great rush defence. Guess they are banking on the WC to be like all the rest with great defence and great kicking. Hope it is the right stratergy, because it still scares the hell out of me when the AB's back get the ball and make so much ground.
Posted 21:28 20th August 2011
rugbylover11 says...
i feel for u all black fans!!!!!!! rugby in NZ is a religion !!! your national pride will one day destroy u. even with the warnings u have got so far since that second world cup, u still haven't learned anything!!! admit that the springbok was the better side in this last encounter!! with macaw, carter or muliaina, nothing much would have changed,,the spbk was a wounded animal that wanted a win n rightly deserved it today,,forget ur format, plans, n tactics,,the team that fear GOD deserves to win,,u stuborn prideful people,,u will learn the hard way if the experience of the last 5 world cups don't mean a thing to you,,LONG LIVE THE SPRINGBOK, WALLABY N THE RED ROSE!!!
Posted 21:23 20th August 2011
dylster says...
a lot of bok supporters getting real excited about beating the AB B team. There are some funny WC calls on the back of this win! Whats that now about 2 wins out of the last 10 games?! (just a guess) haha!
but yeah, havent seen the game but sounds like the boks played a good game - despite having a muppet for a coach. Good luck for the WC, when the ABs have a full strength team and is played in NZ - youll need it
Posted 21:05 20th August 2011
zambokke says...
Dylbull - you've saved me typing - your comments reflect my thoughts exactly and your XV is exactly the same. I also think that Schalk will add to the dynamics of the forwards. Will Juan also be back as back up? We are still rusty but improving. Go Bokke!!!
Posted 20:52 20th August 2011