On their way: Gurthrö Steenkamp scores the first try for South Africa
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South Africa made up for their opening World Cup wobble against Wales by powering past Fiji 49-3 in Wellington on Saturday.
The defending champions were a far superior outfit from the one that edged the Welsh by one point a week ago, and silenced their critics with a comprehensive six-try victory.
Perhaps the biggest achievement for South Africa was keeping the Flying Fijians tryless, and credit must go to their outstanding defence which was rock-solid for 80 minutes.
Whilst Fiji never took a step back, the Boks simply had too much class for the islanders in a free-flowing spectacle that saw plenty of running rugby - most of which came from the men in green and gold.
Fiji had the Boks on the backfoot for the early stages of the first half after stringing some impressive phases together with ball in hand, and it took some tremendous defensive work from South Africa to keep the islanders at bay.
Bok pivot Morne Steyn missed his first shot at goal that would have given his team the perfect start with barely three minutes gone on the clock, but his namesake Francois was more successful with a whopping 60m penalty kick to put South Africa on the board.
Fiji replied with a three-pointer of their own through centre Seremaia Bai that leveled the scores (3-3), but the Boks settled their supporters' nerves when prop Gurthrö Steenkamp steamrolled past two tacklers for a well-worked try.
Frans Steyn made the initial break, showing tremendous upper-body strength with ball in hand to take his team into Fiji's dangerzone, before the ball was shifted on the shortside to Steenkamp finished off in the corner.
Morne Steyn was on target with the touchline conversion and stretched his team's lead even further with a penalty that gave SA some breathing space at 13-3.
The Boks weren't done there, however, and were over for their second try when centre Jaque Fourie touched down in the same corner visited by Steenkamp seven minutes earlier. The TMO was called in to judge whether Fourie's foot strayed into touch, but the green light was given.
Steyn missed the conversion put nailed another penalty on the stroke of half-time to take the Boks into the break 21-3 ahead.
After a scrappy start to the second half, a moment of brilliance from Bok flank Heinrich Brussow helped Frans Steyn cross for their third try. With South Africa hot on the attack, Brussow chipped over the top for Steyn to regather and step inside to score. Morne Steyn was on target with the extras.
Despite the quality of the game dropping, with the pace and defensive efforts telling on both sides, the Boks were able to register their 100th World Cup try when Morne Steyn dived over.
Naipolioni Nalaga thought he had finally breached the Boks defence when he dived over in the corner but play was called back for a forward pass.
And South Africa rubbed salt into the wounds as replacement prop Tendai Mtawarira stretched out from close-range after taking a pop pass from that man Frans Steyn who had been stopped inches short. Morne Steyn brought his personally tally to 19 points with the extras.
Nalaga dived over again with nine minutes left but this time the ball was knocked out of his grasp by opposite number JP Pietersen.
Again the Boks made the most of the let-off, with the hard-working Danie Rossouw crashing through with three minutes left to seal the deal for South Africa.
Man of the match: Every Bok player from 1-15 put their hand up, but we'll go for Frans Steyn, who was influential throughout.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Steenkamp, Fourie, F Steyn, M Steyn, Mtawarira, Rossouw
Cons: M Steyn 5
Pens: F Steyn, M Steyn 2
For Fiji:
Pens: Bai
South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Odwa Ndungane, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 François Louw, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Juan de Jongh.
Fiji: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Gaby Lovobalavu, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Waisea Sedre Luveniyali, 9 Neemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Dominiko Maiwiriwiri Waqaniburotu, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Deacon Manu (c), 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements: 16 Talemaitoga Dautu Tuapati, 17 Waisea Nailago, 18 Netani Edward Talei, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Vitori Tomu Buatava, 21 Nicky Little, 22 Ravai Fatiaki.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Comments
bloemboy says...
@Trinats, you are assuming that Aus will make the Quarters?
As for 2007, I think its more a case of the other so called top ranked teams couldnt keep up. If they were top ranked, why didnt they face us? Truth be told we beat the teams that came second and third, England and Argentina. If Aus werent good enough to be in the semis, then they had no claim to be a top ranked team.
Its like saying the 87 and 91 RWCups were not real because Aus and NZ never faced the team that now has the most successful record in RWC history.
What I find amusing is that Deans has lost more games in this RWC than PDivvy has. Possibly you guys need to recruit him.....=)
Posted 06:08 19th September 2011
Sasquatch says...
A plea to all other Bok supporters out there; this was an improved performance but lets not get carried away. One game at a time and right now we're improving.
Posted 21:48 18th September 2011
carpelone says...
Jaystarr
I am a fan of JdV too, but he is not the same after his stint at Munster.
Steyn was extremely good at 12.
Can Steenkamp play at 3?
Posted 20:34 18th September 2011
ruggaluva says...
@ Trinats... i think most Bok supporters are happy to see a running rugby display against some pretty good exponents of this type of game. If the Boks do manage to build from here, not losing too many important players - come QF i see your pack of softies getting their noses rubbed in it again and Razzle Dazzle Cooper once again throwing his toys all over the paddock. Just face it mate.... odds are pretty slim against you now - you had your chance and screwed the pooch !
Posted 14:06 18th September 2011
bloemboy says...
@trinats, almost as carried away as the Aussies got about their chances for winning the RWC
Posted 13:15 18th September 2011
koop says...
Fiji is a 7's nation. That SA managed to score only 49 points is a credit to Fiji. If this article is to have any credibility at all regarding SA's merciless display then it should have been written after SA and Australia in the quarterfinals. Versus Fiji is not the forum for SA's old gaurd to prove that they still have some ticker left in them.
Posted 12:42 18th September 2011
mboytiman says...
The Boks, cool, mighty rugby machine!!! Great to see, welcome back.
Posted 06:06 18th September 2011
JayStarr says...
@ bigb69: Lol... thanks! My bad. I remembered 46, but obviously for the wrong reasons... Thought the score was 46 - 7 for some reason!! Geez... maybe I am getting old. Or maybe I should just lock the cellar... :P I was just stirring anyway. Ok, NZ is better..!
@ melkdave: damn right - I went to make myself a cup of tea in the first 20... thought I was in for an upset! Ps: well done to Ireland! Aboslutely loved that game.
@ Dylbull: Amen. Fourie du Preez has not played a test since 2009. In his last 3 tests he improved in every one of them. He had some flashes of his old self in this one, but still lacks his usual 6th sense... He'll get there. As for Steyn better than JdV - I'm a huge fan of the latter, but I dared say that same thing today..! I actually agree with everything you say! Wouldn't it be the greatest achievement in the history of rugby if the Boks manage to beat the Wallabies in the QF's, the All Blacks in the SF's and France in the Finals to become the first team in history to defend the World Cup AND win it three times..!? It's such a ridiculous achievement that I can't even believe it's possible... To be honest, as long as the Boks play like they did today, I'll be happy if New Zealand or France win it.
Posted 00:07 18th September 2011
Dylbull says...
people are too harsh on Fourie Du Preez, he is still a bit rusty yes, but he was far better today and set the bokke on their way with some great passes and kicks. Frans Steyn was incredible at 12 and dare I say, better than Jean De Villiers, Spies was good and Burger and Brussow were immense. I still feel Jon Smit didn't contribute enough especially if you compare his contribution to the big boy guthro and bizmarks cameo near the end.
bring on the wallabies in the quarter finals
Posted 20:20 17th September 2011
melkdave says...
WHOA where did that performance spring from lol .Lost my £10 but dont worry made more than enough on the Ireland game lol.That boks performance was as good if not better than their 09 games .But i bet for the 1st 20 mins boks fans where chewing their nails LOL..That win has boked the boks QF place as theres noway Namiba are going to beat them .Dont know what happened to Fiji there ball control and retetion was dredfull after the 1st quartersame with their tackling .Anyway well done SA superb performance question now is can they do it regually we will see lol
Sorry late posting as its misses mothers birthday tommorow so dragged shopping today and the wallaby supporters think theyve had a bad day LOL So only jusy watched the games lol
Posted 20:15 17th September 2011
deadkat7 says...
Another horrific display from the ref (Romain Poite) this time, his entire focus was around the 'right' angles of the game, offsides, scrum wheeling, line-outs penalty marks etc (he has assistants) and hardly watched the important facets of the game.
Both sides were there to play rugby... He missed a number of key elements that will confuse players in this group. The adjudication at the breakdown was inconsistent. The boks got away with hands in the ruck at every second breakdown, Fijians were not penalised for going in off there feet, rather a debacle really.
One thing I must say, where I fear for opposition is when the boks smell blood, there seems to be no stopping them... Goodluck all the rest, I fear I may be cynical, but I know the cup is going nowhere!!! GO BOKKE!!!
Posted 19:42 17th September 2011
deadkat7 says...
12 - Frans Steyn was massive... showcasing his ability as one of the best distributing backs in the world (the kid thinks in 3D), only hitting his mid-twenties and over forty test caps. Still has much to prove, especially under an attack minded (Rassie Erasmus, Robbie Fleck in the future) coach.
8 and 10, massively improved performances, it is worrying however that Pierre and Morne are so used to an ever present and dominant pack that they can only perform under such circumstances, (times are changing) but one has to say that Morne Steyn really stepped up, unfortunately only driven by pressure, but players performing under pressure... I'll have that in my all-stars side thank you very much!
We still have major holes in our structure, it's either a tight knit game with forwards running tight lines with close support runners or outside backs with all the space in the world without the brains to do anything about it (lambie static in the back line, not hitting at pace, why else is he there really?), to loose in the loose and too tight in the short phases. (we need a Vic to help us think) and loose forwards to find the 'link' again (hint: Fracois Louw, Willem Alberts)! I am a die hard supporter of the boks and believe nothing better than us possibly facing the Wallabies in the quarters could've happened. You wanna win the cup, you gotta beat the best (or are they?)!
Posted 19:40 17th September 2011
Herbman says...
The running rugby was awesome, but that was what was called for on the day... they used different tactics against wales (correctly so) and I can guarantee you we won't see such a display from the quarters onwards. What a lot of you don't realize is that not all teams allow you to play that expansive game, it would never have worked against NZ for example.
Posted 17:53 17th September 2011
ruggaluva says...
The Great Wall of 'my chinas'....
Posted 17:22 17th September 2011
JayStarr says...
FINALLY! We all needed that - the Boks, their fans and the tournament... The World Champs have arrived people!
The impressive thing is, not only did Fiji actually play better than they did in 2007, but the Boks have only gone into 2nd gear now... they were far from clinical - but still they were unstoppable!
What I loved most was their attitude - and it was evident when they carried on playing at the end instead of sticking the ball into touch... great stuff! They were still very rusty on attack - more often than not there were no support players to pass to after a break - but that made this workout even more valuable. Hopefully they will carry on oiling their cohesion on attack against Namibia.
After criticising JP Pietersen after the Wales game (in which he was very poor) it is only fair that I single out his huge improvement in this one. Everyone played well... even John Smit! Francois Steyn gave incredible go-forward from 12, Spies played like a Trojan off the back of the scrum and Danie Rossouw was immense throughout. I just felt very sorry for Lambie - I lost count of how many hospital passes he got from his team mates, but I thought he did incredibly well under the pressure.
So who's still saying Samoa's gonna beat the Boks..?
And for those people who like to quote stats: the All Blacks beat Fiji by 39 points at home, the Springboks beat them by 46 away...
;)
Let the games begin!
Posted 17:11 17th September 2011
Mr_Sax says...
I still figure Smit should be man enough to admit that Bismarck is better than him and offer to let him start. get subbed towards the end after the game is wrapped up
Posted 16:39 17th September 2011
JHRoberts says...
@Rolf
Brilliant suggestion to play Bismarck at 8! After checking one minor detail, I've learned that Spies is only 2" taller... Though of course Bismarck probably wouldn't be used much as a lineout jumper, it's still worth noting...
Spies has been off the mark for at least an entire season, but still seems to be a shoe-in for the eighth jersey... Makes perfect sense to elevate Bismarck from the bench! I doubt that it'll happen but I can really see that killing many birds with one stone (resolves the captain/hooker issue, creates competition for eight, gets Bismarck on the park for a full 80, etc). Bismark already plays like a back rower in the loose anyway...
Posted 15:55 17th September 2011
tweedledee49 says...
Hey everybody!
@ROLF, Wales yeah you're right, the are MUCH stronger than Tonga and Japan, But Fiji is about the same level as they are. Tonga thrashed Fiji twice this year and Japan beat them a couple of months ago.
But good game by South Africa, Defense was unreal
Posted 15:54 17th September 2011
mana says...
well deserved win to SA,..good to see they turned the heat on,but sadly Fiji couldnt response to that.
Posted 13:54 17th September 2011
bloemboy says...
@Ramage, thats not funny!!!
Posted 13:39 17th September 2011