Man-of-the-match: Willem Alberts
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South Africa landed the first blow in their three-Test series with England as a strong second-half showing saw them win 22-17 in Durban on Saturday.
Tries from Morne Steyn and Jean de Villiers did the damage after the turnaround as the visitors struggled to repeat their impressive opening.
It was a deserved win for the Springboks however as they recovered well from a disappointing half that saw the sides go in with six points apiece.
England began in a cool fashion and looked comfortable in possession, taking all the correct options in the opening ten minutes. Ben Youngs was assured at the base while Dan Cole was hungry and Tom Johnson got through a great deal of carrying work as the Boks played second fiddle.
The visitors were rewarded for their efforts too as South Africa debutant Eben Etzebeth failed to roll away after a Cole carry. Consequently, Owen Farrell was able to send over the first points of the series from 40 metres out in the seventh minute.
But that sparked the Boks into life and it was their battering ram, Willem Alberts, who was creating the go-forward, resulting in Morne Steyn drawing his side level with fourteen minutes gone.
There was definitely a chess match feel to the action.
At 3-all the game began to pick up in pace as the likes of Ben Morgan and Chris Ashton made inroads through the heart of the Springbok defence. And Morgan's powerful surge - after a lovely late pass from Johnson - led to Marcell Coetzee offending. Farrell slotted it.
Pictures of the home coaching box illustrated the pressure on new coach Heyneke Meyer, who seemed worried about how his charges were fronting up in his first game at the helm. He wouldn't have to wait long for a reply though as England went offside and Steyn levelled.
That was how the scores stayed until the interval but that could and probably should have been different after Johnson used his hand on the blindside flank of a scrum just outside his own 22. Steyn called for the tee in the last kick of the half but the effort strayed wide.
Stuart Lancaster must have been delighted with how his team had fronted up in the first 40 minutes as they looked confident in their ability in both attack and defence, particularly at the breakdown as on three occasions they had turned over the Boks. That trend had to continue.
Meyer had different ideas though and seemingly rallied his team in the dressing room as England struggled to cope with the lift in intensity upon the resumption. Finally the host were able to enjoy a sustained period of ball as Bismarck du Plessis became prominent.
Cue 20 minutes of South Africa being largely in possession in England's half in a spell that led to Steyn having a mismatch against Johnson five metres out. He crossed for a try on 48 minutes before space opened up on the same wing 12 minutes later for De Villiers.
England were trailing 16-6 at that moment and desperately needed the next score, which they got in two-fold as Farrell sent over a couple of penalties, in the 63rd and 66th minute.
With ten minutes remaining in Durban the game was up for grabs but it was Steyn given the opportunities to see out the game and the Bulls number ten didn't misfire with his penalties, making it 22-12 before a late finish from Northampton's Ben Foden came as consolation.
South Africa meet England in the second Test match in Johannesburg next Saturday.
Man-of-the-match: Alongside hooker Bismarck du Plessis, flanker Willem Alberts carried like a warrior for South Africa. A mention for England debutant Tom Johnson for his first-half.
Moment-of-the-match: The try from Jean de Villiers was a sucker punch to England on the hour mark and put the Boks two scores up at 16-6. From that point on England were playing catch-up and in a second-half where they rarely threatened, the result was arguably settled.
Villain-of-the-match: Barring a bit of push and shove between Owen Farrell and Frans Steyn after the latter had kicked the ball at England's fly-half, it wasn't too feisty at all.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: M Steyn, De Villiers
Pen: M Steyn 4
For England:
Try: Foden
Pen: Farrell 4
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jean de Villiers, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 François Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Patrick Lambie, 22 Wynand Olivier.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Ben Foden, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Paul Doran-Jones, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Jonathan Joseph.
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant refeerees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Scotland)
Television match official: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
By Adam Kyriacou
Comments
lawynd says...
The game took a while to liven up, but there were some quality moments - Alberts is a bit of a monster! If I were a Bok fan I'd be wondering what Spies is in the team for though, did chuff-all for 80 minutes; has Alberts ever played 8? Habana was easily the man of the match, some brilliant kick chasing and a couple of very dangerous counter attacks too. The Boks thoroughly deserved the win overall.
England played well in some aspects, need to improve significantly on others. I know Hartley has been warned about his conduct but that doesn't mean he should turn into a complete wetter instead - he barely carried and never made his presence felt in any way, which was disappointing. Unfortunately Lee Mears is hardly going to challenge him for a starting berth so he's not really being pushed; I hope Tom Youngs gets some decent game time in the mid-week game. It's fairly obvious that Owen Farrell is a bottleneck in the backs (average service from Youngs notwithstanding), and his distribution was poor throughout, as was his kicking. It's no coincidence that the back play improved immeasurably when Toby Flood came on, and provided the initial pass to set up Foden's try. Jonathan Joseph also dazzled in his cameo, and showed the point that most of the rest of the team seemed to have missed; running around these monsters is far more effective than trying to run through them. If JJ and Flood have good mid-week games, I'd start them and move Tuilagi in one position.
Posted 09:54 10th June 2012
nefari says...
I think spies had a good game, hes defence was effective, lineouts awesome he also spent most of the game cleaning out the rucks while alberts caught the shine in the backline.
If he played for another team except the bulls everyone would be talking about his "hard graft".
Luckily Meyer wont be like other bok coaches and will sto what he believes wil win him games.
Posted 09:54 10th June 2012
astrospange says...
Walsh missed a few things but on the whole did a good job. Eng giving away 3 free kicks at the scrum was disappointing and may have given the SA forwards confidence instead of taking it away. Patterns of play were there for Eng but it was still too loose and not enough leadership or player responsibility was shown to get the momentum going. We had enough ball, Owen Farrel kicked in SA 22 which was a major mistake and let the pressure off. Inexperience but he will learn from this. Need to have better use of the bench. On the whole both teams played well but Eng have the potential to play a lot better.
Posted 08:27 10th June 2012
letsgoboks says...
Close on the score board as I expected, but the boys threw away 2 or 3 tries - unfortunately. That'll come right in time.
Eng played a great first half - especially at the breakdown... but they just cannot out muscle the boks. Their backs were running the ball so well. I was very impressed with Mike Brown!
All the bok supporters who had no belief in HM - I want a formal apology now!!!!!!!!
Posted 08:15 10th June 2012
jonesy2 says...
pretty much as expected. i picked it, again. england have no penetration and never looked dangerous. both teams would have been beaten soundly by aus or nz, boks can definetly improve, actually you would think both teams could improve. are hartley and ashton the same person i never realised how identical they look they have the most hatable appearance to them and do very similar cheap things like ashton sprinting into the breakdown to put on a shoulder charge and hartley with a swinging arm into the head of a boks player at the tackle. standard really.
Posted 06:44 10th June 2012
Ruggernaut says...
@LondonWasp - I can assure you that nobody in SA was expecting a massacre. We've been very wary of the new-look England side under Stuart Lancaster and yesterday's match showed how much your team improved. England definately stood their ground in the scrums and that boasts well for the remainder of the series. Ball retention was impeccable. I was very impressed with the way England competed at the break downs. Everytime an SA player had the ball, England managed to get at least three players around him to take the ball away. The backline is looking sharp, although I think Tuilagi was used excessively. It became rather predictable at times with him running on to the ball. But England is looking very solid. Well done to the Boks, considering they only had 3 sessions together. England is definately here to play ball and not for a holiday.
Posted 05:25 10th June 2012
lyndonmac says...
Poms a lot better than this Kiwi expected --- more adventurous in the backs and only marginally shaded in the pack. Habana man of the match, daylight second. Agree that giving the ball to Tuilagi every time is too predictable. Expecting altitude to give the Boks enough extra advantage next week, with England kickers unused to thin air. Don't expect Morne Steyn to miss as many of the inevitable penalties again. Had this second test been in Capetown I'd expect a really close game, maybe even an England win.
Posted 05:23 10th June 2012
lacroix says...
i thought england were poor. i think those saying this was a good performance need to recalibrate their expectations! england play like this at murrayfield, cardiff or paris and they lose.
SA largely unimpressive but england badly handicapped by some obvious weaknesses, notably Youngs, Robshaw and Ashton , all of whom look out of their depth.
not sure about this PR review either ...'england looked comfortable in possession in the first 40'...no they didn't. they kicked it away, too deep .. youngs (planned but poor execution), barritt (desperate lack of ideas) and their kick chase was lamentable. the decision making for england was poor throughout. makes it too easy for a decent but not exactly wonderful SA team.
unless SA have a shocker its hard to see this england team beating them.
Posted 00:52 10th June 2012
trelawney says...
@makemehappy. What do you mean 'Wow were England dumped upon - lucky to be within 20 points' ??11 I expect you are a non entity in anything - ie you do not know what you are talking about. As for the man of the match, Alberts -.no, it should have been Habana for all the chasing of high (balls) kicks. The commentary I listened to was by NH (unbiased!) commentators and no way was Alberts metioned (maybe a couple of times!) I am an ex Rhodesian lwho has lived in England for over 40 years & still follow & enjoy SH rugby via Sky TV. I am surprised that Bocvandam has not come up with a nasty comment about NH rugby.
As for Wales - OH DEAR. Ireland - as expected.
Posted 00:47 10th June 2012
Trinats2 says...
Fell asleep watching this, pity I missed the second half. I'll watch the 60 seconds of highlights.
Posted 00:44 10th June 2012
ruggaluva says...
when the Boks run with intensity they always score tries.... its when we kick all our ball away that we ruin our rythym. Unfortunately HM enjoys the kicking game as was patently obvious. BORING !!
To be honest i was expecting more from the Poms.... i think we had them pretty much covered - altho i wld move de Villiers back to 12 and Frans to 13. England will probably come out better next time as they will realise that the up and under game plan is easily negated.
Alberts was good wasnt he ? Spies hmmmm....not much for an 8th man - Etzebeth did not start his Bok career well either - nothing like the bruiser he has been all season. Want to see kolisi in action !
Posted 23:51 09th June 2012
Melkiwi says...
Well done sa good results for the big three. But I can honestly say that the NH are becoming more and more challenging, which is great for rugby.
Posted 23:00 09th June 2012
LondonWasp says...
I thought we (england) did pretty well, considering alot of people were predicting a complete massacre. to lose by only 5 points to a tri-nation side isn't bad going, especially as this is the frst time most of the english players are experiencing a tri-nation side. I would like to think we made SA sweat a bit, which is more than what they were expecting...
however, if we had scored a try in the first half it would have helped our cause massively. whether we can win in Johanasberg (sorry for spelling mistakes) is another question.
Posted 22:27 09th June 2012
makemehappy says...
Wow were England dumped on - lucky to be within 20 points in anyones interpretation!
Posted 22:19 09th June 2012
Honestpom says...
The Boks deserved winners today but England are still in a good place to where they were and entitled to be on a learning curve. England played with spirit, passion and never backed off an inch which is another step on the road with Lancaster. Not trying to patronise England, its just that 12 months ago we may have lost this game by 40- 50 points. Again well played Boks, and lets face it never an easy place to win a test match.
Posted 21:50 09th June 2012
Ulrich says...
@NHSaints, fair assessment but I don't agree that Frans steyn goes missing in defense. If anything he is more prominent. Saved jdv on a couple of occasions.
Posted 21:47 09th June 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Thought the scums were quite even until Marler and Hartley went off. They were losing the decisions but not being out muscled. Noone got driven back or popped up. Tough to ref. Deserved home win due to 2 tries but I'm looking forward to the next game especially the scrum. Bismarck was man of the match to me. Awesome.
Posted 21:33 09th June 2012
boksmashoffice says...
Well done to the Boks. A good win considering the prep time they had. The forwards were awesome (especially Alberts). The backline needs to be more creative. We did butcher 2 tries today. Wud not wash against ozz or NZ. A win is a win and we will only get better. I would like to see lambie at 15 and Oliver not in matchady 22. I will sleep well tonight. I am expecting a better Bok team next week. Durban fans a disgrace for not tuning up and supporting the Bokke.
Posted 21:02 09th June 2012
chesh10 says...
England played pretty well, they showed some attacking intent, if not necessrily competence. Brown was strong and Foden/Ashton look like a high quality unit.
Also showed that we can compete on the floor without that natural 7...
Flood has to play, England's attacking shape, width and speed of distribution were exponentially improved with his introduction. Move Farrell to 12 if you have too, if you want his goal kicking, but they need 2 ball players and Farrell's rugby league style passing works much better from 12 than 13.
SA did as expected tbh, apart from their lineout faltering a little and Steyn kicking waywardly from tee (but perfectly from hand). He won't likely do that again, so Eng. need to be able to score tries and be prepared to front up in D a little more.
Posted 20:51 09th June 2012
Sharkyzulu says...
Close game and well-contested by England although the Boks had most of the answers. I can't help feeling that England are so excited by having a strong runner in Tuilagi that they shovel the ball to him all the time and then wonder why their opponents can predict this. England need a bit more variety.
My guess is Ellis Park will be England's chance - Boks will be over-confident after this result and England know what to work on.
Rather worrying - what was Bismarck collapsing to the ground all about towards the end of the 1st half (ca. 30-32mins)? He looked out cold and then was up running 30 seconds later....
Posted 20:24 09th June 2012