Who’s hot and who’s not: Springboks Bomb Squad goes ‘nuclear’, officiating ‘wobbles’ sours great rivalry
Springboks flanker Kwagga Smith and All Blacks' back rower Ethan Blackadder during the Test match at Ellis Park.
It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after the weekend.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!
Springboks’ Bomb Squad: It went nuclear this weekend at Ellis Park when they were really needed! Kwagga Smith and Grant Williams stole the headlines with the match-winning scores dragging the Springboks over the line from a 10-point deficit to clinching a famous victory in an epic Test match. However, it was not just them as Eben Etzebeth also impressed as did Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Elrigh Louw and Handre Pollard. It is not the first time that the Boks have been saved by their replacements this year – or last year – and it won’t be the last the time either. South Africa have the depth to leave high-quality players on the bench for most of the match but when they are coming on, they are making the difference.
Unbeaten Boks: Staying with the South Africans and Rassie Erasmus’ charges look on course to winning the 2024 Rugby Championship after defeating the All Blacks in Johannesburg. It means that they have gone three from three and are the only team yet to be beaten in this year’s tournament. Erasmus admitted that they could well have lost this weekend’s encounter, but they didn’t and head to Cape Town with their tails up and with the opportunity to take one huge leap forward towards winning the competition for the first time since 2019.
Wallabies open their account: After being hammered in back-to-back Test matches by the world champions, Australia were not given much of a chance in La Plata when tackling Los Pumas with even the torrid weather conditions suiting the hosts. But Joe Schmidt’s men defied the odds and kept fighting right until the end when they were awarded a penalty in front of the sticks, with the chance to clinch their first Rugby Championship win of the year, and Ben Donaldson coolly took it.
Agustin Creevy hangs up the Test boots: It’s an odd time of the year for an international retirement but it is always good news when a player is afforded the opportunity to hang up their boots on their own terms. Yes, Creevy would have loved to bid farewell to the Argentina faithful with a victory over Australia but it was not to be. Still, few can say that they not only played Test rugby at 39 but did so to an incredibly high standard. It was also quite fitting that he entered proceedings on the flank, where he marked his debut for his country, and retires as his country’s most-capped international. Creevy is Mr. Los Pumas, an icon of the game and arguably the greatest forward/player they have ever produced. Enjoy retirement, Gus.
Caleb Clarke: Aucklanders have been screaming for the big winger to get a run in the All Blacks’ starting XV and despite a strong try-scoring performance against Argentina at Eden Park, there were still doubts surrounding his ability to perform against the mighty Springboks. But he proved his detractors wrong with a stunning outing at Ellis Park scoring a brace and impressing under the high ball.
Siya Kolisi’s dedication: A man of the people. Kolisi was truly inspirational once again following his side’s victory over the All Blacks as he dedicated the win to those ‘South Africans who are still not free’, highlighting the country’s issue with gender-based violence. The Springboks captain is constantly attempting to inspire positive change and sets an incredibly high standard.
🇿🇦 What a leader Siya Kolisi is! pic.twitter.com/ef9j495PAZ
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 31, 2024
Samoa smash Tonga: After a heavy defeat to Fiji in round one of the Pacific Nations Cup, Manu Samoa bounced back in emphatic fashion as they thrashed Tonga 43-17 in round two running in six tries to Tonga’s two.
Makazole Mapimpi: After being released from the Springboks squad, the veteran winger returned to action with the Sharks and wasted no time in making his mark scoring his first try in the opening minute of the game and finishing off his hat-trick before the half-hour mark. It was a stunning response from the double World Cup winner, who eventually scored four tries as the Sharks hammered the Griffons 75-19.
BROKEN THERMOSTAT
All Blacks: The performance at Ellis Park was an accurate summation of Scott Robertson’s start to his tenure as the All Blacks head coach this year and more so for the Rugby Championship. Razor’s men were fantastic for the opening hour and even Erasmus admitted that they dominated proceedings but were frankly not good enough as discipline proved incredibly costly gifting the Springboks a route back into the game and the hosts didn’t need a second invitation. For the first hour, the Eden Park All Blacks were in action, in the final last quarter it was the Wellington All Blacks who showed up.
The messy Haka scenes: The All Blacks Haka is one of the most cinematic scenes in international rugby but on Saturday that was far from the truth. A scheduling gaffe meant instead of the cameras being solely focused on the men in black laying down the challenge and the Springboks accepting it, there was carnage. As is usually the case at Ellis Park, a plane was scheduled to fly over but that occurred during the Haka while the stadium DJ started playing music midway through the challenge. The All Blacks are used to crowds making a noise in response to the Haka but all the sideshows left a sour taste as it is understood that their prayer and the dignitary handshakes before the anthems resulted in the untimely mess.
Springboks v All Blacks: Five takeaways as ‘brilliant’ Bomb Squad a game changer for Boks as prodigy holds his own in Ellis Park ‘thriller’
Louis Rees-Zammit: It’s been a somewhat turbulent week for the ex-Gloucester and Wales winger as he continues to chase his NFL Dream. The Welshman failed to make the grade for the Kansas City Chiefs’ NFL 53-man roster and was cut from the squad meaning he was placed on the waivers list. This meant that he could still be involved with the NFL champions’ practice squad but he could also be snapped up by another team – which proved to be the case as the Jacksonville Jaguars swooped.
COLD AS ICE!
Inconsistent Pumas: Frankly, the conditions in Buenos Aires this weekend were favourable to the powerhouse Los Pumas back-five and considering the thrashing that Australia were handed in their opening two games, the Wallabies arrived in Argentina wounded. But still, the Pumas did not pounce and blew hot and cold all evening. Silly errors gifted the Wallabies a route back into the game, which they took to seal the win. Argentina have failed again in backing up their famous win over the All Blacks and remain terribly inconsistent despite having superstar names littered throughout their squad.
Personal attack on Rassie Erasmus: Ahead of the clash between the Springboks and All Blacks, a clip of ex-New Zealand full-back Israel Dagg and Kiwi pundit Scott Stevenson on SENZ went viral where the latter compared Bok boss Erasmus to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen [from Dune] and Jabba the Hutt [from Star Wars]. It was a nasty attack on the head coach who has an autoimmune disease, granulomatosis, which he battled with during the 2019 Rugby World Cup and continues to do so now. The disease’s impact is worsened by stress and causes Erasmus to retain more water than he should resulting in looking more bloated.
‘Disgusting’ – Springboks fans slam Israel Dagg and Kiwi pundit after personal Rassie Erasmus attack
Officiating wobbles: It was a forgettable weekend for the match officials in the Rugby Championship with controversial moments in both games. The legality of the first two tries at Ellis Park have been hotly debated while Sam Cane escaped a card after his tackle on Siya Kolisi which will see the Bok skipper miss the second Test with a facial injury. Over in Australia, the Argentina players were left in dismay after they were told there would be a restart after the last penalty only for the final whistle to be blown after it was taken. It’s not an easy gig officiating such high-stakes matches in hostile stadiums and SANZAAR’s insistence to speed up decisions has also resulted in the fans being left in the dark over explanations on decisions…
Oh Canada: Kingsley Jones is the second-longest serving Canada men’s head coach having taken on the reins in 2017 and since then, Canada have failed to pick up a win over their rivals the USA in an away fixture. That record was extended this weekend as the Eagles cruised to a 28-15 victory meaning Canada have not tasted victory in their neighbour’s yard since 2011. Jones has now overseen 45 Test matches as the team’s head coach, winning just 13 and their most recent defeat has seen them fall further down the world rankings.
READ MORE: World rankings: Springboks cement top spot, All Blacks lose ground
