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A return to a more structured approach paid dividends as South Africa thrashed Australia 53-8 at the fortress Ellis Park.
A proud 45-year record against the Wallabies remains intact, and the Boks will certainly feel they’ve regainied some pride with a commanding eight-try victory. Australia looked disinterested for the most part, and will begin their preparations for the Tri-Nations decider next week. However, when you look at this match in isolation, you have to commend the Boks for reverting to a more structured approach.
The tactical kicking was always going to be a factor at altitude. The Bok team looked light on kicking options ahead of this fixture, but the three boots they did possess were outstanding. Conrad Jantjes’s positional play was superb and his kicking out hand constantly had the Aussie defenders under pressure. Fourie du Preez was another who used the conditions to his advantage, finding space with metronymic regularity.
But the best man in this area was Butch James, who clearly thrived when asked to play to this pattern. His decision-making was spot on, and those nudges behind the Wallabies line were well followed by his chasers. James was the general in an army that were 10 times more efficient thanks to a winning battle plan. The what-ifs shouldn’t take the shine off a good win, but had the Boks played a game akin to the World Cup brand earlier in the competition, the results in Cape Town and Durban may have been very different.
The Bok scrum demolished the Aussies and after 31 minutes Robbie Deans made the tactical decision to replace Matt Dunning with Al Baxter. The lineouts were a mess once again, but the Boks often recovered the loose ball or pilfered an inaccurate Aussie throw. When they did get it right, South Africa used this set-piece as a launchpad for a multi-phase attack. Does this mean this approach is back for good? Hopefully a victory will convince Peter de Villiers of its necessity.
Phil Waugh failed to have as big an impact as expected, and credit must go to the Bok forwards for their accurate cleaning at the breakdown. Schalk Burger carried the ball strongly while Pierre Spies had his best Test of the year in an exemplary all-round display. The defence at the tackle point was impressive with Juan Smith dishing out some bone-jarring hits.
The ball rarely moved past Jean de Villiers when the Boks were in their own half, but when they were within striking distance they capitalised on their opportunities. Jongi Nokwe rounded off three first-half tries while Adi Jacobs cut the line and stepped the defence shortly after the break.
The Aussies were never in this contest, and it appeared as if they had been instructed to go out and have some fun. They played with very little structure and made some extremely poor decisions that were perhaps an indication of their standing in this competition. The heavy defeat will not impact on the Tri-Nations finale on 13 September, at least not from a log standing point of view.
The Boks gained the consolation victory but also won back the respect of their countrymen. Booed off in Durban last week, the rowdy Ellis Park chants built to a clamour as the score mounted. Nokwe was stretchered off after scoring his fourth try, but the acknowledgement he received from a 54 000-strong crowd was a tribute to both a man and team that provided some clinical and entertaining rugby.
The power-play and intelligent kicking for territory proved effective in the first half, and when the game opened up in the second, the Boks’s expansive style came to the fore.
The Boks return to Currie Cup action in the coming weeks but there is still the UK Tour to come in November. They’ve regained some pride with a big win at Ellis Park, but they must not forget how this victory was achieved.
The structured approach was what won them the 2007 World Cup and it was this strategy that blew the Aussies away in Johannesburg. Let’s hope this approach is here to stay.
Springboks - Tries: Andries Bekker, Jongi Nokwe (4), Adi Jacobs, Ruan Pienaar, Odwa Ndungane. Conversions: Butch James (3), Percy Montgomery (2). Penalty: James.
Wallabies - Tries: Drew Mitchell. Penalty: Matt Giteau.
From Keo.co.za