Springboks claim Tri-Nations glory

 

By , 13 Sep 2009 Chris Foley is a Roar Pro

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The dominant Springboks held off a late All Blacks charge for a 32-29 victory here Saturday to secure the Tri-Nations rugby crown for the first time in five years.

Both sides scored two tries, but the pertinent scoring difference for the world champions was the phenomenal boot of Francois Steyn who landed three penalties from inside his own half, the longest from 60 metres.

The Springboks went into the crucial Test knowing just one bonus point from a close loss should have been enough to secure the title, but said they would accept nothing less than victory.

In the end the final score flattered the All Blacks who fought back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and were only a fingertip away from pulling off a surprise win at the end.

“At the end my heart was in my throat as we always knew the All Blacks would never give up,” said South Africa coach Peter de Villiers.

Despite the close finish, All Blacks coach Graham Henry had no argument with the result which ended the All Blacks four-year reign in the southern hemisphere championship.

“They deserved to win. They played very structured rugby and played it very well,” he said.

“We didn’t play well enough for the first 60 minutes. We needed to play for longer periods of time with a lot more consistency.”

The win not only gave the Springboks their third Tri-Nations title, but for the first time since 1970-1976 they have beaten the All Blacks in three successive Tests.

For nearly three-quarters of the game the Springbok were in a class of their own as they dominated across the field, forcing the All Blacks into repeated handling errors.

The first-half onslaught, in which they led 22-12 at half-time, was stretched to 29-12 early in the second spell, leaving the All Blacks searching for answers.

South Africa scored two tries, to Fourie de Preez and Jean de Villiers with Francois Steyn landing his three massive penalties while Morne Steyn added 13 points from a range of close range penalties, conversions and a drop goal.

For the All Blacks, Dan Carter landed five penalties and converted the tries of Sitiveni Sivivatu and Richie McCaw.

The All Blacks had points on the board from the opening whistle, gifted a penalty from the way the Springboks gathered and protected the kick-off and Carter secured the three points.

That was the cue for fullback Francois Steyn to step up and launch his kicking onslaught as he landed penalties from 60, 58 and 53 metres.

Du Preez scored South Africa’s first try when Bryan Habana knocked Joe Rokocoko out of the way going for a high ball close to the All Blacks line.

The second try, early in the second half came after Henry pulled inside centre Stephen Donald 10 minutes from the field and Carter’s first pass to his replacement Isaia Toeava was intercepted by de Villiers who raced away to score unopposed.

With the game almost out of reach, the All Blacks snapped into action and scored their first try when Sivivatu crossed in the corner.

In the dying minutes a Carter crosskick was fielded by Richie McCaw wide out to touch down, but a repeat of that move with time on the clock ended with the All Blacks tipping the ball into touch.

© AAP 2012
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