You have to wonder at the Springbok psyche sometimes. The Boks love an underdog tag, as World Champions though that is often a contradiction in terms. But the raw truth is that when the Boks are backed against the wall, and facing great odds, they perform. Not so when the sentiment has them coming in as “favourites”.
Perhaps that plays a part in the drastically different games that have happened across the last two weekends.
Bok “B” in Pretoria, lambasted the Wallabies in a controlled, tight and ferocious match.
Bok “A”, was a bit hapless and a bit hopeless as evidenced by the missed tackles, and the dropped balls.
Referee aside, players who are generally top performers ended up missing in action. That’s a function of pressure from the All Blacks, both on the scoreboard and also in the pace of the game.
This game was a great clash of styles, reminiscent of the early 2010s match ups with two competing styles.
The AB’s were clinical at times, ferocious in the first 20 and damaging in unstructured counterattack.
Standouts
1. Aaron Smith. The hype around Frizell and Jordan is warranted, but put a lens on Smith if you have a rewatch and observe a masterclass. His clearance at ruck was excellent, his speed around the park was the standout feature in his play. Lastly his contribution towards speeding up the game and looking for penalties when the springbok line fractured was brilliant.
2. Shannon Frizell. Let’s hope he can back this performance. Yes, it had shades of Kaino/Vito but he is his own man, Frizell has pace aplenty along with the size to be a wrecking ball. Willie le Roux won’t forget him soon.
3. Will Jordan. Broken play hero. Helped along by the fact that Mapimpi is renowned for coming off his wing and getting lost in space. His target identification was excellent as he smartly picked out the front rowers to attack towards.
4. Richie Mo’unga. Calm, classy, cool and collected. Would be a great pick for the next James Bond. Skinned Willemse at the end to score.
5. Tamaiti Williams. It’s hard to come out on debut against arguably the world’s strongest front row and he didn’t disappoint. He’s no shrinking violet.
6. Faf de Klerk. Perhaps unfairly criticized, Faf was blown by having to make so many tackles – which he shouldn’t have had to, almost ran down Frizell before he steamrolled le Roux. Set up Kolbe with that contentious crosskick. He made errors, but those were a symptom of him over working to compensate for the lack of performers around him.
7. Cheslin Kolbe. Industrious and dangerous on attack. Great players turn something out of nothing and Kolbe has that, inherently limited by the lack of ball, but scored one try which could have been two.
Stand downs
1. Damian Willemse. It’s always been obvious that he is a fullback. Willemse was so poor that Willie le Roux took over directing the play from 10 on attack. Libbok was there, the brave choice was to stem the bleed and put him on. Let Mo’unga in for a try at the death to add insult to injury.
2. Bongi Mbonambi. He’ll be back to his best, but he had a shocker. His three early missed tackles resulted in the ABs running amok. His misread led to Jordan going through to put Frizell in for the 2nd try.
3. Kwagga Smith. Showed some promise at the end by breaking out to score, but he does not displace the mass to justify a starting berth. He is a finisher, and a great one at that.
4. Jasper Wiese. Handling errors epitomized his evening. Wiese has blown hot and cold, generally getting better as his experience increases, but he was practically absent in this performance.
5. Makazole Mapimpi. He is a finisher, and a great one, that’s really all. Everyone knows the pattern – if he is on the wing, you attack that wing. Got caught jamming in on a number of times, leaving Jordan in space to create havoc.
6. Jacques Nienaber’s appetite for risk. If you are going to make risky calls and play people out of position, you need to account for the chance that it doesn’t work. Could have stopped the bleed early by putting on Libbok, Marx and Vermeulen.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
The term ‘World Champions’ is often a contradiction. The English 2004-2007 ‘World Champions’ were not anywhere near the best team in the world. Outside of the year the team won the World Cup, I prefer the term World Cup holder. But most people disagree with that.
MattTheContrarian
Roar Rookie
No doubt that Retallick's steal in the air, out of the hands of the Bok jumper, was probably the best lineout steal of 2023 thus far! It's a dilemma, like the Boks against Aus, so many players were standouts, but I try and present the obvious with the unwatched if you will. Retallick was brilliant, as was BB who JD Kiwi called. Shock and Awe in the first 20 minutes, which was great. I won't tell a lie, I thought the Frenchman made some very questionable calls, but that was expected, with more calls going the way of the AB's. But that - to your point - was influenced by smarter gameplay from the AB's ie ruck positioning. The AB back three was excellent, the Bok back three is unbalanced. Be interesting to see whether Willie endures or is cancelled. Yeah he adds double the playmakers, but Kolbe and Arendse must start, and with them you need something that punches in the heavyweight category, not the bantamweight one. A real pity that TRC is shortened this year!
MattTheContrarian
Roar Rookie
Glad to see someone else thought AS was on point ! BB too is a fine pick, and he responded well to all the talking heads that said he was over the hill. In the interests of full disclosure, I watched with a kiwi mate and a bottle of Bushmills, the game was "if you score points.. I have a shot". Well.. I had to rewatch as the last 20 was a bit blurry !
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Glad you highlighted Smith mate. He was everywhere. The Flash! He has been outstanding in the 1st 2 Tests this year, varying his play and distribution. Box kicking clinic at Mt Smart. You missed Retallick. Deep in the dark places. Regular 1st receiver. Brutal defense and clearing. A great shift from Guzzler. A high-five for the coaching staff too. A formulated game-plan and a fast-start put paid to the Springboks early, varying points of attack and a really intelligent kicking game. Intangibles. The cohesion and composure. The All Blacks didn't succumb to the Bok pressure. They expected it and handled it when it came, despite the Bomb Squad's immediate ascendance and Marx's try. The bench emptied, parity was restored and patience was rewarded. Those last two tries. Add in Narewa and that is a formidable back three too. Thought Beauden had a great game. All 3 Barretts actually. The Boks were out-paced and out-matched, especially at the break-down, which they flooded as they lifted, and closed on the score-board. That disruption slowed the game and the All Blacks' continuity but the truth is a another referee may not have allowed them the lateral and supine stuff - Kwagga was off-side when he stole his consolation. More organisation in the halves and some speed to match the power in the back-row would go a long way to restoring their pride. Thanks Matt...
jcmasher
Roar Rookie
I feel for Nienaber. Watching the coaching box Erasmus was the one with the radio talking to the coaching team on the field while Nienaber was at the back seemingly pushed out of the way. Anyone who believes that Nienaber is the coach and Erasmus is there for guidance, or whatever is absolutely dreaming. Erasmus pulls all the ropes and Nienaber is just a figurehead to take the blame when things go wrong.
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
Fine work Matt! Aaron was an inspired first choice. I'd also add BB who did such a great job of getting the ball into space. It was like he was playing for the Canes again. You also gave me a chuckle at the thought of the reaction of some of the English tabloids to the idea of a Polynesian Bond :laughing: