Rassie Erasmus appeared to have another trick up his sleeve as the Springboks produced a ferocious first-half performance and a controlled second-half defensive effort to claim a 33–26 win in the second Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against the All Blacks in Cape Town.
A strong opening 40 minutes, with a try shortly after kick-off and right before half-time, ensured the Boks maintained dominance from the start, although soft moments like last week at Ellis Park kept New Zealand in the Test.
However, it was a more polished performance by the world champions as they showed their fight for the series spoils is far from over.
The biggest tactical surprise came before kick-off when Erasmus changed his entire starting front row, handing Deon Fourie and Gerhard Steenekamp the responsibility of laying the foundation for the Boks’ assault alongside tighthead Thomas du Toit. And they did just that.
But the real masterstroke came in the 35th minute.
With the All Blacks still within striking distance and the scoreboard delicately poised, Erasmus pulled both Fourie and Steenekamp off and unleashed Malcolm Marx and Ox Nché. Rather than waiting for half-time, the Boks effectively brought their first-choice reinforcements into the game with five minutes of the opening half remaining.
It was a bold move, but one that immediately paid dividends.
Fourie and Steenekamp had already ensured that the platform was laid. The Boks dominated the early forward exchanges, their lineout was secure, and their rolling maul was devastating.
Marx and Nché arrived, and almost immediately the Boks won a scrum penalty inside the New Zealand 22. From the resulting pressure, Siya Kolisi crashed over to stretch the lead to 24–14 at the break.
But it was that opening try that laid the foundation for the battle, while the accurate kicking boot of Cheslin Kolbe, who was named Player of the Match for his 18 points off the tee, kept the scoreboard ticking throughout the contest.
Within two minutes after they kicked off, the home side were on the scoreboard after a quick-fire start. Their first maul was solid after the throw-in from Fourie before he broke away to gain valuable metres. From there the ball went out the back, and Jesse Kriel powered his way over.
Kriel’s midfield partner Damian de Allende had a similar score where he powered through and past a couple of defenders to score. The TMO tried to intervene, looking to cancel the try for a supposed knock-on; however, no evidence was found, and the try was awarded.
But the experienced midfielders also had a few blunders, like for one of the All Blacks’ tries where scrumhalf Cam Roigard ran over untouched. There were also a couple of missed tackles that the Bok team will not be too happy about.
However, their defensive effort in the second half was brilliant.
Winger Leroy Carter and captain Ardie Savea scored with 15 minutes to go, and it made the contest a tighter one, but the Boks had done enough to secure the eventual victory and pull level with their visitors.
The Greatest Rivalry is delicately poised at 1–1 with the third Test set to take place at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday.
Points-scorers
Springboks 33 (24) – Tries: Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Siya Kolisi. Conversions: Cheslin Kolbe (3). Penalties: Kolbe (4).
All Blacks 26 (14) – Tries: Cam Roigard, Damian McKenzie, Leroy Carter, Ardie Savea. Conversions: Ruben Love (3).
