Heyneke Mayer has won his maiden test series as Springbok coach as his side took an unassailable 2-0 lead against England in Johannesburg today. After a dominant first half, the Boks held on well against a good English fightback to win 36-27.
On a day when flyhalf Morne Steyn again left his kicking boots at home (he missed five from eleven attempts at goal) it was left to man of the match JP Pietersen to seal the result, finishing off superbly with 5 minutes to go after winning 40 metres for his team with a great run. Up to that point, his side were under the cosh, with England pushing back strongly and threatening to overturn a huge Bok lead built up in the first half.
Meyer’s side started like a house on fire, with Willem Alberts and Bismarck du Plessis scoring tries in the first 10 minutes before Toby Flood pulled one back for England after a quick penalty caught the Boks off guard. Francois Hougaard scored the third, though and with a seemingly safe 25-10 lead going into half time, all money was on the Boks to record a record win.
That was before scrumhalf Ben Youngs came to the party, though, scoring his side’s second and third tries in a half that England dominated. The Boks were disrupted, first by an injury to Pat Lambie that saw Frans Steyn drop out of midfield and then by a series of replacements that robbed the pack of momentum as first Alberts, and then both du Plessis brothers were subbed off in short order. Sensing a shift in momentum, the English were good value for their fightback, but ultimately lacked the killer instinct needed to finish the Boks off.
Meyer will be scratching his head ahead of the third test, though, as he goes in search of a series whitewash. Injuries to Lambie and Juandre Kruger looked serious and there were some worrying performances from his go-to men in the second half – none more so than flyhalf Steyn.
That’s Monday’s problem, though. For now, South Africa celebrates!
South Africa – Tries: Willem Alberts, Bismarck du Plessis, Francois Hougaard, JP Pietersen. Conversions: Morne Steyn (2). Penalties: Steyn (3). Drop goal: Steyn.
England – Tries: Toby Flood, Ben Youngs (2). Conversions: Flood (3). Penalties: Flood (2).
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If Lambies injury isn’t serious I would love to see him play at 10 in the next test. With Morne not being reliable with his kicking he is just another average 1D flyhalf.
I thought for a while Steyns kicking was not bad…but when you need GOAL kicking, you need an ace….
We looked uninspiring without Alberts, Bismark, Habs, Pat in the 2nd half.
Beast was having a very hard time trying to scrum while he’s being pulled down
Morne had some good tactical kicks, but he’s not nearly the attacking flyhalf he was trying to imitate today. Also, for a guy in the team for his kicking, 5/10 is horrid!
@Die Kriek (Comment 3) :
6/9 actually..
Frans missed one.
@Die Kriek (Comment 3) : I read 6 from 11…..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 4) : so it could be 5/10…? lets wait for stats…none available when I looked..
Being a Lions i would like to see Elton come in the mix even if its off the bench ..
@Zibbie (Comment 7) :
but i think im all out of luck . used all off it 2 weeks back …
@Ice (Comment 6) : Not counting the DG, either way, at test level your main goal kicker should atleast have an 80% return, especialy if that is the reason he’s in the team
Jannie is proving himself indispensable. He was sorely missed when he left the field.
@Zibbie (Comment 7) :
Not just for that reason…we have the series wrapped up and the Sharks need Lambie fighting fit for the remaining weeks of super rugby…
Maybe start Frans on 15 and bring Elton onto the bench…
@Die Kriek (Comment 3) :
Our scrums are very dif when Keegan replaces Alberts…even Beast went backwards….
Jeandre will def be out the for last match…so I suspect Franco will start and Flip will come off the bench…
I will also play Potgieter in place of Keegan…bring Alberts off the bench (let him rest a lil)…
@Ice (Comment 6) :
Morne 5 from 9. Frans 0 from 1.
@Hmmm (Comment 13) :
Eish I hope not. Time to put the nail into the coffin, and that means not handing out cheap Bok jerseys to any of Jacques Potgieter, Franco vd Merwe or Elton Jantjies.
Not sure who to play blindside… Potgieter being fast tracked into the starting side would be criminal. Hasn’t done enough to warrant a place, yet here we have Heyneke telling us he wants the guys to “show him” that they deserve it.
Assuming Lambie, Alberts & Kruger are out, something like this for me:
15 Gio Aplon
14 JP Pietersen
13 Jean de Villiers (c)
12 Frans Steyn
11 Bryan Habana
10 Morne Steyn
9 Francois Hougaard
8 Pierre Spies
7 Marcell Coetzee
6 Heinrich Brussow (Not going to happen, but I wish it did)
5 Eben Etzebeth
4 Flip van der Merwe
3 Jannie du Plessis
2 Bismarck du Plessis
1 Beast Mtawarira
16 Adriaan Strauss
17 Werner Kruger
18 Ryan Kankowski
19 Keegan Daniel
20 Ruan Pienaar
21 Wynand Olivier
22 Bjorn Basson
Kankowski an excellent line-out jumper who can make a difference if they need him. No other locks have done enough to warrant a debut.
@Die Kriek (Comment 9) : oh, I completely agree – his goal kicking is shocking, as I don’t think they were particularly difficult kicks. I did think his tactical kicking in the 1st half was good though. But just my opinion!
@lostfish (Comment 1) : Couldn’t agree more
Well done Boks. Those 1st 20 minutes were fantastic!
Morné actually played well apart from his goalkicking I thought. I haven’t seen him play so flat and attacking the advantage line that much in a long time.
It’s a pity he can’t be playing well and kicking well at the same time.
@Pokkel (Comment 19) :
Have to agree – his distribution was good and even his tackling was better than normal.
Terrible goal kicking though.
Happy Fathersday to all the great Daddy’s on Sharksworld!
@Pokkel (Comment 19) : I agree…
@Ice (Comment 21) : Thanks Icy…
@hendrikp (Comment 15) : Frans Steyn is not available for this game…
Okay guys I want to throw something out there:
What do you think about the fact that our Sharks performed so good in the green jersey but failed to get past even the Lions ( sorry Zib ! ) when they play in the black and white?
Could Motivation be an issue? If it is I seriously question their profesionalism.
Maybe the difference is a coach who knows how to get the best out of them?
@Original Pierre (Comment 25) : I feel it’s the coaching.
@Original Pierre (Comment 25) :
To be honest with you i think the players problem is consistency . Jpp dindt play so well last week and now he is MOM . i think this is a problem right trough out SA rugby .
@Original Pierre (Comment 25) : Coaching!