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De Villiers' Boks off to winning start

Brad Morgan

9 June 2008

Peter de Villiers got off to a winning start as Springbok coach when John Smit and company handed Wales a 43-17 drubbing in Bloemfontein on Saturday. It was a convincing start to the international season for the world champions.

De Villiers had included only five players who were in the run on team that claimed the World Cup in Paris, but those who cracked starting nods at Vodacom Park in place of the World Cup winners performed efficiently, while a number of the France 2007 stars boosted the Boks as second half substitutes.

Seeing a man such as Victor Matfield come off the bench and team with Bakkies Botha at lock in the second stanza must have brought a feeling of warmth and security to Springbok supporters, while it must have been a dreaded sight for Welsh supporters to see the six-foot-nine Andries Bekker replaced by the world's leading lineout jumper.

Leaders

The team's experienced stars led from the front, especially captain John Smit. Juan Smith was outstanding on the flank and in the lineouts, while Bakkies Botha dominated in the lineouts and the rucks. Butch James controlled the game from flyhalf, while Jean de Villiers, who missed most of the World Cup through injury, brought direction and effective decision making to the inside centre position.

In the early going, tighthead prop Brian Mujati, playing in his first test, had a few problems in the front row, but things settled down after about 20 minutes and the South African forward pack gradually gained the ascendancy. They won their lineouts with ease while putting the Welsh under pressure on defensive lineouts, and the turnover battle went the Boks' way as they dominated the collisions.

Concerns that the Springboks might struggle to adapt back to the old laws from the experimental law variations used in the Super 14 proved unfounded as the Welsh were penalised far more than the home side in the loose.

Perfect conditions

The weather conditions for the game were practically perfect – a nice sunny day with not a whisper of wind in the air. It meant that if both teams could find space to run with the ball, the ground conditions would not undermine the running ability of the players.

In the opening 20 minutes a lot of feeling out of the opposition took place, with Wales proving effective at denying the Springbok backs space to move in. At the same time, it became clear the SA side were keen on moving the ball and carrying it up by hand instead of relying heavily on kicking for position.

After six minutes the home side took the lead when Butch James slotted a penalty, the first of nine kicks he would take at goal on the day, and the first of nine that he would successfully steer between the uprights.

Six-point lead

Three minutes later, James knocked over a second penalty to open up a six-point gap for the home side.

Not long after that, it was the Boks who were penalised for killing the ball at a ruck. Stephen Jones wasted little time in reducing the deficit to only three points at 6-3 in South Africa's favour.

Good work by Luke Watson, who made a tackle and then won a penalty when the tackled player held onto the ball on the ground, resulted in another three points for the Boks from the steady boot of James.

Shortly afterwards, the Welsh infringed at a ruck and flyhalf James made them pay again.

First try

Finally, after half-an-hour, the first try of the game went the way of South Africa. After Bekker had stolen a Welsh lineout throw, Adi Jacobs made a nice break in midfield and then, with intelligent angled running, opened up a gap on his inside before offloading to Conrad Jantjes to score under the posts.

James added the extras to establish a healthy advantage for the Springboks at 19-3.

Three minutes from the break, Wales hit back with a try by Jamie Roberts. He was put clear by Sonny Parker, who made his only decent break of the game when he burst out of the attempted tackles of Tonderai Chavanga and Jantjes.

Jones succeeded with the conversion from the left-hand touchline to make the score a respectable 19-10.

Halftime

A minute from halftime Jantjes and Mujati combined to win a penalty in a ruck on the Wales' 22-metre line and James once more added three points to the South African total to make the score 22-10 at the break.

Apart from the try by Roberts, the Welsh team had struggled to break through some hard-hitting South African defence, and they had been their own worst enemies in the loose, conceding five kickable penalties, all of which James goaled.

South Africa, meanwhile, looked as if they were becoming more and more comfortable. A very solid lineout ensured a steady supply of quality ball for the backline and, with James and inside centre Jean de Villiers controlling the game effectively, Peter de Villiers' charges look more settled than the opposition.

Five minutes into the second half, a clever offload by De Villiers put Jacobs in the clear. He raced through until he was met by fullback Jamie Roberts. He drew the number 15 out wide and passed back inside for Gurthro Steenkamp, who was steaming up on the inside. Unfortunately for the big prop, he clipped Roberts' feet and went down.

Second try

A minute later, John Smit set up South Africa's second try. He turned over possession at a maul, burst away from a clutter of bodies and drew a defender before passing to De Villiers.

Seeing a couple of forwards in front of him, the centre hit the gas and tried to burst between them. Hooker Matthew Rees just managed to trip him up, but De Villiers wasn't held and, with support from Bryan Habana and Jacobs, quickly regained his feet and crashed over the line for a five-pointer.

James extended the lead to 19 points with another solid kick, making the score 29-10.

After a kick by James had forced a Welsh lineout only five metres from their tryline, Bakkies Botha nearly added a third try, knocking on over the line after Wales had won untidy ball.

Watson excellent

It didn't take long for the Boks to create a third try, however. Luke Watson, who excelled in a ball winning role as the number-six flank in the absence of Schalk Burger, set the try-scoring move in motion.

Picking up a ball from a ruck, he charged left, fending off an attempted tackle with one arm, while freeing his other arm for a pass. Bolla Conradie, who had an outstanding game at scrumhalf, took the pass and ran clear of the scrambling defence.

Fullback Morgan Stoddart, on for Jamie Roberts, attempted to stop Conradie, but a superb sidestep left him clutching at air. The Welsh cover defence finally caught the scrumhalf only five metres from the tryline. However, in the tackle, he fed the ball to Pierre Spies to run onto and there was no stopping the big eighthman from that distance and with momentum on his side.

Another James' conversion put South Africa well out of reach of the Welsh at 36-10 ahead.

Welsh reply

The Springboks then appeared to take their foot off the pedal after scoring their third try and the match went through a scoreless period for 15 minutes before Wales scored.

From a set scrum, the Dragons managed to create space on their left flank, freeing up their record try scorer Shane Williams for a sprint down the line. He saw Bryan Habana flying across to cut him off but, with impeccable timing and a shake of the hips, he cut inside Habana, leaving him for dead as he cruised over to score under the uprights.

James Hook, on as a substitute, added two points for the conversion to make the score 36-17.

It didn't take long for South Africa to hit back. After Habana made some good ground down the left hand side, Ruan Pienaar fed the ball to Percy Montgomery, who ran an excellent line between two defenders at pace. He wriggled free of their attempted tackles then sprinted a wide arc around fullback Stoddart to score his 25th test try in the left hand corner.

Butch James completed the scoring at 43-17 with his ninth successful kick in a perfect place kicking performance.

Smit pleased

It was a good performance from the Springboks in their first match under Peter de Villiers. Captain John Smit said he was especially pleased with the way his side had played given that they had less than two weeks to prepare.

And it was true, the Boks were less disjointed than one would expect them to be in their first outing of the year. Clearly the confidence and ability of those players involved in winning the World Cup played a big role in the smooth South African showing.

Coach De Villiers admitted that the set scrums didn't go as well as he would have liked and said more attention would be paid to them before the second test in Pretoria; he said the Springboks had concentrated more on the lineouts in the build-up to the first test. If they can bring the standard of their set scrums up to that of their lineouts, Wales could be in serious trouble at Loftus Versfeld.

The Welsh, though, would have been disappointed in the level of their skills. They often spilled the ball when tackled and lost quite a number of turnovers. They believe they can and will play better in Pretoria. That is likely, but the Springboks, too, will likely up their standard.

It is something to look forward to.