Boks turn up World Cup heat
Brad Morgan
27 August 2007
The Springboks turned in an impressive showing in their final Rugby World Cup warm-up match to outplay Scotland 27-3 at Murrayfield on Saturday. In a performance light years removed from the ugly 18-3 win over Connacht on Tuesday, the Boks produced a cohesive, intense, and disciplined effort which nullified the attacking efforts of the Scots.
Speaking afterwards, SA coach Jake White said it had been a tough week for his squad, with two matches played within five days of one another, and 45 hours spent travelling.
However, he was very happy with the win and pointed out that Scotland had recently beaten Ireland, as well as scored victories in Edinburgh over France and England in recent seasons.
A big bonus
White said to win and not concede a try, after the Scots scored four against Ireland, was a big bonus.
Although only 24 points separated the two sides, the gap between the them was greater than that;
the lack of a Scottish threat allowed coach White to send all his reserves onto the field; in the case of many of them, it was probably a lot earlier than they would have expected.
Scotland's coach Frank Hadden was impressed by the Boks' performance.
He praised South Africa's kicking game, saying it was better than Scotland's, which helped put SA into better attacking positions.
Pleasing defence
White was particularly pleased with his team's defensive showing which kept the Scots from threatening the South African tryline, even though Scotland shaded SA in the possession stakes.
"History tells us that defences win World Cups," said White. "Defence is one thing that we pride ourselves on."
Hadden opted to put his biggest possible side on the field after the success a similar selection enjoyed in a 31-21 win over Ireland two weeks before the SA test. It worked against the Irish, but the Boks were stubbornly unyielding when
faced with the same challenge.
Lineouts
South Africa, with Victor Matfield to the fore, controlled the lineouts – usually a Scottish strength - winning their own ball with few problems. They also stole a number of Scottish balls or disrupted the opposition's throw-ins time after time, thus putting the Scots on the back foot.
The set scrums appeared to be mostly even, although, on occasion, South Africa had Scotland heading in reverse.
SA's loose trio of Juan Smith and Schalk Burger on the flanks and Danie Rossouw at eighthman was very impressive.
Rossouw, who for all the substance there was to his game against Connacht could have been a laser projection of the man himself, was a totally different player at Murrayfield. He tackled strongly, carried the ball up with power, and cleared out the rucks with ferocious, but controlled aggression.
Flankers
Smith, who was voted man of the match,
provided superb linking play and was also very effective with his stabbing runs into Scotland's defensive line. Burger, as usual, was everywhere on both attack and defence. Wherever the ball was, his mane of blond hair could be seen whipping about in contact.
Fourie du Preez produced a beautifully controlled and steady performance at scrumhalf. His powerful boot, excellent covering defensive work, and opportunist attacking forays played a key role in South Africa's victory.
The decision to play Francois Steyn at inside centre worked out. Overall, his performance could be classed as average as he made some errors that seem to be part and parcel of his game. At the same time, he also showed the other side of his game, with some marvelous play-making skills.
Percy Montgomery, as always, was a calming influence at fullback. It was his intelligent running line that played a crucial role in South Africa's third try, scored by Du Preez.
Strong Scottish
start
As the Scots traditionally do, they started strongly, sweeping onto attack and forcing South Africa to play the game in their half. They kept possession well, but, as it would prove to be the entire match, the South African defence was well-organised, tough and unmovable.
The Springboks tested Scotland fullback Rory Lamont early on with a number of kicks, but he proved very solid under the high ball and he was even more impressive on the counter-attack. In quick succession, he returned two kicks with high-up-and-unders of his own and chased down and caught the balls himself, to return possession to the home side.
After eight minutes, the Scots, enjoying the bulk of possession and territory, forced their way into the Boks' 22-metre area and won a penalty in front of the South African posts. Captain Chris Paterson took a shot at goal, slotting the kick, to put the hosts 3-0 ahead.
Scores level
Four minutes later,
Montgomery leveled the scores with a penalty. Scotland strayed offsides as South Africa moved onto the attack and after Butch James had found touch the referee, Christophe Berdos, ruled that no advantage had been gained and awarded the penalty.
The pace was frenetic with both sides probing for openings. Burger found one when took off on a 30 metre run. Montgomery then kicked ahead for South Africa's speedster on the left wing, Bryan Habana, but Scotland covered the danger.
After 20 minutes, the Springboks moved onto the attack inside the Scottish 22-metre area and forced a scrum only 10 metres from the tryline, and right in front of the uprights.
Habana dives over
Rossouw picked up at eighthman and moved towards the right as scrumhalf Du Preez drifted wide for the pass. The Scottish defence slid across to cover it, but Habana came speeding into the gap created between Rossouw and Du Preez to take the pass and fly through the opening
before diving over to score under the uprights.
Montgomery knocked over the conversion to put South Africa 10-3 in front.
Three minutes later, Steyn took a long distance shot at goal after Scotland were penalised for not rolling away at a ruck. He had the distance, but not the direction, and the score remained unchanged.
Fourie try
It didn't take long, however, for the Springboks to extend their lead. A swarming defence forced a turnover deep in Scottish territory, with hooker Gary Botha feeding Steyn, who was tackled just short of the tryline. He got a pass off to centre Jaque Fourie, who forced his way into the try-scoring area. The Scottish defenders tried desperately to hold him up, but Fourie twisted in the opposite direction to dot down.
Montgomery was again sound with his conversion attempt, lifting SA into a comfortable 17-3 lead.
Within two minutes the Boks had increased their lead even more.
Scottish defence on the hop
A long kick by Scotland was fielded by Montgomery. He moved the ball left and South Africa made good ground up the field, forcing a number of rucks, which they cleared swiftly, keeping the Scottish defence on the hop.
From a ruck, the ball was moved to the right where Matfield rode a heavy tackle attempt before flipping the ball over the defender. Tighthead prop CJ van der Linde, showing a good turn of pace, took the pass at speed and raced down the right-hand touchline. As the cover defence closed him down, he passed inside where his fellow front-rower Os du Randt gathered the ball.
He went to ground, but the ball was again moved quickly to the left. Gary Botha drove well in the centre of the field, carrying the ball up to about 10 metres from the Scotland tryline.
From the ruck, Du Preez made as if he was going to pass right, but then he cut back inside, ducking under an attempted tackle. Montgomery, whose
vision in running telling lines is exemplary, was on his shoulder to take the pass, but Scottish scrumhalf Mike Blair cut him down with a superb tackle.
Scintillating try
Montgomery, however, presented the ball nicely on the ground for Du Preez, who picked it up cleanly and, body low to the ground, drove over the tryline for a scintillating try.
With the fullback converting the five-pointer, South Africa had surged into a 24-3 lead, with 21 points, including three tries, having been scored in a matter of seven minutes.
Despite only 27 minutes having been played, the outcome of the match had been effectively decided because, as was proved as the contest unfolded, the Springboks were going to give up few penalties and no tries on the day.
Steyn break
Four minutes before the break, Steyn sliced through the Scottish defence, but his support didn't arrive fast enough and the home side was able to blunt
the attack.
Only three points were scored after halftime, leaving South Africa 27-3 winners.
After 46 minutes, Habana made a good break down the blindside, sprinting clear of the defence, but the last man at the back, Lamont, managed to catch the wingers' boots and bring him down.
Increased the lead
Three minutes later, the Boks increased their lead to 24 points after Montgomery kicked his second penalty of the game. It was awarded after he made a break before finding Rossouw up in support. Both Habana and Fourie had snipes at the Scottish defensive line, but were stopped. The Scots, though, conceded the penalty.
With only 15 minutes of the half played, SA coach White was able to make the first of his changes, bringing on Andre Pretorius for Steyn, which meant James moving to centre and Pretorius taking over at flyhalf. Rossouw, who had turned in a mighty performance, gave way to Wickus van Heerden.
After another six
minutes, Bismarck du Plessis replaced Gary Botha and Albert van den Bergh came on for Matfield.
Out of ideas
Scotland were winning plenty of possession, but their attacks appeared stilted, with the players seeming to have run out of ideas about how to pierce South Africa's stubborn defence.
With 10 minutes to go, it was again time for substitutions with Ashwin Willemse taking over for JP Pietersen on the right wing and Ruan Pienaar replacing Du Preez at number-nine.
South Africa almost forced their way over Scotland's tryline as the match wound down after Burger broke off the back of a maul, but was held up just short of the whitewash. A further push for the score was ruled held up by the referee.
Ultimately, time in the disjointed second half ran out. It was, at least, punctuated by potent South African defence, with the Boks putting in numerous momentum-stopping tackles and proving uncompromising and forceful at the
breakdowns.
'Valuable practice'
Springbok flanker Juan Smith described the match as "valuable practice" ahead of the World Cup outing against England.
Jake White, meanwhile, said it was exactly the kind of game that the Springboks wanted in their final match preparation for rugby's showpiece tournament.
Smit denies injury claims
Meanwhile, Springbok captain John Smit, who missed the match because of an injury, has rubbished suggestions that his injury is more serious than the Bok management has let on, and could see him missing out on South Africa's early World Cup matches.
Describing reports in the media as "conspiracy theories", Smit said he would play a full role in the Springboks' World Cup campaign.
Denying claims that he is suffering from a spleen injury, he said he has a hamstring injury and, if he had chosen to push matters, he could have turned out against Scotland. He added that he
has played with worse injuries in the past.
The news, straight from Smit's mouth, is encouraging for the Boks; He is an inspirational leader who gets the best out of his team.
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