Ken Borland

A torrid year for the world champions is not quite over yet despite their face-saving 31-29 victory over the All Blacks on the Gold Coast on Saturday, as the Springboks still have an end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom.

Before Saturday’s impressive win, the Springboks, after nearly 18 months of not playing a Test, had endured a torrid, albeit triumphant series against the British and Irish Lions, beaten Argentina twice, but then seemed to be running out of steam as they lost both Tests against Australia and then succumbed to a narrow defeat against New Zealand, to lose three in a row for the first time since 2016.

South Africa will face Wales, Scotland and England on that tour but they will now do so with some confidence following an epic victory over the No.1 ranked team in the world and their greatest rivals.

“To have some momentum is massive, you need it if you’re going to build a team and rotate your squad,” Nienaber said.

“The margins are so small when numbers one to three play each other, but the players never doubted, they never lost focus and never veered off what we wanted to do. We’re not back at our 2019 level yet and we are still learning.

“But it’s been unbelievable for us to play against our Sanzaar partners again after we missed out in 2020. They bring a different style and mentality, and it’s nice to compete against a different skill-set and appetite for risk.

“We had a tough time when we lost some momentum, but in the end we have some back,” Nienaber said.

Man of the match Duane Vermeulen, whose trademark turnover in the final minute kept the Springboks’ hopes alive, said the victory had been a massive boost and gave an insight into just how hard bubble life in Australia has been for the last six weeks.

“It’s been a difficult time, away from our home and families, not seeing your kids or spending time with them, which is vital for your mental state. For the first two weeks we were in a hard bubble, making our own beds and cleaning our rooms.

“We’ve just had to keep on adjusting and we got it all together at the end. There are good vibes and energy now, which we can take into the end-of-year tour.

“We only have two weeks off and then it’s another five or six weeks on tour. But we are in a good mental state at the moment,” Vermeulen said.

Vermeulen and the rest of the pack were superb in exerting their alpha-male dominance on the All Blacks, but in the end it was some vital touches from substitute backs Elton Jantjies and Francois Steyn that made the difference.

Nienaber was full of praise for his bench.

“Last week I wanted to bring Elton on but didn’t because of Marco van Staden’s injury, and I probably should have bitten the bullet and done it. He was excellent when he came on and Frans was brilliant, he has unbelievable ability with those 50/22 kicks which we utilised.

“We have quality players on the bench, they are there to fulfil a role, once the starters have done their specific jobs and emptied their tanks,” Nienaber said.

A drop goal by Elton Jantjies, a crucial turnover by Duane Vermeulen, a powerful rolling maul and a penalty after the final hooter by the replacement flyhalf secured the Springboks an epic 31-29 win over the All Blacks on the Gold Coast on Saturday, in an heroic victory that was a triumph for South Africa’s determination and belief.

In a gripping finale following a brilliant Springbok comeback that saw them overturn a nine-point deficit, the lead changed hands three times in the last four minutes. Jantjies, who came on because wing Sbu Nkosi suffered a concussion and slotted in at flyhalf, with Handre Pollard moving to centre and Lukhanyo Am shifting out, made a telling impact and Springbok supporters can only wonder what could have been if he had played more.

Three New Zealand tries in the first 33 minutes saw them leading 20-11, but two penalties by Pollard either side of halftime cut the deficit to 17-20. And it was another belated replacement who sparked the surge that took South Africa into the lead – Francois Steyn came out for the second half at fullback in place of a struggling Willie le Roux and produced a brilliant 50/22 kick that gave the Springboks a lineout deep in All Blacks territory.

A midfield ruck was then set up and Faf de Klerk’s skip pass to Jantjies saw the wizard’s slick hands give wing Makazole Mapimpi the space to go over in the corner.

Jantjies then kicked a 58^th-minute penalty to stretch their lead to 25-20, before fullback Jordie Barrett slotted two penalties to put New Zealand back in front.

From the restart though, Steven Kitshoff bossed the collision and Jantjies snatched the lead back with a fine 48-metre drop goal.

But then the All Blacks used a short restart to gain a penalty by Barrett.

South Africa then conceded a scrum due to a short restart but, as New Zealand tried to carry for the last minute, Vermeulen pulled off a crucial turnover, allowing the Springboks to set the lineout inside the 22. The rolling maul made significant ground and a half-break by Pollard then saw the All Blacks go offsides at the next phase, Jantjies slotting the matchwinning kick.

The match started in tremendous fashion for the Springboks as a moment of sheer magic by Am, with a behind-the-back reverse-flip to Nkosi, set up Damian de Allende for the opening try.

They continued to create opportunities with a more balanced style of rugby, balancing their strong kicking game with some great use of ball-in-hand. But the All Blacks were more clinical and at 20-11 up after their third try, they looked to be heading to victory.

But then came the superb fightback and the reactions of veterans like Steyn, Jantjies, captain Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi showed just how much this win meant after a torrid Rugby Championship.

Scorers

New Zealand – Tries: Sevu Reece, Ardie Savea, Brad Weber. Conversion: Jordie Barrett. Penalties: Barrett (4).

South Africa – Tries: Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi. Penalties: Handre Pollard (4), Elton Jantjies (2). Drop goal: Jantjies.

GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape – Daniel Greene secured his first Sunshine Tour title in his 12^th season on tour at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Humewood event on Saturday and it took all of his composure and skill to secure the playoff win over Tristen Strydom as it was blowing a gale on the links course.

Greene completed a solid par on the first playoff hole, on the par-four 18^th, while Strydom could only get a bogey after he hit his second shot well right of the green. It was a bitter blow for the 24-year-old who was also chasing his first victory on tour, Strydom missing a shortish putt for par on the last hole of regulation play.

Making the turn on two-under for his round, Greene then did exceptionally well to come home in level-par as the players faced the worst of the wind. The 36-year-old was helped by a crucial eagle on the par-five 11^th.

When Strydom bogeyed the 17^th it meant they were all-square going up the last and Strydom wasted a golden opportunity to win as he was lying just off the green and decided to chip his third instead of putting.

Steve Surry, Christiaan Basson and Malcolm Mitchell, who blazed through the last nine holes in four-under-par to finish with a level-par 72, all finished just one stroke off the lead on four-under-par, proving that the leaders cannot take anything for granted when conditions were as tough as they were at Humewood on Saturday.

But Greene, who has a strong record in Vodacom events on the coast, showed he could adapt and remain unflustered despite how testing the situation was.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has enjoyed an excellent success rate as skipper of the national side over the last two years, but back-to-back losses have cut into his winning record a bit, if not his positivity.
Kolisi belatedly took over the captaincy in 2018 in one of Rassie Erasmus’s first masterstrokes and his record that year was understandably mixed given the depths to which Springbok rugby had sunk. In that first year South Africa won seven and lost six of their Tests under Kolisi.
But 2019 was nothing short of a triumph as the Springboks only lost one of their seven Tests with the then-Stormers flank at the helm. Five wins from eight Tests this year sees Kolisi’s overall winning ratio slip to 64%, pretty much on level terms with Jean de Villiers.

The last time South Africa lost successive Tests was back in 2018 – against Argentina in Mendoza and Australia in Brisbane, and then versus New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld and England at Twickenham. But with the losses against the Wallabies coming after two years of success and expectation, one might have thought these are the toughest times of Kolisi’s captaincy.

But Kolisi’s attitude is always team first and the 30-year-old is focused on how the team can get better.

“This has not been the most difficult time in my captaincy, although obviously it is very disappointing. But we have faced tougher challenges. I just try to take it week-by week, obviously you don’t want to lose two in a row. So our focus is on what we have done wrong and how we can improve.

“We’ve messed things up ourselves and the things we are normally good at we got wrong. So the focus is on our plan, what we are good at. We want to play our own style at our own pace. The last two weeks have been tough, but the biggest thing is that we get all our stuff right this weekend,” Kolisi said.

Kolisi was at the front of the Springboks again when they ran out to face the All Blacks haka with his usual intense stare. But within those muscular, powerful bodies, as tough and tenacious as a Staffy, beat hearts like the normal human being and the team know how important their success is to millions back at home.

“We can’t lie about it, we know how important rugby is, we know what people at home are expecting and want to see. That’s what we think about in our rooms, and it’s important to us too. We use that energy to focus on our game, it motivates us although we always give everything we can on the field,” Kolisi said.