Ken Borland

The Springboks showed that a week is a long time in rugby as they lacked the sharpness and nous of the previous weekend and were well-beaten 35-23 by the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Here are four key talking points.

Keeping their wits about them in the first half

As one wag pointed out, on a wild night at Ellis Park, there had already been one fight in the main grandstand before any points were scored. But plenty happened in the opening 20 minutes. The Springboks had to weather an early storm with 14 men as Damian Willemse was yellow-carded after eighthman Ardie Savea broke into the 22 after a clever crosskick by Richie Mounga.

Jesse Kriel, who always has to fight so hard for a starting berth these days, lasted just 10 minutes before knocking himself senseless trying to tackle Caleb Clarke, stumbling around like a new-born antelope before quickly being taken off the field. Pieter-Steph du Toit broke clear but was stopped just short and Lukhanyo Am was held up over the line by tremendous All Blacks defence.

The Springboks kicked a penalty to set up a lineout deep inside the New Zealand 22, but Joseph Dweba’s throw was skew.

By the 33^rd minute, though, the All Blacks were 15-0 up and South Africa showed great composure to go into halftime only 10-15 behind thanks to Lukhanyo Am’s brilliant try and a 54m penalty by Handre Pollard.

Scrums and lineouts shaky and kicking game absent

The things that worked so well for the Springboks in Nelspruit last weekend, did not feature strongly in their game at Ellis Park, which is mostly why they lost.

It started with shaky set-piece execution, with New Zealand awarded a couple of free kicks at scrums and the Springbok lineout losing a couple of balls.

The kicking game which had put the All Blacks under so much pressure at Mbombela was strangely not utilised as much or as effectively on Saturday. It allowed the All Blacks to settle into a much better rhythm and for long periods they imposed their expansive game-plan on the Springboks.

It was little surprise when Malcolm Marx replaced Joseph Dweba at hooker on the half-hour and Steven Kitshoff came on for Ox Nche five minutes later.

The wisdom and wonder of Lukhanyo Am

South Africa’s outside centre was magnificent. He crossed the tryline three times himself, only one of his scores being allowed, and his break to put Makazole Mapimpi away in the second half was majestic. The try was controversially disallowed due to obstruction around the halfway line by Marx, but he seemed to be far away from where Am actually cut the line. It would have allowed the Springboks to level the scores at 18-18 on the hour mark, but instead New Zealand pulled 21-13 ahead.

Am, the defensive organiser of the backline, consistently made great decisions with ball-in-hand and his stepping, vision and acceleration were superb to behold.

Rieko Ioane shows he is class too

Ironically, given how well Am played, it was his opposite number Rieko Ioane who took the man of the match honours.

He was outstanding too, being the main cog in the All Blacks’ attacking efforts that saw them get the ball wide to great effect. They found plenty of space and reward out there, and Ioane sparked an excellent backline effort with his incisive running, especially from deep, and great hands.

He made Ian Foster’s team look like the All Blacks of old at times.

The Springboks have spoken all week with doe-eyed sincerity about how desperate and tough opposition Wales are going to be in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, while the tourists themselves have acknowledged how large, both literally and metaphorically, the challenge will be for them in Pretoria.

Wales centre Nick Tompkins admitted on Friday that if they don’t shut down the Springboks from early on, then Saturday night could develop into a very dark time for them indeed.

The 1.80m, 95kg Tompkins will earn his 21^st cap as he steps into the Loftus Versfeld ring at inside centre, but he does have considerable experience and bulk alongside him in George North, who will bring his 1.93m, 109kg frame into the Test arena for the 106^th time, including three appearances for the British and Irish Lions. The 30-year-old ruptured his ACL in April 2021 and last played for Wales at the end of the 2021 Six Nations.

“To have George back is brilliant and I’m massively excited to play alongside him,” Tompkins said on Friday. “Hopefully we can take our chance and do what we can do.

“Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am have consistently shown how good they are as a pair. They have done great things, so it’s going to be a massive test for us. They are also sharp in defence.

“So it’s going to be a real Test match for us and obviously we have to try and contain them. But George brings a real voice on the field along with his strong carries.

“We just need to try and get that consistency as a combination and really carry it on. It’s up to us as a team to shut the Springboks down, but especially us as centres,” Tompkins said.

The ability of Am to disrupt an opposition backline was especially concerning for the 27-year-old Tompkins, who hinted that every time the Sharks star flinches, alarm bells will ring in his head.

“We know Lukhanyo defends very aggressively and you need to look at his body language to see what he’s going to do. Whatever happens, you have to be decisive.

“Those seconds are so vital and you can’t afford to be passive. I’ve gone through the scenarios and what will happen, and it’s good to have a big guy like George outside me,” Tompkins said.

Focus on the job at hand is the key for Wales if they are to win their first Test on South African soil in 11 attempts.

“We just need to focus on our jobs and make sure every action we make is positive, it’s got to be aggressive and 100% committed,” Tompkins said. “We need to scrap for each other and give a 100% performance.

“The game will ebb and flow, like it did when we played them in Wales last year. There will be a lot of kicking, and with the bounce of the ball, things can happen.

“We don’t doubt it’s going to be physical, and in the first few minutes hopefully we’ve figured out where we are, and hopefully after 20 minutes we have stood up to it,” Tompkins said.

Potential Springbok new cap Salmaan Moerat has spent a reassuring week training alongside starting locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager and has just let their experience and wisdom rub off on him ahead of the first Test against Wales at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Moerat was named on the bench on Tuesday alongside Elrigh Louw as the only uncapped players in the Springbok squad to tackle Wales in their first Test of 2022.

Franco Mostert, who can also play lock, is starting in the No.7 jersey, while Louw can also provide cover in the middle-row. But Moerat was one of the most consistent players in the Stormers’ triumphant URC campaign, and he will surely get a chance to replace either Etzebeth, who will be playing his 98^th Test, or De Jager, making his 57^th appearance.

“It’s a really comforting factor to have Eben and Lood there and they have been helping me throughout the week,” Moerat said at the Springbok hotel in Fourways on Tuesday.

“I’ve been taking their advice and just trying to let them rub off on me. It’s a real plus to be playing with guys like them and now I must just execute my job.

“And in this environment you know exactly what your job is and you are expected to execute it, nothing more. I just have to do my role, nothing flashy.

“It’s a dream come true and very emotional for me and my family. Hopefully the guys who are starting do well and we all have the opportunity to get on off the bench,” Moerat said.

Given that Moerat has been on the Springboks’ radar since he was chosen for the SA Schools side in 2015 and then captained them the following year, and that he was part of the national squad for the end-of-year tour in 2021, coach Jacques Nienaber was not going to leave him on the window sill for long.

The towering 24-year-old, who weighs 116kg, is one of the brightest talents in South African rugby and likes to get stuck in. Nienaber clearly likes what he sees.

“Since 2015 we’ve operated together and Salmaan has been a leader for both Western Province and the Junior Springboks. He’s a good human being, we should start there,” Nienaber said.

“He’s a hard-worker and he’s coachable. Salmaan brings nice physicality, and we like that. Those are the standout features,” Nienaber said.

With the disciplinary hearing just a week away, Cricket South Africa’s legal team may have to mull a completely different strategy to try and get rid of Proteas head coach Mark Boucher following Paul Adams’ decision to not testify against his erstwhile team-mate and the likelihood that former national team assistant coach Enoch Nkwe is also not going to participate.

Adams issued a statement at the weekend in which he said he was not willing to be cross-examined over the allegations of racism he made at the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings, which have been a central pillar of CSA’s case against Boucher.

CSA have also charged Boucher over his treatment of Nkwe, who resigned from his post in August last year, using the reasons he gave to the board as ammunition. But informed sources say Nkwe is not willing to present evidence, believing the disciplinary hearing is a matter between CSA and the head coach.

Boucher is facing charges of gross misconduct, with CSA seeking his dismissal, and, in terms of labour law, he has the right to have any witnesses against him cross-examined. If neither Adams nor Nkwe are there, his lawyers are bound to insist their statements cannot be included in the hearing.

Even though his accusers’ case would now seem to have gone to pot in a dirty pickle-jar bong, Boucher’s legal team say nothing has changed from their point of view.

“Mark Boucher said up front that all he was interested in was clearing his name, which has been tarnished,” Mohammed Chavoos told The Citizen on Monday.

“He welcomed the opportunity to do that at the hearing and that still remains the case. Our position has never changed.

“It’s up to CSA to deal with their witnesses, they were the ones who embarked on this process. All we want to do is exonerate Mark.

“It’s why labour law is there, the principle of letting the other side be heard, that’s what’s important. Mark has welcomed the chance to clear his name of these allegations,” Chavoos said.

In his statement at the weekend, Adams said he never intended to single out Boucher in the SJN hearings, where he revealed the existence of the “Brown Shit” fines meeting song, but the former Proteas spinner did say the wicketkeeper/batsman “should come and say sorry, if that’s enough” and also targeted Boucher’s appointment as Titans coach in 2016.

“We want to put South African cricket first and take the Proteas back to number one. In my view, Mark Boucher is the best coach for South Africa, that’s where he belongs,” Chavoos added.

Boucher’s disciplinary hearing on charges of racism is scheduled for May 16-20, with senior counsel Terry Motau presiding.

The SJN report has already been partially discredited by former director of cricket Graeme Smith winning his arbitration hearing, with costs, against CSA.