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And now for Scotland
Boks will take confidence from
convincing victory over Samoa
South Africa
Samoa
(17) 46
(6)
6
CRAIG RAY
at Villa Park, Birmingham
THE Springboks’ World Cup
dream remains alive for another
week after Samoa were brushed
aside in the English Midlands,
but there are tougher challenges
to come.
A dominant forward effort provided the platform for wing JP
Pietersen to score a hat-trick for
the first time in his test career
and the team to score six tries in
all.
Bryan Habana closed in on
Jonah
Lomu’s
tournament
record of 15 tries with his 11th
World Cup try and his 60th in
tests, while hooker Schalk Brits
and flank Schalk Burger also
scored tries.
“It’s not enough to have one
good
performance,”
coach
Heyneke Meyer said. “I’m proud
of six tries and even more proud
that we didn’t concede a try. But
you have to do it week in and
week out.
“The Japan result will be a
mark against my name for the
rest of my life, but it will also
motivate me to be true to myself.
“It was great to see a green
pack going forward. I told the
players people don’t respect our
forwards anymore, and they responded.”
After last week’s 34-32 loss to
Japan the Boks would have taken
any win. South Africa were clinical and they duly delivered on
the promise of returning to a
destructive tactical approach.
And so it’s on to Newcastle and
a potentially pool-deciding clash
against Scotland at St James’
Park on Saturday. What a difference seven days makes.
South Africa also won the second half for the first time this
season, outscoring Samoa 29-0 in
that period.
Meyer’s eight changes all paid
off and after the disharmony of
last week gave way to a singular
purpose.
There was clarity between tactics and execution and finishing
was better, although several opportunities were squandered.
The Boks are still some way off
being world-beaters, but it was a
step in the right direction after
last week’s mess.
Rucks were cleaned quickly
and with eye-watering intensity
that gave the side momentum
and forced Samoa into long periods of defence.
Lock Eben Etzebeth was a
colossus, flank Francois Louw
industrious and No 8 Duane Vermeulen abrasive in his first outing for three months following
MNINAWA NTLOKO
FORMER 2010 local organising
committee chairman and SA
Football Association (Safa)
vice-president Irvin Khoza is
still trying to make sense of the
shock revelations at the
weekend that Swiss
prosecutors have opened
criminal proceedings against
embattled Fifa president Sepp
Blatter.
He is being probed over the
sale of World Cup TV rights to
neck surgery.
Centre Damian de Allende had
an inspired game, regularly committing two or more Samoan defenders. He showed the value of a
form and confidence but a knee
injury cut his afternoon short.
Hopefully it won’t end his tournament because the Boks will
need him in the coming weeks.
Lock Victor Matfield and centre Jean de Villiers, who were
both under pressure going into
the match, rose to the occasion
with solid displays and clearer
leadership. But there was concern last night that De Villiers
may have suffered a tournamentending injury, with a suspected
fracture of the jaw.
Matfield controlled the lineouts well, but with Vermeulen
back in the frame, who could do
that job, there is a case for Lood
de Jager to start next week.
Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez
showed all his skill with a superb
display of control from halfback
underlining how much the Boks
have missed him in the past 16
months.
❛
The Japan result
will be a mark
against my
name for the
rest of my life,
but it will also
motivate me
to be true to
myself
The little general’s ability to
dictate tempo and direction as
well as keep Samoa pinned back
with accurate tactical kicking
frustrated the islanders. Samoa
never really threatened the Bok
line in the first 40 minutes because they were forced to play so
much rugby from deep inside
their own territory.
There was talk of the match
being hugely physical and from
the start it lived up to its promise.
Pietersen chased Handré Pollard’s opening kick and put pressure on the receiver before Etzebeth arrived like a tank to win
a penalty after removing two
defenders with his bulk.
There was no thought of kicking for touch after last week’s
debacle against Japan. De Villiers instructed Pollard to shoot
for goal. The 21-year-old duly
slotted a simple penalty.
From the Samoan restart
Springbok tactics became obvious. Matfield claimed Mike Stanley’s kick and the Boks mauled
the ball 15m before winning a
penalty. It was a theme that
would repeat itself throughout
the match.
UNSTOPPABLE: Schalk Burger scores one of the Boks’ six tries against Samoa yesterday
The Boks lineout was immense, with Matfield responding
well to threats that this could be
his last test, although some
rolling mauls were stopped.
The Boks endured a tricky period early on when they fell 3-6
behind, thanks to two penalties
from Stanley. The second was a
result of a collapsed scrum on the
halfway line.
At that stage the Boks were a
little rattled, but Pietersen
calmed nerves when he intercepted a telegraphed Stanley
pass and raced 60 metres to the
tryline. Pollard scuffed the conversion but from then on the
Boks turned the screw and gradually took control of the game.
SCORERS
South Africa — Tries: JP Pietersen (3), Schalk
Burger, Schalk Brits, Bryan Habana
Conversions: Handré Pollard, Pat Lambie.
Penalties: Pollard (4).
Samoa — Penalties:Mike Stanley (2).
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● More Rugby World Cup
reports on Page 27.
See Results on Page 25 for
pool standings
Picture: MOELETSI MABE
Pollard settles the flyhalf debate
CRAIG RAY
in Birmingham
SPRINGBOK flyhalf Handré
Pollard embraced the
pressure that coach Heyneke
Meyer placed on him in the
week, with an assured
display that has settled the
flyhalf debate for the rest of
the tournament.
Pollard was back to his
dominating best, last seen at
Ellis Park against the All
Blacks in 2014, as the Boks
swept to a 46-6 win over
Samoa to put their campaign
back on track.
His confidence shone
through and justified Meyer’s
gamble of publicly pinning
the outcome on the quality
of Pollard’s performance.
In the week Meyer said:
“I've said to Handré this
game is going to be won or
lost by him. We all know he is
probably the best attacking
No 10 in the world.
“What he will bring to the
attack with (scrumhalf)
Fourie du Preez can be
unbelievable. He is an
unbelievable prospect and
will be one of the game's
true greats.
“I've said to him, 'Handré,
when you won the junior
World Cup as a 17-year-old,
you played tactically', and
that is what we need from
him. The attacking flair is
obviously going to be there,
but he has to bring to the
party the other parts of his
game as well.”
Pollard scored 14 points
from four penalties and a
conversion, but it was his
ability to take the ball to the
gainline against behemoth
defence that stood out.
Du Preez’s service and
ability to direct play took
obvious pressure off the 21year-old flyhalf , but Pollard
was happy to make big
decisions.
He hardly put a foot wrong
when it came to option
taking and even a few minor
mistakes, such as an easy
conversion miss and kicking
a restart long, didn’t fluster
him.
But perhaps the most
important aspect of his
game was his defence in the
face of some heavy artillery.
He stood his ground when
big Samoan loose forwards
charged down his channel.
Meyer knew he would.
The 9, 10, 12 axis worked
brilliantly for the Boks and
Pollard was able to slip inside
centre Damian de Allende
into space regularly.
They could have a long
and happy test career
together.
FUTURE GREAT: Springbok
Handré Pollard
Khoza at a loss over decision to charge Blatter
the Caribbean Football Union,
then run by his former ally Jack
Warner, in 2005 in a deal that
has been described as
“unfavourable for Fifa”.
The beleaguered Fifa boss is
also suspected of making a
“disloyal payment” in February
2011 to Uefa president Michel
Platini for work allegedly
carried out between 1999 and
2002.
Khoza said he has been
following developments from a
distance and has very little
information on what is really
going on in Switzerland.
“I just saw on TV that there is
a criminal investigation. What
it is about I can’t comment
because I don’t have the facts, I
don’t have the extent of the
facts,” he said. “So it would be
very foolhardy for me to
comment on a context which I
do not have the basis.”
Khoza attended Safa’s
extraordinary congress in Cape
Town yesterday but returned to
Johannesburg to watch his club
Orlando Pirates play their
crunch Caf Confederation Cup
semifinal against Egyptian
powerhouse Al Ahly at Orlando
Stadium last night. (Bucs won
the first leg 1-0: see match
report on Page 25.)
Safa’s battle with schools
sports affiliate, the SA Schools
Football Association (Sasfa) ,
was always going to provide
fireworks at this congress and
it didn’t disappoint.
The two bodies have been at
loggerheads since Safa resolved
in March in Nelspruit,
Mpumalanga, to withdraw
Sasfa’s licence to operate.
Stunned Sasfa national
secretary-general Steve Pila
looked on as the decision was
ratified inside the packed
conference room.
“There is no Sasfa in our
constitution,” reiterated Safa
president Danny Jordaan,
without mincing his words.
Pila said he was disappointed
by the decision and the way it
had been handled.
Under-fire
Jean
shows
his worth
SEVEN days is a long time in
rugby.
After the disaster against
Japan, the Springboks seemed
like a different team, thanks to
some new combinations that
worked well on the night against
Samoa.
The biggest question coach
Heyneke Meyer must still
answer is his No 1 centre combination.
Damian de Allende was
strong on attack, which contributed to our back three of
Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen and
Bryan Habana flourishing.
We know De Allende and
Jesse Kriel are a good combination, but Jean de Villiers
played well last night.
There were instances where I
thought the captain’s decisionmaking was crucial to certain
tries. His leadership also gives
him the upper hand in making
him the anchor of the midfield,
with either De Allende on his
inside or Kriel on his outside.
The halfback partnership of
Fourie du Preez and Handré
Pollard also stood out for me.
You had the experience of Du
Preez with the youthful flyhalf
who has the ability to get his
backline going and attack the
line.
The other player who complemented Pollard well was Le
Roux at fullback.
He is brilliant coming into the
backline at first or second receiver and creating space for the
players on his outside.
Whenever Pollard was out of
position, he slotted in at No 10.
The timing of the replacements was superb, the changes
were seamless and they made
an impact too.
Lood de Jager upped the tempo, Siya Kolisi replaced Schalk
Burger, who had a great game,
and he kept the same intensity.
The same with Ruan Pienaar.
But there are areas we need to
improve on, like Pollard’s decision-making on when to pass
and when to run.
I think Jannie du Plessis was
under pressure, and that’s why
it’s good to have the likes of
Frans Malherbe on the bench.
We need to ensure that we get
good quality ball, while applying
more pressure on the opposition
ball.
I’d also like to see us steal
more ball on the ground at the
breakdown and use it for tryscoring opportunities.
Nonetheless, the Boks will
take an enormous amount of
confidence out of this match
going forward, but Scotland will
be tougher.
They will offer a lot more than
Samoa in terms of set phases.
Scotland will get their lineout
balls and they’ll probably control their own scrums.
It’ll be more challenging, but I
believe if we can contest in the
scrums, lineouts and at the
breakdowns, our attacking capability will be enough to get
one over the Bravehearts.
GOLD
MEDAL WINNER
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