Victorious Boks leave it late
Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:56
Defensive wall: Springbok wing Bryan Habana stopped in his tracks
South African left it very late but they eventually scored their eighth consecutive win over Wales when they beat the Welsh 37-21 in the second Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The four tries to two win was the Springboks' 12th consecutive Test victory and followed on last week's emphatic 43-17 win over the Welsh Dragons.
Euphoria dissipated and turned ordinary. The bright Bloemfontein dawn turned out to be just another day in Pretoria. It all started off with fluent abandon of a team believing all the pundits who said that they would run away with the match.
They did not run away with the match and after an hour were behind.
Wales came to South Africa in search of respect. They did not earn it in Bloemfontein but they certainly did in Pretoria. For one thing they tackled. How they tackled - every man of them. They stopped Springbok after Springbok. The home side had 63 percent of possession in the first half and acres of extra territory but the try-count was two-all.
The Springboks were prodigal. Even when they wasted golden chances to score, they seemed not to mind. Victory was their destiny, it seemed.
Wales deserved success, for they did more than just stop. They scored and the tries they scored were the beautiful ones. There were six tries in the match, three exciting, two brilliant. The brilliant tries were scored by Wales.
If one were to consider a mini contest in the series the competition between two of the world's best runners with the ball, Shane Williams and Bryan Habana, then Williams won well with yet another moment of Highveld brilliance.
This time the Springboks scrummed much better and the Welsh line-out was a wobbly thing (They lost six throws) but they protected the tackle ball so much better and were able to go through phases and above all they tackled.
Only a side with pride and spirit tackles the way the Welsh did on a lovely June afternoon in Pretoria.
South Africa ran from the start. Wales kicked off and the Springboks ran, but then John Smit ran, lost his way and ran backwards. Bakkies Botha was penalised trying to rescue him and Stephen Jones goaled. 3-0 after five minutes.
The Springboks had a great chance to score when Victor Matfield ran down the left and Butch James passed inside to Pierre Spies who lost the ball right at the line. They then destroyed Wales's chance to clear from the ensuing scrum and had a five-metre scrum of their own. Wales were penalised at the scrum and the Springboks kicked out, mauled and scored.
The try had a delicious moment. The maul was struggling past prone bodies when Luke Watson flipped a little pass from under his armpit to Jean de Villiers who plunged over. De Villiers scored two tries on the day and they cost the big centre just two steps - not even strides, just steps!
James converted. 7-3 after 11 minutes.
From the kick-off the Springboks ran out of their own 22 with the crowd growling BEAST as if they were in Mtawarira's Durban home, but Wales were tackling as if they were at Rorke's Drift.
From a scrum the Springboks brought Habana in, Matfield gave the sweetest pass of the afternoon and Juan Smith ran hard. Tackled the tall flank popped the ball to Ricky Januarie who scored. 14-3 after 18 minutes.
Sit back, South Africa, a big victory is on the way. But the expected party did not materialise.
Wales threw into a line-out. Jonathan Thomas rose up at No.2 and popped the ball back into the tramlines. Hooker Richard Hibbard had run into the line-out and John Smit had gone with him. Thomas dropped the ball into the tram-lines where Gareth Cooper darted round and took the ball. He got away from Smit's outstretched hand and raced downfield sweeping inside Tonderai Chavhanga to score. Stephen Jones converted. 14-10 after 19 minutes, but surely a flash in the pan.
There was another flash to come. Januarie got caught at the back of a tackle/ruck and the ball ricocheted off Bakkies Botha's boot to Shane Williams who picked it up and raced down the field for forty metres or more. Four Springboks converged on him and they did not lay a hand on him as he swerved outside and inside and scored. 15-14 to Wales after 32 minutes.
The Springboks attacked and Jamie Roberts was penalised and warned at a tackle near their line. James kicked the penalty goal to give the Springboks a 17-15 lead. Jones could have got the lead back for Wales at the break but missed a distant penalty attempt.
Wales ran. The Springboks ran. They tapped a penalty and ran down the left before going right where Conrad Jantjes prepared to dummy and run instead of giving Habana the chance to thrill Loftus Versfeld with a long run. But Roberts was again penalised at a tackle and James made the score 20-15 after 48 minutes.
Wales came close to scoring when Stephen Jones chipped and Tom Shanklin chased but Chavhanga saved. But South Africa were penalised twice in two minutes and each time Stephen Jones scored - first when Mtawarira was penalised at a tackle and then when BJ Botha was penalised at a scrum. 21-20 to Wales after 60 minutes.
South Africa pulled itself together for those last 20 minutes. James kicked a penalty goal after 62 minutes and then they set up several waves of attack. They started when Jantjes counterattacked. They tapped an easy penalty and battered. Wales were penalised again and again the Springboks tapped. This time Percy Montgomery darted at the line, tackled under the crossbar. De Villiers picked up and plunged the short few centimetres to score. 30-21.
Habana had a chance to score but lost the ball. But from a scrum the Springboks attacked. Habana darted forward and then Bismarck du Plessis bulldozed forward and scored a TMO try after the siren. James converted.
Man of the Match: Shane Williams had electric moments, once escaping under Bakkies Botha's armpit. Gareth Cooper was full of life and scored that cheeky try. Ryan Jones led from the front with remarkable courage. For South Africa Butch James again had a fine game, the steady hand on the tiller and Rickie Januarie was filled with combative energy. Juan Smith was as noble as ever but our Man of the Match is Victor Matfield who can run, catch, pass and tackle and still is at the heart of a much improved Springbok performance at scrums and line-outs.
Moment of the Match: Shane Williams's try was all that one would expect of Shane Williams's try and so by a fraction we give the award to Gareth Cooper's cheeky try.
Villain of the Match: There were no villains in this honourable encounter. If there were an opposite award for gentlemanly behaviour it would be for Ryan Jones, helping Beast Mtawarira up off the ground with oldfashioned courtesy.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: De Villiers 2, Januarie, Du Plessis
Cons: James 4
Pens: James 3
For Wales:
Tries: Cooper, Williams
Cons: S Jones
Pens: S Jones 3
The teams:
South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Gürthro Steenkamp, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.
Wales: 15 James Hook, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Jamie Roberts,
11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Jonathan Thomas, 6 Ryan Jones (captain), 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Ian Evans, 19 Dafydd Jones, 20 Warren Fury, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom James.
Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Dave Pearson (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
