Publications
Partners
Cape Town - The Springboks ran out 47-13 winners after a convincing second-half
display against the World XV at a chilly Newlands on Saturday evening.
As it happened: Boks v World XV
Just
over 30 000 fans were in attendance which will rank as one of the
smallest crowds to watch the Springboks in Cape Town for many years.
The Boks scored 29 unanswered points in the second half, and they initiated their final two tries with counter-attacks from their own half of the field.
The heavy Cape winter rains during the week made for soggy conditions which were evident as players frequently slipped, but the players still tried to run the ball frequently.
The Boks' two second-half tries were scored after forward drives and each time hooker Bismarck du Plessis added the finishing touch.
Soon after the kick-off, the World XV sounded a warning of their attacking intentions with a series of spirited moves into the Boks' 22 metre area, and their early efforts paid dividends with a fifth minute try by their SA-born lock Alistair Hargreaves. World XV fullback James O'Connor goaled the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Once the Boks managed to contain the World XV's surge they bounced back to score two tries in a space of 15 minutes.
The first try by left wing Bryan Habana came after an excellent backline move which was helped along by a through-the-legs pass by outside centre JP Pietersen.
Lock Bakkies Botha was next in when he was on hand to round off fine inter-passing between backs and forwards.
Bok pivot, Morne Steyn, was on target with one conversion and two penalties during this period of play.
The World XV relied on the boot of O'Connor to keep their challenge alive, but his six-point contribution with two penalties was not enough to deny the Boks an 18-13 half-time lead.
Steyn struck early in the second half with a penalty and then the Boks enjoyed an early advantage when the World XV flank, Georgian wildman Manuka Gorgodza was yellow-carded in the 47th minute.
A minute later, the Boks crashed over for their third try with hooker Bismarck du Plessis dotting down this time. Steyn's conversion attempt went wide (26-13).
By this time there were signs that the World XV were wilting under the Boks pressure and despite being reduced to 14 players they were employing spoiling tactics which incurred the wrath of Irish referee George Clancy.
Boks eighthman, and Newlands homeboy Duane Vermeulen looked to have done enough for a fourth Bok try but television match official Deon van Blommestein ruled otherwise in the 54th minute.
But four minutes later, the fourth try did emerge when the Boks' power in the tight-loose took its toll and Du Plessis steamrolled his way over for his second touch-down, and Steyn added the conversion (33-13).
By this time the match was over as a contest, and after the hour mark the Boks sent on several replacements, who brought new energy to the game. The fresh legs did not make an immediate impact but the World XV defence were hard-pressed to deny the South Africans further scores.
In the final 12 minutes of the game, the World XV resorted to a Barbarian-styled game and managed to pin the Boks down in their own half during a frenetic eight minute passage of play but failed to reap rewards.
World XV substitute Jimmy Cowan was yellow-carded six
minutes from the end and that gave the Boks a final chance to crack the
opposition defence.
Teams:
Springboks
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Fourie du Preez, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
World XV
15 James O'Connor, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Matt Giteau (captain), 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Sona Taumalolo
Substitutes:
16 Andrew Hore, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Benson Stanley
