Ruthless Boks comfortably dismantle Barbarians in testing conditions to lay down a marker

Different season, some new faces, but the same old ruthlessness. That’s the brief summary of the Springboks’ clinical dismantling of a makeshift Barbarians team at a sodden DHL Stadium.

Despite the difficult conditions, which saw regular downpours throughout the 80 minutes, after a week of heavy rain in Cape Town, the Springboks looked sharp and cohesive.

They scored eight tries on the night, two going the way of debutant flank Vincent Tshituka, who had a massive game.

Coach Rassie Erasmus promised that the Boks would treat the fixture like a Test match and he was true to his word.

The Boks were uncompromising on defence, employed an accurate kicking game, and were flamboyant when they needed to be.

Obviously, they were up against a team that only had a couple of training sessions, but it was still stacked full of players with vast international experience and coached by Robbie Deans, who is one of the best in the game.

As an outing in which the Boks wanted to find some answers and give a few new faces a taste of international rugby, even though it wasn’t classified as a Test, it was a success.

The first scrum led to a penalty for the Boks, which would have lifted the confidence of debutant tighthead Asenathi Ntlabakanye.

The returning lock Lood de Jager, who made his first appearance for the Boks in almost two years, got through 70 minutes and was impressive throughout.

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Naturally, he was a lineout threat, pinching a few Barbarians throws, but his work in the loose was also sharp. He was rewarded with a try on the hour mark, which started with a lovely break by Cheslin Kolbe.

Speaking of Kolbe, what more is there to say about him? In treacherous conditions he was sublime, winning several aerial battles and producing surging breaks where he stepped hapless defenders in tight spaces. He is simply a wonder to watch.

Collective strength

While there were strong performances across the park, this was a victory for the collective once again.

The pack dominated for the most part, although they were penalised a few times at the breakdown, while the Boks’ relentless defensive pressure let the Barbarians know that they weren't treating the match as a jolly.

The Barbarians conceded 15 penalties in the match – 10 in the second half – which was an indication of their lack of possession and territory and the pressure they were under.

Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel remain a rock-solid midfield unit, while the Boks have an abundance of options at looseforward.

No 8 Jean-Luc du Preez was strong in the carry while Kwagga Smith made a strong impact when he was introduced later.

Erasmus even made the cheeky move of putting Andre Esterhuizen on as flank for the final quarter, instead of removing one of his centres. As an experiment it also had some success.

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The Boks’ smothering pressure led to two of their first-half tries as Barbarians flyhalf Josh Jacomb was given a rude introduction to a higher level as the home team cleverly used kicks in behind early on. Jacomb fumbled the first test in his in-goal area, which led to the opening try for hooker Malcolm Marx.

Minutes later Jacomb grassed a long-range clearance from the Boks, immediately transferring pressure back on to the Barbarians. It was a tough enough assignment without basic errors compounding matters.

Kolbe went in for the Boks’ second try a few phases after Jacomb’s mistake, as immaculate fullback Aphelele Fassi stabbed through a perfect grubber for the great wing to chase.

Creaking under pressure

The Barbarians stayed in the contest, on the scoreboard at least, for much of the second half, but they were creaking under the pressure.

Tshituka scored the first of his tries in the 23rd minute, when he barged over from close range following a Bok bombardment on the line.

After the break though, the Boks turned up the heat, having softened up their opponents during the opening stanza.

Replacement prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels was next on the scoresheet to quell any miniscule thoughts of a Barbarians comeback.

The best try of the night came next with the Boks moving the ball through the hands like it was a dry highveld day before De Allende hit a perfect rolling grubber for Kurt-Lee Arendse to run on to.

Baabaas fullback Melvyn Jaminet scored a consolation try with fewer than 15 minutes to go but the Boks didn’t take that as a sign to go through the motions.

They continued to work through their varied gameplan of tactical kicking and ball-in-hand work eventually leading to two more tries – for Tshituka and the deserving De Allende.

As far as preparation for the season goes, this was a good way to start. It felt for the most part like an intense, full-contact, training session. There was even some niggle when De Jager found himself in an altercation with three Barbarians.

With the crowd satisfied, with the result beyond doubt and the performance strong, they even gave departing Barbarians skipper Peter O’Mahony a standing ovation. It was the Irish great’s last game and it was fitting that the occasion was respectfully marked.

While O’Mahony will go for a well-deserved rest, the Boks are just getting started with a two-Test series against Italy to come.

And things couldn’t have gone better. DM

Scorers:

South Africa – Tries: Malcolm Marx, Cheslin Kolbe, Vincent Tshituka (2), Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Lood de Jager, Damian De Allende. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Manie Libbok (5).

Barbarians: Try: Melvyn Jaminet. Conversion: Jaminet.