Six-try Springboks destroy All Blacks by record margin in Wellington

The future of Bok rugby arrived with an explosion that shook the rugby world in Wellington on Saturday as South Africa delivered a performance for the ages.

Damian Willemse, Ethan Hooker, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok, RG Snyman, Wilco Louw, Jasper Wiese, Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, André Esterhuizen and Grant Williams delivered monstrous performances to reveal the future spine of the team.

This doesn’t mean it’s the end of the old guard because Cheslin Kolbe, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kwagga Smith were also immense. While absent players such as Eben Etzebeth, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Kurt-Lee Arendse still have much to give.

But Bok coach Rassie Erasmus found answers to nagging long-term questions.

The 33-point losing margin made it the All Blacks’ heaviest-ever defeat and naturally the Boks’ biggest win over the old enemy, surpassing the 35-7 at Twickenham two years ago.

Some of those “new” players are old heads in the Bok set-up, but only Willemse and Snyman have been regulars in the last two World Cup cycles.

Willemse was magnificent, starting at inside centre and moving to fullback when Fassi injured his ankle.

His close-contact skills were in full view when he was at centre, which caused problems for the New Zealand defence.

Willemse’s vision and abilities in game management came to the fore from fullback as he marshalled the team around the park, whether passing, kicking or running. He underlined what a vital player he is.

The Boks scored an unanswered and scarcely believable 36 points in the second half, after trailing 10-7 at the break. They scored six tries in all and left several more out there.

The 33-point losing margin made it the All Blacks’ heaviest-ever defeat and naturally the Boks’ biggest win over the old enemy, surpassing the 35-7 at Twickenham two years ago.

Second-highest total ever

The 43 points the Boks put on the board were the second-highest total they have ever scored in a Test against New Zealand, falling just short of the 46 they scored at Ellis Park in 2000 (46-40).

This was also their fifth win in six outings against the All Blacks and the eighth out of 15, with six defeats and one draw in the Erasmus era.

The immediate upshot is that the Boks are in with a real chance of retaining the Rugby Championship title. They face an excellent Argentina in the final two rounds, with two log points covering the four teams in the tournament.

The Freedom Cup was also retained for another year, keeping the trophy cabinet stocked.

Brave performance

On a near-perfect night for rugby the Boks gave a performance of immense bravery in the sense that they came with a plan to attack and be positive, they stuck to it despite an error-strewn first half.

The Boks also needed to rejig the side early on after losing lock Lood de Jager to injury, as well as Fassi and flyhalf Feinberg-Mngomezulu, all before half-time.

Despite those setbacks, they retained the positive mindset with which they went into the match: to attack and play with width at the right moment.

Don’t be fooled

Don’t let six tries fool you into believing this was a “run the ball from everywhere” performance either.

The Boks won the air with Hooker, Moodie and Kolbe brilliant under the high ball. They gained vast swathes of territory through accurate kicks and clinical competition in the air.

Initially, it felt like a repeat of Eden Park, where the Boks created chances and blew them.

In the opening 20 minutes, the Boks spent nearly two minutes inside the All Blacks’ 22-metre area and had nothing to show for it.

The All Blacks had one chance, after a lengthy period of coast-to-coast rugby that created space for debutant wing Leroy Carter to score the first points of the night.

Read more: Knowledge over hope — why the Boks could succeed in New Zealand

In the 25th minute, the All Blacks fashioned a huge overlap on the Boks’ 22-metre line. Kolbe made a superb play, feinting to tackle centre Billy Proctor before stepping away from the contact as the All Black centre passed to an open Simon Parker. Kolbe intercepted and raced 80m for the score.

What could have been a 14-point lead for the home team dissolved into an even game, and from there the Boks turned the screw.

The Boks went to the break with furrowed brows but still high confidence. Snyman had scored but the try was chalked off after the TMO spotted a Cobus Reinach knock-on in the build-up.

Kolbe was also over the line, only to be thwarted by a stupendous Jordie Barrett tackle. Those would normally be ominous signs that it wasn’t their day.

Turn-over possession count

By halftime the Boks had turned over possession 16 times – 16! Against the All Blacks, away from home, that usually means defeat.

At Eden Park the Boks made 13 entries into the All Blacks 22-metre area and only twice scored points.

By halftime in Wellington, they had seven entries with no points, their lone try coming from Kolbe’s 80-metre intercept. There were eight Bok handling errors in the first half alone.

The first lineout of the game, 5m from the All Blacks’ line, was lost and there were some soft turnovers.

Some of those were players overrunning a pass, which is a symptom of the so-called “Tony-ball”, a new brand of attacking rugby they are trying to bed down.

Read more: New-look Boks need to write their own Wellington chapter by being more clinical

They were positive mistakes, if there is such a thing. In terms of the bigger picture and changing their style, mistakes will happen. The Boks though, never lost confidence in the plan as their defensive scrambling bailed them out.

Post-halftime buzz

After halftime they were buzzing. A dominant scrum on the halfway line and a surging run by Kolisi, followed by a surgical pass from Esterhuizen to Kolbe, secured the Boks’ second try and the lead for the first time in the match.

They never looked back, although it took nearly another 20 minutes for the next score which started when lock Ruan Nortjé poached an All Black lineout deep inside the home team’s territory.

The ball went through a few phases before Willemse ran onto a pass and drove through Quinn Tupaea and Carter for a superb score.

Libbok, on for Feinberg-Mngomezulu, landed his third conversion on his way to a 13-point haul.

By that stage the All Blacks were on the rack and creaking. Libbok’s beautiful cross-field kick to Du Toit in the trams, was perfect. The big flank offloaded to the supporting Smith for try number four and a bonus point lead.

The boot led to another try when Moodie scooped another high bomb from the air, Smith quickly made a few more metres before Snyman ran a lovely line to score. It was Cap Classique stuff from the Boks.

Esterhuizen rounded off the scoring with another beautifully constructed try starting with a sublime Willemse surge, to seal a vintage performance that reminded the world that the news of the Boks’ demise was premature. DM

Scorers:

New Zealand – Try: Leroy Carter. Conversion: Damian McKenzie. Penalty: McKenzie.

South Africa – Tries: Cheslin Kolbe (2), Damian Willemse, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, André Esterhuizen. Conversions: Manie Libbok (5). Penalty: Libbok.