The Springboks started their preparations for The Rugby Championship and the Rugby World Cup with a 46 points to 10 victory over a World 15 side in Cape Town on Saturday.
South Africa – tries: Willie le Roux (3), Damian de Allende (2), Cobus Reinach, Eben Etzebeth Conversions: Handre Pollard (2), Pat Lambie (2) Penalty: Pollard (1)
World XV – try: Craig Burden Conversion: Mike Harris Penalty: Harris
The Springboks can be fairly content with their first hit-out of the season. Although there are some areas to work on such as their handling and scrums, the Springboks showed some attacking intent and there were some welcome returns from injury for Pat Lambie and Cobus Reinach. The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for the miraculous return from long-term injury off the bench for Springbok captain Jean de Villiers. There were a few instances where he showed that he has lost none of his vision, but he still does not trust his pace. Hopefully Heyneke Meyer continues to use him off the bench for most of the Rugby Championship to help him rebuild his confidence.
Willie le Roux was at his mercurial best and was more than a handful for the defense, although his own defense will need some sharpening up over the next couple of weeks. Inside centre Damian de Allende once again proved his attacking abilities and had a lot to offer on attack. I particularly like the calculated risk that Meyer took in selecting Blue Bulls fullback Jessie Kriel at outside centre. Although he has played for the Junior Boks in the position, he has not played there in two years. He showed some real intent on attack and has the pace to handle the outside channel in defense. Meyer will be spoiled for choice when all his available options are fit for action and it would be interesting to see how he would use De Villiers, De Allende, Kriel, Fourie, Serfontein and JP Pietersen if he is not to be used as a wing.
The front row will be a bit of a concern for the Springboks, with both props starting to come under pressure from the bench. Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira is not in the greatest of form and Trevor Nyakane has put in the hard work to trim down and has been very consistent in a struggling Bulls team in 2015. He has also added a further string to his bow by packing down at tighthead when his team needed him to. Meyer has been faithful to Jannie du Plessis in the tighthead position, but he continues to be the safe option as opposed to an inspiring one. Du Plessis’ discipline is also a concern as he once again leaked penalties when he was on the field. He conceded a scrum penalty and two at the breakdown, both of them avoidable. We might also hear more of the careless should charge into a ruck that sent Bakkies Both off for a concussion test. Meyer does have two very good options available to him as cover in Vincent Koch and Frans Malherbe. Koch made an immediate impact when he replaced Du Plessis and was strong in the scrums, made some telling tackles and also enjoyed a couple of rumbles upfield with ball in hand.
The Springbok loose forward options are a traditional strength and remain so. Marcel Coetzee was a standout performer, with Francois Louw also proving to be a menace at the breakdown. Warren Whitely enjoyed his first start in a Springbok jersey and while he is a very different type of player to Duane Vermeulen, he can be satisfied with his overall contribution.
The Springboks certainly have a strong base to build on for The Rugby Championship and the next step on their journey to the Rugby World Cup will be against Australia in Brisbane next Saturday.
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