What a fabulous occasion this was, a thunderous way to kick off the new-look Nations Championship. Anyone stumbling across the sport for the first time would have been truly staggered by the commitment of both teams, not to mention the spine-tingling pre-match rendition of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. This was top-drawer sporting theatre in the spiritual home of South African rugby.
But when the smoke finally cleared on a cool, still Highveld evening there was a clear winner. Even though the world champion Springboks were missing a clutch of influential forwards they were still way too strong for gallant but outgunned opponents. From 17-0 down after just 12 minutes England showed huge resolve to battle their way back to 17-14 at half-time but, having been reduced to 13 men late on, the upstart visitors had been put firmly back in their place.
No outcome other than a resounding home victory had looked conceivable when the Boks stormed away into a 17-0 lead, so it was to England’s credit, not least the tireless Ben Earl, that the hosts could not absolutely hammer down the final nails until late on. That said, the quality of South Africa’s first-half blitzkrieg even with a weakened pack was impossible to ignore and their squad depth remains the envy of the oval-ball world.
From England’s perspective, there will be a mixture of emotions. Before the game an exuberant series of lookalike acts played the parts of assorted British icons ranging from James Bond and the Beatles to Elton John and the Spice Girls and, similarly, Steve Borthwick’s side cannot yet claim to be the real deal.
Even without two of their central pillars after the withdrawal of Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth with hamstring and concussion issues respectively, the Boks had too much firepower and could even afford to play the former Harlequins centre André Esterhuizen at No 8 in the final quarter. In Damian Willemse, Grant Williams, Cheslin Kolbe and Jesse Kriel, they also have the backs to worry anyone.
Argentina 38-47 Scotland
The Scotland captain, Sione Tuipulotu, scored a try and set up another as they hammered Argentina 47-38 in their Nations Championship opener in Cordoba.
The centre's contributions came in a dominant first half before a clinical 30 minutes in the second period for the visitors, who claimed their best-ever result in Argentina. Los Pumas managed to claim a bonus point thanks to a late Lucio Cinti effort in an otherwise lacklustre performance.
The Scotland head coach, Gregor Townsend, gave Tom Jordan the No 10 jersey with the influential Finn Russell injured. Joaquin Oviedo opened the scoring for the hosts from a rolling maul but by the 25-minute mark Scotland led and never let up from there.
Tuipulotu [pictured] and Pierre Schoeman went over with Fergus Burke, on as a temporary head injury replacement for Jordan, adding the conversion. Scotland were 19-10 up at the break as Tuipulotu turned provider for midfield partner Rory Hutchinson, after Pumas fly-half Tomas Albornoz had kicked a penalty.
Scotland maintained control by the hour mark with locks Fraser Brown and Scott Cummings going over after Rodrigo Isgro had scored just after the break. Argentina's hopes of a comeback were boosted with 13 minutes left as prop Tomas Rapetti sneaked over, with Scotland winger Jamie Dobie yellow-carded in the build-up to the try.
The visitors instead re-established their comfortable advantage two minutes later, as replacement hooker Gregor Hiddleston made the most of a rolling maul on his debut after Joaquin Moro was sin-binned. Kyle Rowe then made sure of victory despite late consolation efforts from Cinti and Augstin Moyano. PA Media
Japan 27-10 Italy
Japan beat Italy 27-10 to make an impressive start to their Nations Championship campaign in Tokyo, with their coach, Eddie Jones, absent through suspension.
Japan fell behind, but soon hit back against an Italy side, who came into the game off the back of a successful Six Nations when they beat England for the first time.
Jones was barred from the stadium as he served the last game of his four-match suspension from the Japan Rugby Football Union for abusing match officials on a tour of Australia.
The forwards coach, Neal Hatley, took his place and his side scored two tries in the first half and one after the break in a confident performance in front of more than 20,000 fans. AFP
Admittedly it was rough luck to lose George Furbank, who will stay on in South Africa after having his appendix removed on the morning of the game, but it is now five successive defeats for Borthwick’s England. George Martin was a forceful presence in the second row but the sin-binning of Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper means their team have been shown at least one yellow card in eight games in a row.
Even against 15 players, though, South Africa were irresistible at times and had three tries on the board inside the first 12 minutes through Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse. England were not so much picked off as swept aside by an unstoppable green tide, as quick and slick across the backline as they were physical up front.
If the sight of Ox Nché galloping free straight down the middle of the field in the lead-up to the nimble-footed Kolbe’s score felt ominous, South Africa’s aerial dominance and accuracy was arguably more so. The only straw to which the visitors could cling was that Kolbe could land only one of his first three conversion attempts but a 17-0 lead was still a major statement of intent.
The Boks’ blitz defence was also causing all kinds of mayhem, with the lightning-fast Williams also proving a real threat. For a while the closest England came to responding was when Jamie George, burrowing low from a metre out, had a try ruled out for offside but momentum then shifted dramatically in the last five minutes of the first half with Arendse in the sin-bin.
First the committed Ellis Genge crashed over and then, with the interval beckoning, the massive Martin thundered through a couple of defenders in the left corner. Fin Smith’s conversion, remarkably, sent England down the tunnel just three points behind. It was rich entertainment for a healthier-than-predicted crowd, swelled in number by last-minute cut-price tickets. South Africa’s unemployment rate has risen to almost 33%, and, if they can afford it at all, people are saving their money for the upcoming New Zealand tour.
South Africa: Willemse; Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Arendse (Moodie, 67); Libbok, Williams (Reinach, 67); Nché (Steenekamp, 8; Wessels, 65), Marx, T Du Toit (Porthern, 46), P-S Du Toit (capt), Nortje, De Villiers (Van Staden, 46), Hanekom (Dixon, 46), Wiese (Esterhuizen, 65-75).
Tries: Du Toit, Kolbe, Arendse, Williams, Kriel, Marx, Dixon. Cons: Kolbe 5. Yellow card: Arendse 29.
England: M Smith; Feyi-Waboso, Freeman, Atkinson, Murley (Slade, 54); F Smith, Van Poortvliet (Mitchell, 54); Genge (Obano, 57), George (capt; Cowan-Dickie, 56)), Heyes (Opoku-Fordjour, 65), Coles (Ewels, 74), Martin (Pollock, 57), Chessum, Curry (Pepper, 54), Earl.
Tries: Genge, Martin, Coles. Cons: F Smith 3. Yellow cards: Freeman 71, Pepper 73.
Referee: James Doleman (NZ). Att: 52,790.
The second-half? South Africa were more clinical and ruthless when it mattered, Williams and Kriel slicing over to crank up the pressure on England once more. If Henry Pollock, roundly booed by his South African ‘fan club’ after coming on as a replacement, imagined he might be able to spark another revival he reckoned without the Boks’ final quarter power surge.
Further close-range tries from Malcolm Marx and BJ Dixon, with Freeman and Pepper in the bin, took the Boks into the forties and it was a ragged looking white-shirted defensive line by the end. “We were playing against the best team in the world and it doesn’t get much tougher than that,” said Borthwick, conceding South Africa had ruled the aerial kicking game. “All the coaches and players will be working very hard this coming week.”
England will face Fiji in Liverpool next Saturday before heading off to South America to play Argentina in Santiago del Estero, with their captain George lamenting his side’s discipline but insisting “fine margins” had been involved. “We’re gutted with the result because we genuinely believed we could come here and win,” said George. “Talking to the South African players afterwards they know they’ve been in a Test match. We’re going to be a significantly better team off the back of this experience.”
