Brave Wallabies shut out Boks
9 Oct 2011
JON CARDINELLI watched the Wallabies hang on for what could be the unlikeliest yet most significant victory at this 2011 World Cup.
Did the better team win? It’s a question the Springboks will be asking themselves from now and until the next global tournament in 2015.
South Africa controlled the game for large periods but were repeatedly undone by the Wallabies’ heroic defence. David Pocock was talked about as a danger man in the build up, and after a breakdown performance highlighted by some momentum stalling and often try-saving turnovers, he was undoubtedly the game’s MVP.
Much will be said about referee Bryce Lawrence’s performance with the whistle. Lawrence adopted an ‘anything goes’ policy at the rucks, but it was the Wallabies that adapted to the official’s style early on. The Wallabies dominated the collisions in the first half, and with Heinrich Brussow crying off with a rib injury, the Boks battled to combat Pocock’s inhibiting presence at the breakdown.
The Boks enjoyed as much as 84% territory and 55% possession in the first half, and yet only garnered a three point return. Their poor ball security at ruck time led to turnovers, as did their tendency to spill the ball in contact.
They upped their game in both respects in the second stanza, and it was all the Aussie could do to hang on. The subdue and conquer style so prominent and effective in 2009 once again held sway, and the Wallabies forwards struggled to resist the Boks when they cleaned out would-be ball poachers. They also battled to deal with the high ball, which was well chased by South Africa’s belligerent backs.
Quade Cooper had a shocker. After a dropping a high ball first up, he was often caught in possession and failed to provide the expected impact with the boot. A number of Wallabies grew increasingly susceptible as the game wore on, but the Boks just lacked that killer blow.
There’s no denying that the Boks had their chances. Jean de Villiers made a scything break in the second stanza and put Pat Lambie away for a try, only to be called back for a forward pass. Fourie du Preez thought he was in for a five-pointer when some good Bok defence dislodged the ball centimetres from the Aussie line. Unfortunately, the ball was again knocked free as Du Preez reached for the line.
Every Bok surge into Wallabies territory was succeeded by a desperate display of defence. The turnover followed, and the Aussies’ inability to clear their lines with any great distance ensured the game remained in the Wallabies’ half. The Boks’ lineout dominance also contributed to their territorial ascendancy, but in the end they will lament their inconsistent showing at the breakdown, as well as their poor finishing when it was on out wide.
After a frustrating period on attack, Morne Steyn finally put the Boks ahead 9-8 with a well-taken drop-goal. With 20 minutes to play, the momentum was with the Boks and if they continued to play in Wallabies territory and control possession, they would advance to the semi-finals.
But the introduction of Berrick Barnes had the desired effect for the Wallabies, and after a series of tactical kicking misfires by his team-mates, he delivered a rolling kick deep into the Boks’ 22. The Wallabies remained in the Boks’ half and eventually won a penalty, which James O’Connor held his nerve to convert.
It was a massive moment for the youngster, who had missed a relatively easy attempt in the first half. If he had missed, the chances were the Boks would regain possession, resume control and win the game. If he slotted it, it would set up a dramatic eight minutes where the Wallabies would need to continue to repel the rampant Bok forwards.
Through the Herculean efforts of Bismarck du Plessis and Schalk Burger, the Boks threw everything at the Aussies in those final minutes. They even managed to turn the Wallabies over, but unfortunately knocked it on just when they were moving back into the area of the field where Steyn would be able to kick for goal.
From there, the Wallabies closed out the game smartly. It will remain one of the great escapes for the Wallabies, but the Boks can hardly argue that they deserved to win this game. They didn’t take their opportunities, and on the day, the scoreboard will show that they were punished for that failure to convert dominance into points.
1,133 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 8 9 10 11 12 [13] 14 15 16 17 18 … 23 » Show All
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
@ET.(ET.)-582: I think so. Took a lot out of them. NZ will get to final, but without Carter Wales can win the whole damn thing.
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
@597,
Kiwi’s could not praise Habana more.
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
@frenchiebokfan(frenchiebokfan)-585:
Actually it an international site, otherwise we couldnt get on.
Anyway hard luck dude, 2015 could be hard as well to win. Ozzies are going to get better and better.
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-592:
Naa mate – we let too many good balls go the Ozzie’s way – allowing Pocock to bully us. We needed workers there to bully the ball for us.
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
So my question is:
What did the captaincy of John Smit help us in this knockout match?
This is what you get when you don’t play the best available players in their positions, whether it is due to affirmative action or favouritism or whatever else.
I hope that we can now close this chapter and get a real coach.
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-512:
It is because we have a crab at flyhalf. No creativity, depending on drop goals and penalties. This reminds of the final in London where all of a sudden England were sucked into playing a running rugby. We do not have a that can change or win a game like Dan Carter.
Did we deserve to win against Wales??
Now thed finals next week, can’t wait.
9 Oct 2011, 09:01 am
Argentina & Wales final
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
Too many fat boys hanging around for too long.
Plod, piss off for good now, you will not be missed.
Matfield and Danie, be gone too.
Spies farkoff you show pony.
FdP your a has-been now.
JPP and Habana should never ever play for the Boks again.
Passengers!
Divvy you clown, take GoldDick with you and farkoff!
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
Chockers Chockers Chockers Chockers
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
Cheers Slumtown. know your pain mate.
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
Gutted for the Bok fans in my country of residence. Loads of opportunity but poor decision making. Like the **** up that was 07 AB’s quarter final team.
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-600:
Too many no8 and under in the backline.
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
Aussies are going to be very tough to beat in the future.
How did they lose to Ireland, I will never know.
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
@David(David)-571:
” in spite of Bryce ”
Damn! That is your 10th or more FANTASY
How about 3 for 3 in these quarters and the ABs carrying me in the last?
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-591:
You are a pric*k F off back to your hole
9 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-600: Agreed, we really should have had a bigger buffer.
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
My commiserations bokke supporters!
I feel your pain…it is do or die rugby and there had to be only one winner.
Wallabies played poorly and won….I saw that the bokke drew the wallabies into their game.
Rugby won in ugly or pretty fashion is a win in RWC.
One match I keenly watched was pocock and brussow….sorry for brussow he was outplayed.
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
Can i go cry
Ref was terrible – Aussies lying on the ball, hands in the ruck all game
Not rolling away.
No penalties, no points
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-591:
do you know what choking means in a sporting context and do you know when the term applies ?
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-591: what is a chocker? Go back to school and learn how to read & write you doos.
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
aus wales final,got to be.kiwi ref did a job on us today.
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
Well done wallabies. Epic win for you guys. I am heartbroken, but life goes on.
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-605: welcome back Stegmann.
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
@605, Nothing, he was off at 50 minutes. The game needed to be closed out in the last 15 when we were ahead, and he was on the sidelines.
Ask Matfield the question
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-609: How stupid are you?
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-609:
dom p*es
9 Oct 2011, 09:03 am
Fourie du Preez lost us the game, not the referee. He was a joke, but there’s a lot of joke referees out there and a good performance will still get a win no matter how poor the official.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
So there is only one unbeaten team left in the comp.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-610:
this rwc in the knockout stages are going to be tough.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
If Oz want to win next week they need Beale/Barnes at 10 and Cooper in a suit and a tie.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
Pocock stole the Aussies out of a loss… Burger conceded the try that counted early in first half that line out win we should have kicked that ball out of trouble up field instead Burger went for a set under our posts and wallabies get a soft try…
Other than that was all Boks even from first kick off we had them rattled .. Cooper did f’all all game except knock the ball out FdP’s hands over the try line…
Aplon should have come on at some stage to create some spark
This game and this entire campaign was lost a long time ago when sentimental decisions were taken in selection process instead of pragmatic ones..
rugby is a young mans game.. gees can get you so far.. but in the end not far enough…
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-609: What the hell is a chocker you illiterate twat? Someone that puts the chock behind a wheel at the airport?
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-609:
Yes they are now taking over from the Proteas as far as KOs go.
First KO, first defeat!
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-568: Thank you, poppa. The sun will come up tomorrow and there will be other World Cups.
This one is yours though.
Enjoy.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
Breakdown matters. w/o Brussouw it was always going to be hard.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
The boks lost the world cup 4 years ago when snor and his two performing clowns were appointed as the management team.The only good outcome of this result is hopefully the 3 clowns will get the boot and NEVER return to any form of bok management whatsoever.On playing terms we lost because we cannot score tries it is as simple as that,the boks had plenty of oppertunities and could not score,hopefully we can go forward from there.
9 Oct 2011, 09:04 am
@Slumtown(Slumtown)-599:
Slum, dont listen to him.
We got hammered by SA on this site in 2007. Some have forgotten about it and moved on but some like Black power have been waiting in the shadows for this day.
Really sorry about the loss today. I know how it feels and i know SA like NZ take this **** seriously.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-609:
You remind me of my 3 year old niece.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@Black Power(Black Power)-591: What’s a chocker, einstein? Calamari?
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
Well done bokke! Needed to do more with lawrence on the pitch. Danie will lose sleep over that brain-**** and rightly so.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@Die_Valk(Die_Valk)-575:
I could not agree more. FDP should not have been there. The more I think of this circus, the more I am becoming the moer in. PDV never selected on form, he did not have the courage to make the pure rugby decisions.
J Smit became bigger than the game in his own eyes and was allowed to impose himself on all of us. That was like a warm iron poker in the eye – week after painful week.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@617 Wallabie,
Aweome temperament from your juniors. This is your tournament to lose now I think.
How did you lose to Ireland.
Well played.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
When are we going to learn that the ref has to be regarded as a playing condition, like the rain or altitude.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
old mark,who was once the bok spin doctor, a poor one.
Predicted correctly. Always good to enjoy a ref of the highest standard. The IRB need to be congratulated on there choice of officials. South Africa should have one besides the ref. Something needs to be done about ref standards. Every four years every test it is the same story. Ref according to the rules not your own set.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
Burger, Flouw were huge – a pity Spies is a fairy. We needed a real hard man at eight, like Alberts for 80 minutes.
Pocock is a great – better than McCaw for sure. He played the ref and won.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
Strange that we lose a game where we have so much possession and and tried to keep the ball in hand.
The Aus had to make twice the amount of tackles we did and yet they end up as the winners. Could it be that our backs just did believe in themselves enough to rip the Aus apart with all that ball provided to them by the forwards or did the problem start with our 9/10 combination and their inability to get the back line going?
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@wallabie.(wallabie.)-617: congratulations Wallabie.
You are right – Aus played poorly yet still won. The sign of a good team.
And recent history has shown they are a better team than the Boks.
Man, the loss of Brussow was huge.
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-603:
Look I have every right to express my opinion about the ref here
Even your Justin Marshall seemed to agree with me
2 or 3 calls that well wrong would have added at least 6 points
To come on here and call people names is really big of you
Grow up or shut up
9 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@wallabie.(wallabie.)-617: Congratulations bud. It must feel good, and you can look forward to more. Enjoy yourself.
9 Oct 2011, 09:06 am
@XV(XV)-553: Do those comments make you feel any better? You should read some of the comments from the better amongst you. Boks played their bloody hearts out and you guys should feel nothing but pride for how they played. To say it wasn’t a penalty is just plain dumb. Taking a leg out in the air is not only a penalty but dangerous. In any event, the game is over and complaining now will do nothing but make you look like a twat. To the rest of you – stand tall boys. Without Pocock we were smashed. Two great teams but Wallaby defense was just ridiculous.
Pages: « 1 … 8 9 10 11 12 [13] 14 15 16 17 18 … 23 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.