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 … 13 14 15 16 17 [18] 19 20 21 22 23 » Show All
9 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-848:
Geez, you seriously need a counselling. What a sore loser of note.
Anyway, cheers.
9 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@Nils(Nils)-846:
I am a proud Bok fan today.
We obliterated the Aussies and the Kiwis fear us to the extent that they had to manipulate proceedings to ensure that we are not there in the Final.
In truth we are the True World Champions!
9 Oct 2011, 09:44 am
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-843: Yip, think we have more than enough talent in SA. Hopefully we get coaching team to match
9 Oct 2011, 09:44 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-850:
Yeah he was really good. 8, 9 and 10, 11 and 14 were mediocre today.
9 Oct 2011, 09:44 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-852: Whatever, mate makes you feel better.
Cheers.
9 Oct 2011, 09:45 am
fck off cardenelli…you can’t adapt to an “anything goes policy” at the ruck.
that’s a contradiction in terms.
80% possession…and no frikken penalties?
are you retarded?
9 Oct 2011, 09:45 am
End of Habana, JDV, Steyn, James, FDP, Pienaar, Matfield, Botha, Rossouw, Smit.
Time for fresh faces and ideas.
9 Oct 2011, 09:45 am
@Nils(Nils)-851:
All supporters are not like that mate. Some only come online to make SAFFA’s sore losers.
9 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-856: I dont like Cardinelli but that statement was correct – it was the same for both teams.
Don’t be a loser.
9 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
AB’s look a bit panicky… Rushing things.
9 Oct 2011, 09:47 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-850: i agree , but i spoke mostly of fransies big boot that could of helped with 2 missed penalties
9 Oct 2011, 09:47 am
@Nils(Nils)-807: not everyone is complaining dude … we had our chance and could not close out the deal …
yes referee was ****, but you cannot con’t on the ref to win you the game … just like the ABs in 2007
9 Oct 2011, 09:47 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-856: what was the penalty count at the end?
Usually Lawrence is very quick to thweeeeeeeet his whistle, but today I was surprised by how much he just let the breakdown develop into a free for all.
As a result, the Wallabie ate us alive at the breakdown. We really had no answer there but this was hardly surprising – the signs were there against Wales, Fiji and Samoa (who turned us over quite frequently).
9 Oct 2011, 09:47 am
@jeest(jeest)-859:
Well said. Four years ago many were calling the Kiwis bad losers to the forward pass try by France. Now we doing exactly the same. Skaam julle.
9 Oct 2011, 09:47 am
I have been writing about the Kiwi conspiracy for prolly 2 years now
It was there for all to see; the Kiwi ref was pathetic
The discerning eye will say: but why did Bryce of all people have to handle this game?
We all know why.
Corrupt to the core.
Boks won that game today, Bryce knows it but he is too thick to reflect on it
9 Oct 2011, 09:48 am
@danuk(danuk)-862: Good comment.
9 Oct 2011, 09:49 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-865: Give it a rest Sheriff. You are sounding like a blunt tool.
9 Oct 2011, 09:49 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-819:
I bet you blame others for your failures as well.
9 Oct 2011, 09:49 am
Guys, as an Italian Bok fan I am sorry about the outcome of this match, but I reckon that during PdV’s tenure you won less than you could have achieved. Those four years could have been more productive in terms of trophies….But it is a ne start and it can be exciting. Probably Coetzee or Mallet should be the next coach, in my humble opinion…
Cheers!
9 Oct 2011, 09:49 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-865: lol, conspiracy theory?
9 Oct 2011, 09:50 am
Does anyone really believe we deserve to win the World Cup? We have been so useless for over 18 months. What makes us deserving. Deserving are those teams who win consistently for their country, not only in World Cups…
We were poor and if you want to win the world cup you need to beat the best. We lost today, so good luck to the teams that are still in the competition.
9 Oct 2011, 09:50 am
@ 848 – sheriff, what are you on? Do you really think the all blacks can control the whole world cup? Stop being such a poor sport.
9 Oct 2011, 09:51 am
@danuk(danuk)-870:
Yeah I saw it coming already as early as 2009.
9 Oct 2011, 09:51 am
@Scaramanga(Scaramanga)-869: Mallett won’t be coach again. Coetzee potentially, the bigger question is the rest his team …
9 Oct 2011, 09:51 am
good try ABs
9 Oct 2011, 09:52 am
or maybe not, lol
9 Oct 2011, 09:52 am
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-843: yes with all the deficiencies on defence I still wonder what could have been with Sarel at 9 – which he totally deserved.
9 Oct 2011, 09:52 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-867:
Provide proof to the contrary
9 Oct 2011, 09:53 am
South African rugby is so corrupt. Don’t be surprised to see Hellium still running our rugby into the ground…
9 Oct 2011, 09:53 am
Boks played very well.. couple poor decisions like Burger going for a loose set in front of his posts.. Burger is not the safest ground ball player easy to rip it off him on the ground and that decided the game almost because we were all over Wallabies all game long … Spies going down blind side another very poor option with a whole backline waiting on other side.. perhaps that was FdP’s call sending Spies down blind side and into touch.
Steenkamp had a massive game.. so did Matfield .. Louw and Burger had big games … Bismark and Alberts came on too late.. … But all the Boks played well even Spies tried hard .. JdV had a big game and was always making inroads with his runs.. the offload to Lambie maybe 10 inches forward .. another ref like Walsh may have let that go..
9 Oct 2011, 09:53 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-852: give it a rest man -we dominated the game but we didnt take our chances – only ourselves to blame – no need to be a d00s.
9 Oct 2011, 09:53 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-873: indeed, thay had a hand in appointing our coach and our playing tactics …
mmm, this goes deeper than I thought
9 Oct 2011, 09:54 am
@Inevitable(Inevitable)-868:
Your failure here is to see the objective facts.
9 Oct 2011, 09:54 am
here is how i rate the bok players
15 Lambie 8
14 Jpp 6
13 JF 7
12 JDV 7.5
11 Habana 6
10 morne 7
09 FDup 5
08 Spies 5
07 Schalk 8.5
06 Brussow 6
05 MAtfield 7
04 Rossouw 6
03 Jannie 6
02 Smit 7
01 gurthro 7
16 Bismark 8
17 CJ , did not play
18 Alberts 7
19 Flouw 7 i thought he came on and got very busy and i aint his biggest fan
20 Hougaard 7
21 Butch DNP
22 Aplon DNP
9 Oct 2011, 09:55 am
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-699:
lol
Did nothing other than that fluke try….and two penalty conversions!!
Whether Brussow is on the field or off his presence has been the same throughout 2011 against the wallabies!
Your boyfriend got done by a saffa!
Let me take you back to earlier this year…S15 and tri nations hey…nothing tournaments and no indication of form! We wont be seeing a plane home for at least 7 Days
9 Oct 2011, 09:56 am
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-841: It truly was a odd game in so many respects. Apart from Cooper, we held our nerve and tackled like gansters, you guys just keep recycling and ended getting a little too caught up and eventually making mistakes. I’ve never seen a team win with territory of less than 30%.
9 Oct 2011, 09:56 am
Time for spies to go.Would have loved to see Duane Vermeulen at 8.solid and strong.
9 Oct 2011, 09:56 am
ok here is the Rugby365 rating
Michael de Vries rates the South African players:
15 Pat Lambie:
A composed game from the young fullback, he was calm under pressure and took his options well, providing more than a few impressive touches.
8/10
14 JP Pietersen:
Came off his wing and tried to get involved, competed well for the ball in the air and was dependable on defence.
6/10
13 Jaque Fourie:
Some incisive running and his usual strong work on defence but he battled to impose himself on the Australian midfield despite all the possession his team had.
6/10
12 Jean de Villiers:
A very busy game, he straightened and broke the line, but also lost the ball on the ground and threw a forward pass after doing all the hard work. Made some important tackles but battled to make full use of his team’s dominance.
6/10
11 Bryan Habana:
Worked hard in another determined performance. He took some big hits for his team and his courage or workrate is never in doubt.
7/10
10 Morné Steyn:
A solid game from the pivot, he kept the Wallabies pinned back in their half with his boot and actually took the ball quite flat on attack.
6/10
9 Fourie du Preez:
A mixed bag from the veteran. Showed great awareness with good positional play and was accurate with the boot but he also kicked the ball straight to Kurtley Beale in space and his handling was sloppy at times.
6/10
8 Pierre Spies:
Devastating in space but got isolated at times. Would have liked to impose himself on the Australian defenders more.
6/10
7 Schalk Burger:
An immense game, he was everywhere – tackling ferociously and linking well. Carried the ball up well and refused to give in.
8/10
6 Heinrich Brüssow:
Battled to assert himself in his limited time on the pitch. Not as big a factor as was anticipated.
5/10
5 Victor Matfield:
A towering presence in the line-outs, he was solid on his own ball and harassed the opposition. Also got involved in open play and helped to get his team on the front foot.
8/10
4 Danie Rossouw:
A quiet game by his recent standards, he put pressure on the Australian line-out but his handling let him down at times and he lost the ball forward in contact. Gave away a crucial late penalty to give the Wallabies the lead.
5/10
3 Jannie du Plessis:
Some strong work up front, but he did give away a penalty at the breakdown and was exposed by Beale on the counter attack.
6/10
2 John Smit (captain):
A good physical game from the skipper. He was solid in the set-pieces and got a couple of nice offloads away.
7/10
1 Gurthrö Steenkamp:
Dominant at scrum-time and busted over the gain line time and again. Another huge game from the big loosehead.
9/10
Replacements:
16 Bismarck du Plessis (On for John Smit 50 mins):
Made an immediate impact, busting over the advantage line and charging down a 22 drop-out. He played with real intensity and hunger.
8/10
17 CJ van der Linde:
Not used
18 Willem Alberts (On for Pierre Spies 63 mins):
Made some big tackles and took the game to the opposition.
7/10
19 François Louw (On for Heinrich Brussow 20 mins):
Played with plenty of intensity in an energetic display. Made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown.
7/10
20 François Hougaard (On for Bryan Habana 50 mins):
Injected plenty of enthusiasm and attacking intent. He is an electric runner and a committed defender but did not get the opportunity he needed in space.
7/10
21 Butch James:
Not used
22 Gio Aplon:
Not used
9 Oct 2011, 09:56 am
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-879: reality is though that we need to develop better backline play is SA. You cannot expect the national coach to develop that.
We will remain predictable until our most of S15 squads can play a game style where we can create space for attack …
Fortunately I think having kiwi coaches at provincial level have started doing that. Also the younger players coming through look to be better players
9 Oct 2011, 09:58 am
OK, so it was a damn hard game, but onto the future.
so…. who do we think the new bok coach and captain should be?
9 Oct 2011, 09:58 am
In retrospect, we should probably have brought on Butch at 10 earlier. Not because Morne was playing badly, but because FdP was. With the backline “general” not doing the job we needed someone at 10 who doesn’t depend on his 9 to dictate the game.
9 Oct 2011, 09:58 am
For the record, there have been several games where the Boks were well and truly beaten and we acknowledged it as such
It’s the unpleasant truth
What some of these e-diots dont understand is that the ref breaks your momentum; you cannot adapt to a ref that’s has clear instructions
Boks emasculated the Wallabie today(night)
9 Oct 2011, 09:59 am
on my ratings i will stick to as i have it accept maybe Gurthro , make him an 8 like rugby 365
9 Oct 2011, 09:59 am
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-886:
It shows the poor execution and lack of being able to change the game plan. We only know one thing and that is forwards forwards – kick and chase. Unfortunately ball skills have been coached out of our players. They are not backed to run the ball and test their skills, so when they do, they lose the ball in contact far too often.
Your guys have been good all year and deserved the win.
9 Oct 2011, 09:59 am
@maximus1(maximus1)-701:
Danie Rossouw pulled Samos feet and victor had his hands on his shoulders…Bryce goes to what he sees in real time!
9 Oct 2011, 10:00 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-878: you can’t prove a negative.
9 Oct 2011, 10:00 am
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-886: yeah, Wallabies tackled well, but boks looked like they had no ideas apart from the forwards bashing up, so very much the boks own doing as well …
9 Oct 2011, 10:00 am
Well played guys, congratulations to the Aussies.
Not their fault the ref made some very bad calls, but it’s our fault for not taking our opportunities.
See you guys on the other side,
9 Oct 2011, 10:01 am
@wallabie.(wallabie.)-895: yeah, we can’t complain about that penalty, was a stupid thing to do
9 Oct 2011, 10:01 am
On the plus side for the boks, lambie was awesome today. Very exciting player to build your new team around.
Pages: « 1 … 13 14 15 16 17 [18] 19 20 21 22 23 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.