BOK BEFOK!!!
Eben Etzebeth: JOU YSTER. Rassie Erasmus: JOU BISCUIT. Siya Kolisi. OUR CAPTAIN; OUR CAPTAIN. Saturday in Mbombela was special for the Springboks, writes Mark Keohane.
What a time to be a Springboks rugby storyteller. What characters, what joy and what triumphs.
To Eben Etzebeth goes the ode on breaking Victor Matfield’s record as the most capped Springbok in the history of the game. It is now 128 and counting, with 119 starts. Big Vic had 121 starts, so that is another milestone to aim for in November in the Tests against Scotland, England and Wales.
For now it is about Saturday’s 48-7 Rugby Championship win against the Pumas, a seven tries to one demolition job and a Rugby Championship title.
For context this is just the fifth Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship win in 29 years for the Springboks. The Wallabies have four and the All Blacks have a remarkable 20.
Savour this one South Africans because it was delivered by the most exceptional captain, a rugby genius of a coach and a Springboks Test appearance record holder in Eben.
On the Keo & Zels show we were unanimous that the Boks would destroy the Pumas by more than 30 points. The belief in that scoreline was not out of disrespect to a Pumas team that had beaten the Wallabies 67-27, scored a record-breaking 38 points in beating the All Blacks in Wellington and only a week ago beaten the Springboks 29-28 in Santiago, Argentina.
The belief in a 30-plus result was an acknowledgement of the quality of this Boks match 23. It was a vote of confidence in their ability and also an appreciation that they were playing at home, at altitude and in front of a sixth successive packed stadium this season.
It was a pre-match call borne out of an understanding that these Boks were going to deliver a world champion statement.
The rugby statement was as brutal as it gets.
The Boks won five penalties from their first five scrums and the Rugby Championship was won by the 38th minute when Cheslin Kolbe scored.
For those not versed with the permutations, the Boks needed just one league point to win the title, be it a four-try bonus point or losing within seven.
They were never going to lose within seven and they were never going to lose.
They were always going to win and the only question was by how much.
The first seven minutes were the most dominant for the Boks of their year. They kicked off deep, Etzebeth, in the 15th second, made the first tackle of the match and the first time the Pumas were within 50 metres of the Boks try line was when they restarted seven points down after seven minutes.
Etzebeth, in the opening 120 seconds, would make that tackle, make a pass, win a line out catch and make a dominant carry.
Cometh the hour; cometh the most capped player in Springboks Test history.
Manie Libbok was superb as an attacking option at No 10. This is another statement that did not need hindsight, but an appreciation of how Rassie and backs coach Tony Brown rate his general play. Handre Pollard, when he entered on 65 minutes, banged over three conversions from three strikes. This also did not need hindsight.
Rassie is right to invest in magical Manie
Pieter-Steph du Toit’s MVP award did not need hindsight either and no one needed hindsight to know that Eben would go 83 minutes and only leave when Ben O’Keefe called full-time.
O’Keefe, the primary match official and arbitrator, was as good in his role as Pieter-Steph was as a player. This was one one hell of an emotional occasion and O’Keefe brought calm and clarity to the occasion.
Kolbe is gold, fullback Aphelele Fassie dazzled and Damian de Allende is a MENEER in that No 12 jersey.
One can single out every individual in the match 23, but those boys wearing one to five and one to eight, whether they start or finish the game, are what defines this group of Springboks.
They are special and they – and Mr Pollard and Mr (Morne) Steyn as goal kickers – are the reason these Boks are back-to-back World Cup winners, British & Irish Lions series winners and (in 2024) Rugby Championship winners.
