The 14-man Springboks produced one of their most tenacious displays of the year to defeat an inspired French side 32-17 at the Stade de France on Saturday night.
What a result. What a match. What a performance. What a team. The Springbok juggernaut rolls on. They fought back from the brink to clinch one of their most important victories in this four-year World Cup cycle.
They overcame a sub-standard first-half showing, a red card and a half-time deficit to emerge victories against all odds. Trailing 14-13 and starring down the barrel, Rassie Erasmus and co rolled the dice with wholesale changes and it worked wonders. The Springboks outscored France 19 points (three tries) to three to turn the outcome on its head as Siya Kolisi’s 100th Test ended on a high note.
FIRST HALF RECAP: SPRINGBOKS NOWHERE
France drew first blood as Damian Penaud scored to become the top try-scorer in French Test history. That was after he skinned Kurt-Lee Arendse on the outside to latch onto Tomas Ramos’ perfectly weighted chip kick over the top of the Springboks’ rush defence.
And to their credit, that first try wasn’t the only blow the French landed in the early exchanges. They outwitted the Springboks at the breakdown.
Jasper Wiese did win a penalty on the floor for South Africa and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu calmly stepped up to land the long-range shot.
And then the Springbok forward went to work. Despite the bizarre forced removal of Lood de Jager for an Head Injury Assessment (HIA), the pack – now with Ruan Nortje temporarily in the second row – shoved their French counter-parts into reverse at scrum time to win a penalty against the feed. And the mercurial Feinberg-Mngomezulu was on hand again to convert the opportunity into points.
Unfortunately, for him and the team, the playmaker missed his next two penalty attempts that would have put South Africa ahead. And they were made to pay the price as the hosts extended their lead with a beautifully orchestrated try where the Springboks’ defence was caught too narrow. And to make matters worse, Ramos kissed the upright with his kick from the touchline before it bounced back over the crossbar for a successful conversion.
After a huge battle, the Springboks would eventually cross the whitewash via a brilliant individual effort from Cobus Reinach, but that was a temporary reprieve before Lood de Jager’s contentious red card.
The lock, fresh off his successful HIA, was sanctioned with a permanent red card for an unintentional shoulder to head tackle on Ramos. Referee Agnus Gardner initially leaned towards a yellow card due to mitigating factors, but was later convinced by the TMO to overturn his call in favour of a permanent red. And it was an extreme decision that completely deflated this contested.
That said, it was a disappointing first half display by the Springboks – even without red card.
Far from matching the French’s smart kicking game and game-management, the Springboks were instead playing catch-up.
SECOND HALF RECAP: BOKS REINVENT THEMSELVES
Funnily enough, South Africa – sans wholesale personnel changes – showed more urgency and endeavour in the second half and it paid dividends. France were again quick out of the blocks with Ramos knocking over a penalty to extend their lead again, but that was as good as it got for the home side.
The Springboks not only shut up shop defensively, they opened a release valve at the other end with replacements Andre Esterhuizen and Grant Williams crossing the whitewash to turn the game on its head before Feinberg-Mngomezulu glided through the dot down to seal the result.
TEAMS: SPRINGBOKS VS FRANCE
France – 15 Tomas Ramos, 14 Damien Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Régis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio.
Subs: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortère.
South Africa – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Subs: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Ruan Nortje, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
