The Springboks responded to last year’s Ellis Park setback in emphatic fashion, overcoming England 45-21 producing a clinical second-half performance to claim a seven-tries-to-three triumph.
South Africa stormed out of the blocks, scoring three tries inside the opening 12 minutes to establish a commanding 17-0 lead. The hosts looked in complete control, but England responded with three tries of their own before halftime to reduce the deficit to just 17-14 and set up an intriguing second half.
Rather than allowing history to repeat itself, the Springboks responded with composure and authority after the break, crossing for four more tries while restricting England to just a penalty to seal a deserved 45-21 victory.
The performance was made even more impressive by the late withdrawal of captain Siya Kolisi and veteran lock Eben Etzebeth before kick-off. Their absences handed Paul de Villiers a Test debut at flank, Cameron Hanekom his second Test cap, and saw Pieter-Steph du Toit shift to lock and captain the side.
Head coach Rassie Erasmus revealed that the players drew motivation from last year’s defeat to Australia at the same venue, when the Springboks squandered a 22-0 lead before losing 38-22.
We did have flashbacks to last year and it’s easy to say after you win that you learn from mistakes, but the chat at halftime was definitely: ‘Boys, we’ve been here before and we know how it feels if we don’t rectify things in the second half,Erasmus said.
He credited assistant coaches Tony Brown and Mzwandile “Stokke” Stick for delivering important messages during the break.
A lot of things that Tony and Stokke said were spot on. Obviously, we had to be really honest with one another at halftime, but luckily we had that game last year and we could rectify things during the halftime chat.
Despite losing two of his most experienced players before kick-off, Erasmus praised the squad’s depth and the way younger players embraced the opportunity.
Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to slot players in and out,he said.
We have a saying, ‘It will come to us.’ We believe in that, but certainly we have to make big calls this year to be 100 percent sure when we go into the World Cup next year that we’ve tested our depth. Today destiny took charge of that and it worked out the right way.
Debutant Paul de Villiers settled quickly into the contest, while Hanekom impressed with another energetic performance as South Africa continued to showcase the depth that has become a hallmark of Erasmus’ squad.
Captain Pieter-Steph du Toit said the team’s systems made adapting to the late changes much easier.
The system is set in stone and if you buy into the system and understand the system, the system will take care of the player. I think that’s the nice thing about us at the moment is that we’ve got a really good system.
There was some concern over injuries after the match, with Ox Nche forced off early with a knee injury and Andre Esterhuizen leaving the field after taking a blow to the neck. Erasmus said Nche is likely to miss next weekend’s clash against Scotland, while Kolisi, Etzebeth and Esterhuizen will continue to be monitored.
The victory gives the Springboks the ideal start to their Nations Championship campaign and extends their strong record at Ellis Park, with the side showing not only their attacking firepower but also the resilience to overcome adversity.
Most importantly, the ghosts of Ellis Park were finally laid to rest as the world champions turned last year’s painful lesson into a statement victory over one of their fiercest rivals.
Images: Springboks (Instagram)