Good set-piece plays
Our front row looked solid in the scrums and our set-piece plays were the best they have been for a very long time. The pressure started to tell on the Wallabies and the Boks were rightfully rewarded with three penalties, but only two were converted. Six-nil to the Boks at half time and I think many Springbok supporters were happy to see some of the old guard back playing rugby. The Beast, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Pierre Spies, Fourie du Preez, Bryan Habana and Jean de Villiers all looked hungry for rugby again and, to be honest, we could have gone in at half time leading by 13-0 as we had a 50/50 call going the way of the Wallabies when it looked like Jacques Fourie had scored a try.
The young Australians, however, never gave up! They always looked dangerous in attack and one had the feeling that it was only a matter of time before they would score a try. After the half-time break they came out firing and received a penalty that gave James O'Connor the opportunity to halve the Springbok advantage. From that moment it seemed as if the Wallabies had gained some confidence and it wasn't long before they scored the try that put them in the lead for the first time.
Often in games there are pivotal moments when we look back and say that is where the game was won or lost. Well, the introduction of Bismarck du Plessis to the game was one that I thought would swing the game in our favour. He made a massive impact as a ball carrier and also stole two balls within a couple of minutes. What I underestimated was that the Aussies could pack a decent scrum. It was, ultimately, a turnover scrum from the Wallabies and a follow-up scrum that shoved the Boks back several metres, which not only dented our egos, but also won the game for Australia. Up to that point John Smit had a very good test match and justified his selection. What Peter de Villiers maybe should have done is to take John off and make Victor the captain for the last 20 minutes.
This whole episode put a damper on what was a great 65 minutes of rugby from the Springboks. The senior players all played well and showed some very encouraging strides towards full match fitness. We Springbok supporters are all a bit down today, but I truly believe that we have a lot to feel positive about. Fourie du Preez, Guthro Steenkamp, Heindrich Brussouw and Pierre Spies haven't played for a long time and they all played very good Test Matches. Yes, there is room for improvement, but it looks like P Divvy's plan might come together soon. If it doesn't come together next weekend against the All Blacks in PE then the red lights will start flashing, but, all in all, I am a lot more positive than I was a couple of weeks ago.
Let's hope the "A Team" can do it for us in Port Elizabeth.
