I am a very happy man today as the Boks have finally put a tick in the win column of the Tri Nations. All thanks will go to flyhalf Morne Steyn who kicked five penalties and a drop goal to secure a 18-5 win for the home side.
The Springboks looked slightly less rusty than last week but with only 11 days to go before they leave for New Zealand I am still rather concerned.
The Boks shot off to a 15-0 lead in the first half but squandered a few decent try scoring opportunities, which we will need to be more clinical at during the World Cup. Morne Steyn was the hero with some good accurate kicking and a drop goal.
The Kiwi's scored a try late on in the first half and looked dangerous on the counter attack with Israel Dagg (Fullback) and Isaia Toeava (Wing) collectively gaining 325 running meters for the game.
The Springboks can count themselves quite lucky as the Irish ref, George Clancy, took an unprecedented move and allowed some information from the TMO to be used prior to the try line.
The TMO's are only allowed to rule on actions that take place in the goal area but offered George Clancy some more info regarding a forward pass 4 meters in the field of play. Clancy then penalised the All Blacks for a forward pass thus disallowing the try and giving the Springboks a 5m scrum. This isn't entirely within the Laws but I wholeheartedly agree with what happened and I applaud the TMO and the referee for making the correct decision. All Black Coach, Graham Henry has come out as saying he is happy with the decision too and hoped that the same would have happened should the roles have been reversed.
The Springboks have a win before the World cup and I can only hope they take this momentum and dominate the tournament this year. They are going to be up against a strong New Zealand outfit as well as an exciting Aussie team.
Springboks winning 18-5
Player of the Week: Morne Steyn
Ouch of the Week: Heinrich Brussow
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