What a game of rugby! From a spectator’s point of view, as well as from the level and ability of  the players, this is one of the best games of rugby I have ever watched. From the outset, the pace was fast, furious and hard. Many viewers were wondering how long they could keep up the frenetic pace and which team would tire first. Well, neither gave up and the blistering pace continued, to the very end. Remember the classic boxing match between Sugar ray Leonard and Roberto Duran, where they set unprecedented heights of pace and stamina? Well this was just as good.

The 2 best rugby teams in the world squared off in Durban, on Saturday and the hype and publicity given to this epic battle, all week, was certainly not understated. The All Blacks fielded their strongest team and announced that they intended taking the fight to the Springboks, up front among the forwards. The new Springbok team, rely heavily upon the strengths of their burly forwards and have beaten many experienced teams, by capitalising on the play of the forwards and by controlling the ball up front and not allowing it to move out, among the opposition backline. The All Blacks took on the SA forwards, at their own game and they certainly did this well. The Kiwis virtually closed down the Springbok forwards, in power shown in scrums, rucks and mauls, but could not dominate in the lineouts. The pairing of Springboks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha were superb and showed why they are rated the top locks in the world. An equally important battle, was that of the world’s top 2 fetchers. All Black flanker, Ritchie McCaw and Bok Schalk Burger, were outstanding and their work rate was incredibly high and extremely impressive.

The Springboks, still without captain John Smit and lacking a couple of their top players, through injury in the game against Australia, took control in the opening minutes and retained the edge and points lead, throughout the first half. Mictor Matfield was good, as replacement captain, but somehow never really showed the control, that is Smit’s trademark and Smit’s bulk was sorely missed in the front rank. Hopefully this will silence his critics.

The SA halfback combination of Butch James at flyhalf and Ruaan Pienaar at scrumhalf, both from the Sharks, was superb. James marshalled his troops and took control of the backs, while Pienaar was simply brilliant. James intercepted a Kiwi pass and scored a brilliant individual try and Pienaar slotted a penalty, from 53 metres out. At half time the Springboks led 11-6 and still had the upper hand.

Immediately the second half started, the All Blacks stepped their game up by a notch and looked very threatening, but the Boks held on to their slim lead. Unfortunately, James left the field with a minor injury and surprisingly, he was substituted by Frans Steyn. I think this was a big mistake. The 20 year old has oodles of talent and was last weeks hero, with 2 drop goals, which actually won the game against the Aussies, but this time he could not do anything right. He fumbled and dropped passes and looked confused. He lacks game time at this level and having to take over from an in form James, at the pivotal role of flyhalf, was just too big an ask. Perhaps he would have settled better at wing, or centre, or even at fullback, with Montgomery taking over at flyhalf, but he just couldn’t meet the challenge on the day. The loss of James and a yellow carded Pedrie Wannenburg, were enough for the All Blacks to gain ascendancy and to take more control of the game.

Now, as has become customary these days, both coaches decided to use the bench and brought on “fresh legs”. This is what made the big difference. The Kiwis brought on tough, experienced players as subs, while the Boks had to dig deep and send on talented, but inexperienced youngsters. The game turned drastically and the All Blacks could not be stopped. In the space of about the last 14 minutes of play, the All Blacks scored an equal amount of points and sealed their victory. The final score was 26-21 to the all Blacks. This was a hard fought battle and a deserved victory for them, but the Springboks have nothing at all to be ashamed of.

While the Springboks were brimming with confidence, after a most successful Super 14 campaign and three wins in three tests, leading up to the Tri Nations and then another win in the fist game against the Wallabies, it is plainly obvious, that the top men are tired and bruised, whereas the All Blacks have had several weeks rest. The Springbok management team will have a hard job, to decide who to rest and who to send overseas, but they must rest their top players. The youngsters in the squad, are individually brilliant and talented, but lack top level game time, so when do they get this time? Surely not against the world’s best? With the World Cup just around the corner, the Sprinboks look very impressive, but do have a couple of problems to work out in the next few weeks. John Smit will be welcomed back as captain and Fourie DuPreez will be hard pressed to come back from injury and regain the scrumhalf berth from Pienaar.

The All Blacks were typically humble in defeat and complimented a very strong Springbok team. In this wonderful game there were no losers. The Boks are top of the log on 5 points, after 2 games, then the All Blacks on 4 and the Wallabies on 1 point. What will happen when the Springboks travel to Australia and New Zealand? Watch this space.
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