Andre the Giant & his fellow Boks slay the Dragons

Andre ‘The Giant’ Esterhuizen led the charge at the Principality as the Springboks took the sword to the throat of the Welsh Dragons, Mark Keohane.

Esterhuizen was the official Player of the Match. He was also my standout Boks individual in a performance where numbers one to 23 were outstanding, as individuals, but their potency was the collective as a 15, regardless of who was wearing what number.

Boks coach Rassie Erasmus, post the match, was delighted at the control and clinical nature of the performance, and pleased with the manner in which his players never veered from the disciplined game plan approach of playing the game in the Welsh half, suffocating the Welsh set piece, and also the game management of his halfbacks Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with the latter scoring two tries and kicking nine conversions from 11 attempts for 28 points.

Damian Willemse, at fullback, was equally impressive in how he owned the space at the back.

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, at the forefront of everything that was strong about the Boks, spoke afterwards of playing the game in the right areas and not been seduced by the team make-up of Wales, who were missing 13 players, or early scoreboard advantage.

Kolisi said they have enormous respect for Welsh rugby and for the fight within the players. The Boks had also been impressed with the first 60 minutes from Wales against the All Blacks, when they trailed 24-21.

Kolisi said the Welsh had shown their pedigree when the game gets loose and opens up and the Boks had to be at their most disciplined not to want to turn the Test into a Barbarians-style match.

Erasmus and Kolisi, as always, kept their focus on the collective, the appreciation of a squad that goes beyond 45 players and the role of each player and management member within the squad.

The Boks coach applauded Kolisi and his players for the powerful finish to a season that totalled 14 Tests and a non-international against the Barbarians in Cape Town to start the season.

Erasmus also said the players and coaches had learned the lesson of the Castle Rugby Championship opener against Australia at Ellis Park, when the Boks led 22-0 playing tempo rugby, only to lose their legs and lose the match 38-22.

There had to be greater balance in how they wanted to play, said Erasmus, but that did not mean sacrificing anything when it was one to attack.

The Boks biggest weapon is their set piece, particularly the scrum, but Erasmus said that weapon could easily be defused by the Boks themselves, if they played too much rugby in the wrong areas and fatigued their powerhouse pack.

‘We learned from that Australian Test,’ he said. ‘That pleased me.’

Kolisi was equally pleased with the manner in which his players fought for turnover ball, regardless of field position or the scoreline, and to see the Boks throw themselves at the breakdown and Welsh ankles and legs to keep the hosts out in the final minute was the measure of the character of these Boks.

The Boks were 73-0 ahead in the 79th minute when they fought to deny Wales a try and won a penalty turnover.

CELEBRATING COBUS REINACH & HIS 50th TEST

BOKS v WALES TEST MATCH REACTION

Scorers

Springboks

Tries: Gerhard Steenekamp, Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Wilco Louw, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth.

Convs: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (9)

BACKING THE BOKS WITH AFRICA PICKS 

WALES – 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Bench: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Thomas.

SPRINGBOKS – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Zachary Porthen, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Kwagga Smith, 23 Cobus Reinach.