All Blacks shut out Boks

2001-07-21 22:04

Cape Town - The All Blacks withstood a furious South African assault to emerge victorious, defeating the hosts 12-3 in the Tri-Nations opener played at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

Tries were harder to come by than kudu steaks at a vegan festival with both defences in top form and it was only the boot of All Black flyhalf Tony Brown which separated the two teams in a typically tenacious encounter.

The All Blacks led 12-3 at the break and absorbed a huge amount of pressure in a dramatic second half to all but end South Africa's hopes of securing the Tri-Nations title.

Points South Africa: Penalties: Percy Montgomery (1) New Zealand: Penalties: Tony Brown (4) South Africa: Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, Marius Joubert, Dean Hall, Butch James, Joost van der Westhuizen, Bob Skinstad, Andre Vos, Andre Venter, Mark Andrews, Victor Matfield, Cobus Visagie, Lukas van Biljon, Rob Kempson.Replacements: Neil de Kock, Johan Ackermann, Joe van Niekerk, Conrad Jantjes, Ollie le Roux, John Smit, Deon Kayser. All Blacks: Jeff Wilson, Doug Howlett, Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lonu, Tony Brown, Justin Marshall, Ron Cribb, Taine Randell, Troy Flavell, Norm Maxwell, Rueben Thorne, Greg Sommerville, Anton Oliver (c), Carl Hoeft. Replacements: Mark Hammett, Carl Hayman, Chris Jack, Marty Holah, Byron Kelleher, Andrew Merhtens, Leon MacDonald. Referee: Scott Young Crowd: 49720

South Africa contested well, dominating all facets of the game but they could just not break down a stubborn Kiwi defence, despite coming close either side of the break.

South Africa's best chance at a try came in the 65th minute when Robbie Fleck burst through a gap but his off-load was dropped by Bob Skinstad with the try-line beckoning.

Bok fullback Percy Montgomery had one opportunity to narrow the lead with seven minutes remaining but his penalty attempt fell short.

Based on the principle of securing primary possession and gritty loose-play the Springboks deserved to win but kudos to the All Black defence.

South Africa won all of their lineout throws with Victor Matfield impressive in this department.

Springbok hooker Lukas van Biljon was again the pick of the pack and his bullocking runs were a highlight of the game.

In the backs Fleck had his best game in a Bok jersey for a long time, while Dean Hall also impressed.

For the All Blacks former captain and flank Taine Randell was outstanding in defence and won the man of the match award for his efforts.

The Springboks camped in All Black territory for much of the first half but they could not turn that dominance into points with Montgomery struggling at goal, slotting only his first attempt.

The All Blacks though proved adept at scoring whenever they ventured into Bok territory, with Brown slotting four first half penalties.

In fact, of the five times the All Blacks pressed the home team into defensive mode, four times they emerged with points, all via the boot of Brown.

That was the chief difference between the two teams in the first half.

Despite the continuous pressure the Boks only came close to scoring a try once in the opening 40 minutes when a Breyton Paulse stab ran over the Kiwi deadball line with two Boks chasing hard.

The Boks started well with Montgomery slotting a penalty in the first minute but the All Blacks managed to soak up the pressure with ease.

And when they did break out, Brown punished the hosts with a flawless kicking display, starting with a fourth minute penalty to level the scores at 3-3.

Two more penalties at the halfway stage of the first period followed before Brown made it 12-3 with a penalty seconds from the end of the first half.

- SAPA