Springboks booed by crowd
2008-08-23 17:54
Durban - Their patience is running out - and the unhappiness of South Africa's
rugby fans manifested itself when the World Champion Springboks were
loudly booed by the crowd when the final whistle went after their 27-15
Tri-Nations loss to Australia in Durban on Saturday.
More jeering followed when Springbok captain Victor Matfield and coach
Peter de Villiers were interviewed after the match, which brought South
Africa's fourth loss in five matches.
The first spectators started
leaving the stadium after the Wallabies scored their second try to go
into a 20-3 lead after 63 minutes.
The Springboks were comprehensively outplayed and the scoreline does
not quite do the visitors justice. Two late tries gave the Boks a more
flattering scoreline.
Lack of structure
It is not the loss alone - the Boks' fourth in five Tri-Nations matches - but the lack of structure and clinical finishing that prompts the
question: is it the coaching, the selection or the game plan?
Most of the rugby played in the first half came from the Wallabies.
Although the Boks were marginally better at the breakdown, they made
some silly errors like playing it while off their feet, holding on too
long and generally not protecting the ball well enough.
If it is interpretation, the South Africans have to start finding out
what the referees from two countries expect - and, more importantly, to
adapt to those interpretations.
Twice in the first quarter the Boks looked good on attack, but first
they squandered a possible opportunity with a wild pass and then,
trailing 10-0, Fourie du Preez's break from a scrum was undone by his pass, which missed JP Pietersen on the wing.
Jean de Villiers was also threatening throughout with the little ball he
received.
Two Springbok lineouts were turned over by the Wallabies in the first
half and flyhalf Matt Giteau, who received good ball from his pack,
found the gaps on the field with regularity - in contrast to
Butch James, who once again did not have a good game.
When the half-time hooter sounded with the Wallabies deservedly holding a
10-0 lead, the Boks had played 141 minutes of Tri-Nations rugby without
scoring a single point. Their last points - a penalty by Frans Steyn - came after 69 minutes of the Test against Australia in Perth on July 19.
James changed that statistic with a well-taken penalty five minutes into
the second half, but then knocked a high kick.
Giteau, who kept asking
serious questions with his tactical kicking, had earlier missed a
penalty but from the scrum following on James' knock he slotted his
second to make it 13-3.
James was replaced in the 57th minute by Steyn with Brian Mujati and Joe
van Niekerk also coming on for Tendai Mtwarira and Pierre Spies
respectively.
South Africa won little more ball and the threat posed by De Villiers
on a few occasions in the first half nearly led to a try. But whereas
the Wallabies remained calm and patient the Boks were doing everything
at breakneck pace - and the mistakes were predictable.
The first stream of spectators leaving the stadium followed Lote
Tuqiri's try, after missed tackles by Du Preez and Bismarck du Plessis, to make the score 20-3 .
Then a good run by the Boks and a (rare) good ruck cleanout saw Adi
Jacobs pick up and dive over the line just two metres away as the
Springboks scored their first try
It was South Africa's first try since the winning effort by Ricky
January in Dunedin - a full 228 minutes of Tri-Nations rugby without a
single try to show for their efforts.
But the 20-10 scoreline lasted just three minutes before the visitors'
captain Stirling Mortlock ignored four feeble Springbok tackles to waltz
through under the posts.(27-10)
Jacobs did very well eight minutes from time to swivel through a tackle
but it was all too late to keep the Springboks' Tri-Nations dream alive.
Scorers:
South Africa: Tries: Adi Jacobs (2) Penalties: Butch James
Conversion: Percy Montgomery.
Australia: Tries: Benn Robinson, Lote Tuqiri, Stirling Mortlock.
Conversions: Matt Giteau (3).Penalties: Giteau (2).
- SAPA