Round 1 to Boks in battle of the big beasts

RASSIE Erasmus won the battle of the coaches against Scott Robertson as his South African Bomb Squad – headed by Malcolm Marx – got the Springboks over the line and kept them on track for the Rugby Championship.

- ADAM HATHAWAY

Fly-half Sacha FeinbergMngomezulu scored 16 points and almost put to bed the Springboks’ debate at No.10 but he blotted his copybook slightly by being timed out for a conversion and missing a sitter of a penalty late on.

Hooker Marx and co came off the bench after 44 minutes, and Erasmus had used all his substitutes withing 50 minutes, and it looked as if the explosion of the replacements had been defused by Robertson’s crew.

The Kiwis had scored four tries to three, were 2717 up, but somehow South Africa got over the line in a match that provided fireworks from start to finish and Marx was at the centre of that.

Back row Kwagga Smith, another bench man, had given the Boks hope, going over from a driving lineout then replacement scrum-half Grant Williams supplied the killer blow with five minutes left.

A yellow card for New Zealand replacement prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi on 67 minutes put the Kiwis on the back foot and the Boks, with Pieter-Steph du Toit having his standard stormer, wriggled free thanks to Smith, Williams and Marx.

When Jordie Barrett intercepted a pass meant for Siya Kolisi just after the break it looked for all money as if the visitors would do the business. And when wing Caleb Clarke went over for his second score on 51 minutes the few visiting fans in Johannesburg were anticipating a big night out in Sandton.

It was a kick in the guts for New Zealand but they played miles better than they did in dispatching England twice in July. Food for thought for Steve Borthwick who must be even more gutted his side did not put the under-par Kiwis away recently.