Elton Jantjies missed a 79th-minute penalty as the Springboks had to settle for a 27-27 draw against the Wallabies in Bloemfontein on Saturday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
It was the second time these teams had drawn in this Rugby Championship after a 23-23 stalemate in Perth.
As evidenced by a deathly silent Bloemfontein crowd at the end of this Test, it was far from a desirable result, with the Springboks failing to make the most of several golden attacking opportunities throughout this clash.
In the end, it’s a result that sees the Springoks stay in second place in Rugby Championship standings, but this was not a performance to celebrate in any shape or form.
After the Boks’ 57-0 hiding at the hands of the All Blacks the last time out in Albany, there had been desperate talk out of the Bok camp that this would be a game of redemption. It never materialised.
On the basis of this performance, the Springboks will face another heavy defeat when they come up against the All Blacks in Cape Town next Saturday, with defensive frailties and frenetic ball-in-hand play leaving them to rely on a 70th-minute long-distance penalty to salvage a draw.
Don’t forget that the Wallabies came into this clash having managed just one win on the highveld in the past 54 years, and yet they came so close to clinching yet another piece of history against the embattled Boks.
The Springboks may have wanted to play this game with audacious ambition, but it was also often reckless, with the Wallabies feasting off ill-timed passes, poor kicks and scrum penalties, and often causing mayhem in the Boks’ defensive line.
The signs were there from the outset as the Boks looked to make a massive statement when, rather than making a characteristic clearance from the kick-off, they repeatedly looked to run the ball out of their half.
It was a bold, high-risk move, but instead it would be the Wallabies who struck from their first meaningful attack, with Israel Folau running a beautiful line to score next to the posts in the 11th minute.
Yet the Boks continued to make brave calls as they turned down a kick at goal and set up an attacking lineout in the 22, with the recycled ball eventually ending up with prop Ruan Dreyer, who powered his way over under the posts.
That crucial try came towards the end of a frantic opening quarter, with the Boks displaying plenty of ambitious endeavour, but failing to back it up with the necessary accuracy – often when it came to the final offload.
The hosts’ discipline also began to let them down, with Bernard Foley slotting two penalties, albeit on either side of a Jantjies three-pointer.
Ultimately, an entertaining, but haphazard opening half was rather aptly epitomised by a rather bizarre incident just before the break when Folau latched on to the hair of Dillyn Leyds in a high tackle, which sparked a small melee. Referee Ben O’Keeffe saw no need for any serious sanction, despite the cynical offence from Folau, with the Wallabies able to cling on to a three-point lead at the break.
It left the Bok crying out for someone to make a big play, and Siya Kolisi did just that after the restart when he broke away, barged over Kurtley Beale and then popped a pass to Leyds, who swung the ball back inside for Jan Serfontein to score.
Kolisi quickly went from hero to zero, though, as he was then bumped off by Foley in a poor attempted tackle, with the Wallabies flyhalf darting away before spinning a pass to flying winger Marika Koroibete, who went over unopposed.
The Boks responded by upping the ante as Courtnall Skosan showed great strength to score next in the 49th minute, but the hosts gave up their advantage almost immediately once again as Koroibete was put away all too easily to score in the corner.
The result appeared certain to swing decisively in favour of the Wallabies when big centre Tevita Kuridrani powered towards the tryline in the 65th minute, but diminutive Ross Cronjé produced a near miraculous try-saving tackle.
As the match headed towards another dramatic denouement, Jantjies stepped up to slot a superb long-distance penalty that drew the scores level with 10 minutes to play, but his final attempt went wide when it mattered most.
Springboks – Tries: Ruan Dreyer, Jan Serfontein, Courtnall Skosan. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (3). Penalties: Jantjies (2).
Wallabies – Tries: Israel Folau, Marika Koroibete (2). Conversions: Bernard Foley (3). Penalties: Foley (2).
Springboks – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane,19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende.
Wallabies – 15 Israel Folau, 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio.
Subs: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Ned Hanigan, 21 Lukhan Tui, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Samu Kerevi.
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
