South Africa

South Africa, Sport

Best of the Boks in 2024 — bomb squad heroics, Cheslin’s genius and other great moments

World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit scores the Boks’ second try during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match against England. (Photo: Warren Little / Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

26 Nov 2024

After a fine year for the Springboks, the highs and lows (yes there were a few) of the 2024 season.

The 2024 Springbok season will always go down as one of the great years, and in time it might even come to be viewed as the start of a new era, even though many of the cast and characters were the same.

It was the start of the new World Cup cycle and the crucial pillars of defence and attack fell under the management of new coaches in Jerry Flannery and Tony Brown.

Rassie Erasmus resumed the head coach role vacated by Jacques Nienaber and over the course of the season, 50 players were used in 13 Tests.

But there was also continuity in forwards coach Deon Davids and skills coach Mzwandile Stick as well as the medical, media and other staff. At the end of the year, long-serving physiotherapist Rene Naylor called time on more than a decade with the team.

Best Bok performances of the year

Springboks 31 New Zealand 27 – Ellis Park

kolisi South African captain Siya Kolisi in action during the Rugby Championship match against New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on 31 August 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)

This performance, more than any other in the year, underlined the Springboks’ class as the game’s most lethal finishers. They looked out of it, facing a 10-point deficit with 11 minutes remaining, in a seething Ellis Park cauldron.

There was never any outward sign of panic though, as the bomb squad did what was expected of them and found a way to wrestle the result through composure and skill in the final minutes.

Even though the Boks were on the wrong side of the scoreboard for the most part, and had been rocked back at times by a ferocious All Black onslaught, it never felt out of control. There was always the sense that if the Boks were within striking distance in the final quarter, they would find a way.

Read more: Rugby has never seen a deeper and more versatile squad than the 2024 Springboks

The Springboks could barely escape their own 22 for most of the first 15 minutes and had to absorb mountains of pressure, compounded by a yellow card for fullback Aphelele Fassi in the eighth minute.

Fassi made a try-saving tackle in the corner on All Black flank Ethan Blackadder, but cheekily knocked the ball out of the supporting New Zealand players’ hand.

By the final quarter, the All Blacks were physically and mentally wilting and their 10-point lead was tenuous, which is not something that could often be said about a match against the old foe.

Bok belief surged when prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi was yellow-carded with 12 minutes to go for repeated infringements in the red zone. A minute after his departure to the naughty step, flank Kwagga Smith burrowed over from close range after a period of sustained pressure on the All Black line.

The comeback was on and as the stadium erupted, there was a visible slumping of All Black shoulders. For the 60,000 inside the arena, a Bok victory was inevitable as everyone sensed the momentum shift.

Scrumhalf Grant Williams duly delivered the knockout punch when he sniped over after another period of Bok pounding on the All Blacks’ line.

Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion took the lead to four points, and his personal tally on the day to 16, leaving the All Blacks needing a try to win. They hadn’t come close for nearly 30 minutes and they didn’t again.

Springboks 48 Argentina 7 – Mbombela Stadium

springbok fullback aphelele fassi scores a try for the boks against argentina The excellent Aphelele Fassi scored two tries as the Boks ran out 48-7 winners over the Pumas in their Rugby Championship match at Mbombela Stadium. (Photo: Anton Geyser / Gallo Images)

Following the previous week’s blip in Santiago del Estero, where a mix-and-match team lost 29-28, the Boks rolled out the heavy artillery for the return clash in Nelspruit.

And they laid waste to the Pumas. In some ways, the match mirrored the previous contest in Santiago, with the Boks making a fast start. Only this time, Argentina did not fight back in the same fashion as they had a week earlier.

The Pumas didn’t help themselves with an ill-disciplined display after going through their previous 12 Tests without a yellow card.

They conceded seven penalties to the Boks’ one in the first half and had two yellow cards and a red card. It was shambolic.

The Boks capped a brilliant 2024 Rugby Championship campaign with a statement victory that underlined South Africa’s superiority throughout the tournament.

The Boks scored seven tries to one at Mbombela, as the Pumas wilted in the face of their ferocity, to secure a title that added to the 2023 World Cup crown to cement this generation as the greatest ever in green and gold.

Victory ensured the Boks’ first Rugby Championship title since 2019. It was also their first full, double-round Championship win in this format since Argentina were included in 2012.

Along the way, the Boks secured five wins out of six games — the most they have ever achieved in a single campaign. The Boks also beat the All Blacks twice to take their sequence over the old enemy to four wins in a row — the most in the professional era. That ensured their first Freedom Cup since 2009.

The Boks also won back-to-back Tests in Australia in consecutive weeks for the first time since 1971.

Moments

There were many moments both good and bad from a Bok perspective that defined the season.

Frawley becomes Ireland’s unlikely hero

Few people had heard of Ciarán Frawley before he broke South African hearts in the final moments of the second Test against Ireland in Durban.

The Boks had fought back from a halftime deficit of 16-6, to lead 24-19 in the final 10 minutes. Frawley’s name will go down in Irish folklore after his two long-range drop-goals, both from about 40 metres out, gave Ireland a sensational 25-24 win to level the series 1-1.

It stung for South Africans, but seeing a man land two high-pressure drop-goals to win an away Test against the world champions was a moment worth acknowledging.

Portugal score first against Boks

Everyone knew that Portugal would be no match for the Boks in Bloemfontein, but the Rugby World Cup 2023 darlings came to entertain.

Portugal’s hopes rose slightly when centre André Esterhuizen was red-carded for a high tackle on Os Lobos centre José Lima barely two minutes into the game.

That rocked the Boks back slightly and things got worse moments later.
Bok No 8 Evan Roos lost the ball in contact close to Portugal’s line, and they pounced with an excellent transition game.

Replacement centre José Santos rounded off the move that sent the vocal Portuguese contingent on the stands into raptures. It even brought cheers from Bok fans.

The visitors lost 64-21, but Santos has a story to tell the grandkids.

Etzebeth becomes most-capped

Eben Etzebeth of South Africa on his way to score his team’s second try during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 23 November 2024. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)

At Mbombela, lock Eben Etzebeth became the most-capped Springbok when he made his 128th appearance. He surpassed the mark he shared with Victor Matfield and went on to take his tally to 131 caps by the end of the year.

Cheslin’s double

springbok wing cheslin kolbe scores a try for the boks against england Cheslin Kolbe dives to score the Boks’ fourth try during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match against England at Twickenham on 16 November 2024. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)

Wins over England at Twickenham are always special and wing Cheslin Kolbe marked the 29-20 victory earlier this month with two fine tries.

In the first half, Kolbe scored while standing statically under Manie Libbok’s cross-field kick. By all rights, the covering England defence should have buried him as soon as Kolbe collected the kick.

Yet, with only a fraction of a second between taking the ball and being clattered by fullback Freddie Steward, Kolbe somehow evaded the tackle to score.

The second, a wondrous strike, had its genesis from a strong tackle bust by centre Damian de Allende. Kolbe still had a lot of work to do once De Allende put him in about a metre of space with a sublime pass. Kolbe, though, doesn’t need more than a few inches from optimal operation and he stepped opposite number Ollie Sleightholme for a clear run to the line. Genius.

PSDT wins again

springbok flanker pieter-steph du toit scores a try for the boks against england World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit scores the Boks’ second try during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match against England. (Photo: Warren Little / Getty Images)

Somehow Bok mentor Rassie Erasmus wasn’t deemed good enough to win Coach of the Year at the 2024 World Rugby awards, which went to little-known France Sevens coach Jérôme Daret.

Fortunately, with three Boks, Kolbe, Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit among the four nominees for World Player of the Year, there was a small chance of a Bok win.

This time, the right name came out of the envelope as Du Toit was awarded the accolade – his second after a win in 2019 – to cap a fine year personally and for the Boks as a team. DM

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