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Kolbe on the double as Boks condemn England to fifth straight defeat

Kolbe on the double as Boks condemn England to fifth straight defeat
Bok scrumhalf Grant Williams breaks away to score the Boks' opening try against England at Twickenham. (Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images)
Craig Ray
By Craig Ray
16 Nov 2024
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The Springboks found a way again with a 29-20 win over England at Twickenham.

The short summary of this absorbing contest appears to be that England has forgotten how to win, and the Springboks don’t know how to lose.

The Boks “won” the final quarter 10-0, to leave England with another week of pondering how they lost a fifth Test in a row as the game wound down.

When England coach Steve Borthwick picks over the bones of this thunderous contest, he will wonder how his side found ways to lose from winning positions.

England were excellent in the first half, good in the third quarter, yet by the final 20 minutes, they were reduced to being a nervous wreck.

Conversely, the Boks were also ragged in the closing stages, but in between the raggedness, the team found some moments of genius to close the game out.

The pressure will mount on Borthwick now, but in fairness his side was excellent. The problem was that they came up against a Bok side that worked out numerous ways to win matches. 

It was a game of contestable kicks and the management of those challenges. Both sides coped well for the most part.

The world champions were on the wrong end of many decisions; they left five points out there from a missed conversion and a penalty by Manie Libbok, yet still won by a comfortable nine points.  

England led 20-19 with the hour mark approaching. It was a fair reflection of the game to that point, underlining how fine the margins were between the teams.

With home-ground advantage and the Boks soon to be reduced to 14 men with Gerhard Steenekamp the victim of a collective warning, England should have finished stronger.

Referee Andrew Brace was seemingly on the prowl to find any minor Bok infringement at the lineout and maul. England should have found a way to win. 

Instead, not for the first time, it was the Boks who finished strongly, thanks to the wonderful control of replacement flyhalf Handrè Pollard in the clutch moments.

On the hour mark, Pollard stepped up to hit a 50-plus metre penalty to nudge the Boks ahead 22-20, as the final quarter started counting down. 

England No 8 Ben Earl had a strong match against the Springboks. (Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images)


Individual brilliance 


For all the talk of bomb squads and scrum power, of collective strength and defensive systems, the Boks won this game on individual brilliance.

Generational wing Cheslin Kolbe was the point of difference with two fine tries. The second, a wondrous 63rd minute strike, had its genesis from a strong tackle bust by centre Damian de Allende.

Read more: ‘Genuine antagonism’ from England towards Springboks is music to South African ears

Kolbe though 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, stepped opposite number Ollie Sleightholme for a clear run to the line. 

Not just Springbok fans, but rugby lovers everywhere, should enjoy Kolbe while they can because players of his brilliance do not come around often. He has a way of changing a match with a moment of genius that no amount of coaching and planning can produce. 

If the Boks bend a game to their will in the big moments, Kolbe is the furnace that makes the outcome pliable.

In the first half, he scored while standing statically under Manie Libbok’s cross-field kick. By all rights, the covering England defence should have buried him as he waited for the kick to arrive. 

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 opening try was a gem from scrumhalf Grant Williams. After Kurt-Lee Arendse won a contestable kick just beyond halfway, Williams sniped from the breakdown. He scythed past prop Ellis Genge and then produced an outrageous sidestep to beat Steward to draw the Boks level. 

Minutes later, lock Eben Etzebeth’s charge down of scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet’s clearance kick led to a second try. England flyhalf Marcus Smith scrambled to tidy up after the charge down, and in turn was charged down by flank Pieter-Steph du Toit. 

Bok flank Pieter-Steph Du Toit scores the Boks' second try in a pulsating clash against England. (Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images)



The Bok back rower followed up his good work to dot down. 

Strong start


It was a strong response to a fast and furious England start. Smith’s faked attempt at a drop-goal caught out the Bok defence, and when he moved left, great hands from centre Henry Slade, then put Sleightholme away for the game’s opening try.

Twickenham erupted and the Boks’ tough day just became harder with the 80,000 fully involved and roaring.

But with Williams’ and Du Toit’s ripostes the Boks settled nerves even though they couldn’t take control of the match because of England’s pressure.

Flank Sam Underhill was magnificent as he harassed and marauded with great intent and accuracy. No 8 Ben Earl was close behind in terms of work rate and involvement. 

Underhill scored his team’s second try, running a great angle from close range to narrow the deficit to 19-17 on the half hour. That remained the score until halftime. 

After the break, Kurt-Lee Arendse finished from a great move with fullback Aphelele Fassi putting him away. The score was chalked off for a marginal forward pass though.

Bok scrumhalf Grant Williams breaks away to score the Boks' opening try against England at Twickenham. (Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images)



England suffered the same fate a few minutes later, when a Slade try was disallowed for an earlier neck roll by lock Maro Itoje on Bok hooker Malcolm Marx.

The Boks edged the scrums and won some penalties there, but they struggled in the lineouts, losing several on their own ball while also battling to stop England mauls.

Smith was excellent in pulling the strings for England in the first hour, and Pollard was the composed general in the final quarter for the Boks,  after a mixed bag from Libbok.

The Boks roll on with their tenth win in 12 matches in 2024, and will almost certainly end the year as No 1 after this victory.

The tour’s main objective was to win at Twickenham against England and that was accomplished. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective.  DM

Scorers:


England – Tries: Ollie Sleightholme, Sam Underhill. Conversions: Marcus Smith (2). Penalties: Smith (2).

South Africa – Tries: Grant Williams, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe (2). Conversions: Manie Libbok (2), Handrè Pollard. Penalty: Pollard

 

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