Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber could not have asked for more from his players than the emphatic 32-12 win over Argentina with which they opened their Rugby Championship campaign. With a team made up largely of fringe or second-string players, that win sent out a strong statement.
Before we say “well, it was only Argentina”, let’s not forget that this time last year the All Blacks were licking their wounds after a 10-point defeat to “only Argentina”. Let’s also not forget that this was a Bok team playing just one week on from the emotionally taxing final Test against the British & Irish Lions.
If the Boks had gone in a little flat due to the feeling of anticlimax that inevitably follows a Lions series success and been undone like the Kiwis were in the Tri-Nations 12 months ago, it would not have come as a surprise. The return match against New Zealand in last year’s Tri-Nations was the only defeat Argentina have suffered since the World Cup, so they would have come to SA in a confident mood.
Yet from the opening minutes it was obvious from the vantage point of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium press box that the Boks were just too strong for them. Strength was the operative word too, with the Pumas being propelled backwards when they ran into the likes of Bok skipper Siya Kolisi, Lood de Jager and Ox Nche in those early minutes.
The work rate of the forwards is indeed one of the strong points of the current Bok team, and the big men and their big engines contribute as much to the Boks’ impressive defensive record as the backline players do.
The Boks’ defensive record this season has been astounding. At this point it reads: played five Tests, conceded two tries, and both of those tries were driving mauls from attacking line-outs.
That the Boks haven’t conceded a try from an opposition backline movement or any other kind of attacking play is a phenomenal achievement, and the Pumas never looked like breaking their defensive dominance.
Yes, the Pumas were a bit scrappy, but then the Boks also had periods when they made mistakes. Had it not been for a few mistakes from flyhalf Elton Jantjies in particular, both in kicking from out of hand and in his ball handling, the Boks could have won by more than the 20 points that they did.
Mention of Jantjies does introduce the one note of caution to any suggestion that the Bok performance was perfect, for the truth is there should be some concern about the gap between the first-choice Bok flyhalf (Handré Pollard) and the first-choice Bok scrumhalf (Faf de Klerk) and the next in line in their respective positions.
Choosing Cobus Reinach to start these past two Tests ahead of Herschel Jantjies was the right call because Jantjies isn’t in form and he also has areas of his game that require growing. But Reinach was a bit slow in clearing the ball from around the fringes in both the final Test against the Lions and in the Pumas Test.
If ever Jantjies wants someone to feel sorry for him, I will be first in line. He is a gifted player, but he keeps reminding me of one of those batsman you know has oodles of talent and yet somehow just never gets the extended run that allows him to properly settle in.
When asked in the build-up week whether he had a point to prove, Jantjies answered that he’d had that question many times before, and has a point to make. There are some former Boks who feel Jantjies has been done a disservice by always being made to feel as if he is on trial. They may be right.
But you’d have to lay the blame for that on the Bok coach who was in charge when Jantjies was a young developing player. Had Heyneke Meyer backed him more between 2012 and 2015, Jantjies might now be producing the consistent form required of him.
He has some brilliant touches to his game, and the cross-kick that put Aphelele Fassi in for his try was a gem. But he also makes mistakes that are frustrating for those who’d like to see him do well. Morné Steyn is 37, so he can hardly be seen as a good future prospect. The sooner Nienaber introduces someone who can properly cover Pollard through to the 2023 World Cup — Johan Goosen is the obvious name — so much the better.
Right now the Boks look like a formidable unit that boasts impressive depth, but pivot is one key position where they can’t afford an injury. So is scrumhalf, but on that score it was good to see Jaden Hendrikse getting his first opportunity at the weekend and enjoying the confidence boost that comes with scoring on debut. Of course Jantjies also did that in 2019, but to me Hendrikse is a more complete scrumhalf.
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