South Africa make statement with Nations Championship rout of England

What a fabulous occasion this was, a thunderous classic to kick off the new-look Nations Championship. Anyone stumbling across the sport for the first time would have been truly staggered by the commitment of both teams, not to mention the spine-tingling pre-match rendition of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”. This was top-drawer sporting theatre in the spiritual home of South African rugby.

And when the smoke finally cleared on a cool, still Highveld evening it was the world champion Springboks who emerged battered but victorious. From 17-0 down after just 12 minutes England showed huge resolve to battle their way back to 17-14 at half-time but by the end, reduced to 13 men, the upstart visitors had been firmly put back in their place.

No outcome other than a resounding home victory had looked conceivable when the Boks stormed away into a 17-0 lead after just 12 minutes so it was to England’s credit that the hosts could not absolutely hammer down the final nails until late on. That said, the quality of South Africa’s first-half blitzkreig even with a weakened pack was impossible to ignore and their strength in depth remains the envy of the oval-ball world.

There had also been plenty of drama before kick-off, even without the appearance of an exuberant series of lookalike acts playing assorted British icons ranging from James Bond and the Beatles to Elton John and the Spice Girls. Two of the central pillars of the Springbok pack, Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth, withdrew with hamstring and concussion issues respectively and England’s George Furbank was another absentee having had his appendix removed on the morning of the game.

Any question as to which of the two teams would be most initially affected were answered soon enough. After the unforgettable anthems, the Boks had three tries on the board inside the first 12 minutes through Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse. England were not so much picked off as swept aside by an unstoppable green tide, as quick and slick across the backline as they were physical up front.

If the sight of Ox Nche galloping free straight down the middle of the field in the lead-up to the nimble-footed Kolbe’s score felt ominous, South Africa’s aerial dominance and accuracy was arguably more so. The only straw to which the visitors could cling was that Kolbe could only land one of his first three conversion attempts but a 17-0 lead was still a major statement of intent.

The Boks blitz defence was also causing all kinds of mayhem, their sense of purpose summed up by the sight of the diminutive Kolbe flooring the giant George Martin. And if England left the tiniest hole they found themselves chasing the lightning-quick scrum-half Grant Williams who would have set up a fourth try had Malcolm Marx clung on to Du Toit’s subsequent pass.

For a while the closest England came to responding was when Jamie George, burrowing low from a metre out, had a try ruled out for offside but momentum then shifted dramatically in the last five minutes of the first half with Arendse in the sin-bin. First the committed Ellis Genge crashed over and then, with the interval beckoning, the massive Martin thundered through a couple of defenders in the left corner. Smith’s conversion, remarkably, sent England down the tunnel just three points behind.

It was rich entertainment for a healthier-than-predicted crowd, swelled in number by last-minute cut-price tickets. Organisers acknowledge that prices were initially set too high given the glut of international rugby in these parts over the next two months and current economic uncertainty. South Africa’s unemployment rate has risen to almost 33%, and, if they can afford it all, people are saving their money for the upcoming New Zealand tour.

There was never much chance of the Boks failing to hit back hard at the start of the second half and, sure enough, the quicksilver Williams darted over within six minutes of the restart. England, though, might have responded just three minutes later when Fin Smith slipped through a gap but Seb Atkinson could not cling on to his hasty offload.

South Africa were proving rather more clinical at the other end, Jesse Kriel slicing over for their fifth try just after a mass influx of English replacements to reward good approach work by Damian Willemse. Henry Pollock’s subsequent arrival prompted a chorus of boos from his South African fan club but the 21-year-old could do little to halt South Africa’s final quarter power surge following a third English try for Alex Coles.

Further close-range tries from Malcolm Marx and BJ Dixon, with Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper now in the bin, took the Boks into the 40s and it was a ragged looking white-shirted defensive line by the end. From here England will fly back home to take on Fiji in Liverpool next Saturday before heading off to South America to face Argentina in Santiago del Estero. If they are to finish with anything more than a hefty stack of air miles they need to bounce back quickly from this hardcore experience.