So near and yet so far. Written off by all but the most one-eyed before the game, South Africa should have beaten the best rugby team in the world at the Subiaco Oval. Instead England won 25-6 and as anticipated long ago, the Boks will almost certainly have to beat the All Blacks in the quarterfinal to stay in the World Cup.
The Springboks had enough ball and enough penalties, but couldn’t convert the former into tries or the latter into points. The villain of the piece emerged as Louis Koen, who missed four kicks at goal and had a clearance kick in the 63rd minute charged down by Lewis Moody, allowing Will Greenwood to hack through and score the game’s only try.
Koen could be forgiven for missing long-range efforts in the 20th and 30th minutes and was unlucky to hit the stanchion with the latter kick. But he was far more culpable for further misses in the 33rd and 35th.
Given that Koen’s presence in the team is due entirely to his perceived ability to kick successfully at goal, it came as something of a shock to see him return to the field after half time. Derick Hougaard would have been a far better option, but the youngster had to wait for the 68th minute, when it was far too late, to enter the fray.
Koen was also culpable for his general reading of the game and his option taking. It was all in sharp contrast to the performance of his opposite number. Jonny Wilkinson kicked 20 of England’s points, with four penalties, two drop goals and the conversion of Greenwood’s try.
South Africa’s best move came in the 46th minute when they successfully ran turnover ball to within five metres of the English goal line. The Springboks’ ability to compete at the breakdowns kept them in the game and England gave away a slew of turnover ball in very uncharacteristic fashion.
Australian referee Peter Marshall effectively neutered the work of Neil Back and in the absence of the injured Richard Hill, England were a long way short of the white juggernaut that won 16 successive test matches. Ultimately it was Wilkinson’s unerring boot that kept their noses in front.
The Boks harried England into errors and competed brilliantly in the set pieces. If Koen had kicked his goals they would have been well ahead at the hour mark, but instead Greenwood’s try opened the floodgates for England.
Four minutes after the centres’ try Wilkinson coolly dropped a goal to take England into a 22-6 lead. With confidence restored England began to move the ball with impunity and South Africa gave hard won possession away with unforced errors, particularly knock ons. Wilkinson dropped his second goal in the 75th minute and the Boks were effectively dead and buried.
Nevertheless Rudolf Straeuli’s men can hold their heads high. They competed legally and banished the ghosts of the 53-3 defeat at Twickenham last year. This was far closer to the stirring effort against the All Blacks in Dunedin in the final Tri-Nations match of the Springbok season and for that we should all be grateful.
South African captain Corne Krige said, ”We played like we wanted to play in the first half, but in the second half we didn’t manage to get the ball and hold onto it. They showed they’re a world-class side because they turned their opportunities into points.
”We feel we’ve let people down at home, and it’s more difficult from here on. But if you want to be world champions you have to beat every side and we showed today that we are capable of doing that”.
England captain Martin Johnson was a relieved man, saying, ”There’s been a lot of pressure on this team this week and we handled it pretty well. It was a tough game that could have gone differently if they’d kicked their goals in the first half.
”They put a lot of pressure on us at breakdown. The forwards didn’t give Jonny good enough ball. But it’s about winning and we’ve come through it. We’ll be better for a proper test match under our belts”.