Jake White’s new-look Springboks had to overcome a shaky first half before they ran amok in the second stanza against the Central Unions XV for a 62-19 victory in a warm-up match at the Absa Stadium in Kimberley on Wednesday evening.
The Boks led 22-16 at the break.
South Africa’s performance in the first half an hour or so was littered with unforced errors and, most alarmingly, an inability to control their discipline. By the end of the match no less than five Boks had received their marching orders from referee Jonathan Kaplan.
Although it is likely that White asked Kaplan to be stringent in his policing the laws, five yellow cards are far too many if South Africa hope to compete for 80 minutes against Ireland in 10 days’ time.
However, matters improved slightly towards the end of the first stanza with right wing Ashwin Willemse impressive while crossing for two tries — the first from a superb forward push and the second courtesy of a sniping break from scrumhalf Bolla Conradie.
It was not a performance that will instil much confidence in the fans, although the Boks showed glimpses of promise, especially in the second half.
The worst news of the day for White, however, was the unfortunate injury to Willemse’s left knee in a crunching tackle shortly after the restart that compounded the injury crisis currently surrounding the Bok squad.
Although the seriousness of the injury was not immediately apparent, the chances are that Willemse may be out for at least the Tests against Ireland and Wales, if not longer.
It was not pretty as White’s first match in charge showed that there is plenty of work to do ahead of the first Test against Ireland in Bloemfontein on June 12.
Passes failed to find their man, while wrong options were the order of the day as the Central Unions XV more than played their part in an entertaining first half.
The Bok forwards held their own against the tough Central pack, with flanker Schalk Burger getting through a mountain of work in the opening 40 minutes.
The Boks were first on the board when Jacques Cronje, playing in the number eight jersey, stretched an arm out to ground the ball on the line in the third minute.
The ”home” team, however, hit back immediately and took the lead after Willem de Waal converted lock Jannie Bornman’s sixth-minute try.
But the match deteriorated somewhat as tempers — predictably — flared and the Boks had centre Marius Joubert sin-binned for a pathetic professional foul just 11 minutes into the match.
Prop Eddie Andrews, on as a replacement at the start of the second half, also received his marching orders for striking a player on the ground, but that incident was the last time the Springboks played second fiddle.
Once the Boks returned to a full compliment they started to run tries in almost at will, with the introduction of De Wet Barry to partner Marius Joubert being the spark for the national side.
The Boks ran in five wonderful five-pointers from the 54th minute to the 67th minute to take the score from a narrow 22-19, shortly after the break, to a commanding 55-19 with a little more than 10 minutes to play.
In the end, fullback Gaffie du Toit scored in the final minute to end with three tries, six conversions and a penalty for a personal haul of 30 points. — Sapa