Jake White’s Springboks defied the odds and their critics with a hard-fought 27-13 victory over the French at the EPRU Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday afternoon.
South Africa led 20-6 at the break.
The win means the Boks clinch the two-Test series 1-0 after the first Test was drawn 30-all in Durban last weekend.
The match was an ill-tempered, scrappy affair that was far from the spectacle the two teams dished up a week ago in Durban.
Apart from the win, the big highlight for the Boks was the performance of left wing Bryan Habana. He notched up two more tries, to take his tally to an impressive nine in just six Tests.
Fullback Percy Montgomery also impressed with a good all-round display, while the graft of the forwards will give them much satisfaction. Most of the team can be proud of their performances in the first half that laid the foundation for the win.
The fact that that the display tapered off rather dramatically after the changeover will be some cause for alarm in the camp.
The start though was inspiring. With all the pressure and disruptions in the build-up, the Boks could have been forgiven for taking their time to get into their stride.
But with Jake White’s quit threat still ringing in their ears, the team came out all guns blazing and hit their straps early.
Much of the endeavour, however, was wasted with stupid mistakes in the opening exchanges as South Africa took the game to the French.
It set the tone for a hearty first 40 minutes that was underlined by the patience of the home team, but littered with errors that frustrated the cause.
The second half was a sorry tale of missed opportunities, shocking handling and plain bad rugby from both teams as a general malaise descended over the game.
That frustration was probably the reason for Schalk Burger’s 72nd minute sin-binning for a dangerous high tackle. A number of petty scuffles was unfortunately the theme of a lethargic last 40 minutes.
The home side went 3-0 up when Montgomery slotted an eighth minute penalty and they continued to be in the French faces ‒ the call to arms was being answered in no uncertain terms.
With the home team dominating they were justifiably rewarded when Habana crossed the line on 12 minutes after good work from Burger to secure the ball in the middle of the park.
Montgomery then made the break through the French line before setting Habana free to trot in untouched under the poles.
The visitors were curiously off their game in the first half and with the Boks controlling much of the possession, another try was inevitable.
That it came from an intercept from Jean de Villiers out on the right did not seem to matter for the 35 000 fans packed into the stadium. He robbed Cedric Heymans of the ball, steadied himself and galloped half the length of the field for a wonderful solo effort.
He too went under the poles and with Montgomery adding the extras again the Boks were 17-6 up with nearly half an hour played.
France had had few raids into Bok territory, but on two occasions they managed to trouble the scorers when Dimitri Yachvili and Frederic Michalak landed one penalty each.
Montgomery put the seal on a fine first stanza for the home side with a 36th minute penalty to head into halftime 14 points to the good.
South Africa continued in the second period where they left off in the first and it took just seven minutes before they were back in business with another interception try.
This time it was Habana who profited from Michalak’s errant pass for his second try of the match and sixth in his last three Tests.
Montgomery kicked the conversion to stretch the lead to 27-6.
The rest of the game left much to be desired, but nevertheless the victory gave the Boks a famous win — their first over the French in the last four matches.
The French were better after the interval, but only marginally, while South Africa’s play disintegrated as the match wore on.
Both teams were guilty of poor handling, but possibly more alarming for White was the inferior decision making from his players throughout.
At the end of the day, the wrong French team pitched up and were soundly beaten.
A try in the dying minutes from Michalak gave the score-line some respectability, but if truth be told the French were terrible, at times only slightly more so than their opponents on the day. – Sapa