An uninspired Springboks outfit managed to scrape through to a 29-15 victory over Scotland to end up 2-0 victors in their two Test series played at the Eastern Province Rugby Union stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. The home side offered little on the day as they came under some unrelenting pressure from a determined Scottish pack.
The Boks, though, with all their uncharacteristic errors of knocking the ball at critical times, did well to keep their cool as John Smit opted to kill off his opposition through the reliable boot of Percy Montgomery.
Playing in his 75th Test, Montgomery slotted over seven penalties and with the second kick of the day surpassed the 600 Test points mark. It was Montgomery’s accuracy throughout that kept the Boks abreast of a feisty Scottish outfit.
It took all of an hour before South Africa could breach the Scottish defence and score a try after Scotland had played all the rugby but were cruelly denied their first win on South African soil.
While the Springboks sought to throwing directionless passes and knocking on the ball with the five points at bay, Scotland made use of the measly crumbs of possession granted to them by their heftier hosts.
In the 13th minute Scottish winger Simon Webster pounced on a Gordon Ross grubber to score the first try of the match and silence the boisterous Port Elizabeth crowd.
That stunned the Boks to the reality of an imminent loss and for every penalty that Scotland conceded in their half Montgomery took full advantage and added the three points.
Scotland took the game to the Boks which disrupted the home side and led to their near capitulation at the breakdown and in many of the battles upfront.
The Boks held on and led 12-5 at the half-time interval but were again given a reality check when substitute Donnie Macfadyen scored in the 73rd minute after Du Preez’s touchdown to bring Scotland within victory at 23-15.
Du Preez’s try came under dubious circumstances as Australian touch judge Stuart Dickinson called play back for a Webster knock-on with Chris Paterson having screamed the length of the field to score a try that would have drawn Scotland within three points of the Boks.
But Montgomery put the contest beyond reach with two additional penalties to give South Africa a win, as ugly and uninspiring as it may have been.
In the first half the Boks showed little initiative going forward and were often their own nemesis as they moved around aimlessly.
And what may have seemed like small meaningless errors could easily have cost the Springboks the match. The Scottish pack looked more aggressive and confidently challenged the formidable home pack in the tight phases.
Although the Boks enjoyed a good measure of ball in the first half they simply failed to do anything with it while the Scots showed intent on crossing the line.
The Bok forwards were, on most occassions, beaten to the point of breakdown by their more mobile opponents while John Smit struggled to find Victor Matfield in the lineouts.
Scotland could have easily led the Boks at half-time were it not for Webster’s knock on with nobody hindering him a metre from the Bok goal area.
It may not have been Scotland’s time to rewrite the history books but it was a necessary wake up call for the Springboks ahead of their one-off Test against France next Saturday in Cape Town and a grueling Tri-Nations series next month. – Sapa