Rugby romance took a back seat to the most intense rugby theatre in the opening quarter. It is why 44,000 packed into the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Why ticket prices will be at a premium when the Springboks play anywhere in the world.
The romance was Willie le Roux’s 100th Test. He coughed a ball up on his first involvement. The brotherly love was Jasper and Cobus Wiese becoming the 37th set of brothers to play in a Test for the Springboks.
Jasper started at No 8, and Cobus would provide impact in the latter stages. Jasper, the older brother by one year, saw red mist in the 20th minute, lost the plot with a head butt and the tale of two brothers in arms taking the ball up in tandem must wait for another occasion.
This was theatre at a premium.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus called a scrum in the first second of the game. The Boks had orchestrated a deliberate mistake for a scrum at kick-off. Referee Andrew Brace was not impressed. He simply delayed his calls on the engagement, and penalised the fired-up Bok eight for going early.
Italy’s lost cause
Brace would be more of a menace to the Boks than the Italians at scrum time. His crouch, bind and set call ordinarily is around six or seven seconds. He was closer to 10 or 11 seconds in the opening 30 minutes. Then he lost interest in Italy’s lost cause and stopped interfering in rugby’s dark arts.
The opening three minutes was worth a book. From the clever coach and the belligerent referee’s opening exchange, to an Italian prop making the first kick of the match to a Springboks scrumhalf taking the first lineout of the match, and a Springboks try for that very scrumhalf, Grant Williams.
This all happened in the first three minutes, in which there were three scrums.
The Nelson Mandela Bay crowd brings a unique energy to any occasion but, aligned with a Bok team that brought intensity and energy, this was always going to be a beautiful and brutal Boks Saturday.
Erasmus’s Boks led 24-0 at the change-over, courtesy of four tries. In Pretoria a week ago, it was 28-3 also with four tries. The two 40 minutes were different, one at altitude and one at sea-level.
Season is about form
But the difference was in intent, in passion and in anger for what happened a week ago.
Six players remained from the first Test match 23, and for the 17 who got a crack at Italy for the first time, it was a statement to Erasmus that there is no World Cup-winning A team, and that this season is about form and not historical pedigree.
As he did in Pretoria, Erasmus spoke of performance more than scoreline and result.
He wanted intent.
Grant Williams at No 9 screamed ownership of a jersey that is the most charitable on offer in a Bok squad that gives little away when it comes to positions.
Canan Moodie, at 13, is the future, as much as he is the present. He is world-class.
Scrum ability
Ox Nche is without comparison as a scrumming loosehead prop. Erasmus sacrificed utility prop Thomas du Toit on 30 minutes to ensure the Boks had scrum stability when going seven versus eight.
Nche immediately destroyed his opponent at a scrum, and the Boks scored a try from his initial action. Malcolm Marx was as good. Ditto captain Salmaan Moerat and Marco van Staden.
Italy, like a No 11 in cricket who believes he can bat, were quickly reminded they were playing the Springboks in South Africa. It should never be comfortable, and it should never have a 20-metre maul try memory — as happened in Pretoria.
There was pleasure for the Boks in this win and only pain for the Italians — as it should be when playing in the Republic.
Pieter-Stef du Toit was back, right-wing Edwill van der Merwe was among the tries, and the Boks — always more than one player down after 20 minutes — kept Italy scoreless for 81 minutes.
Job done!
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