25 min: Williams gets a sloppy pass at a line-out inside his own half but who needs clean ball when you have nitroglycerin in your boots? He drops a shoulder, spots a gap and explodes upfield, chewing up about 50 metres in a flash. He finds de Villiers in support who finds PS du Toit. The onrushing Hanekom knocks on so M Smith can hoof clear. But the return kick from Willemse comes back with interest. England had a try disallowed, but if the Boks were a little more accurate they could have had two more of their own.
23 min: We don’t get the scrum because SA went early and gifted a free kick to England. The men in white regroup and run it. Atkinson is melted by PSDT. But England still have it. It’s scrappy, the Boks defence is so quick. JvP box kicks a clever little dinked one that finds touch on England’s left. England are showing plenty of puff, but the Boks defence is holding firm.
19 min: The Boks almost hit back immediately! It’s so slick. Nortje wins the line-out, off the top de Villiers then carries. Williams hoists a high kick, Kolbe puts Smith under pressure and SA have the ball. PSDT offloads for Marx to his right in the tram and had that stitched they would have been away. In a few seconds they go from their own line to deep inside England’s patch. They just look so well coached.
But the knock-on gives England a chance to clear, so SA have the ball back inside their own half where Williams lifts another high kick that is won back before it’s spilled.
So after a hectic period, we’ll have a scrum for England around halfway.
NO TRY! South Africa 17-0 England
No he wasn’t! George was offside! JvP touched the ball when it was still in the morass. That meant that George was offside as he was in front of his 9, still technically part of the ruck. South Africa escape with some mighty defence, Echoes of the first half of the 2019 WC final.
Or did he? They’re checking it. Was George entitled to play the ball there?
TRY! South Africa 17-5 England (George, 18)
England are on the board! 15 phases and they get there. From the tap and go it was all the big units who kept it close. Pick and go. Pick and go. The SA defence held firm but couldn’t do so forever and the England skipper eventually dabbed it down.
16 min: England spill it! But de Villiers was off-side. Genge the last man to spill it. Or was it Earl, or both? Either way, England will tap and go from five out.
15 min: Better from England as F Smith, then Earl, then M Smith carry well and make metres. JvP has the ball on the edge of the Boks’ 22. Martin carries into traffic. They go down the blind on the right through Coles. Then come back infield with Atkinson carrying well. F Smith finds space around the fringe and they’re within 10 now. Much better. Hayes takes ot to within three..
TRY! South Africa 17-0 England (Arendse, 12)
Another one! Oh. My. Goodness! I said this could be close. It could still be, but it aint now! South Africa are on fire. From the free-kick they go through the hands. Willemse up to the line just spirals a pass out to Arendse who lines up Marcus Smith, jinks and beats him to the corner. Strenght and pace. Every player out there looks immense so far.
It’s not perfect though. Kolbe shanks another conversion.
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12 min: England thought they’d won the line-out but Heyes stepped in too early. Free kick for the Boks five out.
11 min: Murley does well under a high Williams kick but he’s pinned for holding onto the ball. South Africa has dominated the sky so far. Rather than kick at the sticks, Libbok nudges to the corner. The Boks smell blood. Line-out about seven out.
9 min: Nche is replaced early by Steenekamp. He was injured after that barnstorming run. Anyway, here come the Boks off a line-out. De Allende straightens and finds space. He feeds Kolbe who grubbers, forcing Feyi-Waboso to mop up. The England wingetr does well and JvP can kick deep but here comes Willemse again, who has been perfect under the high ball.
9 min: Williams hoists a high box that is just about cleaned up by England. But the ball from van Poortvliet is sloppy and F Smith has to tidy again. They’re back in their own 22. JvP boxes himself but he goes for distance and touch, finding it around halfway. Good exit. But England need to find some oomph here. They are getting clattered in the contact.
TRY! South Africa 12-0 England (Kolbe, 6)
Kolbe side-steps Murley and scores! Phew, the Springboks have come to play! Let’s recap.
Willemse catches, chips and gathers. Then Kriel kept it going. Then Wiese ran over three defenders. Then Nche did the same and motored up the English 22, running about 25 metres. Then Williams recycled and sent it right. Kolbe got it and side-stepped Murley in the tram and scored. The conversion is good and the Boks are off to a flyer!
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5 min: F Smith kicks long to Willemse who chips and chases and gathers his own return. Wiese is over the gainline. Kriel finds Kolbe on the left wing. My word they look on it. Nche carries and runs over a tackler, the prop runs 25 metres into England’s 22….
TRY! South Africa 5-0 England (T du Toit, 3)
The tank charges over! Off the line-out, Marx went right over the top. The ball is soon flung to Willemse on the canter, he came close but was hauled down. From there it was kept tight in the corner and the Bath legend picks and drives and won’t be denied.
Kolbe has the kicking tee and he shanks it right of the sticks from the left tram.
1 min: Willemse fields a high kick. Libbok hoists one himself and Smith climbs and spills. That’s not forward but Freeman’s intervention was. And Englishman also loses his feet so Libbok rakes to the corner and Marx will have a throw inside English territory.
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Kick-off
‘The final countdown’ blasts around Ellis Park.
Decent crowd in as James Doleman blows his whistle and we’re under way with Libbok kicking us off!
This could all hinge on the scrum.
Not that England fans need reminding, but this relationship is now defined by two scrums.
One in 2019 when Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira consumed Dan Cole. And then in 2023 when Ox ‘salads-don’t-win-scrums’ Nche turned the tide in the semi-final.
The players are out. Well, England first. Then come the South Africans, led by muscled men dressed like a Zulu warriors, brandishing spears and knobkerries.
Then come the Boks, led by Damian Willense and Cheslin Kolbe who win their 50th caps.
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Luca Human has been in touch hoping for some Saffa joy:
“After the disappointing result against Canada, hoping for a bit of a rebound for SA sports today. Sucks re Siya & Eben, but as an avid Stormers fan I have full confidence in Paul de Villiers.”
Add in the Women’s T20 World Cup – where England trounced South Africa – and good news on the pitch has been in short supply.
David Flatman and Topsy Ojo are on screen chatting about altitude.
Johannesburg sits 1,750 metres above sea level.
Bryan Habana is now talking about.
Does it matter? Well, if you’re interested, I explored that here.
Wales beat Fiji 39-24.
Shame for Fiji but from what I saw they were pretty sloppy.
So that’s 2-2 in the Nations Championship so far. A reminder of the results:
New Zealand 34-32 France
Japan 27-10 Italy
Australia 31-33 Ireland
Fiji 24-39 Wales
Why are Wales second there? Because technically they were the away side. A farce, really, as the game was played in Cardiff. But for reasons that do not extend beyond finances Fiji aren’t hosting any of their home games. I hope they’re making a fortune and this is the last year this malarky happens.
Curious to see how many fans are in the stands today.
You’d think it’d be a sell-out. But a combination of expensive tickets, the stadium being located in a part of town with a poor reputation, and that the All Blacks are playing two matches in the province in August, means SA Rugby have struggled to sling tickets.
They’ve reduced the price (which is a tough break for those who did pay the premium fee) and have been quite punchy, saying:
“Predictions that the attendance would be little more than 21 000 were entirely erroneous and misinformed. SA Rugby hopes to get close to the historic average against England in SA of 91% of the stadiums’ capacity in a market in which tickets are on sale for four Test matches and two provincial matches against the touring All Blacks. Assertions of lack of interest are unfounded and not supported by the actual sales data.”
Well, no one said there wasn’t interest. I have interest in living in a house with a swimming pool.
Here’s some reading for you while we build towards kick-off:
England team news
It’s not as dramatic, but England have had to make a late change of their own.
George Furbank has appendicitis and was taken to hospital yesterday. That means Marcus Smith moves from the bench to the 15 jersey.
Henry Slade joins the 23 on the bench.
Steve Borthwick has gone for some big timber in the pack and has picked a 6-2 split. George Martin and Alex Coles could win this match for their country if they stand up and wear down the now lightened Springboks pack.
Of course all eyes will be on the bench, eager to see Henry Pollock enter the scene. No visiting player since Jonah Lomu has attracted as much attention as the Northampton Saints lad. (No, I’m not comparing the two, but the collective headloss from Saffa fans has been immense).
England: Marcus Smith; Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, Seb Atkinson, Cadan Murley; Fin Smith, Jack van Poortvliet; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (c), Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, George Martin, Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Beno Obano, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Carlie Ewels, Guy Pepper, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade.
Kolisi and Etzebeth out! SA team news
We’re going to find out if this depth in SA rugby everyone keeps banging on about is truth or guff.
A bombshell has landed. Both Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth have been withdrawn from the match-23.
Pieter-Steph du Toit shifts to the second row and will captain the team while Cameron Hanekom – a superb athlete but one who is yet to shine on a Test pitch – will take the 7 jersey with Paul de Villiers making his debut at 6.
There’s a mini crisis at lock. In fact, there are no replacement locks on the bench with Marco van Staden and Ben-Jason Dixon (more of a loose forward than a lock) the forwards on a 5-3 bench.
South Africa: Damian Willemse; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Manie Libbok, Grant Williams; Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Thomas du Toit, Pieter-Steph du Toit (c), Ruan Nortje, Paul de Villiers, Cameron Hanekom, Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen, Marco van Staden, Ben-Jason Dixon, Cobus Reinach, Andre Esterhuizen, Canan Moodie.
Preamble
We return to the place where it all started.
Back in 2018, on a wintry Johannesburg day, Eddie Jones’ England came to town to play a dynasty in its infancy.
It was the first home match of the Rassie Erasmus era and the first time Siya Kolisi skippered the side.
After England raced to a 24-3 lead at Ellis Park, the Springboks went on to win 42-39 and begin the first steps as one of the most dominant sides the sport has ever seen. Two World Cups, a British & Irish Lions tour, three Rugby Championship titles and two of their players crowned best in the world. It’s been some ride.
England are back. They have a different coach though their hosts haven’t changed too much. Erasmus is still in charge. Kolisi is still skipper. The weight of a nation still rests on their meaty shoulders.
What has changed is the expectations around this fixture. Anything other than a South African romp will be viewed as an upset. But I’ve got a sneaky feeling England could spring a surprise. I’m not saying they’ll win, but this could be tighter than some have imagined.
In a day littered with blockbuster matches, this is surely the headline act. I cannot wait!
Kick-off at 17:40 in Johannesburg/16:40 BST.
Team news (and there are some doozies) and other bits to follow.
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