Error-ridden Springboks stumble in Mbombela as feisty Georgia make a statement
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will be unsure whether to laugh or cry as his team were poor and wonderful in equal measure on their way to beating Georgia 55-10 in Mbombela on Saturday night.
Either way, the Boks were put through a serious examination by the Lelos, and perhaps it was the ideal way for the Boks to finish their four-match block of games that warm them up for the Rugby Championship, which kicks off in a month.
Ideal because they will know they are some way off their best form, and a mountain of improvement is required if they are to beat the All Blacks in Auckland on September 6, the match which is the climax of the Boks' international season.
We know the Georgians are tough — their national sport is wrestling — but few could have predicted that the double world champions would be forced into their most unconvincing start to a match in years.
It was not easy on the eye for the 40,000 in the Mbombela Stadium as the Lelos blasted out of the blocks. Captain Siya Kolisi was bowled over in a frenzied forward assault and went off for a concussion assessment.
Kwagga Smith was on for Kolisi after a minute and a half. He had just taken his place when the visitors silenced the stadium with a perfectly executed try off the back of a maul, with hooker Vano Karkadze granted the score even though the TV replay showed that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had got his hands underneath the ball.
Georgia hadn't received the memo that they would be little more than tackle bags. It took the Boks ten minutes to settle, and two tries were scored by debutants in quick succession, both from close quarters.
First prop Boan Venter crashed over, and then local boy Marnus van der Merwe went over off the back of a lineout.
In the 13th minute, Kolisi returned and was on hand to see Van der Merwe score.
Georgia almost scored again, this time from a slick backline movement, with a flying cover tackle by Aphelele Fassi saving the day.
The Boks' third try was a beauty. A magnificent backline movement, replete with nifty passing, produced a clean break by Grant Williams, and then Canan Moodie finished powerfully, replicating his effort from Gquberha the week before when he took two defenders on his back.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu sent his third consecutive conversion attempt wide.
Penalties were flowing the way of the eastern Europeans as their pressure told on the Boks. They were shrugging off the defensive intensity of the Boks, and as the half-hour mark approached, they won a penalty for Luka Matkava to kick over for a 15-10 scoreline to the Boks.
Van der Merwe scored his second, again off the tail of a rolling maul, to give the Boks a dubious 22-10 lead at half time.
The first try of the second half was scored by Edwill van der Merwe, his fourth try in his third match for his country. It came from a bulldozing effort by Pieter-Steph du Toit in the Georgia 22m, and a long pass by Williams saw Van der Merwe run the try in.
Handre Pollard replaced the off-colour Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the 55th minute, and one of his first actions was to put Damian Willemse through a gap for a try off a scrum near the Georgia line.
Faf de Klerk was on for Williams, and what a fantastic cameo he enjoyed as he fights for his place in the greater Springbok squad. He was like a terrier on steroids as he buzzed about the field, his old home ground when he was with the Pumas.
And with seven minutes remaining, he nudged a kick over the defence in the Georgia 22 for Edwill van der Merwe to gather and score his second.
With time up on the clock, the Boks showed great ambition to run from their tryline, with Pollard scoring in the last movement of the match.
Scorers
Springboks — Tries: Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handre Pollard Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Handre Pollard (3).
Georgia — Try: Vano Karkadze. Conversion. Luka Matkava. Penalty: Matkava.
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