Boks batter Georgia in tough Mbombela clash

The Citizen

3 days ago

The Springboks emerged as convincing victors from their final Castle Lager Incoming Series test of the year, against Georgia, at Mbombela Stadium on July 19.
Saturday night's clash, while far from perfect for the Boks, presented them with a lot of success and the perfect way to finish off their three-match series.
Determined to spoil the part in Mbombela, Georgia were first to rack up some points, crossing the whitewash within the first five minutes to take a surprise 7-0 lead. The Boks first drew blood through one of the three debutants in their front row, Boan Venter, who managed to score his first test try.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's conversion rebounded off the post to keep Georgia in the lead.
While they struggled to find their feet early on, the Springboks ultimately kicked on and began asserting themselves on their opposition. Mbombela local and yet another debutant, Marnus van der Merwe, crashed over the line to enjoy a fine start to life as a test rugby player.
Canan Moodie scored a try of his own before Georgia added three more points to their tally. Marnus' dream test debut continued, and he scored his second try of the game to round out the half and give the Boks a 22-10 lead at the break.
It took only four minutes of play in the second half for the famous Bomb Squad to show their faces in front of a raucous Mbombela crowd. Edwill van der Merwe, who was excellent in the air throughout the game, scored the first try of the second period, which also went unconverted.
Damian Willemse was next to cross the try line for the Boks, before things quietened down for most of the second half as the Georgians managed to disrupt much of the momentum the home side built.
Edwill scored his second of the game, followed by a Handré Pollard conversion, to give the Boks a 41-10 lead.
Kurt-Lee Arendse reached a special landmark with one minute to go, scoring his 20th Springbok try to notch up 100 points in the green and gold. The last say belonged to Pollard though, who scored a try of his own and converted it to wrap the game up in a neat bow that saw the Boks emerge 55-10 victors.
The game was far from easy for the Springboks, especially up front, as true to their nature the Georgians fought hard from the first whistle to the last. They ensured the home side felt their presence, be it through tough scrummaging or hard tackles that sent a good few Springboks back in their stride.
While the scoreline shines favourably on the Boks, the game was far from perfect and there are a good few lessons to be learnt before they take on Argentina, Australia and New Zealand in The Rugby Championship.
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