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TimesLIVE
20-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
‘We saw where we need to work hard': Not picture perfect for Boks
He may be partial to flattering imagery but Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was careful not to 'Photoshop' what he observed from his team in their first four matches this season. The Bok coach admitted after his team vanquished Georgia 55-10 on Saturday that they weren't picture perfect. The games against the Barbarians, Italy [two-Test series] and Georgia afforded the coach to target distinct, though in some cases, contrasting objectives. He admitted casting his selection net wide cost his team continuity, cohesion and rhythm but that the overall objectives were largely met. 'We won four games and scored 50 points in almost all of them,' Erasmus reminded. 'Our defence wasn't bad. We used 46 players and when you don't have continuity you can get loose at times. And that's what we did. Eventually though we won the game by a comfortable margin,' he said about the nine-try performance in Mbombela. 'Overall the picture isn't bad but it is far from perfect.' Damian Willemse is back like he never left 😤🏉 Watch the match live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvGEO on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025 With personnel changes the order of the day, the Boks lost some of their authority in areas they usually wear the sheriff's badge. 'We saw where we need to work hard. At the breakdowns teams are coming hard at us. Then we are a little stop, start. Overall we are far from perfect. 'We learnt a lot while we were winning. It is a lot nicer learning when you are winning than losing.' On that score Erasmus was pleased his team was able to find the tryline, even when they weren't firing on all cylinders. 'We scored around 50 points in each game and the defence wasn't too bad.' He was quick to remind, though, defence coach Jerry Flannery would have been irritated no end by the Boks conceding 24 points against Italy in the first Test. Edwill van der Merwe's strike rate in International rugby 🏉💥 Watch the Springboks live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvGEO on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025 There were times, too, when the Rugby World Cup holders failed to fully assert themselves in the set pieces. Amid personnel changes there were some wonky line-outs but perhaps more pressing was some of the inconsistencies that crept into their scrum. Without the injured Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff the Boks don't have the depth that made them such a compelling force a year or so ago. Ox Nché and Wilco Louw are rampaging scrummagers but the Bok supply line doesn't carry the same reputational weight. Ever seeking improvement the coach thrust a brand new front row into battle against Georgia. Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche emerged from their debut with credentials in tact, but again not all the images were flattering. 'He made a few errors here and there,' said Erasmus of hooker Van der Merwe. 'Marnus is a future Springbok. He wasn't outstanding but he showed one only really settles after three, four matches before feeling comfortable in the environment. 'Boan did well. He really did well.' Van der Merwe spoke in reverence about operating in a rarefied atmosphere. The debutants were well prepared for the blowtorch physicality Georgia were keen inflict. 'We knew what it would be like in a physical confrontation. We train against Ox and Wilco [Louw]. South Africa is No1 because of the way they train. No club comes close to that,' Van der Merwe said. Mentally, becoming a Springbok is a process that percolates. 'It is still sinking in. Wow! I had to tell myself it is actually happening. Tomorrow morning I'll tell my wife I'm a Bok.' Erasmus also had reason to enthuse, though also curbed his enthusiasm, possibly in recognition of the challenges ahead. He has added to the Bok depth while leaving the win column uncompromised. Even when they go into battle with a less recognisable line-up Bok fans will find it deeply reassuring that their team is devilishly difficult to beat. The Springboks have lost just once in their last 13 Tests. They are hard to beat and as evidenced on the blip they suffered in Santiago, Argentina last year, that body blow wasn't from the hand of the opposition.
TimesLIVE
19-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Springboks down Georgia during a thrilling encounter in Mbombela
This performance by the Springboks only touched the edges of the realm of rout but to be fair it was more about the route they pursued to this year's Rugby Championship for the defending champions. There was much tinkering in selection with 46 players chosen across four matches and as a result continuity and cohesion was sacrificed at the altar of squad depth. The mixing and matching will be reduced in the two home Tests against Australia as head coach Rassie Erasmus fine tunes his selections ahead to their most pressing engagement of the year against the All Blacks in Auckland. In Georgia they had opponents full of fight and fervour but the Springboks gradually sapped their energy from their fired-up tourists. With the game gradually loosening there were times the Springboks were overzealous in the way they expressed themselves in attack but by then they had earned the right through the toil of their forwards. There were times they dazzled but first they had to meet the challenge of the Georgians head-on. Damian Willemse is back like he never left 😤🏉 Watch the match live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvGEO on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025 The visitors were on a crusade to leave their mark as decreed by their tough-as-teak coach Richard Cockerill. There was much bellicose talk from Cockerill in the build-up to the clash with the combative former England hooker suggesting physicality is in the Georgian DNA. Indeed, the tourists were full of effort and endeavour in the opening half hour. When flyhalf Luka Matkava slotted a penalty in the 29th minute the Lelos, ranked 11th in the world, were just five points adrift from the back-to-back Rugby World Cup holders. Eventually though the star quality of the hosts shone through as the Lelos struggled to keep up with the lung busting pace of the game. Centre Canan Moodie and wing Edwill van der Merwe revelled in the space and time afforded them, while in tighter confines lock Ruan Nortje was a Trojan as he splendidly rose to the challenge. In the second half substitute lock RG Snyman freed his arms as the Boks transitioned seamlessly from defence to attack. Debutant front rankers Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche were tasked with quelling a Georgian scrumming vanguard and they did so effortlessly. No.8 Cobus Wiese stepped into the breach for his banned brother Jasper and there were times he lacked finesse. His job however was to bring punch to the Bok carries and dead weight to their first line of defence. Edwill van der Merwe's strike rate in International rugby 🏉💥 Watch the Springboks live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvGEO on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025 Georgia drew first blood when they made the most of a penalty they hoofed into touch. From the ensuing line-out their maul reaped the rewards much in the way Italy did in the recent series against the Boks. The Boks felt the need for an urgent and telling riposte. They climbed into the rucks and mauls with fervour but they were initially met with robust defence. The hosts' surfeit possession however meant the dam wall could only take so much. Eventually the Boks burrowed their way over after a concerted build-up with debutant loose head Venter applying the finishing touches near the uprights. Inexplicably Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's conversion attempt hit the right upright from close range. It wasn't just Mngomezulu's kicking that was loose and he made way for Handre Pollard in the 55th minute. It helped raise the flags. After Venter's first try the Boks kept cranking up the heat up front with Nortje and Pieter-Steph du Toit becoming more influential in the hosts' carries. You can't hold Canan Moodie back 😤🇿🇦 📺 Stream #RSAvGEO on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025 Hooker Van der Merwe joined his fellow debutant on the score sheet when he barged over after an attacking line-out and he scored again soon after. The game became looser with Georgia richly contributing to the unfolding spectacle. The Boks showed the sharp end of their attacking prowess when Aphelele Fassi, Grant Williams, Van der Merwe all carried with gusto before Nortje's delightful vignette found a momentum fuelled Moodie who rounded off the game's most thrilling passage in the 18th minute. As thrilling as that was, it is unlikely to compare with what awaits in the Rugby Championship. SOUTH AFRICA (22) 55 - 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, Handre Pollard (4).
The Citizen
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Video: A silly moment from me – Jasper Wiese after red card
Jasper and Cobus Wiese struggled to find their words after becoming the 37th pair of brothers to play for the Springboks during South Africa's 45–0 victory over Italy in Gqeberha yesterday. According to The Citizen, Cobus (28) made his debut for the national side, coming on as a replacement at lock in the second half. The joy the pair felt at his achievement stood in stark contrast to the remorse Jasper exhibited at his personal failure. Wiese commends his team The loose forward received a permanent red card after head-butting an opponent in the 21st minute. It left the Springboks a man short for about an hour, though they still completely outplayed the Italians to secure a whitewash victory. The Boks are down by one as Jasper Wiese sees red 🟥 Watch the Springboks live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvITA on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 12, 2025 It was an important win after the Springboks' 42–24 victory in the first Test against Italy at Loftus the week before left much to be desired. However, the pressure was still felt at times by the 14 men, and Jasper had to watch from the sidelines when his brother eventually took to the field at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. 'I know I let the team down,' Jasper said. 'But well done to them for fighting that out. It's not easy playing with 14 guys and they showed some grit today. But ja, just a silly moment from me.' When asked about his brother's debut, Jasper, who is one year his senior, was at a loss for words for a moment. 'This is… I don't want to get too emotional, but it's special for me. It's a long time coming and I am really, really proud.' Cobus, likewise emotional, thanked God for his opportunity to play. 'It's a dream come true to say the least,' he said. 'An overwhelming sense of gratitude and pride is probably what sums it up the best.' Sacha says the Springboks ticked their boxes The sense of triumph felt by the Springboks and crowd in Gqeberha revealed just how important this one-sided win was after last week's frustrating game. Utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu said the team had done especially well to man up in the breakdown battle, an area the Boks struggled in in Pretoria. 'We ticked that box. They ended with no tries, no points, so I think the coach will be happy with that,' Feinberg-Mngomezulu said. 'To go down [a man] and stick to our structures, that was phenomenal. I think Manie [Libbok], Grant [Williams] and Cobus [Reinach] did a great job at that.'
IOL News
13-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
How the Springboks' rolling maul tactics secured a 45-0 win against Italy
Centurion Willie le Roux had some neat touches against Italy on Saturday and with this kick set up the try for winger Edwill van der Merwe. Image: BackpagePix The Springboks copied that open play rolling maul tactic from Paul Roos Gimnasium's under-14 B side, and on Saturday against Italy, it paid off twice with tries. South Africa scored seven five-pointers in the 45-0 victory and redeemed themselves after a lacklustre performance at Loftus Versfeld last weekend, to clinch the two-Test series 2-0. On Saturday afternoon in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, there were no signs of the Boks allowing the Italians into the game as they took control from the start to the final whistle. It paved the way for an exciting match as the world champions celebrated the 100th cap of Willie le Roux in style. Canan Moodie busts through Italy's defence 💣💣 Watch the Springboks live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvITA on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 12, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Despite a red card to eighth man Jasper Wiese and playing with 14 men for most of the contest and even 13 players for 10 minutes after a yellow card, the Boks totally outplayed their opponents. Some tactical innovations caught the Europeans unawares, especially the two mauls in open play. 'It worked twice for us (leading to tries), but people saw it, so it will be done for the next couple of games,' Erasmus said about the innovation. 'A lot of teams do different tactical moves, and we just did a rolling maul in general play, where we lift a guy. We actually saw it done by a school side, Paul Roos, where Willie was. With the maul in open play, you get all the benefits like in a lineout maul when you support the player jumping.' The Springboks are having fun out there! #RSAvITA — Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) July 12, 2025 Those manufactured mauls led to tries for Canan Moodie in the first half and hooker Malcolm Marx in the second forty. Erasmus also elaborated on the short kick-off in the first half. He said they are always cooking up plans and people sometimes only see those that pay off. The short kick, which led to an early scrum, would've been a perfect platform for the Boks if they could shove Italy back. Unfortunately, they conceded a short-arm free kick for an early engagement. That meant the short kick-off plan flopped. 'Manie made a mistake at kick-off,' Erasmus joked at first. They actually did it. I heard last night that the #Springboks were going to kick off short and have a first scrum. Madness #RSAvITA — Leighton Koopman (@Leighton_K) July 12, 2025 'We wanted to get into the contest with the scrum early on. We found that they played a lot of channel-one (quick scrums) balls last week to get it out of the scrum. We make a lot of plans that don't work, and people don't know it normally. But that is an example of something that didn't work out.' On the red card Wiese copped after only 20 minutes of play, Erasmus didn't want to say much about. He stated, though, that Wiese will receive all the support from the team. he eighth man missed the opportunity to play alongside his brother, Cobus, who was one of three debutants on the day. 'I'm not able to say it was wrong or right or how bad it was. It is said because he is not a guy who goes out to do that. He is very committed and passionate about the team.'
TimesLIVE
12-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Springboks annihilate the Azzurri in Gqeberha
This was an at times chaotic, breathtaking, error strewn but always engaging junk yard junket. At the end the Springboks raised their arms in Gqeberha after emphatically beating Italy 45-0 to secure a 2-0 Test series victory but they will have much to pore over as they fine tune their team and battle plans before the Rugby Championship. They face Georgia in Mbombela next weekend but not before sifting through some of the rubble of this match, and to be fair there is much to salvage. We were robbed of the opportunity to see what this much changed Springbok combination was really capable of when No8 Jasper Wiese was red carded a quarter into the game. The yellow card to Wilco Louw in the 45th minute brought further complication, if not a little angst and rearranging. What the loss of personnel did achieve, however, was to galvanise the Springbok forwards while the team in general took to their adjusted task with alacrity. D-rex gets the home crowd off their seats 😏🇿🇦 Watch the Springboks live on #SSRugby (Ch.211) and SS Grandstand (Ch.201) in three language options 🎙️🏉 📺 Stream #RSAvITA on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 12, 2025 Their performance was at times scrappy, perhaps no more glaringly than in the line-out in the second half, but the Boks showed resolve and character by the bucket load. Sure, being a man down did not give the hosts the opportunity to maximise their attacking prowess but their pack was so dominant that they still had enough ball to dictate the course of the match. Their scrum was full of menace which was the foundation upon which they set themselves apart in the first half. Three of their first half tries were built on the thrust of the collective shove. The Springboks were confident they would have the upper hand in the scrum. In fact, they sought a scrum from the outset when they deliberately botched the kick-off. They did not draw immediate reward but they certainly signalled their intentions. Soon after, however, the Boks drew the first penalty and it came in an area win which they failed to assert their dominance last weekend. The Azzurri were combative at the breakdown at Loftus Versfeld which served to knock the Springboks out of their attacking stride. The visitors were denuded that luxury in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Marco van Staden and Marx brought the Boks muscle and clarity in that area. Manie ➕ Willie 🪄🪄 From one side of the field to the other with two passes 🎯🎯 📺 Stream #RSAvITA on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 12, 2025 Ox Nche was a real force when he stepped off the bench after half an hour for Thomas du Toit, scrumhalf Grant Williams was a live wire, centre Canan Moodie played with unrestrained enthusiasm, perhaps evidence best through his first half try, while right wing Van der Merwe was full of buoyancy. Like Nche, Jan-Hendrik Wessels brought energy and urgency to the loose once he made it onto the field and it helped stretch the winning margin towards the end. The golden touch that helped centurion Willie le Roux to that landmark deserted him on the big occasion. His body of work though remains unchallenged. The big talking point of the match however will be the red card to Wiese. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus looked incredulous when referee Andrew Brace produced the red card but his No8 did nudge his head forward into the face of Italian loose head Danilo Fischetti. Wiese's headbutt might not measure up to standards in drinking holes of Brakpan, Glasgow or Belfast but it did meet the threshold for permanent banishment. It meant the Boks had to face three quarters of the match with a man down. Wiese's first half banishment robbed him the opportunity to share the field with his brother Cobus, who made it onto the field in the second half on debut. In the end the Boks got the job done with much to spare. They however are the back-to-back Rugby World Cup holders and will be far from content with this performance. They have restless energy and will seek improvement in the coming weeks. There may be more tinkering and tweaking in selection for next weekend's match in Mbombela and they may emerge from that not having ticked all the boxes. They are however clear signs they are building something much bigger. South Africa (24) 45 - Tries – Grant Williams, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Malcolm Marx, Makazole Mapimpi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Conversions: Manie Libbok (5).
