SOUTH Africa’s Ox Nche runs with the ball assisted by Pieter-Steph du Toit during the Rugby Championship second Test against New Zealand at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town yesterday. | Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers
The Boks were nervous at halftime yesterday evening because they weren’t in a good position against the All Blacks, but they knew who and what they were playing for and the end goal of claiming the Freedom Cup.
After waiting 15 long years, the Springboks finally completed a clean sweep over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship, completing an 18-12 victory to reclaim the Freedom Cup – a trophy they last held in 2009.
It was a tense affair in a packed DHL Stadium in the Mother City. Still, thanks to a late try by replacement hooker Malcolm Marx and some dogged defence, the South Africans created another bit of history under Bok coach Rassie Erasmus.
They defeated New Zealand for the fourth time in a row, but according to Erasmus, the Freedom Cup is the trophy they were after.
“The four wins are nice to have, but they’ve beaten us six times in a row. So there is nothing to brag about, they’ve done worse to us,” Erasmus said.
“But it feels good that we could pip a team like this again. They wanted it and nobody can say they didn’t deserve it. For us, this week was to talk about the Freedom Cup. It was special, we wanted to win this one. Not necessarily for the Rugby Championship because there is still a lot to do there. But the Freedom Cup was very important for us.
“I almost think the players were a bit too emotional when we started, and the players weren’t very accurate, we were on it, but not accurate. After halftime, we started playing better. This cup was something we wanted.”
The Springboks trailed 3-9 at halftime and the All Blacks kept threatening, but some excellent defence alongside the two tries of captain Siya Kolisi and Marx sealed the deal in a game that could’ve easily slipped through their fingers after some inaccuracies.
The Boks especially struggled at the lineout and breakdown and were penalised countless times for not rolling away after tackles, but they also allowed New Zealand to slow their attacking ball down – an old trick of their arch-rivals.
But on the day, the South Africans knew how to pull a rabbit out of the hat to claim the spoils.
One more victory against Argentina will be enough for the Boks to win the Rugby Championship Trophy to put it next to the Freedom Cup, Nelson Mandela Plate and Rugby World Cup in their trophy cabinet.