Local diehard Bok fans unite behind their team
Legitimate, harsh, deserved? - the Bok faithfuls at Mbombela Stadium did not care. The score board read South Africa 31 - Wales 30. The celebrations lasted late into the shortest winter night.
The loudest cheer of the day, during the Test match at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday, came when referee Steve Walsh concluded his explanation to Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones and started running towards the uprights to indicate a penalty try for the Boks in the 76th minute. The Springbok fans went from monotone booing – while the hit by Liam Williams on Cornal Hendriks was replayed on the big screens and while Jones’ berated the ref – to a cacophany of delirious delight.
The Boks were within one point of Wales, with a conversion in front of the posts. The experienced Morné Steyn added the two points, making it 30-29 to South Africa with three minutes to the siren. The crux of the match lay in these three minutes, and the almost three that were played after the siren sounded. The Springboks showed exceptional discipline and skill. They made sure that the tackles were made, defensive lines set, off-side lines not transgressed and Wales was kept under pressure, so that all remaining Welsh phases of play would be on or behind the advantage line. For the purist, the knowledgeable fan, this was what makes rugby really beautiful. Wales needed to get into the Bok 22 or closer so that, if a penalty was awarded, it would be goalable or so that Dan Biggar would be in with a realistic chance of a successful drop goal. When they did cross the advantage line the Welsh were driven back in the next phase.
The boys in green and gold kept Wales between their ten-metre- and the halfway line. Biggar’s second drop-goal attempt was off-target and Willie le Roux shepherded the ball over the dead-ball line. The match was over, a hard-fought win for South Africa. The Welsh were gutted. If they had won it would have been their first victory in the11 matches played in South Africa since 1964, only the second in 30 matches against South Africa since 1906. It would have been one of the greatest achievment’s in Welsh rugby history. But it was not to be. The Boks were elated.
Test match rugby is usually not pretty. Any of the eight top-ranked countries in the world would take a one-point win over another, at any stadium on any day. After the post-match press conference Bok coach Heyneke Meyer praised the fans at the stadium for their fiery support. “The public was awesome today. To come back from 17-0 against a quality side and then 30-17 behind with five minutes to go. The crowd really got behind us.It would have been very disappointing if we had not satisfied the fans today, and it does happen that people leave the stadium when a team is behind. What happened today, and it makes me proud to say I am a Lowvelder, is that the people stayed, were behind us all the way and carried us to victory.”
Bok captain Victor Matfield was proud of the character of the effort. “Being on the field, having all those great leaders around me. How calm the guys were, the character they showed today until the last second. To win a World Cup you need character.” Character the Boks might have shown, but their effort was marred by unforced errors. Missed tackles, poor execution in the scrum (they did win a tight head at a crucial stage of the game) and bad decisions made Wales’ job easier. The Welsh were vastly better than their wishy performance seven days earlier. They played with the passion and pride deserving of the famous scarlet jersey. They held a deserved 17-point lead 30 minutes into the match. They scored first in the second half, just when the Boks were clawing their way back. Wales held the lead until the 77th minute of the match. They were, after 80 minutes, one point weaker than the Boks. It is an effort they can be proud of and Wales will be a force to be reckoned with in the IRB Word Cup next year.
At the Wales press conference coach Warren Gatland had no qualms about the decision that gave the Boks victory. “I have no problem with the decision, we made an defensive error. Liam apologised to the boys in the change room and he’s got to learn from it.” The crucial penalty-try call was harsh but correct according to the laws of the game. The rule states that “if the last tackler is ruled to have infringed, the referee has to treat that tackler as if he wasn’t there”. If Williams had not been there Hendricks would have scored.
Legitimate, harsh, deserved? – the Bok faithfuls at Mbombela Stadium did not care. The score board read South Africa 31 – Wales 30. The celebrations lasted late into the shortest winter night.
