Boks’ win against Scotland: Five big take-aways

The Springboks put on a professional display on their way to winning their opening Rugby World Cup game against Scotland 18-3 at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Sunday.

The Boks went into the interval leading 6-3 and upped the ante in the second half by scoring 12 unanswered points. Tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse coupled with six points from Manie Libbok’s boot plus a conversion from Faf de Klerk got the Boks over the line.

The Citizen looks at five talking points from the match.

A strong statement from the Boks

After statement wins from tournament favourites France and Ireland, the Boks needed to make a statement of their own against Scotland, and they made a huge one.

The 80-minute effort from the Boks reminded people why they are the defending champions and also among the favourites.

In the context of Pool B, the Boks needed to win their game against the Scots to put them on course to finish on top of the pool.

The performance and result are momentum builders for Siya Kolisi and his team. The win showed the Boks’ intentions to retain the title while at the same time the performance showed it will require something special from an opponent to beat them.

Intensity from the forwards

The Bok pack brought a lot of intensity at the start of the opening stanza, continuing from the standard they had set from their warm-up match against New Zealand.

It was impressive how they set the tone for the match, they rattled the Scots pack, being in their faces and disturbing their flow which meant they could not feed their playmakers.

They scrummed well (bar the two late first half penalties that went against them) and challenged Scotland’s lineout throughout.

The damage was all done up front which led to Pieter-Steph du Toit’s try as well as Kurt-Lee Arendse’s try out wide.

The performance from the pack further reiterated their influence and what’s to come at the World Cup.

Libbok is rugby’s new magic man

There will be plenty of discourse around Manie Libbok’s kicking for the poles after he missed two penalty kicks and a conversion. That part of his game is lacking at Test level but the rest of his offering is top tier.

In a game where the rugby world was expecting Scotland’s Finn Russell to entertain, Libbok took over the show. He played with confidence, controlled the game well with his kicking and defended well.

Libbok was playing at a mercurial level and had a moment of brilliance when he dared to attempt a no-look crosskick to Arendse which landed perfectly on the winger, who went on to dot down.

Plays like that make Libbok valuable in the Bok setup and should be appreciated; he can create something from nothing.

Failure to turn dominance into points

The Springboks had an impressive start to the match, dominated the territory and had Scotland on the back foot. However, their dominance could not be transferred on the scoreboard as they only led 6-3 at halftime.

This was worrying because Scotland was still in the game when they went to the changing room despite how their backs were against the wall for the majority of the first half.

The fact the Boks could not put scoreboard pressure on the Scots is something they will have to work on going forward. Scoreboard pressure is important at the World Cup, especially in the knockout stages.

Being more clinical in the opposition half and coming away with points at every entry is something the Boks will need to exercise in the upcoming pool games with Romania, Ireland and Tonga.

Eben Etzebeth’s injury concern

The whole country will be holding their breath as they await an update on Eben Etzebeth, who left the action early on Sunday and was replaced by RG Snyman after a suspected shoulder injury.

It was wise of Jacques Nienaber and his coaching staff to pull Etzebeth out and not risk him.

However, Etzebeth’s absence on the field was there to be seen, his presence was missed, especially in the scrums late in the first half.

An injury to the big enforcer will be a blow to the Springboks’ chances of winning the World Cup.

Considering how Canan Moodie and Jean Kleyn are already on the mend (and the Boks are without three winners from the 2019 final), Etzebeth joining them will be a big concern.