Erasmus and Kolisi lead South African rugby into a new era

The opening Test between the Springboks and England at Ellis Park was absolutely barmy to say the least.

England was brilliant for the opening twenty minutes; after that South Africa and Faf de Klerk took over proceedings and were the dominant side for the remaining 60 minutes. Ten tries, 80 points, end-to-end action and at times it was like watching a game of touch rugby.

The scoreboard did not lie at the end with South Africa deserved 42-39 winners and the rest of us needing a lie down after a pulsating contest.

The Springboks were under pressure to win with a new dawn of rugby in South Africa under the leadership of Siya Kolisi this was a spectacular occasion which lived up to it’s billing.

Considering how dominant England were in the opening quarter it looked like a nervy and disjointed Springbok team were going to fluff their lines on one of their biggest rugby days.

To their immense credit, South Africa fought back remarkably well through a mixture of dreadful England defence and inspired play from their expats.

Springboks make undisciplined England pay

As the dust settles on this extraordinary encounter, England’s discipline which has been a constant thorn in their game over the last twelve months was once again found wanting.

Eddie Jones’ men were pinged 17 times, most of them soft penalties that gave the Springboks and in particular the outstanding Faf de Klerk the opportunity to get themselves back into the game.

Faf de Klerk, Willie Le Roux and Duane Vermeulen inspire the Springboks

England for once flew out of the blocks and for the first twenty minutes, it was a totally different side from the bumbling outfit we saw fold to the Irish in Twickenham back in March.

England were refreshingly clinical and proactive until the Springboks’ foreign contingent came to the fore.

Duane Vermeulen, ruled the breakdown and was at his intimidating best, Willie Le Roux carried on from where he left off in the Premiership, but it was the diminutive Faf de Klerk who was the game’s outstanding player.

Almost single-handedly, de Klerk dragged South Africa back into the contest, torturing England’s fullback Elliot Daly in a crazy twenty minute period which saw the Springboks overturn England’s 21-point lead to go into the break three points up.

De Klerk had a hand in all of South Africa’s key moments and tries.

England’s defence non-existent

Too many times one on one tackles were missed, and England lost the all-important collisions on the gain line where new cap RG Snyman and Duane Vermeulen were excellent.

The platform they provided gave the likes of de Klerk and Handre Pollard the ball they needed to launch fullback Willie Le Roux, who was at his gliding best, to give the two debutant wingers S’busiso Nkosi and Aphiwe Dyantyi an armchair ride into international rugby.

Siya Kolisi led from the front and showed his captaincy credentials when the Springboks were all at sea in the first quarter.

England and Springbok backs on song

It was wonderful to see two teams who are more renowned for their forward play show their respective hands out wide. England’s displayed their best running rugby since the thrashing of Scotland at Twickenham in the 2017 Six Nations, and as for the Springboks, it was an inspired choice by Erasmus to bring back de Klerk and Le Roux.

De Klerk’s extraordinary performance on Saturday brought back memories of the late, great Joost Van der Westhuizen when he burst onto the international scene in the mid-nineties.

It is perhaps too early to say that de Klerk could be the catalyst for the Springboks in lifting the Webb Ellis trophy in Japan next year, but his selection has given South Africa a major shot of adrenaline with the World Cup in mind.

The two debutants, Nkosi and Dyantyi both showed that they could play on this stage despite getting caught out in defence in the first quarter.

For England, all of the backs had their moments at Ellis Park.

Henry Slade was industrious giving England hope that he could be the centre partner that Owen Farrell needs. Jonny May deserves a special mention for his creativity in putting Daly in the corner and for scoring a breathtaking length of the field try at the end to give England hope of pipping the Springboks.

The much-maligned pair Mike Brown and George Ford both had excellent starts for England and for the time being, have put their critics, yours truly included, back in their box.

Changes likely for England as Springboks brace for Bloemfontein backlash

It is now desperation time for England, and if they are to beat the Springboks next weekend, then we may see the inclusion of controversial pick Brad Shields come in for the industrious but off the pace Chris Robshaw on the blindside.

Shields added a bit of starch to England’s forward effort at the expense of young Nick Isiekwe, who was perhaps harshly pulled from the game during the Springbok fight back.

England needed a gnarled warrior skilled at the dark arts of forward play yesterday, and Joe Launchbury was sorely missed in this department.

If passed fit for duty Launchbury will slot back in beside Maro Itoje. On the bench, Eddie Jones must surely add the trickery of Danny Cipriani.

Same again for South Africa

It will be fascinating to see what Erasmus does with his line up with Springboks eighty minutes away from wrapping up the series in Bloemfontein.

His young charges after a nervous start came of age at Ellis Park and deserved another chance to finish England off with a game to spare.

That said, maybe there is a need to swap captain Kolisi to his favoured openside position and bring in the muscular Steph du Toit on the blindside.

England struggled to cope with the power of Vermeulen at the breakdown, and Du Toit’s physicality could be a useful addition to South Africa’s back row.

No excuses, England has to win in Bloemfontein

Amidst the carnage of their defence, England played some scintillating rugby, and from their standpoint, it was great to see the backs finally execute on their pace and skills.

Bloemfontein next Saturday now becomes arguably England’s biggest match under Eddie Jones to see whether England can genuinely be considered as contenders for the World Cup next year. On Saturday’s evidence, it will be unlikely.