CAPE TOWN: Zane Kirchner, Marcell Coetzee and Bryan Habana grabbed tries as South Africa brushed Argentina aside 27-6 at Newlands yesterday in their opening match in the inaugural Rugby Championship.
The Springbok pack did not yield in defense against the massive opposition forward and their strong ball-carriers won enough momentum to dominate territory and possession. Flyhalf Morne Steyn steered South Africa to victory, booting three conversions and two penalties and also helping to set up two of the three tries.
Argentina’s points came from two penalties by flyhalf Juan Martin Hernandez. Two incisive attacks down the flanks by wings Habana and Lwazi Mvovo created an early penalty by Steyn but the home side were rocked when hooker Bismarck du Plessis went off with a knee injury. He was replaced by Adriaan Strauss who came on to win his 13th cap. Argentina held on to the ball well in the opening exchanges but could not make any headway against the steely Springbok defense until Hernandez launched a pinpoint up-and-under. Santiago Fernandez dispossessed fullback Kirchner who then played the ball while lying on the ground, gifting Hernandez a penalty to level the scores at 3-3 after 14 minutes.
Kirchner made amends with a touchdown, pouncing on a pass from Steyn before cutting inside and evading two tackles. Steyn’s conversion made it 10-3 and Argentina, who fell foul of referee Steve Walsh in the first half due to indiscipline, handed three more points to the prolific flyhalf when they were caught offside at a lineout.
The Pumas continued to concede penalties and South Africa used rolling mauls to good effect before one of them brought a try as Coetzee broke on the blindside to charge over the line. Steyn booted the touchline conversion to give the Springboks a 20-3 advantage. Hernandez then kicked his second penalty before halftime to reduce the deficit to 20-6 after Strauss had been caught offside. Any hopes Argentina had of getting back in the game were dashed when Hernandez and center Marcelo Bosch missed three penalties between them in the opening six minutes of the second period.
That served to reinvigorate the Springboks as they started pinning the Pumas in their own half. Habana wrapped up victory when he leapt high to claim a crossfield kick from Steyn and plunged over the line. Steyn sent the 39,000 crowd home happy by converting from the touchline.
All Blacks overpower Wallabies
In Sydney, New Zealand overpowered Australia 27-19 to make a dominant start to the inaugural Rugby Championship yesterday as the Wallabies face up to another Bledisloe Cup disappointment. The All Blacks led 18-10 at half-time against a home side hampered by a string of handling mistakes, and Australia must now win at Eden Park next week to keep alive any hope of winning the Bledisloe for the first time since 2002. It was the first meeting between the trans-Tasman rivals since the All Blacks’ 20-6 victory in the semi-finals of the World Cup and the Wallabies were their own worst enemies with too much dropped ball. A try to Australia’s veteran lock Nathan Sharpe late in the first half and a penalty from fly-half Berrick Barnes straight after halftime pegged the deficit to 18-13 but the All Blacks prevailed in front of 76,877 spectators.
First blood went to Australia when Barnes landed a penalty in just the second minute but that was as good as it got for a Wallabies side attempting to lift the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002. All Blacks fullback Israel Dagg opened the try scoring in the 13th minute when he beat the cover defense of Wallaby fullback Kurtley Beale in an ominous beginning from the world champions. They led 18-3 in the 34th minute when winger Cory Jane capitalized on an overlap but the Wallabies mounted a mini-revival and defended stoutly to spark hopes of an upset. Carter landed five penalties and converted Dagg’s try to ensure the All Blacks maintained their lead in a match stopped by 28 stoppages from Irish referee Alain Rolland. Sharpe is the only current Wallaby to have been involved in a successful Bledisloe Cup campaign and he remained the only try scorer. Australia’s woes were exemplified by consecutive handling errors from No.8 Scott Higginbotham and Beale immediately before Jane’s try.
Barnes succeeded with his fourth penalty of the night to bridge the All Blacks lead to 24-19 with four minutes remaining. Australia held dominant field position but late attacking raids failed to break the defense of the All Blacks. Carter kicked his fifth penalty in the last minute of the match to deny the Wallabies a bonus point on the Rugby Championship ladder. Australia and New Zealand clash again in Auckland next Saturday night.
