Dawn Dunn on the Boks' thrilling win
There was pressure on both the English and the Bok teams, as they each endured losses the week before.
Heyneke made a total of five changes to the starting line-up and I agreed with every single one of the them. For the first time this year, our Lambie started at 10, with a half back pairing with Cobusie, at 9. To start a new combination in front of a hostile 82 0000 crowd, was absolutely the correct decision and it paid off. Conditions were wet and slippery but Lambie played with maturity and confidence and was completely calm under pressure.
Boy oh boy was it a cracker! The boys totally ruled the first half. The Boks put pressure on the English at the right times and took all points on offer. An early Jan Serfie intercept try was absolute magic. We closed off the first half leading, 13-6.
Early in the second half, Lambie put through a perfect chip kick, which was immediately chased and re-gathered by our Willie, who drew in 4 defenders and then off-loaded to Cobusie, aka “The Pocket Rocket”, who can and did sprint like an Olympian to score a beaut of a try. I am just so proud of my Cobusie.
The Ugly
Steve Walsh had a few doozies. The yellow card for Victor was correct. Giving England the lineout was incorrect and unfair. The resultant try should have been disallowed as there was clear obstruction by an English player on Beast (he was holding Beast around the neck). Jean asked Walsh to request TMO and he refused. I think that Walsh showed favouritism to the home side. It would have cost nothing to check that try with the TMO. I also noticed that he had no problem checking with the TMO for every single one of our tries. I am fed-up with this inconsistent behaviour by refs. There needs to be accountability and penalties in future, to ensure that this rubbish decision-making ends. George, ECR Breakfast Producer says during the match, “Walsh are you a MORON?”, I reply, “YES, he is!” Enough said!
The Truly Wonderful
We experienced a really difficult 10 mins with Victor in the bin. We conceded 2 tries. However, the boys kept a cool head and manned up. Schalk scored a try off the back of a maul, to allow the Boks to take the lead. Lambie then stepped into the pocket, to kick over the sweetest drop kick. In the end, this made the difference. The boys were imposing physically and really worked hard, to overcome a hostile English home crowd and dubious refereeing decisions, to ensure a 12 consecutive win against the English.
I am truly proud of the boys. Cobusie, Lambie, Bizzie, Marcell, Jannie, Beast and Schalk all deserve a special mention as they were outstanding. I am very happy with the progress. I also really enjoyed watching the match with my ECR crew.
Onwards and upwards darlings!
Final score: England vs Springboks: 28-31
