Relief for Springboks as mixed year ends with a bang at Twickenham

It was a combination of elation and relief for the Springboks as they closed out a mixed international season with an impressive 27-13 domination of England at Twickenham on Saturday night.

The scoreline wasn’t a complete reflection of the match as the Boks dominated throughout, and despite going down to 14-men after a red card to replacement prop Thomas du Toit in the 60^th minute, showed some brilliant defence and good game management in the final quarter.

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The win was built around a massive forward driven effort that powered the team, reminiscent of their 2019 World Cup final performance, with flank Franco Mostert earning a deserved man-of-the-match reward after a typically industrious showing.

“We knew it would be tough and we worked hard this week. Credit to the England boys, it was a tough match but we will enjoy the win,” said Mostert after the match.

“It was a hard game but hats off to our forwards. we had some big conversations with each other this week and it paid off. If you lose by a few points against Ireland or France, it is never good to lose, but you learn so much from it. Hopefully we will do well next year.”

Sweet relief

Bok captain Siya Kolisi admitted the relief he felt at the end of the match, after a difficult end to the season due to the losses against Ireland and France and the off field problems with SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus.

“It is a big relief for us. We have been working really hard over the past few months. I know some results haven’t gone our way, but we are still grateful to get the kind of support we are getting from back home,” said Kolisi.

“England were tough at the beginning but we just stuck to our guns and tweaked a few things. We will risk it all as it is worth it. We needed to find answers before the World Cup while at the same time respecting England.

“It is not that much of a difference but we are just seeing opportunities which we didn’t in the past.”

England captain Owen Farrell voiced his disappointment after the match, with his side having endured a tough year that saw them win five games against six losses and a draw.

“It has not worked out for ourselves today and we were not able to show the best of ourselves but we have put in some good work over the past five weeks and we have to make sure that is not for nothing,” said Farrell.

“We lacked a bit of accuracy and bite at times. The game was really slow to start which they are very good at. We didn’t get our teeth stuck in much like that Argentina game

“We must learn to do better. We are hurting but this team will learn from it and come back stronger.”