Springboks batter Romania: Five take-aways

The Springboks made light work of Romania when they defeated them 76-0 in their second game of the Rugby World Cup in Bordeaux on Sunday.

The world champions dotted down 11 times and got a penalty try, with Cobus Reinach and Makazole Mapimpi scoring hat tricks. The bonus point win put the Boks in second place in Pool B behind Ireland, who they face on Saturday in Paris.

The Citizen looks at five talking points from the win against Romania’s The Oaks.

Good conditioning exercise

The Springboks’ management rotated the team for the clash against Romania to give the fringe players game time to make sure they’re in tip-top condition, and they all performed superbly.

This will benefit the Boks going forward, with everyone now having enjoyed game time. It also helped that the match was played in the wet, the tough conditions in Bordeaux a good test for the Boks.

Damian Willlemse

Utility back Damian Willemse is proving to be a needle mover and indispensable in the Springboks setup, his influence on the team is telling.

Last weekend against Scotland he did well at fullback and against Romania he was great at flyhalf. He brought the X-factor; making sublime passes, and he scored a wonderful try after stepping his way through the Romania defence. Willemse, who was the first-choice goal kicker, converted 5 of 7 kicks.

Power front row

The Springboks’ scrum is one of the best in world rugby and it showed against Romania. Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane started the game and continued where they left off against Scotland, laying a very solid foundation.

As a unit they are skilled and powerful scrummers, and on Sunday they made things easier for the rest of the pack.

And when the starters were replaced, those coming on continued the good work, with hooker back-up men Deon Fourie and Marco van Staden performing superbly, at scrum time and throwing in to the lineouts.

Standout performers stake their claim

As expected, it was an overall good showing from the Boks against a minnow team and there were plenty of players who raised their hand for selection.

Games against tier-two nations are often walks in the park and present a chance for players to put pressure on selectors with good displays and on Sunday the likes of Makazole Mapimpi, Cobus Reinach, Kwagga Smith, Andre Esterhuizen and Jean Kleyn played well.

It will be interesting to see who gets the nod for the big game against Ireland next weekend.

Four scrumhalves

Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber are proven geniuses.

Many raised their eyebrows when they selected four scrumhalves in the Boks’ 33-man squad for the World Cup, and then for the matchday squad on Sunday. Their selections were justified in the outing against The Oaks, as all four men produced impressive performances. Cobus Reinach scored a hat trick and Grant Williams, playing on the wing, a brace.

Coming from off the bench, Faf de Klerk and Jaden Hendrikse upped the tempo in the second half; their performances showing that you doubt Erasmus and Nienaber at your own peril.