Springboks v England – We hand out a few awards

Despite the disappointment of a loss in the dead rubber at Newlands, Rassie Erasmus’ start as Springbok coach has gone pretty well.

Eddie Jones’ England had been expected to be a tough nut to crack in spite of their iffy form and the visitors duly proved worthy opponents.

We hand out a few ‘awards’ as a retrospective to a decent series.

HERO OF THE SERIES: DUANE VERMEULEN

This was a difficult category to find a winner for.

Various players made their mark during the series but for sheer consistency the Boks’ bruising, experienced No 8 gets the nod.

Vermeulen not only dominated his collisions, he poached and slowed balls at the breakdown, proved a valuable lineout option and contributed with his leadership.

A valuable man to have.

ROOKIE OF THE SERIES: S’BU NKOSI

He dazzled at Ellis Park on debut with his pace and power in scoring two tries but it was his grit and determination in the next two games that stood out.

Being a wing at international level is not easy, you aren’t afforded a lot of attacking opportunities in general and need to look for work and do “unfashionable” stuff.

This 22-year-old has no problem doing that.’

An honourable mention to England’s 19-year-old flanker Tom Curry for enhancing his reputation.

MATCH OF THE SERIES: THE ELLIS PARK TRY FEST

You can’t go wrong with a 42-39 scoreline and one of the best comebacks in Springbok history, can you?

While this game – from a purist’s perspective – was far too loose and defences too porous, the other two matches simply had one team dominating the other too much to qualify.

Just check out some these tries:

GO SIT IN THE NAUGHTY CORNER: NATHAN HUGHES

On as a replacement in Bloemfontein, the English flanker engaged in one of the most blatant, stupidest acts of cheating in some while.

Frustrated by the Boks’ dominance in the second half, Hughes lied on the floor and gently stretched out his arm to prevent Faf de Klerk from making a quick recycle.

Needless to say, he was shown a yellow card but given that it was right in front of ref Romain Poite and in almost slow motion, it deserved red … just for the sheer brainlessness of it!

THE WTF AWARD: MAKO VUNIPOLA

Exactly how the England prop managed to drill the back of Pieter-Steph du Toit’s head into the Bloem turf while he was lying harmlessly on the ground without being showed a card is beyond us.

THE STICK AND STONES AWARD: MIKE BROWN

The veteran back was hounded by a fan in Bloem, who afterwards told him in no uncertain terms that his, erm, work ethic was, erm, bad.

Brown couldn’t let it go.

“I’m not a robot, I’m a human being,” the England utility back said.

“I told him to shut up like I would tell anyone if they said something like that. It’s rude and way off the mark. I’ve come in for a bit of criticism but I’m on 71 caps now – it would be nice to get a little bit of respect sometimes.”

Don’t mess with this guy…