Rassie Erasmus rolled the dice by fielding a new-look backline full of youthful exuberance and hit the jackpot as his charges condemned New Zealand to their biggest-ever defeat.
Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the men in Green and Gold glittered as they whipped up an unprecedented storm that left the All Blacks utterly shell-shocked.
The action was fast and furious throughout, and after failing to capitalise on a couple of try-scoring opportunities in the first half, the Boks found their groove after the break.
Physical and fearless, they scored five tries to add to Cheslin Kolbe’s first-half touchdown and kept the Kiwis scoreless to create another bit of history and rocket back to the top of the world rankings.
Our top three Springbok standouts were:
Damian Willemse
Somehow, someway, Willemse came out of the freezer red hot. Despite having had precious little game time since returning from injury, the youngest ever two-time World Cup winner showed what a special talent he is with a legendary Man of the Match performance.
Starting at No. 12 for the first time in a Test, he showed he’s the future for the Boks in the role with a dynamic display before shifting to fullback following Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s injury in the 19th minute and continuing his masterclass.
The 27-year-old bewildered the All Blacks with a potent mix of power, panache, and intelligence. He had them grabbing at air with his hot-stepping, was at his explosive best to score, and sparked Andre Esterhuizen’s try with a final break.
“This performance was for Bevin, a personal friend of mine, as well as for coach Rassie who had been taking a lot of shots and backing us. We knew it would come. Credit to the boys – they stepped up and played a fantastic game of rugby,” he said.
Take a bow, Mr. Willemse – that was truly wonderful!
Ethan Hooker
For someone making his first Test start and third Bok appearance, Hooker looked like a seasoned international in the Cake Tin cauldron.
The 22-year-old blue-chipper was nothing short of brilliant in the No. 11 jersey and made an immediate impact with two excellent early touches. He was a hard man to take down with his size and speed, making quality post-contact metres in congested traffic, and revved his engine when he made an electrifying break from his 22, which resulted in Kwagga Smith’s try.
What’s more, his kick-chasing and contesting were outstanding as he won back two of Cobus Reinach’s box kicks, and he put in some hard hits on defence. This was a very early acid test for Hooker, and he passed with flying colours.
Cheslin Kolbe
The diminutive dynamo didn’t have a great start, but his class soon shone through. The reigning South African Player of the Year landed the first punch for the Boks with his intercept try and doubled down with a second score.
Denied early on by a brilliant piece of defending by Jordie Barrett, he caused problems aplenty for the hosts and would probably have wreaked more havoc had he not been taken out by Tupou Vaa’i, who injured him with a no-arms tackle in the 46th minute.
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