28 October 2019, by: Quintin Van Jaarsveld

BEST BOKS: “Iceman” Pollard, “Bone Collector” Vermeulen

Handré Pollard’s big match temperament came to the fore in the Springboks’ nail-biting 19-16 Rugby World Cup semi-final win over Wales in Yokohama on Sunday, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The Iceman cometh. Considered South Africa’s most valuable player heading into the global showpiece, Pollard hadn’t lived up to that pivotal responsibility before Sunday’s semi-final showdown. He had been quiet, borderline ineffective, with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk serving as the Springboks’ tactical general instead.

When the uber-talented No.10 was called upon, he frustratingly flattered to deceive. It’s because Pollard’s such a world-class player that so much is expected of him. What would generally be considered a par performance is regarded underwhelming if the pivot in question is the Bulls captain and former South African Junior World Championship-winning skipper.

Being the competitor that he is, Pollard holds himself to the highest of standards and would’ve been disappointed with his form in Japan. The 25-year-old would’ve known he needed (some Springbok supporters would’ve gone as far as saying he “owed”) a big performance on Sunday and he rose to the occasion. While still not at his best, he had ice in his veins from the tee as he booted the Springboks into their third final.

In the modern game where players are (rightfully) judged on their overall performances, the importance of a goal-kicking masterclass isn’t always as highly-regarded as in years gone by. In this particular case, it was, thus, fitting for Pollard to be rewarded with the Man of the Match award after he slotted the match-winning penalty in the 75th minute to complete a perfect five-from-five, 14-point haul with the boot.

He showed glimpses of his game-breaking abilities as well, most tellingly, making the break that gave the Springboks go-forward, which led to Damian de Allende’s try. His tactical kicking was better and he was solid defensively, too, making all five of his tackles and safely fielding up-and-unders as a sweeper.

De Allende was once again outstanding. He’s taken his game to new heights at the World Cup, where he’s well and truly stepped up as a senior player and thrived in that role again against the Dragons. A tight and tense battle between teams that are tactical twins often comes down to one moment of magic, and the mirror match at Yokohama International Stadium was no different.

De Allende proved to be that man, the game-changer, as the midfield monster created something out of nothing with his power and commitment, bulldozing flyhalf Dan Biggar and replacement scrumhalf Tomos Williams to force his way over the tryline in the 56th minute to put the Springboks into a 16-9 lead.

That wasn’t the 27-year-old’s only contribution, quite the opposite. He was like a fierce and focused bull that gored many a red-clad Welsh matador, with his barn-storming surge in the 25th minute also sticking out. He earned 38 metres in all with his hard-running in the heavy traffic, a joint backline high with Willie le Roux, who benefitted from added space and time on the ball in the No.15 jersey.

Like De Allende, Faf de Klerk picked up where he left off the previous week. Man of the Match in the 26-3 quarter-final win over hosts Japan, the No.9 was equally influential in slaying the Dragons, outplaying Gareth Davies – the form scrumhalf of the tournament – and producing a complete performance.

A vital ankle tap on George North four minutes before half-time and his pinpoint touch finder from a tight angle in the 77th minute to pin Wales in their 22, where Franco Mostert’s well-timed jump saw Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones knock-on, were the highlights of the halfback’s game. Early on, his chip-and-chase break from a scrum caught Wales by surprise and his follow-up tackle put them under immense pressure inside their 22.

He still needs to be more consistent with his attacking box kicks, but his exit kicks were outstanding. Busy as ever defensively, he was on Davies like white on rice and provided the necessary pressure on Rhys Patchell for the replacement flyhalf to pull his drop-goal attempt when the sides were deadlocked at 16-all in the 71st minute.

He made one bad error when he botched collecting a kick early in the second half but immediately made up for it with a hard hit on Davies before proceeding to get in his opposite number and big Jake Ball’s faces. After back-to-back big games by the small De Klerk, he should be celebrated rather than criticised for following the Springboks’ kick-heavy gameplan.

Two strong candidates for Man of the Match carried the bulk of the bruising, energy-sapping workload in the trenches. The hard-as-nails Duane Vermeulen is a giant among giants in terms of the Springboks’ physical brand of rugby and he led the onslaught as he did against the Brave Blossoms, bludgeoning the Welsh as ball-carrier and defender.

His collision with Tom Francis in the 35th minute was a significant moment in the match. Setting off on one of his trademark runs from a restart, the No.8 clattered into and seemingly crushed the collarbone/shoulder of the tighthead, bringing a painful and premature end to the front-rower’s evening. For Vermeulen to simply shrug off the train wreck of a collision highlighted South Africa’s physical dominance and Eddie Jones would’ve noted just how important contestable restarts are against Rassie Erasmus’ charges.

A tank-like figure in the Springboks’ artillery throughout his career, that collision alone was worthy of Vermeulen adopting the “Bone Collector” moniker bestowed upon former Springbok back-row behemoth, Willem Alberts, should he grow tired of “Thormeulen.” The veteran took a hard fall after fielding a high ball a minute into the second half, but that proved to a momentary setback as he went on to play the full 80 minutes, make a team-high 46 metres and seven tackles.

The other “Terminator” in Green and Gold was Pieter-Steph du Toit. Freakishly efficient and explosive, the turbo-charged lock-cum-flank was everywhere and made a match-high 18 tackles. He made a strong run in the 51st minute as well, smashing through eighthman Ross Moriarty and No.6 Aaron Wainwright.

Vincent Koch deserves a special mention for making the “Bomb Squad” (as the Bok bench refers to themselves) proud with a dynamite 33-minute cameo in which the mobile tighthead made 10 tackles, second only to Du Toit, and dominated at scrum time, including winning penalties in the 54th and 79th minute respectively.

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