Best Boks v Australia: Prolific Pieter-Steph Revels In Perth Rain

Pieter-Steph du Toit starred as the Springboks overpowered the Wallabies 30-12 in their Rugby Championship clash in a wet Perth on Saturday to win back-to-back Tests Down Under for the first time since 1971, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

With Rassie Erasmus having made 10 changes to the starting line-up that walloped the Wallabies 33-7 in Brisbane last weekend, the new-look South Africans were disjointed in the first half, with the challenging conditions not helping either side.

The Boks’ lineout struggled, while they squandered two early try-scoring opportunities. Despite this, they led 11-9 at halftime with Aphelele Fassi scoring the only try of the first frame.

With Australian captain Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper picking up injuries, the Boks were robbed of a big weapon as scrums became uncontested. The driving maul came to the fore and produced three tries, one for Marco van Staden and two for Malcolm Marx as the Boks continued their perfect start to the Rugby Championship. 

Our top three Springbok standouts were:

Pieter-Steph du Toit

There seems to be simply no stopping the freak athlete that is Du Toit. In great form, “The Malmesbury Missile” was titanic in the torrential rain as he produced another mammoth all-around effort to add to his legacy.

One of just three frontline players in the starting XV who were retained from the side who triumphed in Brisbane, Du Toit brought invaluable experience to the overhauled outfit along with peerless physicality and a tireless work rate.

At 31 and playing in his 81st Test, he looked as fresh and hungry as ever and set the standard for the youngsters in the side to strive towards. He was brilliant on both sides of the ball, beating two defenders, making two clean breaks and 52 metres (the most by a Bok forward) from a match-high 13 carries, whilst making a joint-team-high 11 tackles.

He also won a textbook breakdown penalty in the 70th minute and almost scored what would’ve been a well-deserved try when he fielded Handre Pollard’s crosskick with four minutes to go.

Cheslin Kolbe

Come rain or shine, South Africa can count on their tiny giant to stand up and be counted.

The wet conditions highlighted just what a complete winger Kolbe is. He’s flash and substance in equal measure and as dependable on defence as he is dangerous on attack.

He works incredibly hard and reads the game so well, which saw him defuse a Wallaby crosskick brilliantly early on. His great counter-attack should’ve resulted in a try, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu unable to hold onto the scoring pass, while he created something out of nothing again when he intercepted Nic White’s pass. 

What’s more, his kick chasing was exemplary, and he belted a brilliant touch finder.

So close to a 50-22 😲

What can't Cheslin Kolbe do? 👏👏

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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 17, 2024

Malcolm Marx

One of eight World Cup winners on the bench, Marx had to perform a bit of a rescue job at the lineouts with Johan Grobbelaar struggling in this department.

Coming on in the 45th minute, the veteran brought stability to the set piece, scored a brace of tries from the back of the Boks’ dominant driving mauls and got through a lot of work in general play, including making eight tackles.