Eben Etzebeth was immense as the Springboks pipped France 29-28 in a World Cup quarter-final clash for the ages in Saint-Denis on Sunday night, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
The frenetic first half produced no less than six tries, the most in a World Cup knockout match ever, and saw Les Bleus hold a slender 22-19 lead at the break.
Trailing by six deep into the second half, South Africa hit the front thanks to a try by Etzebeth that was converted by Handre Pollard, who added a long-range penalty goal, with the defending champions holding on to knock the hosts out of the tournament.
Our top three Springbok standouts were:
Eben Etzebeth
Greatness is not for the timid. Schalk Burger referenced this quote by NFL great Tom Brady in the SuperSport studio after the epic encounter and while it applied to the entire Springbok team, it was especially true in Etzebeth’s case.
South Africa’s superstar second-rower was an ever-present titan who poured his heart and soul into the humdinger and was in the thick of the action. Unrelenting, he roamed the Paris pitch like a rabid lion, roaring with intensity, dominating physical exchanges and working his tail off for the full 80 minutes.
The colossus came up clutch on five occasions to help the Boks edge the instant classic. He made a try-saving tackle on Gael Fickou, saved the day again with an interception, contested Cobus Reinach’s box kick, which led to South Africa’s first try, created the turnover that led to Cheslin Kolbe’s try with a timely tackle on Antoine Dupont and showed great leg drive and determination to power over for his game-changing score.
There’s little to nothing he could’ve done to avoid the head-on-head collision with Uini Atonio that earned him a yellow card and the Boks did brilliantly to keep France scoreless in the 10 minutes Etzebeth spent in the sin bin. He made a hefty 10 tackles overall, was solid in the lineout and showed good ball skills to flick the pill to Kwagga Smith near the hour mark.
It was a vintage performance by the youngest-ever Bok centurion, an all-court display in which he added to his legend and spearheaded Les Bleus’ heartbreak.
Cheslin Kolbe
From one of the biggest men on the field to one of the smallest. Pint-sized Kolbe made a massive contribution, showing why he’s one of the highest-paid and best players on the planet with a performance that was equal parts electrifying and good old-fashioned hard grafting.
That the Boks ended up winning by a single point made his charge-down of one of Thomas Ramos’ conversion attempts that much more impressive and important. The inspired play highlighted his hustle on the night, which included defusing a dangerous kick by Dupont.
Lethal on the counter-attack all night, he made a match-high 126 metres – just about 50 metres more than next-best Peato Mauvaka – and beat an unrivalled five defenders. His try was also the pick of the bunch as he went full blast to collect Jesse Kriel’s grubber and race in.
He added a brilliant touch-finder after a messy scrum just after halftime, demonstrated his rugby IQ when he attempted a late drop goal from the base of a ruck, was brave and dependable as ever on defence and good in the air.
Jesse Kriel
Kriel more than vindicated Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber’s decision to select him ahead of Lukhanyo Am as he was brilliant on both sides of the ball.
Many Bok supporters have been frustrated by his long tenure in the squad, but he’s been fantastic this season and produced one of his best-ever performances when the Boks needed it most.
His decision-making and execution of the aforementioned grubber to Kolbe were excellent and that vision and intelligence extended to defence with the 66-cap veteran making remarkable reads and vital tackles, including one on Matthieu Jalibert.
The midfielder’s 13 tackles were second only to Franco Mostert’s 14 while it was his break that eventually led to Etzebeth’s try.
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