PRETORIA – The Springboks produced a much-improved display in a 37-14 victory over France at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Here are five key moments during the match…
26th minute:
The Springboks defended valiantly on their line and not only soaked up the pressure applied by France, they were eventually able to win crucial turnover ball.
30th minute:
Andries Coetzee’s quick thinking of keeping the ball alive saw him recycle the ball from a would-be tackle before offloading the ball to Malcolm Marx, who threw a timely pass to the rushing Jesse Kriel for the Boks’ first try.
45th minute:
The Boks first turned over possession from a French maul before winning a scrum penalty to alleviate the pressure on their tryline.
59th minute:
Boks awarded penalty try after Courtnall Skosan held back from scoring what looked like a certain try. France fullback Brice Dulin yellow-carded.
Eben Etzebeth won two crucial lineouts against the throw in the final quarter. Photo: Gavin Barker, BackpagePix
61st minute:
Ross Cronjé scores try from first phase lineout from clever inside pass from Warren Whiteley at the back of the lineout to stretch the Springbok lead to 30-14, all but securing victory.
65th and 77th minutes:
Eben Etzebeth lineout steals five metres from the Bok tryline extinguishes any hopes of the French staging a comeback.