There were three victories for South African teams on the international stage this weekend.
Test match: New Zealand 64 – 13 Canada
New Zealand failed to really impress against a game Canada, although they eventually turned up the heat in the second half and ran out comfortable 64 – 13 winners. They scored 10 tries to Canada’s one, with Dan Carter grabbing a hat-trick.
Graham Henry believed that many of the All Blacks already had “half their minds” on the trip to South Africa. As a result they struggled in the first half against the Canadians.
Tri Nations / Mandela Shield: South Africa 22– 19 Australia
South Africa kept their composure to score a thrilling come from behind victory against the valiant Australians, courtesy of two late Frans Steyn drop goals. The victory improved the Springbok’s world ranking to number 2, leapfrogging France and Australia.
Pacific Nations Cup Final: Junior All Blacks 50 – 0 Australia A
The Junior All Blacks retained their Pacific Nations Cup with a crushing 50 – 0 victory over Australia A at the House of Pain.
IRB Nations Cup Final: Emerging Springboks 24 – 10 Argentina A
The Emerging Springboks, under the captaincy of Schalk Britz, kept their unbeaten record intact and secured the IRB Nations Cup Trophy at the ‘Arcul de Triumf’ in the Romanian capital of Bucharest on Saturday.
Emerging Bok Team: 1. Heine van der Merwe 2. Schalk Brits (Captain) (16. Ashton Constant) 3. Eddie Andrews 4. Wilhellem Steenkamp 5. Ross Skeate (19. Nikolai Blignaut) 6. Kabamba Floors (24. Jonathan Mokuena) 7. Hilton Lobberts (23. Meyer Bosman) 8. Ernst Joubert 9. Heini Adams (20. Jano Vermaak) 10. Peter Grant 11. Odwa Ndungane 12. Bradley Barritt 13. Jaco Pretorius 14. Tonderai Chavanga (22. Marius Delport) 15. Bevin Fortuin.
Tries: Tonderai Chavanga (2)
Conversion: Peter Grant
Penalties: Peter Grant (3)
Drop goal: Peter Grant
Yellow card: Odwa Ndungane
Tusker Safari Sevens Final: Emerging Springboks 27 – 19 Zimbabwe
The Emerging Springboks retained the Tusker Safari Sevens title at the weekend, beating Zimbabwe 27-19 in a repeat of last year’s final.
“We brought out a young team and are proud of the achievement,†said Jovan Bowles, who also represented Paul Treu’s South Africa side this year on the IRB Sevens World Series.
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