The Springboks opened their Rugby World Cup account with a less than convincing win over a determined and highly motivated Wales side. John Smits’ charges started the game well, setting up numerous phases, with the forwards producing consistent go forward ball, culminating in an early try for Frans Steyn in the right corner. Their lead would not last, however, as Wales fought back to force the Boks into chasing a game that was closer than even they would have anticipated.

Wales kept possession of the ball superbly well throughout, condemning the Boks to defend for large parts of the game and forcing the Boks to give up their original tactics of aggressive ball carrying by the likes of Danie Russouw and Schalk Burger, to spreading the ball wide early, making it easy for Wales’ defence to close them down and force turnovers out wide due to the Boks having too few cleaners at the breakdowns.

When the Springboks were in possession their play was disrupted by stern defending by the fired up Welsh, with Morne Steyn reverting to his kicking game in an attempt to gain much needed territory. Frans Steyn launched some huge punts downfield, but in general the Boks’ tactical kicking was extremely poor, gifting the Welsh possession in situations where they would have been better off holding onto the ball and methodically breaking the Welsh down through implementing their game plan and patiently building phases.

Jean de Villiers, who lasted only 20 minutes of the Springboks’ 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign before sustaining an injury which ruled him out of the rest of the competition, went off within the first half hour once again, with Butch James replacing him in midfield. Victor Matfield was the Springboks’ next injury victim, causing a leadership vacuum within the most experienced Springbok side of all time. Fourie du Preez, however, stepped up into that void, most notably after the substitution of John Smit, who made way for an inspired Bismarck du Plessis, to take control of a team who seemed directionless at best.

No clearer was this illustrated than in the dying minutes of the game, when the Boks, leading by a solitary point, were awarded a penalty around the halfway line – easily in range for the cannon foot of Frans Steyn. Du Preez had other ideas and immediately grabbed the ball and started barking orders at his forwards, after which Morne Steyn punted the ball deep into Wales’ half, and the Boks forwards duly kept possession of the ball from the ensuing line-out, keeping the Welsh pinned deep in their own half until time had run out. This demonstrated once again just how important the experience of du Preez is to this Bok side, with many of his team mates affectionately referring to the usually soft-spoken and quiet du Preez as their general.

The substitution of Smit proved to be an inspired one, with Bismarck du Plessis once again proving his status as a game breaker by providing the spark and impetus into a forward pack who were dominated for large parts of the game. Bismarck won a crucial turnover in his own 22 in the late stages of the game, and made a few huge tackles at crucial times to help stem the tide. His performance compared with that of Smit will no doubt reignite the debate around whether the time for captain Smit to start is indeed over.

The performance of Bismarck, coupled with the ability of other senior players such as du Preez being able to step up and take the crucial decisions on the field, surely puts the argument of the Bok management that Smit is irreplaceable to rest. Don’t get me wrong, there are few people who admire Smit more for the leader he is than me, but surely the time has now come for him to step aside and manage the charges from the sidelines.

The Boks did show glimpses of the dominating side we have become accustomed too, though these were few and far between and ultimately ended in unforced errors which littered the Boks’ game and prevented them from turning good play into pressure. One of the few highlights for the Springboks was the performance of the turnover maestro Heinrich Brüssouw. The little man made the most tackles in the game, an enormous 22, and made crucial steals when Wales looked to be threatening the Bok line, and has surely now cemented his status as the best fetcher in world rugby.

The Springboks were forced to alter their usual style of playing a territorial game to put their opponents under pressure in their own half, and forcing mistakes by retaining possession and building phases. This was as a result of the unrelenting pressure Wales applied on the Boks while in possession, their superb tactical kicking and their ability to retain the ball through numerous phases, ultimately beating the Boks at their own game. The Boks had to make do with a mere 40% of the possession and 42% territory, statistics unheard of when it comes to the Springboks and an area they drastically need to improve to progress through the knock-out phases of the competition.

To make matters worse the game was littered with officiating errors as English referee Wayne Barnes was inconsistent and inconsequential at the break downs, especially in the ‘daylight’ aspect we as Southern Hemisphere spectators have become so accustomed too. Add to this his inability to deal with the Welsh being ahead of the last mans feet at ruck time, an area referees have been told to police thoroughly at the World Cup, and the unrelenting stream of criticism he has received seems warranted. The assistant referees kept their flags down as a James Hook penalty seemed to sail over inside the line of the right hand upright, and this error seemed to typify the level of officiating during the match.

Ultimately then, the Boks will be elated at having pulled this one out of the fire, and should be man enough to admit that it was a game they were lucky to win, having been outplayed by a more hungry, more determined Wales side. To use a line out of Divvy’s book, the only place we won this one was on the scoreboard. The Boks need a massive improvement in their next match against Fiji to get their confidence back.

Whether this was a case of first game jitters, the nasty weather conditions or just the effects of a rusty team is something only they would know, but whatever the case, they need to find the answer sooner rather than later