The Boks finished their 2008 season off on a high note by thumping England by a record margin at Twickenham on Saturday 22 November 2008 in London, England.

The Boks completed their unbeaten run on the end of year tours with a comprehensive victory over a “young and inexperienced” England team. The truth is that England was poor and the Boks capitalized on their error riddled performance - scoring five tries to nil in a distinctly one sided affair.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Beast Mtawarira,
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Heinrich Brussow, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Jaque Fourie.

link : Ruthless Boks end tour unbeaten

The Boks continued their unconvincing form in another narrow win over a brave Scotland team on Saturday 15 November 2008 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The only positive in this win for the Boks was that they came from behind trailing 10-0 at half time. The match was marred by some very questionable refereeing, with the referee’s decisions at the break downs puzzling and frustrating both teams. Blaming the referees  for poor performances is unfair however bearing in mind the constant changes to a highly complex set of laws that has lead to a bizarre situation where the game of rugby is played under different laws in different parts of the world since the piecewise introduction of the controversial ELVs.

South Africa: South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Brian Mujati, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Frans Steyn, 22 Jaque Fourie.

link : Boks edge Scots

The Boks scraped home for a win against the reigning Six Nations champions in what can best be described as “a match of two halves” on Saturday 8 November 2008 at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The Boks’ effort can best be described as unconvincing and Wales looked very good at times against the reigning world champions with numerous line breaks but unable to finish them off due to the Springbok’s dogged second line of defense.

Ruan Pienaar stepped up to the plate in the problematic pivotal position at flyhalf, replacing Butch James who was not considered for the end of year tour due to his overlapping commitments to European club rugby.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Brian Mujati, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Frans Steyn, 22 Jaque Fourie.

link : Springboks limp past dominant Welsh

The Boks saved some face despite ending last (again) in the Tri-Nations competition by hammering the Aussies by a record breaking margin on Saturday 30 August 2008 at Ellispark in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Boks were awe inspiring in all facets of the game but a huge question mark remains over the Aussies’ commitment in a match that was for all practical purposes a dead rudder.

South African wing, Jongi Nokwe replacing the injured Brain Habana, also rewrote the history books by scoring four tries while finishing off devastating Springbok backline moves.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Andries Bekker, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Percy Montgomery.

link : Wallabies bow to resurgent Boks

The Boks dropped out of contention in the Tri-Nations competition when they crashed to another defeat against Australia on Saturday 23 August 2008 in Durban, South Africa. Australia had not won against the Boks playing in South Africa since 2000.

The Springboks once again could not hold on to their own ball on the attack and was comprehensively outplayed in the break down. Poor defense saw the Aussies outscore the Boks by three tries to two. Both South African tries came from outside center Adi Jacobs.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Andries Bekker, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Joe van Niekerk, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

link : Boks out for the count

The Boks slumped to a record breaking defeat, getting nilled at home for the first time by the visiting All Blacks on Saturday 16 August 2008 Capetown, South Africa.

It was generally a poor match. Both teams kicked poorly and both teams made too many errors. All Black flyhalf Dan Carter missed 5 easy penalty attempts at goal. The Boks continued their poor form at the breakdown getting comprehensively outplayed by All Black open side flanker Richie Mccaw. Again the Boks created many opportunities but their second phase control was sadly lacking - having their attacking ball turned over with alarming frequency.

Besides this humiliating defeat the Boks suffered a major injury blow to star winger Bryan Habana who is out for the rest for the Tri-Nations competition due to a hamstring.

South Africa: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Andries Bekker, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Conrad Jantjes.

link : All Blacks nil world champions

The Boks smashed an undercooked Argentina B side on Saturday 9 August 2008 playing at Coca-Cola stadium (Ellispark) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Boks started this match where they left off in Australia - poor execution, conceding turnovers and generally making too many unforced errors. Argentinian was ahead by 9-0 after three penalties in the first 30 minutes. The next 60 minutes belonged to the Boks scoring 9 tries in a runaway victory with their hopelessly outclassed opponents looking exhausted and unable to keep up with the fast tempo in the thin highveld air. It was the first game for Argentina under the global ELVs and they struggled to get one of their traditional weapons - the rolling maul - going.

This match was played in honor of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday but the scheduling of it a week before playing three critical and consecutive Tri-Nation matches can be questioned. The Boks payed a heavy price in losing lock Bakkies Botha and returning RWC center Jaques Fouries due to injuries for the rest of the Tri-Nations competition.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha,3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Joe van Niekerk, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Percy Montgomery.

link : Boks run Pumas ragged

The Boks suffered their second Tri-Nations defeat in a close contest on Saturday 19th July 2008 in Perth, Australia.

The world champions played their third demanding game in a row and looked flat and tired. The Boks were overwhelmed at the breakdown with the Wallabies’ open side flanker, George Smith,  dominating this facet of the game and turning over plenty of Springbok ball. The Boks created many opportunities but failed to finish - coming close to forcing a draw with a late effort by winger Bryan Habana losing the ball in the tackle going over the goal line.

The Boks suffered injuries to crucial players. Open side flanker Schalk Burger suffered a recurring neck injury and Bryan Habana suffered a recurring shoulder injury. None of the injuries were serious enough though to keep them out for more than two weeks.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Francois Steyn, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Andries Bekker, 20 Ryan Kankowski, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Peter Grant.

link : Wallabies off the mark with a win

It took the Springboks one week to turn things around and surprise the rugby world with a major upset and a hard earned victory on Saterday, 12 July 2008. The match took place in much better weather conditions than the previous match in Wellington, at the Carisbrook stadium (also known as the House of Pain) in Dunedin, New Zealand. South Africa had not won a match against the All Blacks in New Zealand since 1998 and in 100 years they could never beat the All Blacks in Dunedin.

The improved playing conditions definitely helped the Boks. Their scrum had almost magically come good and unlike the previous week they held up to the All Blacks. They outscored their opponents by two tries to one, including a superb match winning break and chip resulting in a try by Bok scrum half Ricky Januarie. Januarie played an immense game and he threatened the All Blacks around the rucks and maul during the entire match.

If it could be said that the difference between the two sides was Dan Carter in the Wellington game, then Ricky Januarie was the difference between the two sides in Dunedin. Januarie, the much improved Bok scrum and the weather came together on the day to drive home the fact that the Springboks are the reigning world champions.

South Africa: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Britz, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Conrad Jantjes.

Link : Boks end ten-year drought

The All Blacks beat the Springboks in a hard fought match on Saterday, 5 July 2008. The match took place in the typical cold and wet weather conditions of Wellington, New Zealand. South Africa had not won a match against the All Blacks in New Zealand since 1998.

This was the first game of the 2008 Tri-Nations competition. It was unique in that it would be the first time that an entirely unique combination of ELV laws i.e. the S14 ELVs plus allowing the collapse of mauls and no line-out numbers, were to be played in an international game. It would also be the first time that the player’s who were used to the S14 ELVs would play the new maul and line-out number laws.

The problems with the Bok scrum which was evident in the previous matches continued and Butch James had a very poor game with the boot. A Brilliant try from Brain Habana near the end of the first half was the sole highlight of the Bok effort. Another supreme display from Dan Carter as his boot dominated the territory and the scoreline.

The match was marred by an ugly off the ball and after the whistle incident when the Bok hooker and captain, John Smit, was spear-tackled by New Zealand lock Brad Thorn which forced John Smit to leave the pitch injured just before half time due to a groin muscle injury. As result of the injury Smit will not play again in the Tri-Nations competition. Although the offense should have been punished by a sending off referee Steward Dickinson didn’t show a card. The post match disciplinary committee handed Thorn a one match ban for unsportsmanlike conduct.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Link : All Blacks prevail in Wellington