CSB - Mark Keohane: Springboks take the win at Ellis Park

South African rugby columnist Mark Keohane joins BK to chat the AB's defeat at Ellis Park 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On the show. Now it is time to talk a
rugby as we dusted off and get ready for the
second Test against the good Old Box next weekend in
Cape Town, but at the court and the cauldron of
Ellis Park on Sunday morning, New Zealand. Time so near
and yet so far for the All Blacks. Mark and
joins us South African Rugby Magazine.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Mark, good morning, Good morning guys.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
How's the how did the wind go down? From your
side of things? First off, let's talk about that.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
I think in South Africa we've been used to so
many big ones against us with the All Blacks. It's
now three in a row. We took one point at
the World Cup final. We would have taken one point again.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
We got four.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
The country's in a state of euphori again you think
we'd won the World Cup again. So there's just such
a huge respect for the or Blacks here and any
occasion against the or Blacks it's just something very specially
in this country and especially at Ellis Park.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
The planes come out, that people come out, the trains
work particularly day, it's just it's just glorious.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
And you know that the average score in the professional
era and the eight test matches was thirty one to
thirty point eight in favor of the Oblets going into
this test, and I said too to people put down
the thirty one all and it's playing good money at
twenty four to one.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
And at one stage I thought thirty one twenty seven.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Sasha missed the kick, I thought he was going to
get it, and I thought they going to actually score.
Yet he'll be a thirty four all draw and I
think everyone would have been gone. I'm happy, but yeah,
incredible occasion and New Zealand superved for sixty sixty five minutes.
But we always felt in the previousit the South African
bench was always going to be defining in that last
fifteen and I think it played out that way.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
The talk over here and I don't know whether it
is in South Africa's that first tribe Ay Bongo mon
Bombay where he knocked it on and the well, the
tomo upstairs didn't pick that one up as he much
talk about that.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah, there's been a lot of talk about a lot
of the decisions. I mean there was a there's quite
a clear infringement in the All Blacks first try in
terms of bridging a technical infringement I've seen. I've seen
trials like that being pulled back Damian McKenzie, then kicking
five seconds after the clock went down to Zera.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
They wasn't picked up. Bongie was definitely knocked on that.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Wasn't picked up, and then various other things in the
game that just weren't picked up. And you know a
lot of contention about Sam Kaine's head on Callisi was
it Why wasn't it even referred? You know, bro his
cheek bone, he's broken, and it's very similar to the
tackle that was made at the World Cup final and
got him a red card.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
So I think if you look at the context of
the first.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Two tries that was in the first ten minutes, you know,
I could understand if Bongi's try was given with two
minutes to go, so you don't you don't lose a
Test match in those first ten minutes.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I think I think that also should not detract
from it was It really was one of the.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
More outstanding Test matches and I think from a New
Zealand perspective, it's probably the best I've seen them play
under Scott Robinson for that first sixty five minutes.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
But knowing when when the bench came on.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
And the bench certainly has doesn't have the quality that
starting fifteen, but I.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thought, hell they were.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
They were really impressive for an hour and it took
a very good spring Box side to keep them out.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, I mean, I think the bench was the deciding
factor in a way, really wasn't it for the All Blacks.
They just didn't quite have the depth of the Springbok had.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
Yeah, And I think the in all the previous you know,
from various people myself included, it was everyone expected the.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Game to be one score gaining to the last ten
minutes for me.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Decisively was twenty seven to seventeen, and you just felt
the Box were in control and the Orbit's got a
penalty and it was kind of a gimme three points
and they opted to kick for the line and on
sixty three minutes and to go thirty seventeen psychologically would
have been huge.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
And then the Box have to chase and they know
they've got to get two converted tries.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
And as that happened, was the first time I thought
in the game, hand on a second, the All Blacks
are they're going to take this one.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
And they kicked to the line, turned the ball over
and got penalized.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Then two minutes three minutes later it was twenty seven
to twenty four, and then you kind knew gain into
that last ten minutes it was only going to be
one two minutes, So I I.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Was very surprised at them not taking the points.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
In a Test match in South Africa, you get three,
you take three, especially when there's sixty three minutes on
the clock.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
So both teams are now dusting themselves off. I think
the All Blacks have got a bit to work on
and I'm sure they'll do that in the next week.
And I guess for the spring Bok, as you mentioned,
they may have an injury or two for the second Test.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah, Curtly Irens, I think, well, he knocked himself out
on Will Jordan's hip Calisia, you know. I mean, he's
done miraculous things before even coming back and playing.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
In the last World Cup.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
But as he said this morning on his Instagram, he
can't win and it's not normally that way.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
So I think his draw lines with his ice socket's fractured.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
But there is incredible depth with the spring Box squad
and I think that's going to again be The defining
factor going into Saturday's tests, the first time the Box
will ever play against the All Blacks at the Cape
Town Stadium is just the quality of the twenty three.
And I think if you look at the two starting fifteens,
there's very little to choose between the two of them,
but the moment you go into that bench, and especially

(04:59):
the six to two split that sal African do with
their thoughts.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
New Zealand currently just doesn't have the cattle. You know.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
It's not the jerome kind of Richie McCourt era, Dan
Carter at ten, I mean, Kiaran Reeds. It's it's a
very very different side, and you know, many positions very youthful,
and some you think, oh, these guys are ever going
to be good enough, you know, to kind of be
compared to their predecessors.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
For some of those players, I felt for them on
Sunday morning, New Zealand time out there in the cauldron
of Ellis Park. I mean, what was it, sixty seventy
thousand people just roaring. I mean that must be kind
of nervous for those players.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yeah, And I think if you go back to the
history of South Africa and New Zealand and then in
the professional era, and like this was the ninth time
that they've played there and it was for all gain
into that. But I go back to twenty twenty two
and it was an incredible comeback from the All Blacks too,
win in front of sixty two thousand.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
I think for those the.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Kiwi players who because there's no super rugby anymore, and
I think they're seven in the squad who haven't been
to South Africa before, I think it's just an incredible
experience for them to understand why there is this rivalry historically,
why the spring Box put the All Blacks on a pedestal,
why it's the game that everyone.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Talks about in this country. You know, we had Elander
for two tests. They were fantastic tests, but the.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
Further just just can't compare to when the All Blacks
are in town, and I think they would have been
and I think Scott Robinson will walk away from their
first test thinking they were incredible positives to take in
terms of growth of certain players, but also answers in certain.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
Areas as well.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
And by the end of this Rugby Championship, I really
do expect New Zealand to kick on and consolidate at
the end of your tour and really be a factor
next season.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Mark, nice to chat mate. Thanks for giving up your
valuable time and we'll do it again soon. Thanks so much.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
Chairs made of a good week.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Marchio Honey joining us out of South Africa. Yes, we'll
have a commentary of that second Test match out at
Cape Town New Stadium for the All Blacks as well.
We've got to score to settle there. There'll be Sunday
Morning New Zealand time here on Gold Sport and also
on iHeartRadio.