14-man Springboks too strong for battling Portugal

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14-man Springboks too strong for battling Portugal

A 14-man South ******* have overpowered a game Portugal 64-21 in their first ever meeting at a sold-out Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

The world champion Springboks gave debuts to seven players and five of them scored tries. Winger Makazole Mapimpi added a second-half hat-trick among their 13 tries.

Portugal struggled up front but added to an entertaining match by attacking from everywhere and chalking up three converted tries.

The Springboks’ performance was all the more impressive from the second minute when they went down to 14 men permanently.

Center Andre Esterhuizen was sin-binned for a head-on-head tackle on opposite number Jose Lima, who was carried off. Esterhuizen’s yellow card was upgraded by the bunker to red.

Lima was replaced by Jose Paiva dos Santos, who bagged two tries.

Kurt-Lee Arendse and Aphelele Fassi worked overtime to prevent Portuguese tries in the first moments but when the Boks spilled the ball in the Portugal 22, the visitors broke out and Paiva dos Santos scored the opening points in the 10th minute.

The lead lasted eight minutes.

The Springboks pack worked tries off lineout ball for debutant forwards Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Phepsi Buthelezi. A measure of the pack’s rugged control was the award of the man of the match to lock RG Snyman, one of only four survivors from the team who lost to Ireland last weekend.

The home backs were not to be outshone and turned it on when Fassi fielded ball deep in his half, weaved to the Portugal 22 and chipped, and Arendse was first to the ball in goal for his 15th try in his 18th test.

Another breakout from deep by flyhalf Manie Libbok finished with a try on his debut for flanker Ben-Jason Dixon.

Arendse was sin-binned for a crocodile roll on the outstanding Portugal fullback Simao Bento, but even with 13 players, the Springboks scored when Libbok put centre Lukhanyo Am into space for a 29-7 half-time lead.

By then, Portugal had already changed both props to try and hold up their side of the scrum. It didn’t work. But South ******* were unable to goalkick any penalties.

The second half provided more of the same for a light-hearted crowd of 42,626.

Beside Mapimpi’s three tries, giving him 30 in 43 Tests, there were also debut-day tries for replacements Quan ***** and Andre-Hugo Venter, the son of former Boks flanker Andre, with whom coach Rassie Erasmus played. ***** finished the game in the sin-bin.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu underlined his value once again with silky runs and five from five shots at goal.

Portugal added a second try for Paiva dos Santos and a reachout try by flanker Jose Madeira in the 75th, proof the Wolves kept their heads up to the end.

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