Just Plain Sport

🇿🇦 PAUL DE VILLIERS BACKS UP THE HYPE WITH A STATEMENT PERFORMANCE AGAINST SCOTLAND 🏉

Eight ball carries. Two defenders beaten. Sixty-three metres made. Sixteen tackles. One turnover won. That’s Paul de Villiers‘ return from Saturday’s 42-28 win over Scotland at Loftus Versfeld. Only his second Test.

Nobody scripted this. Paul de Villiers wasn’t named in the original matchday squad for the Boks’ opener against England.

He found out he was starting after Siya Kolisi failed a late fitness test on a strained hamstring, with Eben Etzebeth also unavailable. Pieter-Steph du Toit shifted into the second row to make room. Paul de Villiers had hours, not weeks, to get ready.

He didn’t just survive it. He won an early breakdown penalty and got stuck into the physical exchanges, finishing a 45-21 win at Ellis Park looking like he belonged there all along.

🎙️ FULL STORY: https://justplainsport.com/rugby/paul-de-villiers-springboks/

🇿🇦 THE JUNIOR BOKS SINKS ENGLAND TO REACH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 🏆🏉

The Junior Springboks are through to another Junior World Championship final after outlasting England 53-37 in a brutal semi-final slugfest at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi on Monday.

It was not a comfortable afternoon. England came out of the blocks fastest, tighthead Ollie Streeter crashing over inside three minutes and flyhalf Hugh Shields adding the extras.

The defending champions hit back through Yaqeen Ahmed, but two Shields penalties and a well-worked try kept England ahead deep into the contest...

🎙️ FULL STORY: https://justplainsport.com/rugby/junior-springboks-beat-england/

🇿🇦 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALCOLM MARX - THE BEST HO**ER IN THE WORLD, FULL STOP 🎂

There are hookers who do a job, and there are hookers who redefine what the job even means. Malcolm Marx belongs firmly in the second category. Born on this very day, 13 July 1994, in Germiston, he turns 32 today. And in a position built on unglamorous graft, he has somehow become the most talked-about forward in world rugby.

Happy Birthday, Malcolm. From a schoolboy flanker in Germiston to World Rugby’s official Player of the Year, this is a story about getting back up, again and again, until nobody could ignore him anymore.

🎙️ FULL STORY: https://justplainsport.com/rugby/malcolm-marx-turns-32/

🇿🇦 THE SPRINGBOK TEAM TO FACE WALES IN DURBAN 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

15 Aphelele Fassi (Toshiba) – 16 caps, 35 pts (7t)
14 Jaco Williams (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped
13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 89 caps, 110 pts (22t)
12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 98 caps, 55 pts (11t)
11 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars) – 31 caps, 120 pts (24t)
10 Vusi Moyo (Hollywoodbets Sharks) – uncapped
9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 95 pts (19t)
8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) – 45 caps, 15 pts (3t)
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain, Toyota Verblitz) – 97 caps, 70 pts (14t)
6 Paul de Villiers (DHL Stormers) – 2 cap, 0 pts
5 Ruben van Heerden (Montpellier) – uncapped
4 Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 pts
3 Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Begles) – uncapped
2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 88 caps, 135 pts (27t)
1 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls) – 17 caps, 10 pts (2t)

Replacements:
16 Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 5 pts (1 t)
17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls) – 11 caps, 10 pts (2t)
18 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers) – 30 caps, 10 pts (2t)
19 Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Stormers) – 9 caps, 10 pts (2t)
20 Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 34 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne) – 24 caps, 25 pts (5t)
22 Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners) – 29 caps, 145 pts (2t, 48c, 13p)
23 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 76 pts (8t, 9c, 4p, 2dg)

🎙️

🚨🇿🇦 POLLARD PLAYS PIVOTAL ROLE IN BOK WIN OVER STRONG SCOTLAND 🏉

Every time the Springboks looked like they could take a breather, Scotland broke through again. Handré Pollard was the one constant that refused to let them get away with it.

South Africa raced to 14-0 inside twenty minutes and looked comfortable. Scotland had other ideas, striking twice in quick succession to level it at 14-14 by half-time, and the pattern repeated itself all afternoon: the Boks would pull clear, Scotland would claw back within touching distance, and it was Handré Pollard, more than anyone else in green and gold, who kept steadying the ship.

🎙️ FULL STORY: https://justplainsport.com/rugby/handre-pollard-springboks-iceman/

Image via Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

🇿🇦 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORNÉ STEYN - ONE OF THE GREATEST NUMBER TENS WHO EVER PLAYED THE GAME 🎉

Some players get one big moment and spend the rest of their career being remembered for it. Morné Steyn got two, twelve years apart, against the same opponent, in the same position on the field, with the same result.

Born on this day, 11 July 1984, in Cape Town, he turns 42 today. Between those two moments sits one of the most complete careers any fly-half has ever put together.

Happy Birthday, Morné. The man they once left out of the team is now spoken about among the greatest number 10s the game has ever seen.

🎙️ FULL STORY: https://justplainsport.com/rugby/morne-steyn-greatest-10-birthday/

🇿🇦 THE SPRINGBOKS BEATS AN INSPIRING SCOTTISH TEAM AT LOFTUS!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🏅 POLLARD - Man Of The Match!

👏🏻 It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win!

Can't see this Scottish team lose against any other team in this tournament!!

⏱️80’ | SPRINGBOKS🇿🇦 42-28 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿SCOTLAND
🚨(live Scoring Updates)

#11 Ethan Ho**er Replaced Moodie

🇿🇦 CONGRATULATIONS TO RASSIE ERASMUS ON BECOMING THE MOST CAPPED SPRINGBOK COACH 🏉

Coaches don’t usually last in South African rugby. The job chews through good men in three years or less, undone by one bad Rugby Championship, one refereeing controversy, one boardroom whisper campaign that turns into a headline.

Rassie Erasmus has been in and around the Springbok setup for eight years now, and on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, against Scotland, he takes charge of his 55th Test as head coach. Nobody has ever done that before him.

🎙️ FULL STORY: https://justplainsport.com/rugby/rassie-erasmus-springbok-coach/