Springboks storm past Georgia in Mbombela but still a work in progress

This was not a vintage display from the Boks, with several new combinations on the night struggling for cohesion, leading to a number of turnovers and missed opportunities. 

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had a quiet game by his standards at flyhalf, but the number of changes to the team - particularly in key playmaking positions - made it difficult for him to find fluency or impose himself on the game. The Boks' attacking play also seemed to lack a bit of bite, as they struggled at times to create the space they needed.

Credit must also go to Georgia, who matched the Boks' physicality and were able to capitalise on some of the opportunities presented to them. They were particularly troublesome at the breakdown and managed to hold their own in the scrums.

It definitely wasn't all bad for the men in green and gold, with several players delivering solid performances, including Grant Williams, Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Ruan Nortje and Pieter-Steph du Toit, while RG Snyman, Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk looked lively coming off the bench.

Match Report

The start of the game didn't exactly go to plan for the Boks, as their first up-and-under sailed straight into touch, followed immediately by a penalty for going off their feet.

From the resulting line-out, the Georgian forwards caught the Boks napping, as hooker Vano Karkadze shrugged off several defenders and powered over the line for a great try. Flyhalf Luka Matkava added the extras, leaving the hosts looking a little shell-shocked.

The Boks didn't take long to respond, however, leveling the scores on their first visit to the Georgian 22, where a series of pick-and-goes ended with prop Boan Venter crashing over for a try on debut.

Within minutes, they were back on the hunt near the Georgian try line after a great kick and chase forced a turnover inside their opponents' 22. This time it was the rolling maul that did the trick, as another debutant in Marnus van der Merwe joined in on the try-scoring action.

Just as the Boks looked to be taking control, however, there were a couple more mistakes - a knock-on straight from the kickoff and a missed tackle out wide very nearly allowing the Georgians in again.

The Boks weathered the pressure and soon hit back with a brilliant try, sparked by a superb break from Grant Williams and finished with another powerful solo run by centre Canan Moodie - shades of his effort against Italy a week earlier. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed his third straight conversion, his radar still off for the moment, as the Boks took a 15-7 lead.

Georgia continued to profit from Bok mistakes, a breakdown infringement allowing Matkava to add three more points from the kicking tee, but they were powerless to stop the Boks or their rolling maul shortly after, as Marnus van der Merwe's dream debut continued with a second try from the back of the charging pack. Feinberg-Mngomezulu nailed a conversion to make it 22-10 at half-time.

The second half would follow a similar pattern to the first, with the Boks not quite firing on all cylinders but Georgia having no real response whenever they did manage to find some rhythm and apply pressure.

South Africa added five more tries after the break - including two at the death - resulting in a scoreline that probably flattered the home side somewhat. Edwill van der Merwe continued his impressive strike rate by bagging another brace, while Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handre Pollard and Damian Willemse also got their names on the scoresheet.

The Georgians never really looked like scoring after their impressive start, but they can be proud of the way they competed on the night, showing plenty of fight despite being outgunned.