1st Test - an incremental approach

[Banquo]

He's still appearing to show good movement and bounce time, so I think it's a combo of ruck work and stepping out of the line and missing tackles that's seen him removed. It is harsh, plenty of England forwards fail to clear properly, and Farrell got made captain for running out of the line and missing tackles with aggressive intent.

doubling down on double standards

Maybe Isiekwe didn't miss tackles with aggressive intent, and then didn't glare at team mates when he got back up for not covering for his cock up

..and not a TMA (c)

[Digby]

Minute 34

SA make a play to the middle nicely splitting the field. But it's a 3 second ruck and SA put in 3 to our 2, with the 9 then passing we should at least match up in defence even with a sweeper in behind. In the event Robshaw isn't working hard enough as he stops on the near side of the ruck when there are players behind him who can drop in there and he needs to keep working across. As it ends up we've got Robshaw, Sinckler and Isiekew covering 3m on the near side of the ruck they're attending and none of them are working around (and it should be Robshaw who is putting in the effort and just isn't given his role and where he is)

SA now have us stressed as they go right, and then very unluckily for SA Green 12 accidentally gets in the way of Curry meaning our already stressed defence to the right as we look is under even more pressure, again I'm sure that's accidental from Green, they are proving very unlucky with their block, with another nation you'd almost think it deliberate.

Slade and May are left with 4 players to mark and have Daly behind them. May makes a mistake in joining Slade in the tackle, still more so as it's WLR and he's easily able to get the ball away under pressure and is just waiting to see how many players will be attracted to the ball. The ball from WLR goes wide from WLR to 11 on the wing and then back inside to Green 14 to beat Daly.

It's a nice score from SA, no monumental fecks ups from England this time but simply put we're not willing (or able) to work hard enough.

' The ball from WLR goes wide from WLR to 11 on the wing...'

There's a possible tautology there unless someone needed to know WLR as himself is WLR

[Digby]

Minute 35

Pollard adds the 2

Ford lines up to kick left and then opens up his body to kick right. May leads the chase by a huge distance, but as he's just one man (and clearly the intro to Knightrider was misleading with regards to this situation) and SA can easily block him allowing Vermuelen to start to run the ball back

[Digby]

Minute 36

Vermuelen sets up a ruck, nobody even pretends to try and stay on their feet. Robshaw tries to makes amends for not working hard enough to stop the try by running offside and playing the 9, penalty to SA. Lineout to SA on halfway

England make a change and bring on MiniMe at lock, and the ref has his hearing aid changed.

SA win the lineout

[Mellsblue]

He's still appearing to show good movement and bounce time, so I think it's a combo of ruck work and stepping out of the line and missing tackles that's seen him removed. It is harsh, plenty of England forwards fail to clear properly, and Farrell got made captain for running out of the line and missing tackles with aggressive intent.

doubling down on double standards

Maybe Isiekwe didn't miss tackles with aggressive intent, and then didn't glare at team mates when he got back up for not covering for his cock up

If you’re not a test match animal you’re just not a test match animal. There are no objective tests for the accolade so it’s didficult for him to argue otherwise.

[Digby]

Minute 37

SA set up a ruck and win a penalty for, well I don't know really. Maybe the ball is stuck in there but all the bodies seem to be wearing Green. Perhaps George doesn't vanish from the SA side but I've certainly seen players more in the way who're wholly ignored by the ref.

Faf taps and goes quickly and Maro helps SA by making a high tackle, SA kick the pen deep into our 22.

We've just given up 3 penalties in about 15 seconds of actual play, the middle of those was something of a home team decision but the other two are both careless at best. And rather than us having ball on their 10m line it's their ball in our 22, all these mistakes by the forwards are clearly down to George Ford and a lack of tactical awareness on behalf of the player who had nothing to do with any of the pens

[Digby]

It must be a sobering thought for Nick Isiekwe to be taking a seat on the bench, watch his side cough up 3 pens so quickly the ref at altitude was running out of puff to blow the whistle, and conclude he was playing worse than that lot to be the one yanked off.

I'm still struggling this as a decision, and it will unless redemption is soon found have issues in that it will piss off Saracens making it harder for Eddie to get what he wants

[Digby]

Minute 38

SA win the lineout an try to drive but it's disrupted. SA set a ruck and I'm pretty sure when the ball rolls out it's due to Shields kicking at it, so we could have had 4 pens against us in about 20 seconds of play which surely must have drawn a yellow card, again one wonders what Isiekwe makes of it?

SA run a couple of phases, fumble the ball and England (Sinckler I think) can reclaim/dive on the ball. Youngs back to Ford who clears to touch for a lineout to SA still inside our 22, it's not a great kick from Ford though it wasn't a great pass he got from Youngs either.

[Digby]

Minute 39

SA win the lineout and drive. Faf brings the ball out, it's a nice pass from Pollard to WLR, and then simply Brown isn't very fast and gets beaten all ends up by WLR running in a confusingly straight line.

[Digby]

Minute 40

Pollard again kicks the 2 and there's time for a restart. Brown leads the chase and gets the catcher down, Mako is straight in and forces a pen for holding on.

Faz kicks the 3 points and it's 29-27 to SA at HT. Pollard might be wishing he'd been just a little slower taking the conversion

[Digby]

Minute 41

George Ford with the restart, sets up to kick left but opens his body and kicks right. SA catch and set up and ruck, Faf suggests he'll kick clear again but picks the ball up and gets scragged by Youngs, he does though get the ball away to Pollard. England might have been warned at HT about their narrow defence, whatever the reason George and Sinckler are so keen to get wide we find Pollard simply breaks up the middle, Pollard offloads to Green 4 who is off and running, Youngs might have got to him but Green 6 is accidentally holding Youngs back off the ball. Still there is the fun of watching a lock outpace our inside centre. Ford isn't able to get the big lad down and Brown has to make the tackle.

Green 4 throws the ball back behind him making a pass into space rather than to anybody, without too much surprise the ball hits the floor where owing to momentum it rolls forward and is regathered by Green 4 whilst lying on the floor. There's another Saffer player off his feet trying to play the ball, and there's George who's arrived at this piece of what I assume is open play and absurdly stays on his feet trying to play the ball, the ref pings George. SA win the ball and kick ahead, and Ben Youngs shows Daly what to do to win a drop out by dropping on the ball.

The ref brings us back for the pen to Green, and I don't get this one. Even if the pass/hurl back by Green 4 touches Ford, and it might, meaning you could consider George is now playing the ball offside the first offence is surely Green 4 playing the ball whilst lying on the floor?

[Digby]

Minute 42

Ah, maybe it wasn't a pen and given as a knock on by Ford? Ah well, it did brush his shoulder perhaps as it was thrown back past him.

Nothing happens in this minute other than a scrum doesn't happen, and the ref declines to bin all 8 in the pack from both sides.

[Digby]

Minute 43

SA win their scrum, Faf breaks right and tries to offload but the ball hits Ford's head and SA gain a new scrum penalty. Can you actually knock the ball on with your head now?

[Digby]

Minute 44

SA win the scrum and go left, Faf pops the ball to one of the SA wingers (didn't catch which) and he bounces Ford in contact, Curry coming across makes the tackle. SA go open again and England are badly exposed wide but Daly times his run onto WLR well and WLR is only able to knock on in contact with a man free outside him who would have strolled in for a try.

[Digby]

Minute 45

England win a free kick at the scrum before the ball even comes in, and Farrell clears up to halfway

[Digby]

Minute 46

SA in the lineout, maul a little and then Faf puts an excellent kick down into the England 22 which skips into touch around 9m from our line

England win the lineout through Itoje and drive 1-2m before everyone falls over

[Digby]

Minute 47

England work one phase infield, Youngs box kicks clear nearly to halfway but again not into touch. I've suggested a few times the England halfbacks by dint of the pens we gave up didn't always have the chance to slow he temp, but they could consider taking something of these box kicks and putting a few off the field.

Green 11 runs the ball back and Curry makes a nice tackle but gets cramp for his troubles.

SA go nowhere in attack and Pollard launches a high kick into the England 22

[Digby]

Minute 48

Daly takes the kick under no pressure and calls a mark, Brown calls a mark too, or maybe Brown just likes to pretend he's a train driver sounding the whistle.

Daly clears up to our 10m line. SA win the lineout through Vermuelen (challenged by Shields). Maro gets through onto Vermuelen and makes the tackle, good, and then flops on the SA side and lies still, easy pen for SA and Maro undoes his good work

[Digby]

Minute 49

Pollard misses a penalty attempt

[Digby]

Minute 50

England restart out to the right (or May) and whilst the ball is allowed to bounce it's SA who claim the ball. SA play toward the right touchline before heading back left, the ball goes from Faf, to a prop (I think), from him to Pollard and from him to Green 2 which nearly allows SA to exploit a transition gap in our defence but England scramble well enough.

[Digby]

Minute 51

It's a pen to SA with Maro having again covered himself in glory with yet another late hit from him (and the team) on Faf

[Digby]

Minute 52

Pollard kicks the pen, it's not the best ball he'll ever strike but the 3 points are the same.

England restart with George Ford lining up to kick left and then opening his body to rick right. SA win the ball and are put down just outside their 22. Faf kicks clear and Daly catches on the England 10m line with Green 11 for company.

[Digby]

Minute 53

Daly wasn't under pressure for the catch but can't avoid the tackle, Farrell does a decent job of not being counter rucked. England move the ball left and Mako easily glides past Faf, mostly as Faf has rushed up either looking for an intercept or for an excuse not to tackle Mako.

Youngs to Ford and he's already gone back in the pocket to kick, this didn't prove a popular call the other day and it doesn't look any better now, it's not improved for the ball striking a white player and SA getting a scrum