The Springboks’ monumental Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win against France on Sunday remains a hugely talked-about showdown, topping chart trends on social media.
One topic of debate has been the man of the match award, with fans disagreeing about who should have been picked.
Was it Eben Etzebeth who showed much-needed strength when he bulldozed France’s defence in scoring a huge try, and was a constant strong runner and ball winner in the game?
Was it Cheslin Kolbe, who crazily charged down a conversion attempt by France’s Thomas Ramos — almost unheard of in rugby — and scored a superb try, was a breakthrough runner repeatedly and all over the field for the 80 minutes?
Did “spirited and supercharged” Boks hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi — making huge tackles, scrumming superbly and winning the ball on many occasions — deserve the official award, even though he humbly said it was not a one-man gong but the whole team that deserved it?
Speaking to the media after the game Mbonambi said the Boks prepared for a difficult game against France but remaining focused to help them get the 28-29 win.
“All credit to the whole team. It is not a one-man effort. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing the host team in the background of a sold-out crowd singing the national anthem the whole time.
“We played well. Credit to coach Jacques [Nienaber] managing the week. Credit to the officials. They managed the crowd very well and the refs did not allow the crowd to influence them. It was a great game of rugby,” Mbonambi said.
POLL | France vs Boks: Who was SA man of the match for you?
WATCH | The man of the match described as a 'spirited and supercharged' Boks hooker, Mbongeni Mbonambi, says it was not a one-man show but the whole team delivered an incredible performance
Image: Steve Haag
The Springboks’ monumental Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win against France on Sunday remains a hugely talked-about showdown, topping chart trends on social media.
One topic of debate has been the man of the match award, with fans disagreeing about who should have been picked.
Was it Eben Etzebeth who showed much-needed strength when he bulldozed France’s defence in scoring a huge try, and was a constant strong runner and ball winner in the game?
Was it Cheslin Kolbe, who crazily charged down a conversion attempt by France’s Thomas Ramos — almost unheard of in rugby — and scored a superb try, was a breakthrough runner repeatedly and all over the field for the 80 minutes?
Did “spirited and supercharged” Boks hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi — making huge tackles, scrumming superbly and winning the ball on many occasions — deserve the official award, even though he humbly said it was not a one-man gong but the whole team that deserved it?
Speaking to the media after the game Mbonambi said the Boks prepared for a difficult game against France but remaining focused to help them get the 28-29 win.
“All credit to the whole team. It is not a one-man effort. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing the host team in the background of a sold-out crowd singing the national anthem the whole time.
“We played well. Credit to coach Jacques [Nienaber] managing the week. Credit to the officials. They managed the crowd very well and the refs did not allow the crowd to influence them. It was a great game of rugby,” Mbonambi said.
He said though the Boks’ game against France was “great”, they still needed to show more strength forging ahead in the tournament.
“Everyone knew it was not going to be easy. We still have two more games to go. This is nothing,” he said.
The Boks meet England in their semifinal in Paris on Saturday.
Here are highlights from the Springboks vs France game:
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