Scrumhalf Cobus Reinach scored his second Rugby World Cup try scoring hat-trick as the Springboks predictably outplayed Romania 76-0 in their Pool B match in Bordeaux on Sunday.
Makazole Mapimpi joined Reinach in notching a hat-trick later in the game but it was Reinach’s early tries that set the tone for the South Africans. Flyhalf Damian Willemse also built some confidence in the position by scoring a try in addition to kicking five conversions before Faf de Klerk came on in the pivot position in the second half.
In all the reigning World Cup champions scored 12 tries and a penalty try as they made sure of the bonus point win and wide winning margin that keeps them in touch with early Pool B leaders Ireland, who they meet in what should be a titanic clash between the current top two teams on the World Rugby rankings list next Saturday. The Boks led 33-0 at halftime.
Reinach set a record by scoring three tries against Canada in Kobe in the 2019 World Cup and was on line to break his own mark when he went over for two tries after just eight minutes. The record set four years ago was three tries in 20 minutes, so he had 12 minutes to score again.
He didn’t manage that, missing out by just three minutes as his third try came up in the 24th minute of the game. By then the game was long over as a contest, with Mapimpi and Willemse joining the party early on as the Boks posted their four try bonus point after just 11 minutes.
Romania are no longer the rugby force they were towards the end of the amateur era, when they did occasionally push some big teams, so the one-sidedness of this game was expected, particularly after Ireland posted more than 80 points against the same opponents a week ago. On that score the Boks did well, with their 76 point margin eclipsing the Irish 74 point winning margin of the previous week.
But after initially giving the impression they didn’t really believe that defence should be part of rugby, with Reinach looking almost surprised when he ran over an unguarded line after a big Bok scrum in the second minute, Romania did show some tenacity after that initial period.
Some growth in the losing team’s confidence and a torrential rain shower accounted for the Boks losing their early momentum in the second quarter of the game, and after the ease with which they crossed for tries in the first 11 minutes it came as a surprise that Reinach’s third try was the only other score in the remaining 29 minutes of the half.
The Boks did cross the line through Marco van Staden in that time but the try was disallowed by the TMO.
The Boks surrendered their territorial dominance in the second part of the first half and there were times that Romania were pressing for what would have been only the third try to to be scored against the Boks in the eight games they have played at World Cups since they lost the opener to New Zealand in Yokohama in 2019.
It required some adjustment at halftime and that adjustment came, with the Boks showing more respect for the conditions after the restart. Although the downpour had stopped, it would still have been wet, and they played more of a territory game. It was off a good attacking position that the forwards drove Deon Fourie, who came on at halftime as the replacement hooker for skipper on the day Bongi Mbonambi, over the line.
Then came a penalty try and a well deserved try to Williams, who looked the part in the less familiar position of wing to push the score beyond the half century mark. Then just for good measure Williams dropped in for a second try as he underlined his ability to play among the outside backs.
His Sharks teammate Mapimpi was not going to be outdone though and he crossed for two almost identical tries in quick succession before fullback Willie le Roux, who had played a hand in creating a few of the Bok five pointers, got his name onto the scoresheet.
Scores
South Africa 76 - Tries: Cobus Reinach 3, Makazole Mapimpi 3, Damian Willemse, Grant Williams 2, Deon Fourie, Willie le Roux; Penalty try; Conversions: Damian Willemse 5 and Faf de Klerk 2. Romania 0