Cheslin Kolbe comes close to humiliating injury after forgetting how to score
Any Springboks winger can be forgiven for not knowing what to do when the ball gets into their hands near the line, as it usually gets no further than the hooker’s hands in a driving maul.
This moment of sheer panic and confusion was written large all over Cheslin Kolbe at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, when he received the ball from ten metres out against the All Blacks.
The Bok winger went over for the try, but came excruciatingly close to injuring himself in the process, as he basically face planted over the line.
The 29-year-old had already forgotten how to ground the ball over the line earlier in the match when his try was disallowed, and though he was able to get the ball down on this occasion, it could have ended in disaster.
Kolbe was seen leaping through the air to avoid the tackle of the on rushing Richie Mo’unga and at that point it looked very nice. The grounding was nice too- then it went pear shaped. Then the winger landed on his face, and came close to doing a forward roll actually over his face. Not the prettiest.
Though wingers are supposed to be specialists at scoring tries, it is probably best Kolbe leaves it to the likes of Malcolm Marx and Kwagga Smith- the other two try scorers from the Springboks. Hooker Marx scored from a driving maul while flanker Smith scored from close range- much more Springbok-like.
Take a look at the try:
All aboard AIR Kolbe.#RugbyChampionship | #NZLvRSA pic.twitter.com/SgC1sFvREn
— Darren (@SaffasRugby) July 15, 2023
Springboks XV
15 – Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls) – 84 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath) – 23 caps, 74pts (11t, 2c, 5p)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 32 caps, 30 pts (6t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 70 Tests, 45pts (9t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 36 caps, 110pts (22t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 28 caps, 36 pts (2t, 4c, 4p, 2d)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 46 Tests, 41pts (5t, 2c, 4p)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester) – 20 caps, 5pts (1t)
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 63 caps, 15pts (3t)
6 – Kwagga Smith (Blue Revs) – 31 caps, 20pts (4t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Panasonic Wild Knights) – 65 caps, 25pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 110 caps, 15pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 59 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 57 caps, 60 pts (12t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (Ulster) – 72 caps, 10pts (2t)
Replacements
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 59 caps, 70pts (14t)
17 – Thomas du Toit (Bath) – 16 caps, 0 pts
18 – Vincent Koch (Stade Francais) – 42 caps, 0 pts
19 – RG Snyman (Munster) – 24 caps, 5 pts (1t)
20 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 67 caps, 30 pts (6t)
21 – Duane Vermeulen (SA Rugby) – 66 caps, 15 pts (3t)
22 – Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks) – 2 caps, 0 pts
23 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 4 caps, 19 pts (8c, 1p)
