All 145kg of Uini Atonio stopped dead in his tracks by Bok defence
Rugby Onslaught calls for Jesse Kriel to be immediately tested to see if his shoulders are made of granite after his defensive displays over the last two matches.
The Springboks centre was pretty brutal against Ireland in Dublin, but they didn’t have any 145kg props to throw his way like France did in the way of Uini Atoni. Then again, he showed in Marseille on Saturday that he still eats props like that for breakfast.
The La Rochelle tighthead charged into the shoulders of Kriel and prop Ox Nche in the first half on Saturday, and it basically looked like he ran into a wall. The towering prop was stopped dead in his tracks by the Bok pair, so much so that his teammate Thibaud Flament over ran his support line, allowing Eben Etzebeth to steal the ball.
Take a look at the hit:
💪 Ox & Jesse SMASH “The Fridge” Uini Atonio
✊ Eben completes the turnover!#FRAvRSA pic.twitter.com/ecTQNqBZxO
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) November 16, 2022
Springbok team to face Italy in Genoa:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 81 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Toulon) – 22 caps, 61 pts (10t, 1c, 3p)
13 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 68 caps, 45 pts (9t)
12 – Andre Esterhuizen (Harlequins) – 10 caps, 0pts
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 5 caps, 20 pts (4t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 25 caps, 25 pts (1t, 4c, 4p)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 44 caps, 30 pts (5t, 1c, 1p)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 19 caps, 5 pts (1t)
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 61 caps, 15 pts (3t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 73 caps, 45 pts (9t)
5 – Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 0 pts
4 – Salmaan Moerat (DHL Stormers) – 2 caps, 0 pts
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 56 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 53 caps, 55 pts (11t)
1 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 17 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 57 caps, 65 pts (13t)
17 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 69 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (Stade Francais) – 40 caps, 0 pts
19 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 108 caps, 15 pts (3t)
20 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 29 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Evan Roos (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0 pts
22 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 22 caps, 40 pts (8t)
23 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0 ptst
