daniel chigunwe
Flyhalf Manie Libbok was named man of the match as South Africa opened the defence of their Rugby World Cup title with victory over Scotland on Sunday as Wales held out against a spirited Fiji comeback.
Libbok’s highlight was a second-half no-look assist for Kurt-Lee Arendse as the Springboks began their search for a record fourth Webb Ellis trophy in clinical fashion in the Marseille heat, winning 18-3.
Former World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph Du Toit had crashed over earlier in the tie for Jacques Nienaber’s outfit in Pool B.
Their next major test to reach the quarter-finals will be world No 1 side Ireland on 23 September, six days after facing Romania.
“I think it could have been a slippery one. Scotland are a good side, they are not No 5 in the world for nothing,” Nienaber told the BBC.
“I thought we had a little bit of dominance in the first-half but we had to grind the win out.”
Wales began their campaign by overcoming Fiji 32-26 in Bordeaux, avoiding defeat to the highest ranked side in Pool C.
Winger Josh Adams claimed one of four tries for Wales as experienced flyhalf Dan Biggar crossed the 100-point mark for his country at World Cups, surpassing Neil Jenkins’ 98-point record.
“You can never write Fiji off. Right at the end they could have won the game,” Adams told S4C after his side led by 18 points with less than a quarter of an hour to play.
“We don’t want another game like that,” he added before next Saturday’s match with Portugal. — SuperSport.
Online Reporter