During the Rugby Championship clash between South Africa and Argentina in Durban, Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe gifted Argentina a soft try.
Towards the end of what turned out to be a bizarre first half, Kolbe raced back behind South Africa’s tryline to gather a kick from Santiago Chocobares.
Kolbe proceeded to dot the ball down for a goal-line drop out. Instead of passing the ball to his teammate that was to take the dropout, Kolbe nonchalantly mini drop-kicked the ball to Damian Willemse.
The winger’s kick was horribly misdirected and drifted back into the field of play while the Springbok players were retreating. Argentina, realising the ball was still live, sniffed a rare opportunity to score.
Chocobares proceeded to gather the ball and dive over for a simple try that put his Argentina 14-11 ahead.
Rassie not fazed by ‘brainfart’
At the post-match press conference at Kings Park, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was quick to point out that the mercurial winger eventually redeemed himself.
“Well, it’s very simple what [Kolbe] did wrong,” Erasmus said after South Africa’s emphatic win.
“He didn’t try and kick a short kick-off. He just wanted to kick the ball to the guy who was kicking off. But it’s a legal try. He drop-goaled, they were five metres away and they caught it. Bit of a brain fart.”
WATCH Rassie’s response from 3:08 onwards…
Though Kolbe’s error cost his team seven points, Erasmus emphasised the winger’s overall value on the day.
“He did many other things great in the game,” Erasmus added. “I think I’ve done stupid things like that when I was playing, all of us have. But you have to remember all the brilliant things that he also does. I think we can forgive him for that…seven points back, I’m sure he’s aware.”
Kolbe went on to score a brilliant try in the second half when he timed a Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu cross-kick to perfection.
Another second-half attacking masterclass from the Springboks saw the hosts run in 10 tries on Saturday to win 67-30, and move to the top of the Rugby Championship table.
A bonus-point win against Argentina in the return clash in London next weekend will secure a second successive title for the Boks.
