England fluff lines twice as pundit questions legitimacy of very rare South Africa try | Rugby | Sport

England failed to clear their lines twice in very quick succession during the first half of Saturday’s clash against South Africa – errors that eventually cost them a try.

Jack van Poortvliet had the initial chance to kick long, but Eben Etzebeth was quick off the mark to charge down the England scrum-half.

It looked as if Marcus Smith had cleaned things up for his team-mate though, but even his kick was blocked by a tenacious Springbok.

This time it was Pieter-Steph du Toit leading the charge, with the 32-year-old quickly leaping on the ball to secure what was South Africa’s second try of the game.

But the legitimacy of the move was questioned by the commentary team, specifically the initial charge from Etzebeth.

TNT pundit Austin Healey queried the decision, saying: “He’s offside. He’s just offside for me. I’d love to see it again because I think just before the ball is lifted, his left foot moves in front of the back part of the ruck. It’s super close.”

The lead commentator added: “Just again to underline now you are not allowed to put those big breeze blocks forward between you as the kicker and anyone like Eben Etzebeth who might be looking to charge you down.”

Healey chimed in again with: “He’s got a run now so all you’ve got to do is put an extra person in and make the ruck slightly longer. That’s now what five kicks for JVP [Jack van Poortvliet]. None of them would’ve been what he wanted.”

He wasn’t alone in that thinking though, with plenty taking to social media to ask whether Etzebeth was offside.

@wiffen_john said on X: “I’m at about 50% JvP needs to do better, 30% Etzebeth is a joke and 20% he’s offside. Van Poortvleit really good in attack mind. Intriguing test match battle.”

@TMR_Olly stated: “Has Etzebeth ever heard of the offside law? #ENGvRSA”

@RugbyLambo sarcastically added: “Eben Etzebeth likes to push the boundary with the offside line doesn’t he [laughing emoji].”

Things had got off to a strong start for England after Ollie Sleightholme opened the scoring with a try just four minutes in.

It didn’t take long for the world champions to hit back though, firstly through Grant Williams and then Du Toit, before Cheslin Kolbe added a third just after the midway point of the first half.

England did regain a stranglehold in the contest before the break when Sam Underhill scored a try, which was converted by Smith, to ensure there was only a two-point deficit at the break.

Both sides had tries chalked off in the second half, with the two teams also scoring a penalty apiece.