South Africa's victory over France last night was not short on dramatic moments, but one of the most memorable came via Cheslin Kolbe early in the first half.
Players charging down opposition conversions is a regular sight in top level rugby, something that is done in an attempt to put off the kicker. However, we very rarely see them come even close to actually blocking the kick.
With that in mind, it's not an exaggeration to say that Kolbe's block on Thomas Ramos' conversion was one of the highlights of the tournament so far.
Cheslin Kolbe decided the fate of the match 🔥 #RWC2023 | #FRAvRSA | @Springboks | @CheslinKolbe pic.twitter.com/zODg3Z1uqx
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 16, 2023
An amazing moment, unless you're a French fan of course.
South Africa are known for meticulously planning every detail ahead of a big game, but even they surely couldn't have conceived of this possibility? It seems that they did.
South Africa seemed to have planned Cheslin Kolbe conversion block
Looking at a wider angle of the Cheslin Kolbe block, it's clear that he had every intention of blocking the conversion.
He starts a full out sprint the very second that Ramos begins his run up to the ball, with the player's ridiculous pace and the Frenchman's deliberate style meaning that a block could be on the cards.
The timing of this run is spot on! They planned and prepped this to the maximum! 1% pic.twitter.com/lKREgU74s3
— Katleho Lynch (@LynchCoach) October 16, 2023
Cheslin Kolbe is one of the fastest players in world rugby, having ran a 10.70 seconds 100-metre dash as a schoolboy. Sprinting clearly runs in the family, with his first cousin Wayde van Niekirk being the 400-metre world record holder.
A familiarity with the opposition player also helped him on this occasion.
The South African was teammates with Ramos at Toulouse for a number of years, something he admitted was a plus when it came to knowing when to begin the run that led to the block:
I think it definitely helped that I played with Tomas for six years and knew what he was doing.
I did everything by the book and within the rules. I was behind the line before he started his run.
I tried to run as fast as possible to charge it down. I wanted to make him feel a bit of pressure.
Some had suggested that the block was an illegal one, but wide angle shot above shows that Cheslin Kolbe was behind the line as he claimed.
With all of this in mind, it seems clear that South Africa planned this brilliantly and had every intention of blocking a Ramos conversion if the opportunity presented itself. In the end, this turned out to be a decisive moment in the game.
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