the battered face of Heinrich Brussow!

Bloodied but unbowed, the battered face of Heinrich Brussow will be the lasting impression of the Boks’ 18-5 victory over the All Blacks in Port Elizabeth at the weekend and while he was too groggy to do his Man of the Match appearance at the post-match press conference (following a serious stitch-up after the game), the openside flanker is expected to be make a full recovery from an alleged punch by an All Blacks forward following a set-to between Bakkies Botha and the Kiwis.

More worrying is the shoulder injury sustained early in the match by fullback Patrick Lambie. A full set of X-Rays and scans today will reveal the extent of the damage to his left shoulder joint and indeed whether he will be okay to take his place in the World Cup squad to be named tomorrow night.

Regarding Brussow, All Blacks coach Graham Henry said that the Free Stater had once again been a nuisance to his team.

“He was a problem for us in 2009, the last time he played us, and two years later he has come back (from injury) and nothing has changed. He is a class player,” Henry said. “I reckon it has something to do with his low centre of gravity, whatever it is he is very good on the ball!”

The silver lining to the cloud of losing Juan Smith is that the Boks now have the Brussow factor.

But the gracious Henry was quick to point out that it was a passionate team performance that had undone his team.

“We learned a lot about some of our players but first of all a big congratulations to South Africa, they took their opportunities well, played with great physicality and spirit and out-played us on the day ,” Henry said. “They scrambled really well on defence. We created six clear opportunities and converted just one of them. Some of that was down to lack of maturity to build patiently and then convert, but just as much to Springbok tenacity.

“The first thing we have to say is well done to the Springboks for kicking their goals and defending their line for all their worth,” Henry concluded. “The bottom line is that we believed we had a team that would win and we prepared very well, but it was the Boks that did the business.”

by Mike Greenaway .www.iol.co.za