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Ben-Jason Dixon faces up to first half substitution versus All Blacks
By Josh Raisey
South Africa flanker Ben-Jason Dixon has admitted he did not have his "best game" after being substituted before halftime against the All Blacks in round three of the Rugby Championship.
The Stormers star only lasted 37 minutes of the Springboks' 31-27 victory over the All Blacks at Emirates Airline Park before Rassie Erasmus opted to replace him with Eben Etzebeth (Etzebeth had come on ten minutes earlier to replace Ruan Nortje, but Nortje's return to play was at the expense of Dixon, with Pieter-Steph du Toit dropping to the back row).
The substitution came after a first half where the 26-year-old made some costly errors. His accidental offside in the opening ten minutes gifted the All Blacks possession in South Africa's 22, which they eventually scored from three minutes later. The All Blacks pounced on his wayward offload later in the half to score their second try, and his match did not last much longer after that.
Being substituted before halftime is usually one of the most chastening experiences for a sportsperson, but it is actually a well-trodden path for the Springboks, who have regularly adopted this ploy with their 'Bomb Squad' and have chosen to do so with other players on the biggest of stages.
To comfort the flanker further, he was replaced by one of the greatest South African players of all time in Etzebeth who was always going to play a significant portion of the match after being named among the replacements.
Dixon took to Instagram on Tuesday to address the experience, saying it is "part of the journey" while showing an appreciation for the support he has received.
"Honoured to have been part of another hard-fought victory with the @bokrugby this weekend!" he wrote.
"While the team came out on top, I know I didn’t have my best game out there—but that’s part of the journey.
"Every match is a chance to learn, grow, and come back stronger. Grateful for my teammates, coaches, and all the fans for the unwavering support. Excited to keep pushing forward and giving my all for this incredible team!"
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Latest Comments
I think you have gone in the wrong direction here Nick. I think you need to delve down into the rules etc around Moana Pacifica’s selection policies and then you need to understand that a lot of KIWI BORN rugby players have PI heritage. It appears ok for the 4 home nations to pillage NZ born players constantly without retribution but you want to question whether NZ BORN players should be eligible for NZ? Seems a real agenda in there.
Go back and look at the actual Aims and agenda for MP becoming a entity and you see lots of things enshrined in policy that you arnt mentioning here. EG there is an allowance for a percentage of MP to be NZ eligible. This was done so MP could actually become competitive. Lets be real. If it wasnt this way then MP would not be competitive.
There also seems to be some sort of claim ( mainly from the NH ) that NZ is “cashing in” on MP, which , quite frankly is a major error. Are you aware of how much MP costs NZR Financially?
39 NZ born rugby players played at the last world cup for Samoa or Tonga. PLUS plenty for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.
Taumoefolau is a BORN AND BRED NZer. However I very strongly doubt he will be an AB, but who do you believe he should be allowed to play for? Levi Aumua is ALSO a born and bred Kiwi.
Aumua was eligible to represent Samoa and Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup in July that year but ended up playing for neither. He IS eligible for his nation of Birth too Nick
He is a Kiwi. Are you saying an NZ born, raised Kiwi cant play for NZ now?
Sorry Nick Kiwi born and bred actually qualify for NZ.
Go to commentsYeah, Richie certainly stepped up for the ABs in 2022 and 2023 and proved he could translate his skills into the test arena. You have to understand many fans checked out at that point though, only to tune back in for a directionless WC final.
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