Let’s not pretend this is a great All Blacks side who were robbed
I can only offer South Africa my heartiest congratulations.
After watching them lose to the All Blacks at Mt Smart Stadium in July, I thought they were about to go the way of other ageing Rugby World Cup champions.
To me they had the look of New Zealand in 1991 and Australia in 1995 and were likely to pay the price for hanging onto guys whose best rugby days were behind them.
Throw in a 2023 tournament run that included physical encounters with Scotland, Ireland, France and England and I simply didn’t think some of those old blokes would have the legs to run with the All Blacks.
Well, I was wrong and the Springboks were the right winners of this Rugby World Cup. I was especially pleased for wing Cheslin Kolbe and captain Siya Kolisi, who would both have feared that spells in the sin bin might cost their team victory.
I’ve chuckled in the hours and days since the Springboks’ 12-11 win over the All Blacks.
It’s been comical to hear how many people aren’t familiar with the way rugby’s laws are interpreted or weren’t aware of the Television Match Official’s role.
This wasn’t a game that I’ll call contentious. I thought it was well-officiated and that the best team won.
I’d prefer that New Zealanders were better-equipped to take defeat in their stride, but it appears not.
After all, you can’t say we haven’t had practice in recent seasons.
This has been a poor era for our national side and you would be one-eyed in the extreme to suggest otherwise.
Let’s not rewrite history here. Let’s not pretend this is a great side who were robbed of victory, having been expertly prepared by their head coach.
The evidence simply doesn’t support the argument.
There are good players in this All Blacks’ team and I want to praise a few of them for their efforts in the final and this season.
Jordie Barrett was immense against the Springboks, as were Scott Barrett and Brodie Retallick. None of them could have done more to earn their team victory.
Aaron Smith was excellent and will be missed. Quite why he and Richie Mo’unga were replaced in the final is beyond me.
Mark Tele’a is another player whose performances are consistently outstanding. Ardie Savea too. Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax aren’t far below that standard either.
That’s why I don’t support the argument – often put forward by apologists for coach Ian Foster – that we simply don’t have the cattle.
We had the talent, there just appeared to be something missing from that side. Call it consistency or clinical edge, there was just too great a disparity between this team’s best performance and its worst.
But I don’t think it’s grounds to scrap Super Rugby or rip up our player development pathway. It’s not time to change rugby’s laws or abandon the TMO.
We just need to take a breath, pass sober judgement over what worked and what didn’t in this coaching era and see what Scott Robertson can do when it’s his turn.
It’s a shame so many of this team won’t be around when Robertson assumes the head-coaching role, but such is the World Cup cycle.
It’ll be up to him to identify a new group of test footballers and quickly re-establish the winning culture that’s been the hallmark of All Black rugby.
If he can, he’ll be lauded. If not, then he’ll be subject to the sort of scrutiny that Foster got.
That’s high-performance sport.
For now, South Africa are world champions and deservedly so. More than that, they’re an inspirational and unifying force in a nation still facing massive social challenges.
The Springboks might not have played with huge style at this Rugby World Cup, but the substance of their squad is undoubted.
Theirs was a tough row to hoe, but they did it without fuss or excuses.
We’d do well to learn from that.
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
2 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
2 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
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