Springboks fans might not want to admit it, but this current side is not on the same level as Richie McCaw’s all-conquering All Blacks between 2008 and 2015. Not yet. But they can be. And they’re certainly tracking in the right direction.
A win this weekend in Cape Town – where New Zealand have triumphed in each of their past two games – would be the Springboks’ fourth in a row against their great rivals. That would be a record in the professional era and their best run in the fixture since 1949 when Felix du Plessis’ team made a clean sweep of the four-match series against a touring team shorn of their Maori talent in order to appease the apartheid government of the day.
A win would also effectively secure the Rugby Championship. Even if New Zealand earn two losing bonus points, South Africa would just need a single point across their two remaining games against Argentina to claim an undiluted title for the first time since 2009 having won a truncated version of the competition in 2019.
They’re the top-ranked team in the world, holders of back-to-back World Cups and on the cusp of cementing their status as the preeminent group in the southern hemisphere. And yet last week, for the first hour of their meeting with the All Blacks in Johannesburg, they were disjointed, erratic and cut confused figures across the same bit of turf that birthed the modern Springboks mythology back in 1995.
It was only after New Zealand scored four tries and stormed to a 27-17 lead the Springboks began to rally. Their bench played its part in tilting the pendulum – with Kwagga Smith reprising his role as the world’s most impactful substitute – as their pack cranked through the gears to wrestle back the advantage. A yellow card for Ofa Tu’ungafasi was swiftly followed by two converted tries and the game was secured after some astute management from the end of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s boot.
Rather than being a departure from what has come before, last week’s result was simply more of the same from a team which has already proved time and again it refuses to fade in big moments.
Acolytes pointed to the win as proof of the Springboks’ evolution. These were the sorts of turnarounds once synonymous with the All Blacks. Winning games that should be lost is surely a sign of a champion outfit. But rather than being a departure from what has come before, last week’s result was simply more of the same from a team which has already proved time and again it refuses to fade in big moments.
They demonstrated this never-say-die attitude across last year’s World Cup, beating France, England and then New Zealand by singlepoint margins. They showed this against the British and Irish Lions when they shook off the rust of the Covid pandemic and overcame a 1-0 deficit in the series. They showed it in 2019 when they thwacked an England side high on their own sense of superiority after vanquishing New Zealand in the semi-finals.
We’re all well aware Rassie Erasmus has an almost preternatural ability to rouse a response from his charges when all hope seems lost. Now is the time to stamp down their authority from the outset and boss a world class team from the opening whistle to the final hooter.
The selection of Handre Pollard at fly-half and Willie le Roux at full-back suggests Erasmus is keen on a more pragmatic strategy. And though Grant Williams’ introduction at scrum-half means there’s at least one effervescent player in the creative positions, the double World Cup-winning veterans at 10 and 15 bring a sense of surety.
This in turn might be a reflection on how the Springboks approach the game. Last week two glaring errors from rookie Ben-Jason Dixon led to two All Blacks tries and saw the loose forward hooked before the half-time whistle. And while these were individual mistakes from a player who has since owned up to them, they were indicative of a rather helter-skelter game-plan.
Particularly when Dixon offloaded a messy ball to Jasper Wiese after being hauled to the floor on 32 minutes. This Hail-Mary pass was unnecessary but felt in keeping with the freneticism shown by the Springboks to this point.
It’s true the attack is a work in progress and there will be some glitches. But an overzealous desire for quick ball led to other mistakes that might have cost them the game.
Perhaps this is simply a consequence of the new attacking ethos instilled by Tony Brown. And it’s true the attack is a work in progress and there will be some glitches. But an overzealous desire for quick ball led to other mistakes that might have cost them the game.
There was Siya Kolisi steaming into the line and knocking on when he clearly didn’t belong in the move. Then there was Jordie Barrett’s intercept try shortly after the restart which was a consequence of an ill-set line off first-phase ball – an almost unforgivable lack of structure for such an elite team. Throw in holes on the rush defence and a pattern begins to emerge.
Now is the time to rectify these errors and find a higher level. That great All Blacks team under McCaw not only won rugby matches but did so with a sense of inevitability. Running them close was considered an upset. Making them sweat was a sign of the opposition’s strength.
The Springboks are more than capable of replicating that. Despite drawing their recent series to Ireland – arguably more proof of the room for improvement when expectations are placed upon them – they rightly sit atop the world and should be considered favourites every time they take their field. Their depth is unrivalled. The intellectual property throughout the group is second to none. And their ability to blood youngsters in a settled squad must be the envy of every other Test coach.
No doubt all Springboks fans want to see the team unleashed and rampant across the park, throwing offloads, unfurling cross-field kicks and cutting up defensive sets the way the All Blacks used to.
That can wait. First they have a dynasty to secure.
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