Don’t let the Springbok spin-machine or scribes who don’t have the option to piss in the pot tell you otherwise: the Springboks didn’t deserve to beat Wales as the Welsh outplayed South Africa. They dominated every facet of the game, except on the scoreboard, and were it not for a missed drop goal and penalty, the Springboks would have been deservedly defeated. Save for their sheer bloody-mindedness. South Africa got lucky and have been left with more questions than answers, such as who will skipper with both John Smit and Victor Matfield off? Sunday showed that Peter De Villiers’ and his staff hadn’t prepared for that eventuality.
De Villiers suggested that Sunday’s victory was one of character. It certainly built character but whether it was achieved by character is missing the point. The assumptions the Springbok camp went into the tournament with must change, especially only needing to turn up to win a game against Wales. They will tell you differently but why did South Africa only play rugby for 15 minutes in total? I criticised Wales coach Warren Gatland for the comments he made in the build-up to the fixture, but he has been proven correct to a large degree. Fair play to him.
It is now up to the coaches and players to be willing to exercise the flexibility required to ensure South Africa aren’t outplayed again, and the makeup of the side is central to that theme. A side picked primarily on reputation failed to live up to it, with the myth surrounding several of the players on Sunday being exploded.
Pierre Spies once again went missing when the going got tough. Bryan Habana’s poor performance was put in perspective by Francois Hougaard, who immediately looked better value with the ball in hand following his first touch, even excluding the winning try. Fourie du Preez didn’t have a game representative of what we hope he is still capable of, often kicking the ball without precision.
There were exceptions. Schalk Burger and Heinrich Brusouw were excellent, while Danie Rossouw didn’t shirk his responsibilities as they played with the verve several of their comrades were missing. Frans Steyn had his moments as did Jaque Fourie, but with Morne Steyn not having the protection of his forwards he looked ineffective when not kicking the ball. If South Africa want to pursue with Steyn, changes are required.
Smit is the best man suited to lead the Springboks, but as a hooker he has been surpassed to a noticeable degree by Bismarck du Plessis. Du Plessis’ showed all his talent in his cameo at the Cake Tin. He carried strongly, performed well at scrum time and added real mongrel to the tackle area which made life more difficult for Wales. He, along with Willem Alberts, have now left the Springbok management with the choice they didn’t want to make, but now their hand surely has been forced to a certain degree? If they pursue with a line-up of reputation instead of substance, expect a few more nail-biting finishes as the Springboks plod through this tournament.
Rugby is first and foremost a game of deeds. Character and virtue are necessary components too, but it is through doing that we as observers best decide what we are seeing is the real deal or a mirage we wish to exist.
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