Springboks: Fear factor

Imagine for a moment you were Peter de Villiers for an hour.
Alone. Abandoned. Attacked by your own. 24/7.

It seems to me that we are spectators to some grotesque Cape Hunt and Polo Club chase of the fox through the Tokai forest, with the cacophony of baying basset hounds, the tooting of horns and the cracking of whips. Peter is being assailed from all sides and worst of all from his fellow compatriots and rugby loving South African fans and South African media, tearing at him like a group of junkyard dogs over a bone.

Then to compound this, we have the sickening loftiness of the Kiwi media rallying around their po faced headmaster coach, who seconds ago was vilified by the same contingent.

We are South Africans and we have a reputation for physical and mental toughness, loyalty and breathtaking excellence, so we should be standing together, shoulder to shoulder with Peter de Villiers and the Springbok team, in a show of solidarity to merely show we are the best at this game of rugby.

We lost one game 19-8 against the All Blacks, attended to by one of the most atrocious displays of refereeing rugby has ever seen.
Last night I replayed the clip of Thorn upending Smit in his spear tackle and Stuart Dickinson with a whistle in his left hand, handed off with his right hand the falling torso of Smit to get out of the way. Then the moron stands by as a rubbernecker onlooker watching the teams have a scrap, as if he is standing in front of some fishtank at an aquarium. This clown is not fit to be an international referee and should return to club games. I certainly would refuse to have him blow a game for the Springboks or Super 14 again because of his incompetence.

In sport, there are winners and losers. We lost one game last Saturday, having now set that as the benchmark, and we are motivated to win this Saturday, and the Saturday after that in Perth.

Let’s cut out the whining and hand wringing and oh so agonizingly detailed analysis of what went wrong and gird our loins and get set for this Saturday, as one nation. Together.

We are the feared nation in rugby. We are the colossus of the game. Now you do what you have asked the Spingboks and Peter de Villiers to do on Saturday, and rally as a team and klap these pesky All Blacks, like only a snotklap can do. They need it and we know we can give it to them.

PS. Never before have I witnessed such a humbling display of sportsmanship than on Sunday night, when Rafa Nadal paid a glowing tribute to Federer after having just beaten him at Wimbledon. These two are assassins on the court and quite spectacular sportsmen off it.