Surprised?

C’mon, are you really surprised that the Springboks are last on the Tri-Nations table?

Think about it! Really, are you?

If you answer that you are surprised that the Springboks are last on the table, then you must never take up poker or any form of gambling. It does show that you are a true fan, which is a great thing. Teams need true fans. Teams need folks to bang on little drums when they are doing badly. Teams need fan to buy Chinese rip-offs from street corners and don the jersey on match day. Teams need you to buy flags and wave them from your car when you are driving on a Saturday morning.

But c’mon. Really? You thought that they would beat the All Blacks and the Wallabies in the Tri-Nations? A good friend of mine would have one thing to say to you: “Whatever!”

I keep hearing about the Springboks being world champions. I understand them as having won one tournament, by the name of the World Cup. To me, winning the World Cup does not a world champion make. Especially considering the way the tournament was set up.

South Africa did not play either of their southern-hemisphere rivals in the tournament.

OK, sure, South Africa beat England. I am impressed. Um, so did Wales.

The All Blacks have always been a better side than the Springboks. The Wallabies are a surprise, but after watching the Super 14, we shoulda seen it coming. Well, maybe not the true fan.

What worries me is when the true fan gives up on his side; when he or she boos his side off the park on a Saturday afternoon. Sure, it was in the Absa Stadium in Durban — a part of the world where the rugby fans are used to a side that actually wins rugby matches.

Of course, what will happen over the next week will be fun to watch. Racists will bring up the black Springbok coach. Rugby fans will call for his head. Regular fans will shrug their shoulders and realise that we have a lazy rugby side without a brain between them. Rugby is a brain game today. It takes thinking to make a winning side. Check out the winning sides of the past. They all had some really clever rugby brains. I am afraid that those brains are gone.

Bring back the brains. We have the best rugby players in the world. Twenty-two players, individually, are excellent. Well, maybe not Percy, but that is just me. We need some brains to bring them together and tell them what to do. Jake did it, Rudolph did not.

One more match for the Boks in the Tri-Nations. Good luck to them. They will need it.