Would a loss against the Irish make this year a disappointing one for the Springboks?

This is a question that I hear many rugby lovers ask in the wake of a disappointing tour of Europe. Let’s firstly have a look at the results of tests played this year.

SA 26 – Lions 21 (H)

SA 28 – Lions 25 (H)

SA 9 – Lions 28 (H)

SA 28 – NZ 19 (H)

SA 31 – NZ 19 (H)

SA 29 – Aus 17 (H)

SA 32 – Aus 25 (A)

SA 6 – Aus 21 (A)

SA 32 – NZ 29 (A)

SA 13 – France 20 (A)

SA 32 – Italy 10 (A)

This gives us a winning record so far of 73 % which could become 67% if we lose to Ireland or 75% if we manage to win this weekend. These results gives us an aggregate score against everyone of 24 – 21.

The third test against the Lions was played with an inferior team, and had we played our top players in that game, a win was possibly on the cards. The game against Australia that we lost this year was the most disappointing one for me. We where outplayed that day, and looked like a shadow of the team that won every Tri nations game up to that point.

The test we lost against France was on the cards, and I called the French to win by 8 before kick off. The signs that the players where tired was to be seen in the Currie Cup Semi finals and to some extent in the second half of the final. And to make matters worse for the France game was the fact that we missed some key players.

So in my humble opinion, this was a great year for Springbok rugby, win or lose this weekend, and if we can manage the players better next year, we can have an even better year.

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