Let us not be guilty of suggesting all is suddenly hunky-dory again in Springbok rugby: it isn’t. But there are also times when the pessimists must be banished, humiliated, to the back seats for a while and a special weekend – “finish and klaar!” — be savoured by those who doggedly keep the faith.
Article from Sport24
Considering the swirling cloud of negativity after the Scotland debacle only seven days earlier, and the general mood of public disenchantment with both the touring Bok team and their head coach of late, beating England by an emphatic 10 points at Twickenham on Saturday was a riposte of some force.
Personally, I am wallowing unashamedly in a wee measure of self-satisfaction after daring to suggest from the British Isles in midweek that Victor Matfield’s team had no reason to feel cowed by the England challenge and that, pound for pound, a win or at least rousing visiting performance was wholly feasible.
Well, this Bok team produced both. And perhaps now those who scornfully thought I was smoking my 3G card or even the entire laptop may at least put their noses to the hot humble pie even if they are not prepared to brave a bite.
I suggested it was frighteningly close to disloyal to wish the Boks a hiding against such long-time bitter rivals simply because of a clearly well-rooted wish to see Peter de Villiers given the heave-ho.
Surely support for your team should always come first? Surely you appreciate a bit more now that any distaste you may have for the coach and his co-strategists is best channelled toward those who employ them, and not the men who actually go out to defend the country’s honour in the green and gold?
I do not harbour affection for De Villiers: I still believe he is skating on thin ice after a rocky old year, and that there are better brains capable of plotting the Boks’ World Cup defence, even if upheaval at this point would contain some obvious elements of disadvantage.
But in the (unlikely now, perhaps) event that the coach does see the door, he would leave with the minor satisfaction, I think, that he still had “the dressing room”, as they say.
For if there was significant anti-Div rebelliousness in the camp itself, it certainly didn’t surface on Saturday as Matfield and company saved their most full-blooded and polished performance of the Grand Slam tour for last.
Three wins from four on an end-of-year slog with a greatly weakened squad: that’s not nirvana, but it’s also not a ruinous state of affairs and South Africa have had coaches who have kept their tracksuits after worse tour returns.
But let’s abandon the bigger picture now, because sideshows deserve suspension – even if short-lived — when a terrific win like this is achieved, don’t you think?
Yes, this wasn’t too far off a Bok hall-of-famer, when you consider how they were being written off after the Murrayfield mud-bath and England, simultaneously, were being hyped – outrageously, I’d strongly suspected – on the grounds of the 35-18 whipping of the Wallabies at the very same venue.
Martin Johnson’s charges had won some plaudits a little earlier in the month, too, when they at least gave the All Blacks some “problems” along the way in succumbing 26-16.
Well, here the Boks prevailed by the same margin, yet arguably with greater comfort: remember that England’s lone try was a late, flattering intercept and that both Steyns, Morne and Francois, had thumped the uprights with much earlier penalty attempts within the space of seven minutes.
Both even-handed English television commentators, Miles Harrison and Stuart Barnes (what a relief not to have had that barking anti-Saffer Brian Moore in the booth) were unreserved in their praise for the whip hand South Africa held, virtually across the park.
“South Africa look the more experienced and better team,” Harrison had simply but aptly noted as the teams trudged off at half-time, with England somehow level-pegging then at 6-6.
And afterwards former Test flyhalf Barnes, while also suggesting the Boks suddenly didn’t look so dead in the water as a World Cup 2011 factor after all, observed: “This was their shot at redemption (after Scotland) and boy, have they fired the bullets.”
He gave player-of-the-match to Bismarck du Plessis, the hooker who threw into the lineout beautifully after his bad day at the office in Edinburgh and rampaged about the pitch like a man possessed in the general exchanges.
Mind you, there were many colleagues like him in muscular commitment and positive energy.
One was Pierre Spies, the big No 8 who has rather pole-axed some detractors in recent weeks, this one included.
Yes, he did bungle one routine, no-pressure kick-off collection, but otherwise the Bulls man was dynamite at Twickers.
On one sublime occasion he not only stopped a rumbling English attacker near the Bok line, he drove him several yards backwards – it is moments like that that demoralise opponents and gee-up allies.
Beast Mtawarira, meanwhile, tackled and made metres, tackled and made metres … you get the picture of the loosehead prop’s levels of industry. Oh, and before we forget, he was also part of a jubilantly successful effort to lower the colours of a supposedly immovable English scrum!
All the while, veteran blindside flank Juan Smith took alertness to new levels, making rangy strides at times to smash unsuspecting English raiders and counter-raiders into touch – the Bok old-firm locks weren’t too shabby in that respect, either.
Where they had come up short against the Scots for precision, the tactical kicking and body language of Ruan Pienaar and Morne Steyn was light years better here, while Jean de Villiers simply oozed zeal and tenacity and a desire to stay on the front foot.
The substitutions, so often an area of wrath by Bok monitors, were like clockwork this time: the right men came off with understandably wearying legs during the second half, and bench performers like Willem Alberts, CJ van der Linde (save for that ill-fated but ultimately not too expensive “prop’s pass”) and Adi Jacobs busied themselves with commendable immediacy.
“We played the way we know we can,” a bursting-with-pride Matfield said pitch-side afterwards, “direct … and then we took it wide.”
Yeah, the various, still complex elements of controversy and disenchantment in Bok rugby can wait a few days.
Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Rugby-Talk Poll
What will the result be between England & Springboks?
Springboks win by 10 PLUS (38%, 6 Votes)
Springboks win by 1 – 9 (38%, 6 Votes)
England win by 1 – 9 (19%, 3 Votes)
England win by 10 PLUS (6%, 1 Votes)
Draw (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 16
At least we did not have too many doom sayers here, 12/16 picked a win for our Springbok team.
There where far more pessimists on Superbru where the 32 participants picked wins for –
England 17
Springboks 11
4 did not pick
We won and well done to the Boks. But our backline cant string a move together and their handling was shocking,the field was dry so they cant use the wet ball as an excuse. Our forwards are top notch but our backs leave a lot to be desired.
By Simnikiwe Xabanisa at Twickenham
HISTORY did a roaring trade in repeating itself as the Springboks saved the skin of yet another embattled coach with a backs-to-the wall win over England here yesterday.
Four years ago, it was Jake White who needed a win to convince the suits at the SA Rugby Union that he was the man to take the Boks to what turned out to be their second World Cup win.
Yesterday, his successor, Peter de Villiers, took his place in the hot seat to witness his men deliver a Bok-lash performance. It has probably earned him the right to coach his side to defend White’s 2007 World Cup win.
To realise how much rode on this performance, consider that some presumably proud South Africans were hoping the Boks would lose to the old enemy just so the coaching staff would be sacked.
@ Winston:
Did you watch the demolition of the French last night?
Braveheart did it again
Bok captain Victor Matfield — who played with a broken rib for three-quarters of the match after a massive prang with England winger Chris Ashton — ran the lineout like clockwork against a side that was better than the Scots who beat them last week.
If there was anything to be learnt from this game it was that the Boks still have the forwards to best anyone. Seeing that games start and end there, they’re not in as bad a shape as everyone thinks they are.
Wel wel wel… Die Bokke het weer ruggraat gewys en ‘n goeie wen behaal. Baie geluk !!!
Stem egter saam met Winston, ons agterlyn laat veel te wense oor….
Hoop die manne kan voortbou op die voorspeler vertoning en ons agterlyn uitsorteer voor die wereldbeker.
@ Blouste:
As jy die Aus vs Frankryk game gekyk het word jy sommer naar van jaloesie. Die spelers hardloop wonderlike lynne, pass briljant en druk skouspelagtige driee.
@ Blouste:
Ons het dringend n ander coach nodig vir ons agterlyn.
I watched the first half and fell asleep Super,their back play was amazing,if Aus find a tight 5 by the World Cup next year they will be serious contenders.. If we had some of the Aus backs we would walk the World Cup next year 🙂
die game was baie,baie beter gister as teen skotland.ek het gedink ek droom.gold en os se voorry het die poms se voorry soos 3de rate laat lyk.nou moet hulle net iemand kry om muir te help.die pom media blame seker nou weer die ref vir die nederlaag.
@ Winston:
Through all the years the Australians had great backline coaches. Remember how we complained about obstruction runners, decoys etc. We only bash it up through the middle over a player. No not totally true but we dont try enough innovative moves. And then the willingness of them to pass back, long passed, skip passes.
Well done Boks. Much better than last week, but still too many mistakes. Could have really put them away by far more, but what the heck just pleased we won it.
Now PdV should be brave and start with some of the youngsters for the Baa Baas game. See what we have in them.
Super,I think currently that the only player that is capable of that is Juan De Jongh,he has a great step and does not just crash it up,although Jdv finally actually passed that ball and did not crash it up. Jaque Fourie will make a big difference with his strike running and still the player we miss the most is the magician Fourie Du Preez.
Australia played much better without Matt Gittau, did he get onto the field yesterday? Berrick Barnes looked much better.
Sometime one play can halt the whole back line. Fransie made many mistakes yesterday.
The problem with Giteau is that he has an ego the size of a small country and he has not backed it up lately,his goal kicking has also been shit lately except against us 🙂 Frans is playing out of position but agreed,his handling was not acceptable,things looked better when Jacobs came on and he went to fullback.
@winston the only player with a bigger ego than matt is our very own fransie
I love this photo used as a background on this blog, wonder what happened there for this reaction. It looked like the Stormers and the Bulls was not happy. Look at the reactions. Priceless.
http://blogs.sport24.co.za/wallabokiwi/pomme-hard-gemoer
@ superBul:
Sorry i looked again and saw the reason myself, hahaha, old memories.
Die swakste skakel in ons agterlyn was Frans op 13. Hy het baie beter gelyk op 15, maar dan dink ek ook nie hy sou 13 gespeel het as enige van JF, JdJ of WO beskikbaar was nie! JdV maak my nog baie moerig, ek weet nie of dit die afrigter se bevele is of hoekom hy so baie in die verdedigers vashardloop nie? Onthou, hy is een van die vinnigste spelers in die Bokspan oor 15meter, en het ‘n gevaarlike aftrap. Morne Steyn is ook nog nie op sy beste nie, vra te min vrae aan die verdediging. Wat ek wil sê is dat hy nie k@k is nie, maar ook niks buitengewoons doen nie. En as hy eers gaan begin maklike straf- en skepskoppe mis….. Was ook nie impress met Stegmann nie. Hy is te lig,word maklik rondgestamp en beweeg te stadig van een fase na die volgende. Bissie is my nr1 fetcher. Ons voorry is nou kookwater en ek kan ie sien dat Barney plek gaan kry behalwe as hy in Jannie Dup se plek gaan speel nie. Victor was baas in die lynstane en Bakkies is nog wel bietjie stiller as wat ons aan gewoond is, maar het in 4 games nie een strafskop afgestaan nie!!! Moet ‘n rekord vir hom wees.
@ KingPaul:
Ek wonder of Bissie dalk fetcher flank kan speel?
Ek hoor van die ouens praat so, maar ek sien dit nie gebeur nie. Ek sal geld verwed dat ‘n lostrio van Burger, Smith en Spies met Brussow of Alberts of albei op die bank die WC games gaan speel.
Game thread for Ireland vs Argentina now up, game starts in minutes.
McLook i can not open any blogs on Sport24, did you write something this weekend? Or did you spend all your time sharing some humble pie with others? 😆
Houwing is ‘n poephol en was nog altyd ‘n mooiweersvriend. Keohane is ook. Onthou hoe’t hy vir Jake White gekatsy, en toe lekker saam met hom gepose met die World Cup.
Geluk Springboutertjies, goeie wen teen die ou vyand. Julle getjommel deur die jaar is nou lank vergete. As jy happy is om altyd 2de beste te wees then so be it. Net soos julle krieketboeties. As ‘n kak wen teen ‘n overhyped span jou laat beter voel na die gemors teen ‘n Skotland 2de span, eat your heart out.
Ek sal aanhou om dit te se : ons het geen rede om teen enigiemand te verloor nie. En dit klink miskien arrogant, maar as jy na ons resources kyk, kan jy nie stry nie. Die rugbygode het lankal reeds besluit dat om die game gelyk te gou, gaan hulle vir ons die kakste administrateurs gee.
Ek het my breekpunt bereik met die Bokke laasweek. Enige wen teen ‘n span behalwe die AB gaan hollow wees na daai laagtepunt. NZ is die enigste opponent wat saak maak. Meet jouself slegs teen die beste.
Die swakste skakel in die agterlyn was nie Frans Steyn nie. Dit was ongelukkig en van my gunsteling spelers, Morne Steyn. Dick Muir het hom vinnig in ‘n aap omgetower.
super @ 24
lol
i seriously doubt it bru, i seriously doubt it!!
o, and a gooooooooooood MOURNING to all the doomsayers!!
..
what a KAK WEEKEND you mustve had!! 😆
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yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
o, and what a nice little poll we’ve got up and running!!
lol, ñ hele VYF suurgatte het ge-vote dat niks gechange het nie!!
..
i wonder in what flavours you get humble pie these days? … i still remember that pie i had to eat after jake the snake won wc2007 … ‘it was beslissie lekkerie … as ek reg geproe het, was daa beslis honnebollie en dassiepis in daai pie!!
enigeen enige ander geure ontdek? 😀
..
o,
en
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Why is it that the All Blacks achieve a Grand Slam so easy, yet we worry about the Bokke in every game up North…. where we KNOW we will drop 1 or 2 games, and not achieve a Grand Slam?
Under every coach we’ve had…
Are we doomed to stay beneath the All Blacks for ever and a day… or do we aspire to be better, better than the All Blacks… better than anything anybody throws at us?
I say we should strive to be No 1 consistently and I say that we could get there!
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