There are times you have to shake yourself in disbelief – if you take away the administrative flaws that gave us the Luke Watson selection controversy, it really does seem to be plain sailing for the Springboks and South African rugby right now, writes Gavin Rich for SuperRugby.
The big win over England does have to be put in context. The visitors were already depleted when they arrived in the country, and were then further disrupted by the various withdrawals that they had to countenance during the course of the build-up week to the first test. They were always going to be up against it.
At the same time, though, there was good reason for fear that the Boks might not hit the right note at the start of the new season. With only six days to prepare for the test following the unexpectedly late end to the Super 14 season for the major portion of the Bok squad, it would have been understandable had they battled to find themselves in Bloemfontein.
While everyone was hoping the Boks would start hot, there was always the feeling that it might take a couple of initial false notes before they really got going. And let’s be honest, they could have played better than they did at Vodacom Park.
You cannot quibble though with a 58-10 win over England, even a depleted England, and it made it even the more meritorious that they managed it so soon after coming together and while playing for much of the match like a team that was in need of fine-tuning.
Full marks to coach Jake White. He is right when he says his policy of continuity in selection has been vindicated. He and the Boks could have been in big trouble had the side that played in Bloemfontein not included a core of combinations that have played together at this level before.
It was interesting to read All Black coach Graham Henry saying that he believed that the Boks were his team’s most feared opponents – and that part of the reason South Africa are doing well against his team is because they don’t fear the Kiwis like other nations do.
He is spot on when he says that. I remember writing a column last year where I said that whereas other teams appear to recoil from the haka, as evidenced by the fuss that some of them make over the New Zealand institution every time they are due to face the All Blacks, the Boks appear to be motivated by it.
And the current Bok squad is full of players who have experienced victory over All Black teams at various levels, be it under-19, under-21 or the test match echelon of the game. This may be one of the reasons the South African teams, with the exception of the Cheetahs, won more games than they lost against New Zealand sides in the recent Super 14.
The double strike by South African teams in the semi-final weekend must have had some kind of negative impact on New Zealand rugby. Both the Blues and the Crusaders were at full strength, but they never came close.
But whereas confidence is a massive factor, and could yet see the Boks go all the way at this year’s World Cup, we need to recognise the other biggest single contributor to South Africa’s phoenix-like rise from despair: unity.
Well, okay, maybe we are referring only to coaching and playing level when we say this. The administrators seem to be singing from a different hymn-sheet, and they, rather than the All Blacks, are certainly this country’s biggest obstacle on the path to World Cup glory. They and the politicians.
It was noticeable though throughout the Super 14 that there was more co-operation between the local coaches than there has been before. And they were willing each other to succeed against foreign opposition more than they have ever done before.
There was also more help for Bok coach White, and there were none of the divisions and spats that have sometimes marred previous Super rugby seasons. It was instrumental in the country’s success.
Now that the Boks are together in camp, this unity of purpose is again very much in evidence. There were very real fears on the part of some who are close to the Boks that the Bulls’ victory in the Super 14 final might have a negative impact by making them arrogant.
If that is the case, however, it is not easy to detect. On the contrary, John Smit has expressed his admiration for the humble way the Bulls conducted themselves after their victory – and as he and others have stated this view in private as well as in public, then it should be taken seriously.
Certainly it does look that way – on the face of it, this Bok camp looks united and strong, perhaps as united and strong as any Bok team since the 1998 Tri-Nations. As I said at the outset, you have to shake your head, it almost seems unbelievable in this country which, in terms of rugby as well as other aspects of life, is so divided. But it is nonetheless true.