Rugby Asteroid

And so it begins – the dismantling of a Springbok myth by an All Black reality. Last year the Boks won a RWC Tournament without facing any quality teams. Thanks to the luck of the draw, tough teams that might’ve created difficulties for the Boks eliminated each other before the finals. Arguably, the toughest contest the Boks had in that tournament was against an unrated Fijian side.

Sheer luck handed the Boks the trophy and then bureaucratic incompetence handed them the World Number 1 ranking. Some argued that luck had nothing to do with it, that the Boks were one of the in-form sides of the tournament. Indeed, on their way to victory they had comprehensively beaten England (twice) and Argentina.

But look at their form prior to France and a different picture emerges. In the Tri-Nations they finished at the bottom of the heap with three losses from four games.

Over the past two years, their record against top-tier teams has a woeful – 3 wins in 11 games (or 27%). In contrast, he comparable records for Australia and New Zealand were 50% and 80% respectively. Yet in spite of this, Bok supporters were convinced that their side had the goods, that their team was deserving of the title that Lady Luck had gifted them. So it was with vindication in mind that Springbok administrators last week talked up their chances of defeating an under-strength and apparently demoralized All Black team.

On paper the Boks looked formidable indeed. In the line-up were the mighty Victor Matfield, John Smit, and the unstoppable Bryan Habana. With talented players such as these, one could overlook some curious omissions made by rookie coach Peter de Villiers. (Why in the world did he leave out Ryan Kankowski, the in-form flanker of the Super 14?)

And who did the All Blacks have to match this experienced, battle-hardened side? NZ’s best line-out jumper was playing with a dodgy ankle (Ali Williams). At the back of the scrum were two untested flankers with just 6 tests between them (Jerome Kaino and Adam Thomson). The country’s best wing was wearing a cast on his wrist (Joe Rokocoko). And the head coach (Graham Henry) was distracted by running battles with a hostile NZ media. The All Blacks looked like a shadow of the side that went to the RWC.

Yet for 65-70 minutes last Saturday the under-strength team totally outplayed the World Champs. The match wasn’t even close. In the scrum, at the breakdown, and even in the line-outs, the ABs were the superior team for most of the game. About the only thing the Boks did consistently better was referee.

No doubt there will be a lot of soul-searching within the Bok camp this week. Answers will be sought. Stuart Dickinson will be blamed. The weather will be blamed. The new laws will be blamed. The South African media may even figure out a way to attribute their side’s loss to Richie McCaw’s cheating, even though he was on the sidelines and in a suit. But one hard fact which will be ignored is this: the current Springboks just aren’t good enough to beat the ABs. One wonders if they’re even good enough to beat the Wallabies.

The Good Book tells us that the race isn’t always to the swift nor the battle to the strong. Sometimes victory has less to do with skill and more to do with being in the right place, or pool, at the right time. Based on their performance over the past 12-18 months, the Springboks have done nothing to dispel the perception that they are merely lucky champions.