2009 Tri Nations preview: Springboks

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By James Mortimer, 12 Jul 2009 James Mortimer is a Roar Pro

Tagged:: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, SARU, Springboks, Tri Nations

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If history were to reflect on the achievements of the Tri Nations sides up to this point, then South Africa, victors over the British and Irish and Lions, would enter the tournament with the biggest sense of fulfilment.

It was the Springbok’s first Lions tour success since 1980, and only their second since 1968. If the World Champions had a final frontier as such, then it has now been conquered, and they now turn their menacing attention to the Tri Nations.

While one could say that the Springbok have achieved everything they have wanted to, with the cabinets in SARU resplendent with the World Cup, Super 14 trophy and even the current IRB Seven’s series cup, surely there is a sense of unfinished business still.

They have not held the Tri Nations – the ultimate symbol of Southern Hemisphere supremacy – since 2004. Furthermore, last year as newly crowned World Champions; it was a season where realistically it was a case of “what if?”

While the landmark victories over the All Blacks in Dunedin and heaviest defeat of the Wallabies in Australian test history were the highlights, the reality is that they lost twice to those respective sides and came last in the 2008 tournament.

The Springboks did have the strongest test team on paper in the world last year, and should have achieved more.

To reflect briefly on the Lions tour, the South Africans deserve more credit than most people have given them. After all, despite initial murmurs to the contrary, it was a very strong and very well coached Lions side that could have, but for the benefit of slight faux pas from a certain Irish number ten, could have been a far different result.

It was a British and Irish Lions team that played brilliantly in the test series, especially when considering they struggled to put away some weakened provincial sides.

The former Springbok’s Coach Carel du Plessis was right when he said that South Africa were not at their best, but irrespective of any factors, the annals of history will not be changed.

The question for South Africa, is can they get better?

Or are the World Champions actually on the decline?

Certainly there are aspects that do not bode well for a team that should be marching into the Tri Nations as title favourites.

The South Africans are World Champions, courtesy of the title they won in Paris in 2007. But there is something missing from their mindset, and we could look at the pure definition of a champion to understand the problem with this very good team, a team that is letting something get in the way of what could or should be global rugby domination.

Let us put aside their physicality, no matter how borderline it may be. One of the great attributes of any Springbok team is their adroit ability to physically intimidate, and this hybrid is no different.

Do some of the acts of players such as Bakkies Botha or Schalk Burger classify as cheating; well, only if they are caught in the act.

Having a somewhat eccentric coach in Peter De Villiers is almost moot, when we consider the final act of the South Africans, that being the protest at the ban of Botha.

Here was an act that quite simply should not have happened. Players of the class and seniority of John Smit or Victor Matfield should have, especially as players who have won the World Cup, stopped this stroke.

This was the thumbing of a system and a sport of which they hold the highest honour – this was not the act of a champion of the rugby world.

Surely, a champion should be setting some form of example

There are other ways of achieving such remonstrations that not only are politically correct, but are also the act of a team that has specific goals in mind. That is, the goal of achieving rugby based benchmarks. Such as whitewashing a team that was 0-2 down and wondering what they had to do to beat this unsentimental South African team.

This could be the issue with the approaching Tri Nations.

The All Blacks, defending champions, know they have a point to prove. Equally the Wallabies, know that they are in all probability in the best position of any Tri Nations side, and that if they perform to maximum potential, may win the title.

For the Springboks, this should be their final frontier. If they can win this Tri Nations, then it is indeed a rugby royal flush of achievements, and it would sign off this current generation of South African rugby players as possibly the best of their proud and illustrious history.

They are capable.

Their set pieces are strong, and their lineout almost unchallengeable. In the forward exchanges they have the back row and the animal presence do disrupt any team, even the well machined loose forwards of both the All Blacks and Wallabies.

They have the world class players, with the fore mentioned forwards combining with players like Fourie Du Preez and Bryan Habana, who on their day are quite simply the best on the planet.

The only question remains over their game plan and their mindset.

They can win this Tri Nations tournament, and the history that waits is as great as any Lions scalp.

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The Crowd Says (22) | Page 1 of Comments

Wilson said | July 12th 2009 @ 5:59am | Report comment

Brilliant journalism.Balanced concise informative. Go Bokke go.

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Knives Out said | July 12th 2009 @ 7:55am | Report comment

James,

The Lions were poorly organised and terribly selected, hence the form and composition of the midweek side, and the tactical naivety that was illustrated in the 1st test. The Lions were simply better than a lot of SH ‘experts’ thought they could be, and unfortunately for European rugby they could have been a lot better. Therefore will the series win galvanise the Springboks? I severely doubt it. The Lions were arrogantly dismissed as cannon fodder, thus the average Springbok fan must be wondering why the Lions weren’t dispatched with consumate ease, as was the pre-tour predictions. Further, were I a Springbok fan I’d be wondering why players who were considered greats prior to the series: Mtawariara, Botha, Matfield, Spies, du Preez, JdV and Habana were made to look so ordinary and containable by what was essentially an elongated Barbarians squad. If the Lions struggled with being in camp for 8 weeks will the Wallabies struggle with even more time together?

The Springbok scrum was poor and I would imagine that an improving Wallaby pack will be licking their lips in anticpation at facing their African brethren, especially after the beating that the Waratahs dished out to the Sharks. It’s all too easy to say that the Springboks weren’t at their best but if that is true then it is fair to say that they weren’t at their best during their European tour, the 08 3N or at any point beyond that aside from the 07 WC. SA will be ferocious but the Lions have set a clear precedent on how to beat SA and SA have always been ferocious. That simply isn’t enough anymore. I am picking SA to collect yet another wooden spoon.

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Hayden said | July 12th 2009 @ 8:36am | Report comment

I’m with you Knives. The only way this SA side will win is if they get away with a bunch of off the ball stuff, e.g. Matfields swinging arm to Kelleher a few years ago that cost an intercept try that won them the game. Their line out is good, but little else unless they get away with thuggery.

Add in that Habana seems more interested in prancing around like Cristiano Ronaldo, they lack centres to get the ball out to him anyway, their scrum is average etc etc. I’m looking forward to a few servings of humble pie being dished out to Safferland.

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van der Merwe said | July 12th 2009 @ 9:49am | Report comment

“Further, were I a Springbok fan I’d be wondering why players who were considered greats prior to the series: Mtawariara, Botha, Matfield, Spies, du Preez, JdV and Habana were made to look so ordinary and containable by what was essentially an elongated Barbarians squad.”

I’m wondering how rather than why, actually. By the way, do you still cling to the delusion that Matfield and Botha are third-rate and unable to hold a candle to Paul and the rest?

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pothale said | July 12th 2009 @ 10:26am | Report comment

Matfield and Botha are third-rate, VdM?

Who said they were?

I think you should ask that question the other way round. Do you still think that Paul and the rest of the Lions are third-rate and can’t hold a candle to the Boks? That’s what most commentators were saying prior to the test series. Matfield and Botha are continually paraded as the best lock pairing in the world – in NH and SH press.

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Sam Taulelei said | July 13th 2009 @ 12:15am | Report comment

The draw is in SA’s favour, with their first three matches all scheduled at home. With hometown advantage they should be expected to win at least two if not all three before they take to the road. Unlike NZ and to a lesser extent Australia, it’s more a case of who to leave out rather than who to select from their squad.

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Knives Out said | July 13th 2009 @ 2:19am | Report comment

‘I’m wondering how rather than why, actually. By the way, do you still cling to the delusion that Matfield and Botha are third-rate and unable to hold a candle to Paul and the rest?’

I’m wondering who brought up Paul O’Connell, although, incidentally, I didn’t notice Matfield overwhelming the Munster man at any point. This sort of comment is very school yard playground-esque and given that O’Connell is not participating in the 3N also somewhat irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Botha and Matfield were rather insipid during the Lions series and it should be a genuine worry for South African fans that such an experience pair could be subdued by such an inexperienced collective. As I’ve said, I’m sure Deans and Henry watched the Lions series with great interest.
–

I completely disagree, Sam. The Springbok depth myth has been completely blown out of the water. I think Australia has the best draw with their three mid-tournament games at home.

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Greg Russell said | July 14th 2009 @ 3:11pm | Report comment

Guys, do you know who you are messing with? Knives Out is a pseudonym for Paul O’Connell. I know, because I saw his photo once! How do you think he knows so much about what went on in the Lions camp?

Seriously, I’m getting a bit tired of all this talk about how great the Springboks potentially are. They had their chance to lay a claim to greatness against the Lions, and they blew it – two narrow wins (one of them highly controversial) and a narrow loss against a Lions team with no pretensions to greatness … sorry, but that doesn’t do it for me. If the Bulls being able to score 50 points against teams that have been in South Africa for 5 days makes the Springboks a great team … well let’s just say that there must be a lot of great teams in international rugby. How quickly we forget that South Africa won the last World Cup without having to play Australia or New Zealand or France or Ireland or Wales. I agree you can only beat what is put in front of you – Fiji (just!), Argentina and a clapped-out, headless England: what awesome opposition! – but just because you do so, that doesn’t automatically make you a great team.

What seems clear to me is that all three 3N teams are relatively even, and so it’s going to come down to weather, bounces of the ball, form minutiae, and – dare I say it – refereeing calls. I for one am not going to try to predict all this, because one can’t. I mean, look at the Lions tests: either Vickery took some amazing drugs between tests 1 or 3 or else one has to conclude that his monstering by The Best in T1 was purely a result of lax refereeing. No-one can have any idea how this sort of thing will go in the 3N.

South Africa at their best (e.g. big wins over Australia and England last year) are indeed an awesome proposition, but they have been up and down for so many years that one simply has to accept that this unevenness is part of their DNA.

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Knives Out said | July 14th 2009 @ 10:41pm | Report comment

Geez, don’t type that again, Mr. Russell. If there’s one guy the Boks don’t respect it’s big Paulie.

I agree with everything you said but none of it is popular sentiment, so type it gently and hope that nobody reads it.

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USRugbyFan said | July 15th 2009 @ 9:09am | Report comment

At least the Springboks beat their WC opposition, unlike the mighty All Blacks of 2007 vintage who choked epically.

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