Super fans should be grateful but Wallabies fans should be scared
Roar Pro Related coverage
- Rugby Union news
- Super Rugby news
- Wallabies news
- New Zealand All Blacks news
- 2013 Wallabies squad news
With the Super Rugby competition beginning tonight, Australian fans must be salivating at the prospect of seeing some tries and running rugby.
Although the June tests were tense, with late penalties sealing wins, they couldn’t be said to be particularly entertaining. Although the Wallabies showed that they can be consistent and close out tight games, the glaringly obvious point from these Tests was that New Zealand is still number one by a country mile.
In light of their third Test demolition of Ireland, Wallaby supporters should be concerned about the upcoming Rugby Championship. Australian Super Rugby supporters should consider themselves lucky.
The Wallabies bounced back from the Scotland anomaly and deserved to beat Wales in the Test series. Beating the Six Nations champions, even on home soil, is no mean feat so the Wallabies should take some confidence from the Tests and reassure themselves that they are the second best team in international rugby.
While they are number two, its a distant second. Any thoughts that New Zealand would slack off after winning their second World Cup have been proven incorrect. The second test was close, and you weren’t human if you didn’t feel for Brian O’Driscoll after the game, but the way the All Blacks came back in the third Test shows that they are the team to beat.
The Kiwis were allowed to slack off in one match this year – the second Test was that match. This means there’ll be no such complacency in the Rugby Championship. Steve Hansen will ensure that.
New Zealand will keep their killer edge and the Wallabies will have their work cut out if they have any chance of getting close to them.
Although the Wallabies should be worried about the Kiwis form, fans of the Australian Super Rugby teams should be grateful because without the conference system it seems like not one team would have made the finals. Judging the countries by their June Test outings, the New Zealand teams would take all six final spots, even though there are only five of them.
One Australian team is guaranteed a spot, and might have two, but the Kiwis are so dominant it would be difficult to see an Australian team making the finals if the conference system didn’t exist. By playing teams in the local conference twice, Australians are insulated from the strength of the New Zealand pool. Because of this, local fans should be thrilled – not about the Australian team’s chances, but that the ARU successfully lobbied for the conference system.
Looking to join The Roar team? We're searching for an experienced Group Sales Manager to lead our team in Sydney. Yes, this does mean you get to work with the site all day long! If you're a digital media sales star, we want to hear from you. Apply now.
Passionate about your union? Then sign up to The Roar's brand new daily union email, delivering Roaring articles directly to you day-in, day-out. You'll love it!
Click here to join now!
- Explore:
- All Blacks, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, wallabies
June 29th 2012 @ 12:54am
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 12:54am | Report comment
Hmmm, not much to say about your other SANZAR partner?
You know the one who currently has 3 teams vying for playoffs?
Not aware of us, or just negating the SA threat?
June 29th 2012 @ 6:41am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:41am | Report comment
y’know biltongbek – i’d have to agree. i dont know what it is this season but the boks just arent getting the fear they deserve. i for one am concerned. the boks have a better gameplan than they have over the last 3 seasons. meyer is showing some amatuer decision making (wynard) but he’s also showing some innovation. his gameplan is for me the telling difference and he’s getting what has been missing from this boks side for quite a long while. enthusiasm.
a boks side with pride and passion utilising the forwards and the backs in attack. thats a worry. cant wait for the AB’s and Boks to go toe to toe.
have to say that on the table teams that canes and hiLanders need to lose to get to the top 6 are sharks and bulls.
June 29th 2012 @ 6:48am
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:48am | Report comment
Evening mania, or should I say good morning to you.
You know I chat on a number of forums and it isn’t only here but elsewhere as well.
I think there is a perception created by the media, graham Henry in 2009 regarding our game play of “non rugby” that has become an almost unwavering belief that the Springboks are boring, not imaginative and weak.
I find myself wondering if the silence and in some cases the ignorance of dismissing thr Springboks regardless of what has been seen for some periods of the England test series is rather a case od ” thou doth protest too much”
But regardless of the situation I suppose the more we are dismissed the better for us.
June 29th 2012 @ 6:55am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:55am | Report comment
moring biltongbek – i agree its better to be underestimated. but i’d also like to see respect when its due.
i go on keo and read but dont usually contribute there unless i have a specific question. it amazes me as well that those saffa’s posting dont realise what a dark age the boks have come out of and how much brighter the future of SA rugby is looking.
either way i’m really looking forward to the Boks and AB’s taking rugby to its next level. with the puma’s involved as well i can see a revolution in how the game is played. 3 top teams that can dominate in the forwards and unleash some sublime fast back line.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:05am
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:05am | Report comment
Yeah, I amexcited to see once the injured players return what Meyer’s real intentions are.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:12am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:12am | Report comment
i’m really looking forward to schalks return. as a player and imo captain. goosen i’m keen to see back. i think he has the goods for test level. cant wait to see him behind a decent forward pack
June 29th 2012 @ 11:45am
Riccardo said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:45am | Report comment
Same Biltongbek.
Even Justin Marshall has said that if Meyer can improve his game-plan the Boks will be formidable with the squad that he has chosen.
Don’t worry about the ignorance of the rugby community. If the Boks can get anywhere near what they represent on paper we will be hearing about them soon enough.
June 29th 2012 @ 5:16pm
Aussie Fan Club said | June 29th 2012 @ 5:16pm | Report comment
Morne is the reason you have been called boring and one dimensional, until he leaves SA cant say they are trying to play flowing rugby and sure enough heyneke is persevering with the old, not to say they’re not a great team and with obvious young talent coming through, no doubt they can beat any team on their day and they’ll probably cause Aus some hurt this year.
June 29th 2012 @ 5:28pm
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 5:28pm | Report comment
Of course he is, but think about it this way, when you put 3 rookies ad one flanker who has been injured or off the bench and not playing much in your forward pack and it is your first test with a bok team and you have less than a week to prepare, with your most on form flyhalf in Johan Goosen on the injury list, a Patrick Lambie who has mostly been playing full back for the sharks, what are you left with?
June 29th 2012 @ 1:33am
Marky mark said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:33am | Report comment
It’s the other way around mate. The Aussie sides are struggling at super xv. The wallabies just white washed the European champions. The all blacks white washed a very very poor Ireland.
June 29th 2012 @ 6:31am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:31am | Report comment
markyMark – that very poor irish side almost and should’ve beaten the world champs in the 2nd test. NZ only just won in that 2nd test. aus only just won in all 3 tests.
June 29th 2012 @ 1:13pm
mace 22 said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
Yes mania after the second test all you could read was how great the irish where, the all blacks are in decline, ireland will run the all blacks close in the third test. Now all of a sudden. You have people like marky mark saying the irish are
June 29th 2012 @ 1:13pm
mace 22 said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
Yes mania after the second test all you could read was how great the irish where, the all blacks are in decline, ireland will run the all blacks close in the third test. Now all of a sudden. You have people like marky mark saying the irish are
June 29th 2012 @ 1:13pm
mace 22 said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
Yes mania after the second test all you could read was how great the irish where, the all blacks are in decline, ireland will run the all blacks close in the third test. Now all of a sudden. You have people like marky mark saying the irish are
June 29th 2012 @ 3:17am
Athilnaur said | June 29th 2012 @ 3:17am | Report comment
MM – Wallabies may have won 3-0 but it was no whitewash.
Nor would I say it was a very poor Irish side. The Irish had their very green midfield replacement shredded by a brutal 10-12 combination and were so shellshocked by what ensued that I doubt they could have fended off the local over 35s club team. This after playing an immense game 2 any side would be proud of and no doubt being burnt out for it.
Cruden+SBW were that good.
June 29th 2012 @ 6:03am
Brendon said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:03am | Report comment
It’s funny how Ireland are played so well and lost because the all blacks were too good. Compare that to the thinking that wallabies were bad and lucky to win. This is crap… Every statistic show the wallabies dominance and they deserved to beat the best the northern hemisphere could offer. Remember that aus versed the best NH team, not a lower ranked one with injury concerns.. All blacks were fantastic but I don’t think all there players have been tested until they prove it against aus and SA.. That’s where the all blacks make names for themselves. My prediction. Wallabies to continue to beat SA, beat Argentina and one game against NZ.. Here’s to hoping it can be two!
–
Comment left via The Roar’s iPhone app. Download The Roar’s iPhone App in the App Store here.
June 30th 2012 @ 9:26am
Osama bin Lockie said | June 30th 2012 @ 9:26am | Report comment
Versed Brendon? Did they write poetry for them???
June 29th 2012 @ 6:40am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:40am | Report comment
The Wallabies won without their backline so should be better when their backline has returned.
The first match is ANZ stadium, Aus/NZ
The second is Eden Park, Aus/NZ
These two matches will decide the winner of the tournament and the rest who comes third.
June 29th 2012 @ 6:44am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:44am | Report comment
sorry KPM – i reckon the biggest threat to the AB’s this year will be the Boks. puma’s also will upset a few teams and i can easily see them taking the AB’s to the wire if the AB’s arent properly prepared.
June 29th 2012 @ 8:24am
Emric said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:24am | Report comment
They could beat the all blacks in arg. I’ve not looked at the schedule In a while but the abs don’t play in arg until round 5 a tired team could be beatable
June 29th 2012 @ 8:27am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:27am | Report comment
emric – yup they could. last time AB’s were in argentina and jerryCollins was captain the puma’s came very close to beating the AB’s. albeit it was a split AB’s team but still puma’s still played awesome
July 3rd 2012 @ 2:56pm
Suzy Poison said | July 3rd 2012 @ 2:56pm | Report comment
King Playmaker, I think you are in for a huge shock. Argentina is not there to make up the numbers and neither are the Boks. I might counter that statement, by saying I think, (and of course this site is all about personal opinion) that the Boks will definitely beat the Wallabies, at Loftus and possibly even beat the Wallabies in Perth. Also I will add that I think that Argentina will beat the Wallabies in Buenos Aires.
This is my logic;
You have compared the respective opposition of the Boks and Wallabies, in order to gauge who is the better team. Fair enough! By your argument, you consider England a much weaker limited team, to the free running Wales. England, are actually ranked 4th, and Wales are ranked 6th, in the World Rankings, this after Wales won a close fought Six Nations. My point is, there is very little difference in strength, between, England, Wales. I will go so far as to suggest, in light of Australia’s recent form against England, if the Wallabies had played England, they potentially could have lost the series.
Secondly, you say, Australia’s whole backline is injured. As far as I can see, the only players missing were Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper and James O’Conner in the backline. Kutley played the last match. That’s three players, hardly the whole backline. You are also missing Horwill in the forwards, which to me, is a bigger loss. All up four key players. By Comparison, the following Boks didn’t play in the last game against England, and will return, for RC. Schalk Burger, Willem Alberts, Andries Bekker, Frans Steyn and Patrick Lambie. If anything the Boks will gain more, with these five players returning.
Thirdly, Perth is not a happy hunting ground for the Wallabies. The Boks have the best opportunity to get a victory on Australian soil for a while.
The Australian victories, have masked over the core deficiencies in the forwards. This is probably, the real reason, that I consider the RC wide open. Australia were dominated in the scrum and were extremely lucky not to be penalised more at the breakdown, against Wales. Overall their forwards came second best, and as a result their backline lacked penetration. The issues with the scrum and forwards are not going away soon. If anything Argentina and the Boks, are more qualified to expose these weaknesses, especially the famed Pumas Bajada Scrum. Argentina have more depth in their scrum, than the Boks, Wallabies and the Kiwis combined. Look out for these Props; Marcos Ayerza (Leicester Tigers, England), Maximilano Bustos (Montpellier, France), Juan Figallo (Montpellier, France), Juan Orlandi (Racing Métro, France)
Lastly, history. Argentina’s powerful Bajada scrum has created a lot of problems for Australia in the past. This is the match-up that best suits Argentina. Australia have been defeated by Argentina on four occasions though they have not met since 2003. They manfully stood up to the newly crowned World Champions 32-25 in 2000.
Let the games begin.
June 29th 2012 @ 6:49am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:49am | Report comment
mania I think Meyer has played such a limited game that the Boks won’t be that competitive.
Of course they could be and have the advantage of a comparatively easy lead-in with Argentina, but it would be hard to revolutionise their gameplan in time.
I would have like to see South Africa appoint the Cheetahs coaching staff and then they would be very dangerous.
I wouldn’t be too complacent about Australia either remember against Wales virtually the entire backline was out.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:03am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:03am | Report comment
kpm – limited gameplan? in relation to how the boks have been playing over the last 4 seasons (bar 2009)? boks gameplan is easily better now than it was last year. backs are actually involved and the whole teams seems to be working otgether as opposed to last year matfield, smit and FDP running the show. basically this is the boks of yesteryear plus backs. including the backs in their gameplan immediately doubles (at least) the threat of what they have been.
i’m not being complacent on the wb backline but backs are secondary. i’m more concerned about the forwards and in that perspective i’m worried about the puma’s and boks. wb’s will always worry me just this season i’m expecting great things from the boks and puma’s
July 3rd 2012 @ 3:31pm
Suzy Poison said | July 3rd 2012 @ 3:31pm | Report comment
Just last weekend, the Bulls put 40 on the Cheetahs at home, with their so called boring kick and chase game plan? So why would Meyer base his game plan on a strategy that that is clearly not a winning formula? Why on earth apoint the Cheetahs coaching staff?
July 4th 2012 @ 12:27am
biltongbek said | July 4th 2012 @ 12:27am | Report comment
If I may intercede here.
King, you are correct in saying the Springbok gameplan is limited. However you need to forget about the cliche’s for a moment and look a little deeper. Morne Steyn is definitely not our best fly half, I concede that, however if you haven’t seen a marked difference in his gameplay then you haven’t paid enough attention.
His kicking aside on attack our beackline has recieved more ball, Frans Steyn when he plays makes a BIG difference in the ball going wide. Jean de Villiers is better suited at 13 purely because the ball then gets wide more often, Steyn in the tests he played in the RWC and the first two tests in the England series have shwn his ability to skip pass the outside center, take the line and offload into space.
Forget for a moment of all the reasons we lost the RWC QF, I can categorically state, if Frans Steyn wasn’t injured, we would have won that game.
Suzie, you are right and wrong. I have said this a few times in the past, the Bulls game works, only if they can dominate in the forwards, as soon as they play against a team that defends aggresively and who’s forwards can stand up to them, they run out of ideas.
King, you are under estimating the Boks based on a series where our major players in the forwards were injured, Zusie you are over estimating the Bulls and their game plan.
IF, and this is a big if, Meyer realises there needs to be a plan B, we will be very dangerous come the Rugby Championship
June 29th 2012 @ 7:08am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:08am | Report comment
mania the Boks and England both rolled out very weak backline run by uncreative pivots, and the complete lack of backline effectiveness resulted.
In my opinion this was quite avoidable, and I imagined Meyer would transition to a more modern style but there has been no evidence of this. It has been argued that he had to start conservatively and there is logic to that, but there is so little sign of anything different to come that one doubts it will, especially with outrageous statements such as 31 year old JDV becoming the next great Springbok captain.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:25am
matthew said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:25am | Report comment
Goosen is the final piece for the back-line puzzle to fall in place. He’s the ideal play-maker we’ve all been praying for. De Villiers and Steyn are simply as good a centre pairing as we have. If either of those two are injured we don’t really have much depth to cover them with Jaque Fourie out of action and De Jongh limited, Olivier not belonging at this levell. I’m interested in the IRB under 20 player of the year Serfontein though- he could well feature in the coming years, looks a class act at centre.
All in all, I’m happy to have Meyer in place of PdV but he’s already made a few bad selection calls and strange statements and the insipid draw against England has brought a dark cloud over Bok fans again. Would have much preferred an innovative coach like Nick Mallet or a foreigner, a guy like Ewen McKenzie or the Leinster coach, Schmidt. Still think the best coach in the world at the moment is Warren Gatland.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:17am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:17am | Report comment
kpm – modern style? no thanks much prefer the boks playing their own style of forward dominance. the thing that sets meyers reign as different to the recent past is its coupled with backline moves and a back line that is keen to attack.
its very early days and meyer has only had 3 tests. boks need to work on cutting out dropped balls, unforced errors and brainfarts. once that its done they’ll be pretty hard to stop. these improvements come with time and team work.
KPM – do you not see how this boks squad seems to have a much better sense of team spirit? the 1st 2 tests i saw were of boks smiling and enjoying themselves. thats the danger.
June 29th 2012 @ 8:56am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
mania the Boks should have smashed England. Last year they would have done. The Boks have declined a lot over the past years because after the 2009 law interpretation changes their forwards based style was rendered obsolete.
A new coach could have turner that around by moving to the modern style and Meyer still could, but there is no sign of it yet.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:07am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:07am | Report comment
lets agree to disagre KPM. proof of pudding will be the 4N. boks imo are a far better beast than they have been
June 29th 2012 @ 7:19am
Darwin Stubbie said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:19am | Report comment
Got to agree here Mania here – the boks are the real deal … To state that the 2 games between NZ / Aust will decide the RC is delusional and far too simplistic … The games in SA will be huge tests and I fancy Argentina to pull off a result at home
June 29th 2012 @ 7:25am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:25am | Report comment
thanx darwin. we are of the few that see the bok threat for what it really is. i cant understand how so few people realise how much better this bok squad is compared to the the PDV/playerPower era
June 29th 2012 @ 1:07pm
Thurl said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:07pm | Report comment
Its not lost on me. They may have been average against England, but they’ll rise against the AB’s. I’m very nervous about the game in J’burg, esp as I’ll be there to watch it
June 29th 2012 @ 7:25am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:25am | Report comment
DS South Africa against England in the last test were the weakest in years: their forwards were bossed at the breakdown which is very rare to see, and their backline were nondescript all series. All this against a run of the mill English team.
In fact they look even worse than under De Villiers. I can’t imagine the forward performance in the past test last year.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:35am
matthew said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:35am | Report comment
I agree with you. The third test was appalling. If we were fielding that team in the RC there would be no point turning up. The forwards were bossed because there was a guy making a debut, a guy with 3 caps and the worst 8th man in the world Pierre Spies in the backrow. Remember, the powerhouse Willem Alberts who singlehandedly broke down England in the first 2 tests was injured. He’d feature in our first choice backline, and so would Brussow to counter the likes of Pocock and McCaw. Meyer also may well choose Vermuelen (also injured) over Spies.
Steyn’s days are numbered in the Boks- he amputated our backline in the third test although Hougaard was equally bad, although the latter is still learning his trade.
Our backline was poor, but Lambie and FSteyn were missing from it too. Both players vastly superior than the guys who replaced them for the third test. I think FSteyn may well be one of the most influential players in the Bok team.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:52am
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:52am | Report comment
Matthew over the next year or so we will see the potential of Goosen replacing Morne Steyn, with Frans Steyn outside him, William small Smith and Jan Serfontein viying to fill JdV’s place, Habana and Pietersen wth Willie le Roux fighting for a place and Lambie at 15 creating an exciting and physical backline, not long to wait.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:12am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:12am | Report comment
Matthew regarding many of the players on show especially the backs isn’t it suprising how old many of them are? There are exceptions such as Pietersen but if the available talent were maximised you would expect a good group of under-25s. Habana, De Villiers, Aplon, I’m suprised there aren’t other obvious prospects to challenge them.
In general I tend to feel that if a new coach doesn’t introduce some very young players then he isn’t maximising the talent pool. Robbie Deans brought in 18 year old JOC and three Super cap Genia while even the more conservative Hansen has propelled Savea and Cane forwards. Now Meyer has chosen younger locks, but only out of necessity because the old ones retired. In general he has added very little in terms of young talent which indicates a most conservative mindset.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:26am
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:26am | Report comment
King, the oldest back is de Villiers the next oldest is Habana at 29. Hougaard is 24, Pietersen 25, Lambie 22, Frans is 25, Morne who won’t be there much longer is 27.
I think you are prejudiced and not looking at what has happened.
Unfortunately I don’t know how to paste an excel spreadsheet here I have compiled all the match statistics of the summer tours and when you look at those stats it tells you how our game is changing.
There are a whole host of guys coming in soon, but with Meyer having to start a forward pack with 3 rookies and Alberts who only had 9 caps prior to this series, Meyer obviously had little choice in his backline.
With Goosen injured, he didn’t have the option of testing him, Habana and Pietersen had the most kick return runs and most meters by almost double in those runs of all the teams that played in the summer tours.
Wait and you shall see.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:37am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:37am | Report comment
biltong I’m not prejudiced against Meyer or SA and have no wish to see the team do badly.
Those players may not all be old in years, but they are all old names, very familiar. No new names here, no Saveas or Canes. I can’t understand the obsession with Frans Steyn’s performances. He would jiggle and bash but it was never to much avail.
It seems to me odd that Meyer should have brought pretty much no one new on board except where he had to. I think it’s fine to keep the core of a team familiar but new blood should be added sooner rather than later. I have seen almost no indication from him that he plans to do this and the monstrous idea that 31 year old JDV will be the next great Springbok captain is very disturbing. Nor indeed did I find the style that different, especially not from the one to which the team was evolving by the end of last season.
Of course I could be proven wrong and Meyer might change the style and bring in a whole lot of new played and I’m happy to wait and see. But I haven’t seen anything yet and that last test didn’t look great.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:55am
biltongbek said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:55am | Report comment
King you need to understand this.
Due to what PDV did during his tenure by not exposing young players in the team left a void.
At halfback the only player exposed was Francois, and only becuase du Preez got injured, at fly half Morne came into the picture due to his kicking ability and the insistence of Victor, Fourie du Preez and Smit.
Inside centre was always going to be Jean de Villiers, and outside him Jaque Fourie, at wing it was Pietersen and Habana, and Kirchner at the back.
You can go through the list of players who got chances and mark and asterisk behind the ir names which would say, replaced injred so and so.
So the situation is Meyer has to build a new backline, similar to what happened in the back row and locks for this series.
Who are the gus that were exposed.
Brussow – totally out of form
Juan de Jongh – may be young but is a worse distributor than JdV
Aplon – 29 years old and short term solution
Basson – 28, can chase catch and run, defensively weak, positional play poor, doesn’t look for work.
Kirchner – more one dimensional than Morne Steyn.
Mvovo – 27 and not the future.
So none of those players are going to take us forward except for Brussow if his form returns.
There are noone else.
So you are sitting with the following players who must grow into the team.
Hougaard – 24
Goosen – 19
Frans Steyn – 25
William Small smith – U20 JWC
Jan Serfontein – U20 JWC
Paul Jordaan – U20 JWC
Patrick Lambie -22
Steven Kitshoff – U20 JWC
Kilisi – 20
Willie le Roux – 23
They will come through, but the void left us in a position where Meyer was not prepared to make whole sale changes and injuries played a big role as well.
June 29th 2012 @ 10:26am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 10:26am | Report comment
Biltong that’s a good post and surely those oldies aren’t the best that could be found. For me JDV and Fourie have had no impact whatsoever at international level for two years and are kept on simply because they have been there so long.
I would say if they think any players however extremely young they are will do better then go for them. In order to do so cull the JDVs, don’t say they’ll be the next great Springbok captain.