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France's Maxime Mermoz, left, is tackled by Wynand Olivier, center, and Heinrich Brussow of South Africa during their international rugby union match in Toulouse, southwestern France, Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Rugby writers often joke about which French side will turn up for a given Test match. The World Champion Springboks, coming off a fabulous year in which they defeated the British and Irish Lions and won the Tri-Nations tournament, were guillotined 20 – 13 at Toulouse by a real French side.
The score line does not do justice to the domination France exerted on the Springboks for all the match and especially in the second half, except for a 20 minute period leading up to half-time.
France lost 14 points with a number of missed kicks at goal. None was easier, or seemingly more crucial at the time, than when Morgan Parra, a young half back, missed a penalty right in front with only minutes left to play. France were leading by 17 – 13, and the penalty would have taken the game entirely away from the Springboks.
From the opening kick-off France showed its intentions by engaging the Springboks forward in a heated exchange with barging bodies bouncing off each other like dodgems. From then on, aside from the occasional set piece, the French pack was too strong for the Springboks in the lineouts, at the rucks and mauls (except for some sensational snatches by Heinrich Brussow) and, particularly, in the scrums. John Smit’s position as a prop must come under serious consideration.
Towards the end of the Test with only 1 point being the difference, France won three consecutive penalties from scrums. The points taking France out to its final 7-point margin were from penalties forced when the dominant home pack simply monstered the South African pack.
France were very good, too, under the high ball, both from Springboks kicks and from their own. In a sense, the Springboks were Bokked by their opponents.
The Test was played at Toulouse, a great rugby city. The captain of France was Thierry Dusautoir, the fiery and dynamic loose forward who made 26 tackles against the All Blacks at Cardiff in France’s memorable victory in the 2009 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. Dusautoir was simply magnificent again, tackling, scrapping for the ball, chesting his props after a dominant scrum and playing with the controlled fury that the great loose forwards use to dominate their opponents.
The crowd sang, cheered, the bands blasted out, the Springboks were booed for late tackles and the home side was cheered for everything, including some spectacular dives to force a penalty. All this was in the great tradition of the crowd being ‘the 16th player.’
The referee was Wayne Barnes, who officiated at the Cardiff boilover. A couple of years on, Barnes has matured into a better referee than he was in 2007 when he was overbearing and inclined to make mistakes. He was not conned by the French diving. He did, however, sort out a lot of the Springboks attempt to play the ball in the rucks when they were on the ground.
I noticed, too, that he often talked to the French in French calling out ‘attention!’ when a player might have been offside and ‘laissez!’ to players with their hands on the ball when they should be releasing after the tackle. France responded to this by generally not indulging themselves by giving away stupid penalties.
The Springboks were caught short by this spirited play of France, by their refusal to be intimidated by the high balls and their refusal to make the same sort of stupid mistakes perpetrated by the All Blacks and the Wallabies. The greasy field, too, led to many handling mistakes by usually faultless players like Bryan Habana.
Not even the genius of Fourie du Preez, again the supreme halfback, could save the Springboks. At the end of the Test, du Preez made a break-outfrom inside his 22. He snaked past a number of defenders, put in a deft chip kick which he re-gathered and with Springboks lining up to continue the threatening attack, lost the slippery ball just as he was going to make his pass.
With not much coming from the high ball tactics, and with their set pieces being monstered, the Springboks tried to make attacks with their backs. But they missed the abrasive, direct running (and the interceptions) of Jean de Villiers. The Springbok backs were mediocre in attack. In fact, the rolling maul was the team’s most penetrative ploy.
When I mentioned earlier in the year that the Springboks were a one-trick-pony team, with the high ball used extensively to force mistakes and penalties, I was lambasted by readers in South Africa. The strength of this game is obvious from the great success, make that the historic success, the Springboks have enjoyed this season. But it is essentially a negative game plan. If the opposition does not make mistakes under pressure, then the Springboks struggle to get points.
In the second half, the Springboks played into a strong wind. They did not put any points on the board. However, with the score France 14 – South Africa 13, the Springboks forced a penalty which in ordinary circumstances Morne Steyn, who had not missed a shot up till then, would have kicked easily. He missed. And with the miss you could sense that South Africa were going to lose.
Up to this Test, France had played won 4 Tests and lost four Tests. Two of the losses were against New Zealand in New Zealand (after winning the first Test) and to Australia, in Australia. The only two matches played at home up to the Toulouse Test against the Springboks were won by France.
France at home is more likely to be the real France, than France playing away from home. The Springboks have now lost their first match in the Northern Hemisphere since England beat them 23 -21 three years ago. France remain unbeaten by the Springboks at home since 1997.
This is clearly not the end of the Springboks as a great side. But it is a warning shot that greatness has to earned every Test. France has shown how to defeat the Springboks and other sides will try to follow the game plan.
That’s the bad news for the Springboks. The good news is that there are few teams in the world, if any, who can play with the same esprit (a French word after all) of a French side that is encouraged by fanatical supporters who know and love their team when it comes to play real rugby.
‘Allez les Bleus!’