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A lack of fitness coupled with tactical naivety and mental fragility, South Africa are giving their best impression of the French rugby team.
After last Saturday’s match between South Africa and Argentina – which saw the Springboks fall from second to fifth in the World Rugby rankings – I experienced a serious case of déjà vu.
Who else loses to Argentina at home and loses against the All Blacks in a match they arguably deserved to win? The French.
In the Six Nations, France played better in the matches they were underdogs than in the matches they were favourites. The same could be said for South Africa, as they lost to the Pumas in a convincing manner, but played some impressive rugby against the All Blacks and Australia in closely fought encounters.
A perfect example of this is the Australia versus South Africa match at Suncorp Stadium on July 18. 70 minutes into the game, I was ready to put my all my eggs in one basket and take a punt on South Africa winning the Rugby World cup. They played some beautiful running rugby, and in Jessie kriel and Damien De Allende they looked to have found some spark in their backline.
The Springboks forwards were robust and vigorous at the breakdown, with Jannie du Plessis, Francois Louw and Schalk Burger all excelling in this department. They were third favourites after New Zealand and England in my local bookies and I was genuinely contemplating putting a bit of money on them.
So where did it all go wrong?
With 10 minutes left they started to retreat. After 70 minutes of dominance they got tired and their defence was exposed, as Australia ran in two tries and won the match.
If they had won they would have gone into the New Zealand match with momentum. And while they impressed against the All Blacks at times, it looked as if they had adopted the mindset of trying not to lose the match instead of trying to win it in the last 10 minutes. For the second time in a row they lost due to tries being scored in the last 10 minutes.
Former Springboks coach Peter de Villiers claimed the Boks were “carrying excess weight”, and after watching the last 10 minutes of both the Australia and New Zealand matches, I am inclined to agree with him – there is a lack of fitness.
In the last match of the Rugby Championship, against Argentina, they approached the game in a French manner, believing all they had to do was turn up and they’d win by at least 20 points. It was the same attitude the French displayed before the Argentina game in Paris back in November.
The comparisons grow deeper when you look at the two coaches – Heyneke Meyer and Philippe Saint-André are two of the most tactically naïve coaches in rugby. Unfortunately for both countries, it is too close to the World Cup to change coach.
If either country is to mount a serious charge at the Rugby World Cup, it will have to be in a player-led environment, similar to France at the 2011 World Cup.
Both teams still have assets that can trouble any team: two of the biggest packs in world ruby, and the belief that they can beat anybody.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.