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I live in Johannesburg on the South African Highveld. There’s an old Afrikaans saying that if it rains on the Highveld before Paul Kruger’s birthday (October 10, which used to be a public holiday) then it’ll be a dry summer.
Well, we had a bit of rain in September and the old saying seems to be true because I cannot think of an October in living memory where we needed rain as badly as we need it right now.
Johannesburg is hot, dry and dusty. Jumping in the pool helps for a few minutes and then we’re baking again. Tempers are fraying, farmers are praying and everyone is on edge, wondering when the rains are going to come.
So what, you may ask yourself, has any of this do with rugby and why am I babbling on about rain?
Well, the truth is, as dry and as parched as the Highveld is and as much as we need the rains to come, when I do a rain dance in my back garden it’s not for the Highveld, it’s for rain to fall at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon!
It may sound bizarre that I’m praying for rain on damp and overcast old Mud Island but there’s method in my madness.
I think it’s fair to say that before the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals last weekend, most of us thought that the Wallabies versus Scotland was the one predictable result and the other games were all in the balance.
Australlia had looked the most impressive team of the tournament up to that point while Scotland had been hammered by the Springboks and nearly turned over by Samoa. There was no reason to think Scotland might give the Wallabies the fright of their lives.
But as it turned out, it was not the proverbial penalty kick many had assumed. Scotland competed in every facet of play, they hung in and even took the lead right at the end and only lost the game to a controversial refereeing decision right at the death.
So what was the difference? How could a team that had looked second tier almost turn over the new tournament favourites? Before you say “Craig Joubert” let me suggest one other alternative… rain. It rained at the Millennium Stadium and as we all know, in rugby, rain is the great leveller.
After Saturday’s quarter-finals where the Springboks scraped a dour and hard-fought win over Wales, while the All Blacks showed the world how rugby might be played in heaven as they demolished the French in an entertaining display of running rugby, I was scratching my head.
How on earth could the the Springboks possibly beat their old enemy in the semi-final? But then the answer came to me after the Australia versus Scotland game… rain. Rain is how we’re going to beat the All Blacks. We need rain. Lots of it. Buckets of it.
Rain will nullify the fleet-footed Nehe Milner-Skudder, it’ll bog down the unstoppable Julian Savea, it’ll limit the options of the mercurial Dan Carter and it’ll keep the rangy Kieran Read closer to his forward pack.
Rain will turn the game into a forward-dominated 10-man kicking affair, exactly the kind of rugby that the Springboks thrive on and the All Blacks spurn.
We’ll survive a few more weeks of the heatwave in South Africa, especially if we have a shiny William Webb Ellis trophy to take our minds off the heat and the dust. Send us lots of drenching rain, but send it to Twickers!
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.