We were never that clever.
But flip it, we were hard;
Brows beat, pupils dead dilated,
Rock-ribbed salt-scrubbed,
Anchor-armed and insentient,
Lawless vandals burning,
Prayers and plans useless
To stem the dark green tide.
The gold was there for accent.
Publish your paper on Friday,
And warn of Boks arriving,
Down Under or up there,
In drizzle or bone hard Salta,
Whether old or youngsters
Coached by wisdom or rage,
It was always the same:
“The Boks will Be Hard.”
We came low at you,
Fierce at your gut
Smashing at your ruck
Disintegrating your pack
And splintering your plot.
The passes spinning
To a faster and yet faster Bok
Until smoke and dust
Erupted in elated scores.
To pierce the Bok wall
And take a scalp home
You had to rip skin off sinew
And refuse to take breath.
Even our scrumhalves
Were hard buggers,
Wiry and quiet;
Sarcastic and fleet.
Our props were proper oxen,
Our hookers were battleships,
Our locks a tall nightmare,
Our flanks meaty menaces,
Our eighthmen, pure class.
Our backs relentless wolves,
Hoping to lap at your blood.
Grapple with Boks at your peril.
But now, and even before,
The long hard road has
Been repaved, transformed
With pillows of politeness.
Cards in pockets,
Blood congealed,
Ferocity tamed in menageries of irony,
And leaders whose words
Don’t matter.
“Stick to our structures,
Execute more clinically,
Reduce our errors,
And transform.”
Always the word
“Transform.”
What form shall we take?
Whispery willow tree?
Snakes that slither?
Speed incarnate?
Once we were hard.
Harder than hard.
Run on gravel
Tackle on dirt
Kick on streets
Tackle as if the carrier were invading our home
Come to take our sleeping children
But transform
We have been told
To a more tentative
Tremulous tenor;
Innocuous and saddened.
Chastened and fine.
Happy to comply
With the greater good.
Will we yet rise from this?
Can we form a lovely
Stew of speed and smarts,
Grit and rocks and precision?
Or is the end,
The beginning of the end,
The slide that slips into
That harshest of fates:
Mediocrity?
WEST
Roar Guru
Springboks rugby is terrible!! The thing that bugs me is how can these European based players watch the destruction of their once great rugby nation and do nothing. The only reason is because they obviously hate SA and they hate SARU with a passion. Ive meet plenty of South Africans around the world and they tell me the same thing.. SA is stuffed! The politics, the crime the rules that are destroying the game. They're over it and they just throw up their hand and shrug their shoulders and say "well, it is what it is now". Some don't even bother watching the game. Guessing thats how the elite rugby players who swarm over seas see it as well. I cant see SA rugby changing any time soon, only get worse. Unless they can some how persuade the best players back
Wardad
Guest
Sounds like some pretty groovy prose Harry bit I'm no expert seeing as how I thought iambic pentameter was something to do with that new fangled electronic ignition thingy.
Wardad
Guest
I dont want the foe bought low ,would rather we still traded blow for blow . After that I got bugger all so its prose I suppose. Things are now all sadness and woe it would seem for your once great team Harry . Bugger .
Ryan
Roar Rookie
Harry - eloquent verbal here mate, well put. Not a day goes by without my longing for Bokke rugby to be a great All Blacks rival once again.
Harry Jones
Expert
Truth. Big loss, when we lost him.
sean
Guest
Harry have a read through this if you haven't as yet and see the arrogance of the man wrt coaching,structures and all the options that were made available to him just prior in him getting selected to succeed Meyer as Bok coach...fascinating stuff and all the more reasons why 'Allister Must Fall' @facebook.com/groups/1781801282061020/ Read this...http://www.vodacomrugby.co.za/excellence-is-just-a-word-to-coetzee/ All to do with how inept he truly is/was when deciding whom to select as his coaching staff and ignoring ones that could've done him and the Boks the world of good...
Harry Jones
Expert
Sorry! It is called Wildman Craft Lager. Dunno if it's good. Next time I'm in London, I'll go test it, thoroughly. http://wildmancraftlager.com/
Nicholas Bishop
Expert
Haven't tries it yet H - is it any good?
Kirky
Roar Rookie
Well put Harry, lot of thought there let's all just hope cobber!
Harry Jones
Expert
Thanks!
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes, the IRB and the Olympics ignored clear violations
Harry Jones
Expert
Call them the Proto-Boks.
Harry Jones
Expert
There is an arrogance to him; I hadn't seen that till now
Harry Jones
Expert
Good idea. Podcast
Harry Jones
Expert
Hahahaha that was very funny
grapeseed
Guest
Best combo of article and thread on the Roar ever. Harry, next step is to upload a spoken word version with accompanying slideshow to YouTube. Get this to the millennials and old folk alike. Make Springboks Great Again!
Chinmay Hejmadi
Roar Guru
That was so poignant. Fantastic stuff.
Chinmay Hejmadi
Roar Guru
Fabulous! Unlike the Boks' year. :(
sean
Guest
It will take between 5 to 10 years of FIXING WORK for anything to rise from this Bok malaise,considering that the current HANSWORS in charge has no performance clause in his contract and neither will his successor Mzwandile Houtstok... By this time next year we'd probably be ranked around 9th or lower on the WR Ranking table... -A series loss to France in June 2017 no doubt ie 2-1 although a 3-0 defeat is more likely I reckon... -Pity Argentina couldn't beat 14-man England otherwise they'd be ahead of us by now... -France and Scotland could both have a good 6 Nations campaign and move above us... -Argentina could do the double over us as could Australia,so will it get worse... -We'll also go into Pot 3 of the RWC ranking system when the draw is made in May and then probably have to play qualifying games for RWC 2022 as we'll get knocked out in the Group Stages of RWC 2019... -And just like Bafana we'll be ranked closer to 100 on the Ranking Table when he eventually leaves in 4 years time and Mzwandile Houtstok takes over then...
davSA
Guest
Unfortunately Harry this is a subject that I find hard to keep quite on . I love the game and have followed it for a lifetime. Throughout SARU's transformation processes what has always struck me is the total lack of sensitivity from their side. Its been pretty much an in your face take it or F...Off policy. There is no doubt in my mind that they intend to not only continue with it but to intensify it , so my criticism of them is meaningless. They are under instruct from the SA government and that wont change. So yes I will continue lamenting on and my only pleasure being reminiscing the past and remembering the hard men. The Moaner van Heerdens , Bakkies Bothas , James Daltons , Gert Smals , the Bizmarck pocket battleship (liked that) and too many others to mention .. I will however also now begin criticizing the IRB who are complicit in their silence. Will rugby survive without the Bokke. Of course . It has before and I,m afraid barring a miracle is going to have to again.