If ever there was a game that may have caused South Africans to be gracious in defeat, this was it.
The Wallabies systematically destroyed the Boks in just about every facet of the Test. The 25-18 final scoreline was flattering to the vanquished visitors in the extreme.
Running rugby was dominant at the Adelaide Oval in the face of a game plan that looks like ‘kick-chasey’ interrupted by water breaks.
Yet that was not the narrative pedalled by South Africans either on social or conventional media in the wake of a comprehensive defeat. No, sir.
Nick White had his Wiki page changed to reflect a playing position of ‘drama queen’. According to John Smit on Twitter, “Yellow 9 stole a little piece of rugby’s soul”.
Never mind that Faf impersonates Margot Robbie better than just about any male, South African or otherwise, on the planet. Never mind the man is a living, breathing drama magnet.
Nick White should absolutely be embarrassed. But the fact is Faf slapped him while attempting to slap down the ball. If he hadn’t missed the ball he probably would have been yellow-carded, anyway.
As for ‘Yellow 9 stealing a bit of rugby’s soul’, no doubt the play-acting was very poor and any fair-minded Australian would say so, just as we called out the French captain last year for similar behaviour that is not befitting of a rugby player.
Referee Paul Williams talks to Faf de Klerk of the Springboks. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
That said, the Springboks are stealing chunks of the soul of every rugby fan each time they take to the field.
They are jackhammering away at the ‘soul of the game’. Kick, chase, knock on, drinks, scrum, collapse, reset and… repeat.
Whenever South Africa conspire to play an entertaining Test or half a Test, they seem to wet themselves with surprise and inexplicably revert to kick-chasey.
It’s less about their rugby DNA and more about a cynical win at all costs approach, to hell with entertainment. Who cares about the ‘soul of the game’ when you’re winning, hey Smitty?
Which brings me to my next point: consensus in South Africa is that Marika Koroibete should have been sent from the field, red-carded and cited for possibly the greatest cover tackle of all time.
Huh? Come again?
The footage does not show a no arms tackle. It shows the opposite. The footage does not show a runner preparing to stay on his feet to score a try. It shows Mapimpi in the act of diving for the corner, a metre away.
A left winger covers the entire width of the field to reach the right wing while his team is down to 14 men, extends his left arm to wrap, collides with an opposition player who is leaping for the try line, forces a knock on and stops him one metre out… and we want to punish that?
Roar rugby experts Brett McKay, Jim Tucker and Harry Jones and editor Tony Harper come together for the post-mortem after the Wallabies’ incredible 25-17 win over South Africa as well as Argentina’s historic 25-18 win over New Zealand in Christchurch.
How can any true rugby fan arrive at that conclusion?
Could it be that South African supporters are only interested in supporting the Boks but have little interest in the game itself? It is difficult to arrive at any other conclusion these days.
After all, Koroibete shouldn’t be on the field next game apparently, but they see no problem with their annoying trainers running on and off it!
What a joke.
Koroibete should be lauded. His performance on Saturday was possibly the greatest by a winger since the late Christophe Dominici and Jonah Lomu. That is not hyperbole, he was that good and has been banging on the World XV door for 2-3 seasons.
As for the tackle itself: this was not an Owen Farrell special where he led with his shoulder and his arm was tucked behind his back, Superman-style.
Nor did he fold his arm over his his chest as if it were in a sling before dropping the shoulder.
Those, according to the laws, are the indicators of illegal play. The hallmarks of a ‘shoulder charge’. But neither was evident on Saturday as the last minutes of the first half ticked by.
Rather, Koroibete’s left arm was extended in an attempt to wrap and only fell away after contact because one winger traveling at speed contacted another doing the same. The referee, the touchies and the TMO saw it that way.
But none of that seems to make an iota of difference to the majority of South Africa, who appear quick to laud boring kick-chasey wins and slow to extend genuine congratulations to those who beat them playing running rugby.
Not only is such an attitude a travesty but it’s sad. And it’s the reason why most neutrals support whoever is playing the Springboks.
Guess
Roar Rookie
Oh no you have no life :crying:
Chris de Wet
Guest
The Boks however will probably be ranked number 1 by that time again. Now I'm done. But when it happens I will be back.
Chris de Wet
Guest
Oh no, it's way too much fun to remind you of your place in the pecking order. Besides Italy(if you're lucky on the day), everyone is going to beat you in the remaining fixtures you have for this year. Australia are well on their way to drop outside the top 10 before the year's end. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Guess
Roar Rookie
Gtfo from here then
Chris de Wet
Guest
Australia are ranked eighth in the world. Your validation equates to literally nothing.
Chris de Wet
Guest
Oh, and we don't need validation. Especially not from salty Aussies. Your opinions equates to absolutely nothing. Your team is littered with prima donna cheats. You have become a punchline in world rugby. People hate us because they know we are going to beat them in all likelihood and pummel them while doing it.
Chris de Wet
Guest
So if the Aussies play running rugby they should be congratulated, but when the Boks do it we hear things like "Nobody owes you validation on here clown." Keep writing all of the rhetoric you want guys. We will always be the better team. Only difference is we play by the rules. The Wallabies however go for people's knees in the ruck, their supporters praise their players for dodgy tackles and whines when people call them out on their BS.
Guess
Roar Rookie
Nobody owes you validation on here clown
Chris de Wet
Guest
Where's your congratulations to the team that won by "playing running rugby" now? Clown.
scrum
Roar Rookie
And none of those apply. Re 9.17 his feet were not off the ground in initial contact but regardless WR have confirmed that in the case of a player diving for a Try he is allowed to be tackled if his feet are off the ground. 9.11 so a tackle is now deemed dangerous. 9.16 There is a clear attempt to grasp by the left arm. 9.18 has no application in this incident.
scrum
Roar Rookie
Text book shoulder charge. Really? That shows an incredible lack of Law knowledge.
Xola
Roar Rookie
This is one of those articles. Written by someone who has a myopic view of an entire nation of 60million people. Whenever read or hear...South Africans are...Australians have...Kiwis all...Brits behave like...Americans always... It tell me more about the writer, than who they're writing about. Nuance seems lost to the world. Not all Aussies are anything, neither all South Africans. I also think having a platform requires more. It would have been interesting to note that some South African pundits, like former Bok coach Nick Mallet, were indeed critical of Faf's action, on television in the immediate aftermath...stating he deserved to be penalized. I read Aussie sites like this for more insight and differing opinions. But it seems it's more important to "win" than to analyze. It's sad that I'm not surprised, but I hold out hope...
Rugbylover
Guest
LOOKS AT THE SCOREBOARD!... 1) Tight-fives: In the tight 5 the Boks did better in the scrums, but were matched in the lineouts (despite AUS losing 7 of their own). Boks were beaten by AUS tight-five in overall game - ADVANTAGE AUS... 2) Loose-trio: AUS outplayed Boks-ADVANTAGE AUS... 3) Halves: AUS outplayed Boks- ADVANTAGE AUS... 4) Midfield: Close but AUS pipped it-ADVANTAGE AUS... 5) Back-three: AUS outplayed Boks-ADVANTAGE AUS... I'm pretty sure that AUS would have scored from some of those 7 line-outs as well, so the score line flattered the Boks. A week before the game Joel Stransky and Butch James called the Wallabies 'rubbish' on national television and Gcobani Bobo said that Japan have better players than the Wallabies, so I guess being outplayed like I indicated above with 5 clear advantages will definitely come as a shock and somebody (the officials) must be blamed. IT IS ALL PART OF TRAUMA. The Bok fans should encourage their team to outplay the opposition with rugby nous instead of moaning when they loose. It is more healing then being stuck in denial.
NOTASaffaSpy
Roar Rookie
I also forgot to add. Even with some gripes about the one or two big calls the ref got wrong (in my opinion) Australia played very well and we would not have won the game anyway.
NOTASaffaSpy
Roar Rookie
A few thoughts I have on your response. :) 1. I agree there wasn't a massive issue with the interpretations but there were some that under normal circumstances would not have impacted. As an example of this, I felt the Australian scrum and Slipper in particular (who had an overall great game across the park) were slightly fortunate to not be punished even more heavily. 2. With regards to the competitive market in Australia I believe Australia should distance itself a little from rugby NZ to improve the market share Union enjoys in Aus. No fan likes to see their team lose, NZ rugby teams have had the rub on Aussie teams in SR and the Bledisloe for some time now and maybe RA should create a little distance. Play the NZers every other year instead of the usual 3/4 tests a year and have an internal domestic competition where only the champion plays the champion of NZ. From what I can see Australia Rugby/Sport in general falls in the entertainment bracket and a social fan is not going to spend his money on something that leaves him dejected and feeling like another loss was inevitable. 3. Now we get to the Sprinbokke. I think our problem at this time is more mentality and not style. In 2018 and 2019 the Boks came from nothing so they had to be innovative and create new ways to win. We got weird and wonderful things from this the bomb squad, the risky defence, setting up mauls in open play etc. However, I feel our rugby at a national level has become very reactive now. We have adopted a strategy of it won't happen again. For example, Noah Lolesio's (who I rate as a future world-beater) break to set up the try was a wonderfully worked move but it won't happen again. We react instead of innovating as we did in 2018 and 2019 which has led to a game plan that has advanced at a snail's pace since then. We are basically Nokia in the late 2000s. 4. Lastly I feel like we are currently playing like one of the South African Super Schools when they play against smaller schools. I was in a High School that was an "emerging" power and every time we played Affies or the like I always felt like we were the better-coached team but they beat us based on just being bigger, faster and more talented. Their forwards would grind you to a cloud of fine dust and then the result would never be in doubt. This will work when you have a huge talent gap but in international rugby, you never will. Sorry for the long post and the last comment. I believe the answer to Rugby needing more market share in countries like France, Aus and NZ is to make the international game more competitive by enforcing stricter eligibility laws to create more nations to play against and also weaken some nations to balance the game more evenly.
WINSTON
Roar Rookie
Not at all. No conundrum. I said both should have been carded.
Big Doggy
Guest
So you say. The fact that Warburton is a professional rugby player who captained the Lions does NOT automatically mean that he knows more about the game than any punter who follows it, and it’s pretty disingenuous to say that he does just because of his career. I reckon Sam knows about as much about rugby as I do and I never played for the B&I Lions. Like you, SW has an opinion about MK’s tackle and that’s all it is; an opinion. I, and many others, have a different opinion. To state that your opinion is “fact’, as you have done here, is ridiculous, asinine, and immature.
Freddo
Roar Rookie
I’d personally prefer to see Tate starting. I was a Nic W fan, but have got sick of him, and Tate needs more experience ahead of the RWC. Can someone tell me, on a separate topic, who is WB captain after Slipper comes off?
Freddo
Roar Rookie
Nic W has always been an aspiring thespian - so why is anyone surprised or, sadly, upset? I found the threatening responses to this article a little OTT, though. Old Green 2 couldn't help himself and this opinion piece responded with equally patriotic fervour, so what - a bit of heat from fans in the lead up to the game on Saturday in Paddington - can't wait!
Greco Dominicus
Roar Rookie
I'll just leave this here. This is point of impact on Saturday. This is a textbok shoulder charge. By the way WRE, Rugby League has very different rules about this sort of thing so it's an irrelevant barometer. https://twitter.com/Bren_v_R/status/1563415316943687684?t=M_Bunlicx7SEgd5Hdc7vVA&s=19 I dont think this is why the Boks lost though. Boks always just seem a little off in Oz, almost disinterested. As I wrote elsewhere the Boks are not going to get the good end of this sort of call in Oz, especially from a Kiwi or Aussie ref, I mean we all know about the mails btw. Australsians and getting the Japies. In general though, NZ, Aus and the British Teams, basically the anglophone countries have a distinct advantage when personal biases come into things and it's a 50:50 call. In my view that's where the Saffer persecution complex comes in, but it's fine, non one though we would win in 2019 either, I csn live with that if we can get a 4th WWE badge in France.