What an extraordinary opening sentence!

Yes it is, isnt it.

Jorge Luis Borges most famous works include Universal History of Infamy (1935), Ficciones (1944), The Aleph (1949), and The Book of Sand (1975). All of them deal with fictional places and toy with the idea of infinity and mythical creatures that immerse the reader in magical worlds.

Comparing the Boks to such mythical creatures is quite a way of putting it. You know what is coming but the outcome stays the same? Creature reverts to type even across generations ? Same result different setting?

Interesting comparison and great intro.

Also an unusual angle of looking at the game, hope to see more.

In the video he makes contact at 20.54, has hands on the ball at 20.55, and the ref decides to award the penalty close to 20.57. So that gives Joseph one whole second…

When I saw that statement I was more than a bit mistified. It was just a blur of activity yet a still photo could be had of a nano second ‘showing’ Dweba preventing the player from releasing the ball.
Seriously? This is more than just reaching a bit…

A point of concern for me in all of this is that there needs to be more acknowledgment that SA climbed a mountain in beating the Lions, as they did in winning the RWC 2019

This is just pathetic really… Why cant you like a post multiple times…?
Great comments.

The thing that struck me with the third test, besides the constant challenging of decisions & consequent slowing of the game, was the look in the ref’s face – a look of almost terror, under intense pressure.

This is very subjective. Mathieu Raynal replied to AWJ, when the latter had yet another inqusition about a penalty against them with (and I am paraphrasing here) ‘I am only answering your question, not to discuss the merits of the decision’

To me (subjective) he looked totally in control, almost bored by the whole ‘knickers in a twist’ approach by AWJ. Didn’t see O’Keefe bat an anxious eyelid as well…

Nice to just talk rugby again. Going to be a great game.

The only downside might be like all those ‘must win’ games for Rassie, how will he apply his devious calculated mind to it…

Danie Craven was from the south, they speak funny… 😛 decendants of French Hugenots.

And that is really at the heart of it isnt it Harry, the lack of transparency. It is a dark place of complacency and mediocracy with an autocratic attitude.
When comparing NFL to Union, the referreeing difference is so stark its a wonder not more proffesional coaches throw their toys.
I guess it is because its called a ‘game’, a misnomer if there ever was one. Blood flows, bones get broken and there are millions of $ involved, clubs get sued and yet some aspects are still so amateurish. See what other work have that as a job description and nobody would call that a game….
Really time WR see the other side as well.

Rassie once said that he never has lost three games in a row, never. Just before the first Wellington test his threat to resign seems now to have a bit more teeth to it in light of the video.

You dont take on the equivalent of rugby’s praesidium, World Rugby, if you are not made of sterner stuff than the rest. Again he put his job on the line.

Rassie comes across as the type of guy that if he knew there is no way out to win a war, will during ceasefire negotiations shoot the opposing generals across the table to win that war in the ensuing chaos.

He knows what he had to do to win. Had he not brought up the video, most probably the Boks would have lost the series. Most scrutinized test there ever was by refs that 2nd test and the Boks won it by far. Coincidence?

Really hope Rassie dont only rely just on Frikkie Erasmus to defend his case. These are big boys fighting for a big prize – the right to squeeze him right back in that little box they had him before and to be brutal about it, you now – the natives must learn their place.
Rassie needs street savvy lawyers/advocates to take it to them. The ‘custodians’ of our game need a kick in the rear.

They need to have a look at how the NFL do referreeing. It is not one cut but a few above. World Rugby is archaic.

Really hope Rassie boots them in a corner.

How the NFL grooms an official for the referee position

Our attack do need variation, that is for sure. Just wonder if we will see that with our bulky forwards that very seldom passes, let alone offloads.

It was interesting to see how a forward was employed for high kicks. There seem to be progressive roles for the big men so lets hope we will see what you are hoping for. With the BIL tour as a first hit out, it was all about surviving to win and DNA rugby. Maybe things will loosen up a bit more from hereon.

Biltong, I agree but what is wrong with being predictable? There is no-one that are defensively as good as we are. Should our D be less effective so we can be more unpredictable? The same with all the Boks other attributes.
It is splitting hairs but AB’s are also predictable with their running rugby.

I doubt very seriously if any team, AB’s included, can score more than two tries against us. If there is a crack or it can be manufactured in the Boks defence, I am sure Jacques and the Waterboy will see it quick enough to plug the hole.

I’d rather they go the other way, being more effective at what they do so well and do the smallest of things even better. There is much room for that.

The reason it seems the whole world is accusing the Boks of boring play is not that Boks are it but much rather that it is so hard to stop or break down. That is their gripe. If the Boks monster the same England that smashed the all-conquering AB’s and won the BIL tour now, what are they going to do to them? The fear of the Boks is back and it too awful to live with.

Is it social media and the free for all vitriol that has permanently poisoned the well of goodwill or has the Corona virus simply exposed the nationalist fault lines that were always there

One of the problems of social media is there is no more stopping the opinion of an immature and inexperienced participant in an adult conversation. Ground rules of graciousness and respect are not necessary as in a reallife meeting where such behaviour would get you nowhere fast. A pimpled faced know-it-all hammering away at his keyboard in his mommas basement has equal rights in a conversation with salted proffesionals.

Imagine kids having an equal say in family matters as the parents. When it is allowed, we have a generation that demands it gets pandered in every way where respect is a obscenity and to shout and have is everything. No wonder the world is so PC these days…

I dont however agree with you and other esteemed experts Like Nicholas Bishop that The Bok game plan is one dimensional

If something is one dimensional, it cant be effective in others. Following that should come regular losses which dont happen. One dimentional the Boks definitely aint.

As far as I know SA has committed to RC for quite a few years.

I believe the biggest reason SA teams left Super rugby was because it wasnt financially sustainable. All the others was secondary.
This change of competition has led many to believe many more changes are afoot with the media forever looking for (or making up) a story to fuel the fires.

Boks have already EOTY tour to Europe, there is no dire need to play them financially in a six nations competition whereas there is huge interest to play the AB’s in the RC and SA Rugby wont kill that goose.

To be fair, it is not all, but numbers are growing. But those of which it is true, nothing is pure in any case.

Not so much what the team has learned or eyes on a spesific player/s but really want to see a team settling down and starting to put good things on top of good things.

Bok development had been pushed through the wringer. They had to learn completely new defensive structures two years out from the WC. It was win, lose, calibrate and recalibrate in a mad rush to be competitive and hopefully compete in and win the final. When that magic happened, we dreamt of cementing structures and building on it. Covid made a mockery of that and two years later having played no rugby, Boks were the underdogs again and woefully unprepared entering the BIL tour with players sick and in isolation. Development was out of the window, only muscle memory remained. Boks were hanging on by their finger nails.

On top of that the negativity of Boks style reached a cresendo with BIL losing the series and everyone piled mercilessly into the former.

Yet the Bok structures held even when shorn of some of their top players and with the good win over the Pumas, Boks showing grit that is formed under heaps of developmental stress.

Boks have a near watertight defense that leak very few tries. They have a fantastic aerial game, wingers that can finish, counter attack second only to NZ. Yet it all happens like the parts thereof and not the sum of it.

Before this year is out, would like to see it all come together – the facets that makes Bok rugby what it is combined with confidence, a well-coached team drilled to the point that Bok DNA is just the platform on which the team perform and not the end of it, a backline that will come into their own right.
A team putting good things on top of good things.

Maybe there is still time this year to see some of it happening. Maybe…

Ok, I see, didn’t know Aus had such low numbers.

Not sure if even that would prevent a young Aussie who gets a better offer os not take it anyway except nationalism is a big thing. Didn’t keep our best and most loyal in SA.

The way I see to attract more and better talent is money. Need to win first to attract that and for that the best available players are needed, even if they are os.
There might be an immediate fallout of local players but it should turn around quick enough if the best are playing.

But it sure is a tough position to be in. No easy answers.

Why is that so Nic?

Alla Pollard for the Mapimpi try…

“So we’re not going to move to the South African model at all.”

“If you look at the local competition in South Africa it’s been decimated so we don’t want to move to that model whatsoever.”

The ‘decimation’ happened long before restrictions came into being and afterwards it was very little of a deterrant in any case – the horse has bolted for good.

South African domestic rugby has moved on since and business is buying into it and with a bigger purse, better player purchases which should bring better results.

This looks like how, in the end, it is going to work out for most, if not all, professional sports teams.

It feels sometimes he wants to do the spectacular but get caught in the situation. Flashes of Andre Pretorius when he is doing that. Lets hope Rassie can work that out of him…

I do agree with a lot of the points you are making.
The situation of RA not so dissimilar to what SA Rugby was in. Playing os players definitely a step in the right direction and your post basically describes what happened and is happening in the Bok camp right now and your last point the cherry on top. In our case, Fassi was played against Arg at wing – which Nienaber considers less risky (imo rightly so) and not as fullback where he is destined to go – to ease him into the rigours of test rugby.
This is ideally the position you want to be in. Chucking youngsters into the fray and ensuing criticism will cause them to move os if they get the chance.
The ant-os brigade in SA is pretty quiet now.
Rennie is a good coach but os players will bump up Aus ranking by probably 3 places alone. The rest will develop but you cant build a house on a poor (young) foundation – the stresses of test rugby is too much.

You might get two out of three if the Boks continue to improve and gain more confidence. Playing Gatlands Lions was only going to be dull – the 3rd test very similar to RWC semis, even the same score. From now on it should open up more.

Unless Martians takes over the world and demand the USD is replaced by the Rand, playing overseas players are here to stay. Poni players or not.

The All Blacks couldnt win against the Lions yet the Boks somehow went backwards to win the series. What is the word I am looking for…? O yes, oximoronic?

Cant go backwards and win the series, sounds oximoronic…
A series, mind you, that not even the AB’s managed to win last dance out.

You cant go ‘backwards’ and win something. It sounds oximoronic…