Let's get the variables out of the way first...
1) Early in the game the ABs were called for cheating at the lineout - closing the gap wasn't allowed this week and we had more success there.
2) The Bok forwards did a better job at the ruck.
3) Scrums were more competently reffed with more accurate calls than last week.
For me, those were the three biggest differences that did not come down to selections - granted this week's pack was slightly different to last week's and that had a touch of impact at ruck time(Wiese)
How does one briefly summarise the difference between last week's and this week's Boks?
For me, compounding advantage through linking correctly, taking chances on offer and showing the maturity to take calculated risks, is how I'd sum it up - the try that Willemse made being a prime example as he ran beautifully into space, drew defenders, timed his pass to Williams to perfection with "guess who" being there to finishing it off.
In the forward pack we started with Jasper and ended up "starting with RG" due to Lood breaking down. Could one argue that the simple addition of those two players is what so drastically changed the pack's fortunes? Probably. RG was immense for all 70 minutes that he was on the field and Jasper is just Jasper - no nonsense, powerful, efficient and flawless in the everything he does(probably my favourite Bok forward right now). How Dave still doesn't rate Jasper is a testament to the level of plonker that he is. "But I love a play making 8...even though that's what we had last week and got punished for it."
So there was a difference up front, a better platform. One would struggle to argue that.
But as we all know, the big changes were at the back.
There are those of us that have been bemoaning the absolute failure of the Boks to drive forward advantage home through intelligent and skilful back play as our biggest long term failure. You can literally go back years on this forum and read threads by various posters complaining about exactly this issue. Saying things like "Why play 3, 6, 9 rugby when you have all the personnel to compound the seemingly unlimited forward dominance and be the Brazil of rugby" - I'm looking at you Moz. From King, to Pakie, Moz and more...we have been asking this question for years. Years and years.
And the answer that we kept getting back from Plonkerville was "We is a kicking team wot keep va ball up front and we smash because we is hulks." You might laugh, but when Dawie talks about DDA playing to a "plan" and Rassie being a genius, he's telling you that we play smash rugby and we don't need to play any other kind...and Rassie is king and Rassie knows everything - IE he condones it.
Roll on these two games between the Boks and ABs. The first game, Rassie goes back to Stampkar rugby and picks a side most capable of that. The Boks get monstered, they floundered and they failed to snatch a once-in-a-lifetime chance to destroy a long-standing record. They were predictable, unimaginative and uninspiring, and they'll always rue the chance that they let slip.
Make no mistake, Rassie thought that the team he picked last week was his best side. Out of all the games this year, that was the one that he would want to win the most. That's the one all Bok fans, and probably players, also wanted the most to win. You can be 100% certain of the fact that the team that ran out last week was the one, after years of musical chairs selections and "testing of combinations", Rassie honestly thought was his best side.
The Boks lost. What did Rassie do?
He didn't slightly adjust. He didn't gently tap the gyroscope with the back end of a screwdriver. He brought in a player that would always have been at 8 were he not banned for French kissing a Georgian girl and he decided that it may perhaps be a good idea to give the world's form lock a run...thank God Lood took a knock and RG played 70 minutes.
Rassie basically swapped out the entire backline. He finally picked the players who are more skilful, more intelligent, and all around more capable. The backs that many of us have been writing down here as our BIP picks for probably at least 3 years now.
The rest is history.
But we are left with a massive question...
How is it possible that Rassie, up to at least yesterday, was that clueless as to what his best side was?
After an international playing career and then a coaching career that has been even longer than that, and the almost two years of experimenting with combinations...how is it possible that the Mad King could not see what was that obvious to so many of us laymen?
...and the final question;
Does Rassie now, finally, after two years, understand what his best team is?
And the final final question...
Spazzy Dave somehow thinks AE, having been a Bok for 7 or so years now, being in his prime and playing Godlike rugby, is not worth keeping. Let's leave Dave's nonsense where it belongs for a moment and ask, have the rest of us reached a consensus on what we feel our best side is?
Honestly I feel like it's beyond any doubt that this point.