In the award winning movie Gladiator Russell Crowe, starring as Maximus, dies in the final scene after battling the not-so-honourable Commodus.
Even though most of us would have been disappointed at the demise of the hero in the movie, you could not walk away from it with anything but a feeling of utter satisfaction from experiencing a truly remarkable piece of art.
Granted, the epic match between the victorious All Blacks and gallant Springboks today may not be seen as a remarkable piece of art.
But it was certainly a remarkable exhibition of pace, power, skill and running rugby of the highest order.
Sure it is disappointing to have seen the Springboks losing at a full capacity Ellis Park.
But how does one not admire and appreciate the absolute spectacle that unfolded tonight?
Firstly, a standing ovation for an All Black team who knew they had to step up a gear tonight.
They proved tonight that they are the undisputed best team in world rugby and it will be a mammoth effort for any team in world rugby to dethrone them when they are firing on all cylinders.
Were they one percent off their game tonight, they would most likely have lost.
Where do I start with a South African team that left no stone unturned?
They showed determination and adventure to seek the four tries required and showed how much they have improved over the past 18 months.
Not only in skill and attacking prowess, but above all an attitude that will have the rest of the world take notice that they will not bow down to even the best team in the world.
New Zealand were deadly on the counter tonight, and every opportunity against a relentless attack from South Africa that ended in a turnover of error was punished to the fullest extent.
South Africa attacked from anywhere, it hardly mattered whether they were inside their half, or five metres away from the New Zealand goal-line.
They threw everything at the All Blacks and ultimately lost against a team that managed to turn ball over with relentless effort, struck with pace out wide, and managed to catch the South African defence out with overlaps on the outside a number of times.
If I could criticise the Springbok team, I would begin with Zane Kirchner for his decision making and poor line kicking and Juandre Kruger who was shown up in the physical stakes.
He struggled to gain ground with ball in hand and was surprisingly anonymous at lineout time.
The match was lost on a few crucial errors by South Africa.
In the first half with nine seconds on the clock and possession inside their 22, Fourie du Preez decided to clear a ball to Morne Steyn who kicked for the line.
All that was necessary was to set up the next ruck and a kick to the side line as the half-time hooter sounded.
Instead, New Zealand managed to attack the left hand side from the ensuing line out, somehow managed to stay in field and due to some hesitation as the defence thought New Zealand went into touch, it gave New Zealand an opportunity to score.
In the last quarter of the match, Zane Kirchner twice made grievous errors in (1) kicking a ball directly into touch that led to an All Blacks lineout which turned into a try, and (2) decided to run the ball with no support behind him in the South African 22, once again being turned over and leading to an All Black try.
Ultimately those errors cost South Africa a victory that would certainly have been the most important win during Heyneke Meyer’s tenure.
I know this is a bold statement, but I doubt any other team in rugby union would have been able to keep up with either of these two teams tonight.
There is simply no team with the capability and execution to counter attack like New Zealand, and there certainly is no other team that can summon the sustained physicality and pace that South Africa brought to the field of play tonight.
So we aren’t there yet, it was said before the game that the team with the least number of mistakes would win this match, and that was certainly the case tonight.
But what leaves me with a feeling of utter contentment tonight is that South Africa will be a tougher proposition for New Zealand than what they will face anywhere else.
There are still some areas that need attention, we need to remain a tad calmer on attack, we need a better 10 and 15, and decision making is not there yet.
But for the first time in more than a decade I know we are going places, we are running the ball, we are not afraid of failure, and for the first time in more than a decade, I saw a Springbok team enjoying their rugby.
