I wrote last week that I wouldn’t write a gloating article if the Springboks won against the All Blacks. But unfortunately for them, they lost.
Another loss, only this time it was to the better side.
People believe I should be proud as a Springbok supporter, as our team showed why they deserved to be number two on Saturday night. If anyone is content with being number two in the world, then you shouldn’t be involved in the Springbok set up at all. It’s just not good enough for me.
How many times have the Boks been close Down Under and in New Zealand but failed to close out the game? Saturday was same old, same old for me – clinging to a lead, watching it fade and then scrambling at the death to save face.
The Springbok loose forwards were monumental on the night. Duane Vermeulen completed one of the best performances of a number eight in recent history. He seems to add more value in every game he plays. If I complained about the lack of effort and love for the jersey from some of the players last week, Vermeulen wasn’t one of them.
That being said, our downfall was the lack of ball skills akin to our traditional foes. The backs seemed to struggle to get more than two phases together at times, and in the first try we saw what we are capable of when we trust ourselves to have a go. Fair enough, it was a well executed set piece but the execution in other areas is what is lacking.
Ruan Pienaar obviously got a kick up the backside after his dire performance from a week ago. But sadly, when Francois Hougaard came on as a replacement he proved that Pienaar is currently our only option at nine. Hougaard’s poor choice to feed an out-of-his-depth Lood de Jager at the end, was the final nail in our coffin.
The All Blacks were at their usual clinical best on Saturday night. They didn’t make nearly as many handling errors as the Boks and created their own luck to finish on top. They showed that their all-round game was far better than the Boks. The Boks can learn from them. Every game is a must win, not just when they feel like it on the day.
I’m not sure what I’m more upset about, the fact that we clearly aren’t good enough to beat the All Blacks at home, after a valiant effort, or that we failed to beat a much weaker Australian outfit a week before.
As supporters, we were let down by our players last week. This week, we failed to close out a game due to a lack of belief and lack of accuracy at times. We just don’t believe we deserve to win those games. It’s like banging your head against a wall as a supporter.
The Boks may well get a win in at least one of their next games but they won’t receive praise from me, not until they prove that the jersey is worth putting in 100 per cent week in week out.
