I have found myself thinking about South African rugby quite a lot lately, probably due to the fact my All Blacks were likely to, and did, play them in an all-important semi-final in the 2015 World Cup.
In a tense and hard fought match, the All Blacks managed to prevail by a mere two points.
Is that it? Arguably one of the best teams in All Blacks history, owning one of the best records by any international team, can only manage a measly two-point win that was still in the balance in the last minute?
Since the 2011 World Cup, New Zealand have dominated the South Africans in terms of specific head-to-head results, now seven wins for one loss. However the average points difference has been eight points, hardly what I would suggest are light years apart. The average score between South Africa and New Zealand was 26-18 in the last eight Tests.
Now it is true that South Africa’s record has not fared as well as the All Blacks outside of playing each other, however that has more to do with Heyneke Meyer’s obsession with beating the All Blacks and losing sight of what is in front of him.
Some of those games played have been widely acclaimed as some of the best rugby played, while during the same period the Springboks amassed the second most tries scored per match (three) by any international team.
Yet it is a common theme to see this team marginalised as one dimensional, boring and only capable of playing the often termed ’10-man game’. In fact of 141 tries scored in 47 matches, 93 have been scored by backs and 43 by forwards, and there have been five penalty tries.
The Springboks, and by association South African rugby, is often viewed as forward orientated with little substance outside of that.
Anyone who has spent a few minutes taking in the Currie Cup and the fabulous Varsity competition can see this is a fallacy.
There is speed, skill and talent to burn, so much so that in terms of pure numbers, South Africa are the greatest exporter of rugby talent, with more ex-pats running around in foreign competitions than any other. It is difficult to know precisely how many South African rugby players are plying their trade abroad, but Roarer Harry Jones tells me there are as many as 594, which is almost as many as are contracted domestically.
“Many of those are not Super Rugby quality, or even Currie Cup starter standard, but probably half or more would compete for a starting position in the big South African unions, who have about 600 contracted senior class players,” he said.
“Nowadays, the exodus starts much earlier in the players’ careers, like Steven Kitshoff, who just missed out on the World Cup squad, or highly rated youngsters CJ Stander or Paul Willemse, who were on Meyer’s short list for 2019.”
Roarer Biltongbek has often explained to me the innate conservatism which tends to permeate through South African coaching ranks, particularly at the highest levels. This is true when you consider several Super Rugby teams along with the Springboks, but we have seen some teams, such as the Cheetahs and the Lions, begin to break this mould, and this will continue.
South African rugby has many challenges that it faces that other unions do not have to contend with, quotas and economy spring immediately to mind. However their biggest challenge is the administrators who serve self-interest above what is best for the game.
Their grassroots development has not reached 25 per cent of their schools, talent identification is only done on small scale via the top rugby schools and comparing the innovation we see from South African coaches to those from New Zealand, they are lacking in every department.
When you sit down and take all this into consideration, it is actually astonishing what South Africa has actually accomplished at Test level, although this is likely to be of small comfort to Springbok fans.
From the outside looking in, it is quite scary what South Africa can be. While many would suggest the United States are a potential sleeping giant of the game, there is a monster playing the game right now, invariably ranked number two and still yet to even come close to realising its potential.
Too often these anti-South African sentiments remind me of a schoolyard bully who is heaping his verbal abuse at someone, in the hope that they never retaliate in anger. They live in fear for what potential threat might come if they awaken the beast.
I have made comparisons with New Zealand here as it is in my comfort zone to do so, and it is not my intent to suggest that South Africa should emulate us. But if you imagine a South African set-up focused as one cohesive unit with the ultimate aim of gearing the Springboks to be the best in the world, it is a rather scary thought for the rest of the competition.
