Duane Vermeulen

Duane Vermeulen during the recent test series against England. Photo courtesy of SARugby

Springboks: Bittersweet series success

South African rugby seems to be entering a new era, one filled with hope and promise after winning the series against the touring English side.

Duane Vermeulen

Duane Vermeulen during the recent test series against England. Photo courtesy of SARugby

The Springboks fought back hard in the first two games, both won from behind thanks to the composure and experience of battle-hardened international players brought back to the Green and Gold by new head coach, Rassie Erasmus.

It wasn’t to be a whitewash, however – in the last match at a wet and slippery Newlands the red roses proved to be a thorn in the Springbok’s side.

It was never going to be an easy final game. With the series already won, Erasmus decided to give some fresh legs a run on Saturday, experimenting with position combinations, his eye on the long-term goal of dominating the IRB Rugby World Cup 2019. Still, the coach, team and country remained confident that it could starve England of even one victory in the series.

What harm could a few changes do?

Erasmus decided to change a tried and tested starting line-up, replacing the likes of Willie Le Roux and Handre Pollard with Warrick Gelant and Elton Janties, respectively. In the front row, an area in which we previously dominated the English, Erasmus replaced hooker Mbongeni Mbonami with Chiliboy Ralepelle.

The wet conditions and saturated Newlands pitch didn’t make things easier for the Springboks, rather favouring the English’s natural environmental disposition. The Impis slipping and sliding across the grass in their pre-match war-dance was a bad omen, a forecast of things to come.

Quite simply, a match cannot be won when conceding as many penalties as the Springboks did on Saturday. The green and gold were penalized 14 times, compared to England’s six, mainly for infringements at the breakdown point, which allowed Owen Farrell’s boot a chance to knock the ball between the poles, with expert precision, time and time again.

Erasmus knew the dangers of messy breakdown ball, commenting at a post-match conference:

“We spoke about the breakdown before the game – we spoke about it five minutes before we went out because we know how Glen Jackson [the referee] blows the breakdown; he likes a nice clean breakdown – it was not a surprise to us.”

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi echoed the coach’s sentiment:

“The referee did a great job, we just made a lot of mistakes. There were things we were in control of that we got wrong. There were no signs at training; we worked really hard.”

Erasmus admitted afterwards that it was a lacklustre performance in comparison to the first two tests:

“Sad to say, we didn’t get up for this game. I will have to look at myself and how we prepared – maybe I made mistakes but we’ll have to analyse how the different players reacted to playing a different game in a different competition.”

Final result: Springboks 10-25 England

Compared to the first two games where the Springboks showed determination and grit, this final match left a lot to be desired. Even players who excelled in the first two games seemed average in this encounter – powerhouse Duane Vermeulen tackled well but failed to break the English defence, while the prodigal son, wonder boy Faf De Klerk, although tenacious, couldn’t seem to get a consistent clean ball out to his backline.

It’s not all doom and gloom, Erasmus commented on the potential of his squad:

“I really think we can win the World Cup. If we can get it right quickly then we are definitely in with a chance – but we have to manage our talent. There’s a lot of things we have to balance so that we have a fresh, experienced team with a lot of talent when we go to the World Cup.”

The Springboks need not hang their heads in shame, despite the last display which Erasmus admitted was ‘terrible’; they are still series winners with strong proven potential and impact players like Malcolm Marx and Eben Etzebeth set for a return to the squad ahead of the upcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship which begins in August.

Even England coach Eddie Jones admits the Springboks have a good chance at winning the World Cup next year:

“The South African side is revitalised; they are well coached, well balanced and played some good rugby. In the first two games they were too good for us and deserved to win the series, but they were small margins in the series.”

South Africa’s next match is against Argentina in Durban in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on 19 August 2018.