The northern hemisphere’s invasion of the south during the mid-year rugby internationals was largely successful for the countries on that side of the equator.
It’s old news now that both New Zealand and Australia went down to their visitors, losing to Ireland and England respectively.
The Springboks and Argentina flew the flag for the Rugby Championship teams, beating Wales and Scotland respectively.
So what did we learn during the first three international weekends of the season on this side of the world?
Here’s my take…
1 The north has caught up
Look at the latest world rankings and you’d probably be surprised to see France and Ireland leading the way.
I never really cared much for these rankings, but they are an indication of what is klapping in the world at the moment. The gap between the top teams in the world have shrunk big time - 10th placed Japan proved this by running top-ranked France close in their second Test recently, losing 20-15. Japan even led 15-13 with 10 minutes to go.
While the teams are all improving, the northern hemisphere teams are the ones I feel have made the most strides. Here’s the thing, with South Africa also playing their domestic rugby up north, I believe these teams will continue to grow as they get to rub shoulders with the best on a weekly basis.
2 All Blacks stuck in reverse
The first point leads directly into my second point.
Domestic rugby is responsible for a strong international team. And here I believe is where New Zealand are having trouble and it’s also here where I believe they have been let down big time by South Africa.
It’s no secret that the All Blacks are suffering - New Zealanders are calling for the head of coach Ian Foster after losing to Ireland.
And while I do think a change in coach will bring a change in their fortunes and that the All Blacks will be a force at next year’s World Cup, I am worried about the long-term effect not playing against South African domestic teams will have on New Zealand rugby.
With talks of Australia also wanting out at Super Rugby level, while South Africa and the rest of the world are rubbing shoulders in the Heineken Cup, I fear that the All Blacks will only get weaker - unless they ship out all their stars to the north.
3 The Bok management must handle criticism better
Afrikaanse mense say die hoogste bome vang die meeste wind.
Loosely translated it means that when you’re in the limelight, not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to say nice things about you and not everyone is going to applaud your every move.
People have the right to their opinions. So when the Springbok management team (read Rassie Erasmus and Mzwandile Stick) feel the need to take to social media to respond to criticism, I think they are forgetting that they have chosen to be the face of the country and chosen to represent diverse viewpoints. It started with Rassie and Stick followed suit… voor ons ons oe uitvee begin die hele span opponents aanval op Twitter. Is that the culture you want to create in the Springbok blazer?
Yes, I’m talking about the Twitter attacks on Bulls coach Jake White. Quick refresher, White wrote a column on Rugbypass slamming the “B-team” the Boks picked for the second Test against Wales.
Rassie then took to Twitter to provide evidence to fans that White did the same when he was in charge of the Boks, while Stick had his say on the matter in the pre-match press conference on the Friday before the final Test. And that was fine.
But then after winning the final Test, he again referenced White in an Instagram post.
Manne, your positions are bigger than that. Again, is this the culture Rassie wants to breed at the Boks?
Whether White’s comments on the Boks’ team selection were wrong or right is not for me to say. But as representatives of the South African Rugby Union (Saru), the mothership of rugby in SA, you can’t retaliate publicly to one of your unions.
If you felt aggrieved, I’m sure there are channels at Saru that deal with their unions (read Bulls here) and disciplinary issues that could arise from there.
Twitter is not the place to air dirty laundry - please keep it professional. After all, you are representing all of us and not everything is a popularity contest. Do the talking on the field.
PS: If it’s that easy to get under the Boks’ skins, If I were an opposition coach I would pay to write a Bok column in the week building up to a Test match.
4 South Africa’s got talent
The Springboks can easily field two teams at a World Cup and they could even meet in a final. Okay, that’s pushing it a bit, but depth is definitely not an issue in South Africa.
I was a big fan of the team chosen for the second Test against Wales - the one we lost 13-12 in Bloem.
Here’s the thing, though, most of those players - with the exception of one or two - proved that they are ready to play Test rugby. And while that match was a good opportunity to show what they can do, it wasn’t a fair chance and some of those manne deserve at least one more.
For example, I do think Warrick Gelant will be better playing as one-third of an experienced back three. You can’t throw on six debutants and expect them to play their best Test rugby. Mix and match and we’ll see the best of these guys. But I think we saw enough to know that depth ain’t a problem in SA.
Now bring on the Kiwis…
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za