Sport24 columnist JJ Harmse (File)

JJ Harmse

It's funny how it happens every time. Come the Tri-Nations, or come November, it is "us against them". It is the "victim versus the enemy".
 
This year of course has delivered that scenario already, with only three weeks of the Tri-Nations gone. So we are not even halfway into the competition, and already the battle lines have been drawn.

It is us against them.
 
Problem is, that works well when you win, like the Boks did last year against the British and Irish Lions and against the All Blacks in Bloemfontein, Durban and Hamilton.

Win and you have many people patting you on the back. Lose, and you need to make sure there is not a knife in that hand going for your back.

Last year, during the glories of the first two Test matches in the Lions series, the euphoria of victory helped us to fight off all those against us.

We were 2-0 up and not even the stingiest of comments on Schalk Burger being an eye gouger or Peter de Villiers talking funny could find a chink in our united armour.
 
We scoffed at the Poms for being bad losers and their pathetic attempts to take away the glory of a Springbok series win by trying to make Schalk out to be a thug or Peter a clown.

We even applauded the idea of the Boks making a stand against the IRB and their ridiculous citing system. It was justice for Bakkies (Botha) indeed.

Then we lost the third Test match and all hell broke loose. The Boks weren’t focused enough on the game, they were sidetracked by the Bakkies issue and they made us look confrontational in the eyes of the world.

Come Tri-Nations and all was forgotten. We smashed the Aussies in Perth and smashed the All Blacks in Hamilton. Dubious calls against us were proof that people are trying to get us.  But stuff them, we stood united.

I don’t need to paint the picture any further do I?

So let’s fast-forward to July 2010 and the Tri-Nations.

We are suggesting that referees has a deliberate plan to get us, that we  are getting the wrong side of marginal calls and that there might be a bigger scheme of things at play in order to make next year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand a success.

Only this time, we are losing. Bakkies had no justification in head-butting NZ's Jimmy Cowan and we seem to be at odds on the field and the way we want to play while there.

So, where is the support? Nowhere of course.

It is up to SARU president Oregan Hoskins to take up matters with regard to some clear refereeing issues (or was it just Irish logic)?

The coach is suddenly being called a clown again (and it is ok to do so?), the captain is fat and old again and the ball is being kicked too much.

For that matter, why don’t we blame Sasol’s decision not to extend their sponsorship on the failings of our midfield combination or the size of Ricky Januarie’s pants?

I suppose it is fair comment if you have paid good money to see the Boks play and they perform poorly, to have a go at them.

Unfortunately, there is no such an outlet for disgruntled fans. Yes, you can perhaps lurk around and wait for the team bus in order to pelt it with an empty beer can, but Bok fans are not like that, are we?

But what are we then? Sure, we are quick to speak our minds when things go wrong, but in what way?

I always maintain that the players must be prepared to cop it when they play badly, because they were the ones who have set the standard.

It was the Springboks who won the World Cup. Not anybody else. The Springboks did that by playing gloriously for those six, seven matches when it mattered.

They won the series against the Lions with a massive dose of grit, determination and skill. And they are the ones who have beaten the All Blacks twice in two years down in New Zealand, the toughest assignment in world rugby.

They have set the standards, not us.

So yes, we have the right to hold them to that. We expect that level of performance because we know what they are capable of. Nothing wrong with that.

What is wrong however is the way we express ourselves. Just as your employer will not get the best out of you by insulting you or making derogatory remarks about your performance or appearance, we need to treat our Springboks the same.

If you want them to respect you (and they want to), surely it is not too much to ask to show them some respect? After all, they are who we are. They are us.

Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.

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