Publications
Partners
Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
I remember oversleeping once in rural England in 1997 (while on holiday, as one is surely entitled to) when the Springboks played the All Blacks in a Tri-Nations match at Auckland’s Eden Park.
My father-in-law woke me, as sun poured into the bedroom, clearly aware that I’d uncharacteristically missed the early-morning live offering from New Zealand on one of the many Sky channels.
“Your lot scored 35 very fine points,” he cheerfully informed me, having done the Tele-text thing. “The All Blacks weren’t bad either … they got 55.”
It was tempting to roll over and cover myself in a sheet in disgruntlement, but I was stoically up shortly afterwards to see a full re-run -- including the nadir incident, of course, where the normally tough but clean Andre Venter saw Sean Fitzpatrick stationed disruptively on the wrong side of one too many ruck and put a boot to his head, earning full marching orders.
The notably crafty New Zealand hooker and captain had clearly been goading the Boks into seeing red, and 13 years later it seems he is still in the business of dispensing sucker punches, albeit in a rather different way.
Now wearing a pundit’s cap, “Fitzy” reverently proclaimed this week that the quality of the current Bok crop of players “scares” him. Elsewhere in the Land of the Long White Cloud, similar salaams have been reported.
Now this Springbok squad contains too many smart, seasoned characters of its own, I think, to be seduced into a seriously false sense of security or invincibility.
But I also reckon nothing less than the Boks’ A-plus game will suffice to overcome a home side likely to have done a formidable amount of soul-searching after their 0-3 humiliation at the hands of the old enemy in last year’s competition.
Wins in New Zealand simply do not come dime-a-dozen: think even 2009, when South Africa dominated the title-deciding Hamilton game for some 70 percent of its duration (that’s also something as rare as hen’s teeth in that part of the world), yet were still clinging on extremely grimly at the finish to close it out 32-29 after leading by 17 points at one stage.
And playing your first Tri-Nations game of 2010 at Eden Park is about as tricky a requirement as you could get, especially given the Boks’ dodgy track record – especially in more recent times - at the venue.
They have managed only a dead-rubber draw (18-18 in 1994 after the All Blacks had mopped up the series 2-0) and five defeats there since the 1937 triumph for Philip Nel’s immortal team, the first and still only Boks to claim a series win in New Zealand.
Don’t get me wrong: John Smit’s troops are well capable of winning anywhere and at any time – they don’t have too much more to prove in that respect.
But another thing that worries me as much as any subconscious (I’d be surprised if it were actually “conscious”) degree of overconfidence on Saturday is the absence, from the team which triumphed in Hamilton in 2009, of a few talismanic figures in that success.
The fearless, in-your-face Ricky Januarie brings clear strengths of his own to the party, but it remains difficult not to suspect that Fourie du Preez’s freakishly “complete” and mega-calm game at No 9 will be sorely missed both in Auckland and over the next few weeks generally.
Du Preez is almost unrivalled in scrumhalf play as an anticipator and reader of situations, has a longer, faster pass than most and has also been a priceless element in the Boks’ much-treasured, out-of-hand kicking game.
He scored a typically opportunistic try in the Hamilton win, pouching the ball and dotting down after Bryan Habana had beaten Joe Rokocoko to a high ball.
Speaking of opportunism, Jean de Villiers registered the other with one of his uncanny interceptions, off a Dan Carter pass … and yet there was no guarantee, as this was written, that he would earn a place in the run-on XV this time.
Most certainly not in the mix will be the cold-shouldered fullback Frans Steyn, whose three monster first-half penalties were manna from heaven in giving the Boks the cushion that would just prove sufficient in the final analysis.
Colours to the mast? Yes, I can’t help marginally fancying the All Blacks to get their 2010 Tri-Nations off on the front foot on Saturday, while still confident the Boks can strike back from an early hiccup to retain the overall crown.
Smit and company are very welcome, however, to thoroughly allay my Eden Park fears, come the eagerly-awaited 09:35 South African time …
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
I remember oversleeping once in rural England in 1997 (while on holiday, as one is surely entitled to) when the Springboks played the All Blacks in a Tri-Nations match at Auckland’s Eden Park.
My father-in-law woke me, as sun poured into the bedroom, clearly aware that I’d uncharacteristically missed the early-morning live offering from New Zealand on one of the many Sky channels.
“Your lot scored 35 very fine points,” he cheerfully informed me, having done the Tele-text thing. “The All Blacks weren’t bad either … they got 55.”
It was tempting to roll over and cover myself in a sheet in disgruntlement, but I was stoically up shortly afterwards to see a full re-run -- including the nadir incident, of course, where the normally tough but clean Andre Venter saw Sean Fitzpatrick stationed disruptively on the wrong side of one too many ruck and put a boot to his head, earning full marching orders.
The notably crafty New Zealand hooker and captain had clearly been goading the Boks into seeing red, and 13 years later it seems he is still in the business of dispensing sucker punches, albeit in a rather different way.
Now wearing a pundit’s cap, “Fitzy” reverently proclaimed this week that the quality of the current Bok crop of players “scares” him. Elsewhere in the Land of the Long White Cloud, similar salaams have been reported.
Now this Springbok squad contains too many smart, seasoned characters of its own, I think, to be seduced into a seriously false sense of security or invincibility.
But I also reckon nothing less than the Boks’ A-plus game will suffice to overcome a home side likely to have done a formidable amount of soul-searching after their 0-3 humiliation at the hands of the old enemy in last year’s competition.
Wins in New Zealand simply do not come dime-a-dozen: think even 2009, when South Africa dominated the title-deciding Hamilton game for some 70 percent of its duration (that’s also something as rare as hen’s teeth in that part of the world), yet were still clinging on extremely grimly at the finish to close it out 32-29 after leading by 17 points at one stage.
And playing your first Tri-Nations game of 2010 at Eden Park is about as tricky a requirement as you could get, especially given the Boks’ dodgy track record – especially in more recent times - at the venue.
They have managed only a dead-rubber draw (18-18 in 1994 after the All Blacks had mopped up the series 2-0) and five defeats there since the 1937 triumph for Philip Nel’s immortal team, the first and still only Boks to claim a series win in New Zealand.
Don’t get me wrong: John Smit’s troops are well capable of winning anywhere and at any time – they don’t have too much more to prove in that respect.
But another thing that worries me as much as any subconscious (I’d be surprised if it were actually “conscious”) degree of overconfidence on Saturday is the absence, from the team which triumphed in Hamilton in 2009, of a few talismanic figures in that success.
The fearless, in-your-face Ricky Januarie brings clear strengths of his own to the party, but it remains difficult not to suspect that Fourie du Preez’s freakishly “complete” and mega-calm game at No 9 will be sorely missed both in Auckland and over the next few weeks generally.
Du Preez is almost unrivalled in scrumhalf play as an anticipator and reader of situations, has a longer, faster pass than most and has also been a priceless element in the Boks’ much-treasured, out-of-hand kicking game.
He scored a typically opportunistic try in the Hamilton win, pouching the ball and dotting down after Bryan Habana had beaten Joe Rokocoko to a high ball.
Speaking of opportunism, Jean de Villiers registered the other with one of his uncanny interceptions, off a Dan Carter pass … and yet there was no guarantee, as this was written, that he would earn a place in the run-on XV this time.
Most certainly not in the mix will be the cold-shouldered fullback Frans Steyn, whose three monster first-half penalties were manna from heaven in giving the Boks the cushion that would just prove sufficient in the final analysis.
Colours to the mast? Yes, I can’t help marginally fancying the All Blacks to get their 2010 Tri-Nations off on the front foot on Saturday, while still confident the Boks can strike back from an early hiccup to retain the overall crown.
Smit and company are very welcome, however, to thoroughly allay my Eden Park fears, come the eagerly-awaited 09:35 South African time …
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
