Andy Capostagno : Rugby
Spring has always been a time of celebration. The time when John Barleycorn, cut down in the summer, returns to the fields with renewed vigour. But Gawain didn’t think much of spring, since it signalled the return of the Green Knight, who had a licence to chop off his head.
And Linus van Pelt, when asked by Charlie Brown, “Don’t you think Spring is wonderful? Everything is turning green,” replied, “Yes, but what if you don’t like green?”
There are those in Bloemfontein and Brakpan who might share the sentiments of Linus and Gawain, seeing their teams finally eliminated with nothing tangible to show for a long hard season.
And after this Saturday’s Currie Cup semi- finals, there will be supporters so symbiotically linked to their provinces that defeat will mean that 1998 will forever leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
All of which suggests that we should celebrate now what has been the finest season in South African rugby history. It began in disarray with arguments over which provinces should feed which regions and the Super 12 was consequently something of a disaster, even if dodgy refereeing rather than under-achieving players robbed the Coastal Sharks of semi- final victory against the Canterbury Crusaders.
There were three out of four New Zealand teams in the Super 12 semi- finals, the Crusaders beat the Auckland Blues in the final and we confidently wrote off the chances of both Australia and South Africa in the Tri- Nations Championship. So what went right?
Well, principally, and I know this goes against everything that history has taught us, we have to praise the wise men of the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) who planned the 1998 fixture list. Since readmission, our fixture list has frequently looked like an attempt to squeeze a quart into a pint pot.
This year Sarfu gave the provinces the month of June off. The only games played on an official basis in June were Test matches and games against the tourists from Ireland and Wales. In the handy pocket fixture guide produced by Bankfin, June takes up three centimetres, July takes up 15.
In that month Nick Mallett was able to concentrate on rebuilding the team spirit which informed the Springbok tour to Europe in late 1997. Players outside the elite squad of 26 were able to rest weary bones. The Test matches were won and the Currie Cup began in the second week of July with a clean slate.
I dare say there were even a few people who were looking forward to it, despite the doubting Thomases who thought that in comparison to the virtual-reality charisma of the Super 12, the Currie Cup would be like a game of Subbuteo with half the players held together with Blue Tac.
But here we are in late October celebrating a Tri-Nations victory and, perhaps more important in the long term, a national provincial competition that has thrillingly defied the critics on a weekly basis. We could not have asked for a denouement of greater seat-edge unpredictability than that served up last week and there are still two weeks to go.
Neville Cardus tells the tale of a curate who bit through the handle of his umbrella while watching Gilbert Jessop win a Test match for England against the odds. If it were not for the fact that we live for the main in a temperate climate, it may have been a wise hedge against the falling rand to have bought stocks in an umbrella manufacturer on Monday morning.
Either that or a dental practice.
And while the injuries to Andr Venter and Pieter Muller count in the debit book, Mallett has been purring over the credit that the last few weeks have reflected on the game in this country. It may not be a pretty sight for a few mothers to see their sons having lumps knocked out of them on a weekly basis, but for most of the rest of us it has given purpose to a long season.
It has made us realise that strength against strength loses its glamour if it is the only thing on display. The match between Natal and the Blue Bulls at King’s Park three weeks ago was, to all intents and purposes, a Test match.
Indeed it was far more worthy of Test status than the mis-match between South Africa and Wales at Loftus in June. This Saturday’s rematch in Pretoria promises more of the same. But that promise can only be delivered because along the way the Sharks have been able to play Geoff Appleford at flyhalf against North-West in Orkney and the Bulls have been able to cruise against the likes of Mpumalanga.
That is not to say that there is no room for refinement; the Currie Cup might be even better with 10 teams instead of 14. But the sapient critic talking about last week’s Western Province/Natal match had it about right. “If every encounter had to be as hard as this one, few [players] would be left standing at the end of the season.”
The very fact that the match was so hard on both teams suggests that Saturday’s semi- finals could be a bridge too far. Province win the award for being the most wildly inconsistent team in the tournament. They were so good against the Bulls at Loftus three weeks ago that it was shocking to see them reduced to lowly mortal status against South- Western Districts at Newlands a week later.
In Kimberley this Saturday they will face a team with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Griquas cannot conceivably be as bad again as they were against the Falcons last week and although the hard field at Absa Park will suit the likes of Bobby Skinstad and Corne Krige, the time has come for Gaffie du Toit to remind the province selectors that he has more pure rugby talent than Christian Stewart and Louis Koen combined.
As for the game at Loftus, it will not be for the faint-hearted. Natal will expect to dominate the forward exchanges and, following the scrummaging tactics at King’s Park a fortnight ago, it will be interesting to see whether referee Andr Watson’s estimation of what constitutes a penalty try falls into line with that of Carl Spannenburg.
It is difficult to quantify a game as vital as this in terms of what has gone before, but if Natal, with 60% of the ball, could only beat the Bulls by five points in Durban, it suggests that home advantage will bring the Currie Cup final back to Loftus next Saturday.
But whatever the outcome of the semi- finals, the ride has been so enjoyable that the destination has become largely inconsequential. So put away your provincial blinkers and enjoy what is left of the season. And don’t open the door to any green knights.