”Australian rugby people can’t understand why South Africa ever plays home Test matches away from Ellis Park. The Wallabies have built a castle in the rarefied Highveld air at the venue where they have not won a Test match since the Ken Catchpole-inspired Wallabies of 1963,” writes Andy Capostagno.
In two years’ time, as the run-up to the Rugby World Cup begins in earnest, the South African Rugby Union will be wondering why it agreed to play so many Test matches in the previous two seasons against the best two teams in the world. Nothing exposes the soft underbelly of a successful team more than a sustained campaign against quality opposition.
Scepticism runs deep in the South African psyche. In sport it is manifested in two ways. Beat a feared opponent too easily and the result is ”meaningless” because, despite pre-match hype to the contrary, the opposition was under-strength. Beat the same opponent too narrowly and the joy of victory goes out the window.
Springbok coach Jake White is beginning to understand the media. Bad news sells newspapers. So when the first Springbok squad of the season was announced on Saturday, was there a nationwide chorus of praise from the fourth estate about the inclusion — at last! — of Bulls hooker Gary Botha? Of course not.
An almost complete breakdown in the chain of command notwithstanding, South African rugby continues on its results-driven way. People who would ordinarily find a way to criticise God for allowing the sky to be generally light blue are now dyed in the wool Bulls fans, imploring the Sharks this weekend and the Stormers next weekend to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
The people of Perth are debating whether they can live with the idea of supporting a team by the name of the Western Force, while the management team, headed by former All Black coach John Mitchell, are securing the signatures of a host of top players. Meanwhile, in South Africa the bickering over the fifth Super 14 franchise has only just begun.
There is, as Dorothy observed, no place like home. For South African rugby teams home means winning close games rather than losing them, enjoying the benefit of those 50/50 refereeing decisions and playing in front of crowds that do not believe you to be humourless, cultureless and clueless automatons. Last Saturday both the Stormers and the Bulls set out on a bold quest to reach the semifinals of the Super 12.
The end of a four-match losing streak for the Sharks came not a moment too soon. In beating the Brumbies so emphatically in Durban the Sharks not only earned a shot at redemption, but also became the only local side to win in round five of the Super 12. In the greater scheme of things the five log points thus earned are irrelevant.
Given the somewhat depressing start to the season, the Easter weekend seems a good time to be pondering whether South African rugby can rise again. In week four of the Super 12, the Stormers played poorly and lost, the Cats played well and lost, the Bulls played out of their skins and won, while the less said about the Sharks the better.
It may be against all odds, but perhaps the South African Rugby Union got it right when it called for submissions not just for the new fifth team, but for all five franchises ahead of next year’s expansion to the Super 14. After three rounds of the Super 12, the current South African franchises have recorded a grand total of two wins and one draw, a statistic that would be depressing were it not so familiar.