Springboks show respect for their principles regardless of what the world thinks

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi on the attack. (Photo: MB Media / Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

9 Aug 2021

There is no denying this was a mighty effort from the world champions who started at a huge disadvantage.

This report was first published in the Irish Examiner

The British & Irish Lions will rightly rue several missed chances in the first half of the third Test to win the series against the Springboks, but there is no denying this was a mighty effort from the world champions who started at a huge disadvantage.

The Boks might have been playing at home, but with no crowd, that equalised the ledger on that score. When the Lions arrived in late June, the Boks had played one Test in 20 months since winning the World Cup.

They had no form to measure and no growth as a collective over almost two years to prepare for one of rugby’s great challenges. The Lions might be made up of disparate parts of four nations, but at least those parts had been playing highly competitive international rugby through 2020 and 2021.

Jacques Nienaber, the Springbok head coach. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)

Before the Lions series, Jacques Nienaber was Springbok coach only in name. He had not had one full field session with his entire squad until early July and no sooner had that happened than he and 12 players were forced into Covid isolation.

As Boks skipper Siya Kolisi said after the 19-16 third Test victory, the Boks had so little time before the first Test that they did well to compete.

They also played the series without No 8 Duane Vermeulen, a massive presence in their set-up as both player and leader. Lock RG Snyman, a vital member of the famed “bomb squad” was absent as well and they were without the retired Tendai Mtwarira and Francois Louw.

Throw in second Test injuries to more key players in Pieter-Steph du Toit and Faf de Klerk and it’s actually a minor miracle the Boks not only managed to compete, but ultimately won this series.

There has been a tremendous amount of carping about the Springbok style, but the reality is that since Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus took over as Bok coaches in 2018, they have played precisely 30 Tests over three-and-a-half years.

In that time the Boks have won the Rugby Championship, beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time in a generation, won a World Cup and a Lions series. It’s not a bad body of work for a team that apparently doesn’t play rugby the way purists intend it to be played.

When the coaching duo stepped in, the Boks were reeling after two desperate years in which they dropped to seventh in the world rankings. South Africa had suffered record defeats against the All Blacks (57-0) and Ireland (38-3) as well as a first loss to Italy in that period. They were a shambles.

Much of 2018 was spent trying to fast track depth by changing the team frequently to expose as many players as possible to Test rugby. Erasmus and Nienaber identified players they believed they needed to establish a strong team culture and then started the foundational work. Nienaber needed a year to develop the defensive structure and plan that all the players would embrace and understand.

Siya Kolisi was viewed as a surprise choice as Bok captain only because he was not a high-ranking senior player such as Du Toit or Vermeulen at that stage. But Erasmus knew he had the personality and lack of ego to embrace the leadership while also delegating responsibility.

Delegation of duties in this Bok set-up is a vital aspect of their success. Players are expected to be coaches and mentors, as well as leaders and followers. Elton Jantjies has always been a peripheral figure in the set-up with Handre Pollard the clear first-choice flyhalf. But he is vital in mimicking opposition flyhalves in training and providing the “first team” with analysis of the opposition’s style. The same goes for other members of the squad — from RWC 2019 winners Thomas du Toit (prop) and wing Sbu Nkosi, to newcomers such as Aphelele Fassi. Players are all analysts and assistant coaches.

It’s an environment that mirrors Nienaber’s manic work ethic. His days start at 4.30am and often end after 10pm. Every minute is planned and focused. Having masses of information is useful, but Nienaber and Erasmus have the ability to distil the essentials for players into rugby’s equivalent of soundbites. That’s largely because the players are involved in the process.

All those traits can only work in a healthy environment and that is the single biggest part of the Bok success. They have a list of about 12 criteria that they want to see in a player to be in the Bok team. Being talented or brilliant at club level ranks near the bottom. Attitude is top of the list.

The set-up also only works because there is honesty and accountability from top to bottom — brutal honesty sometimes. No selection meetings are closed. Any player can sit in and make a case for himself, or just listen. Nothing is hidden. Faults and weaknesses are laid bare for all to see, as are strengths and skills.

Erasmus directly tackled the elephant in the Bok room for so many years — transformation. The need to change the demographics of a team to reflect South African society more closely was important, but not at the cost of winning or being disingenuous with players.

Erasmus and Nienaber would not select players who were not ready for Test rugby, simply to meet racial quotas. That would be unfair on the individuals and dishonest to the team.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi on the attack. (Photo: MB Media / Getty Images)

Instead, the coaches saw it as an opportunity to find black players that largely met their selection criteria and equip them for Test rugby, just as they would for any player. They don’t see a transformation target of 50% black representation as a barrier, but rather a line in the sand to be exceeded with honesty.

The Boks are not the most loved team in the world and they are not as easy on the eye as the All Blacks. But they are hard-working, committed, organised and mentally tough. The team environment, the clarity of thinking and confidence in the coaches and each other, has bred character.

Nienaber, Kolisi and their team aren’t concerned with being loved for their style because that is a subjective exercise anyway. They are only interested in winning rugby matches and improving because that is how they show respect to themselves.

In their world view, that is all that matters. DM

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