Remarkable The Springboks are Difficult to Hate. They are Good For Rugby Said CHRIS FOY
The Springboks and their fans have embraced being the Millwall FC of rugby – ‘nobody likes us and we don’t care’. Well, maybe it is time to strip them of that motivational tool, by learning to love them.
For neutrals and rivals, this is a jarring concept. But there is a very real danger that South Africa are shedding their status as perennial pantomime villains. All the haters are going to hate, hate, hate this, but the Boks are proving worthy of warmth and admiration, in defiance of long tradition.
The immediate news is that they have just won the Rugby Championship in its full guise for the first time in 15 years. Rassie Erasmus‘ side added that prize to a remarkable haul in the last five years, featuring two World Cup triumphs and a Lions series victory. They sealed their latest trophy by demolishing Argentina 48-7, scoring seven tries to one.
During their glorious southern-hemisphere campaign, they extended their winning run over the All Blacks to four matches – a rare, cherished feat – and earned back-to-back wins in Australia despite implementing a rotation policy designed to unearth a new generation of world-beaters. In fact, that was a feature of Erasmus’s approach throughout the tournament and it worked a treat.
So, perhaps they can be loveable, as standard-bearers for their sport. It would mark a seismic shift in outside attitudes towards them, after past outrage about cynical, antagonistic, spoiling, loophole-finding antics. Whether it was Rassie as a water-carrier, traffic lights in the stands or shrieking ‘medics’ all but joining the back of mauls, South Africa were easy to dislike.
