Durban - Now that the dust has settled on the November international season, we can take a considered look at the rugby landscape ahead of next year’s World Cup, and for my money, the Springboks have made more progress up rugby’s Everest than their rivals.
Before a ball was kicked in November, Ireland and France were rated the best contenders for the Webb Ellis Cup, with New Zealand not far off them; England were breathing down the necks of the Kiwis and the Springboks and Wallabies were not doing well at the bookies.
Four weekends of international rugby later, it looks a little different. Ireland and France are still right up there but they no longer look impregnable.
There has been so much hype about both sides, and deservedly so, but the gloss has come off their ambitions, and it is not a coincidence that it was the Boks that made both very uneasy when losing narrowly to them.
Winning the World Cup is all about timing. You want to be firmly on an upward curve when you arrive at the event. How often have we seen the All Blacks play magnificent rugby in the years building up to the World Cup only to be flat at the actual event?
Did Ireland peak as a side when they won that series in New Zealand in July? And then France have been hyped to the rafters but they almost lost at home to Australia, who also gave Ireland a fright.
New Zealand looked good in parts but then damaged so much of their recovering confidence when they imploded against England at Twickenham. The Kiwis went home asking themselves the same questions they did after a roller coaster Rugby Championship.
This might be a good thing for the All Blacks because for once they will not go to the World Cup as favourites.
Speaking of England, they have been dreadful and by the time this article is read, Eddie Jones could have been fired to join Wales coach Wayne Pivac on the scrap heap.
This brings me to the Springboks. An important thing to remember about the Boks is that they lost a year of rugby to lockdown (2020) when the other teams in the world were playing, and so when they resumed last year, against the Lions, they kept the same game plan that had won the World Cup.
There was no time for experimentation and evolution last year but that has happened in 2022. As much as Bok fans hate to lose, the defeats in 2022 will be forgotten if the Webb Ellis Cup comes home with the Boks thanks to them growing their depth and adapting their playing style in the year before France 2023.
The manner in which the Boks dispatched Italy and England in their last two tour games was a thing of beauty. The Boks continue to have a brawny pack and a just as muscular bomb squad but they now have playmakers at 10 and 15 and exquisite finishers out wide, and that puts them on the path to being the perfect rugby team.
@MikeGreenaway67
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