Alright everyone let’s calm right down, there is no need to panic.
Pump the brakes on the emotional knee jerk reactions. The Springboks are still a world class team, second only to the All Blacks and everything is still looking very much on track for them to make a deep run in the Rugby World Cup 2015, regardless of last Saturday.
While it is true that the Springboks were nowhere near their best in Padova, credit must be given to the Italians for some excellent defense, enterprising attack and disruptive ruck and maul work. The Azzurri adapted better to referee Jerome Garces’ officiating (who was not as bad as some are making him out to be) and will be very pleased with their passionate showing in front of an appreciative home crowd. The reality is that they still lost by sixteen points.
A quick word on ref Garces; although he made a few incorrect calls, he did at least try to allow the game to flow which should be encouraged. No one wants to see a game where the referee blows the whistle every ten seconds. The one area where the Springboks have battled on this tour is adapting to the Northern Hemisphere referee interpretations, but credit to them for getting it right in the second half. Garces is not my cup of beer, but he was mostly consistent on the day and what more can you ask for?
Games against teams like Italy are tricky in that the Springboks are expected to dominate. When they invariably do, it is not fully appreciated due to a perceived lack of quality in the opposition. Unfortunately anything less than a huge win is slated and in this instance ammo for disgruntled fans and rugby pundits.
I am a glass half full man when it comes to the Springboks and I prefer to look at the positives Coach Heyneke Meyer can take from the game. For instance, both Trevor Nyakane and Coenie Oosthuizen had solid outings against what was considered a powerful Italian front row. Fullback Johan Goosen settled after some early nerves, made two impressive line breaks and is definitely worth another look at as back up to Willie le Roux. Newbie Boks, Nizaam Carr and Julian Redlinghuys both had very good debuts off the bench with Carr having a blinder of a line break and pop pass that led to a try for Cobus Reinach.
It is true the Springboks ran too laterally on attack at times and were inaccurate with their line outs, but defensively they were excellent and did not concede a try. Eben Etzebeth looked to be nearing the highs of last year and Handre Pollard’s cameo off the bench and superb long pass to Habana reminded us all of his immense talent.
Lessons will have been learned about the contesting of the breakdowns and the ref’s interpretations of that. Jean de Villiers will have hopefully realised the importance of when to kick, (especially for the posts) when given the opportunity and the Springboks will know that they need to score more consistently when in the ‘red zone’. They had three clear opportunities to score in the first half and a lead of fifteen or so would have put the game to bed at half time.
Converting opportunities into points in key moments at this level is what separates the champion sides from the good ones.
Because of the Northern Hemisphere weather expected, passionate fan base and referee interpretations, expect to see much tighter games especially between the top eight teams in the world when they compete in the RWC2015. The Springboks will have benefited from this tour immensely and regardless of injuries should meet the All Blacks in the RWC2015 semi-finals next year. After that who knows but it is comforting to know that they have only lost once in the NH under Heyneke Meyer and will be incredibly tough to beat on any given day.
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