It was 22 years ago that Robbie Deans came up with a press conference quote that has stuck in the mind whenever there is a debate over where rugby is headed and any question marks raised over the aesthetic appeal of the sport.
In his capacity as All Black assistant coach to John Mitchell, Deans had just watched the Kiwis destroy the Springboks at Loftus. It will be remembered as the 1652 game. The visitors won 52-16. Rudolf Straeuli was the Bok coach then and had made the task more difficult for his men by taking them to an unexpected location outside of Pretoria rather than their usual hotel in the city the night before the game, but it was still an exquisite display of total rugby.
Perhaps Straeuli and his Boks and their supporters should have felt less chastened by the performance than they were. As Deans, in his capacity now as Barbarians coach for Saturday’s clash with the Boks at DHL Stadium, reminded us at his team announcement press conference, the All Blacks went from Loftus to Sydney where a week later they did exactly the same thing to a Wallaby team that in those days was considered strong.
It was a first step towards the All Blacks regaining the Bledisloe Cup after a gap of a few years and they have held onto it ever since.
Asked at the Loftus post-match press conference what he thought of the game, Deans made reference to it being an afternoon game played on a firm, dry field perfectly suited to running rugby.
“I have been banging on about this for a while and today we saw the proof,” said Deans, “play rugby in daylight rather than at night under floodlights and you will get a much better and more entertaining product.”
VARYING CONDITIONS ARE PART OF RUGBY
Deans hasn’t backed down from that view, which does carry a lot of merit, but he also denied what should really appear obvious - playing Saturday’s game at Loftus in conditions replicating those that the All Blacks experienced in 2003 would give his current team a much better chance of executing their brief, which is to entertain. For Cape Town isn’t just hosting the Barbarians this week, it is also hosting a severe cold front.
“Not at all, that’s just rugby, you have to play what you get and the basic aim remains the same regardless of the conditions - you have to make sure your forwards get go forward and win the ball and your backs can play from there,” he said.
The Barbarians strength, certainly when it comes to experience, does appear to be based in the pack. Ireland legend Peter O’Mahony captains the side as a flank partner to former All Black skipper Sam Cane, and another All Black, Shannon Firzell, is at No 8, with yet another capable Kiwi, Hoskins Sotutu, backing up from the bench.
Stormers lock Ruben van Heerden is almost alone among the forwards when it comes to not having played international rugby, but then as Deans pointed out the man labelled a tackle machine by Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, and who probably of all the Barbarians will feel he has the most to prove, has been on the cusp of it.
Van Heerden has been part of Erasmus’ alignment camps in the past, and if he was playing for a place in almost any other international team he’d boast a few caps, at the very least, by now. Alongside Van Heerden is another player who knows Cape Town well. Although David Ribbans has played his test rugby for England, with his last appearance being at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he started his first class career as a Western Province and Stormers player.
Ribbans’ last visit to South Africa was when he was part of the Toulon team that executed a robust template to beat the Stormers in Gqeberha in the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup. He was the Toulon leader and played well enough to suggest that if he was still based in England, he’d probably still be playing for them.
Cian Healy is playing his last game of rugby after becoming a centurion for Ireland so he’s clearly no slouch either, and alongside him Camille Chat has represented France.
“YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT THEM IN A FEW YEARS”
It is at the back that the Barbarians boast less experience, although those who have seen the Uruguayan scrumhalf Santiago Arata, who backs up All Black Tamera Kerr-Barlow from the bench, in training reckon he could be a surprise package.
Dean doesn’t believe the South American will be the only surprise though, as he made it clear that he has selected this team for a reason - those players who don’t have experience have massive potential.
“You wouldn’t have heard of some of these guys, but believe me you will over the next few years,” said Deans.
He referenced in particular the flyhalf Jacob Jacomb, who has played both pivot and fullback for the Chiefs (don’t forget they have Damian McKenzie on their books), and is a 23-year-old up and comer who will have a big role to play in what is likely to be a game played in wet conditions very unlike those Deans and Mitchell’s All Blacks encountered 22 years ago.
Don’t bet against the Barbarians, with their unknown factor, still finding a way to dazzle against a Bok team that goes into the game with a very different mission to the entertainment orientated visitors - they just need to win.
And if it as wet as it is predicted to be, win they should, for the Boks have a different imperative to the one that some of the Bok teams of the past would have had when playing the Barbarians, which were usually games that ended the rugby year and the pressure was off. Plus, like 2007 in Jake White’s last game as Bok coach, they often went significantly under-strength.
They are not that under-strength this time, or at least they have assembled a strong team, and it would be a surprise if the Boks don’t end up scoring an emphatic win over the scratch combination. But the last time the Boks played the Barbarians it wasn’t at the end of the tour, it was the start of one, at Wembley back in 2016.
The Barbarians and Boks drew that game 31-all and guess who was coaching the Barbarians that day - Deans was.
“I’d be happy if it was that close again,” he said.
It is unlikely to be. If it is, Rassie won’t be happy.
Teams
South Africa: Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Bergh, Jean-Luc du Preez, Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi (captain), Lood de Jager, Jean Kleyn, Asenathi Ntlabankanye, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Neethling Fouche, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Manie Libbok, Andre Esterhuizen.
Barbarians: Melvyn Jaminet, Mark Telea, Liecester Fainga’anaku, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkins, Jacob Jacomb, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Shannon Frizell, Sam Cane, Peter O’Mahony, David Ribbans, Ruben van Heerden, Paul Alo-Emile, Camille Chat, Cian Healy. Replacements: Ricky Ricatelli, Hassane Kolingar, Will Collier, Josh Bechre, Hoskins Sotutu, Santiago Arata, Joe Marchant, Lachlan Boshier.
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Kick-off: 17.10
Prediction: Boks to win by 15