It wasn’t the rousing response to defeat many Springbok fans may have hoped for or even expected but coach Rassie Erasmus summed up afterwards what the return clash with Australia in Cape Town was all about - just getting the win to reclaim confidence dented in Johannesburg.
“Sometimes you just need to get back on the horse,” said Erasmus after a clash that, with 10 minutes to go, could have gone either way before the South Africans rediscovered the penchant for winning the big moments that has made them world champions.
In truth, it was way short of the convincing performance needed ahead of the seismic and long awaited clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park, but then the perception of the Boks as massive underdogs heading towards the venue in Auckland that the Kiwis rightly claim as their fortress would have shifted a few hours after the DHL Stadium game ended.
Credit should go to Argentina for the way they outplayed the All Blacks just like credit should go to Australia for coming to South Africa and picking up five log points to four and outscoring the Boks nine tries to six across the two matches.
The Pumas, like the Boks, probably gained from having played a tough game against the Kiwis the week before, and were clearly more battle hardened in Buenos Aires.
And that’s where two bits of context need to be applied before there’s any definitive answer about where the Boks stand after their opening two matches. The Wallabies came to South Africa off three tough and intense battles against the British and Irish Lions.
It was thought beforehand it might not matter, the Boks would still be too good. And in truth you wouldn’t have thought it was the South Africans who were rusty in the first 20 minutes in Johannesburg.
JOBURG START BEST RUGBY SCHMIDT HAS SEEN FROM BOKS
That was when they went into a 22-0 lead after 17 minutes playing the most perfect rugby the Boks have ever played, a view that was endorsed by Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt at the weekend.
“I thought the first 20 minutes in Johannesburg, when they just didn’t let us breathe, was the best window of rugby I have ever seen from the Springboks,” said Schmidt when asked if the Boks had improved in Cape Town on what they did at Emirates Airlines Park.
The message there is clear - the Boks do have ability, they do have massive potential to press on to become almost invincible if they can get the right balance to their game.
In Cape Town they went back to what most would consider their traditional conservative approach, or let’s refer to it as a more kick based strategy. They kicked 35 times in this most recent game, nearly twice as much as in Johannesburg.
But the conditions always dictated that they should play that way, regardless of what had happened the week before, when they diverted from the aerial attack that got them dividends in the early minutes.
The Boks subverted their own plan in Johannesburg by being too frenetic with their attacking attempts and overplaying, but in Cape Town there was some evidence of rust.
Or maybe to be more accurate there were indications that the rotation selection policy, as necessary as it is if the Boks are to go to the 2027 World Cup in Australia with clarity and freshness, does have its drawbacks.
For the Boks did look like a team that has played together before but hasn’t done it often recently. And that hadn’t warmed up against a top opponent before the start of the Rugby Championship.
Although France sent an understrength team to New Zealand, the All Blacks did get a tougher workout, which is why like the Wallabies they were more battle hardened and ready to go the 80 minutes in the first week.
INJURY CONCERNS
The Boks made an incremental improvement in Cape Town while the Los Pumas made a massive improvement in Buenos Aires. Both teams are up and running now as they head to the halfway point of what promises to be the most competitive and closely fought Rugby Championship ever, although for all teams there are injury concerns.
Which introduces the second bit of context to why the Boks didn’t score the big win against the Wallabies some would have expected - the late changes to the team factored against the hosts, with the withdrawal on the day of the game of Jean-Luc du Preez leaving the Bok back row lacking balance and with centre Andre Esterhuizen as the only backup loose-forward.
When it was learned that Du Preez had withdrawn, many of those who’d predicted a big Bok win would have changed their minds. Kwagga Smith did play well at No 8 but he is not a like-for-like replacement for Du Preez.
Considering they effectively only had Marco van Staden as a specialist regular starter in the back row position he played in in Cape Town, the Boks did well to win.
The squad for Auckland will be announced later on Monday and it will tell us just how much of a chance the South Africans have of breaking the long sequence of New Zealand success, which extends over 31 years, at Eden Park.
Bok fans should be holding thumbs that Pieter-Steph du Toit is available to tour, and ditto Siya Kolisi. Jasper Wiese will complete the trifecta when he is available again after suspension for the second game in New Zealand, which will be played in Wellington.
WEEKEND CASTLE LAGER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
South Africa 30 Australia 22
Argentina 29 New Zealand 23