It took a few choice words of perspective from former Springbok captain Bob Skinstad on Linkedin, of all places, to put the 42-38 loss to the Wallabies in perspective.
“Depth gives you options. Whether you can deliver is another story. Yesterday’s match between the Boks and Wallabies proved that point,” Skinstad wrote.
“This was more than a test, but we can’t expect all experiments to go our way. The Boks kept compounding their errors. One bad pass led to another, and they started chasing the game instead of exploiting the numbers in front of them. The 13 changes gave us a fascinating look at our celebrated depth.
“You don't find out how good a system is by changing everyone and winning once. You find out by changing everything, exposing its weaknesses and learning from them.”
BRUTAL STRESS TEST
And that in a nutshell is exactly the point - albeit in a very brutal fashion - that coach Rassie Erasmus was trying to learn from on Saturday.
Forget the fact that this team has now been together for 18 weeks since before the Barbarians team, or that they travelled literally around the world - from Johannesburg to Baltimore to Perth to entertain this one off fixture. Those were decisions made that will hopefully serve the Boks well when the World Cup starts in a year’s time.
What turned out to be one of the most bizarre rugby games of all time - yellow cards, failing communications systems, a flat-footed Bok performance and an epic comeback that fell short, provided some exceptional entertainment and it wasn’t all for nothing.
Those who accuse the Boks of being arrogant by making 13 changes for the test fail to understand the core argument that Skinstad - and by implication - coach Rassie Erasmus puts forward.
While it is never good to lose a test match, and Bok fans know that more than most, some times the dice needs to be rolled. You need to lose a strategic battle to win the war, so to speak.
CHANGES WERE NEEDED
So when Erasmus made the 13 changes last week and raised eyebrows with talk about depth, the reality was that after a brutal Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, a refresh was needed. The same group of players had beaten the All Blacks in four of the most physical consecutive games played, and one of them was on another continent.
Some players need a profound break from action. They have literally put their bodies on the line.
And while Erasmus may only take 33 players to the World Cup, he needs to know exactly where they stand under stress conditions. The Wallabies are a rising team and played exceptionally well.
They had the Boks’ number at Ellis Park last season and almost in Cape Town again. To play a first choice side against them in a one-off test that means nothing otherwise would be a wasted opportunity.
What was disappointing was the disjointed nature of the performance, and the way the team looked flat-footed and rusty. You can replicate so much in a training session but only game conditions give you a challenge you need.
And Sunday’s game was that challenge. It was a challenge that taught the Boks a lot about their depth.
The team selected wasn’t simply a second choice team. It was a team of players who had not played together and there were others that could have been selected. Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Cameron Hanekom, and Cobus Wiese come to mind. All of those would have made the pack stronger.
BOKS HAD AN EYE ON RWC
What this was - as Skinstad points out - was a stress test for the systems. Those players need to carry the load through the first month of the tournament and when there are injuries, they need to step up and be counted.
In 2022 the Boks made 14 changes and lost by a point to Wales in Bloemfontein. But it laid the foundation for the 2023 World Cup triumph. Erasmus knew what he was doing, even though it didn’t seem like it at the time.
That starting line up included a number of players who would go to the World Cup, but more importantly it included players that would drop out of Bok contention. Joseph Dweba, Marcell Coetzee, Evan Roos, Jaden Hendrikse, and Warrick Gelant in the starting line-up and Rynhardt Elstadt on the bench for instance.
That stress test was necessary for the Boks and while nobody can ever excuse a Springbok loss, we may well look back on this game as a stress test that delivered the results. Several players would have told Erasmus all he needs to know about next year’s World Cup.
RASSIE WOULD HAVE LEARNT A LOT
Erasmus pointed that out afterwards in the press conference, where he admitted the Boks only had themselves to blame for the loss.
“Yeah, listen, I know South Africans' supporters - if I want to say now we're learning a lot while we're losing, they'll be upset,” Erasmus said.
“No - if we'd pulled this through, I would sit here and say, “we learned a lot about our players, and again tonight about tight situations." If I say it when we lose, it's a cliché, but the matter of fact is Australia is a good team - they've definitely improved a lot since Les Kiss has been there.
“They play at home, they're the World Cup hosts next year - we might strike them in a vital play-off game, and it's like we had a taste of them tonight, so next year when we play them we will also know a little bit better, more about each other. So I'm not going to say lessons learned, but I think a valuable experience for us happened tonight.”
Erasmus continued by saying they had learnt a lot before the World Cup next year, where they are scheduled to face either the All Blacks or Wallabies in the quarterfinal.
“And because the World Cup is in Australia next year, and we could get either them or New Zealand in the quarterfinals depending on how the log goes, and because the World Cup is in Australia, I'd rather say we've gained a bit more information on how Australia play, if we happen to meet them there.
“But at the end of the day we can only point fingers at ourselves. I know we made 13 changes, but the guys have been training together a long time now, and obviously, technically and tactically, we made mistakes - but the one thing I am proud of is that the guys didn't stop fighting, that we're proud of each other, that we didn't stop fighting, and in the end it was a four-point game.
"We're not proud of it, but that's what it is - we'll eat the humble pie, and go back to work.”
BOKS WILL GET BACK TO WORK
This Bok side has “gone to work” before. They have lost games in both World Cup campaigns they emerged victorious from, as well as the British and Irish Lions and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tours. While no Springbok loss is ever celebrated, the learnings are massive from them and this Bok side has shown they do learn and they do come back better.
As Skinstad points out, it is no good having depth if you don’t stress test it. The Boks have done that against the All Blacks in Wellington last year, they did it against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld and they have done it now against the Wallabies.
And they will have learnt so much more than playing a stronger side would.
So while the changes may have backfired, the lessons learnt may be the most valuable. If they can pull through next season and use them to their advantage.
Springbok supporters might not like losing a game ever, and the stress test backfired a bit. But come next November we will know if it was worth it or not.