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YEAR-END WRAP: 2023 - A legendary tale of Springbok gold

rugby28 December 2023 19:47
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As 2023 draws to a close, it is hard not to reflect on a Springbok year that must, by some extent, be one of the greatest ever in the proud history of the Green and Gold.

After all, the tale of a Rugby World Cup win - back to back - under the most trying of circumstances would be the dream of any Hollywood scriptwriter, and what it means to a nation of rugby nuts underlines just how incredible the achievement is.

Because when historians look back at the amazing success of a 2023 World Cup-winning team, they will see unity, diversity, determination and inspiration.

They will see a team led by one of the greatest captains that has ever set foot on a rugby field, who not only inspired his own team and a nation to greater heights, but inspired a rugby world to, at least for a moment, drop their own biases and acknowledge this Springbok side as one of the best ever as they became the first team ever to be crowned four-time Rugby World Cup champions.

And it wasnโ€™t as if there werenโ€™t those trying to shoot the Boks down or detract from their victory.

The post-World Cup snub at the World Rugby awards was a telling reminder of that, as was the sour grapes that accompanied their victory in every playoff game in the final weeks of the competition.

Not content with making Rassie Erasmus their pantomime villain before the tournament, and with hysterical nervous pundit breakdowns of โ€œhow could they do that?โ€ with each Bok bench innovation, the defeated nations turned on the officials, both in France and New Zealand, while the English press tried and failed to make one of the core players in the Bok team - Bongi Mbonambi - a hated player.

All the while the Boks emerged from every match, every sideshow and every challenge stronger and glowing with grace.

It set them on a record-breaking journey of hope and desperation, a journey of self-belief and determination, to deliver the Webb Ellis trophy back to an adoring nation.

And at the end of one of the most contentious tournaments ever, stand proudly at the top of the world.

So join us as we journey back into an absorbing, enthralling eight weeks of rugby that gave us multiple heart scares, and left us in the afterglow of one of the greatest World Cup victories ever.

THE BUILD UP

The season kicked off with an impressive dismantling of Eddie Jonesโ€™s Australia at Loftus Versfeld but if the expected anxiety was to kick in, it came a few weeks later at Mount Smart stadium in Auckland, where the Boks froze for the first 20 minutes and were down 17-0 against the All Blacks.

Many were hoping that the clash would be a repeat of 2018 and 2019 in Wellington, which set the Boks off on their World title campaign, but those hopes were well and truly dashed. While the Boks did recover, they were shell-shocked, eventually losing 35-20.

Still, they kept the faith and Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus continued to plot their way forward, with double workmanlike wins over Argentina before a record-breaking win over Wales in Cardiff (who, to be fair, were very under-strength) set them up for a return at Twickenham with the All Blacks.

A late injury to Willie le Roux gave them an opening and the Boks shocked the world again.

The bomb squad became the nuclear squad as they went 7-1 - something unheard of in world rugby.

Pundits were aghast and calls were even made for World Rugby to intervene.

It was one of South Africa's best performances ever against the All Blacks, erasing the memories of Auckland as they recorded their biggest ever victory over their old foes.

However, despite that dominant win fashioned by some good-old innovation, the Boks still werenโ€™t favourites for the World Cup.

The World Cup draw was horrible and the Southern Hemisphere sides werenโ€™t expected to progress. This was the 'Year of the North' after all, or so we were told.

Ireland were number one in the world, and would conquer. Or it would be France. Glorious France, the northern pundits cried, deserved the tournament.

They had the worldโ€™s best team, the richest league and everything going for them. There was no way the Southern Hemisphere would dominate again...

POOL ROUNDS

The Springboksโ€™ first test would come against the big-talking Scots. So much hype blew up around the Scots that for the casual observer it seemed they were a real threat for the Boks and perhaps Ireland as well.

In the end though, the Scots were no match for the Boks, rarely troubled them and succumbed to the brilliance of Manie Libbokโ€™s no-look kick for Kurt-Lee Arendse in the corner.

Cobus Reinach and Makazole Mapimpi, meanwhile, dispatched Romania as the Boks romped home 76-0 to take another step forward on their World Cup path.

But it was the war of attrition against Ireland that set the tongues wagging.

The Boks, while creating many chances, couldnโ€™t seem to round off and with a bit of 'offish' kicking from Manie Libbok, went down 13-8.

The Irish celebrated, and it seemed the northern dream was about to come to fruition, especially after France beat New Zealand in the opening game.

The rest of the pool rounds were uneventful, but the real drama came off the field, where Malcolm Marx was injured and left the tournament, and a hooker was replaced by flyhalf Handre Pollard, who along with Lukhanyo Am, werenโ€™t in the initial squad for the tournament.

Pollardโ€™s arrival settled goalkicking nerves and his performance against Tonga was a reminder of his worth.

But it wasnโ€™t perfect. Even though the Boks scored eight tries, predictions were already against them going into the quarterfinals.

France, the hosts, and pre-determined favourites for the tournament were waiting, and very few outside SA gave the Boks a chance.

A SPECTACLE FOR THE AGES

If there ever was a World Cup game to serve as the template for what all World Cup games should be, it was the epic quarterfinal between the hosts and defending champions.

A classic game in all respects and it was sad there had to be a loser.

From the kickoff the French made their intentions clear and Cyril Baille went over early to give them the lead.

Tries by Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian de Allende saw the Boks hit back and then Peato Mauvaka equalised with a try of his own.

It was heart-stopping stuff and the drama continued when Cheslin Kolbeโ€™s 'Superman' charge-down of Thomas Ramosโ€™s kick denied France two extra points for the conversion.

Kolbe grabbed a try of his own thanks to Jesse Krielโ€™s grubber and Baile hit back once more for France.

Penalties either side of halftime gave the French a decent lead going into the second half, but as Superman efforts go, Eben Etzebeth made up for his yellow card by powering over the line with half the French backline on his back.

And then when it mattered Handre Pollard stepped up and slotted the kick that broke French hearts.

Afterwards Kolisi opened up again on the squadโ€™s motivation.

"We knew how tough it was going to be. I must give credit to the guys that came off the bench, they came and made a huge difference.

"And most importantly, the people back at home. Honestly, the support that we've received. You know, they can't afford to be here but the videos, the schools singing for us and the videos.

"We play for the nation, it's not about us on this field any more, it's about the people back home and that's what's driving us."

SOUR GRAPES AND A CONTROVERSY CANโ€™T DISRUPT THE TEAM

The French, unfortunately, werenโ€™t so classy in their reaction, with many sending threats to the officials, and one fan even sending death threats to Cobus Reinach on social media.

Antoine Dupont whinged after the game about the reffing decisions and the reaction towards the Boks from the French media and fans changed dramatically in the aftermath of the game.

But waiting for them was England, a side never short on a conspiracy theory and a press pack to boot.

Steve Borthwick's team presented a tough challenge, and indicated they wouldnโ€™t be looking to match the Bok speedsters.

After their 32-10 humiliation in 2019 the English had plenty of motivation going into the game and tactically were superb.

They didnโ€™t play much rugby, sticking to the percentages and using both the boot of Alex Mitchell and Owen Farrell to keep the Boks playing an aerial battle.

The rain didnโ€™t help either and tactically, at least at first, the English were better, going into the break with a 12-6 lead.

Farrell extended that to 15-6 before RG Snyman used his spiderman arms to get over the line and Pollard converted to leave it a two point game.

But every game needs a hero and the Boks were running out of time. Someone needed to step up and take the cake and Ox Nche happily accepted that role.

With Vincent Koch later joining him, he demolished the England scrum four times, and the fifth, with 90 seconds left, gave Pollard the perfect opportunity to drill home a 50-metre penalty.

Again a one-point victory and again a host of complaints about refereeing decisions from the English.

But this time there was a twist. This time a controversy reared its ugly head head as Tom Curry complained to referee Ben Oโ€™Keefe that Bongi Mbonambi had called him a โ€œwhite C***โ€ - a slur denied by Mbonambi but picked up by the ravenous English press, whose reaction to losing coincided with their sudden hunger to chase the Bok story.

Without Marx already and with Deon Fourie, flank/hooker as the only specialist left, the Boks could be in crisis if they lost Mbonambi.

World Rugbyโ€™s investigation found no evidence backing the claim and while some werenโ€™t happy, the Boks moved on.

A FINAL FILLED WITH TENSION

The final was never going to be a cakewalk and it it was never going to be a repeat of Twickenham. It would always be a tough ride.

An All Black team, smarting from the Twickenham loss, would always run the Boks close.

The stats confirm it, and the game was as tight as can be. Four first-half penalties from Pollard gave the Boks the lead but the All Blacks came back strong in the second half.

Sam Cane saw red for a head clash, Siya Kolisi saw yellow, as did Cheslin Kolbe (albeit for a deliberate knock down) and a drama- fuelled final served to only heighten the nerves.

Aaron Smith was denied his try, but Beauden Barrett was awarded his, even though the debates will go on for years if the pass was forward.

As the clock ticked down, the Bok scrum held firm and Wayne Barnes blew his finals whistle.

Both teams finished with 14 men, but the Boks finished with one point more.

In a tense final that enthralled and captivated, it was the Boks' grit and determination that won it for them in the end.

And Kolisi once again stood tall on the winnerโ€™s podium with the trophy in hand.

EPILOGUE

And so ended a tale of heart-stopping victories, a tale of one-point wins and a nation with stress levels that fluctuated so rapidly over the eight weeks that it could be a case study in itself.

A tale of obstacles overcome, of heroes and villains, of sour grapes and glory.

And of a team that did it all for their adoring fans.

Siya Kolisi and his team. Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus, all were crowned in glory despite the critics, the threats, the controversies and naysayers.

The got to tour the country and watch the elation of making a nation truly happy, of having achieved something so remarkable of winning back to back World Cup that only one team has done it before.

They underlined the fact that the nation really is stronger together and that it can overcome everything if it is united.

Kolisi famously told one interviewer, โ€œwe are the last line of defenceโ€.

The Springboks are hope personified, guts and glory in Green and Gold.

And the tale of 2023 will always go down as that. A legend of a team that overcame everyone, played the top five teams in the world on the way to the title, and were so much more than just a team of sportsmen.

UFC fighter Dricus du Plessisโ€™s slogan: โ€œHulle weet nie wat ons weet nie!โ€ (They donโ€™t know what we know) was adopted by Erasmus and others in the final weeks as a battle cry.

This victory was more than just a sporting triumph and Springbok supporters know that.

And that is why 2023 will forever live as a golden year.

And this Bok team have earned their status as rugby legends.

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