The ‘Rassie Factor’ has made the Boks a formidable force

The muted, matter-of-fact way the Springboks greeted the final hooter at the Cape Town Stadium at the weekend told a story - they know this series is not over yet, the rubber is not won and the scores will start at zero when the third and deciding test against the British and Irish Lions starts on Saturday.

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What they do have now though is momentum, and what their opponents will know is that they have returned to the formidable force they were when they beat overwhelming favourites England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.

After getting the better of the contest in the first half, the Lions, who had finished with a flourish in the first test, ended the second scarcely able to raise a whimper.

After the first test it was the Boks who had questions hanging over them, now the focus has been trained firmly on the Lions and what they need to fix.

Some are calling for an entirely new back three, there are calls for changes at flyhalf, scrumhalf and in the midfield. The Lions are an adaptable squad, perhaps one of the most adaptable squads in terms of their potential to play different ways in the history of the game.

BOK PHYSICALITY A BIG ISSUE FOR LIONS

Finn Russell at flyhalf would make a quantum difference to how the Lions can play, so would Bundee Aki or Owen Farrell at inside centre. But it is less clear what can be changed in the area where change is most needed if you are going to beat the Springboks - namely at forward.

By the end of the second test, the same message that was drummed out in the South Africa A game three weeks ago was repeated. The Lions do battle with the Bok physicality.

The Lions have a mountain to climb if they want to win the series now, and they know it. Perhaps they can climb it, but what weighs against them now is the cohesiveness and passion of a South African squad that has been galvanised by the same kind of factors that fuelled their World Cup triumph.

Those who understand the South African mindset will know that the acrimony that is now hovering like a dark cloud over the series will favour the Boks. The us-versus-them mentality, the need to make a point against the detractors will drive them, only, it is a bit different now to what it was in 2019.

Back then there was a drive that was inspired by something bigger than the game. To put it simply and paraphrase it, there was a perception that they were going to war to save South Africa, to make a struggling country a better place. It is always thus for the Boks in World Cups and it is again in this series.

CONDEMNATION OF RASSIE HAS ADDED PERSONAL MOTIVATION

Only now, something extra has been added to the flames that drive the Bok passion. It has become personal and the waves of foreign condemnation of the man they love so much, admire so much and would run through walls for due to his willingness to put himself on the line for them, will just add to their resolve and determination as Saturday’s series decider approaches.

Regardless of what you think of Rassie Erasmus’ video that was leaked last week, which featured a list of 26 incidents from the first test that he wanted clarity on from World Rugby, and which was just one minute shorter than the marathon first half, what can’t be contested is the support Erasmus has within the camp.

It started with skipper Siya Kolisi’s almost uncharacteristically being prepared to answer the controversial questions in last Friday’s eve of the match press conference. And boy, how strong was Kolisi’s on-field response to the challenge that had been thrown down.

Let’s not quibble with Makazole Mapimpi’s man of the match award, for he is an ace finisher. But it could just as easily have been Kolisi who walked away with the award.

At the Friday press conference, there was similar loyalty exhibited by assistant coach Mzwandile Stick. He claimed that Lions coach Warren Gatland started the war of words. You could argue that there was a huge difference in the magnitude or force of the respective volleys, but technically Stick is right.

The Boks were silent in the build-up to the first game, to the extent that some critics felt that the Lions had stolen a march on the hosts in the battle to influence the referees. Gatland was praised for being street smart. That would have stung Erasmus.

FINGERS CAN BE POINTED AT BOTH SIDES

It is easy to point at a pervasive childishness in the behaviour of these grown men, but it is a finger that can be pointed at both sides. For a start, what is this issue with the South African national director of rugby being a water boy if that is what he wants to do and is what his team wants him to be? Was all the air space devoted to that issue really necessary?

Who is right and who is wrong isn’t really the point though. The point is that the South Africans are firmly convinced, and there is a Rassie Factor that has come into play.

It is something that will make them that much harder to beat for a Lions team that looked a bit fatigued towards the end of the second test and may well be suffering for the cabin fever that should almost inevitably be starting to become a problem at this point of this most unusual of tours.

DUANE COULD ADD FURTHER IMPETUS

The Boks do have some injury concerns to start the week with. They managed to get around the loss of Pieter-Steph du Toit, who is such an influential figure because of his tireless engine, in the second test. But they won’t be comfortable with the thought of starting without him, and the same for scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, who is also carrying an injury doubt ahead of the decider.

Those injury concerns though are balanced out by the possible return of the immense figure of Duane Vermeulen. The World Cup-winning No 8 and man of the match in the final rejoined the Bok camp on Sunday after completing his rehabilitation following surgery on a calf injury.

His readiness to play will be determined by a medical assessment to be conducted on Monday, but just his presence will further galvanise the Bok group.

The most important talisman for the Boks though is not someone who plays. It is Erasmus. He is the cause that has given this Bok team an extra arm and a leg, and the more his actions that they see as having been in support of them are condemned and the more he is vilified, the stronger their resolve will become.