Home from home for the All Blacks

There’s nothing quite like restoring that good ol’ feeling in South African rugby as a rare victory over the old enemy, the All Blacks.

The entire country has been in a near state of hysteria following the Springboks’ unexpected 36-34 triumph in Wellington last week, which was only the Boks’ 36th win in 96 Tests against the All Blacks, and the second in their last 13 match-ups.

In one week, coach Rassie Erasmus has been transformed from villain to hero.

And today, significantly, marks precisely one year before the Boks and the All Blacks will clash at the World Cup in Japan.

Which brings me to the next point: their imminent re-match.

It seems significant that the Test was given to Loftus Versfeld because the Boks’ poorest record against New Zealand has been racked up at this venue.

In five Tests at Loftus, the Boks have won only once, and that was back in 1970 when Dawie de Villiers’ team secured a 17-6 victory.

The last four Tests they have played in Pretoria, however, have all been won by the New Zealanders, and the tourists have not scored less than 33 points on each occasion.

In 1996, the All Blacks won 33-26, in 1999 they won 34-18, in 2003 they racked up a then-record margin of 52-16, while the last time they played there in 2006, they thrashed South Africa 45-26.

Without trying to be a party-pooper, when the Boks beat the All Blacks in 2014 it was also thought the national team had turned a corner, but then we had to wait an agonising four years for the next win.

There’s no denying the Boks were supercharged in Wellington, but it has also been suggested the All Blacks could have taken SA a tad lightly after disappointing defeats to Argentina and Australia.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen an All Black performance riddled with so many mistakes.

While the pressure applied by the Boks could have played a part, the fact is that the men in black seemed a bit off-colour, especially going off the boil after taking an early 12-0 lead.

The only way the Boks could prove their naysayers wrong, after being accused of a flashin-the-pan performance, is to match that effort at Loftus, with tickets already sold out for the October 6 spectacle.

It just seems, however, that the All Blacks simply love playing in the nation’s capital city.