Kudos to winners, respect to losers
The curtain has come down on the World Cup in Japan. South Africa’s victory over England in the final equalled the All Blacks’ record of three World Cup titles. Rassie Erasmus’ charges saved their best performance for last.
There was plenty of uninformed analysis on how the Springboks changed their game plan in six days and one training session.
However, that was not the case. The men in green-and- gold instead executed their original plan to perfection. The victory was underpinned by scrum dominance, heroic defence and winning the aerial battle. And then when the opportunity presented itself the Springboks scored.
In contrast, England went in with the wrong plan. They thought they could outflank and outwit the South African defence. They tried to carry the ball early on and it was a disaster. They gave a hungry, underdog Springboks team something to smash, which was ludicrous.
Hindsight is an exact science and it’s far too simplistic to say that England played their final in the semifinal against the All Blacks. I believe it’s about either having energy on the field or not. The one thing you don’t want the underdogs to do is get their tails up by smashing you.
England literally held out a red flag to the bull and said, ‘‘Here we are, tackle us!’’ And that is what South Africa did.
The fact is the South African forward unit beat the English pack. For me, that is 100 per cent where the World Cup was won because you could see the spring in the step of the South Africans and their vibe compared to the English, who literally looked as if they were worried and uncomfortable all match.
It’s very easy looking back with a retrospective scope but in terms of the All Blacks, the introduction of Ben Smith, Ryan
The All Blacks earned more respect in losing than they would have got by winning.
Crotty and Rieko Ioane further strengthened them for the bronze medal match. The All Blacks, who played a brilliant brand, came up with a great performance against Wales and finished the tournament on a high, albeit in third place.
I have always respected the All Blacks for the way they play rugby but this World Cup I was blown away by their humility and value systems. It’s easy talking a good game when you are winning but your true colours come out during adversity.
The All Blacks were amazing and my respect is with them. In sport, people get so obsessed with results and the real reason for being human beings is lost because we keep measuring success by results.
In my eyes, the All Blacks earned more respect in losing than they would have got by winning. It’s not doom and gloom for the All Blacks, who failed to clinch a third successive World Cup title, and they will without a doubt be very good going forward.
South African Brendan Venter is a 1995 Rugby World Cup winner and a former assistant coach of the Springboks.