SOUTH AFRICA 46 SAMOA 6
They came in South African blazers, Springbok jerseys and scarves to deck out the intimate Villa Park in green and gold. Birmingham felt like mini Ellis Park, minus the braai and copious amount of beer, but just as electric.
They chanted ‘‘Bokke, Bokke’’ and ‘‘Beast’’ for prop Tendai Mtawarira throughout. The 39,526 crowd gave lineout legend Victor Matfield a standing ovation.
And, after a commanding sixtry 46-6 win over Samoa, one which included a bonus point, they left with confidence restored.
An immensely proud rugby nation was brought to its knees in Brightona week ago. Humiliated is not a stretch.
Japan deserve their upset. No doubt about that and no-one will ever take that historic moment away from them. But the Boks were embarrassed.
Coach Heyneke Meyer didn’t sleep for two days. Players shed tears early in the week. Calls were widespread to axe captain Jean de Villiers. The vitriol came from all angles.
Indeed, the 34-32 loss was a dark day in South African rugby in a dark year for South African sport. Remember the Proteas’ loss to the Black Caps in the Cricket World Cup semifinal at Eden Park? Or Bafana Bafana’s shock 3-1 defeat to Mauritania during the African Cup of Nations qualifiers?
After losing five of their last six tests a response was inevitable here from the two-time Rugby World Cup champions. They knew they had let their jersey down. They knew they must restore pride.
Samoa knew what was coming but were powerless to contain the Boks fury. They were never really in the fight – and in the mood the Boks turned up in, it was never a fair contest. Samoa defended with heart but their ill discipline put them under far too much pressure and their lineout couldn’t hit a beat.
This is exactly what we expect from the Boks. Their forward were punishing. Adriaan Strauss, Eben Etzebeth, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Burger were all powerful on the charge. Samoa are a hugely physical team but the Boks absorbed everything they had to give and gave it back 10-fold. Ice baths will be needed.
The Boks rolling maul and scrum were scary; back to their vaunted best. The maul especially laid an exemplary platform which allowed second five-eighth Damian de Allende and fullback Willie le Roux to shine. Halfback Fourie de Preez controlled proceedings with precision; first-five Handre Pollard challenged the line and kicked superbly, scoring 14 points.
When JP Pietersen scored the second of his hat-trick of tries with 30 minutes remaining the sun began to set behind the stands.
So, too, did Samoa’s hopes of mounting any realistic comeback. There would be no great upsets to match their dual triumphs over the Welsh in 1991 and ‘99.
On this evidence the Boks must again be considered genuine contenders. Scotland, their next opponents, will certainly be worried. Even after the Japan upset Meyer’s men could easily top their pool.
How quickly we write off teams in sport. How quickly we can be reminded of their calibre and class.
Yesterday South Africa exhaled. No-one has ever won the World Cup after losing their first pool match.
But, yesterday, South Africa’s proud rugby team is, once again, a force to be reckoned with.
Today their team delivered a profound message.
Write them off again at your peril.