Bad Boks can come good
| The team’s poor form so far this year doesn’t mean a thing at the World Cup
WINNING the Rugby World Cup has, with one exception, never been done by a team with the best form going into it.
Which is good news for the Springboks because they can be accused of many things, but taking promising form to the 2015 World Cup is not one of them.
If pre-tournament form were an accurate measurement of World Cup success, the All Blacks would have won six of the seven editions of the tournament, instead of two. The exception was in 2003 when England, the best team for two years leading up to the tournament, delivered on their potential.
So in many ways indifferent form is not a bad thing for the Springboks, who have struggled with complacency in games they think they should win.
Their defeat by Argentina in Durban last month was an example of that and five defeats in eight tests before the World Cup are reasons for concern, but it’s not unprecedented.
In 2007 the Boks lost three of four Tri-Nations matches before the tournament in France (two of those were played using players from an under-strength touring squad), but they went on to win the world title.
Obviously all coaches strive for their teams to peak at the right time, and in 2015 that time is in October. So losing three of four Rugby Championship matches won’t unduly worry the Boks. With the amount of rugby played these days, losing is a familiar experience for players, so it won’t knock their confidence.
John Smit, who captained the victorious 2007 team, is able to give perspective on the World Cup and the ability of the Boks to rise to the occasion regardless of what’s happened before.
“The Springboks can win the World Cup. They have the players and they have the ability to refocus and motivate themselves,” Smit said in reference to the way the Boks bounced back after losing to Argentina with an impressive display in Buenos Aires a week later.
“They completely lifted themselves in a tough environment to win against Argentina only seven days after they were humbled.
“Make no mistake, winning the World Cup is tough, and this year it might even be tougher, because of their potential play-off opponents (SA could face Australia in the quarterfinals and New Zealand in the semifinals).
“But the great thing about World Cups is that it brings out the best in the Springboks.
“Heyneke has a plan and knows how he’s going to achieve it. Losing to Argentina could actually turn out to be a good thing, because it was the wakeup call the team needed.”
It’s easy to forget that in two of their Rugby Championship matches this year— against the Wallabies in Brisbane and the All Blacks at Ellis Park — the Springboks were dominant.
There was plenty of evidence in both matches that when on song they make the best teams struggle.
The beauty of the World Cup is that the form book may as well be used as a doorstop. The All Blacks are the best team in the world and even if they don’t win the World Cup this year they will remain the best team on the planet.
But their consistency does not automatically give them the right to be called world champions, just as the Boks’ inconsistency shouldn’t exclude them from a discussion about being serious contenders. ROGER Federer hopes to ride a wave of emotion as he targets a sixth US Open title and 18th major today in a “straight shootout” against world number one Novak Djokovic.
Federer, 34, is bidding to become the oldest champion in New York since 35-year-old Australian Ken Rosewall in 1970.
Playing in his 27th grand slam final and seventh at the US Open, Federer, the champion from 2004 to 2008 and runner-up in 2009, is a man reborn.
After losing his second Wimbledon final in succession to Djokovic in July, the Swiss veteran beat the Serb on his way to a seventh Cincinnati Masters crown.
He has also not dropped a set since his All England Club defeat, a stretch of 28 sets.
At the US Open, he has held
Federer also has the crowd on his side as he pursues his first grand slam title since Wimbledon in 2012