SA fans celebrate Toetie’s series win

IT was ugly, and possibly even unfair on the Irish, but the Springboks’ victory over the tourists on Saturday had management, players and supporters breathing huge sighs of relief.

Not too long ago, a home series triumph over the Irish would have been expected of South Africa without them breaking into too much of a sweat. But Allister Coetzee’s squad is a new lot, and a group which perhaps lacks the depth and maturity of previous Bok teams.

Ahead of the series, coach Coetzee said it would take some time for the unit to knit properly. Well, Bok supporters were up in arms when they lost the first test to 14 men.

In the second, the side were booed off the park in Johannesburg until a stunning comeback saw them clinch the narrowest of wins. We knew heading into the test at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium that it was going to be a tight one.

And so it proved as the Irish made most of the running and the Boks pulled out all the stops to keep them at bay in an unspectacular yet enthralling duel between two sides desperate for victory.

Ireland had their chances and blew many of them. As Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said afterwards, “we got a couple of nice invites tonight that we didn’t turn up for”.

Yes, it was not the most convincing performance the Boks have produced, but one has to give the inexperienced side credit for winning when the chips were down.

It was a result that could have gone either way, but thankfully for the 42 000-plus mostly South African fans in the stadium, the favourable result was achieved on the night.

Far sterner tests await Coetzee’s Springboks this South African winter and early summer.

They first contest the Rugby Championship against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina in August and then travel to Europe in November where teams will be hungry for Springbok blood.

But, for now, let’s all celebrate “Toetie’s” first series win under trying circumstances.