Paterson: Boks pride is back
7 Jun 2006
Under Jake White the Springboks have returned to their rightful place on the world rugby ladder, says Scotland fullback Chris Paterson.
When the Scots toured South Africa in 2003, veteran Gregor Townsend was reported as saying the Boks had lost their invincible aura at home. The Scots honestly felt they could beat the Boks on home soil. It caused a massive uproar, with Bok management clearly incensed at the thought.
But the ensuing two-Test series proved those comments were not far off the truth, despite the Boks winning 2-0. It is unlikely the same will occure this time round.
The Boks had to come back from a 25-12 deficit with 20 minutes remaining to burgle a win in the first Test in Durban. In the series decider at Ellis Park a week later, the Scots led 16-12 at the break, before the Boks fought back again to win 28-19.
A lot has changed though. “The difference between the Test series in 2003 and our match at Murrayfield in 2004 was massive,†Paterson told keo.co.za.
The Scots who had triumphed 21-6 in Edinburgh in 2002, were confident especially after the encouraging result in South Africa the previous year.
But the Boks hammered the Scots 45-10, quite possibly a backlash from the 32-16 defeat by England at Twickenham, to bury the ghosts of 2002.
“Jake has done a great job with the Springboks, taking them from 6th in the world to No 2. And they were the only team to beat New Zealand last year.â€
Paterson dismissed the Boks struggle against the World XV, saying the team that will contest the two-Test series will be full of experienced heads, with all the right qualities.
And Scotland is no longer cannon-fodder as they displayed in their gritty wins over England and France in this years’ Six Nations. The last time the Boks beat England was in the 1999 World Cup quarter-final in Paris. A concerted team effort will be required to thwart this Scottish challenge nontheless.
By Andrew Hollely
55 Comments
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7 Jun 2006, 17:35 pm
Jake_White,
One other thing. You said you had a couple of tries in your last game disallowed but they were marginal calls. I’m not sure if i was watching the same game or not, but i didn’t see too many marginal calls go against you. The Bok backline didn’t look as if they could have broken out of a wet paper bag last weekend, they were that poor.
To say you could have won by a margin of 20+ is a big call to make, especially when you take into account your forwards were unable to dominate and it was in fact the World XV who looked the more likely to score tries.
It’s great that you are passionate about supporting the Boks, but please try and show a little objectivity instead of letting your rabid bias for all things green and gold get in the way.
7 Jun 2006, 17:36 pm
No idea Rudebud
7 Jun 2006, 17:37 pm
I was hoping to have a bit of discussion about the game and rugby in general, but i think this thread is a bit dead
7 Jun 2006, 22:40 pm
Scots always play with guts,determination and pride ! Even if they lose,they play their hearts out
8 Jun 2006, 09:33 am
no 2 is meaningless when you compare the performance of the springboks against for arguement sake against a pro tennis player ranked no 2
the boks are overrated and overpaid
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