Folklore has spoken … Boks by 15
27 Sep 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in Business Day Sport Monthly, writes it will be the Boks by 15 against the Aussies at Loftus on Saturday. At least that’s what history says.
Perception too often is accepted as fact. The perception of excellence in Springbok rugby is an illusion. The fact is the Springboks lose a lot of Test matches and have done so consistently over the last century.
They have a win percentage that has on occasion threatened 65% but is closer to 60%. It has always been this way. There have been some magnificent teams. Equally there have been some shockers, who have taken beatings abroad and been humiliated at home.
Time dulls the memory. Results are forgotten, folklore ensures only the good times are remembered and the good in one era become very good. The 30 metre kick to beat the All Blacks is now 60 metres. The tough men of the early 1900s were man mountains and when the current pretenders deliver a depressing result, the obvious is to hanker back to the days when Bok midfielders were more imposing than town marshalls – all 76 kilograms of them.
The modern player would not survive the amateur era. ‘In my day,’ says a player, who forgets he ever lost a Test.
‘Steak, chips and a bottle of wine,’ says another. ‘That was the pre-Test meal.’ Those were the days apparently when men were men, the Springboks were something mystical and pasta was something only the Italians ate.
And so we romance the game, listen to the stories told by those who were there, who saw the 60 metre kick, although it could have been 70 metres and take comfort that the Springboks, if not today, then most days were destroyers of opposition dreams and the ultimate challenge in world rugby.
‘You win in the Republic. Then you can call yourself a rugby player. The South African public acknowledges you can play … boy then you can play.’
You’ve heard them all …
‘A wounded Bok is a dangerous animal … There is nothing as imposing as a Bok team written off … Beware the mighty Boks … Wait till you get to altitude …’
Then we recall a glory moment when the Boks were given no chance of victory and won; when the world dismissed the challenge of those giants in green and gold and were forced to concede the greatness of those rugby men from the Republic.
The storytelling goes beyond rugby. Historically, it has been a life identity. A Springbok … it is what every white boy dreams to become. Post apartheid it is what every South African boy wants to be.
In sporting isolation the legend rose more than it grew. Mortals were immortal and no team could claim anything until they had proved it in the Republic.
Thus, for 20 years, the Boks were the best team in the world. Our rugby was of superior quality; our players dominated every South African media World XV.
Our boys kicked 70 metre penalties (forget the small matter of altitude). Those blokes overseas, they can’t even knock them over from 50 (forget the small matter of sea level).
The television images don’t lie.
The rugby media, be it in print, on television or radio, reinforce the legend.
‘You can’t call yourselves the world champions until you beat the Boks.’ That’s our response to New Zealand’s claim to have won the first ever World Cup in 1987.
And then we hosted the 1995 World Cup final and beat the All Blacks 15-12 in a final that went into extra-time. Andrew Mehrtens, ironically born in Durban, had the chance to win it for New Zealand with a drop goal attempt from 20 metres out and right in front. His kick, with less than a minute to play of normal time, missed and the game ended 9-all.
It was God’s will, said the older folk. It was written in the stars said the team management. There was no way we could lose, said the players. A greater force was guiding them.
And don’t forget that when a Jew plays for the Boks, that’s even greater confirmation defeat is never a consideration.
The All Blacks, a year later in 1996, beat the Boks four times in five, with three of the wins in South Africa. They won in Cape Town, Durban and in Pretoria.
But when they lost the last of the five Tests in Johannesburg, order was restored and the Boks had again shown the Kiwis and the world just who was the best.
As the legend grew, so too did the belief that nothing but an emphatic victory every Saturday would suffice. A failure to deliver was treated with disgust; apparently such was the rarity.
‘How? We are the Boks … We don’t lose.’
But we do, too often when reality is measured against perception.
‘Not in my day,’ screams a newspaper headline. Another of yesterday’s heroes has given up on the jersey he once wore as symbol of superiority in everything rugby and most things generally.
‘I don’t watch the kids of today. They’re soft. I’d rather mow my lawn.’
The media fuels the frenzy. Another of the all-time greats, with a Test record of nine wins in 17, says he is embarrassed to call himself a Bok if the lot that just disgraced the jersey are still called Boks.
He is so disgusted at the Boks losing to Scotland he tells the media he is considering giving back his Bok blazer.
‘Scotland!’
Our game is in crisis. Legends want to mow the lawn and give back their prized green and gold Bok jersey.
‘It’s the blacks,’ say some. ‘They’ve destroyed everything and now they’ve even destroyed our rugby.’
Another of those giants of yesteryear is inspired to let the nation know there won’t be a future for the Boks by the year 2000.
The team will be black, they will be called something else and they will play in another colour jersey is his prophecy. But he no longer objects because at least the legacy of the green jersey, the Bok and the King’s crown won’t suffer more embarrassment.
‘This lot … in my day … when the game still had scrums, when a punch sorted the kings from the queens and when players could run, pass, dummy, side step and tackle … In my day.’
Bok rugby is again in crisis, screams another newspaper front-page lead story.
Apparently another legend of yesteryear is embarrassed. He is even thinking of moving to Australia because if he had ever produced such a passionless display he would have fled out of fear for his life; alternatively he would have done what men of those days did and claimed himself unworthy of the jersey and all things South Africa. He too would have fled the country, but the measure of his quality is that it would have been before they kicked him out.
The great grandfather is sullen. The grandfather tells the son it is because of the hurt at the Boks losing to Australia.
The blacks and ANC government are no longer to blame. It’s the cash. Professionalism and money are the evils.
The players are spoilt and greedy. Then the grandfather tells the eight year old. ‘Ah you would have loved it … Victor Matfield (paaaaleeeeeese). He wouldn’t have lasted a minute. Frik du Preez, now that is a lock. A giant of a man. Taller than anything these days, stronger, heavier and quicker than Habana. He could run, tackle, kick and pass. And boy could he scored tries, and he could drink.’
The boy logs onto the internet and wishes it was Frik out there earlier in the day.
The Boks he believed could not lose were not the real Boks.
The headline demands change. The coach must go; those imposters in green and gold must go. Alternatively, rugby in South Africa, as it was once known, will be dead.
Another of yesterday’s heroes says he fears the rest of the world thinks of us as Wales. He says there is no future for the game and he gives his 10 point plan to restore order the next week. It involves kicking out half the team and replacing the coach.
‘In my day,’ he tells the reporter. ‘Doc Craven would not have tolerated this. That guy’s career would be over. Those were the standards Craven demanded. This legend then boasts about the physicality of the Boks of his era and the brutality of the tackles and the magic ways of the wings and the length of penalty goals our flyhalves used to have to kick … in the wet, with a heavy leather ball, into a wind (not the breeze we get today … a wind) and in conditions that were mudbaths … not the carpets you call a rugby field.
Oh, and in those days you played for 80 minutes, he adds. You got up after being knocked out and you played. You broke your collar bone and you played. That was what the jersey meant to him and his teammates.
Now guys last 50 minutes and even that is too much because it is so easy to play club rugby in Japan for outrageous sums of money. It’s rugby’s blasphemy.
This legend too is thinking of heading to Australia where rugby union’s not even the first choice sport; yet those okes still beat us. What next?’
The national coach fronts the media, as if on trial for treason. A nation has been lied to, betrayed and insulted.
The coach promises the players will work harder, restore credibility and be true to the history of the jersey.
We hold our breath, we pat ourselves on the back that even in these foreign and dark times we can show such loyalty and we vow to watch the Boks the following week.
The grandson asks the grandfather if we can win.
‘We are the Boks,’ he says. ‘We don’t lose.’
And the grandson smiles. Order has been restored.
The legacy of the Boks is not dead. The game apparently is no longer in crisis and we will not be the Wales of rugby.
He logs onto the Internet and smiles even more. The legends of yesteryear won’t be going to Australia after all and one of the finest legends has laughed off reports that the Boks are a team that historically loses 40 percent of their Tests.
‘Not in my day,’ he has told the reporter. ‘And definitely not on Saturday. Boks to take it by 15 because we never lose.’
– This article first appeared in the October issue of Business Day Sport Monthly. The magazine is distributed free with Business Day newspaper on the second last Friday of each month.
703 Comments
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27 Sep 2012, 16:39 pm
@bokfan1-648: **** = h o o r
is dit nou n vloek woord?!
Oh yes in (old) English it is
27 Sep 2012, 16:39 pm
@CharlesM-649: it’s fine charles, nothing important, i promise.
27 Sep 2012, 16:41 pm
i’m looking for Afrikaans classes, the more i learn this language the funnier it gets…
27 Sep 2012, 16:50 pm
@bokfan1-648:
die lewe is maar somtyds n snaakse ou reis jong, bokfan.
sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the drive
27 Sep 2012, 16:51 pm
@CharlesM-649: HG is originally from Zim.
27 Sep 2012, 16:52 pm
@Transformation-653:
You come to me.
Ek sal jou leer.
27 Sep 2012, 16:52 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-654:
And for you, do some work along the way
27 Sep 2012, 16:53 pm
@bokfan1-648:
fok, ek het nou so lekker gelag
27 Sep 2012, 16:55 pm
@Transformation-624: better than ya baas. small steps
27 Sep 2012, 16:58 pm
@Transformation-653: Jissie Transie! You can say not to @Dawn-657 mfuwethu!
27 Sep 2012, 16:59 pm
@bokgat1-659: jammer engels man left in `86. half duiz
27 Sep 2012, 16:59 pm
@Transformation-653:
its funny transie.
but i suppose i’m actually an idiot too, which makes it funnier when my words catch me out
@Dawn-657:
you’re riight, i’m off then have deadlines and a microsoft project presentation i have have to make look cool, with lots of effects, showing how the deadlines will be met.
as my baas my nou kon sien..?..
27 Sep 2012, 16:59 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-658: Eks bly ou maat!
Jy laat my gereeld lekker gelag – veral as jy daai Kiwis gas gee.
Ek sal enige dag in d sele rugby span as jy speel met daai gees!
27 Sep 2012, 17:00 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-662:
Jy lieg
Jy doen vokkol
27 Sep 2012, 17:02 pm
@Dawn-656:
Klink gevaarlik…
27 Sep 2012, 17:03 pm
@Transformation-613: if Meyer does not heed then we lobby through the blog and force his hand – using people power.
27 Sep 2012, 17:03 pm
totsiens vir nou almal
en onthou, die kiwi mafia haat julle soos skape mense….
wakker slaap
27 Sep 2012, 17:04 pm
@RL-666: And then we strike!
27 Sep 2012, 17:04 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-667: Lekker dag meneer!
ek hoop hulle haat my MEER as die skape – want hulle is DOL oor skape
27 Sep 2012, 17:06 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-667: ek onhour maar vergeert mafia – lag
27 Sep 2012, 17:08 pm
So Keo – Folklore aside then – what do you reckon the final score will be on Saturday ?
27 Sep 2012, 17:09 pm
@bokfan1-663:
tjeers bokfan, en die selfde vir u ou maat
@Dawn-664:
true story dawn, i’ve got to make a moerse big microsoft project presentation.
i might have to wing it
.
cheers
27 Sep 2012, 17:13 pm
Graeme Smith ponders lucrative Surrey offer
Surrey have offered Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, a lucrative long-term deal that could potentially require him to give up international cricket.
ESPNcricinfo understands that Smith has been identified by Surrey as the perfect man to lead their rebuilding process after a season that saw the retirement of senior batsman Mark Ramprakash, the death of the talented Tom Maynard and the departure of former captain Rory Hamilton-Brown. Smith would open the batting and lead the side.
While it is possible that Surrey would consider signing Smith simply as an overseas player and be happy for him to continue his international career, it is understood that the club are looking for a long-term option and would be reluctant to accept a situation where a player comes and goes according to the international fixture list. (cricinfo)
England already trying to break up the Proteas in a bid to become no. 1 again.
27 Sep 2012, 17:18 pm
Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong…
27 Sep 2012, 17:28 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-672:
You might as well wing it. Nobody believes these project timelines anyway.
27 Sep 2012, 17:28 pm
@Heavens Game-674: HG – what the hell are you doing?
27 Sep 2012, 19:14 pm
He’s watching his billy boil
27 Sep 2012, 19:18 pm
@nama1-628: great team
27 Sep 2012, 19:21 pm
@logie_Jumpbuck-637: wOULD BE AN AVERAge scrumhalf today.
27 Sep 2012, 19:24 pm
@Transformation-653: Speak to Bakkies.He is good.
27 Sep 2012, 19:25 pm
@stormersboy-655: Who cares?.He is a Bok supporter.
27 Sep 2012, 20:04 pm
@ryecatcher-679:
Frik du Preez? Have you started on your bottle of good scotch already?
27 Sep 2012, 20:53 pm
@David-682: Starts tomorrow David.
27 Sep 2012, 20:54 pm
@David-682: Still on the boxed plonk.
27 Sep 2012, 21:19 pm
@ryecatcher-684:
Same here.
27 Sep 2012, 21:31 pm
@David-685: Been on the Oz rugby site”Green & Gold”Lot of speculation as to w hether Quade could spell
“toxic enviroment”let alone uderstand the term
If we think that HM is under siege,hear what they have to say about Deans.Vitriolic.
27 Sep 2012, 22:13 pm
@ryecatcher-686: meyer ain’t ‘under siege’ he’s just stubborn. he must just show versatility & he’ll be alright
27 Sep 2012, 22:32 pm
@Heavens Game-674:
Interesting…….use of subliminal messages
28 Sep 2012, 00:26 am
Very good read. Not only have you described the fanatic Bok supporter to the tee, but probably every fanatic supporter of any sports team, anywhere in the world. You only have to look at the crying faces come relegation time in the EPL to know this is true.
The Springbok results immediately after isolation was always on the cards. Against NZ and Aus at least. It would have been interesting to see the results had Kitch stayed healthy and remained the coach. Imo, it would not have turned out too differently. It took us close to 10 years to restore our homegrounds as a fortress and Aus to their rightfull place, which is below us. The reason for a decade of searching (we still are today actualy) could be a combination of any or all of these…we were still trying to make up ground since isolation, our players getting to grips with the era of proffesionalism and travel, ditto our coaches (in many ways they are still struggling as can be seen from their comments and gameplan) and of course trying to find our identity as SA’s, ie the political issues surrounding everyday Saffa life let alone the composition of a Bok team.
In this time NZ widened the gap considerably. At first they came to SA hoping for a win then it became so common place they probably expected one. Games in NZ invariably ended in heartache. As a sidenote, NZ getting the benefit of the doubt on most occasions from referees because they are/were considered the best, might have something to with it but that’s another issue. Beating NZ almost became a mental block. The last game was yet another example of a game we realy should have won but lost. I still believe PdV showed GH the way in 2008, albeit with disastrous results. I think it made him sit up and take notice if we actualy got that gameplan right, they would realy be in trouble. Hence they copied it with similar disastrous results in 2009. What did we do? Ultra conservative, we went back to what seemed to work before and we knew best. They stuck with it. End result…once again they are ahead of the game, noticable to all including referees. Status quo is yet again achieved in their favour. Obviously we were left chasing once more, pegging our hopes on individuals like FdP, Matfield and co, completely ignoring the fact its the holistic gameplan that insures lasting success.
So, although our players initially had to come to grips with adapting to way the rest of the world ( read the best ie NZ) does it, they have largely done that imo. Probably around Jakes time. Still to this day though, our coaches struggle to make the step up. They’re just not brave enough and resort to the conservative far too often, allowing Aus to not just make ground but actualy surpass us winning the last 7 from 8 or something similarly daibolical. One of the positives PdV gave SA rugby is to get the political honchos off our backs. HM should heed his warning otherwise they’ll be back!!! BUT he won’t and we will have started yet another cycle wrt that because of conservatism. It is true! WE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES!!!!
Long and winded, I know but my 2c worth…
28 Sep 2012, 00:47 am
@UptheGuts-689: In a perfect world, HM would have asked any of the previous coaches to assist him. With every new appointment we lose that experience and it seems the new coach has to learn the ropes all on his own. Untill we are all fed up with the consequently dire results and he is fired and we start from scratch. YET AGAIN!!! I do this every time I wash my hair. Wash, rinse, repeat. Wash, rinse, repeat. WASH, RINSE REPEAT!!!! Fck. It’s enough to make you sick. And we have the audacity to think of HM as a student of the game or put JW or NM on a pedestal. They have failed SA rugby!!!
28 Sep 2012, 00:49 am
@689 uptheguts – great post. I would interpret 2008 as pdv copying the AB attack from everywhere style that we played from late 94 onwards. In 2009 pdv changed tack dramatically, and the boks ruthlessly e plotted the AB’s over emphasis of attacking play. The ABs adapted to that in 2010 with a much more defensive orientation in selection and tactics, and this has been very successful for us. Added to that, 2009 was an incredible vintage of bin players at the peak of their game, but unfortunately injuries and age saw the boks decline from those heights in 2010 and 2011.
The boks need to vary their 2009 tactics against the ABs, because the changes we made in 2010 (plus rule changes) have weakened the effectiveness of the Bok game plan. It doesn’t need to be wholesale change (just was it wasn’t for the ab’s in 2010).
The Bok team is now looking very strong, apart from perhaps in the props, locks and sh where you are average (but certainly not weak). There is no reason why you shouldn’t compete with the ABs and ozzies on a strong footing over the next few years.
28 Sep 2012, 01:13 am
@corporal punishment-691: True. He said as much, didn’t he? Wanting the Boks to play the AB’s game? But I do think it made GH think of how they they need to raise their game and not just go through the motons which they, as a coaching team, probably were at the time. Thinking back now to 2008 and comparing it to the drivel served up after that, 2009 excluded of course for obvious reasons, makes it kinda hard to take PdV made out to be a complete idiot at the time.Personally, I’ll take that “headless chicken” over the kick chase any day. Div sold out.
As for our current team and coach’s chances…we will be competitive but unless Hm sees it for what it is and make the mindshift, it will be more of the same. As Keo states above. Certain things has happened to be the cause for some optimism, like Goosen (still unproven but such is our desperation), our scrum etc but HM comments in the media sounds to much like whats gone before. Braun over brain for eg…Ai yai yai!!! The joys of a BOk supporter….
28 Sep 2012, 02:05 am
@UptheGuts-689:
” It took us close to 10 years to restore our homegrounds as a fortress and Aus to their rightfull place, which is below us”
this part of your post caught my interest..
Aussie have won 6 of the last 7 matches between your two sides, how the fck does that make them below you?
ahhh excuse me, its that Saffa arrogance we’ve all come to love and admire..
as you were
28 Sep 2012, 05:30 am
@poppa69-693: Did you read the last paragraph? Mate, honestly. You need to give up this site. Not only is it making you paranoid, yu’re getting overly argumentative. You probably should’ve stuck to your decision the last time. So, no…it’s not Saffa arrogance but Kiwi dimwittedness
28 Sep 2012, 05:31 am
@UptheGuts-694: Dumb as s!
28 Sep 2012, 05:43 am
@poppa69-693: More pisgesiggie.
Comprehension skills still need development I see. You should get it when you reach the 6th grade.
28 Sep 2012, 06:50 am
Great article! The Boks have always been a team of great potential but very rarely one of substance. I often chuckle when I and many others get carried away with expectation when the reality is any coach who gets a 70% win record has exceeded what can be realistically expected.
As for Frik du Preez he is a legend but too often likes to criticize from the sidelines, what happened to the Bok ethos of not criticizing each other publicly? Are legends exempt or were these pledges not taken in the Jurassic era. As for him being better than Matfield ……ridiculous!
28 Sep 2012, 07:28 am
Instead of unsubstantiated drivel, give us some stats. What is SA’s win percentage in SA. What is their total win percentage prior to 1992? What would this stat be (i.e prior to 1992), at home?
Once you produce these figures, then we’ll talk. I do know prior to 1992 their win loss record against the All Blacks was 21-15 in their favour!
28 Sep 2012, 07:39 am
When we came out of isolation, and our record was positive against any other team in teh world, WERE legendary. Unfortunately, a collective mishmash of uselss incompetent halfwits at SARu have seen fit to hire a collective mishmash of incompetent halfwit coaches for a number of years, and have never seen fit to try and improve on the handover of structure or retention of intellectual property from coach to coach by instituting decent prcedures or steering committees. Instead, the have rejected and insulted what few good coaches they had, and lurched from embarrassment to embarrassment like a drunk lurching from doorway to doorway in a back alley.
i think this is good coac. Will they keep him or will they find a way to get rid of him because of
1) quotas,
2) politics
3) personality issues
4) other dumb reasons
Will they ever try and put in a collection of genius rugby brains to help guide and offer creative input? Probably not.
Now we have agood coach, we need a SARU to go professional and get a decent management – then we will return to our place at the top. In the meantime, the BA’s have done all teh things that I have talked abot, and have a80% record to show for it. They have teh drop on us fo rnow.
But we have a few things in our favour:
1) a larger rugy playing population
2) we are just as mad about rugby (if not madder)
3) a generally big populace for churning out forwards
28 Sep 2012, 08:00 am
@UptheGuts-694: the statement I highlighted was still just plain arrogance… the fact youve added alittle addendum at the end stating it has ALLOWED Aus to surpass SA is still arrogance masked in “its our fault rather than Aussie deserve it:” but good to see you used that other political angle, just to cover your bases like..
wjhen will the tough , hard, physically superior SA’s stop using excuses and comprehend that maybe you arent as good as you all think you are?
@trupisero-696: hey mamparra..
I think its you who needs a little comprehension lesson..
but hey, good to see you using the same joke I used yesterday ( I do like the way you changed it from matric to 6th grade though), true intellectual giant you are… couldnt you come up with something all by yourself?
what a mamparra…
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