The Springboks will win in Sydney next week but that will do nothing to hide the fact that the world champions have stagnated, writes ZELIM NEL.
The Springboks will win in Sydney next week but that will do nothing to hide the fact that the world champions have stagnated, writesThe proverbial cat is out of the bag – the Boks have lost their way and are now at a crossroads with 12 months to go to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The score greatly flatters South Africa and that is a sobering reality given the Boks went into this Test on the back of a disappointing 35-23 reverse against statistically one of the worst All Blacks teams of all time. This free-styling display of tactical naivete was complemented by flyhalf Handre Pollard shanking simple kicks at goal, poor passing from Damian de Allende and a long list of errors and miscues from Warrick Gelant in what will likely be his last contribution in the Test arena.
Erasmus is regarded as an elite coach, but the accelerating decline of the Boks is a reminder that his legacy is one based on salvaging sinking ships, not maintaining championship contenders. Erasmus cut short his stay to return home in 2018 to dig the Boks out of their deepest hole, and famously guided them to the title at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
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