Time to redress the balance

If there is one thing that needs to happen in the forthcoming international season, it is for the Springboks to beat the All Blacks.

The New Zealanders are the only nation to have won more matches than they have lost against South Africa and the gap is starting to take on alarming proportions.

In 1992, when South African was re-admitted to international sport and Dr Craven hastened to ensure that our first opponents would be the old enemy at Ellis Park, Sean Fitzpatrick’s All Blacks arrived with their overall record standing at played 37, won 15, drawn 2 and lost 20; putting South Africa five ahead on the historic log.

The All Blacks won that epic test on August 15, 1992 but in the next few years, especially with the advent of the Tri-Nations, they would whittle steadily away at the Springboks’ lead.

We beat the men in black in the World Cup Final at Ellis Park in ’95, but in 1996 they would beat us four times in a row to finally wipe out the deficit.

Now, at the start of a new round of internationals, the scales are firmly dipped on the side of the All Blacks with the Springboks’ record reading played 60, won 26, drawn 3, lost 31.

Thanks to the All Blacks having beaten the Boks on the last four occasions they have met, the Kiwis are now five clear and the picture blurs even more when you see that they have scored 90 more points than us (844 to 934) and 12 more tries (90 to 102).

Thus if Rudolf Straeuli is casting about for something for his players to do to help them over their cellphone withdrawal symptoms it would be a good idea to leave statistical evidence of the Springboks’ recent slide down the pecking order lying around the team room.

The view that the once mighty Springboks no longer deserve to be ranked among the super powers of the oval world is borne out by South Africa’s dismal record in the Tri-Nations.

In the 28 matches the Springboks have played in the Tri-Nations they have won only 10 with a single drawn result. More alarming is that only two of those wins have been achieved away in New Zealand and Australia, while four of the victories were achieved in a single year – 1998 – when the Boks won all four of their games to take the tournament.

In addition the Springboks have been markedly outscored, both in terms of points and tries, against their great southern hemisphere rivals.

Thus if one were to recall the immortal and pragmatic words of that great Springbok forward of the 30s, Boy Louw, to “looks at the scoreboard,” there can be little doubt that the Springbok no longer belongs among the top four of world rugby.

In the past two years the record has been no better than 50% against all comers and pretty perilous against the top four, Australia, England, New Zealand and France.

Thanks to the “new beginning” afforded by re-admission in 1992 it is quite simple to provide a pitted record of Springbok performance.

South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, went on a record-equalling run of 17 consecutive test victories from 1997 to 1998, won the Tri-Nations in 1998, lost to Australia in extra time of one semi-final in RWC ’99 but beat New Zealand in the third-place play-off.

Since Cymru ’99, however, it has been a very different picture and there is no doubt, with last year’s humiliations at Marseille, Murrayfield and Twickenham still festering in one’s mind, it is time to redress the balance. If we accept that New Zealand, Australia, England and France are ahead of us on the totem pole we have to show, over the next few weeks, whether we’re fifth and sliding, or fifth and climbing.