Beating Wales is harder than clubbing seals

"Chaps, you think you are playing against Wales today but believe me, they are no better than seal pups just waiting to be clubbed to death. Take the stick to them after half-time and let's get this over with."

The man sneaking an unseen "h" into the name of the Springbok opponents in Bloemfontein was definitely not Rudolf Straeuli and it was almost certainly not the speech he made to his troops when they huddled together at halftime.

As Straeuli often reminds us, he played some rugby in the valleys and like everyone else who has tasted Welsh rugby first hand, he will always respect what rugby players from that country can do.

But while the above quote is complete fiction, it is not too far off the sentiments of many South Africans who continue to regard teams from the northern hemisphere (well, maybe not England) as a gathering of lambs sent out to be slaughtered.

Let's be honest here, there may also be a distinct lack of self-belief amongst the supporters of many of those northern hemisphere teams. I have lost count now of how many times the Boks have been asked by members of the Welsh media if they had been surprised by the ferocity of the Welsh onslaught.

Two decades ago a 34-19 defeat might have sent the Welsh into fits of depression; these days it is regarded as something of a moral victory. During the first half, when the Springboks were hanging on by the skin of their teeth, I could not help thinking of former coach Nick Mallett.

It was the Springbok team that Mallett took to Britain in 1998 that first tasted the revival of rugby in that part of the world. Apart from losing to England on that tour, they battled to beat Ireland and were decidedly fortunate to edge home against Wales, who had conceded over 90 points to the Boks in Pretoria just a few months earlier.

How Mallett strived on that tour to get the message across to the travelling South African media contingent that British rugby was undergoing a renaissance.

How dismally he failed in his quest.

You would have thought that the shock defeat to France in last year's test season pipe-opener would have drummed home to South Africans the reality that these days a poor finish in the Six Nations is by no means an indication that a visiting team will be a bunch of no-hopers.

Indeed, I wonder if that has been the case in any era. The Irish team that visited us in 1998 were much more competitive than we expected them to be, yet the Boks went on two months later to claim the Tri-Nations title for the first and only time.

And national selector Wynand Claassen may not have forgotten how an under- strength Irish side that toured here in 1981 were beaten only by a freakish drop-kicking display by Naas Botha. Yet Claassen's team were decidedly unlucky not to score an historic away series win over New Zealand shortly afterwards.

Sod's law suggests something will probably happen this weekend to prove me wrong, but we are now no longer in a stage where southern hemisphere teams just run rough-shod over lesser opponents as a matter of course. For long periods of their match in Hamilton last weekend, Italy gave as good against the All Blacks as they received.

But it is not just my higher regard for northern hemisphere rugby that has prompted me to take a positive line towards the Bloemfontein win.

If you look back through the history books, you will notice that the Boks - no, not even in the pre-isolation age - have seldom started a new season with a bang.

There are good reasons for this, not the least the fact that invariably the start of the international season coincides with the blooding of several newcomers and substantial changes to the team lineup.

This has seldom been more so than it was last Saturday. The team led by Bob Skinstad showed 12 changes from the one that beat the United States in Houston in the last match played by a Springbok side. Breyton Paulse is the only survivor from the opening match of the 2001 season against France.

All the players spoken to on Saturday night said they had been far more nervous than usual. For the new caps it was a game that they needed to get out of the way. Almost all of them felt they had gained from the experience and would be more comfortable and composed next time out.

There were of course areas of concern. I cannot remember when a Springbok pack last really imposed itself on a British or French team and Saturday was no different.

Given the lineout problems in the first half, the otherwise impressive James Dalton might have been fortunate to win the man-of-the-match award ahead of the magnificent Bolla Conradie. It was Conradie's little chips and snipes around the fringes that helped the pack get forward momentum later on.

The play of the back-row was also disappointing, and it is to be hoped that Corne Krige will be back to front the hunt for ball on the ground in what could well be a wet second test.

Well though the newcomers at the back played, we also still have to see the supposed vulnerabilities caused by lack of physique properly tested. But that there was plenty to be encouraged by was undeniable. Passing me at the door of the post-match cocktail party, Straeuli expressed the view that there is a lot of talent available to him and the men who had made their debuts all had bright international futures. I couldn't agree with him more.

Thanks to the Bloem victory, a platform is in place for Straeuli to build onto. That is decidedly more than his predecessor could say this time last year.