Praying for England to prevail

The thing that should most have disturbed Springbok coach Jake White last weekend would not have come in Johannesburg, Durban or Bloemfontein, where the South African Super 14 sides began their 2007 challenge.

I was in a night-spot in Bloemfontein on Saturday night, where several Cheetahs players (and some Stormers) were celebrating their opening match of the season earlier in the afternoon. Amidst all the hubbub and the war stories, out of the corner of my eye I spotted something that should have chilled the blood of White.

There, on the television, was Jonny Wilkinson, crouching down, his hands out in front of his chin and looking for all the world like a praying-mantis. The kick was successful, and England were on their way to a big win over Scotland.

Not for one moment would I suggest that there was anything particularly impressive about the England performance. They won comfortably, but Scotland were abjectly poor.

But anyone who has followed sport closely will know that in every team game there are examples of players who, by their mere presence, can lift those around them and make a quantum difference to the team’s chances of success.

Had South Africa played international cricket in the 1970s, I reckon that after his period away from the game with knee injuries, the sight of Mike Procter’s supposedly wrong-footed action and long run-up returning to the nets would have had a massive galvanising effect. Just like that which the idiosyncratic Wilkinson ritual must have on the other England players.

Apart from anything else, there is probably a thought association that comes into play here. “Where have we seen this before? Oh yes, when we won the World Cup in 2003…”

The return of Wilkinson also just happened to coincide with the beginning of a new era under a new coach. It is a double whammy for England, if you like, and if Wilkinson can stay fit, then his presence could prove a massive jolt to the new regime and their chances of success.

Of course this spells danger for the Springboks, who after their last visit to Twickenham might just have been thinking that their Group match in the World Cup in Paris in September would be cinch.

On the evidence of last week’s Six Nations clash I would still make the Boks resounding favourites if the two sides were to meet tomorrow. But in spite of what all the international coaches, judging from their pre-occupation with preparations for the World Cup which last years and not months or weeks, seem to think, a lot can happen and change in a couple of months.

And if England get on a roll, then they can certainly be a threat to South Africa’s chances of winning and thus avoiding a semifinal meeting with New Zealand.

This is the semifinal that all Springbok fans would be hoping to see their team avoid, but I have a hunch it might just be what all the other nations, with the exception of South Africa and New Zealand, will be praying for.

Indeed, if Ireland, who were extremely impressive in their performance against Wales, want to have any hope of actually winning the tournament, then this is a nation that should be imitating Wilkinson right now by putting those two hands together in front of the chin and praying that England beat the Boks.

This is because there is a lot of truth in the perception that the Boks might be the only team that stands a chance of beating New Zealand, and they would want to see this happen in the semi. The one thing the Boks have achieved under White is the complete obliteration of any psychological hold that may have been enjoyed by the All Blacks.

You cannot say the same though about any of the other nations, and the last time they played the All Blacks, the likes of Ireland and France all looked a little awed by their opponents.

The key then for anyone hoping to go all the way could well be for the Boks to knock out the Kiwis along the way. For while none of them will think they stand much hope against the All Blacks, recent history has shown that most of them can consider themselves to be in with a chance of beating South Africa.