Steyn’s big boot is a necessity

So in the end I suppose it is time to admit I got that one wrong. When last week many were expressing concern that the Springboks never put away the Wallabies by more than they did in Perth, my line was that it didn’t matter as the South Africans were always in control.

Sometimes though, like in a television series, you have to watch the next instalment to have everything put into perspective for you, and that is what happened in Brisbane. Had the Boks won comfortably again, then the late comeback by Australia at Subiaco the previous week would have been no more than the consolation it appeared at the time.

What the Wallabies did at Suncorp Stadium was continue where they left off in the second half the week before. They retained the confidence they gained from their late flurry, and lock Mark Chisholm’s words before the game, where he said his team were building towards something and just “inches away” from getting it right, were vindicated.

What he also said was that they are not only close to winning, but also close to developing into a special team. This was just one win in five starts, but if you look at the average age of the Australian side, just 23, and the exciting promise they show in so many areas plus the improvement in others, then it does appear that he may be right.

The fact that over a half of the Bok starting team, plus replacement loose-forward Schalk Burger, have played more than 50 tests together has rightly been used by critics as justification for the favourites tag that the Boks took into this Tri-Nations season.

But if you throw two years ahead, and this Bok team remains as it does now, the South Africans will be starting the tournament with over half the team having played more than 70 games. Sorry, but am I alone in thinking that will just be too many, that a five year cycle, which is what this Bok team are still on at the moment, is sustainable, but a seven or eight year cycle not?

The Brisbane defeat was not a train-smash. After all, it is just one loss in five starts. But it did show that the Boks are not invincible, and that they can be made to look decidedly ordinary by a team that provides what is needed to beat them.

And what is it that the opposition teams need? After Brisbane it should have been obvious. The Wallabies have spoken often about the need to front the Boks physically, but Saturday was the first time that they did it for 80 minutes.

I heard Smit say afterwards that his team played the wrong game, and there has been criticism in some quarters that the Boks tried to play too much rugby, but I cannot recall them being punished for trying to run in the wrong parts of the field.

For me it came down to the fact that this time the Wallabies were not cowed by the South African approach, and dished out as much as they took. Instead of forcing the opposition into conceding penalties through the application of intense pressure, this time it was the Boks who were being knocked back in the collisions and being blunted at the breakdowns.

It was not the first time this season the Boks were made to look ordinary when an opposition team was able to front them physically. The British and Irish Lions did it for the first hour in Pretoria and for the whole game in Johannesburg a week later. The manner in which they were dominated when their opponents got it right both in Johannesburg and in Brisbane has to be a concern as the Boks plot the way forward.

They also need to take a good hard look at Brisbane and see if they can spot what was missing in this match in comparison to the matches on home soil. I am convinced I have part of the answer – Frans Steyn.

Steyn didn’t cover himself in glory when he came on late in the game, but then it was too late for his massive field kicking boot to make any difference to the result. Ruan Pienaar is a talented footballer, but he does not possess the length of kick or the physical presence at the back that Steyn does.

Jake White wrote recently that Steyn was the unsung hero of the home leg. I agree with that assessment. It makes a huge difference to the kicking game and the confidence of the rest of the players if they have a man in the last line of defence who will send every kick that goes in his direction back with interest.

The Wallabies’ kick and chase was superb in Brisbane, but they might be less inclined to put the ball onto the boot when Steyn is there to punish them. Forget the fancy stuff and the quest to impress critics of pragmatic rugby, what the Boks need to do in Hamilton is win. In the first half in Hamilton the Bok backs looked good on a couple of occasions when they broke the line, but for all their hard work, it didn’t get them any points.

For the Boks to prevail in Hamilton they have to return to what worked for them in South Africa, and they have to “shut out” the All Blacks with suffocation rugby. Steyn is the man they need to establish early territorial ascendancy, and if Pienaar has to play, he should come on in the second half if, and only if, the Boks are chasing the game and require a policy of all-out attack.