Losing to the old enemy – it’s not all doom and gloom

The hopes of a third Springbok World Cup title may have been dealt a jolting setback with a loss to the defending champion All Blacks, but could it be a blessing in disguise?

Yes, no team that has lost a group match at a World Cup has ever gone on to win the Webb Ellis Cup in its 32 years of existence, yet there’s always a first time for everything.

In their opening match in Yokohama on Saturday the Springboks failed to turn their opening 20 minutes of dominance into points, and then later couldn’t convert their numerous chances as they lost to three-time champions New Zealand in a bruising encounter.

The second quarter before half-time decided the match as the All Blacks showed why they won back-toback World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015 with their explosive counter-attacking, taking advantage of some silly errors from the men in green and scoring two tries.

It knocked the wind out of the Springboks, but in true South African rugby style Siya Kolisi’s men fought back bravely but to no avail as the All Blacks ran out 23- 13 victors.

For the Boks it’s now been six games without a win when French referee Jerome Garces oversees a New Zealand-South Africa Test. But despite the staggeringly high count of penalties in the All Blacks’ favour, it would be silly to blame the referee. In short, the Boks were just not as clinical as they have been so far in 2019. Their mistakes came at crucial times, and the All Blacks certainly didn’t need a second invitation to make them pay.

“Yes, I think we can fight back,” coach Rassie Erasmus said. “Even in this game we fought back. If you’re grouped with New Zealand in your pool, you have a good chance of not going through your pool undefeated and then you have to fight back and try to get to the final for the first time not being unbeaten. We have to go that route.

“They are definitely the favourites for the World Cup – they always have been, we have never had a doubt about that. We just feel that we are creeping a little bit closer in challenging them but they will have different challenges against different opponents.”

So what does it mean for the Springboks? For starters, the loss could provide a much-needed wake-up call for Rassie Erasmus’ men. Before the Test, many thought South Africa would edge the Kiwis due to the close encounters they have dished up over the 15 months.

Many downplayed New Zealand’s strengths and highlighted their unsettled unit as a big weakness that would be exposed in Japan over the next few weeks. How wrong they were. New Zealand will take some stopping. It’s no shame losing to the 1987, 2011 and 2015 champions. They don’t lose many games, period. And if you are to inflict defeat on Steve Hansen’s men, you must be at your brilliant best. The Springboks, sadly, weren’t.

South Africa’s campaign has become a little trickier. They can’t afford another loss. Namibia is up next, and then Italy becomes a must-win match a week later, before they finish off the group stage with a clash against Canada. If they manage to do so, a quarterfinal against Ireland probably lies in wait, after they managed to get past Scotland yesterday.

Now it’s back to the drawing board for the Springboks, but by no means is it time to panic. Losing to the mighty All Blacks is not the end of the world, but learning from this deflating defeat and making sure the same mistakes aren’t repeated, hold the key to South Africa’s fortunes.

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