A rugby clash between the Boks and the English always revokes the unsavoury memories of the Anglo-Boer War, and so did this encounter of the Rugby World Cup in Japan which the South Africans won comfortably with a 32-12 score line.
Each time this clash presents itself, there is always very little if any motivation needed to make the Boks rise to the occasion. The only best thing the coach can always do in such a clash is to ensure his strategies for the game are top notch, and his men will then do the rest on the pitch.
And coach Rassie Erasmus did just that, strategized on the approach to the game and chose the best players to do the job for him on the pitch in accordance with that game plan, and the results were there for all to see.
He literally shut the English out of the game in this bruising encounter and they resembled a shadow of their side that ran riot to dispatch the Hakka Boys out of contention. The English tried all the tricks in the book but could not break down the Boks’ solid line of defence.
In the entire game, the English never managed to penetrate the strong defensive wall of Jericho put up by the Boks and their only consolation was to score through the four out of five penalties they received.
They never managed to convert any tries although there was a moment or two of tense activities close to the Boks try line.
At the end of the game, the Boks triumphed as runaway winners to overcome the rugby hoodoo that any team that loses a match in the tournament never makes it to the final, and let alone gets to lift the trophy. But the Bokke have done it and broken the voodoo hold on the Rugby World Cup.
Speaking at the Boktown game viewing at Montecasino, organisers Castle Lager brand director Vaughan Croeser said they were delighted to have been sponsoring rugby for the past 50 years and the Springboks for 20. “Sport is one of the major unifiers of our nations, and if I had my way, there is could be a major tournament every month so as to rid ourselves of all the negativities that tend to be abounding,” he said.
He expressed their commitment to continue to sponsor rugby and Boks, and other sporting codes for the unforeseeable future. “We shall be part of the national celebrations to mark the magnificent victory of the Boks,” he added.
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