Kolisi’s Boks out to emulate Tri-Nations class of 2009

The Springboks will be out to emulate the Tri-Nations class of 2009 when they attempt to become just the second Bok team in the professional era to beat the All Blacks in three consecutive games, when they battle it out in the second Test of the 2022 Rugby Championship at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Unlike in 2009, when John Smit’s charges did it in one competition, the current group will have to do it over two, having won the last game of last year’s Rugby Championship tournament on the Gold Coast, before winning the opening match of this year’s competition at the Mbombela Stadium this past weekend.

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However, the similarities don’t end there, as both squads had won a World Cup (2007 and 2019) and both had clinched a 2-1 British and Irish Lions series win (2009 and 2021), in the lead up to the impressive feat.

In fact, the 2009 Bok class could have been considered one of the greatest teams ever, after triumphing over the Lions and in the Tri-Nations, but unfortunately a poor end-of-year tour that saw them lose two out of three games soured what had been a fantastic season to that point.

Some may argue that the crowning glory of that year for the Boks came when they defeated the Lions, however, when considering that the All Blacks are their greatest rivals, beating them three games on the bounce was arguably the bigger achievement.

Especially considering that it was the first time that they had achieved that feat in the professional era and remains the only time.

It was also the last time that the Boks had played the All Blacks twice at home, beating them 28-19 in Bloemfontein, 31-19 in Durban and then rounding it off with a thrilling 32-29 win in Hamilton.

Thumping in Mbombela

If they are to achieve the feat again it will once again be assisted by playing two games again on home soil, with last year’s 31-29 win over them in the Gold Coast kicking things off.

If this past weekend’s thumping 26-10 win in Mbombela is anything to go by, Siya Kolisi’s Boks should be able to make it three in a row, playing at altitude at Ellis Park, which has become a fortress for the team over its history.

Before the win in Mbombela, the Boks’ last win in South Africa over the All Blacks had come at Ellis Park back in 2014, although the last time they played them at the ground was in 2015 with the visitors triumphant on that occasion.

This Saturday could see Kolisi’s men making history again with a hattrick of wins over their rivals, especially with the struggles that Ian Foster and his men are currently going through, and if they are somehow beaten, it will be a very disappointing outcome.