ON THE BALL: Disrespecting the memory of Phil Bennett was an ironic indicator of what was to come during the match at Loftus Versveld says Lucky Maree.
Famous comedian, Max Boyce, said great rugby players were moulded in the coal mines of Llanelli and other little mining villages of Wales. And Boyce, as fierce and patriotic a Welsh rugby fan as the world has ever known, said there could never be another Phil Bennett.
“After they made Phil Bennett, they broke the mould,” says Boyce in his heavy south-Wales accent.
Many traditions of sport, and particularly in rugby, have fallen by the wayside. There was a time when the spotlight was on the players. Modern sports marketing has turned the spotlight on the fans. They are there to be entertained and entertained they will be. The modern fan can’t be expected to care about Bennett, a 72kg little man who led Wales to three Five Nations Championship titles, including Grand Slams in 1976 and 1978 and then retired.
For the spectator who has watched those grainy old movies of the 70s and understands why many of today’s greatest rugby players speak of Phil Bennett with reverence and respect, it was a pity that the Springbok fans were there to cheer on their team and make a lot of noise and could not spare 30 seconds to remain quiet to remember Phil Bennett.
It should have been a moment to reflect on what is still considered to be one of the greatest tries of all time, when in 1973 the Barbarians beat the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park. The try was started by Phil Bennett who ran from his 22m line, beating three All Blacks, and was finished by Gareth Edwards.
Bennett passed away on 22 June this year and the return to Loftus of 52,000 fans seemed a great moment for a tribute, but it was not to be as the noise of the crowd carried on unabated.
What made the irony so much more touching was the certain knowledge that South Africa was going to have to survive flyhalf Elton Jantjies if they were going to beat Wales.
In the end, the victory went to South Africa by three points which was probably the right outcome. Wales’ discipline let them down towards the end. Jantjies had, not unexpectedly, played probably the worst match of his career and, as it turned out, was replaced in the nick of time.
Adding insult to injury, Jacques Nienaber said after the match: “Jantjies will be better next week.” Whaaat? Of course, he’ll be better. He simply can’t be worse.
South Africa is not blessed with great fly halves at the moment. Handré Pollard came very close during the World Cup in 2019, but is not at his best. Willie le Roux, although he does understand distributing the ball, but at best, can only be considered a stand-in.
Damian Willemse is proving to have the guts to become a good flyhalf. Why, oh why, Nienaber and Co. did not include Chris Smith in even the bigger squad remains a mystery.
Great fly halves, like Phil Bennett, only come around once in a generation and South Africa has had its share of those, but in the absence of an available great fly half right at the moment, is it not the right time to go to the youth and find a great future fly half instead of persevering with players who will at best, only ever be mediocre?
