By Lucky Vince Pienaar
The Springboks are by far the favourites to beat Wales on Saturday, and that’s no surprise. While the Springboks are overflowing with both young and experienced players queuing up to grab a Springbok jersey, Wales is scrambling to put together a half-decent side.
South Africa can beat Wales with a second or third team, highlighting the fantastic depth of players available to the Springbok coaches.
Probably for the first time in Springbok history, commentators are talking about South Africa as a country of 60 million people as if that many are rugby followers.
Wales, however, has a population of “only” three million, but rugby is their most popular sport. New Zealand has “only” five million people, but about 4.5 million are trying to be Richie McCaw or Dan Carter.
South Africa has made great strides towards recognising and bringing more players of colour into the sport, but it is nowhere near the country’s favourite sport – soccer is.
The real reason for the dismal condition of Wales rugby is not the population; it is that the game is incredibly badly managed. Their international player policies prove it, and then they persevere with Warren Gatland, probably because nobody else wants the job.
The only thing that can beat the Boks is the Boks themselves.
Rassie Erasmus, a coach from a less-than-privileged background himself, has always emphasised humility.
He has said: “Siya Kolisi is not the most important thing in South Africa. South Africa is the most important thing in South Africa.”
He has also urged the players (as seen in Chasing the Sun 2) to remember going down to Pep Stores with their mothers to buy shorts for Saturday’s game because they couldn’t afford anything else.
One imagines that Rassie will have worked hard to remind the guys to play as if they are playing the world champions – except they are the world champions. Oh, man! It is so easy to fall into the trap of arrogance. Watch out, guys! Keep your feet on the ground.
Pictured above: Springboks training for the test against Wales.
Source: Springboks/X
