A dejected South African captain Eben Etzebeth after the 57-0 defeat to the All Blacks in 2017. Photo / Photosport
In tense times such as these, when passionate emotions flow amid widespread frustration with the All Blacks' decline, it can be difficult to see the trees through the haze of doom. The Springboks, though, offer a pointer to the dramatic transformation possible in a relatively short timeframe.
Five years ago the Springboks suffered one of their darkest days in the record 57-0 loss to the All Blacks in Albany. Eight tries the rampant All Blacks scored that evening. The result came almost a year after the previous record 57-15 win against Springboks in Durban, which arrived three weeks after the 41-13 margin in Christchurch.
Not long after the Albany nadir, after presiding over a 44 per cent win record, a period in which South Africa dropped to seventh in the World Rugby rankings, Springboks coach Allister Coetzee stood down 21 months into his four-year tenure.
South African rugby had a readymade replacement in the form of former Springboks captain Rassie Erasmus, who returned home from Irish club Munster to assume the director of rugby mantle in 2017.
Erasmus, 45 years old at the time, succeeded Coetzee in March, 2018, with an unprecedented six-year deal that gave him the freedom to plan long-term. And thus began a rebuild that would carry the Springboks to a turning point upset against the All Blacks in Wellington that year; World Cup glory in 2019 and their British and Irish Lions series triumph two years later.
In an interview with South African Rugby Magazine following his appointment as Springboks coach, Erasmus projected immediate confidence.
"We took 57 points against New Zealand in Albany last year, and then we lost by two points to the same side at home. That's how quickly you can turn things around," Erasmus said four months before the Boks defeated the All Blacks in Wellington. "We're much closer than most people may think. It's just about maximising that potential."
Such confidence stemmed from a clear vision that centred on structural and game plan changes. In many ways replicating New Zealand's model, Erasmus set about vastly improving alignment between the then South African Super Rugby teams and the national side – covering everything from load management to targeted skill improvements.
Erasmus was allowed to overhaul the overseas selection policy, which significantly strengthened the Boks (half their squad now play aboard). He then gradually gained acceptance from all parties to grasp transformation targets (the Boks had to field a side that was 50 per cent black at the 2019 World Cup).
The final point cannot be underestimated. In a country of 60 million, 10 per cent are white. Embracing structures to identify and develop black players has given the Boks a much broader talent base and connection to their supporters.
From a playing perspective, Erasmus returned the Boks to their traditional strengths – their set piece, maul, power, and kicking game. He did not care for style. Only substance.
When Erasmus shuffled back into his director of coaching title after the 2019 World Cup success, pushing Jacques Nienaber into the head coach role, he had a 65 per cent win record.
Yet he was precisely the change agent the Springboks needed.
While Nienaber is now the frontman, Erasmus' behind-the-scenes influence for the series the Springboks prioritise, such as hosting the All Blacks for these two tests, remains profound.
From a rabble in 2017 the Springboks are now a team who know their game inside out. They boast long-established combinations and incredible depth, particularly through their forward pack and exceptional coloured players.
Compare that settled, stable environment to the All Blacks where major question marks persist over their best front-row, loose-forward, midfield and back-three combinations and the great rivals appear poles apart.
As Erasmus suggested when he assumed the Boks reins, change can instigate turnarounds. For the All Blacks, Jason Ryan's introduction as forwards coach provides another example.
Proof the Boks were not broken beyond repair five years ago is evident in the eight players – Eben Etzebeth, now skipper Syia Kolisi, Malcom Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende, Willie le Roux – who featured in the 57-0 defeat and will line up against the All Blacks at Ellis Park this weekend.
Kitshoff, as he prepares to challenge the All Blacks scrum off the bench, reflected on the Boks' transformation.
"Rassie and Jacques came into the Boks group with a plan. Their biggest job was convincing everyone to be aligned with the plan and play a certain brand of rugby that will actually get us to win test matches," Kitshoff said. "They had the buy-in from the day they walked in right through to now.
"The consistency they had in the way they coached, the way they talked and motivated us is what has stood out for me since that 57-0 loss to where we are today."
Japan-based de Allende empathised with the All Blacks' plight after five losses from their last six tests.
"Rassie, Jacques and [Mzwandile] Stick managed to get the buy-in from the playing squad when they came on board. Jacques brought in a new mentality on defence. A lot changed then," the Boks midfielder said.
"That first test against New Zealand in 2018 we were 14 points behind. Like Jacques did in the England series that June he asked us to go harder and make decisions and we won our first test in New Zealand since 2014.
"What the All Blacks are going through, I hope for their sake after they play us they start getting it right. They are a world-class outfit; they are highly skilled and they have a lot of players that can break games wide open very quickly.
"We know as players and coaches what the All Blacks are going through. Kitshoff and myself were there with the Springboks in 2016 and '17 and it was very tough. We've been there together and as a Springboks group."
Just as the Springboks carried eight players from their 2017 low point to now so, too, do the All Blacks possess many talents they can build their foundations around. Front-rowers Samisoni Taukeiaho, Ethan de Groot and Fletcher Newell are the future. Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i could evolve into a mainstay of the second-row. Caleb Clarke is 23; Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane 25, Will Jordan and Blues captain Dalton Papalii 24. Scott Barrett is entering his prime at 28. Others will emerge, too.
The All Blacks are unlikely to ever experience a 57-0 rock-bottom moment. Their largest defeat, across 617 tests, is 21 points - which further contextualises last week's 26-10 loss in Mbombela, the worst in South Africa for 94 years.
For the All Blacks to begin their transformation it is clear they must now embrace their change agent.
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