Tricolors face fury of Bok backlash

By LIAM DEL CARME

DURBAN - A New Zealand Rugby Union official succinctly described the mood after the Springboks crashed to France at Ellis Park last weekend.

"We're all glad to see those buggers have finally ambushed a team other than the All Blacks."

But the French performance had more to do with the Springboks' shortcomings than it had with careful planning by the visitors.

Not that the home team ran out bereft of carefully devised plan and theory. In fact, maybe the amount of theory they have been exposed to in recent weeks started to take its toll.

If too much theory was indeed at the heart of the Springboks' below-par performance last week, expect the opposite in Durban tomorrow.

Although coach Harry Viljoen warned this week that his team should now guard against bad old habits, the fact is that the Springboks perform best when their backs are to the wall.

Fact is, the Springboks have been at their most effective when they have gone back to their traditional strengths.

Whenever their backs are pinned to the wall they get hyper-physical and they tackle as if they are the sole defenders of the universe.

They have a history of producing testosterone-driven performances when their pride has been dented, and the Tricolors had better study their opponents' history since their international readmission before they make their way on to the field tomorrow.

Whether it is in the South African psyche to pull out a big one when the pressure is on, or whether their opposition has been more inclined to drop their guard in the knowledge that they have the beating of their hosts, remains a mystery, but France could go an infamous route if they don't play with utmost precision tomorrow.

- INDEPENDENT