What the All Blacks can take on board

By MIKE GREENAWAY*

The psyche of the South African sports fan has taken a sickening hammering in recent years. One couldn't mention the cricketers, and the rugby team was a joke, especially in comparison with England.

And expectations of a revival since that ultimate humiliation at Twickenham last year had not been raised by the recent pitiful performances against Scotland and Argentina.

So imagine the unbridled celebrations around the Republic yesterday when the Springboks wiped the grin off the smug mugs of Eddie Jones and George Gregan. The importance of this win cannot be underestimated. Confidence in and outside the team had never been so low.

But when John Mitchell examines the match video at his Durban hotel, he will be encouraged by the staccato performances of his Tri-Nations rivals.

Let's not take too much away from the Boks. They improved enormously from the second-rate outfit that has struggled over the past two weeks.

The committed display by the Boks means Mitchell will have no problem motivating his troops for the Loftus Verseld showdown.

But Mitchell will have taken note that the vaunted Bok tight five did not assert itself with any great authority on a mediocre Wallaby tight five, and he will know that if his team can show the patience on attack that eluded the Wallabies, they will find holes out wide for their racehorses to exploit.

They might not be so lucky closer to the scrum. Rudolf Straeuli was heavily criticised during the week for recalling forgotten inside centre DeWet Barry, but the South African critics were happily gulping down lashings of humble pie after Barry crashtackled the Wallaby midfield out of the game.

Barry was man of the match, but that award could so easily have gone to stand-in fullback Brent Russell, who changed the game by fluke rather than premeditated plan.

Early in the match he replaced the injured Jaco van der Westhuyzen and created something for his team-mates almost every time he touched the ball.

Astonishingly, he has barely played in the past month, but he will surely play on Sunday.

Mitchell will have taken careful note that the Boks, amazingly, held the upper hand in the tackle situations. This is an area where the Wallabies usually plunder Bok ball, but not so yesterday. The Bok loose trio will not be underestimated.

Although the home victory confirmed meaningful life in the Springbok beast, it also emphasised that the Wallabies are a pale shadow of their usual selves.

At Newlands they were bereft of the confidence, composure and cohesion that have been their hallmarks in recent years.

Will they improve, or are they indeed a team on the slide? In recent years, the Wallabies had the belief to hang in and win the close games. Not so any more.

Their cause will be boosted when Matt Burke, Owen Finegan and Stephen Larkham find true form.

When they play the All Blacks in a fortnight they will not be as bad as they were at Newlands. As poor as the Wallabies were, they had their chances to win, suggesting that the improved Boks are far from being a good side.

On yesterday's evidence, a correctly-focused All Black team will be heavy favourites to win the Tri-Nations title.

* Mike Greenaway is rugby writer for the Natal Mercury.

- INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS (SOUTH AFRICA)