THE Springboks were still on cloud nine when they arrived back home from Wellington, New Zealand, yesterday afternoon.
You’d be forgiven for thinking they had just clinched the 2018 Rugby Championship after their famous 36-34 win over the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
And who would blame them?
Even President Cyril Ramaphosa took time out of his busy schedule to watch the Boks record their first win in New Zealand in nearly a decade, and lauded their “true character” afterwards.
With the odds stacked heavily against them, Rassie Erasmus’ boys upset the apple cart.
Yes, the Boks could have imploded in the dying minutes of the thrilling Test match, when the ruthless Kiwis usually turn the screws on their opponents.
Yes, Beauden Barrett could have slotted in four of his missed routine conversions.
And yes, perhaps the effects of Willie le Roux’s yellow card as well as injuries to the centre pairing of Lukhanyo Am and Damian de Allende could have been felt much more.
But there was no denying the South Africans their amazing win.
However, the pragmatic Erasmus isn’t getting carried away. “I am not foolish. This game could have gone totally against us in the dying seconds and we were a little bit lucky‚” he said.
“We will take this win and enjoy it, but we will keep our feet firmly on the ground. We will not get ahead of ourselves. We still have a lot of work to do. The All Blacks will be fuming when they come to Pretoria next month.”
Yet Erasmus also praised the self-belief and courage of his men, who rallied from 12-0 down to beat the world’s No 1 ranked team, making an astonishing 226 tackles to their opponents’ 46.
“The boys showed guts and I’m so glad for them,” Erasmus said.
“I’m so proud of them all. It’s a special win, a special day and I’m so proud of the guys and just glad we could make South Africa proud again.”
Sensational Aphiwe Dyantyi scored two tries, Cheslin Kolbe scored his first Bok try, Malcolm Marx dotted down one while Le Roux also bagged one of the haul of five tries, with Handre Pollard converting four and a crucial penalty goal.
