TOP OF THE PILE: Serial winners, underrated captain — Boks’ curious status after beating All Blacks

The price of being the best team in the world is that no one loves a serial winner except die-hard fans of that team. The dislike and envy can be extreme, especially in the social media age.

When peak Manchester United, the prime Australian men’s cricket team, the dominant Mercedes F1 team and the mighty All Blacks circa 2010-2019 ruled the world, there was perhaps grudging admiration, but also intense envy and dislike.

That is what the Springboks are experiencing now after beating the All Blacks 3-1 in the four-Test Greatest Rivalry series over the past month.

The Boks continue to win every prize they fight for, even if they lose the odd game along the way.

Since 2019, Siya Kolisi’s team have won two World Cups, three Rugby Championships, a British & Irish Lions Test series, and now a series against the All Blacks.

They’re the No 1-ranked team in the world, which is the perch they occupied at the end of the past two seasons as well.

Over the past three years, their win rate is 85%, even while rotating more than 50 players.

The Boks hold the Webb Ellis Cup, the Freedom Cup, the Mandela Plate, the Greatest Rivalry spire and some other trophies handed out for winning random games.

Rassie Erasmus, in his incarnations as director of rugby and head coach since 2018, has built the best team in the world, capable of playing rugby of varying styles with an almost interchangeable roster of about 50 players and an innovative coaching group.

It’s an unprecedented approach to management that has allowed the Boks to experiment with personnel while maintaining huge success. It’s been built on the best foundations of South Africa’s rugby DNA – set piece and defensive muscle – with more subtle layers on top.

The Springboks of this era have established an almost cult-like devotion from fans, thanks firstly to their success, but also due to a cast of iconic players and characters.

Kolisi’s statesmanship and genuine warmth attract people of all backgrounds and make ordinary fans feel included and seen by the Boks.

Behind him, totemic players such as Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nché, Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe, all men of action rather than words, appeal to a broad cross-section of society.

Erasmus’ mischievous and occasionally Machiavellian tendencies, his spirit of embracing innovation and creating chaos, epitomise South Africa and South Africans. There cannot be a more loved person in the country, except, perhaps, for his skipper.

Kolisi plaudits

In the global game, there is not a more powerful duo either. Former All Black coach Graham Henry and his successor Steven Hansen had Richie McCaw as their on-field totem, just as Erasmus has Kolisi.

While McCaw was always universally praised as a player first and a captain second, the opposite seems to be the case for Kolisi.

This is unfair because he is by any measure a great rugby player in addition to being a wonderful, inspiring leader.

So much comment – admittedly of the social media variety – likes to portray Kolisi as an average player – by the same people who think Erasmus walks on water.

They need to ask themselves a simple question – would a coach as great as Erasmus carry a mediocre player for the last nine years? What are you saying about the coach then?

No, Kolisi is a fine rugby player, and you only have to speak to his teammates to understand his contribution.

It’s the dirty work, the cleaning of a ruck here, the defence-denting run there and crucial tackle on the fringes that sometimes go unseen that define his play.

But his teammates know. They see, and they judge. You can’t fool them. There is no way this era of Bok success would’ve happened if the people that really matter didn’t believe in Kolisi the player as much as they believe in Kolisi the captain.

“He does the donkey work that no one sees,” former Bok teammates Trevor Nyakane and Steven Kitshoff said on their Love of Rugby podcast.

Nyakane continued: “If you really understand the game we play, things like the donkey work, it’s invaluable.

“Most people see the great tries scored by someone else, but you don’t ask yourself how that space opened up. It comes from guys like Siya being selfless.”

Kolisi has now captained the Boks to a record 56 wins in 75 Tests as captain for a 75% winning record. Of all Bok skippers who have led the team more than 15 times, only Morné du Plessis has a better record with 13 wins in 15 Tests for an 87% winning ratio.

John Smit captained the Boks 83 times and won 54 games (65%). Gary Teichmann’s 26 wins in 36 Tests as captain was 72%, while Jean de Villiers captained the Boks 37 times with 24 wins (65%).

Greatest rivals

The rugby in the series lived up to the billing. There was sniping via the media from both camps as they tried to get their messages across, while on the field the physicality and intent were brutal.

But it never spilled over, and off the field there was genuine respect between the players and coaching staff. Erasmus and counterpart Dave Rennie might have tried to gain an edge with refs via the media, but it was never personal.

Over four Tests, there was little to choose, although the Boks improved as the series wore on and the All Blacks plateaued after their sensational 33-16 win at Ellis Park in the first Test at Ellis Park.

That was a strange game because the Boks dominated large swathes of it and ended the first half one point up, but should’ve been out of sight by then, such was their dominance.

A week later in Cape Town, the Boks started fast and never let up, scoring three tries before halftime, as they levelled matters 1-1 with a 33-26 win.

In the South African decider in front of 86,000 people at the fabulous FNB Stadium, the Boks produced a second-half rampage to win 29-24. Victory was epitomised by a 20-metre rolling maul try for Malcolm Marx to take a 2-1 advantage.

By the fourth Test in Baltimore, after both squads flew together on a charter flight, the Boks finished strongly.

They scored six tries – the most in a single game in the series – to win 43-28 against an All Black side that simply couldn’t live with them any longer.

The All Blacks might have scored more tries in the series – 17 to 14 – but the Boks scored the most points, 121-111. One of the strangest statistics of the entire series was that the Boks landed nine penalties for 27 points. The All Blacks did not slot one penalty in the entire series and had only one attempt.

Outside of conversions, from the boot the score was 27-0 to the Boks. New Zealand might want to rethink their policy in the knock-out stages of Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.

Speaking of the World Cup – the Boks and All Blacks are on an early collision course in Australia next year. It’s a travesty considering they are No 1 and 2 in the world rankings, as they were when the draw was held last year.

On the one hand, governing body World Rugby wants to grow the game, hence funding teams to compete in the US as part of the build-up to 2031.

On the other hand, the governing body was incapable of separating the No 1 and 2 seeds in its 2027 World Cup draw. The Springboks and All Blacks, barring a stunning group stage upset next year, look set to meet in the quarterfinals.

Sports such as tennis manage to separate their top two seeds from meeting until the final if they both progress. In the Grand Slams, there are 128 players in the field. There are 24 teams at next year’s Rugby World Cup, and it was beyond World Rugby, and mathematics, apparently, to keep the top two seeds apart until the final.

Is this growing the game, or shooting yourself in the foot?

Cynics might say it was designed this way to ensure a northern hemisphere finalist.

At least, over the past month, the Springboks and All Blacks have done more to grow rugby’s appeal than any manufactured World Cup draw could ever achieve.

Rugby’s greatest rivals are also rugby’s greatest revitalisers. DM