Springboks chase southern hemisphere Rugby Championship glory in front of London fans

THE SPRINGBOKS are perched on top of the Rugby Championship standings after claiming a resounding win over Argentina.

The Boks will now travel to London on Sunday as they prepare to take on the Pumas at a “neutral” venue, with local fans advised to note the kick-off time for the series decider.

Durban performance keeps Boks on top

The Springboks are coming off a 67-30 victory over Argentina at Kings Park, though the Pumas tested them in the first half.

Saturday’s match was turned by a remarkable display from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who crossed for a hat-trick of tries and scored 37 points in total – the most by a Springbok in a Test. The team ran in nine tries to three, extending their tally to 15 over the past two matches.

Coach Rassie Erasmus praised his “brilliant” flyhalf and credited the wider squad effort.

“What we’re trying to do is not just build some combinations that work, but that all of our combinations work and I guess that’s starting to click,” Erasmus said.

Local fans won’t see that ‘click’

Die-hard Bok fans could justifiably question the thinking behind this decision by SA Rugby. After all, why take a championship decider of the premier southern hemisphere rugby competition to the northern hemisphere, and deprive local fans of watching their team lift the trophy from a ringside seat?

There are suggestions that hosting this game at Twickenham taps into the UK market, where rugby crowds are large and broadcast deals can be very lucrative. The thing is, England guarantees a near sell-out, and match-day revenues at Twickenham dwarf what SA Rugby would make at home.      

Another source suggests that sponsors and SANZAAR (the Rugby Championship governing body) see it as a way to grow the tournament’s financial base.

Hmmm … So it seems to be true that money makes the world go around.

Another weaker argument, in my opinion, is that the Springboks are a global brand, and Twickenham offers a stage to showcase the team to northern hemisphere fans outside the usual World Cup or end-of-year tour context. How does that make sense? I’ve also heard that this game is a chance to give South African expats live access to the Boks.

That argument leaves a bland taste in my mouth. It seems like more spin-doctoring than anything else; a shallow attempt to divert fans' attention away from – what many fans are suggesting – the fact that the financial considerations are what underpins this decision.

Think about it, this coming Saturday’s match at Twickenham will decide the title, which means that South Africans, decked out in their green and gold kit, will be huddled around their television sets because the “good” news is that the game will be broadcast live and exclusively on SuperSport, and kick off is at 3pm (SA time).

So, for those SA fans who have access to SuperSport, you’d like to know that victory – even without a bonus point – would be enough for the Springboks to retain their Rugby Championship title, and they will be hoping for plenty of expat support in London.

Boks looking good to retain the title

And there’s a good reason for Bok fans to be confident of a win on Saturday. The team really played well in Durban on Saturday, and there’s no reason to believe they will take their foot off the gas.

However, the Springboks will head into Saturday’s clash with some injury worries.

Coach Rassie Erasmus was forced to reshuffle his backline in the second half in Durban when Cheslin Kolbe (shoulder), Damian Willemse (hamstring) and Ethan Hooker (ankle) all picked up knocks.

“It takes time to swap people in and out and have them play in sync – but we also know how quickly that can change so we won’t get carried away,” said Erasmus.

“We want to build an understanding within the squad so that when we make changes it doesn’t affect our play. But we’ve won nothing yet in this Castle Lager Rugby Championship; we’ve had one win and one loss against New Zealand and Australia, and we know how tough Argentina are.

“We’re flying tomorrow (Sunday) and we’re playing at Twickenham next week and we have to win that game or it’s just another missed Rugby Championship.”