17 December 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

Springbok Decade Series: 2011

The past decade saw the Springboks rise from record lows to ultimate triumph, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

The Springboks’ journey over the past 10 years, rising from the ashes to World Cup glory in 2019, is akin to climbing Everest. The very reputation of Springbok rugby hung in the balance after the men in Green and Gold plummeted to unprecedented lows. Record losses equalled red alert and avalanche after avalanche threatened to bury the Boks for good.

With true South African grit, however, the men in Green and Gold persevered. Problems persisted, but every time they got knocked down, they picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. Instead of waning, they grew stronger and eventually turned the corner. Emerging from the shadows, there was hope once more, the summit in sight, albeit from afar.

Hope inspired heroics, and with Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi leading the way, the Springboks scaled the peak in remarkable fashion. Overcoming the odds, the class of 2019 clinched the coveted Webb Ellis Cup, planting their flag atop rugby’s Everest and breathing the rarefied air reserved for world champions.

On the doorstep of a new dawn, we take a trip down memory lane in a 10-part series chronicling the decade that was for Springbok rugby.

The challenging 2010 season suggested that age had caught up with the seasoned Springboks. Hailed as the “golden generation”, the squad was dominated by World Cup-winning stars of 2007, and although these stalwarts weren’t grossly past their prime, the drastic change of fortunes in 2010 indicated they had more great moments behind them than in front of them.

The truncated Tri-Nations was the final opportunity for the ageing side to steady the ship ahead of their World Cup title defence in New Zealand – four fixtures against the old foes to rediscover some of the magic that made them the rulers of the rugby universe.

They did not. Instead, the fears that Father Time’s slow poison had made its way through the bloodstream and had begun destroying the vital organs of the weary Springboks were flamed by another catastrophic campaign. The hope gained from the season-ending win over England at Twickenham was erased as the men in Green and Gold, with fit-again John Smit back at the helm, were swept aside 39-20 by Australia in the tournament opener in Sydney.

Things went from bad to worse as they were butchered 40-7 by the All Blacks in Wellington the following week – a lashing with possible lasting effects, with the Springboks, set to return to the Land of the Long White Cloud for the global showpiece in a few short weeks.

Home comforts helped stop the bleeding somewhat but couldn’t save the wounded Boks from a third straight defeat as they went down 14-9 to the Wallabies in Durban. Then finally, mercifully, a glimmer of hope. Having a pearler in Port Elizabeth, flyhalf Morné Steyn scored all 18 of South Africa’s points to steer them to a 13-point win over the All Blacks.

The victory came against a second-string New Zealand team, with Graham Henry saving his star players for the decider against Australia (which the Wallabies won 25-20), but it was nevertheless a much-needed momentum shift.

Clearly, the Green and Gold machine was running on empty, but there was no turning back and, ultimately, 18 of the 2007 champions were retained in the 2011 World Cup squad. Experience has proven to be a key ingredient to achieving global glory, and coach Peter de Villiers backed his veterans to produce one last hurrah.

The defending champions were immediately thrust into a fire-fight upon their arrival in New Zealand as they faced off against Wales. The Springboks led the tightly-contested clash until the 54th minute when No.8 Toby Faletau crashed over for a converted try to give Wales a 16-10 lead.

After a tense 10-minute period, the Springboks worked their way into the Welsh 22 where the forwards hit the ball up twice. Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez then summed up the situation, picked up from the ruck, drew pillar defender Paul James and popped a short pass to a flying Francois Hougaard (who had come on for Bryan Habana minutes earlier) who cantered over untouched for what proved to be the match-winning seven-pointer.

It was their much-talked-about experience that saw them survive the scare from the highly-determined Dragons, squeaking home 17-16, and they went on to top Pool D following victories over Fiji (49-3), Namibia (87-0) and Samoa (13-5) to set-up a quarter-final showdown against newly-minted Tri-Nations champions Australia in Wellington.

What was an eagerly-anticipated and compelling clash of champions ended up marred by controversy and is remembered painfully by South African supporters for the notorious nature of the Springboks’ 11-9 defeat. Bryce Lawrence became public enemy number one in South Africa and was widely criticised for his handling of the match.

The New Zealand referee would years later admit that he had made mistakes but offered no apology, saying, “I’d done my self-review and realised I’d missed a couple of things, but you can’t get overly concerned about that because I had just missed them – it wasn’t as if I’d seen them and decided not to do anything.”

The Boks had been a much-improved outfit on the game’s grandest stage and looked the better team against the Wallabies. It counted for nought, however, as their quarter-final exit condemned them to a joint-worst performance at a World Cup – unenviably matching the “Kamp Staaldraad”- tainted squad of 2003.

Moreover, it brought a sad end to an era, with legends including skipper Smit, after a then-record 111 Test caps, and Victor Matfield, after 110 Tests, bowing out (although the latter would come out of retirement in 2014) and De Villiers being sacked as head coach.

South Africa 20-39 Australia
South Africa 7-40 New Zealand
South Africa 9-14 Australia
South Africa 18-5 New Zealand

World Cup:

South Africa 17-16 Wales
South Africa 49-3 Fiji
South Africa 87-0 Namibia
South Africa 13-5 Samoa
South Africa 9-11 Australia (quarter-final)

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