Defend Truth

Opinionista

Captain Kolisi carries a nations hopes

mm

Shapshak is editor-in-chief of Stuff.co.za and executive director of Scrolla.Africa

Go Bokke! A nation desperate for some good news, for a reason to feel good about our country again, has your back. No pressure …

It’s a sign of how the Springboks have rejuvenated themselves in the last two years that the most celebrated players in the side are the smallest. Cheslin Kolbe has become a talismanic figure for the Springboks, who, like fellow diminutive playmaker, Faf de Klerk, brings an X factor to a team that finds itself– deservedly – in a World Cup final this weekend.

This doesn’t overshadow the fact that the team is being led onto the field by South Africa’s first black captain, who is also playing his 50th Test.

Not since Nelson Mandela appeared on the Ellis Park pitch in Francois Pienaar’s number six Springbok jersey has there been such a sense of unity around South African sport. The country desperately needs a reason to feel good about itself, and winning a World Cup might distract us from the Eskom woes and other depressing results of #Presidunce Zuma’s lost years. God knows, it isn’t going to be the Proteas or Bafana Bafana who make it through to a global final.

For the Springboks to be in the final is a deserved result. The team has been steadily improving since coach Rassie Erasmus took over early last year, to the point where the last-minute draw three months ago against the All Blacks in New Zealand, to clinch the Rugby Championships for the first time in years, felt like a win. Who was the player who rounded that try? Another diminutive Springbok, Herschel Jantjies, the two-try hero of the preceding week’s victory over Australia.

Despite losing the opening World Cup game to the All Blacks, the Springboks have had a good run to the final, overcoming a fiercely contested semi-final against Wales. England’s hammering of the All Blacks and superb psychological mastery in using an arrowhead formation during the haka, will probably go down as the best game of the tournament. Have the English Roses peaked a game too soon? Can they replicate that ferocity in the final? We’ll know soon enough, but suffice to say I have faith we can beat England but not the All Blacks in a final.

It’s a dream script for a side that has plumbed such depths in the miserable two years when Alastair Coetzee coached them down to number eight in world rankings and made them a laughing stock.

Erasmus has proven himself to be a tactical genius – again. But this time, he didn’t need fancy coloured lights on the roof of Bloemfontein stadium. Demonstrating an astuteness that is so seldom seen in the coaching role, Erasmus has built up his squad and honoured his commitment to pick players principally on merit, not reputation or race. Though, it’s hard to see what he still sees in butterfingers Willie le Roux, apart from distant form.

The heroes of this year’s campaign, unlike under so many other monster-obsessed coaches, haven’t been the biggest brutes on the field, although players like Pieter-Steph du Toit (in particular), Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Duan Vermeulen have been immense.

But it’s the electrifying Kolbe that reminds one of the dazzling footwork of a Bryan Habana at his prime, who was part of the great Wold Cup-winning team of 2007 when the Boks last won the William Webb Ellis trophy.

Yes, the statistics are in our favour, gleeful Saffas have been WhatsApping each other all week. We’ve been in two World Cup finals and we’ve won them both, 12 years apart. Let’s hope they are meaningful come Saturday morning.

Kolbe and De Klerk clearly represent a new way of thinking, but it’s how Erasmus has used them, along with South Africa’s other traditional strengths, that is more important. Look no further than the coaches dedication to a 6-2 split on the bench with spare “absolute units”, as Elon Musk might describe them. Luckily, Frans Steyn can play just about every spot in the backline.

The brute force of South Africa’s renowned chunks of humanity has been a brilliant battering ram, opening up space of the likes of Kolbe, De Klerk, Jantjies and often overlooked Makazole Mapimpi.

Imagine how the utterly talented Brent Russell must feel, watching the opportunities given to smaller players like him now. His curse was to play in the era of the bigger-is-better coaches. Even Patrick Lambie – before a fellow South African playing for Ireland, CJ Stander, late tackled him in a Test that started the series of concussions that ultimately led to his retirement – was overlooked, despite handing off the incredible Schalk Burger in a Currie Cup final to score for the Sharks.

While players tend to downplay such big events as “just another game”, Captain Kolisi has been as straightforward as his coach. “The emotion can definitely help you lift your performance, it’s just how you channel that emotion that is important. This is not just another game. We know it is much bigger than that. Not many people get this opportunity. This is a World Cup final.”

Go Bokke. A nation desperate for some good news, for a reason to feel good about our country again, has your back. No pressure … DM

Toby Shapshak is editor-in-chief and publisher of Stuff (Stuff.co.za) and has twice been the Mail & Guardian’s sports editor. He has written about rugby for The Guardian, The Observer, ThisDay, The Times and AFP.

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.