Round two: The Springboks return to regular scheduled programming

Another piece of sh1t article from Jamie Wall that aged incredibly poorly.

Also weak on facts. Australia before the ABs. Numb nuts.

I was so excited to have an All Blacks Bok’s finals, as I thought the kiwis were like kin and on the same top level, win or lose we would have a good tussle and it didn’t matter as long as we tested where we stood against others of gold standard if the better side won.

I thought it was incredible but wholly expected that you would bounce back from a pre tournament loss to make the final. At the time I thought oh no what have we done, by giving you such motivation to come back.

I watched you improve game by game and just knew and was excited by the fact you could be there in the end.

If it was the other way around I know we would have congratulated you because that’s the feel from the start, we never took it for granted, in 4 years we would try again.

In the UK everyone as neutrals were congratulating and celebrating the boks winning and pointing out how well they did to beat all the best teams week after week. But sadly I have been shocked by the sour grapes from every kiwi even after so long by this kiwi writer. Ok you didn’t disrespect the silver medals like the whinging poms did, but I expected better from the kiwis.

The single most depressing and sad thing about the World Cup Final has been the unexpected whinging response from the kiwis.

The better team won on the day, please get over it and lets do the tussle again sometime but only if the good ole kiwis turn up as men to enjoy the occasion and agree that no -one can be sore losers just celebrate and congratulate the winning team, after all that’s what sportsmanship is all about.

Edit: I just read this quote from France coach Shaun Edwards “Fair play to South Africa. In rugby, you get knocked down and you’ve got to get back up off the floor, shake your opponent’s hand and wish them luck. That’s what you have got to do.”

Now This is what I am talking about Kiwis, come on stand up and be counted. 😀

Thanks for another article Ben.

Like they say no publicity is bad publicity.

In this day and age, it’s all about clicks to drive revenue and nobody comes close to Ben in driving revenue straight into the coffers of SA Rugby.

Ben click-bait-king Smith strikes again. Gee no mention of ABs record loss to Boks on eve of RWC23. Was it Suzie? The ref? Jet-lag? Parochialism? Better team lose? W anchor.

Ben thanks for the article. Nothing gets this team performing better than people writing them off. You are their biggest fan and thanks for the continued support : )

South Africans only care about winning the World Cup. All other tests are just stepping stones to that.

“From Suzie the waitress” - a disproven myth; “to Sam Cane’s red” - a red that is in line with every shoulder-on-head red that has come since the new rules were put in place. AB fans went from blaming the ref and defending SBW in 2017 v Lions to blaming the ref and defending Cane… they never learn do they? Even Squidge agreed that this was a clear red.

Oh and that wallabies sweep was after 1.5 years of not even being able to practice together due to covid.

Try again Benny boy.

Does anyone remember the prognostications about the Boks prior to any of the RWCs that they won? They all sounded like this article, in essence giving the no chance before the tournament followed by reluctant credit when they won.

And did anyone listen to Rassie on the topic of what his big-picture plan was? He said that they started 6 years ago on a plan to win the 2023 RWC. He also said that this was the first step towards capturing the #1 ranking in the longer term, and he said that the 2019 RWC win was a bonus. He and Jacques both said that 2022 was about depth-building, and implicitly not about win rate.

So far he has checked all of the boxes. Two RWC wins in succession, a coherent winning culture, strong systems, and a squad with legit competition in every position. It seems he has also been working on relationships with franchise coaches, and on development pathways, not to mention transformation along the way.

SA is not unbeatable, and there are clearly some very impressive national sides out there. But the Boks are setting a very high bar, with stronger foundations than they have ever had, and a new generation of players coming through. They may or may not retain the #1 spot this year, but they are not going to concede it lightly.

Any of the top 4 sides (SA, NZ, Ireland, France) can beat any of the others on any given day, and England will soon also be a contender in that group. All of them will treat year one of the 4-year cycle as a time to make the bigger adjustments, as they figure out how to peak in 2027. But of all of them, SA is the one that least needs to take risks this year. Over the next 3.5 years Rassie will be able to field a gently changing group with gradually evolving game plans and structures, and no need for a rethink.

If Rassie is allowed to keep to the plan, the Boks will be fine in 2024, and will be a serious contender for RWC 2027.

This is little more than an embittered smear piece written through a blur of spite and vindictiveness. Whoever the author, they have descended into twitteresque pique using their platform to damn the Boks with faint praise laced with backhanded insults. Citing Suzi, red cards, tier two nations to besmirch the victories is indicative of bankrupt thinking. Can Rugby Pass not find journalists with anything interesting to add?

Yawn.

If SA win 6/6 against Ireland, NZ and the wallabies. It will be because of the ref, home ground advantage, the better team losing on the day or some or other BS conspiracy theory.

If they lose just one of those games, we’ll never hear the end of that loss either. Let alone 2, 3 or heaven forbid all of them.

No matter what the boks do, the most hated team in international rugby can do no right in the eyes of fools like this idiot writer and the haters he panders to.

Which is just how the boks and their fans like it. Being written-off is what we want.

Keep it up Ben and co. Keep it up.

Champions know when to win. You can look at any sport. Tennis for example, no use winning more points but losing the match. BMT is something NZ fans and pundits seem to forget. No use winning the small stuff but choking when it matters. Champions know how. The Boks know how.

Greatest RWC team in history. You can take the scraps while we remain the champions.

Shame, what a pathetic tone to an even worse article. Go cry some more, Kiwis. 4>3 all day.

Quite extraordinary that Rugbypass seems to have asked a writer to do nothing but antagonise SA rugby supporters to up traffic to its site. Have to wonder how Ben feels being used in this way. Not much of a journalism career writing troll pieces.

They have let Bin Smut write again. More’s the pity.

I am a passionate Bok supporter and at times have taken slight exception to Mr Smith's journalistic integrity, however, I am confused by the odd negative comment on this forum, as from my perspective this is a splendid piece of objective writing… with an understandable marginal subjective bias creeping in.

For what it's worth, if Mr Smith should happen to read this; thank you for writing this informative piece that caters for all rugby fans. 🙂

This article is a ‘return to regular scheduled programming’

Trash talk begins again from ol faithful Bennie Smith. To be honest he aint wrong when he says SA has not dominated outside of world cups. The closest they came was in 2009 and 1998 in regular seasons when they had impressive records. In world cup years they are impressive because they win it. SA needs to improve its record between world cups and they need to win the rugby championship more often. SA rugby has faced its difficulties in the past but they have no excuses to hide behind now. The next 4 years will determine if this team can establish a dynasty outside of world cups

Great achievement by SA in 2023 - all that matters is that you win, and they did just that in three unbelievably huge games in consecutive weeks.

It doesn't take away anything from Ben Smith's points (year-after-year-after-year) that SA have lived a charmed life with RWC draws in 2007 and 2019.

Anyone with the slightest knowledge or understanding of the game knows that their run to the 2007 RWC was a complete and utter farce. This was through no fault of their own - all you can do in sport is play (and beat) who is on front of you. SA did just that in 2007 - and well done to them.

In 2019 they beat one legitimate high quality team - a very good England team on the biggest stage of all. Again - well done to SA, they won when it mattered.

But Bennie,

Forget 1 point margin, narrative. It is one scoring margin.

In rugby Union you can not score 1 point, even if you did it would be a draw and extra time will be played, and you know what happened in 1995! The Pacific Lions can not drop kick.

You can score 3, 5, 7 and (5+2).

Boks v France and England they fought back then defended their lead.

Boks against The Pacific Lions, the Boks led from start till end. they protected their lead.

tactics, strategy, skill.

But Bennie,

All below in quotes is from - thefacts.nz

Bennie should read as it is from .nz. I think referees are finally catching up with NZ

BTW yet to add the 2 red and 5 yellow cards from 2023 world cup and others from 2023.

"22 INSIGHTS OVER 10 YEARS

TOTAL

RED CARDS opposition 4 - NZ 5

YELLOW CARDS opposition 39 - NZ 60

Red cards:

New Zealand has now received a red card every year for 4 years in a row (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Over the last 10 years, New Zealand has received 5 red cards and opposition teams 4 red cards (including Bismarck du Plessis’ 2 yellows in 2013 that turned into a red)

In 7/8 of those games (88%), if a team gets a red card, they lose:

The exception being when the All Blacks beat Australia 38-21 on September 5th 2021.

NOTE: In the All Blacks vs Australia game on November 7th 2020, Australia also got a red card after New Zealand. Ofa Tu’ungafasi (NZ) was red-carded in the 23rd minute, and then Lachlan Swinton (AU) was red-carded in the 35th minute. Australia won 24-22.

Yellow cards:

Over the last 10 years, the All Blacks have received 54% more yellow cards than their opponents (60 vs 39)

The All Black with the most cards over this period is Kieran Read with 5 yellow cards.

5 All Blacks have received 3 cards over this time:

Ofa Tu’ungafasi (1 red, 2 yellow)

Sonny Bill Williams (1 red, 2 yellow)

Sam Whitelock (3 yellow)

Sam Cane (3 yellow)

Wyatt Crockett (3 yellow)

3 opposition players have received two yellow cards over this period:

Mako Vunipola (England)

Pablo Matera (Argentina)

Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa) who got 2 yellows in the same game, with the latter becoming a red

Total cards

55% of games have had at least one card (72/130)

The All Blacks get a card every two games (0.50 per game)

The All Blacks’ opponents get a card every three games (0.33 per game)

There have been 4 games with 4 cards:

New Zealand (1 red, 2 yellows) vs Ireland (1 yellow) July 9th 2022. Ireland won 23-12.

Australia (1 red, 1 yellow) vs New Zealand (1 red, 1 yellow) November 7th 2020. AU won 24-22.

Argentina (2 yellows) vs New Zealand (2 yellows) October 1st 2017. NZ won 36-10.

New Zealand (2 yellows) vs South Africa (1 red, 1 yellow) September 14th 2013. NZ won 29-15.

All Blacks

Of the All Blacks’ 16 losses over this period:

They got red cards in 4 of them

6 had no cards for either team

3 the opposition got a yellow card

3 the All Blacks got a yellow card.

Of the 6 games where the All Blacks have had 2 yellow cards and the opposition none, the All Blacks have still won 5 of those games and tied the other.

The two facts above support the idea that “red cards lose games, but yellow cards don’t necessarily lose games”

Of the 5 draws over this period:

2 games had no cards

1 game had a yellow each

1 game the ABs got a yellow

1 game the ABs got 2 yellows

Other team stats of interest

IRELAND – In 11 matches vs Ireland over this period, the All Blacks have received 10 cards (1 red, 9 yellows) versus Ireland’s 2 yellows only. In the last 8 games, the ratio is 9 vs 1 card, and the teams have split the games with 4 wins each.

AUSTRALIA – The most cards the All Blacks have had over this period is 18 versus Australia. The teams have played 30 times over the last 10 years, with New Zealand getting 3 red cards (out of their 5 total) and 15 yellow cards. Australia has received 1 red card and 10 yellows in these games.

SCOTLAND – In the last 3 games versus Scotland, New Zealand has got 3 yellow cards and Scotland none.

WALES – In the last 8 games versus Wales, New Zealand has got 4 yellow cards and Wales none.

FRANCE – The All Blacks best discipline against the top tier teams is France, with 3 yellow cards in the last 11 games, compared to France’s 1 red, and 4 yellows.

ITALY – There have been no cards for either team in the last 4 games between New Zealand and Italy.

OTHER team cards vs the All Blacks are very similar tallies overall. Please contact us if you’d like the full data analysis.

…

Why do the All Blacks get 54% more yellow cards than their opposition?

Is this bad strategy, or does it reflect a “harder” style that pays dividends elsewhere?"

But Bennie,

The AB’s aka the PACIFIC LIONS had the worst disciplinary record in the 2023 RWC. Don’t blame boks for the red card. Go to RWC stats and read, don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.

2 red and 5 yellow cards from 2023 world cup

But Bennie book wurm,

In the final the Springboks were blessed with early penalties and the fateful red card to Sam Cane, the first of his professional career in 268 games of first class rugby.

Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.

From

thefacts.nz

"Over the last 10 years, the All Blacks have received 54% more yellow cards than their opponents (60 vs 39)

The All Black with the most cards over this period is Kieran Read with 5 yellow cards.

5 All Blacks have received 3 cards over this time:

Sam Cane (3 yellow)"

But Ben,

The AB's, aka the Pacific Lions in their 2023 RWC squad had 8 Non NZ born players. Boks were 100% natural. It was not 15 players v 14 because there were 1 red and 3 yellow cards. Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.

1. Samisoni Frank Simpson Taukei'aho - Tongatapu, Tonga

2. Nepo Eti Laulala - Moto'otua, Samoa

3. Tyrel Shae Lomax - Canberra, Australia

4. Aniseto Ofa He Moori Tuʻungafasi - Nukuʻalofa, Tonga

5. Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham Fainga'anuku - Nukuʻalofa, Tonga

6. Emoni Narawa - Suva, Fiji

7. Finlay Turner Christie - Peebles, Scotland

8. Shannon Michael Frizell - Folaha, Tonga

Could have been 9 with Sevuloni Lasei Reece - Nadi, Fiji

the objective must be building a (mostly new) RWC-contender team for 2027

sorry to say, but the objective is NOT, proving Ben Smith wrong ….

regardless: as other teams (except France) are also mostly in the re-building, guess, the results for the Boks should be a bit better this time

(P.S.: did Mr. Smith omit the B&I Lions Tour 2021 by accident or on purpose?)

I'll take 4 world cups over 20 sanzaar cups every time thank you

Pretty accurate assessment but the twinge of bitterness is clear in every Smith article on Springboks. Pity.

Your writing is bitter as always, but this time I agree with you. The Boks must start winning in between WC's. If for nothing else, to shut you up.

It seems to me that Springboks only unveils their true potential when the thing matters the most: RWC or Lions Tours for example. The rest of the time is just preparation for these two great events where some defeats are accepted based on a greater objective. They played 8 RWCs with 4 wins… 50%. No other nation can match that.

Actually with an overall win percentage of 84.38% NZ is the most successful RWC team.