Rassie Erasmus looked like a man whose entire worldview had just been challenged. Sitting in front of the microphones in Paris, he wore the thousand-yard stare of someone struggling to comprehend what had happened.
On their last two visits to the Stade de France, the Springboks triumphed in the biggest rugby game ever played, the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup, then returned last year to give France others hide in their own patch. Erasmus has never lost here as Springbok coach. It was starting to feel like it never would.
“It sucks sitting here on the losing end,” he said after Friday’s 21-19 loss, in disbelief that he was in this position. The result seemed to offend his understanding of how these competitions are supposed to work. South Africa won every scrum and lineout on their own feed, drew nine scrum penalties and enjoyed 55 per cent possession and 58 per cent territory. They had all the ingredients for another French feast, but somehow they left hungry.
That’s because their attack was toothless outside of the scrum and maul. Both are integral, intricate parts of rugby, and the Boks do them better than anyone. But with the ball in hand, they looked like a luxury car stuck in first gear. Too often, the forwards provided a wonderful platform, only for the running backs to drop the call, run into traffic, or ask the pack to bail them out again. What’s the point of a scrum cheat code if the reward is another aimless phase?
Kudos to France for that. Their defense was ferocious, organized and, when the game began to slip away, brilliantly desperate. Antoine Dupont helped prevent Pieter-Steph du Toit from scoring close to the line, then pounced on a loose ball after Louis Bielle-Biarrey had broken down Jesse Kriel in the dying seconds. France scored all 21 points before halftime and still found the strength to defend the lead for another 40 minutes.
Perhaps there was also a difference in emotional intensity. France have been haunted by their one-point defeat in the quarter-finals of the World Cup and last year’s defeat in their capital. There was something urgent about their resistance, as if the players understood that another defeat would deepen the collective scar. Conversations with fans on the field before kick-off carried an unmistakable air of uncertainty and trepidation. There was a sense that France wanted this, needed this, with a desperation that South Africa couldn’t quite match.
Not that South Africa was on the coast. They were certainly dedicated. No one watching their scrum would suggest otherwise. But physical exertion and emotional acuity are not always the same thing.
Does this Springbok team sometimes need a reason to produce their best? Opening defeat of New Zealand in this year’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series did not end their hopes, but made every remaining Test a final. They won them all, as they won all three knockout games at the 2023 World Cup. In contrast, the emotional decline around defeat Australia in recent years it has sometimes seemed almost as important as opposition tactics. Over the past eight years, the Erasmus team has shown that they give their all when they have to, and can be guilty of lowering their standards when a loss would be more of a nuisance than a disaster.
Erasmus admitted that his players were unusually uncertain. “We got ourselves into that hole,” he said, suggesting coaches need to understand why. His French counterpart Fabien Galthié and Dupont suggested that France’s character and mindset, as well as their tactics, were decisive.
Of course, the lack of emotional current cannot justify the failure of an attack of imagination. Which brings us to Tony Brown. His job was to expand the Springboks’ repertoire, and there is ample evidence that he has. But when a team enjoys so much front-foot possession, where was the deception, the change of angle, the pass that caught France off guard? Brown’s offensive scheme seemed to be stifled and his players have to own that. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu produced a magnificent, curling break from deep. With support from either side, he tried to run over Maxime Lucu instead of letting the ball go. He earned a penalty and a yellow card, so it wasn’t catastrophic. However, it recorded an evening of promising introductions without satisfying endings. Talent was abundant. There was no smart decision-making.
Kriel threatened with nice breaks from the outside center, proving that he is not only a defensive asset. Ethan Hooker had his moments and Damian de Allende’s leg after contact remained imposing. Kurt-Lee Arendse’s best tackle ended in a foul after he went for a long line early. Damian Willemse endured a terrible night by his standards, perhaps his worst night in a Boks shirt, while Morné van den Berg contributed to a string of poor tackles from the box. There was plenty of ball but precious little cohesion, as if these world-conquering backs had met for the first time that morning.
Still, the Boks could have won. Manie Libbok missed the conversion that would have leveled after Malcolm Marx’s try. And they became so obsessed with their dominance in the scrum that they believed there was always another penalty to come. Erasmus wondered if they should have taken the points or taken the corner instead of waiting for the referee to keep awarding them. He blamed his side’s decisions, not officials’ interpretations. They were so intoxicated with their strongest weapon that they stopped looking for another.
There’s no shame in losing to this French side, especially on a night when Dupont seemed to be everywhere at once and the pre-match show sent the home fans into a frenzy. The concern is how little South Africa have capitalized on the opportunities they have created. The platform was not taken away from them. They built a runway and then forgot how to take off.
Now comes Ireland. If the Springboks crush another pack, we will hear the familiar anthems of the Bomb Squad, the pride and greatness of this dynasty restored. Fair enough. But we already know that they can overcome anyone. Demolition Ireland would provide more evidence for a case already proven beyond a reasonable doubt. What we need to see is an offense that is capable of figuring out its defense when forwards can’t simply break through it. And a team that plays with the urgency of a World Cup final without needing defeat to revive it.