Ken Borland

The Springboks have no idea when or where their next Rugby Championship appointment will be, but coach Jacques Nienaber said he was “unbelievably proud” of his team for getting over what he described as a “massive” hurdle when they beat Argentina 29-10 in their second Rugby Championship Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday evening.

For now, the Southern Hemisphere tournament is in limbo following New Zealand’s unilateral decision to not travel to Australia next week or host South Africa in their matches scheduled for September 25 and October 2. As accustomed to uncertainty the Springboks have had to become in these Covid times, Nienaber hinted that the shock developments on the eve of Saturday’s Test could well have rattled his team.

“I’m unbelievably proud of the squad because this was a massive Test for us, not far off the World Cup final, winning the Rugby Championship in Salta or the last Test against the Lions. I was actually very nervous about this game, we put lots of pressure on ourselves and the guys challenged themselves massively. Our focus had to be on this game and not if we’re going to stay in South Africa or travel to the UK or Brisbane or wherever.

“The players deserve all the credit, they are the ones who sacrifice their bodies for the country at the end of the day. I’m delighted for them. The game-management was excellent for the first three-quarters of the game, but we weren’t perfect because there were opportunities created that we did not finish. But you need to look at that from the perspective that we were up against a very desperate Argentina side,” Nienaber said after the win.

Despite their dominance, the Springboks only scored two tries, flyhalf Handre Pollard giving a polished goalkicking display as he added the other 19 points. Nienaber pointed to his team’s heavy schedule recently and the disruption caused by replacement scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse’s injury, which forced South Africa into playing the last eight minutes with only 14 men as wing Cheslin Kolbe had to shift to halfback, as mitigating factors.

“We’ve had to play six Tests on the trot, which you seldom have to do and doing that at this intensity takes its toll. We would have loved the bonus point and we went all out for it. But we also had to make changes because we need some guys to get more experience. We did that, we had to rotate and guys like Jaden Hendrikse, Damian Willemse and Kwagga Smith came on early.

“We were going full on at the end for the try that would have given us a bonus point and we said to them they should take chances, so I am not disappointed with the try we conceded in the last minute. It was absolutely worth it and it’s fantastic that we were in the position that we could go for it. But there were lots of things we also didn’t get right on our side,” Nienaber said.

There was bad news on Tuesday for those critics who are for some reason disappointed in the spectacle provided by the series between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions because Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber said their next opponents – Argentina – are a side that is very adept at closing down the game as well.

The magnitude of the occasion typically led to three arm-wrestles, beautifully intense and gripping in their own way, between the Springboks and the Lions, who both favoured fairly conservative game-plans. Nienaber warned that playing against Argentina is going to be far from a free-for-all with the shackles released.

“Argentina are a tough team to play against, they have the ability to disrupt your flow as a team, they are really good at that. They have good plans that can really upset you. They are tactically astute and smart, they have a phenomenal defence and a great kicking game. They can also attack and score from turnovers, they have very quick wings and can create some magic.

“They are physical, defensively well-organised and willing to put their heads in dark places. They are well-balanced across the board, quality players playing for each other. Since the Rugby World Cup they have played seven Tests, six of them against big countries like New Zealand, Wales and Australia, and their only loss was to the All Blacks. Their world ranking [7^th] does not reflect how good they are,” Nienaber said on Tuesday.

While those who are bitter over the Springboks’ success have decried the quality of rugby played in the Lions series, Nienaber, enjoying the sweet taste of victory, said rugby had been the winner.

“It was tight! We’re very grateful for the series victory, the tour is such a special thing, happening only once over 12 years, and it could have gone both ways. It was a grind, but it’s the second biggest event in rugby after the World Cup. It was a humdinger of a series, which is what you want. In my opinion, rugby was the winner and there was only three points separating the teams at the end.

“The beauty of rugby is that there are different styles of playing, it would be unbelievably boring if we all played the same way. That means there are different tactics, like we had to employ at the World Cup going from Japan to Wales to England as opponents in the knockouts. The style teams play is determined by the athletic attributes of their players, you create a game-plan to amplify those characteristics,” Nienaber pointed out.

The way Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus described his waterboy duties on Tuesday one would almost expect Jacques Nienaber to be paying him pocket money, but with the head coach sitting next to him and smiling broadly at the time, there is clearly no issue when it comes to division of labour.

This week former England and British and Irish Lions coach Sir Clive Woodward, in his column for the Daily Mail – of course – said Erasmus should “butt out” because he is “taking over again” and the “confusion at the top and a lack of demarcation between the roles of director of rugby … and … national team coach … is killing the Springboks”.

“I’m not sure Clive Woodward is so important in South Africa, but Jacques and I are great mates, we’ve worked a lot together since our days in the military back in 1990. I’m the water-carrier now, so he’s got a higher rank than me now, that makes him my boss at the moment. If we had scored that try in the 71^st minute then people would say the relationship is working perfectly.

“Jacques’ job is the coaching, my job is to get the structure right, make sure we are given a fair chance, get through the Covid protocols and make sure players are available. I also need to inform people what is going on. And I help with the coaching plan and I carry water. The important thing is that all the players are now back on the park and training every day this week,” Erasmus said.

Speaking of ‘a fair chance’, Erasmus said he was deeply concerned by the pressure Lions coach Warren Gatland put on TMO Marius Jonker last week, somehow implying that because he is South African he would favour the Springboks. Predictably, the opposite was true, with flank Hamish Watson escaping a yellow card for a tip-tackle and the hosts having a second try disallowed on what many considered a 50/50 call.

“We were very focused last week and just trying to bring back the positive vibe from the World Cup, so we didn’t say too much. The Lions were a bit the opposite. Warren Gatland, who is a great guy, spoke a lot about Marius Jonker and him being South African. Which is weird because we would never say anything this week about the referee [Ben O’Keeffe] coming from New Zealand and Warren also being a New Zealander.

“It’s a difficult one because Marius and I are close friends and when he was appointed, I made a point of not phoning him before the match because it was such a tough time for him. To point out that he is South African does not sit well with me. When New Zealand and Australia played each other in the Rugby Championship last year, they had referees from the host country, that’s the way it is with Covid,” Erasmus pointed out.

The Springbok team culture is so good at the moment that no-one would ever question the hunger or desire of the team but, as they now head straight into a gruelling Rugby Championship starting with Saturday’s Test against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the management will be asking in private whether certain players will be needing a break over the next couple of matches.

Three ferocious clashes with the British and Irish Lions would have not only taken a massive physical toll on the players, but mentally as well, the players have been through an emotional rollercoaster. The outpouring of emotion after the gripping series-clincher last weekend in Cape Town was a graphic description of how much it meant to the squad to win.

It would be entirely understandable for that incredible high to be followed by something of a downer, perhaps just a flatter week in terms of intensity. But Argentina are no longer the sort of side one can afford to slacken off against and the Pumas will be fancying their chances of upsetting the world champions on their home turf, just as they did in Durban in 2015.

But Springboks forwards coach Deon Davids said on Monday that dealing with any potential mental or physical fatigue has been part of their plan from the beginning of the season.

“Obviously we celebrated our achievement on Saturday night, but because of the professionalism of the squad and the preparation we have done before, the focus was quickly shifted on to the next task. It was important as coaches that we brought that reality as soon as possible, and we have done that. We had earlier given the players an idea of our planning going into this week.

“So we trained full-out today, it will be a normal Test week. The players understand the importance of the Rugby Championship, we are the defending champions and we obviously want to be successful. We have a bigger squad because we’ve just come from a very tough series and there are a couple of niggles and injuries. We want to assess our depth in the Test matches going forward,” Davids said.

The interesting conundrum is how many of the players who started all three Tests against the Lions will the Springboks dare to rest against an Argentina team that beat the All Blacks once and drew twice with Australia last year, playing all their matches away from home.

There are some players waiting in the wings who can obviously step in and do the job though against the Pumas.

Willie le Roux, as solid as ever at the back, could take a break to give Aphelele Fassi another chance to shine, while Jesse Kriel could get a start and break up the brilliant midfield combination of Lukhanyo Am and Damian de Allende. Elton Jantjies might get a well-deserved run at flyhalf.

It is the forwards, as ever, who have shouldered the greatest burden and players like Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth made immense contributions. No-one could begrudge them a break and it will be exciting to see Duane Vermeulen make his return. Kwagga Smith and Marco van Staden have largely played off the bench and Lood de Jager is probably still building to peak match fitness.

Ox Nche is set to make his return from injury after his impressive first Test against the Lions, and between himself and the superb Trevor Nyakane, who one fancies still has a bit left in his tank, they can cover loosehed prop more than adequately, allowing Steven Kitshoff a break. Frans Malherbe, who battled hard through all three Tests, could perhaps do with a week off as well.

At hooker, Malcolm Marx said on Monday that he is eager to keep going.

“There are a few sore bodies and mentally it has been a bit draining, but we did not play together for over a year and I know I am still hungry to keep going, regardless of the body being sore or how mentally tired I am,” Marx said.