When the Springbok rugby team is winning, the country is happy.
And despite all the doom and gloom from the relentless load shedding and the announcement of another interest hike, South Africans would have woken up yesterday morning with smiles on their faces after the men in green thumped old rugby foes England in their backyard.
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Siya Kolisi’s Springboks saved the best for last on their November rugby tour when they beat England 27-13 at Twickenham on Saturday night – their first win over their rivals at that ground in eight years.
The victory meant the Springboks finished their tour with two wins and two narrow losses, ensuring they finished 2022 with a record of eight wins and five losses. Saturday’s triumph over England was their second in successive weekends, following a win over Italy in Genoa last weekend, after starting their tour with losses against Ireland in Dublin and France in Marseille.
Jacques Nienaber’s Boks will probably regard the year as a success but, looking back,k will rue their missed chances. In 2022, it was only their losses against the All Blacks at Ellis Park – where they missed a wonderful chance to win twice in a row against New Zealand – and the Wallabies in Adelaide – probably their worst Test of the year – where they were outplayed.
If more airline capacity means cheaper fares, removing restrictions solves problem – Linden BirnsThey thumped the All Blacks in Mbombela, ended a lengthy losing streak in Australia with a win over the Wallabies in Sydney, defeated Wales 2-1 in a home series, and recorded the double over Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
The opening losses of their November tour against the Irish and French could so easily have gone the other way.
Kolisi described the England win as special. It was special indeed.
We are just a little over nine months away from the World Cup in France. These last two results will give the Springboks the belief that they have a realistic chance of defending the title they won in Japan in 2019.
We certainly hope so. It will make dealing with the daily grind all that much easier.
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