The prolonged era of southern hemisphere rugby domination is over. This is the primary conclusion that must be drawn from the northern hemisphere teams’ 2022 tours down south. And the Springboks’ never entirely convincing, but ultimately comfortable, victory in the series-deciding third Test against Wales in Cape Town on Saturday does not change it.
Apart from the Welsh winning a Test in SA for the first time the previous weekend, Ireland and England secured convincing series victories. In the case of Ireland it was a seismic first that complements the team’s first-yet win in New Zealand the previous Saturday. That in turn came just six years after its first-yet victory over the All Blacks in more than a century of clashes
It has been clear for several years that the north-south gap that persisted for decades is gradually closing, with England leading the charge, though in recent years it has been France and Ireland that have taken up the cudgels. Indeed, going into the past weekend these were the teams that occupied the two top spots in World Rugby's rankings, after SA and New Zealand were displaced after their losses the previous weekend.
Due to Ireland’s history-making performance in New Zealand it swaps places with France to top the rankings for only the second time yet. This deprives Les Bleus of the mantle they seized for the first time only last week, and there is so little in it that it is possible one of the southern hemisphere teams will reoccupy the number one spot during the Rugby Championship competition, which kicks off with the Springboks taking on the All Blacks at Mbombela on August 6.
However, this will not change the fact that three northern hemisphere teams — four if you forgive Wales’ setback on Saturday — will have momentum behind them going into next year’s World Cup, which also happens to be hosted in France. The traditional southern powerhouses will hope to redeem themselves in the next month or two, but playing each other won’t remove the doubt that has been implanted in players’ minds over the past few weeks.
Popular choice
The All Blacks and Wallabies may not admit it publicly, but will surely be ruing the SA regional teams’ exit from Super Rugby in favour of northern hemisphere competitions. They clearly gained more than they realised from the physicality of the SA teams they played each year. On the other hand, the SA players are by now comfortable going head to head with the best Europe has to offer, and with European conditions.
The fact is that even though the 2023 Rugby World Cup is still more than a year away, for the first time since the tournament kicked off in 1987 — without SA due to apartheid sanctions — even if a northern hemisphere team is not at the top of the World Rugby rankings, one will surely be the favourite. As the home team, France will undoubtedly be the popular choice. And given Ireland’s performance Down Under over the past few weeks the bookies will undoubtedly have great confidence in the men in green.
But any one of six teams — three from each hemisphere — could triumph in 2023 without raising eyebrows or bankrupting the bookies, which makes for a great competition. After two years of Covid-19 lockdowns, travel restrictions and empty or half-full stadiums, that is fantastic news for rugby fans whichever team they support.
As for SA rugby, as a presumably relieved head coach Jacques Nienaber conceded on Saturday evening, there is a lot of work ahead if the Springboks are to successfully defend their 2019 title. Saturday’s winning margin flattered Wales, given that the Boks left three tries on the field, two due to a lack of the precision.
There is still time to get rid of that rust though, and New Zealand, Australia and Argentina will undoubtedly do all they can to assist in that regard over the coming two months.
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