Almost a month ago, when the Rugby World Cup in France was nearing the end of the pool stage, Business Day opined on this page that it was “becoming ever more clear that player depth will be all-important in determining which nations face each other in the final at Stade de France on October 28" (“Boks’ superpower: player depth”, September 28).
We went on to note that “the intensity is taking its toll and will doubtless continue to test the fitness of individual players and the quality of the first-tier nations’ squads in coming weeks”.
The Boks’ last-gasp victory over England in Saturday's semifinal bore out the latter statement — the starting team in particular seemed flat after grinding out a single-point win over France the weekend before, and it was the reserves coming on in the second half who dragged the team over the finish line. Just.
It is to be hoped that our former statement will also be proved correct. But that can only happen if the selectors swallow their pride and admit that they erred in keeping the team that beat France unchanged for the England clash. They underestimated their opponents, and were fortunate to get away with it.
There is some consolation in the fact that England at their best could still not beat the Springboks at their most depleted, but that is not a winning game plan to take into the final against the All Blacks this weekend.
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