Scotland crush Springboks 21-17
Scotland stood proud after delivering a crushing defeat to the Springboks last Saturday. Dan Parks gave a classic performance by successfully tackling six penalties as well as a drop goal. A week earlier the All Blacks had scarred the team by defeating them
43-3 and therefore the victory over the Springboks was a much needed respite. In addition, the records of the past decade prove that the team had all the reason to be jubilant and to consider their win a historic moment in the history of rugby for this had
been their first victory over the Springboks since 2002.
It seems to have been a tough year for the Springboks who finished last in the Tri-Nations table this year having lost five of the six matches they played. Yet it had still been expected that defeating Scotland would be a piece of cake for the South African
world champions, especially as the former had recently suffered defeat at the hands of the All Blacks and were still recovering from that blow.
The Springboks did not take their defeat against Scotland lightly and were quite mortified. Mortification also seemed to be visible upon the faces of rows and rows of Springboks fans who had turned up to see their team win and who would not be forgetting
the match too soon.
The captain Matfield was quite despondent over his team’s performance and took to blaming the weather for their defeat. In his words,
"We were probably under pressure. Everyone wants us to play more expansive, but with the weather the way it was it didn't allow us to”.
In addition the coach De Villiers also seems to be facing a tough season for in addition to landing five out of six losses in the Tri- Nations against the Wallabies and the All Blacks; two of the members of Springboks have also been tested positive for a
prohibited stimulant.
Springboks won international acclaim after their wins in the Rugby World Cup and the 2009 British and Lions Series. However recent events prove that the team is frittering away the goodwill it has acquired over the years. The loss to Scotland comes in the
wake of a long and colorful line of losses. Over the course of the past two years, the Boks have lost to Australia thrice, to New Zealand thrice and to Ireland, France, Leicester and Saracens once each. Therefore some tough decisions will now have to be taken
by the team to turn around its fortunes. The loss against Scotland can become a positive event for Springboks if it acts as a warning signal for the team to shape up for the Rugby World Cup 2011.
Scotland however stood visibly proud and the immortalized words of its head coach Foster stating that “true sport is about winning” reflected their optimism. According to another team member Barclay, the victory over Springboks was especially significant
for the team for it reaffirmed their conviction that they could make history as long as they were given the opportunity to play to their strengths.
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