Enemy of the state
It was suppose to be so different. It started out as a weekend to savour with Bafana Bafana needing to win against lowly Sierra Leone and the Springboks taking on a wobbly Australian side coming off a recent defeat by Ireland, but it ended like a nightmare and in the aftermath it’s been blamed on two people.
Bafana Bafana were favourites to beat a lowly Sierra Leone side in Rustenburg, especially after goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune claimed South Africa was untouchable at home, but made heavy work of breaking through the Sierra Leonian defence only to shoot tamely at goals. Overall it was far from the glamorous performance of matches past but at the final whistle it looked as though it would be enough. Niger’s lose to Egypt most certainly looked to have put Bafana on top of the log on goal difference but CAF decided it was points accumulated against rivals, not goal difference, that would determine the group winners, a decision the South African Football Association has since vowed to fight. This left South Africa with egg on its face and a reality that despite the time wasting and assumptions made by the players, coach and technical staff it was not them going to the African Cup of Nations next year.
In Wellington, the Springboks didn’t fare any better with a brilliant, match winning performance which lacked only 2 things: victory and a good refereeing performance. South Africans are notorious for blaming the ref for defeats but as the curtains drew on their 2011 world cup campaign one could sense that this time it was a fair justification in the face of a tough match. It is true that referee Bryce Lawrence was always going to be under pressure officiating in a match between two bitter rivals as these, but his decisions, especially in the final quarter of the Australian half was poor, bias and speculative at key moments and as a result the match lost a lot of the tempo it was building itself up to. The Springboks can return home knowing they did, bar few minor errors, their best and were beaten by the smallest of angles. Captain John Smit reflected on the defeat with a touch of optimism and gratitude
"It's sad. You're never prepared for when it ends, You want it to be in a final, with a win. But I'd be silly to take my seven years (with the Springboks) and judge it on what happened today. I'm proud of today, it's another chapter. I'm proud of the guys with which I've played."
The defeat has surely brought an end to one the most experienced and successful Springbok side of all time and the introduction of a new chapter for fans to enjoy.
In : Rugby