A lesser man might have been incontinent with relief – triumphalism, even – but Heyneke Meyer responded to South Africa’s spectacular return to form with yet more intensity. There can be no let-up. But he did reveal how difficult not only this past week has been for him, since the Springboks’ shocking defeat to Japan, but also this year.
“It’s probably been the toughest year of my career,” the Springbok coach confessed after the 46-6 win over Samoa. “It started right before the first game and hasn’t stopped yet. But we’re already focused on the Scotland game. There’s no time to enjoy this one, although the players probably will. We have to bring the same intensity and desire to play for our country. There are not a lot of people who backed us, but it was amazing to leave the hotel and see that there were still people believing in us. I had tears in my eyes as we drove in here. But we have to keep our feet on the ground.”
A vital win it may have been, but it was not without cost. Jean de Villiers leads a coterie of wounded. The Springbok captain has been taken to the hospital for an x-ray on his jaw and Meyer would not reveal the identities of the other “five or six” players whose fitness is similarly under review.
One man whose health is not in question is Victor Matfield. South Africa’s veteran lock was in imperious form on the field, stealing three Samoan lineouts, and he, too, described the horrors of the past week. “It’s been one of the toughest weeks as a Springbok for all of us,” he said. “But I’ve also had probably the most messages I have ever got in my life. There were so many positives coming through, some inspirational stuff. And there were people clapping us when we arrived. We know there’s a lot of really loyal Springbok fans out there. We know we disappointed them last week, and we’re very happy we set things right tonight. But it’s just one game. We have a huge game against Scotland now.”
Meyer had been vocal in the week about how his team – how all South African teams – had drifted from the South African way in recent times. So it should come as no surprise which of the various aspects of his team’s complete performance brought him the most pleasure. Six tries, for example? Don’t be ridiculous.
“Attack puts bums on seats,” he said, “but defence wins trophies. Last week motivated me to be true to myself. To not give away tries shows us that this was World Cup rugby. You look at the finals, it’s all about defence and playing the right game plan.
“One of the pleasing things for me is to see a green pack of forwards going forward. I told players that people don’t respect our forwards any more. At one stage Jean was off, Jesse [Kriel] was on, Victor was off, Patrick [Lambie] was at 10, Handré [Pollard] was at 12, but we still kept them out. Guys have to put their bodies on line to show what it means to play for your country. So, the maul and the defence – that was what was more pleasing for me.”
