SOUTH AFRICA’S FIRST Rugby Championship win since 2019 caught the attention of Bernard Jackman and co. on today’s brand new episode of Rugby Weekly Extra, the podcast for subscribers to The 42.
“I think the worst-case scenario for the world was that South Africa would win a World Cup and then wouldn’t just go with a copy-and-paste approach,” Jackman said.
“What Rassie has done; he’s brought in Tony Brown, they’ve blooded new talent, some have blossomed, some have been so and so, but he’s found out about them.
“They’ve won a Rugby Championship that they can add to a list of trophies and accolades that would be the envy of any country in the world. They’re in a great position. The connection they have with their fans, the bond that the squad seem to have and the humility of players when they are left out and their willingness to put the team first is second to none.
“But more importantly, they now have an attack which is very dangerous.
“They still have that power, set piece and kicking game, but now they have this attack which has already come a long way in a short period of time.
“There is so much to like about what they are doing. Even after winning a World Cup they haven’t rested on their laurels, and they’ve kicked on again.”
The 42’s Murray Kinsella added: “It’s absurd to me [that Ireland are above South Africa in the world rankings]. There’s no doubt in my mind about who the best team in the world is. They’re the reigning world champions, and they only won it last year and now they’ve got a Rugby Championship to go with that.”
“Like Bernard has said, they’ve also built depth in this Rugby Championship. It wasn’t just a case of them going out with the perceived number one in each position, each time. That perception of which players are number one just fades and constantly changes with the Springboks.
“They’re doing a brilliant job of having so many players at that level with decent experience and who can do really important jobs throughout the team.
“The breadth of quality players is outstanding. They’re all over the world and then they bring them together and they’re so aligned, it’s a brilliant set up,” Jackman said.
Elsewhere on today’s podcast, Jackman, Kinsella and host Gavan Casey discussed Ireland women’s phenomenal victory over New Zealand as well as a mixed bag of performances from the provinces in the URC over the weekend.
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