In the build-up to Saturday’s first Test against England, the focus was on the debutants Heyneke Meyer had plucked from Super Rugby and backed to perform on the biggest stage.
By the end of the night, Messrs Kruger, Etzebeth, Coetzee and Oosthuizen were beaming, reflecting on a whirlwind of a day that had ended in triumph.
“Jeez, it was a big step up,” Marcell Coetzee grinned. “There is so much more speed and physicality, but I was just so excited to get out there and use those butterflies inside as energy. I am just glad to have even made a little difference.”
The Sharks flanker, backed by Meyer after a barnstorming campaign in Super Rugby, admitted that hearing the national anthem was a poignant moment for him.
“To do it here, in front of these awesome fans… jeez. I just had these flashes of my failures – not making Craven Week and that kind of stuff – and realised that this was worth all the hard work.”
And while he may have appeared to fit in seamlessly, Coetzee admitted that he was ravaged by nerves.
“If I looked calm, I can assure you it was more like a duck in the pond. I can’t even remember the game, but at least now the shock is over. Then again, maybe the nerves will come right back come Thursday…”
For Coetzee, and his teammates, the sweet taste of success will be tempered by the knowledge that there is plenty of room for improvement.
The 22-17 win wasn’t always pretty, nor was it flowing. But Meyer would have risen this morning quietly excited at the potential shown by his young bokkies.
“I thought they did outstandingly, and I am just happy to come through with the win,” Meyer said after his first Test as a Bok coach.
“There are things we have to improve, like the breakdown, where we were too slow in the first half.”
Meyer, who admitted to getting emotional when things went wrong, said some strong words were said at the break with the game locked at 6-6. Tellingly, his team responded.
For 20 minutes after the break, the Boks married brute force and instinctive flair, as they scored two tries and threatened to trample over England at times.
“Without sounding arrogant, I thought we played some great rugby at times. But we also took some bad decisions, and we should have finished off some other chances,” the former Bulls minder lamented.
But the flashes of freedom and all-round power of what England forwards coach Graham Rowntree described as the “cattle” in the Bok team, hinted at an exciting new dawn.
“Heyneke has given us the freedom to use our flair in the right moments, and I think we saw a bit of that,” captain Jean de Villiers added.
Certainly, the Boks were not at their best. They laboured in the first half, as they familiarised themselves with partners who had been sworn enemies just a week before.
Importantly, the senior players stood up. Meyer revealed that he had spoken in private to Bryan Habana and man-of-the-match Willem Alberts in the weeks leading up to the first Test, cajoling them to find their best form, because he needed them. They both responded, fully repaying his faith.
With the tension of the opener out of the way, the Boks will look for more efficiency in the Highveld on Saturday.
Had Morne Steyn been more ruthless at goal, they could have added some polish to their considerable labour.
But, as any of the new boys and Meyer will tell you, last night was all about getting off to a winning start. And that they certainly did. – Sunday Tribune