I totally support this statement by former Springbok centre Pieter Muller believes that South Africa can win the Rugby World Cup even if they have to face the All Blacks in the semi-finals. After watching last weekends Tri-Nations game between the Springboks and Australia, considering the length of time some of the players had been out of the game, the team did well.
The first half was great for South Africa, the team looked stronger, more organised and had better defence, they looked like they were ready to avenge a humiliating loss to the Wallabies last month. The only problem was match fitness and the second half showed that, the Springboks completely lost momentum.
All seemed to be going our way as flyhalf Butch James he calmly slotted his first penalty kick, even when he missed his second penalty attempt and South Africa centre Jacques Fourie was denied a try by the television match official, who judged he had knocked on as he battled with Quade Cooper to bring a high kick under control. A few drop-goal attempts were missed by James, O'Connor and Steyn.
Australia turned the match on its head early in the second half but South Africa could not maintain the momentum and lost some crucial breakdowns while their scrum came under pressure as the game progressed. Three penalties from James O'Connor and a well-worked try from Pat McCabe, all in the second half, did the damage. Then later an infringement by Tendai Mtawarira at a ruck allowed O'Connor another penalty. In the last few minutes O'Connor stretched the lead to five points with a penalty and, despite desperate attempts by South Africa for a try, the Wallabies held on.
But with all the critisism the Springboks suffered we knew coming into this that the Tri-Nations were not their tournament this year. The Super 15 was brutal and quite clearly the players who competed in it can benefit from having a break before the World Cup. The team cannot be ruled out because of their experience.
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