South African rugby the winner on URC derby day

If you want to know why the Springboks have won the most World Cups, have a look at Saturday’s two South African URC derbies in Durban and Cape Town. South African rugby was the winner, writes Mark Keohane.

It was brutal knockout rugby that showcased the mental toughness of South Africa’s players when they play for something that means something to them.

What matters most to South African rugby fans is winning the World Cup, beating the All Blacks and England and winning the local derbies.

France and Ireland are ‘nice to have wins’ and have rarely been a hyped occasion, outside of the past few seasons, but the All Blacks are always the big occasion.

In domestic rugby, it is the local derby, specifically when the Stormers play the Bulls. The Lions and Sharks are big matches, and part of the derby fabric but traditionally when one talks north v south or south v north it is the Bulls v Stormers or the Stormers v Bulls.

In Cape Town, in front of 54 000 at the DHL Stadium, the occasion justified the traditional hype. Form was irrelevant, the Stormers nine successive wins in all competitions and the Bulls’ five successive defeats, meant nothing. On derby day, it is only about what happens between the first and last whistle.

The Bulls started with 10 of the current Springboks squad and the Stormers started with seven of the current Springboks squad. All 17 players delivered on their pedigree in the most testing of atmospheres and demanding of conditions as the big Cape wind blew with enthusiasm and vigour.

The defence on both sides matched the presence of the wind, but ultimately the Stormers bench proved superior in the final few minutes and the decisive match-winning try came from a line out maul. The Stormers had turned down two kickable penalties at posts in the final five minutes and opted for the potential of five points.

They got the five pointer to break the 8-all deadlock and lead 13-8 with 30 seconds to play. They then defended their line for the final Bulls play and forced an error from Springboks Test veteran and Test centurion Wille le Roux.

There will be plenty said of referee Griffin Colby, who awarded 30 penalties, split evenly between the two teams. Colby struggled with the occasion, was out of his depth and in the first five minutes on three occasions apologised to both teams for his errors. This allowed for every player to believe they had the right to ask for another apology. Colby never recovered and it was not his finest 81 minutes. Hopefully, he will be better for the experience.

In Durban, in the early game, big name players had moments, but the decision-making and game management let down the hosts, who refused kickable penalties at posts to extend a 22-18 lead to 25-18.

And the Lions, like so many good Springboks teams, refused to go away. They tackled and defended and when they got one chance in the final play of the game they made it count with a winning five pointer.

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus would have loved the match-ups. Big pressure moments tell you more about a player than 73-0 wins in Cardiff.

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Individually, there were lots of winners, as many losers, but most pertinently, there was a collective victory for the mental strength and state of the South African domestic game.

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Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images

Lions scored a try after the hooter to beat the Sharks in Durban.

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images