8 years ago today...

On a random note... I have memories of South Africa, playing against a team dressed in red and white, outside the top 10, and with that team pushing hard for a match winning score in the dying moments. But not the game just gone against Japan, the game 8 years ago today against Tonga.

Am I the only one who remembers how close they came to causing a comparable upset? (I think they were a similar ranking going in to that tournament as Japan going in to this) It was another brilliant game, with Tonga attempting a cross field kick to try and win it in the final play of the game. Blinking close it was as well... the Tonga wing was clear, but the kick was a bit off and to be fair even had they got the try they'd have needed a tricky conversion to win it. For SA it really was good fortune the kick didn't go to hand, as there was no one that could have stopped it if it had.

Much as anything else I'm posting this just because I enjoyed remembering a cracking game. But to add a few thoughts following on from that - first should we really be surprised at the occasional upset, as it's not completely out of the blue and has only been avoided by the narrowest margins previously? And secondly, given that SA went on to win after that in 2007 should the SA fans/commentators perhaps go easy on their coach until they see what the final standings are?

But a near upset is not an upset... a better example from 2007 was England being hammered 0-36 in the pool but getting close in the final

Poorfour wrote:But a near upset is not an upset... a better example from 2007 was England being hammered 0-36 in the pool but getting close in the final

And they had a white and red kit too.

Thanks for the reminder Big, but no, Meyer deserves all the criticism he gets, this isn't about just one upset, it is about the decline that started anovember last year

I'm certainly no expert on SA rugby and can't comment on whether there is a general decline. However, I do think that when we see genuine sporting upsets, it doesn't necessarily mean that the "world order" has been reset. Fantastic as the match was and however heroic the performance, Japan will not win this World Cup - SA might.

Yes, the SAs should be easy on themselves and their coach................... for now.

It's simply one loss. No point in doing the tragedy story on it - yet. The fight is still on - there is still a WC to fight for and that dream ain't gone - yet.

So yep, that Japanese game could indeed become legendary as the one where the SAs just lost all confidence in what they're about and went home from the WC early. But it's not that game yet.

It isn't one loss

The record reads one win from seven matches since last november

If that's what the players are thinking then it's game over.

This is a chance for them to do a 'France' and take the bit between their own teeth, over-rule their coach if necessary - push him to one side if necessary and take this into their own hands and say 'we're not going to go out with a whimper.'