For their benefit, and for rugby union, it feels almost incumbent on South Africa to find a more expansive way to play
One of the more amusing moments of this British & Irish Lions tour came on the eve of the third Test, when a South American journalist asked the Springboks’ representatives up for questioning whether the weekend decider was effectively a warm-up match for the forthcoming Rugby Championship. Given South Africa begin that competition with back-to-back matches against Argentina, starting on Saturday, full marks for working the local angle, but in overcoming the Lions you sense the Springboks’ No 1 goal for the year has already been achieved.
It raises an interesting point, though, because going back to the buildup to the World Cup, South Africa have made a virtue of having their backs against the wall, of being up against the clock – of Chasing the Sun – and they have relished the narrative of having to overcome adversity.