Yes it is about winning and fans DO deserve better Brendan!

Since the start of the Tri Nations championships in 1996, the Wallabies have sent some impressive outfits to our shores and mostly run a cropper.  The names read like the who’s who of Aussie rugby:  Eales, Gregan, Larkham, Finegan, Burke, Horan, Kefu etc.

They only managed their first win in the Republic in 2000, a narrow 19-18 win over the Boks in Durban. And even then it took a last minute penalty from Stirling Mortlock to deny the Boks. Despite what Australia’s finest threw at South Africa, the Boks had their number at home.

So let’s be honest: the current Aussie crop of Hooper, Coleman, Phipps and Foley aren’t even remotely in the same league as Eales and Co, who won two Rugby World Cups and held the Bledisloe Cup to boot.

 So Springbok fans have every right to feel short changed that the Springboks only managed to draw with the Wallabies in Bloemfontein on Saturday. For Springbok assistant Brendan Venter then to vent his anger on Twitter warning fans that “the Springboks deserve respect and not criticism” is simply mind boggling. The former Cheetahs centre then continued: “If victories are all you are looking for, you can stop watching.”

Apologies if I sound a bit rude Mr. Venter, but isn’t rugby now a professional game? Are rugby players not being paid handsomely to perform week in and week out? What about fans who have already made emotional and financial investments in their heroes? Most importantly, is criticism not part and parcel of the modern game?

Just imagine the howls of derision in New Zealand should All Black coach Steve Hansen tell fans to “stop watching” and that they are not “results driven” only? Since winning the World Cup in 2011 the All Blacks have lost a mere 5 matches: To England, The Springboks, The Wallabies, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions in June.  And during this period they have also lost key players through retirement  and others to the lure of the Euro and the Pound.  Like the Boks they also “followed their processes” and have gone from strength to strength, breaking the record for the longest consecutive winning streak in world rugby.

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 So maybe fans are justified in asking the critical questions. Maybe they are justified in asking why this Bok outfit is unable to beat a clearly inferior Wallaby outfit at home.  Maybe they are justified in wondering what progress the Boks really made after a promising start to 2017?

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This week more misery awaits in the form of the All Blacks, who have once again sown up the Rugby Champions with a game to spare. At least I know what I will be doing on Saturday evening after the game at Newlands against Kieran Reid’s men.  Yes, those guys that have amassed 114 points against the Boks in two matches!  I’ll be sure to check Venter’s latest tweets on Twitter.  Oh and grab some popcorn!