'A repeat of 2007 won't be easy'
Updated | By Marius van der Walt
A lack of consistency and continuity have hampered the Springboks since that special night in Paris in 2007.
Friday marks ten years since the Boks lifted the William Webb Ellis trophy at the Stade de France.
The Springboks haven't come close to World Cup glory since that tournament, losing to the Wallabies in the quarter-finals in 2011 and against the All Blacks in the semi-finals in 2015.
SuperSport rugby analyst Brenden Nel says the class of 2007 consisted of a number of world-class players.
"If you look at the likes of Jean Smith, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Os du Randt, Percy Montgomery, Fourie du Preez. I mean those are once-in-a-generation type players.
"But in saying that, we had a focus and the mind-set of getting those players into the best position at that stage. And it didn't start at Springbok level, it started at provincial level where Heyneke Meyer and John Plumtree both produced excellent Bulls and Sharks teams. In 2007 they played in the Super Rugby final. So we were the best in the Southern Hemisphere to start with, two of our franchises.
"And then of course we also had (former Springbok coach) Jake White who had a very good role there by playing virtually the same team he started off with in 2014.
Nel says the rugby landscape has changed irrevocably since that famous night in 2007 and a repeat performance won't be easy.
"What (current Bok coach) Allister Coetzee is trying to do, and has done reasonably successfully this year, is trying to get a locally-based team and try and look after them. The problem is individuals will always get big-money offers and I think we'll probably see it next year when a lot of the guys are out of contract.
"Already this year we've seen Cobus Reinach and Faf de Klerk get big money offers and head overseas."
The financial issues at SA Rugby over the past few also hasn't help preparations for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
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