The reigning champions came into the tournament following a dismal Tri-Nations campaign that saw them finish bottom, and many had already written off the slightly imbalanced side: too many old boys left over from the 2007 campaign (including a captain in Juan Smit who wasn’t quite fit enough and had to come in off the bench on the second half in most games) and a bunch of relatively untested new boys. However, the Springboks played admirably: brutal, bruising, unforgiving rugby at times, but admirable none the less. Realistically, the team was never going to make the final, but getting knocked out by Australia can’t have been what they had in mind. Peter de Villiers, the controversial coach who quit after the game following four years in charge, described the dressing room atmosphere after the Australia defeat as “three notches lower than a funeral.”
Best moment: the best game of the first weekend, a rip-roarer against Wales that saw the South Africans score a try to pull ahead, only to be extremely lucky following two mis-kicks by James Hook in the last ten minutes to maintain their lead. The game finished 17-16 South Africa.
Worst moment: inability to grind out the game having taken hold of it in the match against Australia, which saw the Boks ahead at 9-8 at one point only to eventually lose 11-9.
Highest points scorer: their kicker Morné Steyn, who kicked 65 of the Springboks 175 total points.
Best player: Heinrich Brüssow, who battled through every game and kept South Africa in the tournament until the battle of the flankers between himself and David Pocock in the Australia game, which sadly saw him taken off after 20 minutes.
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