The Springboks have finally broken their Tri Naitons jinx – notching up their first win in what can truly be called a “never say die” effort, beating Australia 44-31 in Pretoria.  While that cliché tends to be overused, in this instance I think it should be applied – after four minutes in the first half, the Wallabies had jumped to a 14-0 lead, and it looked like we were going to see another South African beatdown.

But the Springboks maintained their composure and played a gutsy game, repeatedly coming from behind to pull close to the Wallabies they showed flashes of the team that won last year’s Tri Nations.  They might not have played the flashiest game with rugby flair, and they may have locked up their victory by grinding it out, but at the end of the day a win’s a win.  And I’ve given the ‘Boks a hard time here, so allow me to also say, “Congratulations guys, you really earned this one.”

–          Benson