RUCK N ROLL
GAVIN RICH: There is no such thing as a meaningless Test
It sounded a reasonable enough plan: spread the rugby word in the US and at the same time grow your depth by playing an equally experimental Welsh team and pocket some much-needed cash while doing it. For the plan to retain a facade of logic, however, the Springboks needed to do what they didn’t do in Washington. They needed to win. For to pretend that the 22-20 loss doesn’t matter because the team had a second-string hue to it would be a sign of amnesia. Coach Rassie Erasmus said when he took the job that every Test is important, that the aim was first and foremost to win every Test, and he was right. For all the talk of wanting to give the Bok (and Welsh) coaches one extra game with which to prepare for the 2019 World Cup, the reality is that the extra match, like several other clashes with Wales dating back to the summer Test in 1998, came about because of the financial imperative. It is true that without money rugby cannot survive as a professional sport, but here is a question:...
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