RUCK N ROLL
GAVIN RICH: Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi have teamed up at the right moment for the Boks
The Bloemfontein Test between the Springboks and England in 2000 was a watershed moment for the respective coaches. For Nick Mallett (Springboks), it was the beginning of the end. England were comprehensively better than the hosts, and it was impossible not to hear the loud, discontented voices that complained about the then Bok coach when I stopped in Colesberg on my drive back to Cape Town the next day. His later utterances about ticket prices were just the excuse his bosses were looking for. The slide started that June afternoon in Bloemfontein. For England coach Clive Woodward it was the opposite. It was a big away win for him against a southern hemisphere big-three nation. His forwards were so much better than the Bok big men it beggared belief. This past weekend’s game reminded me of that game in 2000. A different team won this time — the roles were reversed. But just as England’s five-point win 18 years ago was a lot more emphatic than the final scoreline suggested, so the Bo...
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