The moment of glory, marked by a fist pounding South African turf, brought memories flooding back for Sean Fitzpatrick – only not in a good way.
In 1996, it was him, in the thick of the action, punching the soil in jubilation as the side he captained became the first New Zealand team to win a Test series on Springbok soil.
Three decades on, he watched helplessly from his seat as Malcolm Marx powered over to score the try that ended Kiwi hopes of a repeat – striking the ground three times in celebration with his left fist.
The symmetry might not have been to Fitzy’s liking, but it was a fitting way to end the thunderous South African leg of a series which now, anticlimactically, moves on to the United States.
Two iconic versions of the same image spanning 30 years of a rivalry which did not need to be told it is rugby’s greatest. In Johannesburg, Cape Town and Soweto, it was there for all to see.
No matter what happens in Baltimore – and a fourth Test feels like an addendum nobody needs – the Springboks have added another extraordinary chapter to their story under Rassie Erasmus.
Three matches – three very different Springbok performances
After Ellis Park we questioned whether their ageing side would even make it to next year’s World Cup, let alone contend. They pulled out every stop and squared the series a week later.
After Green Point we, alright, I, wondered whether they had any aces left to play. Erasmus had tweaked every emotional lever to get a tune out of his side. It seemed improbable they could rise any higher.
And yet what we saw at the Calabash perhaps topped it all. Against opponents who did not lose the try count in any of the three Tests, they trailed with almost an hour gone. And then blew them away.
They did so by cranking up the power as only they, it seems, can. Jesse Kriel outmuscled Leroy Carter to put them back in front, then his forwards mauled 20 metres for Marx to deliver the fist-pumping coup de grâce.
But to say it was a victory built solely on physicality would be wrong. The Boks had to find a mindset to fuel their effort, and it came from coach and captain.
Never mind the so-called war of words over scrum time; that was mere froth, over-hyped chatter which bruised one or two egos but had no bearing on what transpired.
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“They fought for the freedom we have now and never got to experience it”
This was a Springbok performance from the heart. No rugby nation takes strength from its people quite like South Africa. And no rugby men tap into it quite like Erasmus and his captain Siya Kolisi.
New Zealand had never lost at FNB Stadium; South Africa had never won. But those defeats pre-dated Erasmus and Kolisi. The Springbok leaders knew exactly how to frame the week.
“We are thankful for the people who came from Soweto and fought for people like me to be sitting here today,” Kolisi declared. “They fought for the freedom we have now and never got to experience it.
“So many things that happened in Soweto helped shape the South Africa we have today. So many heroes have come from there. Giving our best is part of us saying thank you.”
The skipper said all that the day before the game. Twenty-four hours later, the Springboks’ bus passed through the township and what Erasmus saw out of the window fired him further.
“I was unbelievably emotional,” he admitted. “I wanted us to come to Soweto and take it to the people. And when we got here I saw they don’t have the money to come into the stadium. We had a chat about that.”
With this team, these are not small matters. You can fill all the chalkboards in all the world with tactics and strategy, but South Africa have not claimed successive World Cups, a Lions series and back-to-back Rugby Championship titles by physical strength alone.
There is a strong spiritual dimension.
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Siya Kolisi – a world class leader
Kolisi has a huge shout to be player of the series given this influence of which we speak. Remember, he was missing at Ellis Park, where the All Blacks triumphed by five tries to one.
In Cape Town, he returned for his first rugby action since pulling a hamstring against Argentina three weeks before. It was as if he had never been away. He got his side on the front foot and scored the try which put daylight between the teams.
And so to Soccer City, where an 85,976 crowd came to worship him and what he represents. The rags-to-riches skipper forever putting the needs of others ahead of himself.
From the raw passion he exuded during the anthems to stepping in at the end of the game to offer a pitch invader a selfie as the fan was being manhandled by security, he set a tone.
Oh, and he was top tackler during his time on the field…on a day he leapfrogged John Smit to become South Africa’s most successful captain with win number 55.
Ardie Savea – cut from similar cloth
For all this, New Zealand will curse what might have been. Ardie Savea is cut from similar cloth to Kolisi. An inspiration to his people from head to toe.
In the first half hour the All Blacks captain scored two tries to put his side firmly in the driving seat. He was then cleared out with such force by Marx that his shoulder gave way.
It is not quite true to say that with him went the tourists’ chances, as they led again in the 56th minute when Will Jordan kicked through for Carter, then was on hand to take the pop-up pass.
But minus Savea, the men in black lacked the same belief. Their aura dimmed. They started making mistakes, too many to win a contest of this magnitude.
Carter’s defence let them down, as did Jordan’s kicking out of hand. The three shots at goal missed by Ruben Love might even have cost them the game.
For once the Boks got the scent of victory in their nostrils, that was that.
“He’s in your head, in your head, Rassie.. Rassie.. Rassie…,” Bok fans sang as the Cranberries’ Zombie anthem played through the stadium tannoy.
For the umpteenth time in the eight years since Erasmus and Kolisi came to power, it was impossible to disagree.
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