BY recent standards, it was one of the more conventional media events by a senior member of the South African management team, but yesterday’s press briefing with assistant coach Delon Davids still had a hint of the surreal about it when he was asked for an assessment of the performances of winger Makazole Mapimpi and centre Lukhanyo Am in Saturday’s second Test against the Lions, and took it as an opportunity to launch into a glowing tribute of his Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus.

“In the Springbok environment, under the leadership of Rassie [Erasmus] in Jacques [Nienaber], I can honestly say that you can really see in terms of how all the players have responded, and how they express themselves, and through the opportunities they create, that we are in the vicinity of great coaches – people who make a meaningful contribution in the lives of different people,” he gushed. 

“And I also think our director of rugby’s contributions and the way he drives everyone in the environment to be the best every day in terms of what they can be, and the extra miles he walks in terms of ensuring the players can perform to the best of their ability, I think that is a tremendous attribute.

“Coming back to those gentlemen, I think it is just fantastic to see that through a system like this, players out there can strive to be the best they can be, and I hope the example of Mapimpi and Am are inspiring for all the youngsters coming through,” he added, suddenly remembering what the question was supposed to be about.

It was part of a bold attempt to polish Erasmus’ tarnished image following his extraordinary video-nasty about the first Test officials last week. Davids even tried to suggest that his boss’s antics had been nothing more than an innocent attempt to clarify a few queries so that the team “can perform and execute better on field” and “improve our communication with the referee and all the assistants”.

“It was about looking at incidents in the game fairly to give us a complete understanding so that we can move on, and [think about] how we handle these things better,” he claimed. “Whatever happens in the game there is a transparent process which always comes with that, and it will be the same this week with whatever call has been made during the game being dealt with in the right spirit and have the right outcome one hopes.”

Unsurprisingly, the South Africans are pretty happy with how things were managed by the officials during Saturday’s emphatic victory over the Lions, but even if the ends justified the means, resurrecting Erasmus’ reputation globally is going to take much more than a few words of praise from an underling.

And the fact that both the Springboks and the Lions have found themselves under fire since Saturday for the stodgy style of play they produced adds to the general sense of dissatisfaction at how this series is panning out, with New Zealand head coach Ian Foster one of several big names in the sport to have taken a pop-shot at the lack of ambition on display.

“I watched the second Test between 10pm and 1am last night and it put me to sleep,” he said. “We are seeing two teams who desperately want to win a big series playing low-risk, highly-effective rugby. Both of them are good at the close contact stuff, the close quarter fighting, the kick-and-chase, and the pressure game, so its two teams playing a similar style and it’s a bit of a slug-fest.”

Former Springbok head coach Peter de Villiers has taken a similar view. "The Springboks are the world champions, and we all are grateful for that, but I don't think people will copy that style of play,” he said. "Does it give you results? Definitely – but it's very, very boring.

“We suffocate people with our bulk and then we base our whole game plan around defending, defending, defending. Instead of creating, creating, creating.”

In response, Davids said he sees it differently. “I think it’s a spectacle and fantastic to see this series continue,” he claimed. “Rugby is always about being a physical battle on-field but also a battle where opponents try to outsmart each other off the field.

“The competitiveness and the talent shown from both teams on-field is good for world rugby and if we can continue to be competitive at this level and aspire to be better then I think our rugby in South Africa will just get better.”

“It was the same narrative when the Boks won the Rugby Championship and the World Cup in 2019,” he added. “It’s surprising that people don’t see the effectiveness of this in terms of getting good results.

“There is always a plan behind everything, and I don’t think when we execute stuff it’s about being boring, it’s about understanding what we want to achieve, and in doing that we created enough opportunities to be able to play with the ball in hand and score tries.

“I believe in our approach and what it leads us to, and I think we will just get better in terms of what we are doing.”