An alternative history of the Springboks at the World Cup – Part One

Despite missing out on the first two editions, the Springboks have left an indelible mark on the Rugby World Cup, unsurprisingly highlighted by winning two titles in 1995 and 2007.

Naturally, there are many great (and not so great) memories associated with all six of their campaigns to date, some of them eminently famous.

However, there are also a few incidents that might’ve got stuck somewhere at the back of SA rugby fans’ minds.

We’re here to bring some of that forgotten nostalgia back.

Welcome to part one of an alternative history of the Springboks at the World Cup.

1995: THE GENTLE GIANT WHO ENDED AS THE BOKS’ JOINT LEADING TRY-SCORER

Adriaan Richter during a match between South Africa v Canada on June 03, 1995 in
Port Elizabeth.
Photo by Gallo Images

Chester Williams’ tragic passing a few weeks ago rightly shone the light again on his groundbreaking efforts during the triumphant 1995 tournament, notably his magnificent four tries in the quarterfinal against Samoa at Ellis Park.

Yet the legendary winger wasn’t South Africa’s biggest try-glutton that year.

He shared that honour with a certain Adriaan Richter.

Adriaan who?

“It’s actually a bit embarrassing,” admitted the former eighthman, who will be far more familiar to Loftus given his status as a Northern Transvaal stalwart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A-5xklI30Q

“Sometimes I still can’t imagine that I scored the same number of tries as Chester.”

Richter, who ended with ten international caps, was the ultimate team man.

Deputising for regular skipper Francois Pienaar against Romania, he scored a brace of tries in a surprisingly tough game, before repeating the feat in the infamous “Battle of Boet Erasmus” in Port Elizabeth, when hooker James Dalton was sent off with Canadians Rod Snow and Gareth Rees for foul play.

Ironically, all four of Richter’s scores were close-range, pushover efforts.

It was typical of the man, no frills and no fuss, but mightily effective.

More importantly, those tries proved crucial in finally breaking down to doughty opponents’ resistance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNm2rTPCgO4

“I suppose the record books don’t indicate how those tries were scored,” Richter said with a chuckle.

“They were from set-pieces, so I have to thank my teammates for the help as well.”

Richter, who nowadays is a businessman in Limpopo, embraced being a fringe player.

“I’m a guy that really doesn’t like being in the spotlight, so I’m very proud being a reliable substitute. It was great honour captaining the Boks for that one Test.”

1999: OLLIE LE ROUX ‘SAVES’ THE SPRINGBOK SPIRIT

Ollie Le Roux of South Africa heads for the tryline during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match against Scotland played at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland. The game finished in a 46-29 win for South Africa. Mandatory Credit: David Rogers /Allsport

The Springboks arrived in Scotland in low spirits for their World Cup defence.

Then record defeats to New Zealand and Australia precluded the biggest bombshell of them all: Coach Nick Mallett decided to axe inspirational captain Gary Teichmann on the eve of the tournament.

It was move that divided opinion, worsened by Mallett’s determination to pick Bobby Skinstad at all costs despite the skillful flanker having been injured for five months and only recovering in the nick of time without any match fitness behind him.

“It’s fair to say it we arrived under a dark cloud. A lot of unsavoury things happened in the build-up and morale was maybe a bit low,” Ollie le Roux reminisced.

An opening game against co-host Scotland, that year’s Five Nations champion, was hardly an easy start.

South Africa were looking increasingly frazzled as they trailed 18-19 in the third quarter.

Then something extraordinary happened.

“I had been practicing a few running drills with the backs during training and in that game’s warm-up. I always enjoyed carrying the ball in broken play,” Le Roux, who came on in the 48th minute for Os du Randt, said.

“We were behind and you could sense we urgently wanted to increase the tempo. We managed to get into Scotland’s 22, but I had been running all the way back with the backs. I was huffing and puffing a bit, so there was no way I was going to attack the breakdown to help with the clean!

“I remember Joost (van der Westhuizen) and I had talked about looking out for me as ball-carrier. At that ruck, you could see Joost wanted to initially wanted to go right. But he realised in an instant the majority of the Scottish defence was camped on that side. In a flash, he changed direction to the left and found me.

“It was a freaky moment. I was suddenly part of a two-man overlap. The Scottish wing (Cameron Murray) probably had to cover Pieter Rossouw outside me, but I like to believe he just simply didn’t want to tackle me! I had scored a centre’s try. It was great.”

Le Roux’s predatory finish helped calm the Boks’ nerves and laid the groundwork for a 46-29 victory.

More importantly, it was the type of feelgood moment that helped the team forget the troubles of the build-up and become a tighter unit.

“You could feel the gloom lift a bit. Everybody felt a bit more inspired, I’m grateful I could play a role in that,” said Le Roux.

“We had a really great team function after that game. Even (legendary flanker) Andre Venter had at least five beers that night! He hardly drank usually. It was cool to see him be the life of the party. We still didn’t have an easy World Cup, but we finished third. I believe the Scotland game gave us the strength to face all the challenges that were still ahead.”

2003: LIEFLING SURVIVES THE LIMA HIT

Derick Hougaard gets hammered by Brian Lima. Photo: AFP.

“Yeah, it was one of those tackles where you thought: ‘O oh, this isn’t good’.”

Rudolf Straeuli doesn’t do hyperbole.

In fact, you could drop a bomb next to him and he’d still be calm.

It says a lot then that he, as the then Springbok coach, was immediately concerned about his flyhalf, Derick Hougaard, in 2003’s final pool game against Samoa in Brisbane.

The evergreen Joost van der Westhuizen had thrown his 20-year-old halfback partner the proverbial hospital pass.

Slightly above his head, Hougaard juggled to keep possession, but that was hardly his biggest problem.

Veteran Samoan centre Brian Lima, known as one of the most fearsome tacklers in history, smashed into him like a runaway freight train.

It was a sickening hit.

“The irony is that I wasn’t really surprised that it happened. I told the players to expect some late hits. These were the guys that broke Andre Joubert’s hand in 1995 (when he had to play in specially-made cast),” said Straeuli.

“They even got to me in that 1995 quarterfinal. The medical staff only discovered after the game that I had played with a concussion. Those were different days.”

Hougaard, at a meagre 1.75m, is a midget compared to Straeuli, a man mountain, but he was equally brave.

He stood up, groggily, and shouldered on, converting Ashwin Willemse’s try shortly afterwards and ending with a personal contribution of 21 points in an excellent 60-10 victory.

Hougaard had only become the Boks’ first-choice pivot in the middle of a poor tournament for them, where they’d be knocked out by the All Blacks in the quarterfinals.

Yet the Bulls flyhalf made his mark with 48 points from just three starts, providing some joy in what was a thoroughly joyless year for SA rugby.

“We tested him for concussion and Derick was fine. I was really impressed with his composure and guts,” said Straeuli.

“It wasn’t a great tournament for us, but what stood out for me was how Derick and various other youngsters took to international rugby with much ease. Ashwin was one of the best wings in the world that season. Schalk Burger, Derick and Jaque Fourie made their debuts. I’d like to think we laid a foundation for future success, even if we didn’t know it at the time.”

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