Moroka Swallows coach Steve Komphela, in the effort to galvanise his side against Richards Bay in the Carling Knockout Cup Round of 16 at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday, tried to copy the Springboks’ rally to win over England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
The Boks, who were on the back foot to Owen Farrell’s boots in the titanic rugby clash where coach Jacques Nienaber and director Rassie Erasmus introduced the “Bomb Squad” looking for inspiration, finally prevailed in the narrowest of margins by 16-15.
The Springboks will now face their biggest nemesis – New Zealand in the final this coming Saturday, with the winner set to be the record winner of the World Cup trophy for the fourth time.
While it worked for the Boks coaching staff, it wasn’t the case for Komphela’s side, losing to Bay for the second time this season.
“That is one of the talks we had at half-time to the players, even during the pre-match meeting,” said Komphela.
“The rugby national team has indicated that it is possible for any national team to achieve. If you can play France [who Boks beat 29-28 in the quarter-finals in a huge battle last weekend], New Zealand, all these big dogs in the world and you are winning as a nation, as a country, what stops you from doing the same in football?
“We can do that.”
But the argument is that there is a clear path in rugby structures, unlike in football where there is no clear path in the development to align with SAFA or the PSL, who too don’t see eye to eye which hampers the overall development of South African football.
Director Erasmus, for example, holds meetings with youth coaches and also with unions to ensure his template is followed to the tee, while Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has countless times tried to meet the club coaches, but without success so far.
“The rugby structures are clear. The systems are there and whether it comes from school rugby, whatever it is, we can follow that template,” Komphela continued.
“You are coping, but you are learning from that template. If you look at the second half, the second half was the definition of determination. It had nothing to do with Ox Nche and them.
“The Bomb Squad told them to say ‘listen, we are here to bomb this thing’ and they did exactly that.
“That is passion. We said to our players ‘if you don’t want to fight, we are going to fight you to fight’. Sometimes you need to fight our players so that they fight.
“The rugby people understand the responsibility they carry for leading this beautiful country and that is why they are where they are at.
“(To be where they are) there are lots of other things that happened – whether administratively, financially, structurally – we can do that in football.
“But we just need people who understand what is going to make this thing click. Our message to the Boks, thank you very much for making South Africa proud.”
