‘They disrespected us’: How South Africa create siege mentality to stay on top

Trying to understand the South African mentality when you are not from South Africa is difficult – hence calling in a couple of experts later – but when Damian de Allende lit the fuse for this upcoming two-Test series between the Springboks and Ireland, it sparked a discussion that has rumbled on as we have approached the first Test in Pretoria.

For context, in an interview with Jim Hamilton, De Allende was discussing the Springboks’ humiliating 38-3 defeat by Ireland back in 2017 in Dublin, with the centre revealing that the reaction from Irish pundits at the time was a motivating factor this summer, seven years later.

“It is just going to feel almost like a war... the way the [Irish] media spoke [in 2017], they completely disrespected us... for us as a group and for us as Springboks, it is about getting respect back,” De Allende said, pouring petrol on an already lively rivalry after Ireland’s victory in the pool stages at last year’s Rugby World Cup. The quotes were fantastic, the exact insight we crave from top athletes rather than the usual regurgitated soundbites, especially ahead of one of the biggest Tests of the summer.

And yet if you were not South African, the initial reaction was to roll your eyes. Yes, the Springboks have not defeated Ireland since 2016, but they are also back-to-back World Cup winners having won a series against the British and Irish Lions in between. They could hardly have achieved much more since that day in Dublin.

It felt as though De Allende was diving into the archives searching for a grievance to serve as motivational fuel for the summer ahead when, in reality, South Africa are favourites, reigning world champions, have the best depth in the game and are playing at home. But do not forget those nasty comments on RTE2 from 2017 during the final death knells of the Allister Coetzee era. Which is why this nugget of gold on social media from a South African supporter about how the Springboks approach big Test matches seemed so pertinent.

“They create villains to play like its the last game they will ever play. Every single game.”

Dig around on YouTube and you can find the incendiary comments, although the biggest offence in the whole clip might be Ronan O’Gara’s magenta tie. “Pretty pathetic stuff”, “entirely predictable”, “rudderless”, “nothing creative”, “it’s laziness, a malaise”, said the RTE panel at half-time, when South Africa only trailed 14-0.

Sure you are not really expecting platitudes for a performance like that but regardless, Rassie Erasmus then rode in on his white horse and everything changed. It is a result from a lifetime ago; South Africa have played 66 Tests since then. So why focus on it? Because, as noted by former Springbok flanker and 2019 World Cup winner Francois Louw, “something that is very inherent with South Africans and the Springboks is respect. Ultimately you want the respect, from not only players and fans, likewise the media.”

Schalk Brits, the former hooker and another winner in 2019, adds: “I’ve always felt that when South Africans feel their back is against the wall, that is when we are at our best. You always see Rassie play down the Springboks in a certain way because he knows we like to be the underdog, to be written off.”

Find a grievance and immerse yourself in it. Erasmus failing to win the World Cup as a player, missing the charge down on Stephen Larkham’s decisive dropped goal in the 1999 semi-final, became his fuel to succeed as Springboks head coach. That quarter-final win over hosts France last autumn? Revenge for the 2023 bidding process and how South Africa were outvoted. England? Well, it is England, although there will be obvious motivation concerning Bongi Mbonambi when South Africa come to Twickenham in November.

That strength of mind, that scorching motivation going into big Test matches, has been just as key to South Africa’s back-to-back World Cup triumphs as their set-piece or kicking game. Non-South Africans hear the Springboks talk about their success being for the people back home and it sounds cliched, but there is a genuine sincerity there. You just do not win three knockout matches in a row by a single point without having the superior top two inches. What the Proteas would give for that level of ruthlessness.

Erasmus has been big this week as he is before every Test, absorbing the attention away from his players, cracking jokes in press conferences, announcing Ireland’s side on social media. There have been substantial lows in his tenure for abusing match officials, met with deserved suspensions, which have in some ways clouded the enormity of what the Springboks have achieved during the past five years. But no one has a better understanding of how to get the best out of South Africans.

“Within South Africa sport plays a big role, it has always been a way of motivating people. The aim was to improve the morale within South Africa by having a great side,” adds Brits. “Taking the job for Rassie was a big move for him and Jacques [Nienaber], when you know your currency is depreciating annually by around six per cent, there is high crime, inflation, basic principles like electricity are not working anymore. It wasn’t to win a trophy, it was to give hope to our country.”

Louw explains: “He has an innate ability to pull the best out of an individual and to collectively pull a group together, to chase that common goal which is victory at all costs, that never-say-die attitude. He’ll find that thing which motivates you. At the highest level you are first a coach of people before you are a coach of rugby. He coaches people and gets the best out of them, and then throws the tactics into the mix, which are wild as we all know, pushing the boundaries.”

Back in 2019 before a match, Erasmus listed all of the players and their backgrounds on a whiteboard before discussing each of them in front of the whole squad, stressing that collectively they were representing every community in the country and not just their own. For Louw, it had a profound impact. “You can just see the [players’] eyes lighting up in that moment, understanding the responsibility and expectation. You don’t have a right to be nervous, to be fearful, because it’s not actually about you. You have this opportunity and privilege to be playing. That has stuck with me for a long time.”

Perhaps that gives some insight into what motivates the Springboks, or perhaps De Allende’s gripe with the Irish media still feels like a bit of a reach. Yet unlike the side who softly fell apart in Dublin in 2017, the Springboks now have a mental strength which others struggle to match.

• South Africa v Ireland, 4pm, Sat, July 6, Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, Live on Sky Sports