[imagesource: Twitter / @jaredwright17]

There is nothing sweeter than beating the All Blacks.

Other than winning another Rugby World Cup, and another British & Irish Lions series, but we’ll get to that later.

On Saturday, the Springboks bounced back from a deflating late loss to our arch-rivals thanks to a stellar showing on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Down 11-20 just before the break, the Bomb Squad turned up the heat, with the much-maligned Elton Jantjies popping over the winning penalty after the final hooter had sounded.

The famous Frans Steyn boot also made a welcome return to the park, although the form of Handrè Pollard and Willie le Roux is definitely a worry for the Boks before our end of year Northern Hemisphere tour.

Let’s leave those concerns for down the line and instead relive Saturday’s glorious win:

Two words – Lukhanyo Am:

His rugby brain is a thing of beauty.

As sweet as Saturday’s win was, the cherry on top was the implosion of Kiwi rugby scribe Ben Smith.

He’s had a long-running feud with current Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus, dating back to his criticism of the Springboks prior to the British & Irish Lions tour.

After we chalked up a 2-1 come from behind series win, he was as salty as ever, and he hasn’t slowed down.

Despite the fact that we lost the first Rugby Championship showdown with the All Blacks to a late penalty (we won’t talk about the horror show against the Wallabies a week earlier), Ben was lippy in the build-up:

Is the illusion still real @RassieRugby? You tell me, bro? Just checking because it kinda sounds like it’s not? Anyway, hope the backlash over there isn’t too bad. It too will pass. All the best & hears to a good contest this week 🍻. Yours truly, the 🐑😘 https://t.co/scDVLMFExh

— Ben Smith (@bensmithrugby) September 29, 2021

Ben dubbing himself the sheep is a reference to Rassie’s “a lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of a sheep” response back in May.

Come the final whistle on Saturday, and Rassie was waiting:

Go and graze Sheep 🐑 pic.twitter.com/n8gh995RBb

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) October 2, 2021

You beautiful, beautiful man.

Wanna know the best part about that retort from Rassie?

There’s a 95% chance he was still in his boxers, at 2PM on a Saturday, when he sent it:

Jacques & Rassie watching the game together over Zoom 💚 pic.twitter.com/a6vEoyDFuH

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) October 3, 2021

At this stage, you might expect Ben to take his ‘L’ and move along.

But no, he chose to double down with some thinly-veiled barbs:

Damn that game was good last night.😂Congrats to my guy @RassieRugby and the Springboks for an amazing last minute win. And congrats for *checks notes* finishing 3rd with 3 wins and 3 losses in the Rugby Championship. 50 percent never felt so good.🙌 pic.twitter.com/ODz7bx9Y4p

— Ben Smith (@bensmithrugby) October 2, 2021

Oh, Ben.

How many people will remember who won the 2021 Rugby Championship 10 years from now?

We are world champions. We are also British & Irish Lions series victors, something no Southern Hemisphere side has done since – oh, would you look at that – the Springboks in 2009.

Then there’s the small matter of regaining our number one world ranking, thanks to Saturday’s win.

For the most part, Kiwis are both gracious winners and gracious losers. Every country has one plonker rugby journo that thrives on hate clicks (here’s looking at you, Keo), and Ben’s leaving any potential competition eating dirt.

After riling up rugby supporters, he dropped his column this morning in a predictably antagonist manner:

The Lion must be so proud in the Den. The Lionesses went out on a prized hunt after failing to catch some Antelopes, and the big pussy cats managed to land the 800-pound Gorilla. News is that the hungry Pride can live of the feast for months now. https://t.co/RfvZATgUnc

— Ben Smith (@bensmithrugby) October 4, 2021

We will give him the click so that you don’t have to.

Here’s some of what he said on RugbyPass:

…that is what Test rugby should be. A high-paced, high-tempo, absorbing battle of nations that is a cut above any other other form of rugby. The Springboks’ 31-29 win over the All Blacks was the best game of the year so far, and clearly the best performance yet from the World Cup holders…

The real fabric of South African Rugby was finally back last night: never taking a step back, bashing over your opposition with the ball, smashing them back in defence and ripping apart rucks with a bullying attitude.

Hold up – he’s being really gracious.

That can only last so long:

We were even told the priorities were the World Cup, every four years, and the Lions series, every twelve. Who cares what happens in between, right? Why don’t you just pack the bags for France now and forget about turning up in 2022?

The All Blacks want to win everything, everywhere, against everyone. They wanted six from six and will not be satisfied ending with five. The Springboks went three from six overall and wanted to get a statement win against the All Blacks.

Who is feeling satisfied and who isn’t right now?

What would you prefer – six out of six at the Rugby Championship or 1 449 days as Rugby World Champions, with a tasty Lions win thrown into the mix?

Will the Springboks be pumped up with heavy expectations again? Will the mythology be built up once more, with stories of this great win going on and on in the month to come?

Will the talk start about sweeping Wales, Scotland and England on a glorious end-of-year tour?

All while hoping the ending to this story isn’t the same as before.

Let’s be honest for a second and admit that South African rugby fans can be an insufferable bunch.

When we lose, we are often quick to moan about the reffing (and sometimes when we win), even though some of the criticism levelled at officials has been warranted.

But we love beating the All Blacks because they’re just so damn good, and we love winning when it counts most because it’s in our rugby DNA.

I’m sure most New Zealand fans would trade all of their success between 1995 and 2007 for another World Cup trophy or two.

If your ‘three from six’ jibes help you sleep at night, Ben, then good luck to you. Meanwhile, we’ve won three of the seven Rugby World Cups we have played in, and we know what we do best:

The message has remained consistent 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/SBiExR3ywy

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) October 3, 2021

[source:rugbypass]