^^^^^^^^^^ 28 point final quarter, too. I'm starting to agree with the idea that Bokke rugby as I've known it all my life is no more & I'm a bit saddened by that.
Many years ago, a poster on another list I subscribed to wrote a post he titled cry of the boeing. It described the many issues facing South African rugby and how little by little the parts of the whole machine were being stripped, broken or eroded, and eventually the whole would cease to function.
Basically our problems start from the very bottom levels with many coaches stuck in old mentalities, stubbornly sticking to the idea that South Africans have a natural right to be good at rugby and they don't need to listen to new ideas. Even if some do try new ideas, fans are intolerant and don't accept losses easily.
I could describe many things, including the loss of parent involvement teaching and coaching, right up to the lure of foreign currency due to the weakness of the Rand.
PaarlBok will continue to blame picking chicken runners as the source of all our problems, but he is focusing on a symptom, not a cause. He believes you can simply reverse that by refusing to pick overseas players. I'm afraid, that isn't going to help. Life isn't as simple as the old days. Players are not part time with decent jobs to go to once they're done. They never know when they will be done. The lure of cash is just going to speak too loud.
South African rugby has been in decline over many years, with ups and downs. The evidence is there, forget the nostalgic stuff and ridiculous notion that because we were once great we somehow have an innate rugby ability or right to continue to be great. So, maybe next year will be a good year, who knows, but the trend is still down.
There may be ways out, but it requires firstly acceptance and then people stepping out of their comfort zones. It requires sacrifice for many years, sacrifice of results and lots of hard work, to focus from the ground up. We have a huge population, untapped, we should focus on creating an environment right from grassroots that gets rugby balls into hands, gets kids trying new things, and creates intense competition and desire to play.
Personally, these days, I watch mostly amateur club rugby. I must be a chicken runner fan because I find it more enjoyable than the pro game.