Gavin Rich toasts an important win for the Springboks on Supersport.
"You just had to look through the Irish newspapers and watch British television in the build-up to understand why Saturday’s match to celebrate the opening of the new Aviva Stadium was so important to the Springboks.
"The Boks have slumped so far in the international estimation over the past year that it seems bizarre sometimes to think back to just 14 months ago, when almost everyone was making them favourites for the World Cup. South Africa had so many rugby trophies that the administration organised a tour of the country to show them off.
"Of course, the game itself is not in bad health in South Africa. The Bulls are the Super rugby champions, having now won the title two years in a row, and the Dublin test match did seem a significant step down in pace and intensity from the excellent Currie Cup final we saw seven days earlier between the Sharks and Western Province."
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