The smell of napalm in the air at Ellis Park
Craig Ray | 02 October, 2013 06:51
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Marius Joubert, the South African centre races away to score the first of his three tries despite the attention from Andrew Mehrtens during the Tri-Nations Rugby Union International between South Africa and New Zealand at Ellis Park on August 14, 2004 in Johannesburg
Image by: David Rogers / Getty Images
NEARLY a decade ago, when freelancing for a New Zealand-based radio station, I was tasked with interviewing the All Blacks after their 2004 clash with the Springboks at Ellis Park.
New Zealand lost 40-26 to Jake White's Boks. Centre Marius Joubert scored a hat-trick and the Boks touched down five times and the All Blacks twice. It was a comprehensive thrashing even if "only" 14 points separated them at the end.
Speaking to a senior and well-respected All Black hard man in the bowels of the stadium minutes after the final whistle, I asked: "What is it about Ellis Park that the All Blacks dislike?"
That was the 11th meeting at the stadium, and New Zealand's eighth loss. Unbelievably, it was also the last time the sides met there. The All Blacks have won 27% of their Tests against the Boks at Ellis Park, their worst showing at any grounds at which they have played more than five Tests.
I received a withering look and an astonishing reply: "I hate this place, you can feel the hatred coming off the stands."
The crowd had been a particularly seething mass that day; the Boks had just returned from the away leg of the Tri-Nations with two narrow and frankly unlucky defeats on the road.
White's team, just like Heyneke Meyer's squad this weekend, needed a bonus point win and they needed to stop the Kiwis from getting any points.
The crowd threw missiles at the New Zealand team bus as it drove through the hard streets of Doornfontein and some pounded it with their hands as it crawled towards the stadium's entrance. It was an intimidating atmosphere.
A colleague summed it up perfectly. "Smell the napalm in the air," he said.
The Boks drew on the vitriolic atmosphere, succeeded in their objective and went on to win the Tri-Nations with a victory over Australia the following week.
Now, Meyer's Boks need to draw on the support and the edge Ellis Park will give them. The match is a sellout; there is bad blood after the Eden Park debacle, where SA were wrongly reduced to 14 men for 49 minutes of the match; and the Boks are still within a shout of the title.
The All Blacks bordered on arrogant after that win three weeks ago, with coach Steve Hansen lauding several of his players' fine performances while dismissing the fact that the Boks hadn't been allowed to compete evenly as they slumped to a 29-15 loss.
Some media suggested the result was never in doubt because the Kiwis enjoyed the better contest in the first 15 minutes, forgetting that rugby is an 80-minute game and it was 10-10 at 35 minutes.
The battle lines have been set out and the napalm is in the air again.
