Erasmus’s coaching scholarship takes South Africa to a higher plain

Victory in Paris with 14 men showed what the world champions can still do, leaving New Zealand and others playing catchup.

Siya Kolisi is held up as South Africa mark his 100th cap after their win over France in Paris. Picture: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images

Some wins count double in terms of the message they send. And amid the blizzard of weekend Test matches it was Saturday night’s result in Paris that will resonate the longest in both hemispheres. Not only the outcome, either, but the manner of it. To say South Africa exploded a few cosy theories would be the understatement of the rugby year.

So much for the idea, for example, that France would avenge the injustice of their World Cup quarter-final defeat to the Springboks. That entering the final quarter with a narrow lead and an extra man would translate into inevitable glory. That even without their talisman Antoine Dupont they still had more than enough tranquiliser darts to keep the big beasts safely at bay.