Pround Springboks put France to sleep

THERE are not many teams who have played two Tests against France and had not a single try scored against them, and the Springboks, who left Paris for Cardiff yesterday, are almost as proud of this statistic as they are of becoming the first South African team to win a series against a foreign nation since their return to international competition in 1992.

Statistics and history books, however, are not all the game of rugby is made of and the second Test in Paris on Saturday was once again noticeably lacking in passion, pleasure, and the sort of, spectacle the world rugby public has so rapidly come to expect of these professional players.

Who knows why, with a dry ball and the sun on their backs, did the Springboks, who came here boldly announcing a new era of running rugby, not chance their arm against - a bedraggled looking French side? Why did James Small virtually never touch the ball in 80 minutes of play, and why, when the Springboks line out jumpers Kobus, Wiese and Mark Andrews were so clearly dominant, providing quality possession almost at will, was this not turned into quick attacking ball for the backs?

"We were under pressure to win at all costs," explained coach/manager Andrew Markgraaff. "There are times when we kicked instead of passing the ball, but this is Test match rugby and sometimes things don't always go according to plan."

Markgraaff remained unconcerned by the fact that after five games here the French public are still waiting to see the first Springbok back movement. "This was a highly successful tour," he insists. "But the benefits of it will not be seen until next year against the Lions and in the Tri Nations series. Our aim was to build confidence and team spirit, and these are the things that will allow us to form a solid base for the future."

As they had done in Bordeaux a week earlier, South Africa put points on the board early when, after an exchange of penalties between Richard Dourthe and Henry Honiball, James Dalton scored the game's only try after 22 minutes to put South Africa in the lead 10-3.

Honiball added another penalty after half time to increase the margin to 10 points, but with Dourthe once again having a successful day, with the boot, the French clawed their way back to 13-12 with 14 minutes left to play.

"Those were the longest 14 minutes of my life," admitted Markgraaff. "But I never though that France was capable of scoring a try, so it was just a question of not giving away any penalties. The way our discipline held in the final minutes just shows the character of this