For their benefit, and for rugby union, it feels almost incumbent on
South Africa to find a more expansive way to play
![Can Springboks ever get beyond their ends-justify-the-means approach? | Gerard Meagher](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7caaade06f8b4a83fb16bc6d50c891055b71143d/0_230_3447_2068/master/3447.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=abd8ba1eeae746ffd4b3fc06c938e123)
One of the more amusing moments of this
British &
Irish Lions tour came on the eve of the third Test, when a South
American journalist asked the Springboks’ representatives up for questioning whether the weekend decider was effectively a warm-up match for the forthcoming Rugby Championship. Given South Africa begin that competition with back-to-back matches against
Argentina, starting on Saturday, full marks for working the local angle, but in overcoming the Lions you sense the Springboks’ No 1 goal for the year has already been achieved.
It raises an interesting point, though, because going back to the buildup to the
World Cup, South Africa have made a virtue of having their backs against the wall, of being up against the clock – of Chasing the Sun – and they have relished the narrative of having to overcome adversity.