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A number of triumphs deliver twofold importance in the statement they communicate. Among the barrage of weekend Test matches, it was the Saturday evening score in Paris that will linger longest across both hemispheres. Not merely the end result, but the way the manner of victory. To claim that the Springboks demolished various comfortable beliefs would be an oversimplification of the calendar.

Unexpected Turnaround

So much for the theory, for example, that the French team would avenge the injustice of their World Cup elimination. The belief that entering the final quarter with a narrow lead and an additional player would translate into certain victory. That even without their key player Antoine Dupont, they still had more than enough strategies to restrain the big beasts safely at bay.

Instead, it was a case of assuming victory before time. Initially trailing by four points, the 14-man Boks finished by scoring 19 unanswered points, confirming their status as a team who more and more save their best for the most challenging scenarios. While overpowering New Zealand in Wellington in the last quarter was a statement, now came definitive evidence that the world’s No 1 side are developing an greater resilience.

Pack Power

Actually, the coach's champion Bok forwards are beginning to make everyone else look less intense by juxtaposition. Scotland and England experienced their periods of promise over the recent fixtures but lacked entirely the same dominant forwards that thoroughly overwhelmed France to rubble in the final thirty minutes. Several up-and-coming young French forwards are coming through but, by the conclusion, the match was men against boys.

What was perhaps even more striking was the psychological resilience driving it all. Without their lock forward – given a red card in the first half for a shoulder to the head of the French full-back – the Boks could easily have faltered. As it happened they simply united and began pulling the disheartened home team to what a retired hooker described as “extreme physical pressure.”

Guidance and Example

Post-game, having been borne aloft around the Parisian stadium on the immense frames of Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman to mark his hundredth Test, the team leader, the flanker, repeatedly emphasized how a significant number of his squad have been obliged to conquer personal challenges and how he wished his squad would similarly continue to inspire people.

The perceptive a commentator also made an astute point on sports media, proposing that his results more and more make him the rugby's version of the legendary football manager. Should the Springboks manage to win a third successive World Cup there will be absolute certainty. In case they come up short, the clever way in which the coach has revitalized a possibly veteran team has been an exemplary model to other teams.

Emerging Talent

Consider his 23-year-old fly-half the newcomer who sprinted past for the late try that decisively broke the opposition line. Additionally Grant Williams, a second half-back with explosive speed and an even sharper ability to spot openings. Undoubtedly it is an advantage to play behind a massive forward unit, with André Esterhuizen providing support, but the steady transformation of the Springboks from physically imposing units into a team who can also float like butterflies and sting like bees is extraordinary.

Glimpses of French Quality

However, it should not be thought that France were totally outclassed, in spite of their weak ending. The wing's later touchdown in the far side was a prime instance. The forward dominance that occupied the visiting eight, the glorious long pass from Ramos and the winger's clinical finish into the advertising hoardings all exhibited the traits of a side with considerable ability, despite missing their star man.

Yet that turned out to be inadequate, which is a sobering thought for all other nations. It would be impossible, for example, that Scotland could have gone 17-0 down to the Springboks and fought back in the way they did versus New Zealand. And for all the English team's strong finish, there is a journey ahead before the national side can be certain of competing with Erasmus’s green-clad giants with everything on the line.

European Prospects

Beating an developing Fijian side proved tricky enough on Saturday although the forthcoming clash against the the Kiwis will be the contest that truly shapes their end-of-year series. New Zealand are certainly vulnerable, notably absent their key midfielder in their backline, but when it comes to capitalizing on opportunities they remain a step ahead the majority of the home unions.

Scotland were particularly guilty of missing the chance to secure the killing points and uncertainties still hang over the English side's optimal back division. It is acceptable finishing games strongly – and far superior than losing them late on – but their notable undefeated streak this year has so far shown just one success over elite-level teams, a one-point home victory over Les Bleus in earlier in the year.

Next Steps

Thus the weight of this next weekend. Interpreting the signals it would appear a number of adjustments are anticipated in the matchday squad, with experienced individuals being reinstated to the team. In the pack, in the same way, regular starters should return from the start.

However perspective matters, in sport as in life. Between now and the next global tournament the {rest