Sorry, but you’ve got to love the Springboks

There may still be some poor benighted souls who regard the Springboks as the bane of rugby union. If you meet one, get ready to dispense a proper mauling. South Africa, for so long the Millwall of rugby, are playing an all-round game that is so breathtakingly attractive you have to love them. It may be hard for you, but tough.

The scrum has always been irresistible, of course; relays of vast men who can shred opponents to bits: here’s hooker Malcolm Marx, accumulator of tries and the size of a terraced house but with added mobility; there’s Ox Nché, all 19.5st of him and the best prop in the world right now. On the flank is Pieter-Steph du Toit, relentlessly fast and on track to be world player of the year again; at lock the extraordinary Eben Etzebeth, as imposing as the Statue of Liberty, who has just become the most capped Bok of all time.