Greatest Rivalry swagger showed South Africa will take some beating at World Cup

What is the enduring image of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series? The Springboks put the exclamation mark on their status as World Cup favourites by wrapping up the series 3-1 with victory in Baltimore on Saturday, but in months and years to come where will the mind immediately go when reflecting on this epic?The reality is that after four Tests of remarkable intensity – a brutal reminder of the levels required to compete with the two biggest beasts in the world game – there are plenty. But it is hard to look beyond the 65th minute of the third Test in Soweto, when the Boks’ tank rumbled over from 20 metres. Malcolm Marx was awarded the try and there would be no more deserving recipient of a player of the series award.The beauty of series such as these is that narratives build as they go. RGR’s pitted South African thunder against All Black lightning, and Marx’s rumble was devastating. The third Test was soon wrapped up, South Africa had taken a 2-1 lead with the Baltimore Test to play and New Zealand’s spirit was finally broken.Before the series started, we wondered if South Africa might take the All Blacks on at their own game – but after losing the first Test in Johannesburg the Boks narrowed their focus and bulldozed their way back, showcasing their unrivalled power and their dominant set piece. For there was a series within a series, and the Springboks dare not lose the best-of-three contest on South African soil.In the Land of the Free, in the city that gave us the Star-Spangled Banner, they proceeded to cast the shackles off and demonstrate they can play a bit too. It was evident after all of 20 seconds when Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu sparked a running move when receiving kick-off, and it was clear given South Africa’s willingness to offload throughout. The 43-28 scoreline flattered South Africa a touch, but New Zealand were out on their feet by the end.So what hope do the chasing pack have in denying South Africa a third successive World Cup? It is true to say the Boks are an ageing side – the backup hooker turns 40 this month – and Rassie Erasmus has a challenge managing everyone through to Australia. That said, he has unearthed a few more gems with the scrum-half Morné van den Berg named player of the match in Baltimore while Cameron Hanekom has produced some monstrous cameos from the bench.New Zealand’s 33-16 victory in the opening Test in Johannesburg gives hope, but there are very few teams who possess the All Blacks’ handling skills, their ability to strike on the counter. Dave Rennie’s side will head home, lick their wounds and reflect on a series with plenty of positives given how much trouble they were able to give South Africa. They will be aware that if they can rectify problems with their scrum, lineout and aerial game, they will be further entrenched as the Springboks’ closest rivals.Should the pool stages go to form, New Zealand and South Africa are set to meet in the quarter-finals of the World Cup next year and the All Blacks have, at the very least, been given hope that they are on the right trajectory. Perhaps France have the power and the pace to unsettle South Africa but there is a nagging suspicion that we are beyond the peak of Fabien Galthié’s project. England do not look capable of mounting a realistic challenge at present. Maybe Australia, as the hosts, could pull off a moonshot if all the stars align.Cameron Hanekom’s South Africa are favourites to win next year’s World Cup. Photograph: Stephanie Scarbrough/APAfter victory in Baltimore, Erasmus was full of praise for the All Blacks but so much of what he says requires reinterpreting and a couple of lines stood out. “I know we sometimes annoy other people around the world for the way we go about things, or the angle we take on issues, but we really care the most about South African people,” he said.“We enjoy the other people around the world, and we understand their opinions and love the banter, but there’s only one reason for us as a team and for us as a country, it’s for South Africa.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionFor Erasmus, the ends will always justify the means. Switching his entire front row an hour before the must-win second Test in Cape Town? No problem.Erasmus’s comments seek to reinforce the us-versus-the-world mentality that he has spent so long fostering. His insistence that it is for the greater good of South Africa is another of his staples because it reinforces the narrative that his players have a higher purpose and it has been mightily successful throughout his reign.We wondered whether the Springboks would play expansively at the start of the series or revert to type and we will wonder the same when it comes to next year’s World Cup. The truth is that they can do both and Erasmus will do whatever gives his side the greatest chance of success on the day.There are 12 months still to go but if RGR told us anything, it is that it will take something special to stop the Springboks.