I am angered by some armchair critics, even in my own circle, labelling this past weekends Test against Portugal a waste or dismissing the Springboks opponents as useless or not belonging on the same field as the world champions.
Without games of this nature, how does one expect emerging tier-two nations like Portugal to gain any experience or exposure?
This past week was set aside and embraced by SA Rugby, for that specific reason giving tier-two teams exposure to those seated at the international games top table.
Yes, to be brutally honest, it was not what one would call a rugby spectacle. Barring the early exit of Andre Esterhuizen via an eventual bunker review red card a discussion for another day - and the visitors crossing the whitewash first, it was always going to be a lopsided contest.
Growing the gameNotwithstanding the 64-21 scoreline , it was an important exercise. The objective here is to grow the game and broaden its appeal to more countries, not for the rugby purist to sit back in his or her lounge recliner and dismiss teams like Portugal as useless.
