Monday, 16th July 2007 at 11:07 am

Jake White’s smiling…

…and with good reason. Much as the Antipodean media has berated him for the ‘B’ squad that went over to Australia and New Zealand, he got everything but a couple of wins: key players rested, possible World Cup contenders evaluated, and both games extremely competitive despite so many first choice Springboks staying at home.

The first 20 minutes in Sydney suggested a gleeful upset, and the first 65 minutes in Christchurch were hardly glorious for the All Blacks; neither final score reflected the game accurately, and while the Springboks end the year bottom of the Tri-Nations, they’ll have got substantially more out of the tournament than the third place would suggest.

And so it’s on to Saturday, and the announcement of the final 30; and from there to preparations for France, and a tournament that’s looking wonderfully open. The All Blacks are certainly beatable, the Wallabies are back in the equation, and France, Ireland, England, Wales and Argentina have the capacity to shake up the World Cup. Importantly for us, though, the Springboks are looking exciting; the pressure will mount in the next month, certainly, but for now White has every right to afford himself a little smile.