I find it interesting that the South African rugby media – almost to a man, for very few women manage to break into the male-dominated world of rugby writing – are in the process of kidding themselves about SA’s chances of beating New Zealand in the World Cup in France. But they are not alone; some former Bok captains and coaches have also been caught un in the broad sweep of rugby patriotism that has gripped SA since the Bulls and Sharks fought for the right to be Super 14 champions.

The question of the blackening of the Springboks has been thrust on to the front pages via reports at the weekend that a transformed Springbok team – shorn of captain John Smit and coach Jake White, who are to be replaced by Luke Watson and Peter de Villiers respectively – will represent SA from 2008.

Jake White and his various lieutenants, including the shrewd Rassie Erasmus, will have learnt much from the two outings against what was really no more than an English Third XV, boosted by the presence of a couple of stars in Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson (and the latter only for the first match).

Like many others – not least some of the Springboks themselves – I have allowed myself to be persuaded by the marvellous performances of the Bulls and the Sharks in the Super 14 competition that 2007 will be the year of the Springboks.

It’s been an extraordinary week in SA rugby – not only did two SA teams make it to the Super 14 final for the first time, a monumental feat in itself, but in terms of news value nothing next to the astonishing Luke Watson affair.

With the Super 14 in its final throes, attention is switching to the international season – the now traditional tours by under-strength teams from the Northern Hemisphere followed by the Tri-Nations and the World Cup, which gets under way in France in September.

Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith were quick to dismiss the chokers’ tag the media was ready to attach to the Proteas after the shaming of SA cricket in St Lucia last week.

The Proteas have twice reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and twice gone out in the most unfortunate fashion – in Australia in 1992 when mathematical calculations used to decide a rain-interrupted contest left them with no chance of beating England, and, of course, in England in 1999, when the infamous run-out resulted in a tie and allowed Australia to advance to the final by virtue of having beaten SA in an earlier match in the tournament (by a mere two runs!).

With only a minor adaptation, the old joke about the winning prize in a raffle draw being a one-week holiday in Pofadder and the second prize being a two-week holiday in the Northern Cape dorp not known for its tempting attractions is applicable to the situation the Proteas now find themselves in.

If it turns out that the loss to Bangladesh costs SA a place in the World Cup semi-finals it will be more down to poor planning by the Proteas’ brains trust than to the admittedly thoroughly professional performance by the hopefuls from the sub-continent.

I was taken aback this past week to read calls for Jacques Kallis’ head in the SA media.

The carnage that Australia inflicted on the Proteas’ attack in their convincing win over Graeme Smith’s team in the World Cup on Saturday has raised an issue that the Proteas’ brains trust are going to have to deal with before the tournament progresses much further.

As I pointed out in this piece last week, the rugby referee’s lot is becoming increasingly difficult.

It seems that the more rugby’s powers-that-be tinker with the laws the more pressure referees find themselves under.

Whether he admits it or not there's a lot of pressure on the young shoulders of Graeme Smith.

News last week that Australia had finally abdicated as kings of one-day cricket to hand the No 1 spot to South Africa brought a rush of confidence around the country about the Proteas chances in the World Cup, which gets under way in the West Indies in just under two weeks.

Having demolished India 4-0 and then brushed aside a woeful Pakistani challenge that promised much but produced little, the Proteas head for the World Cup in the West Indies next month as the form team, and, on paper at least, the team most likely to lift the trophy.

For years now, curators at cricket grounds around the world have been striving to produce the 'perfect' one-day wicket.

Most of the pre-season hot air flowing from Durban and Pretoria about which team is most likely to succeed in this year's Super 14 competition might turn out to be just that if the Sharks and the Bulls don't make major strides following the error-strewn performance they produced for a decent crowd at Durban's Absa Stadium on Saturday.

The release this week of SA's Super 14 squads whets the appetite for the kick-off on Friday of what promises to be a veritable rugby feast stretching through 93 matches over more than 100 days.

It's hard to believe given the stifling heat those of us who live in KwaZulu-Natal have had to endure in the past week, but in just three weeks the latest Super 14 competition will be with us.

If we have learnt anything from the three-day test series against the Indian cricketers it is that the South Africans are no longer guaranteed an easy ride on home soil against teams from the sub-continent.

This week's meanderings were to be based on the demise of India in the first test at the Wanderers, where I thought they would flounder against the SA pace battery.

It might be because the silly season is upon us that the weirdest things are happening in SA cricket.

Judging by the way the voting went in the Presidents' Council meeting to decide Jake White's future as Springbok coach in Cape Town on Wednesday, the South African victory over England - the one bright spot in a bleak Northern Hemisphere tour - saved him from being sacked.