OPINION: Full disclaimer - I was born and raised in South Africa, and hold both South African and New Zealand passports.
In years gone by, I loved watching rugby with my Kiwi husband, especially when the All Blacks played the Springboks. The games were intense, sometimes brutal and exciting to watch.
Lately, however, rugby has been so boring that I totally lost interest.
Sure, some teams managed to keep the mighty All Blacks at bay for the first 60 minutes, but inevitably, the ABs would streak ahead and end up with a convincing win. YAWN.
Saturday night's game - an historic 36-34 Springboks victory in Wellington - brought back that same thrill and excitement from years before, when there was a bit of healthy competition.
From the outset the All Blacks looked a bit complacent - the haka was flat, the team was out to get the job done, not expecting much resistance from a team that had already lost to Argentina and Australia.
When results become foregone conclusions, people lose interest, so it makes sense that the loss on Saturday is still making headlines today. The loss is great - it's brought back some interest in the game.
Psychologist Sara Chatwin says losing in sport is not a bad thing. In fact, the loss can be character-building, and a good way to take another look at what’s going on in a team and make some adjustments.
"Losing can keep a team on its toes and get them fired up to reclaim their glory," she says.
Coping with a loss is an exercise in learning and moving forward, Chatwin says.
"If you have a positive mindset, loss can be motivating. If you identify things that need work and do the work, and if you focus on strengths and make them stronger, you can get back up to speed relatively easily."
I'm not alone in thinking the loss was not such a bad thing, either. In a Newshub poll of about 2000 people, about 88 percent of respondents say they are not upset about the All Blacks losing.
In the aftermath, Chatwin agrees that public opinion was not opposed to the loss.
"It was really nice to see the NZ sporting public being generous, as opposed to the 'athlete bashing' that often occurs around defeat.
"We live in a small, but talented country so, in many ways, being gracious in loss is a great, fair-minded quality," she says.
But she does add that if the All Blacks had been playing badly for a long time, the public might not have been so generous.
For the Springboks, this win means is an injection of confidence and positivity.
Given the All Blacks were touted as rugby "gods", Chatwin says, winning against them would be a really big plus for any team.
"However, most sportspeople and teams know that any great athlete or team experiences loss, and they can get through that loss,” she says.
While beating the All Blacks on home turf - something the Springboks hadn't done for nine years - was a big deal for the Springboks and their supporters, Chatwin is quick to point out that the loss wasn’t emphatic, and that the All Blacks can certainly regroup.
The game was great to watch. The only downside, for me, was seeing the old South African flag unfurled in a player entrance tunnel during the game.
This old, apartheid-era relic has no place in today's society. I'm so pleased it was confiscated.
Rhonwyn Newson is Newshub online features editor.
