Captain Cook riday, December 3

WELL, the angst is over for the time being. Piet de Snor's position is safe and the Boks have a few months in which to regroup and retool for the Tri-Nations then the World Cup. But – oh boy! – when you look at the way New Zealand are performing, we have our work cut out for us.

Last Saturday was gratifying. A totally solid performance at forward that simply ground England down; some stirring defence. Looking at reruns of the game, England really did have some great passages of play. But they just couldn't get that final push, that breakthrough, and it speaks volumes for our tackling. England will be there in the hunt, come the World Cup, be sure of that.

What we need in the meantime is an extra dimension in the backline; threequarters who take full advantage of being behind a winning pack. And in this context it will be interesting to see Jantjies and Lambie on the field together. You can never really tell in a Barbarians game – it's a kind of exhibition match – but they could provide the kind of double spark we're looking for. Fransie Steyn – these days we can call him Fransie de Snor – just didn't quite provide that spark against England the way a fullback often can; and his distance drop-kicks were terribly wayward. But somebody sometime is going to have to decide for certain whether Lambie is a fullback or a flyhalf. They can't keep switching him forever.

The real challenge in the months ahead will be to get the patterns and approach to the game that showed themselves in the Currie Cup translated to the national squad. Then we can hope to match New Zealand. We need a fluency on attack, a taking of the ball at speed and a running of the angles, that are just not happening at present. To achieve it will be no easy task, especially if the Blue Bulls predilection for the kick and chase should prevail in the national squad's thinking.

Meanwhile, it's been a great season (apart from the debacle of the Tri-Nations). The Currie Cup was a high point. Three out of four Tests in the northern hemisphere wasn't too bad either, whatever they say.

We now drift into the silly season, an inter-regnum of cricket, perhaps interspersed with things like women's wrestling – the contortions of gals like April Hunter, Shakira, Midajah and Pamela Paulshock – which can be fairly entertaining, even though we know it's all rigged because their boobs never pop out. But soon enough it will be time for the Super-14 and we'll be back to the serious stuff and running into the Tri-Nations and the World Cup.

So here's to the end of a season that has seen as many highs as lows! See you at The Pub With No Name for the Baa-Baas match. No angst, nothing at stake. No knicker elastic required for the celebratory smashing of the streetlights in the Florida Road feu de joie. Relaxation time. Crème de Menthe all round! Frappe!