The Springboks' victory on Saturday must be celebrated, but now is the time for this team to push on, bury the opposition while they are still scrambling, and start to build a legacy of greatness, says iafrica.com's Rob Peters.

There was much to cheer about on Saturday as the Springboks got their Tri-Nations campaign off to the perfect start by dismantling their greatest rivals, and if not for some missed kicks, the victory could have been far larger.

The Boks outplayed the All Blacks. It has, of course, been pointed out that Ruan Pienaar needs to work on his kicking — I cannot argue with that obviously — but we need to have more balance in our appraisal of the young number 10, as his general play proved that he indeed has the makings of a great flyhalf. There is no rule that your flyhalf needs to be your first-choice kicker either and I would hesitate to pick a number 10 based solely on his form in front of goal.

I still believe Frans Steyn should have been handed the kicking duties while Pienaar was on the field, particularly after landing one from 50 metres out, but as it happened the latter was taken off injured and his replacement Morne Steyn did the business as he is generally expected to do.

Kicking aside, the Boks were quite superb during the first half, but unfortunately they again let things slip after the break, and were ultimately forced to fight for the victory in the end. It is a worrying trend and needs to be rectified if this team wants to cement its new position at the top of the world rankings.

On talent, this team certainly has the ability to do just that.

The tight five is growing into a formidable unit, with John Smit proving with every match that he is a tighthead of international quality, while Bismarck du Plessis and Beast Mtawarira are destined for greatness if they continue playing with their current form. Little needs to be said about the partnership of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha, who still form the best second row in world rugby, and show no signs of slowing down.

The loose trio is also starting to gel, with Heinrich Brussouw — easily the biggest find in world rugby this year — Juan Smith and Pierre Spies starting to wreak havoc across the park.

The backline, meanwhile, showed a desire to spread the ball wide, but too often looked a little hurried in their execution. There were certainly a lot of positives, but there were some tries left out on the park on Saturday and the Boks will be keen to improve on that.

Ultimately, the Boks need to build on this victory with a more complete performance in Durban this weekend. The All Blacks are an inexperienced outfit, and it showed in Bloemfontein, while the South Africans boast a settled and incredibly talented team. There has never been a better opportunity for John Smit and his men to hammer home the advantage.

Make no mistake, the Kiwis will be out for revenge in Durban and the Boks cannot let it slip in the second Test. Win in Durban and the South Africans can travel to Australasia with a solid platform. Lose and they will head abroad under heaps of pressure, forced to play catch-up.

The Springboks of 2009 have the necessary ingredients to court greatness, but they need to banish inconsistency, finish off the opposition and show the world that they deserve to sit on top.

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