Key events
Preamble
We live in a time of what many consider late-stage capitalism, with globalised finances and all that causing much debate about whether the deal that the dominant system of the last 300 years somehow makes us all better off may be broken.
Scotland is, of course, considered the birthplace of modern capitalism and if you ask daddy Scotsman of it all, Adam Smith, then it wasn’t really meant to be like this. Self-interest wasn’t meant to be completely selfish, it was more concerning the most efficient way to get stuff done/built/made. Funny that his nation’s team can’t grasp that 300 years later..
One team that can grasp such a concept and never ever let go of it is South Africa. But their self-interest is absolutely selfish in nature, like the living embodiment of 80s asset stippers they identify, take over, then systematically dismantle that which is in their way. Except they don’t sell the broken off bits for a profit, their reward is to feast on the humiliation of what remains then on to the next one. It is simultaneously logical and elemental, just ask England after last week.
Gregor Townsend’s side arrive in Pretoria off the back of a welcome win and performance vs Argentina even if there was a whiff of switching off late on from the men in blue. This could be forgiven as the game was well won at that stage, but it’s hard to see them in such a position today, even facing a heavily rotated Springbok squad.
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