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Certain wins carry dual importance in the statement they convey. Among the flurry of weekend rugby Tests, it was the Saturday evening outcome in Paris that will echo longest across both hemispheres. Not just the final score, but also the style of victory. To claim that the Springboks demolished several comfortable assumptions would be an modest description of the season.

Shifting Momentum

Forget about the theory, for example, that the French team would avenge the disappointment of their World Cup quarter-final defeat. The belief that entering the final quarter with a narrow lead and an additional player would result in inevitable glory. That even without their key player Antoine Dupont, they still had sufficient strategies to contain the big beasts under control.

Instead, it was a case of assuming victory before time. After being 17-13 down, the South African side with a player sent off concluded with registering 19 consecutive points, reinforcing their status as a squad who more and more save their best for the most demanding situations. Whereas beating New Zealand 43-10 in earlier this year was a message, this was definitive evidence that the world’s No 1 side are cultivating an even thicker skin.

Pack Power

Actually, Rassie Erasmus’s title-winning pack are beginning to make everyone else look laissez-faire by juxtaposition. The Scottish and English sides both had their periods of promise over the weekend but did not have the same dominant forwards that thoroughly overwhelmed the home side to landfill in the closing period. A number of talented young France's pack members are developing but, by the final whistle, the encounter was men against boys.

Perhaps most impressive was the inner fortitude underpinning it all. Missing the second-rower – given a 38th-minute straight red for a high tackle of Thomas Ramos – the South Africans could easily have lost their composure. On the contrary they just united and proceeded to pulling the disheartened boys in blue to what an ex-France player called “a place of suffering.”

Captaincy and Motivation

Post-game, having been borne aloft around the Stade de France on the gigantic shoulders of two key forwards to celebrate his 100th cap, the South African skipper, Siya Kolisi, repeatedly emphasized how several of his team have been obliged to conquer off-field adversity and how he wished his squad would in the same way continue to motivate people.

The insightful a commentator also made an shrewd comment on broadcast, stating that the coach's achievements increasingly make him the rugby coaching equivalent of Sir Alex Ferguson. If South Africa do go on to win a third successive World Cup there will be complete assurance. Even if they come up short, the smart way in which the mentor has revitalized a possibly veteran squad has been an exemplary model to other teams.

Young Stars

Take for example his 23-year-old fly-half the rising star who darted through for the decisive touchdown that properly blew open the opposition line. Or the scrum-half, a second playmaker with blistering pace and an more acute vision for space. Undoubtedly it is beneficial to play behind a massive forward unit, with the powerful center adding physicality, but the ongoing metamorphosis of the South African team from intimidating giants into a squad who can also display finesse and strike decisively is hugely impressive.

French Flashes

However, it should not be thought that the French team were utterly overwhelmed, in spite of their fading performance. Their winger's second try in the wing area was a good illustration. The forward dominance that tied in the Bok forwards, the glorious long pass from the playmaker and the winger's clinical finish into the perimeter signage all demonstrated the traits of a squad with notable skill, even in the absence of their star man.

Yet that ultimately proved not enough, which is a daunting prospect for competing teams. It is inconceivable, for example, that the visitors could have gone 17-0 down to the Springboks and mounted a comeback in the way they did against the All Blacks. Notwithstanding the red rose's last-quarter improvement, there remains a journey ahead before the national side can be assured of competing with the South African powerhouses with everything on the line.

European Prospects

Overcoming an developing Fijian side posed difficulties on match day although the upcoming showdown against the the Kiwis will be the match that accurately reflects their November Tests. New Zealand are not invincible, especially missing an influential back in their backline, but when it comes to capitalizing on opportunities they continue to be a level above the majority of the home unions.

Scotland were especially culpable of failing to hammer home the killing points and question marks still apply to the English side's perfect backline combination. It is acceptable ending matches well – and much preferable than fading in the closing stages – but their notable winning sequence this year has so far included just a single victory over elite-level teams, a close result over Les Bleus in February.

Future Prospects

Thus the weight of this upround. Reading between the lines it would look like several changes are anticipated in the starting lineup, with established stars coming back to the lineup. Up front, likewise, first-choice players should return from the beginning.

But context is key, in competition as in reality. Between now and the next global tournament the {rest