SO the question remains, were they taking it seriously or not?

South African manager/coach/liaison man Brendan Venter was very gung-ho in his assertion that South Africa were coming to the World Rugby Classic just for a bit of fun.

Winning was not a priority, he said ? few believed him.

Here was a man who, along with his brother Andre, has become synonymous with commitment and aggression to the Springbok cause.

Pictures of the two of them leaving rugby fields all over the world covered in someone's blood are commonplace.

Of course the South Africans were coming to Bermuda to win.

Unlike many of their competitors, they were laying off the heavy drinking, sneaking off to bed slightly earlier and generally treating the trip here with a lot more seriousness ? something you would expect from a team that held group prayers before and after every game.

It was little surprise that they triumphed, lifting the crystal trophy after three impressive victories.

And it was no small irony that Brendan (we're only here for the beer) Venter ended up with a broken leg after an uncompromising tackle against the All Blacks in the opening game.

Mischievous opponents joked that the Springboks were "cheating" by using players as quick and fit as Jan Harm van Wyk ? the tournament's leading tryscorer ? Pieter Rossouw and Joost van der Westhuizen.

Others said going to bed early was "against the rules".

It was clear from the day the teams were announced that the Springboks were favourites and after taking a 36-0 first-half lead against the Kiwis on the opening day, it was clear they were prepared to live up to that status.

What chance did the opposition have?

The All Blacks, looking as out of shape as the Springboks were in it, were humiliated.

Manager Andy Haden's assertion that he "took his golf team off at half-time to protect them" was a measure of how seriously his team were taking the Classic.

The French, a few lotharios aside, went reasonably easy on the partying in their attempt to defend their crown.

But a rather brutal and indisciplined semi-final performance let them down.

So South Africa's final opponents were Australia ? a side returning to the Classic after an 11-year absence with a team of former greats, many of whom hadn't played for as long as five years.

They paid the penalty for this with a string of injuries which so damaged their squad that it was an American ringer who helped 'yank' them into the final with a last-gasp try in the semi-finals against the Pumas.

They took the field for the final with one American and two Argentinians in their squad ? and despite the language barrier were fired up to win.

They maintained throughout the tournament they were here to have fun, something that made coach Bob Dwyer's post-defeat reaction all the more bizarre.

When approached by a reporter who had predicted his multi-national side would be defeated, Dwyer unleashed a stream of vitriol and made it clear, between the profanities, that he thought the prediction was unfair.

He also refused to allow the reporter to interview any of his players.

So it seems the Australians were taking it seriously too.