Springbok coach Allister Coetzee is understandably bullish after South Africa wrapped up the Test series against France with a match to spare.
Coetzee and his coaching staff endured a lot of criticism from all corners of the country following a disastrous first season in charge of the Boks in 2016, when they only managed four wins in eight Test matches, which also included a first-ever defeat against Italy.
There were a few murmurs in the press leading up to this series that Coetzee needed to beat the French to keep his job, while Muster coach Rassie Erasmus' name has also been regularly connected with the Bok job.
Coetzee was essentially a dead man walking.
However, the Springboks managed to polish off France with a 37-14 victory in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld and with an impressive 37-15 effort in the second Test at Durban's Kings Park. The latter, against a French team strengthen by players who featured in the Top 14 final, was arguably the Boks' best performance under Coetzee tutelage.
"There's only one person's approval I could ever want and would like to have -- it's the Almighty. I need no one else's approval," Coetzee told reporters ahead of Saturday's third Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
"My job ... I have got a four-year contract with SA Rugby until 2019. A national coach knows when you sign the contract that you are going to be judged on a few things.
"I'm pleased, 2016 is dead and buried now and we have moved on. It's just great to see what is happening now. It's not out about impressing anyone, but to make sure that our hard work is paying off."
Coetzee, however, admits that he made a number of errors in his first year in charge after replacing Heyneke Meyer, who lost to Japan before leading the Boks to third place at the 2015 World Cup in England.
The Springbok coach says their planning has been a lot better following 2016's shambles. Coetzee was only appointed April last year, basically giving him only a couple of months to prepare for the series against Ireland.
The Boks narrowly won that series 2-1, thanks to an unbelievable comeback in the second Test at Ellis Park, before holding on by the skin of their teeth in the third Test in Port Elizabeth. However, it got worse, as the Boks slipped further behind their fierce rivals the All Blacks, who handed the South Africans a record defeat in the Rugby Championship in Durban.
"Yes, mistakes were made, but it's that ability to rectify those mistakes and to set them right ... that is what is happening here. We have got a great team environment and a fantastic leadership group and great a captain [in Warren Whiteley].
"Everyone has bought into the plan and it's looking good. In Durban, eight months ago, people booed us off the field. On the very same field the players got a standing ovation after the win against France.
"A lot of credit must go to the players who unselfishly bought into our value system in creating this brilliant team environment alongside the management."
The spirit in the camp is certainly a lot better, and it's being reflected in the way the players have been playing for each other and the jersey over the last few weeks.
Last year the Springboks' defence was shambolic to say the least, while they lost that hard edge that helped them to bully opposition teams.
But in the first two Test against the French they defended like a Bok team should, especially in the second Test when they kept France out in a decisive 10-minute period in the game.
"Our defence was outstanding. I have seen a couple of clips where a lot of players had double and triple actions -- making a tackle and getting up to make another one in the same passage of play," the Springbok coach said.
"It shows the attitude of the player and the team environment. The players are taking responsibility for their actions and that is part of our value system. We know we haven't achieved anything yet ... this is expected of you when you represent your country.
"You have got to be up every weekend and the players are embracing that," Coetzee added.
However, the Springboks are not the finished product yet -- far from it. Yes, their attitude on defence is great and their intent on attack has been superb, but they still fall short of where they need to be to compete with the likes of the All Blacks and England.
"There are times in Test match rugby when you got to have that killer instinct," Coetzee said.
"Maybe the final score of 37-15 doesn't look too bad, but when you get a lineout in the opposition's 22, that is when I would like to see us being more clinical.
"From the first Test to the second we were looking for more attacking lineouts, and we got that. But it's what you do with that possession that counts. From that point of view I want us to be more ruthless."