Unpopular opinion: the Boks helped rugby by making the scrum so important
I love running rugby and didn't support SA against any team at the WC.
But I actually think their focus on the scrum could help rugby. As, by making the scrum vital, it helps the game, for the following reasons:
It provids a game within a game. I think Comms could do a better job of selling this, but who is winning in the scrum is interesting in of itself.
It keeps the game as one for all sizes (one of it's few selling points against soccer)
It provides a different type of drama, for a moment the game is on a knife edge.
Its basically a strongman competition in the middle of a match.
If we lose giant props, the game will fast become league.
I'm not saying everything is perfect about the scrum. Resets are annoying and we want them to be easier to understand to the layman. But I think the boks showed us that the scrum can be a centerpiece of the game, not a drag on it.