On Saturday night they were honoured with the International Rugby Board team-of-the-year prize for the third time, even though coach of the year went to Ireland's Declan Kidney and not to South Africa's Peter de Villiers.
The players, coaches and fans would have taken a 2-1 series win over the British & Irish Lions and a third Tri-Nations title, including three consecutive wins over the All Blacks, if they'd been offered it.
But four defeats in five matches on the whirlwind tour through the northern hemisphere was not a good return for the world and Tri-Nations champions. But there were mitigating circumstances.
The losses to English clubs Leicester and Saracens were almost inevitable given the mix-and-match nature of the dirt-tracker team.
The Test defeats to France (20-13) and this weekend's 15-10 loss to Ireland are a bit harder to fathom.
Though the Boks played down the fatigue factor and refused to use it as an excuse in their Test defeats, it was an issue, particularly against Ireland.
Critics will say that New Zealand and Australia toured the northern hemisphere with much more success, having endured a similarly long season. But no country plays with the sheer physicality of South Africa, and that exacts a greater toll on the players' bodies.
In the Super 14 and the Currie Cup, the nature of South African rugby means more tackles and heavier collisions. By November bodies are shattered and minds weary, which was obvious on Saturday.
The Boks tackled themselves to a standstill and their pride refused to allow Ireland, who enjoyed more than 70% possession, to cross the tryline.
But their decision-making was poor and by constantly kicking their meagre possession into the safe hands of Irish fullback Rob Kearney, the Boks never gave themselves a break.
The poor decision-making was a combination of Irish pressure and mental fatigue. Even the great Fourie du Preez seemed unable to turn defence into attack as he normally does. The Boks only had a plan A and were too tired to come up with a plan B.
"The IRB decides on the fixtures and we have to play those matches and honour them," De Villiers said.
"If we came here with a second-string Test team we would be showing disrespect to our opponents. Maybe we should have rested some players, but the year is over, and we can wonder about all the ifs and buts as long as we like and nothing will change.
"We have to go home and regroup and start planning for next year. I don't think the results on this tour will have any influence on our mindset going forward. We just have to build on what we achieved this year because we know what we are capable of doing."
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