Boks…something’s gotta give

How quickly things change in a couple of months. Before the 2010 edition of the Tri-Nations began, South Africa were seen by many as favourites. Now that the Springboks round of fixtures has thankfully come to an end, the exact opposite is true. Judging by Bloem, and Loftus before it, we may have reached our Rubicon.

Last year represented the high watermark for Springbok rugby this decade. The 2004 Tri-Nations is where it all began, followed by World Cup success in 2007. Last year saw the British and Irish Lions beaten (in a contest match closer than thought), with Australia and the Springboks’ nemesis, the All Blacks, swept aside. This year began with now what appears to be false confidence, with Wales (in Wales … fubar?) and France beaten. How quickly things change in a couple of months.

Judging by the reaction of fans and journalists to this latest reversal, there is now the scent of blood in the air. A frenzied tornado of supporter angst and disdain is slowly illuminating the grassroots of the Springboks’ support base. Answers are demanded, and head coach Peter de Villiers is bearing the brunt of that scorn.

De Villiers has always been a controversial character, with his role sealed in history on the day he was appointed Springbok coach. As the first non-white coach, the pressure was always going to be that little more on. This is the new South Africa but the more things change, the more they stay the same. Great strides have been made towards achieving a balanced society with much more work to be done, but the greatest evil of apartheid’s legacy is still with us.

That legacy, the unconscious promotion of attitudes based on ethnicity in relation to the personal position, has seeped into all realms of active life in this country and rugby was no exception. There were those who always had it in for him, even though he was appointed with an almost identical record to that of Jake White. I’m not suggesting there aren’t issues, which will follow, but he always had it harder, especially after inheriting a squad that had done it all. How do you motivate a team that has nothing more to play for? That perhaps is very much the salient point, evident through different prisms.

That aside, Bloemfontein was dismal. The score line might have been 41-39, but in reality it resembled the breadth of the Vaal River. Last week Australia let South Africa out of jail, but twice? They came very close to botching it, with their own loss of nerve allowing the Springboks to get back into the game and by Jove, take the lead. Morne Steyn kicked superbly, and though not the flashiest with ball in hand, his distribution has been improving and a sneaky sidestep has been added to his arsenal. Others had good games, but there was a lack of precision and organisation that the Wallabies exploited with an exhibition of pinpoint passing and initiative on attack … for 60 minutes anyway.

South Africa did compound problems through kicking the ball back to Australia, and not deep enough to force a conventional line-out. But this isn’t any different to how the Springboks were expected to play, but it was on defence once more that men went MIA. The coaching team have copped a lot of flak for the Springboks game plan this year, with pundits in Oceania calling it “obsolete”.

It might sound like heresy to say so, but the coaches aren’t wrong when it comes to SA’s style of play. It has proven effective in the past, and for 76 minutes against the All Blacks in Johannesburg it worked. However, the only way South Africa will be able to impose themselves on a match, especially against class opposition, is if the defence keeps scoring to a minimum. That is what Jake White built his side on, and considering 11 of the starting 15 for that game in Paris three years ago ran onto the pitch in Bloemfontein, it’s something this side knows how to do well. Otherwise if pressure isn’t created by the defence, as we saw yesterday, everything goes to pieces. Twenty-two tries have been conceded in the Tri-Nations, which is a record for South Africa and the most since 1996 when under Andre Markgraaff we were associated with dinosaurs. No wonder De Villiers and Co tried to rope in WP defensive coach Jacques Nienaber for his input. WP, on this point, were very childish in saying no.

De Villiers alone isn’t to blame for what has been a very poor season. Along with him — and Kobus Wiese said it during half-time on SuperSport — the selectors need to take the blame. That means Ian McIntosh and convenor Peter Jooste. Their faith in backing players out of form, while noble, backfired spectacularly. Would New Zealand continue to back a player as poor as present-day Bryan Habana?

Considering that places in the All Black squad have always been competitive, I would imagine not. Remember how poor Joe Rokocoko was in 2008? He was dropped from the squad and spent some time in the wilderness before proving his quality and being re-selected. The fact he was substituted on 51 minutes proves the folly of the decision to pick him. Very poor decision-making across the board is what has led to us losing to the Criminal Element for the first time in more than 40 years on the Highveld.

So what now? What decisions could PDV and other Bok people take to right the course before South Africa’s opening game of the 2011 RWC on September 11? We’re not sinking, yet, but if we aren’t careful, things could go from problem to total shitstorm.

John Smit’s future — Can he make it to the 2011 RWC? Most of the criticism directed the skipper’s way has been to do with his fitness. Solution: leave him at home to lose some weight, perhaps a hangover from the switch to tighthead. We have come too far to not have Smit play at the RWC next year.
The senior players — Some look listless, overplayed or unfit. Solution: drop them all for the end-of-year tour. That means leaving behind Matfield, Rossouw, Smit, Spies, Burger, M Steyn, F Steyn and Habana. I would also leave Fourie behind since he has played all year long. Smith to skipper in November.

Below is an opinion of what the Grand Slam Tour team should (knowing PDV) look like:

15. Gio Aplon

14. JP Pietersen

13. Juan de Jongh — (Jaque Fourie)

12. Jean de Villiers

11. Bjorn Basson

10. Butch James

9. Francois Hougaard

8. Ryan Kankowski — (Pierre Spies)

7. Juan Smith (c)

6. Francois Louw

5. Andries Bekker/Alistair Hargreaves

4. Bakkies Botha

3. CJ van der Linde

2. Bismarck du Plessis

1. Beast Mtawarira — (Guthro Steenkamp)

Bench:

16. Chiliboy Ralepelle

17. Coenie Oosthuizen

18. Flip van der Merwe

19. Duane Vermeulen — (Ryan Kankowski)

20. Jano Vermaark — (Ricky Januarie)

21. Pat Lambie — (Wynand Olivier … sigh)

22. Lwazi Mvovo

Rested from tour: John Smit, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Jaque Fourie, Frans Steyn (he isn’t match fit), Jannie du Plessis and Morne Steyn.

In touring squad: Guthro Steenkamp, Meyer Bosman, Sarel Pretorius, Zane Kirchner, Keegan Daniel, Elton Jantjies (he won’t be)

Apart from Jantjies and Lambie being fancied choices for the future, there is a side which could put together a very decent effort and be more than capable of beating European opposition. However, sending such a team will inevitably result in losses against most likely Ireland and Wales. Scotland are getting there while England have no back play to speak of.

Thankfully, what the Boks now have is time on their hands to figure out exactly what went wrong. De Villiers’ statements after Bloem suggesting that the basic foundation of what he has put in place there during his time in charge is viable is concerning. It is the same tune he has been singing all competition, with his hyper-defensiveness, perhaps brought on by other pressures, coming to the fore. Sticking ones head in the sand is not the right way to go about this. Something needs to change and De Villiers needs to show he is the man to do it.

It’s too close to a World Cup for there to be any radical change. Talk of De Villiers getting sacked is just that. He’s made it this far, so Saru are most likely going to hang in there till after the World Cup, when Allister Coetzee becomes the Springbok coach.

For now, that is the future. It is the present De Villiers needs to address. He has space to breathe for the moment, but if he dawdles and fluffs his lines along with the rest of the team’s management, next year is going to be more of the same.