RWC: Love it when a plan comes together

A while ago and a few times on air I have said that I believe the Australian rugby team looks perfectly poised to rob the Rugby World Cup from the favourites and hosts, the New Zealand All Blacks. I have, at the same time, also felt much contempt for those who have placed immense emphasis on the Tri-Nations as a litmus test for the upcoming rugby showcase … how wrong you are!

Whether the Tri-Nations should be played in a RWC year is debatable, there are pros and cons but ultimately it must be said that playing the tournament is all about money, how sad but how true. In the positive column is the fact that the three teams do get some really tough rugby ahead of the tournament. In the negative column is that there is a tendency to “protect” players under the guise of spreading the selection net far and wide. Let me tell you this that if by one year before the Rugby World Cup the coaching teams are not 90% certain of the players they want, then there are problems.

The All Blacks coach used this as one of his comments post the 18-5 loss to the Springboks in the first Test in 40 years in Port Elizabeth. By the way allow me to don my cap to the people of PE, what passionate support from them. I say send more Tests to PE. So back to the plan, the reality is like this, the Springbok B team taken to Australia and New Zealand was questioned and picked on. The Bok team appropriately got beaten soundly by both the home unions. I hardly read or heard any moaning or excuses from SA — we knew we were up against it. Pieter de Villiers did not take those players down under to spread the selection net, he took them there to send 21 Springboks to a training camp with Rassie Erasmus. This is the best call a Bok coach has made ahead of a RWC since 1995.

Then the All Blacks arrive in SA with a “weakened” team, hardly a question or complaint. My friend and an experienced sports journo, Louis Karpas, summed it up well with “the Boks cannot win … “. Meaning that if we beat the All Blacks then it will be said that we beat the B team, if we lose to the All Blacks then we would have really looked bad. As it happened, from my seat anyway and seemingly from that of the All Black head coach, the Boks outplayed the All Blacks full stop!

I have not been part of the pessimistic, fickle and complaining crew which has focused on the 2011 Tri-Nations, that has not gotten over the fact that Jake White is no longer the Bok coach and that De Villiers was unfairly appointed on the basis of his colour. I say unfairly because De Villiers’s track record was as good as Jake’s was before his appointment. I actually do believe that the Bok management do in fact have a plan, particularly with the RWC. The RWC is about the team peaking at the exact time to do what is needed in the one-off games to lift the trophy. That is why the All Blacks battle to win the tournament — they peak too early in the cycle and when it comes to the tournament they’re on the downslide already. 2011 might be different as there is no doubt they’re playing outstanding rugby.

So perhaps what I am saying more is that a lot of armchair critics are having what I see as an unfair go at the Boks and yesterday showed me that there is a plan and more importantly that there was coaching from week to week, there were lessons learnt from the loss to Australia — this is very important. Personally if I was Robbie Deans I would be a very worried coach. The Wallabies are not lighting up the world and although they always possess a certain danger if allowed space, there curve seems to have plateaued. Only the AB’s and Boks have rotated their squads in exactly the same fashion and seemingly are better poised in their timing ahead of the RWC.

To De Villiers I say keep your planning and thinking going, it is evident. To the public I say the Rugby World Cup is a one-off, it is about timing and about the uncontrollables going your way, which is known as luck. This means any team that has planned and has a dominant force in their team stands a very real chance of making it to the final and once they’re there anything is possible … and then we’ll all say “I love it when a plan comes together”.

Good luck to the Springbok management and players who will be selected on Tuesday, August 23, do the country proud and never forget we support you wholeheartedly.