Rugby boss Rian Oberholzer appealed for calm on Sunday as calls were made for the heads of coach Rudolf Straeuli and top administrators following the Boks' 21-6 defeat by Scotland.
"We tend to forget that a few months ago we said this team was the way forward," said Oberholzer, managing director of SA rugby's professional arm.
"I get nervous when people talk doom and gloom. We should not panic. We should support the team instead of piling more pressure on it.
"This tour has shown that the Currie Cup gave us a false sense of security. It has proved that we should go to a strength-versus-strength system to uplift (the Currie Cup).
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Not 'kick the team when it's down' "It's not the (Bok) management's fault. The management and coach have put everything in place for the team to be successful."
South Africa, however, has failed to build on promising performances in the Tri-Nations, with the defeat at Murrayfield following a record 30-10 loss to France in Marseille.
Straeuli, renowned for his player management skills, reacted to the French defeat by making 10 changes and fielding a host of unfamiliar combinations against Scotland.
Oberholzer said he did not consider Saturday's display acceptable, but would not "kick the team when it's down".
Former Bok coach Nick Mallett said the administrators were to blame for the state of South African rugby.
'South African rugby is on a perilous slope of mismanagement and incompetence' "South African rugby is on a perilous slope of mismanagement and incompetence. It's typical to say the players let us down. (Administrators) should say, 'We accept responsibility and are to blame'," said Mallett.
"There are decisions that have been made in the past 10 years, going back to the firing of Edward Griffiths (and the appointment of coaches).
"After winning the Tri-Nations in 1998, (then-commercial manager) Rob van der Valk and I gave a blueprint of how to maintain South African rugby's position as a world leader, including the appointment of coaches, transformation and the structure of the Currie Cup. It was thrown out by the Sarfu executive and we were told our job was to coach the team, not make decisions."
Former Bok centre Michael du Plessis also slammed administrators. He questioned the failure to select senior players and Straeuli's drastic changes to the line-up after the loss to France.
"If we lose against England, Straeuli should resign."
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This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on November 18, 2002
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