People often forget that Gordon Forbes, the former SA tennis star, is one of the few authors who managed to match the quality of his original masterpiece, A Handful of Summers, in the follow-up.
Think about it. Most eagerly-awaited sequels are a disappointment. His was not. It reached the same standard of excellence as its predecessor. He called it Too Soon to Panic and if you have not read both, do so. They are brilliant and capture a long-gone era with humour, respect and a real sense of affection.
The late Mark McCormack, the sports agent, always presented each of his professional tennis stars with a copy of the books along with their contracts. He believed it was important they knew from whence they came in order to achieve and enjoy success.
The title of the sequel refers to an incident that happened in a doubles match Forbes played with his partner on the court, the late, great Abe Segal. I will not spoil it for you.
The title of the book initially seems appropriate to describe the situation in our rugby. With the country shocked and angry at the lack of progress, if not regression, of the Springboks, many felt a good clean-out was required. Allister Coetzee has rightly resisted this temptation and so ‘too soon to panic’ is a fair comment on the move.
Remember back in 1974? The British and Irish Lions arrived here steeled with the experience of their historic win in New Zealand three years earlier. Many of their stars had been on that famous tour. The Lions had finally got organised, got hard, and decided not to take a back step to southern hemisphere physical superiority.
Willie John McBride and Syd Millar were the architects and Gareth Edwards, Phil Bennett, JJ and JPR Williams, Andy Irvine and the pack orchestrated the magic. The rest of the squad was pretty good as well. Twenty-one of 22 games were won and the final Test was drawn, SA referee Max Baise blowing full-time four minutes early with the Lions two metres from the Bok try-line. Thus a whitewash was avoided but the series, often violent and nasty, was well won.
There is a lesson. The first Test in Cape Town was won 12-3 by the Lions without a try being scored. By any measure 12-3 is not a hammering but the Bok selectors panicked and made wholesale changes. This did not work and the margin of defeat increased to 28-9. More changes ensued and in the dirtiest match perhaps in rugby history, the Lions triumphed 26-9 in Port Elizabeth. By now the Boks were totally dejected and confused and it took a team talk by Gary Player before the final Test to restore a modicum of self-respect and pride. Two years later, the Boks beat the All Blacks.
Well done, Allister Coetzee, for avoiding the temptation to panic. If the squad selected so far was not near the best available, then you should have resigned instead of butchering it. The correct approach is to keep a cool head and keep on working.
The first half against the All Blacks was not bad and if those schoolboy errors had been avoided, the defeat could have been narrow. The answer, short-term, is to focus on what is good and to try and lift spirits to engender a bit of confidence.
I would have excused Adriaan Strauss of the captaincy in favour of Warren Whiteley because that is exactly what he achieved with the local Lions. However, you have shown loyalty to your skipper, which is not all bad.
We need to defend better and kick our goals and if we are going to kick a lot, at least do so with purpose and with resultant pressure, not presents of possession.
We also must be better at finishing. Get the ball to proven try-scorers in dangerous positions and they will do the rest. The Bryan Habana try was a perfect example, as was Whiteley’s against the Aussies.
Speed things up, even a bit. There were a few times when we did run and off-load and we looked good. Keep on trucking and use the cacophony of criticism to motivate. Make it a virtue. That is what a coach has to do.
The idea of an indaba is also a good one. Get in the provincial coaches and pool ideas. Look at how far behind we have slipped in terms of rugby skills and make a medium and short-term plan. Remember that Argentina used Graham Henry as a consultant and look what it has done to them. The Aussies have hired a skills coach from New Zealand. We should do the same. Swallow your pride, take advice, make plans and implement.
What has happened this year has been on the cards for ages. While we fiddled, New Zealand blazed ahead and encouraged and developed skills. This cannot be fixed easily or quickly and we are to blame for not recognising the symptoms ages ago. Take stock, plan and take decisive action for the future.
*Robbie hosts the morning drive show 6-9am weekdays on 702.
Saturday Star