There must be a happy medium between the naked mud baths of Kamp Staaldraad and “pampering” in five-star luxury at an uMhlanga hotel when preparing a Springbok team to win the Rugby World Cup.
At R4 000 a night at the luxurious Beverly Hills hotel for a month-long stay to get “in the zone” for the World Cup, the team was apparently primed and ready for battle.
But last week’s capitulation against minnows Japan showed the Boks were unable to muster the required temerity to outgun their Asian rivals and, if anything, their preparations might have been undercooked.
South Africans can’t be faulted for believing the burly Boks had a realistic chance of claiming the Webb Ellis trophy, as they did in 1995 and 2007.
Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula was arguably the Boks’ biggest supporter. He hailed them as a bunch of tough boertjies(farmers) and instructed the team to skop hulle(kick them) after they had completed their preparations and were ready to launch their assault.
While preparing for England, the Boks were kept in a “cocoon”, fed the best cuts of meat, which needed the approval of the team’s nutritionist, and had a gym on site for the players’ benefit.
The security detail at the hotel had to be beefed up for Heyneke Meyer’s squad of 31, who occupied three closed-off floors of sea-facing rooms at the Beverly Hills.
“Planning for the Springboks’ stay happened well in advance. Our task was to ensure the hotel contributed towards bringing out the Boks’ best while they were in our care, in a conducive environment,” said John de Canha, the managing director of the hotel.
The pamper sessions for the class of 2015 were a far cry from what the 2003 Springbok team, coached by Rudolf Straeuli, endured. To make his players work as a team rather than as individuals, Straeuli subjected the troops to “Kamp Staaldraad” (Camp Barbed Wire), a military-style boot camp held in the bush near Thabazimbi, Limpopo.
Straeuli’s players were not in rooms with panoramic views, but instead they were ordered to climb into a pit, naked, and sing the national anthem.
If Meyer’s men were disappointed with their treatment at the Beverly Hills, they should spare a thought for the 2003 Boks. That crop of players stood in a pit with the England anthem ( God Save the Queen) and the All Blacks’ haka playing, and had iced-water poured over them.
If Meyer’s gladiators felt the need to “pump iron”, at any time of day, the gym was always accessible.
Straeuli’s naked lot were ordered into a freezing lake to pump rugby balls under water. And if they were not willing to comply, guns were pointed at them.
Crawling naked across gravel surfaces, spending the night in the bush hunting for chickens to cook, and full contact boxing matches were some of the other routines for the 2003 Boks.
Although Straeuli’s men didn’t win the 2003 tournament, played jointly in Australia and New Zealand, they did make the quarter-finals.
Former Bok lock Mark Andrews, who played in the 1995 World Cup-winning team and for the 1999 side that reached the semi-finals, said things were done differently 20 years ago.
“The game has changed. In 1995 we used to meet once a week for training sessions and only got together for a camp a week before the opening match of the World Cup,” Andrews said.
In 1995, South Africa was a new democracy and, with the tournament staged locally, there were high expectations of the players.
“Our management shielded us from the hype and kept us in a bubble. If we went to a coffee shop, it would be a low-key affair. And there were no sideshows to distract us.”
Andrews said he was mindful that it was harder for players to stay focused, especially with social media accessible on their cellphones.
So it was easier for players to get caught up with the hysteria outside the camp, especially after the loss to Japan.
“In our day, players had the big block cellphones and some didn’t have them at all,” Andrews said.
He is also of the view that players always looking to secure contracts in the professional era had added to the pressure on them.
“We received a daily stipend of R27 with the Boks in 1995. These days players earn big money.”
Andrews believes the 1999 team, coached by Nick Mallett, could have done better than finishing third had the squad been united. “We were not a happy squad in 1999 because our captain, Gary Teichmann, got dropped a month before the World Cup. The senior players were in disagreement on who should be selected and how we should play.”
Andrews said Kamp Staaldraad was a “dark day” for Springbok rugby squad.
In 2007, Jake White and his large contingent of backroom staff came up with a perfect campaign, which culminated in World Cup glory in France.
White was also lauded for his management of the players and for restricting the number of high-intensity matches his top Boks played before the tournament.
Coach Peter de Villiers also surrounded himself with what he believed were the “right brains” before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, and called their mission Bring Ons Koppie(BOK).
Like White, De Villiers also tried to use his top players sparingly, but the Springboks were knocked out in the quarters.
After the Boks failed to set the Brighton Community Stadium alight last week, reaching the knockout stages of the competition now hangs in the balance.
The squad’s egos would have been bruised further after a lightweight Scottish team easily beat the Japanese.
But the Boks could bounce back and leave all their naysayers with sushi on their faces by producing another staggering World Cup surprise and winning the trophy.
De Canha, who was also in charge of the Garden Court Hotel at Sandton City, one of the bases for the 1995 team, said this year’s Bok squad had wonderful camaraderie and he hoped that they would bounce back.
– THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT