The once mighty Springbok is on its knees ... not quite down and out, but close. And how sad it is to watch it struggle for breath.
Only something akin to a miracle, it seems, will be able to save it. But when, and what that miracle will be, is anyone’s guess.
Right now coach Allister Coetzee, his assistants and the players need to admit they have no clue what they are doing and ask for help. For a Springbok team has never looked so clueless, so directionless and so inept as the one that is currently representing our country in the Rugby Championship.
After yesterday’s defeat to the Wallabies in Brisbane, Coetzee’s record is played six, won three and lost three; the defeats coming against an injury-hit and weakened Ireland, a passionate but hardly top five Argentina, and most recently against one of the worst Wallabies teams put out.
South Africa were desperate to register a win after the shock of losing in Salta two weeks ago and they had a golden opportunity to do just that yesterday, but they fluffed their chance royally.
The Boks, as they’ve been under Coetzee this year, were error-ridden, ill-disciplined and without idea or plan and let slip a comfortable 14-3 lead to hand the Wallabies their first win in seven outings. Most disappointing is the fact that while the Boks were again poor yesterday, the Wallabies were not much better; they just didn’t blunder as much as the Boks did.
A look at the statistics of the match reveal there was nothing much between the teams over the 80 minutes, and that would be true, but what the stats don’t tell us is how poorly Coetzee’s men kicked out of hand, gifting the opposition ball to attack with, how they coughed up ball at the breakdowns and in the collisions and how they gave away silly penalties throughout.
The only time Coetzee’s team looked fairly comfortable and threatening is when the ball was kept close to the forwards, when the Boks could drive and maul, but they did this too infrequently while the backs continued to stutter along, uncertain of the next move or pass. The indecision and lack of pace in their play was telling and painful to watch.
It also continues to amaze how the Boks try so hard to run over and through defenders when a step or off-load would keep the ball alive and put a team-mate into a better position. The Boks were guilty of this on a good number of occasions.
Both the Boks’ tries – by Warren Whiteley and Johan Goosen – came from Wallaby mistakes; a turn-over and a poor pass which was intercepted by the visitors. Sadly, no real try-scoring chances were created through their own smart play, an indication all is not well in the attacking department of the team.
The Wallabies, equally disappointing on the front foot, as least created their tries by clever play and good decision-making and they could have easily had a few more than just the two they got.
The only positive in a forgettable performance was, once again, the contribution made by some of the bench-sitters; this time Bongi Mbonambi (but he was used for only a few minutes at the end), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Morne Steyn and Franco Mostert. But, to be honest, there were no real highlights.
The Boks are in a poor state. They just do not appear to be learning from their mistakes from one match to the next and continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. How they allowed this Wallaby team to come back from being 14-3 down after 20 minutes is massively disappointing. Having done the hard work to build a good early lead they should have been smarter and wiser in the way they went about their business.
This is a Bok team that looks woefully out of place in the Rugby Championship. It is a team that is in desperate need of repair. And now the All Blacks lie in wait in Christchurch.
Independent Media