It was another stuttering performance by Allister Coetzee’s Springboks on Saturday. After a painful-to-watch 80 minutes the Wallabies triumphed 23-17 ... but now the mighty All Blacks lie ahead. Rugby writer Jacques van der Westhuyzen, who is with the Boks in Christchurch, points out five areas he believes the team must improve if they’re to avoid a beating like the one dished out by the world champions to Argentina in Hamilton on Saturday
Discipline
The Boks conceded 11 penalties to the Wallabies’ eight on Saturday; not a huge number over the 80 minutes, but a good number of them came at crucial times when the Boks were actually in the ascendency. Too often players standing in the backline were pinned for drifting off-sides in the defensive line, while lock Eben Etzebeth was also sin-binned at the start of the second half for not rolling away at a ruck. Having scored two early tries and built a good lead the Boks gave away a converted try and then Bernard Foley slotted two penalties either side of half-time to give his team the advantage in the second spell. Going down to 14 men against the All Blacks will spell disaster, as will giving away soft penalties.
Decision-making
Heck, it’s something that’s been discussed throughout the season and still the Boks are battling to make the right decisions and take the correct options. Allister Coetzee’s team are trying to play a quick and expansive game, but they don’t seem to have any confidence to put the ball through the hands, they’re trying to run the ball in their own half when they should rather kick to touch and play for territory and it looked on Saturday as if the players didn’t know when they should run, pass or kick. The Boks are not only suffering with their decision-making; there’s actually indecision about making a call or not. Such hesitancy and uncertainty will be pounced upon by the All Blacks, that’s for sure.
Tactical kicking
Again, this is another aspect of the team’s play that is simply not getting any better. Then again, why would it be considering the only man employed by Saru to look after the kickers, Louis Koen, is back in South Africa, too busy with other things to help the likes of Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Johan Goosen and the others in the back division. On Saturday the Boks simply kicked the ball back to the Wallabies and basically said, “run at us”. And they did. Now who decides that kicking the ball willy-nilly downfield, when you’re chasing the game, is the right thing to do? Where are the smart chips into space and the kicks that put the opposition under pressure? How the All Blacks must be looking forward to running back at the Boks this Saturday.
Creativity
Some will feel it’s not fair to compare the Boks to the All Blacks, but we have to as Coetzee’s men face them on Saturday. Against the Pumas the All Blacks made 13 line-breaks, which helped them to turn around a close tight game at half-time, while the Boks managed just four clean breaks against the Wallabies. De Klerk and Jantjies are creating precious little for their backs and sadly Juan de Jongh and Jesse Kriel also aren’t players who’re going to outsmart the opposition. It appears the team is hoping for a bit of individual brilliance - by a De Klerk or a Goosen or Bryan Habana - to spark them to life. Where’s the smart inter-play, the clever kick or pass and well thought-out training ground move?
Intensity
Too often this season, including on Saturday against the Wallabies, the Boks have lost focus during their games and they’ve either not been able to shift into an extra gear or they’ve relied too heavily on the bench to get them out of jail. In Brisbane, they got the start they wanted, leading 14-3 after 20 minutes, but then battled to really put any pressure on the Wallabies for the rest of the game. Yes, they had the odd moments but to score only three additional points, against a team as weak as this Australian outfit, is hugely disappointing. The All Blacks turned it on when they wanted to against Los Pumas; the Boks have no idea how to do that. If they’re just slightly off colour this weekend they’re going to get a beating.
The Star