The Springboks are hurting after a record 57-15 thrashing by the All Blacks. Where to now for the Boks?
Cape sports hub editor and former rugby writer Ian Smit and rugby writer Wynona Louw offer a few possible solutions.
Offload the old mindset
I believe offloading in the tackle is the real secret to rugby. It's actually a secret hiding in plain sight. There were several glorious examples from the All Blacks on Saturday: my personal favourite was Beauden Barrett's sublime offload to Israel Dagg for his second try. Obviously the basics (defence, set pieces, goalkicking) need to be in place, but offloading in the tackle is how you keep the rugby ball alive and moving. It's the best way to prise open gaps, play with width, create space, and score tries. The All Blacks know this, and that's why they want 15 offloaders, not just four or five.
Hence the kind of beautiful skill we see from a hooker like Dane Coles or a lock like Brodie Retallick. Yet not once in the last few months have I heard Allister Coetzee say that the Boks need to improve their attack, let alone their offloads. Instead it's been the same old talk: “Play in the right areas, improve the aerial skills, the kicking game needs work, Lions rugby is not Test rugby, running your way out of your own half is a fairytale.” And it’s not just Coetzee. Heyneke Meyer came up with the same outdated ideas last year. I love dinosaurs like a little kid loves them, but dinosaurs need to roam free in our imaginations. They don’t belong in green-and-gold jerseys on a rugby field. - Ian Smit
Transformation is non-negotiable
Whenever the Boks lose, the bigots and the racists jump out of their mouldy cupboards with their pitchforks and start hollering about quotas. I’m sick of their tirades on social media. Get real: This is South Africa, and we have an absolute moral duty to correct the horrors of the past. If you don’t like it, take the next steamboat to Jupiter, or whichever planet you want to live on. The fact is that black players in South Africa have been shabbily treated and denied the same amount of chances as their white counterparts over the last two decades.
As recently as last year Heyneke Meyer’s treatment of some black players was shameful. This year, Elton Jantjies did get six Tests in a row (although let’s not forget he only started because Pat Lambie was injured in the opening game at Newlands). Black players must be nurtured, encouraged, and made to feel welcome in our rugby teams. Black players should not be looking over their shoulder worrying whether they will be chucked out after one bad game. - Ian Smit
Don’t hide behind the paper work
There has been a lot of talk about South African administrators and their amateur ideas holding back our rugby. And I certainly agree that we need less unions, and more focus on a unified streamlined strategy to the benefit of the national team. The idea of unions being privately run by business-sharp individuals is also appealing. But sometimes blaming the administrators sounds a bit like avoiding the real problems such as the lack of creativity in the Springbok approach to the game. I mean, is Thelo Wakefield (or any other rugby boss) directly to blame for the desperately unimaginative Boks in Durban, or the missed tackles, or the obssession with Morne Steyn? And Ashwin Willemse made a very good point after Saturday’s game: If the administration of the game is the root of the problem, how come the Lions have managed to put together such a special brand of rugby? Did they do so despite the bumbling suits, or did they thrill us because they were brave enough to change their thinking? Just asking. - Ian Smit
Conditioning is strength
Strength and conditioning is a big part of any sport. This magical component can be seen as the foundation of a house, a hotel or a fancy rugby stadium. And as common sense should tell us, a building is only as strong as the ground it is built on. Same applies to a team’s conditioning. This foundation has many departments; endurance, strength, explosive power and all the derivatives thereof, such as speed and agility. Strength and conditioning is crucial. And contrary to popular belief, it goes much further than training in a gym to build muscle mass. There is no point in spending hours upon hours a day building the blocks (skills, game plan) or trying to keep those blocks (or an 80-minute performance) intact without having focused on achieving a sound base of fitness and functional (in other word, rugby specific) conditioning.
The All Blacks have for long recognised and emphasised the importance of conditioning, how else do you think they manage to score tries that look like they were designed by a seasoned choreographer? And not only one or two, but multiple times during a match (like nine times). Now seeing the Boks run out of fuel is nothing new. And the next time you see veterans dropping balls and delivering tackles that make it look like they’re playing touch rugby, just ask yourself this: how can you expect to even remotely properly execute something if you’re fatigued? And the answer is simple. Condition yourself to play the game. A full one, that is. - Wynona Louw
Pick form players, and in the right positions
I have said this so many times I have run out of different ways to phrase it. Or so I thought, until Allister Coetzee made it easier for me with one of his statements at a post-match presser Saturday. He said: “If there are players out there who can strengthen the squad we will certainly have a look at that, but I can guarantee you that there are not many out there". Yeah, there aren’t dozens, but there ARE players who deserve a shot. Poor Rohan Janse van Rensburg must feel like there is no reward for consistent form in this country.
Besides local talent, there are very capable men overseas, just look at Francois Steyn, Gio Aplon and Bismarck du Plessis (to easily solve all the midfield, fullback and hooker problems). Which brings me to the issue of players being selected out of position. We have Juan de Jongh, an outside centre switching between No 12 and 13 and Bryan Habana, a left wing, playing on the right wing to make space for a scrumhalf (Francois Hougaard) on the left wing. Then we have Patrick Lambie, who is actually a flyhalf, at fullback. The Boks need to play form players in position. Because at times these players have clearly been out of their depth in the Bok jersey, and playing out of position makes those waters even deeper. - Wynona Louw
Encourage our skillfull youngsters
When one watches schoolboy or junior rugby, things sometimes look really promising. Not always, but a lot of the time. The kind of flair that is on display in the younger ranks fills me with hope for the future. After all, these are the players who will wear the green and gold jersey one day. But unfortunately that hope is often killed before I can start writing enthusiastic “watch this player”articles. Somewhere down the line between junio rugby and senior rugby, many players lose that flair. The focus shifts to bulkier muscles because hey, we need that in South African rugby. Their styles change, be it because it is coached out of them or just restricted, which is just as bad. And that shouldn’t happen. Youngsters are the way forward.
They should be encouraged to play to their strengths instead of being given a script with robotic instructions. And this should start at a young age. Players should be allowed to discover their strengths and they should be encouraged to perfect it. Their skillsets should be developed when they’re young, because, quite frankly, I think we’ve seen enough of international players who can’t pass or offload. And besides, encouraging a player to play a game that doesn’t suit him is a dangerous route. Just look at some of the recent Boks. - Wynona Louw
Cape Times