I wouldn’t blame Heyneke Meyer if he felt a bit betrayed on Saturday night. The golden oldies he put his faith in left him stranded on the side of the road in Brighton.
And all that was left to say after the defeat against Japan was “sorry”. Another apology to a nation who, until Saturday, still thought that sake was a type of dance.
Victor Matfield, one of the greatest lineout forwards to play the game of rugby, looked like a lost soul. Jean de Villiers, captain fantastic, tried too hard to justify his place in the side and forgot to guide the team through the deep waters in the dying minutes of the game.
If Ruan Pienaar, the “Tiger Woods of rugby”, had cleared the ball any slower, he would have passed it to his father. Fourie du Preez, the master tactician, kicked two balls straight down the throats of the kamikaze Japanese backs to run back at them.
What a nightmare. It’s still difficult to fathom how the most experienced Springbok side of all time looked like a bunch of deer caught in headlights. These guys have been there, done that and ground out a few T-shirts. But against Japan, they looked like a scared and nervous bunch.
It was probably because they aren’t as good as Meyer thinks they are. They played their best rugby in the period between 2007 and 2010. The Boks were unstoppable in 2009.
But the same players are simply not good enough to compete with the best in the world anymore. In a sense, they let their coach down, but Meyer’s reluctance to bring more players through to back up these old-timers has backfired.
Over the years it was always a case of “Heyneke knows best”, with the coach given a lot more leeway than his predecessor Peter de Villiers by his bosses and the media. For all De Villiers’ verbal diatribes and his U-turn on his playing style and selection criteria, he wasn’t afforded the same courtesies as Meyer.
Meyer was allowed the freedom to ease ageing players into a tournament and to get them match-fit for the likes of England and Australia in the quarter-finals.
He strikes me as a man who bases a lot of his decisions on sentiment and emotion. And, because he can’t control his own emotions in the viewing area, the stress may filter down to the players on the field.
Emotions may have helped us win the World Cup in 1995, but 20 years later you need more than just “guys who want to die for their country” to lift the cup.
It’s not too late for Meyer to put emotions and sentiment aside. The time has come to be bold and back the youngsters to try and salvage something out of this tournament.
There is no way that Meyer will be able to keep his job after the tournament. So why not go out with a bang with firecrackers that can still create a big noise. Unfortunately, the current ones look like there don’t have anymore “bang” to offer.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
@OllieLeRoux: How many tests have we lost in the last 10 minutes? Big change needed. Beast, Victor, Jean, Ruan, out for rest of pool games.
@15Jouba (Andre Joubert): Speechless!! Well done Japan!!. Great rugby lesson for bok management!!! Rugby not about size and power – skill victorius!!!
WHO TO FOLLOW
@DanCarter: The All Black No 10 is playing his last World Cup. Can he finally play a role in the final for New Zealand
Follow John Goliath on Twitter: @JohnGoliath82
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