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After a stellar 2013 Test season and an intriguing 2014 series it is time to assess the current state of Springbok rugby and their chances of finally breaking the All Blacks’ supreme hold on rugby’s Iron Throne.
Two years ago Heyneke Meyer was named as Pieter de Villiers’ successor to what Nick Mallett calls the “poisoned chalice” – that is the role of Springboks head coach.
The entire country rejoiced.
Finally a coach with tons of rugby credentials to his name, a man who is responsible for the Bulls’ success the past decade. Finally a coach who can take the Springboks forward from where Jake White left them.
He has done a good job so far, but Heyneke Meyer knows that this is where things get tricky.
Nick Mallett calls this position the “poisoned chalice” for a reason. The Springbok coach deals with a lot more than just the team, he has to cope with the unyielding pressure of South Africa’s national government to include more African players.
He also has to deal with the criticism of a country that is very well known for it’s tough critique. Being an ex-Bulls coach adds to his list of troubles.
2012 was always going to be a tough season for Meyer and 2013 was going to prove a few points to him regarding his selections and game plan, but what will make every Springbok fan happy is that he has systematically addressed certain weak points in his team’s game quietly.
After a nightmare season regarding the breakdown, he appointed Richie Grey as a consultant, he introduced Francois Louw to sort out the problem. He had a firm hand in Francois Steyn’s recovery.
The utility back had weighed 120 kilograms by the end of 2012 and his game suffered for it. Now in 2014, he is at a fighting weight of 106 kilograms and is as fit as he has ever been. Meyer knows the value Steyn adds to a team and collaborated with the Sharks to revive the 19-year-old World Cup winner to full strength.
The Springbok loose-forward combo was in absolute shambles. Marcell Coetzee, Willem Alberts and Pierre Spies were a terrible combination as was shown against England but Meyer corrected it. He brought in Francois Louw as the openside flanker, the fetcher and he selected Duane Vermeulen at 8.
Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen and Willem Alberts form one of the best loose-forward combinations in world rugby. The balance achieved through this combo has been one of the main reasons why the Springboks have progressed since 2012.
Francois Louw is a very mobile, skillful player and unlike Heinrich Brussow has a very all-round skillset. I’ve been watching him playing for Bath and I am highly impressed with his efforts and evolution.
He has pace for a forward, can fetch the ball very well, can pass and offload very accurately as shown against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, and at 190 centimetres and 114 kilograms has the height to act as a lineout jumper if needed and has the bulk to carry the ball in the traditional Springbok style.
Willem Alberts is a classic Springbok flanker. While he doesn’t have the all-round prowess his two partners have, Alberts is one of the best carriers in the game, has a high work rate and tackles like a man posessed. Because of his partners he can give it his all in contact.
Yes he doesn’t play to the ball, he doesn’t fetch, he doesn’t pass often and he very, very rarely offloads but he is a work horse on attack, defence and rucks prominently.
Duane Vermeulen is the Springboks’ greatest answer to the number 8 role after Pierre Spies hasn’t been able to perform. Vermeulen is more like a combination between Louw and Alberts and that is why this combo works so well.
Vermeulen can fetch the ball as well, he isn’t by any means a speed-freak but he has proven he can crack on the pace when needed like in the All Blacks game at Ellis Park last year where he cut the defence open before gifting Habana his first try.
He very seldom gives away any metres in contact and has a carrying ability very close to Alberts’. Vermeulen is also a very underrated lineout jumper and has a nifty offload on him as well. With the Stormers this year he has been trying to be more adventurous with ball in hand and that is good to see.
Willie le Roux has sparked the Springboks’ backline in a way very few people thought that he would. Eben Etzebeth has been a mammoth. Bryan Habana continuously reminds the world of his class, Jean de Villiers leads by example and Bismarck du Plessis continues to strike fear into the hearts of men.
But there are several things the Springboks lack, several things I feel are completely unnecessary.
Starting with this is the crisis at tighthead prop. Say what you will but I don’t think that Jannie du Plessis is Springbok quality anymore. Some would argue it’s him being overplayed and while that does sound like a good excuse I’m not convinced.
He has struggled in the scrum time and time again. His tackling is exceptionally poor and he isn’t the best ball-carrier. And to top it all off he has developed the infuriating tendency to backchat every referee he comes by.
Even as a Springbok supporter, I hope he gets pinged time after time for that type of behaviour.
But then who will take his place? I rate Coenie Oosthuizen but I rate him at loosehead where he has always played. The conversion to tighthead, Project Coenie has failed, let’s move on. My money would be on Francois Malherbe who has statistically had the best work rate of all the tightheads in South Africa for the past three years.
What I felt to be very unnecessary was the persistence of shoving Victor Matfield back into the Springboks squad. Why? Apparently Meyer reckons it’s because no other lock can play at five very well. I looked at the lineout stats for 2012 and 2013 and I felt myself wondering where he dreamed that up?
Another reason was for experience.
If the Springboks want to move forward they need more players who exhibit an all-round game like the All Blacks’ do. Looking at locks then you can’t really go any further than Eben Etzebeth, Lodewyk de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit and to a lesser extent Paul Willemse, Flip van der Merwe and Franco van der Merwe.
I like Matfield as much as the next Springboks supporter and he has earned my unyielding respect, but does he offer the game they do? Matfield is unmatched in two facets of play – lineouts and experience.
But that’s about it. And are any of the aforementioned by any means slouches in a lineout? My personal opinion would be to start Etzebeth with de Jager and play du Toit from the bench.
The outside centre position is also a cause for concern. Jaque Fourie was one of the best 13s in the game along with Brian ‘O Driscoll and Conrad Smith. However, after his departure in 2011 the Springboks’ outside centre options haven’t been quite up to his standards. JJ Engelbrecht did a good job in filling the hole in 2013 but doesn’t look like a long-term solution. Shifting de Villiers to 13 is also not the answer.
Fortunately for the Boks is that Damian de Allende can play 13 and should be available for the Rugby Championship. The colossal Stormers centre has taken South African rugby by storm. Damian has played 13 all his life until being converted to 12 for the Stormers. Hopefully he can live up to the expectations.
And lastly as always the Springboks’ main concern is at 10.
This position seems to be a cursed position for the men in green and gold. Morne Steyn can certainly step up to the task as he always has, but then you shouldn’t expect anything new from the Springbok attack.
Patrick Lambie showed loads of promise in his earliest years but after a whole lot of caps hasn’t exactly set the world alight.
Marnitz Boshoff is a good kicking fly-half but we already have that in Steyn so it would be redundant to choose him as Steyn’s successor.
Peter Grant is a good, attacking fly-half but he in turn lacks the accuracy in his kicking game that could cost you in Test rugby.
Johan Goosen gets injured when you speak his name and Elton Jantjies has fallen off the map since his stint at the Stormers in 2013.
All hope now rests on the shoulders of young Handre Pollard and hopefully he receives the opportunity to start in the Championships, but that is a highly unlikely possibility.
If the Springboks have any hope of winning the World Cup and unseating the All Blacks they must evaluate some of their key positions and make the necessary calls. Will Meyer stick to what has worked for him? Or will he show initiative and give players like Pollard and de Allende a chance to prove their worth to the rugby world?
Time will tell as we count down to the thriller the Rugby Championship should be.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.