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We all know the joke. If you ask a couple of psychiatrists how to change a light bulb, they would debate whether the light bulb would want to change.
The joke is as old as the mountains and perhaps only worthy of a slight smirk the first time you hear it. It is however very relevant to South African rugby, whether you want to compare the Sharks to the Spartans as Spiro Zavos so eloquently did during the week, or their game plan to ‘Jake ball’, the reality is there is some truth in both those statements.
The ‘Jake ball’ reference has gotten as old as the light bulb joke very quickly. Truthfully, the Sharks could only wish to be as successful as the Spartans for so long.
Putting sensitivities aside, there are a good number of South African supporters who do agree with our SANZAR cousins that our rugby needs an evolution. Recently Armand van Zyl suggested pretty much what I have been advocating for a number of years.
Simply put, evolution and not revolution.
The biggest stumbling block in having a paradigm shift in South African rugby is the leadership in SARU, their belief that structure trumps all and risk averse rugby has served them successfully for many years.
There is also a reluctance among many South African fans to accept the fact that change is needed and to that extent they offer two objections. We don’t have the skills and we don’t have to play like New Zealand to beat them.
The brainstrust in South African rugby have decided to embrace the Heyneke Meyer way. Now many would suggest that Meyer has already begun the evolution, but if you look a little closer Meyer has not begun the evolution, he has merely improved the skills and mindset of South Africa.
He has improved the tactical awareness at the breakdown and ensured the pace and intensity of his game plan is executed better.
That is not evolution. But what about Willie le Roux? You may ask.
Willie le Roux was given a chance purely because of the unavailability of first choice players and poor form. It took Willie a long time to convince Meyer that Willie is the incumbent fullback, and even then, he had to work very hard on his basic aerial skills and defence, both of which are still consistently inconsistent.
There is no doubt his individual attacking flair has benefitted the Springboks to no end and has brought about sorely needed unpredictability and space in attack.
But what if Willie is injured? Who will then become the catalyst for our attack?
Over the past few years, New Zealand have become almost unbeatable for the Springboks, the record in itself embarrassing enough not to repeat in public forums.
Last night, the Blitzbokke did the unthinkable – they stopped a four-year unbeaten run of the All Blacks at the Commonwealth Games and in so doing earned themselves a gold medal.
Over the past few years my interest in sevens was casual at best, but as we are searching for every morsel of medals available at the Commonwealth games I have decided to follow as much as possible in supporting every member of our team for any possible medal.
When looking at our Blitzbokke, the first observation is the fact that under Paul True, transformation has occurred without anyone noticing. The Blitzbokke over the past number of seasons have been a top-three contender and to my surprise have beaten the All Blacks in 7 of their last 11 meetings.
Replacement coach Neil Powell has continued the trend and introduced a number of new players seamlessly and successfully.
Without debating the reasons for the Blitzbokke’s success in recent times against the All Blacks, the point I want to take out of this is that sevens is a game based on simple fundamentals.
It involves thinking about the breakdown, creative thinking, defensive structures and players with vision and understanding.
You do not win a sevens match with drop goals or penalties, you have to outscore your opponent in the number of tries. That requires players with the necessary skills and confidence in their own abilities to play positive rugby.
While there is still an importance to structure, it is the manner in which you can break down opposition defences that allows you to compete.
Cecil Afrika, Branco du Preez, Seabelo Senatla, and Justin Geduld are not big athletes. In fact, comparing them to the average backline player in Rugby Sevens, they are quite small. Players such as Chris Dry, Frankie Horne and Kyle Brown will remind you of the usual South African forward, but with one very important addition.
They all have skills, vision and a willingness to run into space.
In summation, if our sevens team can be built around small, skilful and fast backs, supported with the traditional forwards , but with more skill and vision, then SARU has all the confirmation it needs that SA rugby if filled with the necessary players to make the paradigm shift to more positive rugby.
It does not mean we need to revolutionise the manner in which we approach rugby, we only need to utilise more than one player with vision and preferably a whole squad embracing positive creative rugby.
Evolving the game in South Africa when all the necessary ingredients are readily available is only being stymied due to the unwillingness of Administrators and Coaches to accept change is inevitable.
Unless of course, second best is good enough for them.
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.