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Do South Africa's maladies lie with the players or the game plan?

South Africa's Willie Le Roux. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
30th September, 2016
9

Despite accumulating more wins than the Wallabies so far this year, the biggest disappointment in a lot of people’s view has been the current slump in form of the Springboks.

Losses to an injury-ravaged Ireland and to a vastly-improved, but lower-ranked, Argentina have seen a lot of diehard South African rugby supporters lose faith in the players, but particularly coach Allister Coetzee, who has come under scrutiny for not selecting the right players for his questionable game plan.

Many have put forward the query, “do the Springboks have the players available either to execute the current game plan?”

The front row is immediately controversial, as it possesses captain Adriaan Strauss, who is out of form and has already announced his retirement from Test rugby, which is not ideal in his first year of captaincy. Additionally, the fact that Bongi Mbonambi and Scarra Ntubeni were initially selected ahead of the standout Malcolm Marx reflects how the quota has affected selecting certain players.

The props are putting in an honest effort, but the front row is where you often seek the most experience. However, between Lourens Adriaanse, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch and Julian Redelinghuys there are only 20 Test caps, which leaves the front row, especially after substitutions, fairly green.

It will take a while for this combination of players to truly gel and become the scrummaging, ball-running, hard-hitting forwards from the previous years of South African rugby. Thankfully for these players, Tendai Mtawarira has been a consistent talisman, leading the Boks forwards well from the front and instilling his wisdom into the rookies with aplomb.

The locks have amazing depth. Between Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert there isn’t a bad combination to run with and these players have provided the consistency that this forward pack needs.

The back row possesses a lot of options, however I don’t think they’ve found the right combination. Francois Louw, Oupa Mohoje and Warren Whitely have been hard-working and effective in patches, however the dominant hit ups have seemingly been sacrificed for heightened lineout ability and, as a result, the attack is somewhat stifled.

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I’ll also throw out that Louw isn’t in his world-beating best form and the lack of Bismarck Du Plessis at hooker means the ruck impact has been diminished too.

Even though external factors are impacting certain selections, Jaco Kriel, Nizaam Carr, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Willem Alberts, Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen are all players that add a bit more damage when running the ball and hitting rucks and should be afforded as much time as possible. The players are there, but I don’t think the Springboks have yet presented their strongest 6-7-8 combination.

Since the departure of Fourie Du Preez, the halfback stocks have been lacking and a little jumbled with a tussle between Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Rudy Paige and Francois Hougaard fighting for the two spots in the 23 and none of these players are really pressing their claims too impressively. My pick would still be de Klerk, though. Paige getting the nod this weekend is an interesting choice, but you know what you’ll get from him and he can churn out an earnest effort without wowing me.

Injuries have plagued the flyhalf position, with Patrick Lambie and Handre Pollard both out for large patches of the year. These two are the standout options at 10, with Lambie capable of playing 15 as well. With Lambie immediately reinstated at fullback, they’ve given a dynamic runner with an accurate boot the opportunity to show what he can provide.

Elton Jantjies has done what he can, but his decision making under pressure and playmaking isn’t as developed as the Springboks need in order to set a strong attacking platform. He’s improving, but I’m sure it’s not at the rate that fans are hoping for.

Unfortunately, this has led to the naming of Morne Steyn at flyhalf, which must seem like a blast from the past for some, but his cool head and reliable boot might be able to steer the Springboks’ backline with a bit more sureness. Again, he wouldn’t be my choice, but it’s not as if options are demanding selection just yet.

The centres have been a revolving door with Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh, Jesse Kriel and Lionel Mapoe being used in a variety of orders. Kriel and Mapoe offer a fair bit in attack at 13, but neither has been striking fear into opponents this season. My ideal combo would be Jan Serfontein on the inside, who is sadly unavailable through injury, and Kriel outside him.

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In the absence of Serfontein, the only option I see at 12 is de Allende. I don’t rate de Jongh as a 12 and don’t think he has done enough with the opportunities he’s been given, to the extent I forgot he played in the last two Tests until I was reminded of the team sheets afterwards.

That’s not to say that de Allende has lit the world on fire. The amount of Super Rugby he missed through injury shows in his hesitation to run the ball and distribute like we know he can. If the Springboks are trying to play a ten-man style of game with some heavy hitting backs, then he is an alright option, but his playmaking and kicking game isn’t where it needs to be. However, if he can rediscover his tackle-breaking, offloading form then his contribution to the team can be game-changing.

The outside backs are scarce. Ruan Combrinck was the form Super player for the wing and Bryan Habana never shows signs of giving up, extending his current try-scoring record with another against the All Blacks. Johan Goosen at fullback has done nothing to impress me outside of his kicking ability, so Lambie coming into the fold should provide a breath of fresh air. This has also prompted the recall of Willie le Roux, who will be chomping at the bit to redeem himself and impose his impressive attacking style of play into the Springboks backline when he comes off the bench.

Which players would you like to see lining up in the near future? And is this issue more to do with the lack of available players or is it simply the right players with the wrong game plan?

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