Springbok drawing board utterly blank

There is five weeks to go before the Rugby World Cup kicks off. A determined Australian side seems to be hitting its stride after a comeback win against the Boks, a trouncing of the Pumas and a title fight victory against the Kiwis.

The All Blacks will be licking their wounds from a rare defeat, but rest assured Steve Hansen will ensure his team defends their fortress at Eden Park.

The Pumas have made strides since their inclusion into the Rugby Championship, with steady improvement culminating in their first ever victory over South Africa. These teams will enter the World Cup with confidence, belief and most importantly, clear team selections.

Conversely, the Springboks now find themselves in free fall. Last year saw them squeak narrow victories in a series against Wales at the beginning of the season, and the end of year tour marked the end of Heyneke Meyer’s clean sweep record of Northern Hemisphere teams. The Springboks have lost 7 out of their last 11 Test matches.

The current South Africa Rugby World Cup campaign urges supporters to give the Boks ‘home ground advantage’ by supporting them at the tournament. After the performance in Durban, we might want to consider another marketing campaign.

The Springboks have fallen to fifth place in the world rankings, and have unequivocally cemented their position as underdogs in the upcoming tournament.

They are entering the World Cup without confidence, clear direction or consistent captaincy. This weekend will see them face the Pumas in Argentina, historically a testing arena that has seen us struggle to convincingly perform over the past few years.

Apart from the stalwarts in the front row, we have no reliable replacements to provide cover from the bench. Adriaan Strauss is out of sorts, and Vincent Koch has shown himself incapable of performing at this level.

Our best performing lock, Lood de Jager, has barely played rugby before the start of this year’s Rugby Championship, while the team waits anxiously on a geriatric Vic Matfield to provide some direction to our lineouts.

Our incumbent scrumhalf, Fuan Pienaar, provides slow ball, passes inaccurately and doesn’t probe the defence. The coach will likely elect to start Fourie du Preez at the World Cup, regardless of his lengthy break due to injury and advancing age.

Replacement scrumhalf Cobus Reinach has seen little game time that would have provided valuable preparation for the upcoming tournament.

Meyer’s preferred captain has been Jean de Villiers, initially a capable choice and appropriate stopgap who would ideally have been replaced after a year.

Unfortunately, the coach persisted with de Villiers as captain, even as his form slumped and his speed dwindled. After what should have been a career-ending knee injury, he was inexplicably still backed as captain and indefinitely included in World Cup preparations.

All this came in spite of inspired play and capable captaincy provided by Schalk Burger throughout this year’s Rugby Championship.

Fellow Roarers point reverently to New Zealand or Australia in their cultivation of young talent and successful introductions into permanent positions in those respective squads, and rightly so. Promising debutants like Nehe Milner-Skudder and Lima Sopoaga have likely played themselves into the World Cup.

Over the last few years Australia have introduced Bernard Foley, Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani to Test rugby, and these players now find themselves in regular contention for starting positions.

Erratic substitution policies have done little to aid Heyneke Myer in preparing his squad. Pre-determined subs halted momentum in the first match against Australia in Brisbane and removed several players in the midst of barnstorming performances.

Then, as these matches slip away with minutes to go, the coach elects to substitute key positions like scrumhalf and flyhalf, expecting miracles and adding nothing of value to their experience. Meyer now finds himself faced with the difficult decision of fielding a B team in Argentina, providing too little too late in terms of match exposure and risking another devastating psychological blow if defeated.

This weekend will do little to alter South Africa’s course of preparation. Big win or not, it won’t seem genuine given the recent spate of defeats. Barring a complete collapse by Australia in New Zealand, both teams will have a better gauge of where they stand heading into the tournament and have more stability as a result.

The situation South Africa finds itself in is the culmination of many small mistakes made over the past few years which have now snowballed into a perfect storm to coincide with injuries, poor fitness and no way out. Simply put, the Springbok drawing board looks totally empty.

The Boks’ contingency plans rely on veterans who were past their prime even back in 2011, and the replacement players will be low on experience and confidence.

For the Boks it’s looking grim. As a fanatical supporter I have little hope that the players will find a way to pick themselves up.

I guess we can console ourselves that underdog stories make good Hollywood movies.