The five stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The darkest day in Bok history has seen South Africans grieve for their team.
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A legacy tarnished, a giant slain, a proud name sullied and cheapened.
Please don’t confuse my disappointment in the Boks as a reflection of my opinion on the Japanese side. Indeed, they delivered a perfect display of rugby against South Africa. Their esteem has risen in world rugby, they have made their nation proud and etched themselves into the annals of rugby history forever.
Forget the outcome of this tournament, this upset will be remembered as one of the greatest underdog victories in all of sport – and rightly so. This was a coaching masterclass by Eddie Jones. He trained his team into a sharply honed katana, and with a clear gameplan and superb execution the Boks were dismantled.
In fact, they were made to look like rank amateurs. The Japanese ran at space, not the man, created mismatches by targeting our heavy forwards and most importantly, they played with passion. To criticise the Bok gameplan supposes that there was one to speak of – there wasn’t.
Harry Jones commented on a thread that the agile Japanese resembled samurai, while the Boks looked heavy with armour, and this was an apt description. The Bok heavies looked lumbering, listless and lethargic. They were over-encumbered and looked flat from the start, never rising to the occasion and playing without direction.
A year ago I wrote about the risks of Heyneke Meyer backing Jean de Villiers as captain into the World Cup. I made reference to the debacle of John Smit replacing the peerless Bismarck du Plessis at the 2011 World Cup, and it seems supporters are experiencing a recurring nightmare.
Several players at the previous World Cup were at the end of their careers, and four years later we find ourselves relying on these very individuals. Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield and de Villiers have inexplicably found themselves tied to the fate of this Springbok team, zealously supported by Heyneke Myer who believes them to be instrumental to our success.
Meyer gambled with these selections, citing experience as an invaluable asset at the World Cup. Well, our most capped side ever was outplayed, outmuscled and outwitted by a superior outfit.
Ruan Pienaar played woefully, distributing slowly and getting pounced on several times by alert defenders taking advantage of his molasses-like pace. Criticism has been raised at Pat Lambie for not performing well, but in my opinion the blame lies at 12.
There was no discernible connection between our forwards and backs, and this can be attributed to the stifling presence of de Villiers at inside centre. The ball essentially died in attack when he received possession.
Predictable and ineffectual crash ball running was met with a determined defensive effort which saw de Villiers ragdolled, upended and tossed around in the tackle. It was a frankly embarrassing display.
To the outside observer these selections are baffling and intensely frustrating. Speaking to my brother, he observed that certain players appear to own their jerseys, rather than earning their position based on merit. Has anyone asked if Bryan Habana is actually making an impact?
Why are Willem Alberts or Pieter-Steph du Toit even in this squad? These two players have barely played any rugby for the past two years. I can’t recall the last time Alberts played a full match. Perpetually injured and woefully unfit, several players are consistently included in the Bok set-up for no apparent reason other than their reputation.
Heinrich Brussow played out of his skin this past Rugby Championship and was unceremoniously dumped. Morne Steyn finds himself selected ahead of Elton Jantjies, and Rudy Paige gets included in the squad without a single cap to his name.
Francois Hougaard, able to cover wing and scrum-half, was also excluded from selection, without any consideration given to his past World Cup experience (in 2011 he pulled our stokers out of the fire against Wales). Jan Serfontein, granitic in defence and a hard-nosed runner was left in the dust so that an ailing Jean de Villiers could lead this team. Go figure.
At the post-match conference Meyer reiterated that he believed this team could still win the World Cup, but these seem like empty words given the concerning question of whether the Springboks will actually make it out of the pool stages.
The real mystery lies in what the Boks will do next. I cannot imagine the current state of morale in the squad. They didn’t start with the best send-off from South Africa amid a potential lawsuit preventing them from participating, and the recent result would have torched any semblance of confidence in this squad.
Will Jean de Villiers gracefully step down? Can Heyneke Myer make the tough calls and select a squad that can win the next three games?
It is an unfortunate state of affairs that these questions need to be asked. Unfortunately, as Harry Jones recently wrote, the Springboks are the sick men of rugby. Consistent mistakes have been made over the past few years that have now eroded the foundations of this team and culminated in two catastrophic and historic losses to Argentina and Japan.
The wallpaper has been pulled back, the floorboards ripped up and the water stains are showing. History has been made for all the wrong reasons, and supporters only hope the Boks can right a sinking ship.
Flocker
Guest
The squealing on this thread certainly suggests so. The Afrikaaners just can't bring themselves to let go of that last bastion of Apartheid, Springbok rugby. As this thread so amply demonstrates, they'd prefer to lose to Japan with Afrikaaners than win with a broader selection policy.
WQ
Guest
All good points taylorman and well made, I guess we will know a fair bit more after the Samoa game.
kezablonde
Guest
I think 'the captain' looks off colour - doesn't look well - and why else would one of the world's most dangerous players be looking so decidedly undangerous (with fourteen others along for the ride) - well, make that twelve - the giraffe and the rhinoceros (de Jager and Straus) are traversing the savannah pretty well.
Gumboot
Roar Rookie
Just for old times sake......where's Warren? http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/08/14/my-love-letter-to-the-springboks/#comment-4228895
Kia Kaha
Roar Guru
I don't think Joel Stransky liked either of those descriptions. He certainly couldn't believe that Rob Lowe had found his way inside Francois Louw's body to touch down for an early try. I actually like Gordon Bray as a commentator but thought he was channeling Murray Mexted during that commentary without the pearls of wisdom Muzza was prone to stumble over.
dropkick
Guest
sadly this was not a japanese team its a bunch of turncoats .Its like a team selected on whoever they could get.more like a americas cup or formula one team Samoa will get a huge hiding i bet yas
Mad Dutchman
Guest
The first case of a genuine dad's army? Looks like too many players long in the tooth. There may be such a thing as too much experience after all. Matfield and De Villiers look like they have hung around at least one year too many. It is a rare feeling as a Wallabies fan to look at a South African squad and have very little player envy, particularly in the forward pack. Hopefully I don't have to eat my words on Thursday morning.
Kia Kaha
Roar Guru
Thanks for the piece, Paul. Writing can be cathartic so at the very least I hope your soul doesn't feel as burdened as it did after that loss. I can't help but feel the results in the Rugby Championship drew Meyer's head back into his shell. He is not averse to making bold calls like putting Pollard as starter and putting in a promising young centre partnership against New Zealand. But to me Meyer is like the arcade game Frogger. For every step forward in the right direction, he goes sideways or even retreats while still unshakeable in his conviction that he is making positive steps forward in the grand scheme of things. If SA hadn't lost to Australia and New Zealand, how much more willing would he have been to select the younger players in the squad. At the heart of this story, seems to lie the captain. His form doesn't warrant selection and his prior injury seemed to rule him out. So why did Meyer pick him and is he now fearful of his captain's influence on the team if he refuses to select him? If it's true what EM's revealing post on Harry's thread says, how will Meyer react to his authority being so brazenly flouted? Is the power balance so delicate that he might still pick the senior players or does the highway seem more appealing when confronted with Meyer way or the highway?
Geoff Brisbane
Guest
Harry you were playing the underdog tag prior to the wc unfortunately the under under dogs provided more than a bite. South Africa will or should or may qualify for the knockout stage when anything can happen just ask the French. Good luck on the rest of the tournament
kezablonde
Guest
I feel sorry for SA supporters, however Japan were awesome. Two Springbok forwards did, however, score two great tries - Lood de Jager and Adriaan Straus. The size of these players lumbering toward and over the line added to the spectacle of the match; and to the giant killer status heaped on the Samurai, and they were Samurai they were not cherry blossoms. And just when it was deemed safe to enter honey-badger territory, Gordon Bray came up with the epithets of 'the giraffe' and 'the rhinoceros' (for de Jager and Straus respectively) and with no disrespect to anybody I (think) apt and excellent.
Drak
Guest
Well articulated. I'm not sure they can bounce back either. Kinda reminds me of the death throes of the Oz cricket team which culminated in England winning in Australia for the first time in 25 years. Perhaps i am wrong as i have been wrong about many things before but the recent results suggest otherwise. I guess we will know more after the Samoa game but as you say, pride alone is not enough. Anyway, good luck Springboks
Hehehe.
If you percieve that as truth then you need to get out more ;)
taylorman
Roar Guru
I'm not so sure it's that straightforward. These sides are all full of professionals now and they all play to a level of rugby where if you don't have most of your bases covered you can lose. The Boks will come back, but anyone playing them will have a huge feeling that they can take these guys. If Japan can, we can they'll be thinking. Pride alone is not enough. If the fundamentals aren't there, they could lose again. The injuries, the fitness, the ages of some if the key players all look suspect. The Boks are now losing regularly to lower ranked sides as well as the traditional top sides. Their best performances this year are still losses. I don't think they were ambushed as much as they just didn't have the quality of side to win. Heart and iron will will help, but it won't win matches alone. I think they're in for more than one more loss, and certainly don't have a side that can win this tournament. The comparison with France won't help. France are well known to have extremes of highs and lows. The Boks aren't. If they win these days it's generally hard fought. They don't usually have bursts of genius in the way France pull off miracles. It's going to be a tough road from here.
Gilbert
Guest
Couldn't agree more Flocker. Truth hurts.
Gilbert
Guest
Boks will bounce back against Samoa, then they'll lose the next 2. Such is their form.
whydoncha
Guest
bb I'd like to respond to you but as one on the side of the hairy-footed hobbits in their quest to destroy the powers of the darkness your new pic or whatever you call it looks too uncomfortably like the evil, bloodshot eye of Mordor. Ditch it. It's now time for the for the tribes of fleet-footed elves and doughty men to combine and forget past losses as we join forces to overcome the evil that has been unleashed and has brazenly crossed borders and now lays siege to the home of everything we hold dear. Bit over the top? Maybe. But you gotta run with a good metaphor :-)
Kidk
Guest
Now that I look back on it we had it so much better under pdiv, sure the rugby may have been one dimensional but we never dropped to sixth in the world and we didn't lose nearly as much as we have under Meyer, hell pdiv at least got one title to his name, I don't see Meyer getting anything
Yeah, Meyer is in complete denial, purposeful denial. The truth he has to face will be harsh. The realisation that the make up of his squad and trust he put in the experienced players have been woefully misplaced is to hard to bear.
whydoncha
Guest
On a completely different tangent but in the new spirit of co-operation and oneness instigated by Pat and others it behoves me to warn male roarers that by the time your wife says to you "I want a divorce" she has already gone through all the stages of grief and has arrived at acceptance. You on the other hand have just realized you've got a problem :-) Parallels to Meyer anyone?