Not all doom and gloom for Springboks

There is no hiding from the fact that The Rugby Championship this season was extremely disappointing from a Springbok point of view.

South Africa finished up third in the log, managing just two wins and ending the tournament with a 57-15 humbling at the hands of the All Blacks in Durban. That loss to New Zealand is the largest defeat South Africa have ever suffered on home soil.

Home wins over Australia and Argentina brought brief moments of optimism, but ultimately they were obscured by the poor standard of opposition in those games, as well as the losses to those same sub-par teams on the road.

The Boks now face a slate of the Barbarians, England, Italy and Wales on their end-of-season tour to Europe, as they aim to finish 2016 as strongly as possible and try to ensure they wrap up one of the four top seed spots for the 2019 Rugby World Cup pool draw in May.

As disappointing as their TRC campaign was, as well as the lacklustre series victory over Ireland in the June Tests, there are positives for Allister Coetzee and his charges to take forward into this European tour and beyond into 2017.

Although Faf de Klerk flashed with some big plays over the last few months, the Springboks have found a Test-calibre scrum-half to build around in Rudy Paige.

Paige came into the XV for South Africa’s home game against Australia and was impressive throughout the game. He not only delivers pinpoint accurate passes off both his left and right hands, he also kicks intelligently and is able to control a game well as a result.

The Boks are trying to develop an attacking identity and having a scrum-half that does those basics at a high level is exactly what you need to get the best out of the rest of the back line. The big plays that de Klerk makes are certainly appetising, but feel a luxury in a team that is much more about the necessities at this point.

Injuries have been cruel to Coetzee this year and a concussion sidelined Paige for South Africa’s final TRC game against New Zealand, but he will be buoyed by the scrum-half’s return before they head north in the coming weeks.

Another positive for the Springboks, who found himself similarly sidelined by injury, was wing Ruan Combrinck.

The Lions star took to Test rugby like a duck to water this year, before a fractured fibula against Argentina ended his TRC. He was equally elusive and powerful marauding down the wing and gives the Springboks an exciting option to turn to as the long-trusted and ageing pairing of Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen both now ply their trade in Europe.

With Paige bringing tempo and control at nine and Combrinck capable of breaking the gain line almost at will, their health and availability for the Springboks will be vital in November.

For all the talk of a directionless back line and the yearning for more creative players, the bigger issues with South Africa this year were centred around a pack that was not physical enough and defending that was anything but watertight, two areas where the Boks usually excel.

The du Plessis brothers, Schalk Burger and Duane Vermeulen were all sorely missed in the pack, whilst there was no Jean de Villiers-type centre to organise the midfield defence and it showed with the positioning of the back line and the number of missed tackles they coughed up as a result.

There were desperately few forwards – outside of the second row - who could keep South Africa on the front foot. With their forwards held at or before the gain line for vast swathes of the competition, winning the breakdown battle and controlling their own ball was a significant challenge.

One positive in this regard was hooker Malcolm Marx. He was a robust carrier who showed that ability to break the gain line with ease and with Adriaan Strauss set to retire from Test rugby at the end of the season, he is a player to be optimistic about moving forward.

Of course, a hooker’s primary duty is to hook ball at the scrum and throw in at the lineout, the latter of which was a problem for Marx at international level this year, but it is an area that can be worked on and improved. The size, power and instincts to run at weak inside shoulders and holes is something that’s much harder to develop in a player.

Tendai Mtawarira confirmed his status as the most consistent loosehead in Test rugby, whilst the lock pairing of Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit looked solid, meaning that Coetzee has three fifths of his tight five in place and able to build around.

If Marx can be tightened up in the set-piece and step into the shoes of Strauss in 2017, then tighthead would be the only issue in the tight five and that’s not a bad foundation to have and build upon with two years to go before the next RWC.

There were moments from Warren Whiteley and Teboho Mohojé, as well, not to mention the return of Handré Pollard to look forward to.

Expectations are understandably high in South Africa and when the Springboks dip below them, there is an inevitable baying for blood, but when you stop and take stock of the year so far, it is clear that Coetzee’s fledgling tenure has not been without a positive or two.

Perhaps given the wider issues in South African rugby, they may be worth taking a minute or two to celebrate.