Strong opinions about South African Test Rugby

Yesterday, New Zealand completely annihilated South Africa, winning by a landslide margin of 57-0 at QBE Stadium in Auckland. The simply sublime All Blacks were made to look that much more impressive by a shameful Springbok performance. It was the case of a team that absolutely could, playing against a team that could not. It was a mismatch of epic proportions, and the difference in skill level between the teams was alarming, if not staggering.

The All Blacks ran in 8 tries to 0. One of which came from an intercept from Nehe Milner-Skudder. Milner-Skudder then shifted the ball onto Beauden Barret, who in turn returned the ball back to Milner-Skudder in the form of an outrageous no look flick pass. The Springboks were made to look moronic by a team simply in a different class, perhaps even a different grade.

In stark contrast, the South Africans never looked like scoring a try. The Springboks failed to build any pressure, and coughed up ball at a chronic rate. The Boks got totally dominated at the scrums and lineouts. South Africa’s breakdown work was severely exposed by the All Blacks, who seemed to either turn over or disrupt ball at will. The positional play of the back three was staggeringly amateurish. The decision-making on defence was senseless. And finally, on attack the Springboks never asked any questions of the New Zealanders. There was just no imagination or creativity.

Retention of Talent

The South Africa Rugby Union needs to focus on retaining South Africa’s best players. SARU need to consider a model in which the best players can be offered long>term and lucrative contracts to play for the Springboks. SARU needs to create a model similar to that of New Zealand Rugby. The problem is that SARU is reactive rather than proactive, and backward looking rather than forward thinking. Alternatively, SARU could look to Cricket South Africa for some advice on how to nurture and maintain talent.

Selection

The South African Rugby Union has to abide by the government’s transformation policy. The selectors and coaching staff seem unable to transfer this policy into one that could be a strength for South Africa.

With the migration of South African rugby players overseas, selection becomes vital. It is clear that South Africa has adopted a ball-in-hand approach, and yet do not select players with good handling skills. Jesse Kriel offers very little creativity in the midfield, and lacks the fundamental distribution skills of an outside centre. Raymond Rhule has been inexplicably selected ahead of Ruan Combrinck. Combrinck has been one of the best and most exciting backs in Super Rugby over the last two years. Combrinck would also offer a much-needed right foot kicking option for the Boks. The selectors also saw it necessary to select 4 lock forwards in the 23-man squad for Saturday’s fixture. This is a rather dense selection, especially as a loose forward would provide much-needed impetus off the bench against the All Blacks. Finally, towards the end of the game the Springboks had a 9, 10, 12 and 13 combination all from the Pretoria based Bulls. The Bulls finished 15th on the Super Rugby log, the worst of any South African team this year. It seems that mediocrity is being rewarded.

Archaic Game Plan Deployed for Years

South Africa is now paying the price for the kick-chase game plan that the Boks adopted for years. The Springboks have fallen out of touch with the modern, more expansive and skill-based game. South Africa’s obsession with size, and their unwillingness to adapt to the modern game has ensured that coaches and players have become out of touch. Until the South African Rugby Union becomes a bold, progressive and innovative body, expect the Springboks to continue to underachieve, and perhaps even regress further.

Do you have any thoughts?

Twitter: @wadesgotit