World Chumps

Firstly let me introduce our first contributor:

Tennis Ball is one of rugby's finest brains, schooled under the mountain and having taught a fair number of us the finer arts of touch on Sunday with our good friend Glen, he has branched off to far flung lands but continues his almost religious verve for his beloved Boks through his column. We are fortunate here to be able to spread his gospel and here folks is his first installment:

Take the St. Petersburg Prima Ballerina troop; bring in a new instructor who suddenly and out of the blue announces that from tomorrow, despite the fact that they are recognised as the best ballerinas in the world, they will be dancing modern or tap, in all major ballet contests.

Bugger your years of training in ballet, tap it is from now on! Oh, and on stage, you will no longer be led by Baryshnikov, the one legged mute will be calling the shots.

This is tantamount to what the Boks are battling with. Playing the wrong game for the personnel we have. Note, I avoided the word ‘pattern’. Pattern implies repetition and this side cant hold on to the ball for long enough to repeat anything. Panicked, impatient, naive and poorly led - these are our world champions, a bloody embarrassment.

We are great when we kick well offensively, force line outs, play rugby close to set pieces, show patience, set phases, ruck in numbers over the ball and play to our strengths. None of these concepts however are being executed by the Boks. Even when we get even numbers to rucks we are being out muscled – our technique has left us. The players are confused and it is clear for all to see. Our coach calls for calm, ‘we are in a transition’ he says – rubbish! He has inherited a settled team of world champs – and to his credit, he has he has kept them together in personnel.

Unluckily, he lost his captain and with John Smit, the voice of reason. We actually are a better team than both NZ and Australia (on paper). De Villiers needs to make one of two decisions. Either he goes back to a style and pattern that suites our players and our national psyche and has done for 100 years, and he continues to select the team that conquered the world playing that style. Or, he changes his lose trio combination and selects Hein Brussouw, Keagan Daniel and the like and sticks with his pattern that isn’t working. One thing he doesn’t have on his side is time however.

When he took the job he knew that a Bok coach will not last a season if his team loses. The end is in site for him now. The question is how flexible is he?

I have seen this confusion before. I was at Plettenberg Bay for Harry Viljoen’s two training camps in 2000 and 2001. Confidence erosion is what occurs when a bunch of people who have made it to the top by doing one thing are suddenly made to feel inadequate as a result of being asked to do something completely different. It is the only explanation as to why our line outs are falling apart. Bewilderment is the general vibe being emitted; it is etched on their faces. No body will allow this team the 2 or 3 seasons it will take to change and feel comfortable changing.

Give up now, we can still salvage our pride, but we must stop the madness now.

Morrey.

Some fine words indeed.