Bok whitewash - the missing link
rugby365 columnist Steve Farrell has found the ‘missing link’ in the Springbok team after watching New Zealand whitewash South Africa 19-0 at Newlands at the weekend.
The Springboks’ dismal performance against the All Blacks on Saturday highlighted that fact that Peter de Villiers needs to implement more structure in his team’s play and that Victor Matfield is no John Smit…and that Richie McCaw is in a league of his own.
The Springboks were not good. In fact they were well below par. They would be the first to admit it but considering the importance of this Test match, is there a valid enough reason for such a poor display? The fanfare surrounding Percy’s 100th Test cap did not help matters. The players might not admit it, but the focus so crucially needed for a match of this magnitude was visibly lacking. From the very first kick-off things went horribly wrong and when Bok fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Dan Carter’s uncharacteristic off day with the boot spared the Boks more embarrassment, but after so much hype leading up to the match, the Boks were nothing more than a damp squib.
South Africa’s tactics need to be questioned.
At this level of rugby, you cannot throw the ball around willy-nilly like the Boks did. Test match rugby is not schoolboy rugby, although it could be argued that the Boks looked more like a U16C side than world champs.
Peter de Villiers’ has expressed his desire to play attacking rugby, but that shouldn’t mean running it from your 22-metre line against the All Blacks in the opening quarter. That is just not the strength of the Springboks. You have to have a sound platform from which to launch an attack, but the Boks seem to be wanting to score from everywhere. That I’m afraid, is a recipe for disaster.
Especially when a certain Richard McCaw is seemingly at every single breakdown tormenting you.
The All Black skipper was simply superb and ruled supreme at the tackle. His domination prompted De Villiers to substitute Schalk Burger with Luke Watson with 20 minutes to go – another decision that has drawn sharp criticism from the public. Watson made no impact whatsoever in his short stint on the field and this is another issue worth raising. What is Luke Watson’s role in the Bok setup? Is it as a specialist fetcher or is it as a link between forwards and backs. On Saturday he played a very loose role and did not contest the breakdown point. Surely his instructions should have been to stop McCaw having a field day at the breakdown?
This is indicative of the current Bok squad. There doesn’t seem to be enough clarity on the type of game that should be played. They will be feeling the heat this week in the lead up to the Wallaby Test in Durban on Saturday – a match they will be expected to win. Peter de Villiers is under pressure and a third Tri-Nations loss on the trot will spell disaster for his new team.
Back to basics – that needs to be the theme for the Springboks this week. They did the basics appallingly against the All Blacks. Their kicking out of hand was abysmal with Fourie du Preez, Butch James and Percy Montgomery all being guilty of some rather aimless kicking. The ball retention of Matfield’s men was also extremely poor. There needs to be a greater emphasis on holding onto the ball. Too many times the Boks were guilty of turning over the ball just when they were building momentum. If they think it’s going to get easier without McCaw, they will be wise to remember what George Smith did to them in Perth!
That raises a rather important point as to who De Villiers will pick in his loose trio. Juan Smith has been a shadow of his former self this season and was once again anonymous on Saturday. The Boks need to sort out the problem at the breakdown if they want to beat the Wallabies, who will target this area. Schalk Burger is not an out and out fetcher so who, at the moment, has the credentials to fulfil this role? Luke Watson is the only player in the squad who possesses the necessary skill to do so. That would mean the Juan Smith could make way for Watson in the starting XV – a decision sure to raise a few eyebrows in Bloemfontein! But the truth is that the Springboks need a loose forward that plays to the ball for 80 minutes. Watson has the credentials, but he needs to stick to his role as fetcher and not roam free amongst the backs. He had no influence on the game when he did this on Saturday. In fact, after Burger left the field, the All Blacks scored 14 unanswered points and took the game away from South Africa.
The ‘two controversial selections’ – in the eyes of certain politicians – had forgettable afternoons. Percy Montgomery will want to forget his 100th Test as soon as possible, whilst No.9 Fourie du Preez had an equally disappointing afternoon. Conrad Jantjes looked sharp when he came on at wing for the injured Habana and will probably take the place of the ageing Montgomery at the back. Du Preez was picked ahead of the nuggety Januarie because of his superior kicking skills, but his strength let him down badly on the weekend. De Villiers will no doubt be hearing more from his friends in parliament sooner rather than later and this could place extra pressure on the underfire coach. Januarie could well get a recall this Saturday after Du Preez’s indifferent performance at Newlands.
The absence of John Smit’s leadership skills is being hard felt by South Africa at the moment. Without him the Boks seem to lack that composure that was so prevalent during 2007. Victor Matfield is a fantastic player, but he’s not an international captain. At least that is the impression that I get. He was visibly frustrated at some of referee’s Matt Goddard’s rather dubious decisions on Saturday. Maybe he had a right to be, maybe not, but the point is that as a captain, you cannot allow yourself to get flustered like Matfield did. He needs to learn from this and not make the same mistake against the Wallabies this weekend. You can be sure that the Aussies would have picked up on this and will attempt to disrupt the Boks from the outset.
The Springboks’ chances of winning the Tri-Nations has all but gone. They need 10 points from their two encounters with the Wallabies and need to deny the visitors any bonus points. Robbie Deans’ men then need to beat the All Blacks convincingly and deny them a bonus point – a highly unlikely scenario at best! More importantly the Boks need to get that winning momentum back and forget about chasing four tries. What they need to do is show some composure and get back to doing the basics well. If not, it could be a miserable few weeks for Peter de Villiers and his team.
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