Jake White took over from a Springbok team in ruins... Kamp Staldraad and all the homo-eroticism disguised as team building, a Quarter Final exit in the World Cup... Danie Craven was turning in his grave. In stepped White, and the Boks were immediately resurrected and won the Tri-Nations in 2004. 2005 was an equally good year, though people seem to forget it. The Tri-Nations was barely lost on the bounce of a ball. The Boks and All Blacks won 3 games a-piece, the Boks going down to a last minute try, denying them their first win on New Zealand soil in years. And then the infamous 2006... Tri-Nations humiliation, Schalk Burgers neck injury (inevitably related...), political interference, doom-and-gloom, calls for the head of the coach. And then World Cup victory in 2007. How did Joke White turn it around when they had supposedly sunk so low?
In his book, Jake White claims that the team moves in cycles, and he expected the terrible 3rd year given the amount of rugby being played, etc, etc (we all know the usual reasons.) He knew that if he just rode it out, he would win the World Cup, as that is what he had been building his team for all along. So he put his players on a reconditioning program, forgot about results in 2007, and became a national hero.
Can PdV do the same? Are the Boks just in a cycle of burnt out bodies from over-use? I think it's key to point out some similarities... and things that did change, and need to be adhered to once more. Yes, the key Boks have played WAY to much rugby. Matfield, Habana and Smit are in serious need of reconditioning. They look like corpses out there (bloated corpses in Smit's case - the man needs a diet and some gym.) Again, the Boks are missing a key flanker in Heinrich Brussow, and Juan Smith for that matter. Their return should make a huge difference. What White did effectively is blood youngsters in the pre-World Cup year. We saw the rise of Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Bismarck Du Plessis and JP Pieterson. Taking a leaf from the Book of Jake, De Villiers needs to give his youngsters a chance. It's time to put Januarie out to pasture and give Francois Hougaard a run at scrumhalf. Likewise Juan de Jongh needs some game time, and come end of year tour, he needs to introduce Mapoe, Mvovo and Lambie to the squad.
Perhaps, most significant, was White's willingness to admit his short-comings, and bring in some fresh eyes. The contribution of former Aussie coach Eddie Jones cannot be overstated. He brought life to a stagnant backline, and shook up the complacent Bokke. De Villiers needs to swallow his pride, and do likewise. I'm thinking Brendan Venter - he has transformed Saracens. Or perhaps Ian McGeechan. His work with the Lions backline was revolutionary - I have never seen such dangerous running, and bizarrely, no-one has tried to replicate it. Maybe Ewen McKenzie if they can get him to leave the Reds for a spell... Regardless, there needs to be fresh input, because the current pond is stinky.
So... don't discount a Bok victory next year. New Zealand is nice and over-confident again - ripe for the picking as home pressures mount. Perhaps it's all part of some bizarre PdV masterplan...
Interesting read. Just one comment. Rod McQueen is now the coach of the Rebels. Not the Reds.
ReplyDeleteEwen, sorry. :)
ReplyDeleteFor SA's sake I hope you're right, but I think there are two key differences. Firstly, you assume that PdV is his own man, but, while nobody really knows what's going on behind the scenes there's a good chance it is exactly what it looks like - PdV's an inept and clueless political puppet at the mercy of his assistant coaches, the more dominant personalities among the players and SARU. Secondly, I think a couple of these key, senior players are just coming to the end of their careers and no amount of reconditioning will change that.
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