Battered Boks throw plans out the window as they rethink for Wallabies and All Blacks; Published in Rugby Stuff

The Springboks have dropped to a record-equalling low on the World Rugby rankings, and new coach Rassie Erasmus has been forced to throw away plans for the tests against the Wallabies and All Blacks in a major rethink.

The 32-19 loss to the Pumas in Mendoza last weekend returned the Boks to No 7, their lowest ranking which they also held last year.

The Pumas went up one place to No 9 while the All Blacks stay in charge at No 1 following their second win over Australia in as many weeks with the the Wallabies remaining fifth, just ahead of Scotland.

South African coach Erasmus has clearly been stung by the manner of the away loss and is now going back to the drawing board for their September 8 clash with the Wallabies in Brisbane and the Wellington test against the All Blacks a week later.

Erasmus had hoped to inject some new faces and combinations into the Australasian tour under pressure situations but felt it was now a matter of "win at all costs" in a Rugby Championship that New Zealand is running away with once again.

"The frustrating thing is that we had a specific plan for Australia and New Zealand and that's out the window now," Erasmus told media as he reviewed the loss to Argentina.

"We have to win at all costs now. We thought if we win this one we could make a few changes and test a few players, which people don't always want to hear.

"Now it's totally different ... we have to go over there and win at all costs."

Having got past England 2-1 in their June series, there were high hopes for the Boks in the southern hemisphere championship. But a patchy win over the Pumas in Durban and a loss in Argentina has them treading water.

Erasmus will use the one-week break in the tournament to reassess his plans but he was disappointed at the lack of finishing in Mendoza and general performance.

"Whatever the consequences are for this, if it's players getting dropped or we must look at ourselves, we can't play like this," he said.

"I don't have the answers right now. I thought we were in a great space. I know it's not the travelling ... in the second half we outplayed them, and we were the fresher team.

"We had so many opportunities and it looked like we thought we were playing club rugby and that we expected more to come. In test rugby you must score those points.

"Nothing happened today that we didn't expect. We had a specific plan and we couldn't handle it. As coaches we must look at ourselves and we must find better plans. The players must execute the plans better."

The All Blacks are taking a welcomed break though some players will turn out for their provinces. New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has signalled he is likely to inject changes into his team to play Argentina in Nelson on September 7. The All Blacks are likely to play their preferred XV against the Springboks in Wellington a week later.

WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS

1. New Zealand 94.52

2. Ireland 90.12

3. Wales 85.94

4. England 85.68

5. Australia 83.96

6. Scotland 83.02

7. South Africa 81.84

8. France 79.10

9. Argentina 77.02

10. Fiji 76.54

11. Japan 75.24

12. Tonga 73.84

13. Georgia 73.13

14. Italy 72.56

15. USA 71.66

16. Samoa 68.28

17. Romania 68.25

18. Uruguay 65.37

19. Russia 64.89

20. Spain 63.09

Match Stats — Team Stats

ArgentinaV.South Africa

AttackDefenceKickingBreakdownSet PlaysDiscipline

Attack

Tries

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

4             57.1%42.9%        3

Metres

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

400        40.9%59.1%        578

Carries

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

91           35%65%               169

Defenders Beaten

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

32           47.1%52.9%        36

Clean Breaks

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

16           42.1%57.9%        22

Passes

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

98           32.9%67.1%        200

Offloads

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

2             10%90%               18

Turnovers Conceded

Argentina            Comparison        South Africa

10           43.5%56.5%        13

 - Stuff

Yeah, he has to establish a winning culture and confidence and to do that he has to have wins. He will not have an easy path as the Ozzies are no pushovers and the ABs are starting to raise their game.

Yeah, he has to establish a winning culture and confidence and to do that he has to have wins. He will not have an easy path as the Ozzies are no pushovers and the ABs are starting to raise their game.

That is a pipe dream. To establish a winning culture would require the slant to race based selection at all levels from schoolboy up to be abolished. This would foster the beginnings of competition for selection and pride in the jersey. With that pride you could start to rebuild the Springbok culture. Watching the arguments about which coach which players and which game plan is like wishing for an alternate reality that is never going to materialize. The ANC is here till the money runs out and the Bok died three years ago. Hard to accept but a reality none the less.      

My feelings and views are not based on the last game. They did have an off day but for me that is just not good enough... there was no plan B, or D, just running the same old plays and hoping for the best (the thorough bread stock no longer exists). I agree that it is not the coach nor really the selected players. Rassie can only deal the pack of cards that he is given. In general the structure of  Bok rugby has been a failure for the past 20 years at least. You could argue that this even pre dates the 'New South Africa' where the Springboks suffered the effects of the Broederbond and the issues surrounding Northern Transvaal and Western Province. The losses to the top 5 will unfortunately continue punctuated by the odd win. The Boks will find a new level but this level will be as it is now....average.          

The Boks did not grow the team when the golden era was in place. Jake developed a team over four seasons and it stagnated under Peter. Meyer kept the team punching well above its weight and then we ditched him for Coetzee. Knee jerk reactions because the media and plastic fans were too moronic to think, for just a brief moment. Meyer had plans to develop all levels of the game. South Africa never gets anywhere because it is always starting from scratch. We'll have another coach in 2020, and he'll build something else, he may be a bad coach, which wastes even more time. Just like all aspects of life in South Africa, it's problems are easy to fix. It's that the least intelligent and least honest are calling the shots or being pandered to. 

The main evidence of honesty and proficiency would appear by preparing and managing the necessary termination of SA rugby.