The following from News24:-
“Fans have overwhelmingly suggested that the Springboks' defeat to Ireland is sadly a sign of things to come.
The Boks went down 26-20 to the Irish at Newlands last Saturday in a historic first-ever loss in eight Tests on home soil, dating back some 55 years to May 1961.
When asked whether the defeat was a sign of what lay ahead for new coach Allister Coetzee or merely a once-off setback, the vast majority of the nearly 5 000 respondents voted for the former.
A staggering 65% opted for the "A sign of things to come I'm afraid. The current crop is simply not good enough ..." option, while 28% had more faith, clicking on the "A one-off. Have faith in Allister Coetzee, he'll sort out the mess" button.
Seven percent - lucky them - claiming not to have watched the Test.
Bookmakers believe the Boks will bounce back and square the series at Ellis Park in Johannesburg this weekend, installing the home side as 11-point favourites.”
For the following reasons I am not at all optimistic about the future of Rugby in SA:-
* Coaching deficiencies and the complete absence of backline coaching – this was already evident when Coetzee was the coach of the Stormers.
* The selection of loosies who are pace-deficient and cannot follow the ball and play a role in ball protection and recovery – with serious defense deficiencies as well.
* Selection of players based on race – where meritorious performance takes a back seat and where quota selections cause a deterioration in potential team performance.
* The lack of selection based on performance – eg the call up of Morne Steyn – who had a poor performance record since 2012 for both the Springboks and his Club (Stade Francais) is a eye-opener indicating that reputation counts more in selections than performance.
