For all the howls of anger that have come after the Salta great escape by the Boks, perhaps it is time for a bit of perspective.
Let’s start by saying it like it is. The Boks were poor in Salta. They allowed the Pumas to dictate the pace of play, had to play catch up and very, very nearly paid a heavy price for it.
But they won.
Let’s not forget that.
The Boks won. And what happened? Social media exploded with calls for the Bok coach’s head, every player to be sent to Siberia and to be “replaced by young and exciting players”.
Rugby is a funny game. Coaches bore us with their endless talk that “any team can beat any other on their day”. We nod, and carry on.
But it is true.
Argentina are ranked 12th in the world precisely because they play two teams. A locally-based younger side in the June internationals, and a European based, star-studded team in the Rugby Championship.
Plus there are a few other factors that come into play every year.
Argentina go away for a camp for a month and then face the Boks twice in a row. They’re up for the game, well-prepared and have loads of passion and pride to play for.
Later on, when New Zealand and Australia eventually head to South America, they’re out of the competition, their fire has been doused and they have injuries. They’re not the same team anymore.
The Boks have struggled in all three years since Argentina have entered the Rugby Championship, with a draw in Mendoza, followed by narrow wins in 2013 and 2014. The factor in all three tests? Referee Steve Walsh.
Walsh is notorious in how he favours home teams, how he allows a free-for-all at the breakdown and the Boks have been frustrated with him before, despite his good record for reffing Bok victories.
To be honest, if I was the Bok management, if Walsh is appointed for the same fixture next year, I’d have some serious questions for Sanzar and the IRB.
In Salta Walsh didn’t give one penalty to a defending team at the breakdown. When last did you see that happen. Two penalties in total at the breakdown, in a test where both sides fiercely contested matters.
Of course, the Boks should rise above the ref. We all know that.
And the fact that they didn’t get on top, and were rattled by a very good Puma performance will be looked at. They are a better team than they were at Salta. We know that and they know that. The best way to answer critics as well is to head to Perth and set the record straight.
But for folks to call for Meyer’s head is ridiculous. The Bok coach has an 82 percent win record, 22 from 27 wins in his career and is only eclipsed by Kitch Christie’s 14-game unbeaten run.
Compare apples with apples. This Bok team has not lost a game to a Northern Hemisphere side in two years. Other coaches lost games up north, we forget that.
The only blight on Meyer’s record is the All Blacks.
And fair enough, we need to measure ourselves against the best. Four of the Bok coach’s five defeats have come at the hands of the All Blacks.
And he hasn’t beaten them. But then again nobody else has in the past year-and-a-half either.
Last year the Boks could have won in Auckland, had it not been for the ridiculousness that was Romain Poite and his card-happy calls. Ellis Park saw the Boks try and go head-to-head in an expansive try festival, and they lost.
In both games they could have won, and in both they had the All Blacks worried.
Last Saturday the All Blacks produced a performance that would beat any side in the world, and they continue to set the pace.
But they have a central contract-system, a country that works to make them the best with provinces who know the All Blacks are more important than their needs, players whose fitness is geared towards test rugby and a group of players who physically would match anything we have.
We sometimes live in a mistaken belief that we possess unbelievable depth and talent in this country. If that was the case, why did four of our five Super Rugby sides not make it into the top half of Super Rugby? And the fifth was dead on their feet from being overplayed.
Test rugby is a battlefield. Even if you’re a little off your game, and the other team is switched on, you will struggle.
We have a Bok team that is successful, that works hard at improving their game. Brendan Venter puts it well in his column when he says “As a supporter, are you able to weigh up a player’s holistic worth to the team cause or are you hypercritical of each and every performance?”
Experience is vital, and anyone close to the game can see the value that players such as Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers and even Juan Smith add to the side.
Their calmness under pressure, their leadership and their all-round excellence is crucial to the team’s success.
We all want the Boks to win every game, we all want them to perform.
And while we can disagree about selections and criticise a team’s performance, we must remember, we are not the All Blacks.
They have distinct advantages that South Africa will never have.
But the Springboks are a damn good team.
When they get it right they can beat any team in the world, including the mighty All Blacks.
So when a coach with an 82 percent win record, and one whose team scored 47 tries last year and 27 this year (in six matches), has a tough day at the office, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
The Boks will bounce back from Salta. They deserved criticism for their performance but they deserve perspective as well. Not howls of anger and calls for the coach to be axed.
