When the Lions smashed the Blues in Johannesburg this past weekend, it marked the end of the South Africa/New Zealand contest during the regular season in Vodacom Super Rugby. It also represented the last chance for new Springbok coach Allister Coetzee to see the contenders for his team tested by opposition from the best rugby nation on the planet before his first selection.
Now that they have become so dominant globally, it is the New Zealand teams you should measure yourself against if you want to strive to be the best. And that is why, if I was Coetzee, I’d be far more comfortable looking at potential newcomers from the Sharks and Lions at this point than I’d be in backing newcomers from the Bulls or Stormers.
There’s been a lot that was good that has come out of the last two weekends for the Lions and Sharks, and ending with two good wins over Kiwi teams – in the sense that the Sharks thrashed the Hurricanes and then the Lions did the same to the Blues – should be a small source of confidence for the new Bok coach. Coetzee will know that, like his predecessor, it will be how he goes against the All Blacks that his worth as Bok coach will be judged.
From a team selection viewpoint, perhaps the most positive thing right now for Coetzee should be the sudden headache that might be heading his way when he deliberates over who should wear the No 10 jersey in his first series against Ireland.
Elton Jantjies took a big step backwards against the Hurricanes a fortnight ago, but he more than made up for it with his sheer wizardry in the wet against the Blues. It is a long time since a South African flyhalf has just seen his every touch of the ball turn into something magical in the way it did for Jantjies.
Up until two weeks ago Jantjies looked a certain starter for the series against Ireland. But that has changed now that Patrick Lambie is back in the fray. The Sharks captain has only played one and a bit games since his return from injury, but his performances have underlined his class and for me his composure and calmness was what made all the difference for the Sharks when they eked out a narrow win over the Jaguares in Buenos Aires. And the match-winning penalty that he kicked isn’t even the reference point in saying that.
With Handre Pollard returning to action next year, Coetzee is in the rare position for a Bok coach of having three complete pivots to choose from in the build-up to the next World Cup, and there are a few additional youngsters who might develop by 2019 too.
Whether it is Jantjies or Lambie that he goes for, Coetzee should be in good hands when it comes to the Ireland series, so perhaps his more pressing concern should be over the game plan that he should be employing.
The matches against the All Blacks remain in the distant future, but it is interesting to take a look at the South African record in Super Rugby this season against Kiwi opposition, and assess how any successes have been achieved.
As they only came together as a squad relatively recently, the Southern Kings should be excluded from any assessment. That leaves us with 10 matches played between SA and Kiwi teams this year spread between the Sharks and Lions. The Sharks won two, the Lions won two, which gives us four wins in 10 starts.
That is a 40 percent success rate, which should be seen as a fail, but the Sharks showed that a positive balance isn’t far away as they could quite easily have won against both the Blues and Chiefs. And both those games were played in New Zealand.
Interestingly, while they were well beaten by the Lions in their Kings Park derby, it was the Sharks who were the more competitive of the two against Kiwi teams. Whereas the Lions were well beaten by the Highlanders (Dunedin), Crusaders (Johannesburg – the losing score flattered the Lions) and the Hurricanes (Johannesburg), the Sharks were only really properly outplayed by the Crusaders (Durban – this time the score flattered the Sharks).
And here is the crux of the matter for Coetzee: What he should have noticed is that the Sharks were competitive mainly because they used a solid defensive game as their foundation. The Hurricanes game was probably when they best executed the blend they need, with the great defensive work being complemented by effective and clever use of the ball and a bit of surprise element.
Coetzee wouldn’t be any stranger to that avenue of success against Kiwi sides for it is what he relied on when he guided the Stormers to a top of the log finish in 2012.
Coetzee will also know though that it is a game that can take you only so far, and Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold knows that too, which is why he still keeps talking about growing his team’s game. So the quest should be for a blend, an attacking style that doesn’t sacrifice the defensive foundation.
My problem with just taking the current Lions template and turning it into the Springbok template is that the Lions have leaked a lot of tries against New Zealand teams this season. It looked like someone was shouting open gates at stages of their games against both the Crusaders and the Hurricanes, and they weren’t great defensively against the Highlanders either.
Indeed, their best defensive performance was the one against the Chiefs. You could say that defence was their foundation in that game, with good use of the ball when they did get it setting up a win against a Chiefs team that was frustrated by the visiting team’s defence, as indeed they nearly were by the Sharks more recently.
The Lions were impressive against the Blues, but how good are the Blues? Nope, if I was Coetzee I’d be taking my line from how the Sharks and Lions did against the other teams. And the message should be clear: the quest for a new era approach should not neglect the strengths that have brought success against the Kiwis in the past.
I also believe we have no idea how good we could be on attack behind a dominant pack and having the best backs in the country in the backline. What is certian is the old kick and charge and 100% reliance on the rolling maul is not the way to go. All defence and no attack is also not the way to go. Oaks its a no brainer we have to improve on attack whilst not ignoring traditional strengths. I think we also need two loosies with genuine pace and power.Our front row should be mobile enough and we have two very mobile and powerful locks.
Loose trio might be the Du Preez twins and Marcel Coetzee/ Kriel.
