September 5th 2020 we play the ABs at Eden Park....Guy Fawkes is a little later. Will we kick on from the WC and improve on Eraser's 1/2/1 record against the ABs? Our number one ranking will only ring true with a winning record against the ABs. That's what I'm hearing from neutrals and I tend to agree.
Mozart
Our record in 2018 and 2019 was better than it was in the previous ten years and so. Playing proper rugby makes a huge difference and most of the handicaps that in the past buggered us up are out. After all we have proper coaching squad and the Head Coach would be of further help.
Hope it is a top guy like Plumtree. Erasmus is an expert and as long as he is in control things will go well.
Personally I am concerned that without Rassie coaching the side things go go south again
We shall see who gets the job and assess it from there.
I have seen this moment so often with teams....the Chicago Bears who had one of the all time great teams when they won the Super Bowl, imploded within days of winning the trophy.
In a sense the Boks are already on that path. The right answer is for Erasmus to stay on as Head Coach and add a top notch backline coach. That way we keep the capabilities we have and add to them.
Instead we are moving Eraser, a hands on tactical type, to a remote strategic role and already talking about replacing our veterans. There is no reason to blow up the plot, just make it better.
Mozart
Unlike you, realists realize that players do not improve once they are over 30 and that a decline in performance is in fact inevitable. Some veterans realize that they cannot continue without damaging the team and announced they are retiring. Other of the veterans were bench players and they did not play a key role in matches in the WC.
Nobody wants non-performing players in the squad and there are indeed an indication that of the 31 players about 6 or 7 would be replaced before the 2023 WC, The replacements will not end up in the WC with less than 10 test appearances as was the case on 2015,
Explain your first sentence, it reads like something you wrote while you were wanking.
Moz
Nienaber will likely get the job with Rassie having him on speed dial.
That'll be the best bet from a continuity perspective.
I want Ackerman but he doesn't play Rassie Ball so it'll likely not happen.
My bet is Davids.....would you still feel comfortable with that Plum?
Maybe Rassie does want to remain coach, but the ANC is demanding transformation- and are insisting that the job must go to a non-white person. If this is the case then Davids is going to be the person.
Unfortunately, I do feel that the Springboks could still be doomed within a few years. Alister Coetzee almost ended them, with SARU making a financial loss. Rassie restored faith, but why is he stepping down.
My point is there is absolutely no reason for this change now. And buying into the Director of Rugby role as a sort of promotion is being complicit in this farce.
We have emerged from 10 years without any real success and any competitive organization would be about trying to make things even stronger. Instead we are about to give every hanger on a little reward.
The WC like many successes has now got many fathers....all sorts of reasons we succeeded....the nation coming together. But mostly it happened because we went back to a playing style we instinctively could execute.
The mission now should be to hang on to these gains....to cherish physicality. But to make better use of the ball. Not run for run sake rugby.....but a capability to create tries off good ball. Cashing in all that possession and territory.
So to hell with the Director of Rugby.....Eraser should stay as Head Coach, and he should add an Eddie Jones type who can contribute to our backline play. All this other stuff is nonsense.
I don't know them personally, so it's hard to say which'll be better suited.
My guess is the one that was the least faulty broken telephone player is probably also most likely to succeed.
At this point, Nienaber has been invested since the beginning and would rock the boat less than most others.
If Rassie wants a proxy coach, there's many reasons why Nienaber would be the first choice.
It is a new RWC cycle and Bok fans probably understand that our WC victory was at least halfway happenstance. In that sense, maybe they pick coach like Akker that knows many of the players, was also a Bok and has a track record of creating a winning environment and brotherly culture.
A fresh start for a fresh cycle?
Probably not. Why risk losing the 2019 momentum with a Lions series looming.
