So, the times they are.....

a changing with a new Bok resume even though some feel the best players have yet to be selected. Question I have, does the credit for Bok 2017 belong to Coetzee or to his new assistants? As  a reminder the board stood unanimous in condemning Coetzee and to his credit he did tell us from the get-go that 2017 was going to be different to 2016. Some on here felt "the talent was always there" all we ever needed was a good coach,  that the  local coaches are useless and that foreign was the go. Just the other day, some, including myself, felt the board to be fickle to  suddenly believe Coetzee is a good coach.So if local is dreadful we have to include Coetzee's new assistants alongside of Coetzee, the question remains, who gets the credit for Bok circa 2017?
If 2017 had been a repeat of 2016 we'd all be repeating our comments with regards to Coetzee i.e  we'd all be calling for his head......so, do we now sing his praises?
Or are the French just rabble?....and it's best to wait until the Boks play better teams?
Just some honest questions expecting some honest answers.

The French may be rabble, but the team is certainly more cohesive. My guess is the selection of Whiteley as captain and a backbone of Lions has a lot to do with it. That said it was a typical Springbok win...we made 100 metres less, made more than three times the tackles, had only 25% of the possession in the second half. And made lhalf the passes and offloads. .. Instead we ruthlessly exploited French turnovers....strong defence and counter attack. But how many tries would the ABs have scored with all that French territory and possession? There was some nice passing though and one or two excellent offloads. .. We will find out in the RC.

Moz,Spot-on. Definitely a Lions influence and our boys showed they have the skill to move in the right direction. I thought a better French team arrived in Durban but the Boks were encouragingly good. I must add your favourite, Stepie had one of his best games in green and gold.  

 Denny I don't think anybody has any faith in Coetzee.
He did finally say a word yesterday that I hadn't heard come from him or anyone else in the Bok camp during 2016...Brotherhood!
The Boks seem to have wholeheartedly adopted the Lions spirit/brotherhood and I think a lot of the intensity we've seen over the last two games stems from that.
Personally I don't think Coetzee has done anything amazing. Rather he has just stopped being a hindrance. For now anyway.

 I think that Coetzee took the hint - listen to Smith and Venter - or you will end up a loser.   At least there is some cohesion in the backline and some major improvement in the defensive game.  
I still think Coetzee is the nominal PR coach - but actual coaching is done by his sub-ordinates,   There are still some problems in player selection - that can be ironed out.   The problem remains that certain positions - such as the flanks, one hooker and both wings are being reserved for quota players, even though they are not the best players around.   I think they could find a solution to those problems.
I would put Mapoe on the bench as center and use Skosan and Combrinck on the wing putting Mvovo on the bench.   I would start with Kitshoff and put Mtawarira on the bench.    I would replace Mohoje with another BEE loosie on the bench and would replace the bumbling Mbonambi with Ralepelle.
That will reduce the BEE complement by one player, and the hooker replacement by Van der Merwe or Marais  would not be acceptable to the politicos.    
I think that Steyn as a center replacement has been tried and did not produce positive results.       We have a number of better centers available.   What is really an advantage is that the donkey kicking game of Meyer and Coetzee  last year is not as evident as it used to be and some positive elements in the backline has emerged.   I think Pollard would also benefit from receiving positive coaching and that the centers can be selected from Serfontein, Vorster, Van Resburg, De Allende and Kriel.    

I guess Bok circa 2017 have abandoned an aimless kicking game and are having a go at playing positive rugby....long overdue. Something good has to come out of it in the long run if they persist, the other positive is that they've not neglected their defence whilst developing a ball in hand styled game.
The true test will come when they play NZ and England. I also believe Coetzee is a PR coach and the real drive behind the Boks are his assistants.

Monster that was Steppie's best test.....he made 16 tackles missing only 2. On attack he made 4 runs for 14 metres, beating no tackles but making one clean break. He backed up nicely for his try and he was also useful on the deck. It wasn't spectacular, but he was aggressive and workmanlike.

 And for a change in Smith Serfontein had a decent coach on backl ine play.  

 @Denny
Even if they beaten by the ABs and England, as long as there is improvement over time and no amateurish panicking when things don't go exactly according to plan then I'll be happy.
Seeing how the Boks are playing now one can easily imagine them being stiff competition for the ABs come the WC, provided they remain on a steady upward trajectory. 
The biggest pity is that a small amount of foresight would have seen this team a year ago already and they'd by now be we'll established under Whitely. 

 
I think that a little credit should go to Jantjies. He seems a lot more comfortable with Cronje on his inside and the rest of the team feeds off this confidence.

I just hope he can continue like this when he faces proper competition and the pressure that comes with it later this year.

So far so good Mr Jantjies ... keep it up.