he Springboks have no time to lose as they switch to proper test match mode on Monday in preparation for their clash with England at Twickenham on Saturday, and after the drawn tour opener against the Barbarians, coach Allister Coetzee has plenty to think about.(WHAT WILL HE BE THINKING WITH? )
Perhaps his biggest problem is one that should throw into sharp focus the need to address the issue of overseas based player eligibility for the Boks, and to do it quickly. Coetzee said it himself after the 31-all draw with the Barbarians at Wembley – assimilating the overseas players back into a squad that has spent a lot of time talking about and focussing on mindset shifts over the past fortnight is going to be a tough ask.
“We actually only have five days to prepare for the England game if you think about it, and the team last played together four weeks ago. It is going to be quite a challenge to bring everything together,” said Coetzee.
Indeed, and if the mindset shift is as significant as members of the squad are making out it is, the overseas based players have only a few training sessions to get themselves up to speed. That is a massive ask before playing England on their home ground, and it must bring into question the sustainability of a system that could effectively render obsolete much of the hard work done in Johannesburg before departure and in the week here in London building up to Wembley.
There were as many as 11 members of the test squad who reported for duty for the first time on this tour when the Boks got to central London on Sunday evening to start preparation for Twickenham. Of those, as many as six or seven could be in the starting team against England and eight or nine in the match day squad.
That just seems too much of a change at a time when the thinkers in the sport are starting to point to continuity as one of the greatest determinants of success. Perhaps in soccer it works to have players gather for international duty just days before a big game, but in rugby it shouldn’t.
The number of players absent from the first game of the tour served to render the Wembley exercise as relatively irrelevant in terms of what it means to the clash with England. The Bok team that played in that game included just four or at the most six players you’d consider certain starters for Twickenham.
So on the face of it, the weaknesses that the big Barbarians backs exposed in the Bok defensive game (WEE PIERTERSEN) might not be as disturbing from a South African viewpoint as it felt like they were at Wembley. And while the Barbarians were a scratch team, it has to be remembered that very few of the Bok combinations had ever played together either.
Anyone who thought the Boks would just suddenly get it together as a seamless attacking unit when they were made up of so many promising and yet disparate parts was living in dreamland. And that includes this writer, who gravely underestimated both the quality and the determination of the Barbarians outfit.
However, while the Bok team that drew at Wembley won’t be together as a unit when the test part of this tour starts on Saturday, the opening game did provide plenty of food for thought and certainly plenty for Coetzee to be concerned about.
In terms of positives, Coetzee already acknowledged at the post-match press conference that the young midfield of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Francois Venter had impressed him. He didn’t hide his eagerness to have Van Rensburg stay on with the group for the test matches, something that is now happening because of the injury that has forced Jesse Kriel to fly home. And he didn’t hide his enthusiasm for Jamba Ulengo, who is now also staying, either.(THE DOPE OF A COACH SHOULD HAVE TWIGGED LONG LONG AGO)
Frankly both should have been part of the initial selection. Van Rensburg was the best South African centre in Super Rugby this year by a mile, and . By contrast Ulengo can because he’s a pretty sizeable digit himself.while Sergeal Petersen did provide the headlines at the end of the Currie Cup, the Wembley experience suggested he may lack the physical stature to stand up to the big island or Kiwi backs in one-on-one situations (EXACTLY SO BUT ALL THE SMALL GUYS WILL BE SQUEALING LIKE STUCK PIGS THAT SERGEAL IS THE MAN)
It was on attack rather than defence that the centres and Ulengo most impressed on a day that would not have been a happy one for the new Bok defence coach. But attacking opportunities were much rarer events in the game than had been hoped, and that was mainly because of a completely ineffectual showing from the Bok back row.(AS I SAD THE WORST BOK BACK ROW I HAVE SEEN)
And it is that area of his team that should most occupy Coetzee’s mind before he makes his selection for Twickenham. The Bok performance at the breakdown was abysmal and that was why they were unable to establish any fluidity to their play. Young opensider Roelof Smit won’t remember his first appearance in the green and gold with any fondness.(AT LEAST HE TRIED)
There aren’t any other potential openside options, and the suggestion that Nizaam Carr plays there just doesn’t stand up if you consider how anonymous he was as a No 8 against the Barbarians. So if Oupa Mohoje retains his place at blindside,(HOPELESS P;LAYER WAS HE ON THE FIELD ???) Warren Whiteley’s return from Japan should mean just one change to the back row that played the tour opener.
But should Mohoje retain his place? He was adequate at No 7 for much of the southern hemisphere international season but he doesn’t have the physical presence to really give the Boks what they need in that position, which is a player who can give the team go-forward. 9WAKE UP - PLAY DU TOIT AT 7 IS SO OBVIOUS GIVEN THE SITUATION)
If Coetzee is going to consider experience an important criteria for Twickenham, and he has said it is, then Willem Alberts should come into consideration for a recall, though the better move, the one that would be most meaningful if you take a long-term view, would be to throw Jean-Luc du Preez in at the deep end by selecting him for his first cap.(IF HE CAN PLAY 8 PLAY HIM THERE)
Alberts was an influential player in Bok teams in the past but he is not young any more. Du Preez is young, and he is also the potentially special player that sadly not many of the current first choice Boks, and that includes Mohoje, are. Du Preez has had only one full season of first class rugby but don’t bet against him making the blindside flank position his own for many years to come once he is given his opportunity.
Coetzee must know about Du Preez’s attributes or he wouldn’t have selected him to be part of the test squad on this tour. Regardless of which way the coach goes, sorting out the loose-forward mix is going to be his trickiest challenge this week. It was the team’s biggest weakness at Wembley and it has the potential to be so again at Twickenham six days from now. WHY ALL THE BALONEY ABOUT SELECTIONS THOUGH. QUOTAS RULE.
