The best I can.....

say about Boks circa 2018 is that they play with intent and purpose, some would say but so they should. Off field talk hasn't matched on-field performance and I'd say it's a team that needs a bit of luck, the rub of the green and fifty/fifty calls etc to exact a win. Good teams make their own luck, these Boks don't. Rassie is delusional if he thinks he can coach mediocre players into world beaters with less than a year to go before the WC. The timing of his substitutions leaves a lot to be desired and so too is his loyalty to screaming duds like Ivan Van Zyl, Jantjies and Kolisi. He has some desperate duties to perform, eg the backline and the loose head trio has been disappointing throughout all tests.    

Rassie has started the ball rolling in the right direction ... (from scratch) ... and has done more for the Boks in his first season than Coetzee did in two years ... in fact he's done more for the Boks in a single year, in comparison, to what Meyer did through his entire 4 year term.

Meyer had a lot of talent at his disposal ... but sadly lacked the skill and intellect to select properly ... and on top of that ... his cowardly nature prevented him from experimenting as was needed at the time ... especially after the fiasco of Snorre and the inevitable retirement of the old guard.

He insisted on bringing he elderly heroes of an age ago back into the mix and thought he could relive the glory days of the Bulls. The man was a fool.

Rassie has made a lot of very poor decisions ... his captain and openside flank for one ... and as you said, poor selection at 12 and 13 ... 6 and 8 ... and then there's the bench that he uses to hide his quotas on ... when most teams use it as a weapon ... not to mention that idiot quota he has as an assistant coach.

Bringing Swys into the mix however was a good decision ... much like Jake did with Eddie.

Even so ... we are moving forward ... and it won't take much to turn this outfit into something we can all be proud of ... however ... Coetzee's term as coach has robbed Rassie of 2 years which as you know is a lot of time to have just thrown away. I can only imagine what he would have managed with the extra time.

I think he's learned a lot from his mistakes ... and I am hopeful that we'll see further improvement in the next few years.

Rassie inherited a core group of inexperienced players, and has redirected them towards a more traditional Bok game. This team has to have physical domination up front, but cannot put that pressure into points. It's like strangling a person, but they never die. Very frustrating. It's also a kicking team. The game is based on pressure and territory. Kicking often as high as zone 3. The basic foundation and identity is there, but Rassie has struggled to build on that. Especially up north, where candyfloss defence doesn't exist. Until we can put pressure into points, we'll be more akin to the 2002 Boks. A blunt unit.