I would not say that Pollard was a disaster. This was a very difficult game to pinpoint because of so many things that turned the game on its head. There was even a question about the Boks not being able to "change" their game plan.
Whether a few around here like it or not, Alberts' injury at the eleventh hour already asked for a quick change around in the planning for this game. Before the usual suspects get their knickers in a knot, there is something to remember. It is quite often said that Alberts normally comes to the party in NH conditions. Well, what do you know. Does that not mean that the conditions of yesterday would have suited him perfectly?
The Boks did, initially plan to play a total different game but the had to change that at short notice due to the weather.
I know that my old friend would crap himself right about the time when he reads my next sentence. HM did make one mistake. When it became clear that the weather was going to be atrocious, he should have started with Morne. Whether the usual suspect want to believe it or not and no matter how many times the charged down kicked is revisited, they needed his calmness at the start of the game. I can only think that HM was hesitant to make another change to the team, given that he already had to make the switch with Alberts' injury. I can only suspect that he was planning to start with Alberts and bring on Coetzee later in the game. In the end Coetzee had to play 80 minutes and Thebogo was not used at all. He was only there for back-up in case push came to shove.
My gut feeling is that, had it not been for the weather, this would still have been a good platform to get Pollard going. Starting him at this stage is, IMO, the only issue. Do you want them to settle in with Morne and then bring him in, or do you start him and then bring on Morne? Unfortunately for the usual suspects our fly halves for the near future will Morne and Pollard unless either of them gets injured.
Just to substantiate my remark about the change of tactic:
Pretoria - Contrary to the expected dry conditions on the Highveld,
the Springboks had to adapt to hail and torrential rain in their narrow
13-6 Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Pretoria on
Saturday.
As it happened: Boks v Pumas
"We
really wanted to play exciting rugby. We picked an exciting backline as
we thought we would have an open, running game on the Highveld,"
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said after the nail-biting match.
"I
am very proud of the team. That game could have gone either way. A lot
of the Argentineans play in Europe, where they are used to the
conditions, and they forced us into a kicking battle."
Shortly
before the start of the Test, the gathering dark clouds burst open above
Loftus Versfeld and made playing conditions extremely difficult.
The
Boks scored the only try of the match shortly after the kickoff,
courtesy of scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, which gave them a crucial advantage.
It was, however, a brave defensive effort by South Africa which led to their victory over the spirited South Americans.
Meyer
said that while the weather forecast showed an increased chance of
showers ahead of the kickoff, it was extremely difficult to make
alternative plans at the eleventh hour.
"The great thing about
this team is that they can adapt. Later in the day, there was a 40
percent chance of rain and we started talking about changing the game,"
he said.
"It is very difficult to change the game plan 10 minutes before the start, because your whole mindset is attack.
"The
team I picked was a ball-in-hand type of team and the mindset was to
just go out and play and, when you play at home in a game like this, you
are under more pressure."
Sending Pollard back to CC is debatable. I do not thank that is the way to go. I think that could well put a big dent in his confidence. Remember that he is, after all, only twenty years old, albeit a very mature twenty years.
