Five tight forwards to drive the rest of the team to victory — that’s what Kitch Christie is looking for
RUGBY: Jon Swift
FEW would dispute the fact that most test matches are won from the physical presence of the front five. The boiler room must breathe fire into the moving parts of any rugby team with pretentions to greatness. And it is in identifying those five men that new national coach Kitch Christie faces his biggest challenge.
He has little time to do other than go the direct and physical route to complete the equation. But then, confrontation is nothing new to South Africa and South Africans. So, it will be interesting to see, with the tour of Scotland, Wales and Ireland looming, whether Christie manages to refine this country’s rugby tradition of koppestamp into a creative force for change.
By his own admission, Christie only has four more intensive training sessions to winnow the 40-strong squad named for next Monday’s outing down to the men who will step on the plane for Europe. It is, even in Christie’s book, a tall order. He has a newly-constituted pool of players and no other real option than to let strength-on-strength training take its course.
There will, inevitably, be upsets and injuries before the remaining training sessions are completed. This problem is amplified by the fact that the Currie Cup competition is reaching boiling point. And, with both provincial pride and national honours on the line, physical commitment will, if anything, become even more fierce over the next few weeks.
Just how tough and physically demanding rugby in this country is at the moment was evidenced by the walking wounded after last weekend’s Lion Cup final at Ellis Park. Presumptive tour captain Francois Pienaar and the quick silver Hennie le Roux both picked up worrying shoulder injuries in Transvaal’s 29-21 triumph over Western Province. Hooker Uli Schmidt’s ankle must also be of more than passing concern, as are the niggles worrying scrumhalf Johan Roux and prop Balie Swart.
That is the downside. Among the potential assets in Christie’s reinvestment — and realignment — of assets at the top end of the game was the form of Phillip Schutte in the middle of the lineout for Transvaal last Saturday. Not only did he dominate in this phase of the game, but he had a fine all- round final as Transvaal came from behind to stave off the charge led by the impressive resurgence of Joel Stransky as a flyhalf of true class.
Schutte, an early discard in the period of re- emergence on the international arena, could well be the man to partner Mark Andrews in the South African second row in the light of the abrupt dismissal of Steve Atherton from Christie’s plans.
Up front, the mix is far more volatile. Balie Swart and Keith Andrews are the men in possession. But Christie’s selection of the huge figure of Johan Nel along with his satisfaction on the fitness and skill of the bulky Northern Transvaler after a two- season break from top competition, cannot be taken lightly.
Neither should Christie’s decision to bring Western Province strongman Garry Pagel into the reckoning be overlooked in the greater scheme of things. Along with Free State scrumhalf Hentie Martens, Pagel boosts the squad to 40.
There is also certain to be a new hooker. Schmidt would look — even at 33 — to be first choice with John Allan joining the list of Natal discards. But, should full fitness elude him, the fiery James Dalton — second choice to Allan in New Zealand and stand-in for Schmidt in Transvaal — or Mornay Visser will surely get the nod.
Whatever new faces emerge — and under Christie, they most assuredly will — every member of every training session staged by the new coach will certainly have been taken to the edge.
It is precisely because of the new face of the hopefuls for the tour which Christie has identified that fitness and physical confrontation will doubtless overshadow — at least at the outset — the aspects the coach doubtless would prefer to be spending his efforts on.
A lack of staying power became evident in the closing days of the tempestuous tour of New Zealand, and while Christie expressed his satisfaction on the general fitness levels at the first national squad outing, fitness coach Ray Mordt will be honing those levels through an ongoing agony of sweat and strain. The run round Wanderers golf course as a pipe-opener is really just the start.
Mordt will work the players harder than they have ever experienced before. And then Christie will take over and demand full physical effort in man- on-man training. He has no other real choice.
We have, during the era of deposed coach Ian McIntosh, become imbued with the idea of a “game plan”. At base, this pattern of thought is unlikely to change under Christie. What will be different though is the intrinsic parts of any such plan and the way they are implemented.
There is little secret to the way Christie prepares a team for action. Do the basics well, keep the forwards headed at the opposition and only then add the frills and fripperies of three-quarter play to this.
It is a tried and tested philosophy which has worked well for South Africa in the past and interestingly, failed when selectorial bungles and lack of physical dominance have found the front five wanting.
It boils down to the element Christie has repeatedly placed emphasis on — discipline. And here, the squad need some work. This was evidenced in two aspects over the past week.
Most noticeable perhaps was the indiscipline of Transvaal — under Christie for the last time — in the Lion Cup final. Twice, the side had penalties advanced by referee Stef Neethling for back-chat. This is something that will have to be eradicated entirely at international level. This is something Christie can — and must — do something about. The second area is a far more complex problem for the coach.
The damage done to Free State prop, Os du Randt, and the bruising taken by his provincial front row colleague, Ollie le Roux, were born of the very confrontation Christie is stuck with at present.
It is a conundrum only Christie can take to a satisfactory conclusion. He needs his choices to be highly competitive. He also needs them all fit and uninjured.
Discipline in this respect is paramount. Without it, Christie cannot get down to the paramount task of skills training. And that, ultimately, is what he must be aiming for. Forwards who can scrum and jump and still run and handle in the way the All Blacks do; giving backs the type of quality ball the talent we have at three-quarter in this country positively cries out for.