RUGBY: Jon Swift
THERE is a lot of truth in the old adage that there is no=20 remarks column on the scoreboard. But, with only a four- point edge in the 104 points scored in two warm-up matches=20 against Western Province and Natal, the World Cup squad=20 have some serious thinking to do.
There are two things which are, to borrow from Amerispeak,=20 top of mind. They are interlinked and have to do with the=20 lack of penetration in the midfield going forward and the=20 gaping holes which somehow continue to appear on defence.
For, crucial to any thoughts of this country winning the=20 William Webb Ellis Trophy is the number of times the South=20 African line has been broken and tries scored against them.
In this respect, we will miss the services of Pieter Muller=20 greatly as the tournament progresses. Muller has the=20 enviable and priceless attribute of running straight and=20 hard at the opposition both in attack and defence.
It is an attribute which is needed even more urgently now=20 that Muller is out of the squad through injury. Especially=20 when a crablike sideways shuffle parallel to the advantage=20 line followed by the little skip pass to the next man=20 appears to have become de rigeur for South African=20
It is time our backs backed their own ability against the=20 opposition and began really feeding wings as potent as=20 James Small and Chester Williams — who has had to resort=20 to acupuncture in an effort to beat Monday’s fitness test=20 deadline — on a more consistent basis.
No player, no matter how great, ever regularly opened=20 spaces by running at the touchline rather than the tryline.=20 The pass is what gives the game its breadth. It is=20 something the Australians — this country’s opponents in=20 the May 25 opening fixture at Newlands — have succeeded in=20 instilling in a succession of Test centres.
It is an attribute we seemingly still have to learn. Our=20 centres simply are not yet hitting the opposing line at=20 pace. It is something Christie has to address and address=20 fast. He and his squad are running out of time to sort out=20 the little imperfections which could mitigate against the=20 South Africans … and even the singing of Shosholosa won’t=20
Most worrying right now is the rash of injuries Christie=20 typifies as “niggles” hampering the build-up of Williams,=20 prop Os du Randt and fullback Gavin Johnson. Among them,=20 they are keeping the acupuncturist busy and squad=20 physiotherapist, Evan Speechly, with a wary eye on his=20
Most worrying is Williams. He has not played since going=20 off in the Western Samoa test at Ellis Park on April 13.=20 Pieter Hendricks stood in for him against Natal last=20 weekend, and fine wing that the Transvaler is, there is=20 little doubt that Williams is the man best qualified for=20 the job ahead.
It also casts some lingering doubts on the decision to opt=20 for the extra forward in the 26-strong squad and only pick=20 two wings. Johnson is the man down as cover for injuries in=20 this position. But his own injury problems saw the=20 selectors opt for Hendricks ahead of the man they call=20 “magic” for the Natal game. A sensible precaution on the=20 face of it, but perhaps not the ideal psychological=20 platform from which to launch an attack on the World Cup.
Johnson, named as a fullback but in reality a utility=20 threequarter, has had some twinges from a painful achilles=20 tendon and, like his teammates, has resorted to=20 acupuncture. Again, the management have dismissed his=20 problems as being minor and are quick to say that Johnson=20 will be there when the 16-nation tournament kicks off.
Du Randt’s injury — like Williams’ a hamstring niggle –=20 poses a similar problem for the team management. The young=20 Free Stater has shown all the ability to emerge as a truly=20 world class player by the end of the World Cup.
While the management have dismissed the hamstring twinges=20 the mobile loose head has been experiencing, anything which=20 eats into Du Randt’s ability to prop the scrum or get to=20 the ball as fast as he does, is a minus factor in the=20
But all that said, manager Morne du Plessis has expressed=20 the thinking of the South African squad on the issue in his=20 normal no-frills manner. “They have to be 150 percent fit,”=20 says Du Plessis, “and we are going to make sure that all of=20 them are. If they are only 95 percent, believe me, we will=20 find out.”
Somehow, Monday’s training schedule looms as no place for=20 the fainthearted or for anyone with something physical to=20
It is upsetting in a way that the major considerations as=20 training sessions build towards a climax should be injuries=20 to players in key positions. It surely takes the edge off=20 what Christie and his assistants would want to do, and that=20 is get the players into a pattern. Drill them to the mental=20 plane required of winners at this level.
Certainly, the squad needs to work on doing what the other=20 potential winners in the World Cup have been doing for a=20 long time. Holders Australia, the New Zealand All Blacks=20 and England — even with the cloud of Will Carling’s=20 captaincy wrangles — have all been successful through one=20 common thread in the way they play.
They do the basics well … and they do them fast.
In this regard, Christie will surely be looking at getting=20 his backline moving forward instead of sideways and cutting=20 out that dreadful skip pass which opens the midfield to the=20 mercies of the opposing loose forwards and the centres=20 wearing the other colour jersies.
It also has the effect of crowding the wings closer to the=20 touchline and, while a player like Small has the strength=20 and ability to run the ball out of situations like these,=20 there is no real profit in creating those situations among=20
Christie’s belief that the major nations can be beaten by=20 stopping the big men at the side of the scrum before they=20 can build up a head of steam was given impetus by the first=20 half performance of the Wallabies against the Argentine=20 last weekend.
With the loose forwards we have at our disposal, Christie’s=20 analysis can come close to being put into action. We can=20 reach them and we can knock them down. But this is not a=20 once-off process. It has to be repeated for the full 80=20
In this regard, it is perhaps apposite to retell one of=20 Willie John McBride’s stories. The great Lions captain was=20 a firm believer in the art of tackling, tackling and then=20 tackling again. He recalls a Test match where he had given=20 just such instructions to his side. He recalls fellow=20 Irishman Sean Lynch wearily getting up and wiping the mud=20 from his eyes.
“How many of them are there on the field?” Lynch asked his=20 captain. “I’ve tackled 37 of them already and we’ve only=20 been playing for 10 minutes.”