/ 5 July 1996

No cause for gnashing of teeth over Boks

RUGBY: Jon Swift

Boy Louw said it best. “Looks for the scoreboards” was his superbly unique and ungrammatical reply to criticism of how the Spingboks played. So it should be with the 43-18 scoreline from this week’s test against Fiji at Loftus Versfeld.

This was not an inspired perfomance. But it was a winning one, stretching the unbeaten run by the world champions to 15 and shedding some real light on the realities the side face and the potential that lies in wait for Australia and New Zealand.

It is difficult to carp about a match analysis which shows tries by Andre Joubert, Japie Mulder, Mark Andrews and the ecstatic moment when substitute Danie van Schalkwyk earned his debut cap and first score in the green and gold.

Or with the sustained pressure in the last quarter which led to Namibian referee Johan Meuwesen awarding the Amabokoboko a penalty try.

On the other side of the scoresheet were tries by stocky Fijan scrumhalf Jacob Rauline — following some superb running off the play — and the hulking figure of skipper Joeli Vaitayaki who exploited some instinctive jinking genius from sevens maestro Wiasale Severi to crash over in the 47th minute.

There is, in short, no real cause for despondency despite some worrying factors for skipper Francois Pienaar and coach Andre Markgraaff. It is best perhaps to dispose of the downside before examining the good that came out of the victory in the first meeting between this country and the Fijians.

Surely the biggest problem remains at flyhalf. Joel Stransky’s formguide this season has been patchy at best and cost him his starting place in favour of Henry Honiball. Honiball, in contrast, has had a fine season at provincial level. Taking the step up to the high plateau of the international game is still a moot point with respect to the rock hard Underberg farmer his teamates call Lem.

He had a hesitant first half against FIji. Under fire from the biggest adherents of the “Big Hit” theory of tackling in the business, Honiball consistently missed touch with the boot and had some finger trouble in distribution — an aspect not helped by some indifferent early service from Joost van der Westhuizen.

Even more worrying was the sight of Hennie le Roux being stretchered off from yet another kamikaze Fijian tackle two minutes from time, his neck securely braced. Le Roux remains one of the best broken-field runners in the modern game and the ball fairly glitters through his hands.

Without the option of Le Roux in the No 10 jersey, Markgraaff’s broad base of versatility — a feature of his selection in many key areas — becomes severely limited.

Of equal concern must be the inability of the tight five to dominate from the start. And the lack of committed ball retention. This apparent lack of resolution is exactly the kind of wrinkle the All Blacks exploit to the full. One suspects that Balie Swart is close to recall at tighthead, where his mobility will be allowed to gel with the huge talents of Os du Randt on the other side of the engine room.

Markgraaff must also have underlined the four balls the towering figure of Fijian lock Emori Katalau won off Andrews and Johan Ackermann in the lineout battles between the two second rows. That, simply put, is not good enough.

Niether was the lack of real intensity shown throughout truly representative of a Springbok side — even against a team who came to play it hard and fast, as did the Fijians.

All this points to the inescapable fact that there is, indeed, room for improvement. But surely no case for a collective national gnashing of teeth.

Joubert was supreme in his almost arrogant reading of play until a crashing collision in a chase for a kick-head with opposite number Felipe Rayasi and aEhamstring tweak forced him off and gave Van Schalkwyk his big moment.

So was James Small, who initiated the break and delivered the chip kick which led to Joubert’s opening try by popping up on the opposite wing and making the decisive break down the touchline.

Gary Teichmann too adds a new dimension to South Africa’s play from the back of the scrum and when Pienaar and Ruben Kruger switched open-side- blindside roles, the loose trio started to look like something. This is an experiment Markgraaff must persevere with.

Teichmann has the ability to take the ball forward across the advantage line even in pressure situations and, once the flankers were switched, was not isolated as often as he had been in the early stages of the game. It is a dimension we will need in the Antipodes.

There is also the fact that the Springboks tackled superbly even if some leaden-footed cover let them down in the case of Raulini’s try. There isstill some jersey-tugging in evidence but largely there was no cause for criticism in this department.

We have the makings of a good side here. And in Markgraaff — a cerebral player in his own active days — a man who clearly thinks about the game long and deep.

As for victory No 16 against the Wallabies in Sydney on July 13, there can be no clear answer until the side is named for the first of the two away games in the Sanzar Series, but one would tend to feel that the Springboks will run them close.

And that they will not disappoint an expectant nation when they take on the All Blacks in Christchurch a week later.

We looks, as Boy Louw used to say, with expectancy at the scoreboards.

ENDS