minefield
Steve Morris : Rugby
For Nick Mallett there exists in his first weeks as national coach something of a Bermuda Triangle: a judicial commission that demands he carries a law book in one hand, a domestic competition that clearly has not delivered all the best sides of the season to the knockout phase, and an upcoming tour to Europe where he arguably stands to lose more than he gains.
Mallett has made the right moves in some ways. He has already alienated himself in others. It is an indication of the forthright and individualistic way the big former eighth-man is going to manage his reign as Springbok coach.
He has done well todistance himself publicly from the Browde Commissions coming probe into the shadowy reaches of rugby governance. It has proved graphically what all of us have known for some time: Mallett is no fool.
Leaving the intricacies of an administration he has not always seen eye to eye with, could just be the single most important thing he has done thus far.
That said, though, the effects of the commission and whatever findings they finally deliver will surely impact on Mallett as the most visible employee of the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu). He will be equally mindful of the legal confrontation between his predecessor Carel du Plessis and Sarfu over the R1-million at issue to cover the unfulfilled portion of the contract between Sarfu and the sacked former Springbok coach.
This, Mallett must take close cognisance of as it could impact directly on his own terms of employment and quite possibly change the manner in which the union and the coach of the national side approach one another in the future.
There is also the matter of the looming confrontation between Louis Luyt and Mluleki George for the presidency of Sarfu to occupy a space in Malletts busy mind. This, too, could have repercussions for the way the coach operates, regardless of who comes out on top.
With all these issues whirling about to muddy further what are already murky waters, Mallett has already shown that he is an astute guardian of the keys of Springbok rugby.
Mallett has shown that his major concern is the players he will have to work with.
It is refreshing that Mallett has identified the salient fact that Paris and for that matter Wellington or Cape Town is far removed from the glasshouse at Ellis Park. His decision to put pressure on the Tricolors a side and an administration he knows well from his playing and coaching days in France to allow the Springboks to base themselves in the French capital for the Gallic part of the tour of the northern hemisphere.
Mallett knows only too well the chaotic problems inherent in letting French rugby administrators determine travel and accommodation for visiting international sides. He has taken a much more logical and eminently sensible approach to this potential minefield; one base and the use of the excellent French inter-city rail service.
It is the kind of no-frills thinking that Mallett is certain to apply to the selection of his squad after the Currie Cup semi-final at Newlands on October 18. There will doubtless be a few surprises among the list of tourists.
Mallett knows what he wants and, while he is on record as saying that he will not drastically alter the make-up of the side which did service under Du Plessis, he will surely be looking both over his shoulder at an international season not liberally studded with success, and beyond the horizon to the World Cup of 1999 in Wales.
It is a delicate balancing act and, it must be said, that defeated Du Plessis in its complexity. This legacy has added to the pressure on Mallett to produce winning teams and restore Springbok rugby from its ephemeral state to a plateau of on-field excellence good enough to face down the New Zealand All Blacks.
In this regard, it is of note that this is exactly what Mallett managed with Boland. In two seasons he has taken the wine farmers to a level that has made them redoubtable opponents and, in many ways, a side unlucky not to have made the final four in the Currie Cup.
If there are changes to be made in the Springbok line-up, they will more likely come in the backline than up front although it must be added that a few forwards must be experiencing some anxious moments in the waiting period between now and the formalisation of the squad announcement.
Malletts style revolves around doing the basics fast and well, a lesson the All Blacks have shown the rest of the rugby world time and time again, and adding to this the gallic love of running with the ball in hand.
It is an interesting mixture of conservatism and flair that, when it is done well, is one of the great sights in world sport. Conversely, when it is mismanaged, it becomes a frustrating and self-defeating exercise in sheer futility.
Mallett, one feels, is the man to carry it all off and avoid the fate of several of the men who have held his new position since our readmittance to the world arena, and disappear into the void that the Bermuda Triangle is infamous for.
Look to see Mallett around for some time.