Andy Capostagno Rugby
So the latest knights in shining armour are Jannie de Beer and Brendan Venter. The two Free Staters are among the four changes and one positional switch made by Springbok coach Nick Mallett for Saturday’s Tri- Nations Test against Australia at Newlands.
Given that the going rate for changes has been up around the eight per Test mark, perhaps we should award Mallett some kudos for consistency of selection.
But that would be to ignore the by now familiar bloody-mindedness involved. It goes without saying that Percy Montgomery is in the team – that despite the fact that last Saturday against the All Blacks was a new nadir for the man.
He spent so long watching downfield kicks from Andrew Mehrtens sail over his confused head that it’s a surprise he has not developed terminal neck strain.
Mallett himself has accused South African players of lacking the skills of their Antipodean counterparts, in which case will somebody now admit that Montgomery, flaring pace, siege-gun boot, fearless tackling and all, has never actually been taught where to stand at fullback? Someone called Andr Joubert has offered his 10 years of experience in the role to the national side, but has been spurned.
But Montgomery was a paean of excellence on Saturday in comparison to Pieter Rossouw on the left wing. Both, it seems, would have to actually set fire to the coach’s car in order to be shown the door. Mallett, it transpires, is waiting for them to come right. Maybe it is some new experiment along the lines of the infinite number of monkeys who, statisticians agree, would type the complete works of Shakespeare given enough time.
And what, pray tell, has Franco Smith done wrong? Pulled into the team at the 11th hour last week, he was one of the few backline players to stand up and be counted. His reward is to be demoted to “non-playing squad member”; not even on the bench. He is in good company, however, alongside Bobby Skinstad, the man whose precocity caused the management to dispense with the services of Gary Teichmann. Presumably Skinstad was recalled to the squad to attend the new kit launch and a few other functions.
Smith misses out, but Robbie Fleck survives. Better to have moved Deon Kayser (another who can hold his head high after Loftus) into the shirt vacated by Andr Snyman, and bring Stefan Terblanche on to the wing. The most radical move of all would have been to recall Joubert and, if Montgomery really has to play, put him where he started under Carel du Plessis, at outside centre. He could do no worse than Fleck.
If there is any consistency it is in the tight five, which is unchanged and should provide a sure source of set-piece ball against the Wallabies. Arguments for Mark Andrews’s inclusion from the start would be stronger had he not had an especially profligate day with the ball in tackles against the All Blacks. Otherwise there is the mixture of hard men and athletes that all coaches would love.
Perhaps we should be grateful for small mercies, but there is too much wrong with the composure of the rest of the side for that. For the life of me I cannot see how Ruben Kruger can be used as an impact player. He is either not fit, and thus should join Skinstad in civvies, or he should start the game. He is exactly the kind of hard, uncompromising player required against a top side and the bonus is that he has a disciplined temper.
The same cannot be said of Venter, the aforementioned knight. Venter’s return to Currie Cup rugby was heralded by two things: a revival of Free State fortunes and a glut of yellow cards. For Venter, a medical man of some charm, shares with the retired Uli Schmidt a personality which undergoes a radical change once he steps over the white line which demarcates the edge of the pitch.
For the new fly-half, Jannie de Beer, it must all seem rather confusing. His last Test was against Scotland at Murrayfield in December 1997, the last match of Mallett’s first tour as Springbok coach. The Boks scored 60 points that day, but De Beer was another to suffer in the eyes of the coach by comparison with Henry Honiball.
Aware that his chances of becoming an ersatz Honiball were slim, he fled to England with Venter where, on the heavier fields and in encounters of lesser intensity, his game took a quantum leap forward. The De Beer of today is a first- rate option taker only remotely connected to the old hoof and chase merchant of yesterday.
But he is expected to shrug off a knee injury and transform an ailing team overnight. Against the Wallabies. For all his ability, the monkeys may have a greater chance of writing King Lear before Saturday comes.