Andy Capostagno rugby
It is likely to be a quiet evening in Couran Cove on Saturday. At their retreat on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the Springboks will be digesting the opening Tri-Nations Test between Australia and New Zealand. And maybe as they tuck themselves up in bed for the night, they will ponder the fact that the distance between Couran Cove and Plettenberg Bay is similar to the gulf that separates them from the Wallabies and the All Blacks.
This is a Springbok set-up that puts a lot of store in picking the right holiday spot. Rather more, in fact, than it does in picking the right players. Put the case, for instance, that Nick Mallett wants a touch of mongrel in his tight five. Does he get on the phone to the second- most-capped Springbok of all time, or does he call up an uncapped fellow who has played one game since May 21?
And does he make the call to Pretoria to get in touch with the finest loosehead prop this country has produced, a World Cup winner in 1995 and a loyal grafter in 1999, or does he tell the media that although his current starting loosehead is not scrumming well or putting himself about in the loose, he is making lots of tackles and is thus indispensable? Does he, in fact, consider that the reason his tight forwards are covering themselves in glory by making so many tackles is that they aren’t winning the damned ball in the first place?
All of the above and many more issues besides will conspire to make Couran Cove a place of quiet contemplation rather than a testosterone-filled fun palace. And if the reason for hiding away his players was to avoid the damning condemnation of the media, it might also occur to Mallett that privacy and deep thought are the ideal breeding grounds for sedition and revolution.
It is not in the nature of professional sportsmen to admit inadequacy and it should be remembered that this particular Springbok squad has players in it that every other country would give its eye teeth for. But under this coaching partnership and with this game plan the idea that the Springboks can win the Tri-Nations is simply laughable.
There has been a lot of straw-clutching going on. The Mandela Challenge match was in the balance right up until Stephen Larkham scored his fabulous try in the 73rd minute.
Louis Koen might have been the worst Springbok selection at flyhalf since Norman Riley replaced Keith Oxlee in 1963, but at least he wasn’t embarrassing. And all the Cats replacements made a difference, especially the desperately unlucky Japie Mulder who may have contracted a serious injury for the final time in his Test career.
But the fact remains that South Africa played about as well as they could under the circumstances and still lost by 21 points. On Saturday at Stadium Australia the Wallabies will need to go up a gear to beat the All Blacks. What should concern the Springboks is that they are eminently capable of doing just that.
The All Blacks have beaten Tonga by 100 points and put Scotland in their place in two successive Tests this season, but they are by no means the super- confident side that previous incarnations have been.
Coach Wayne Smith may yet regret his decision to replace Josh Kronfeld on the flank with Scott Robertson and, try as they might, the Kiwis have not yet found a centre combination to fill the seven-league boots of Frank Bunce and Walter Little. This week’s combo of Pita Alatini and Alama Ieremia is not the answer, either.
What they do have is the most potent back three in world rugby and it will be fascinating to see what Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen comes up with to negate the threat posed by Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga and Jonah Lomu. One thing he will not do is to allow his flyhalf to kick deep to allow them to get going.
In fact Larkham’s disinclination to kick could be a serious weakness in a less- gifted player. When he does kick it is normally with great purpose, as with the World Cup semi- final drop goal and the concluding try for Stirling Mortlock in last week’s test.
But Larkham cannot work his magic without
the ball and it is the underrated Australian forwards who hold the key at Stadium Australia. We have been waiting 12 months for various Wallaby tight fives to implode and it never happens. They were immense in the final quarter last week, proving all over again that the tortoise still has a chance against the hare if he has a good strategy.
Expect an old-fashioned game of hard Test rugby to begin this year’s tournament. Expect 110 000 people to give Australia the edge and expect a bunch of South Africans to wake up far from home on Sunday, wondering why they didn’t sleep so well last night.