Assuming one or more of the Livingstone 13 don’t ”do a Monty” between now and June 8, Rudolf Straueli can reasonably expect to launch the Springboks’ long campaign to the World Cup with a contented ship.
In fact, with the starting XV from the 22 that Straueli named in the company of Darren Scott and Naas Botha on Tuesday night, virtually picking itself the only serious debate to be had is over who’ll be captain.
For those who don’t get the in-house joke, the Livingstone 13 are those members of the current Springbok 22 who are represented by a lawyer called Craig Livingstone. His friends know him as a former high-class hockey player who these days is doing rather well for himself cutting deals for some of the country’s top rugby players. To the South African rugby hierarchy, however, he’s a sharp-suited vampire: a sort of Jerry Maguire with fangs who, if you believe his detractors, is busy sucking the life out of the local game by enticing our top players to take lucrative overseas contracts.
For the sake of brevity the nine in Straueli’s squad who will be involved against Wales but are not represented by Livingstone are: Andre Pretorius, Johannes Conradie, AJ Venter, Quinton Davids, Victor Matfield, Daan Human, James Dalton, Willie Meyer and Jannes Labuschagne.
Interestingly, the two candidates for the captaincy are both stabled at the Livingstone ranch. We’re talking about Bob Skinstad and Corne Krige. So which one should get the job?
Skinstad is the incumbent and a natural leader with rare qualities. He got the job at the expense of Andre Vos in the early stages of last year’s international season. And at a time when the lack of continuity in South African rugby is being blamed, at least in part, for the player defections, bulleting the reigning captain would not seem to be a good start. But, on this occasion that is insufficient reason to retain Skinstad.
Twelve months ago, Krige was not an automatic choice for Harry Viljoen’s starting XV. In fact, by the end of the Tri-Nations he’d been put well and truly out to grass. It’s a tribute to his tenacity that in the intervening time Krige has not taken the northern route and, like one of his provincial team-mates, sought a get-out clause in his Western Province contract which was then cynically exploited by the player’s refusal to be considered for the Springboks.
Unlike the man with the Beckham boots and blond rinse, Krige stuck his head down and set about regaining his Springbok place. And he’s done it not only with his admirable performances from the side of the scrum but also in his leading of the only South African Super 12 side to have emerged from this year’s competition with a suggestion of credit.
If it can be said of such a fine international player, Krige does not exhibit the same natural aptitude for the game as Skinstad. For that matter, who of the current crop does? But this season Krige is a shoe-in at number six and his leadership style is typical of the approach being preached by Straueli that of discipline and hard graft. So if it’s agreed that the Straueli mantra is best for South African rugby at the moment then Krige is surely the most suitable captain.
Handled in the right way by Straueli that in itself would prove his biggest test in the job so far the sidelining of Skinstad from the top job could be turned into a positive.
What should matter most to the player himself is that he’s performing at his best, consistently, and doing it from the first whistle for the national side. Even those close to Skinstad will acknowledge that his end-of-season tour with the Boks it’s worth remembering that he has yet to start a first-class game since returning from Europe was far from a personal triumph. In fact, he has yet to consistently reproduce the brilliance that some believe was shattered forever in that coming together with a garden wall in Rondebosch more than three years ago.
That’s almost certainly not the case. But, by his own 1998/1999 standards, there remains a genuine lack of consistency that should be of greater concern to Skinstad than the possible loss of the Springbok captaincy. Also, against the background of a new national coach who is preaching a ”back to basics” and ”return to traditional values” approach to Springbok rugby, the appointment of a captain dubbed unkindly in some quarters ”the show pony” also seems contradictory.
Much also is made of Skinstad’s off-the-field interests. As a professional rugby player he would be foolish to ignore them. But at this time, more than any other, there is perhaps a need for Skinstad to be seen to be shutting out all the peripheral stuff, including the captaincy, and devoting himself entirely to what happens between the white lines.