What did Goliath’s coach say to the Philistine media at the post-match press conference? How did Napoleon’s defensive consultant explain Waterloo? What do you say after a complete disaster? At Johannesburg International airport on Monday morning Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli and captain Corné Krige said, basically, ”these things happen”.
A record defeat against England, ”but I still think we can take them”, said Krige. Three defeats in a row? Irrelevant because only the World Cup matters, argued Straeuli, the man who began his tenure by saying that the next match was the most important and then the one after that.
This might seem like a failure to grasp the enormity of the results of the last three weeks, but it is hard not to sympathise with the logic. Sometimes the best way to deal with a complete disaster is simply to pretend it never happened.
Maybe we should start by looking at the plus points. AJ Venter looked hungry and finished a second successive disastrous Springbok tour of the northern hemisphere with his reputation enhanced. Do we deduce from this that Venter, who spent two seasons in Italy, is suited to and understands the conditions that prevail in a European winter? Maybe.
Joe van Niekerk was largely anonymous against France and Scotland, but against England, with the odds stacked against him and a pack heading backwards into his face at 100kph, he delved into the memory banks of schoolboy rugby to prove there is no such thing as bad ball to a proper eighthman. Straeuli in his prime could not have played better.
Pedrie Wannenberg did not look out of place, unlike the other hapless members of the Blue Bulls’ Currie Cup-winning pack who made the trip. After the departure of Jannes Labuschagne he happily accepted the challenge of jumping in the lineouts, worked manfully at the breakdown points and generally suggested that a new star has arrived.
Lukas van Biljon played his heart out against Scotland and made a difference when coming on for James Dalton at Twickenham. Straeuli’s excuse, that he needed Dalton’s experience in a side desperately short of it, would have carried more weight had the Falcons hooker suggested at any stage of the tour that he had the technical aspects of his game in any semblance of working order.
And that, unfortunately, is about it. Not a great return from three test matches. The unpalatable truth, however, is that Straeuli can hardly be blamed for his selection policy. Unlike some of the previous incumbents of his job, Straeuli did not leave massive talent at home because he could not find a way to work with certain players.
The fact is that in the key areas of the side the cupboard is bare, for while Straeuli has gifted backs coming out of his ears, he does not have a tight five worthy of the name. It has been suggested that Mark Andrews jumped before he was pushed out of test rugby. If that is true, then it is a disgrace, but we’ll probably have to wait for the now traditional ”tell all biography” to find out for sure.
Andrews and Victor Matfield were a lock partnership that was seen too rarely at the highest level and apart from anything else, if both had been available to tour Labuschagne might never have had the chance to make a fool of himself in the first place.
As for the front row, we shall never again have the reassuring four-square presence of Willie Meyer to call on. Meyer was an old-fashioned prop, quite unlike the overfed impact players of the new generation, who matured about the age of 30. In the darkest times the pride of Despatch never lost his dignity and when injury finally called a halt he was playing the best rugby of his career. May his retirement be long and prosperous.
It may be that Straeuli is right to say that Deon Carstens has advanced his career immeasurably in the nine-league boots vacated by Meyer. In successive weeks Carstens propped against Tom Smith and Jason Leonard, probably the two best technicians in the business.
On both occasions Straeuli waited until the last 10 minutes to bring on CJ van der Linde, which speaks volumes for the coach’s faith. If one or both of these youngsters proves to be the real deal, the tour will not have been in vain.
At loosehead the loss of Lawrence Sephaka after the Marseilles test was a cruel blow. He will be back and, injuries permitting, so will the great Os du Randt. Os, even if it’s only for one season and even if it’s at tighthead, your country needs you.
The hooking berth is up for grabs. Van Biljon, Hanyani Shimange and John Smit need to assert themselves in the Super 12. And then, when a proper tight five has been identified, it needs to be shown the intricacies of scrum and lineout play by some real experts. At the moment it seems like we are sending in bricks without mortar.