When lock Johann Muller takes the field at the head of the Springboks in Christchurch on Saturday, he will become the 53rd captain of his country and, remarkably, the fourth different Springbok captain in this year’s Tri-Nations.
Four captains in four games is not something to be proud of, even if coach Jake White can cite certain extenuating circumstances, and the bold band of B-team brothers are on a hiding to nothing against the All Blacks at Jade Stadium.
It is noteworthy that four captains in one season is not a record. In 1999, another World Cup year, Nick Mallett chose no fewer than five, three of whom did service in the Tri-Nations. The five were Gary Teichmann, Corné Krige, Rassie Erasmus, Joost van der Westhuizen and Andre Vos.
When White took over as Springbok coach three years ago, the first thing he did — even before he had selected a squad — was to announce that John Smit was his captain. Since that day, there have been many times when both press and public would have wished it otherwise, but White stood by his man. Perhaps now it is possible to see why.
When Smit pulled a hamstring at Newlands against Australia a month ago, it seemed but a temporary aberration. There was even talk that he might be fit to face the All Blacks the following week in Durban.
Instead, Victor Matfield became the first lock forward to lead the Boks in 40 years, and now Muller becomes the second.
In between the two locks there was Bob Skinstad, the captain for just under an hour against Australia in Sydney last week. Skinstad was fit enough for the post-match interview and press conference, but a popped rib made him ineligible for this week’s Test.
As it happened, Skinstad wasn’t bad against the Wallabies, but he was unable to persuade his team to close down a game that was all but won with 17 unanswered points on the board inside the first quarter. He was not helped by a desperately poor kicking display by flyhalf Derick Hougaard and it is hard to fathom how the Blue Bull pivot got the nod for a second time this week.
It might seem harsh to criticise a man for missing a few kicks, but that is the nature of the beast. In 2001, the All Blacks beat the Springboks 12-3 at Newlands, principally because Tony Brown kicked four penalties in filthy weather while Percy Montgomery and Butch James managed one between them.
Sitting in the stands that day was Braam van Straaten, the best place kicker in South Africa, but not needed by the expansive regime of Harry Viljoen. A week later, Van Straaten came back in from the cold, kicked five from six and the Boks beat the Wallabies 20-15.
Asked after the game how he coped with the pressure of kicking his team to victory, he said he didn’t understand the question. ”Kicking is my job,” he explained.
Hougaard has not been part of White’s plans hitherto because he has little to offer at international level other than a metronomic boot. Last week he missed three eminently kickable (for him) opportunities, resulting in the Boks losing by eight points.
Clearly, the pressure got to him, even as it did not when a bunch of Sharks attempted to charge down his post-hooter conversion in the Super 14 final two months ago. There is a thing called Big Match Temperament that cannot be learned. On the basis of what happened last week, Hougaard will not be among the tourists earning one of the last 10 spots available in the World Cup squad.
It is likely that those spots were decided by White well prior to what could easily turn into a rout at Jade Stadium on Saturday. Another Bull, Wynand Olivier, may have played himself out of that squad, while teammate Wikus van Heerden can make his travel plans right now.
Van Heerden’s early try, quickly followed by Breyton Paulse’s intercept score, gave the Boks reason to hope. Those hopes were dashed by a lack of belief, combined with Hougaard’s bad day with the boot.
There was also, as ever, the Paul Honiss factor. It was Honiss, the match referee for last Saturday’s match, who ”saw” Muller punch a Wallaby opponent.
The 10 minutes he spent in the sin bin, added to the 10 served by Gary Botha, were as deleterious to Springbok hopes as the factors mentioned above. Perhaps Muller’s elevation to the captaincy is one way White has of publicly exonerating his player and having a dig at the referee, without incurring a fine.
Honiss, you may remember, was the man who told Smit to ”have a word” with his players in Dublin three years ago. When Smit turned his back to do just that, the Kiwi official allowed Ronan O’Gara to take a tap penalty and flop over the line unopposed.
Be all that as it may, the Boks should have won on Saturday and the fact that they did not is an awfully nasty omen for this week’s game. Fortunately, by this time next year, it will all be forgotten.