The Springboks came within 20 minutes of playing the perfect game in Durban — and then fell off the bus.
As a result, this week’s second Test in Pretoria is unpredictable enough to make the destination of the series obscure. That would not have been the case had the coaching team not made a few fundamental errors.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers admitted after Saturday’s encounter that clearing the bench as early as he did was an error. But by the time Monday rolled around he had recanted, suggesting that he should have made the changes sooner, and accused the media and public of racism around the selection and performance of Ricky Januarie.
It’s just over 12 months since De Villiers replaced Jake White at the helm and in that time we have become accustomed to the occasional bit of nonsense. He’s passionate about what he does and sometimes that spills over into ill-considered comments at press conferences.
De Villiers should draw strength from the fact that his team won the first Test and accept that by learning from his mistakes the Springboks can wrap up the series with a game in hand this weekend.
Ever since the International Rugby Board allowed substitutions one of the fundamental aspects of the game has changed. Previously the bench could be used only when a player was too injured to remain on the field and there were only four people on it back then, too. When the number grew to seven and tactical replacements were allowed, few coaches could resist the lure of introducing fresh legs.
That’s all De Villiers was doing during the first Test and he will argue that in the same circumstances his many critics would have done the same, because hindsight is a very exact science. But even his predecessor, White, came to understand that there are times when you must respect the old saw: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
White’s recognition of that fact came at the Millennium Stadium in 2004. With 70 minutes gone the Boks led Wales 38-22, but with extra time dragging on beyond the five-minute mark the final score was 38-36. In that final breathless period White sent on three replacements to add to the three he had made either side of the hour mark.
The final humiliation came when South Africa were pushed off their own scrum ball to allow Welsh scrumhalf Duane Peel to score. At the time it was regarded as a wake-up call and nothing too serious, but a week later in Dublin the Boks lost 17-12 to Ireland and the Grand Slam dream was over.
White learned his lesson. He looked for more strength in depth instead of relying on his first 15, but he also went back to the old maxim. Os du Randt was one who benefited: instead of playing for an hour and then being sent to the bench, the Free State behemoth played a string of games without being replaced. It galvanised him for the rigours of the 2007 World Cup and gave White the confidence he needed to stick with his first team if that was what was required.
And therein lies the lesson for De Villiers and his assistants. Much of what happened in the final quarter in Durban was preordained. Open side Heinrich Brussow was the new boy; therefore he would make way for Danie Rossouw for the last half hour. John Smit was playing out of position and there were two props on the bench: therefore they would be used. And Fourie du Preez has an old war wound in his shoulder, so anytime you can get him off the park safely, do so.
To be fair to the coaching staff, it looked safe. But there are so many specialists in the Bok set-up these days that one of them should have provided the still, small voice of reason. Rossouw is a ball carrier, Brussow is a ball winner. Neither of the props on the bench was a tight head. And Du Preez is so far ahead of every other scrumhalf in the country that taking him off just in case he gets hurt is madness.
This week the addition of Chiliboy Ralepelle means we have a prop and a hooker on the bench, whereas Brussow is replaced in the starting 15 by the fit-again Schalk Burger. Januarie – the player De Villiers went out of his way to defend — drops out of the match 22 because Ruan Pienaar can cover the scrumhalf position. Which begs the question: what changed between last week and this one?
Presumably Smit is now a specialist tight head prop who cannot understudy the hooking position, although Pienaar is one step closer to being the jack of all trades again. The acid test will come with 20 minutes to go at Loftus and the match and series in the balance. Will De Villiers reshuffle, or will he acknowledge that the game is an organic thing with a life beyond the blackboard of set moves and tactics? Play what’s in front of you should not just be advice for the players.