/ 15 December 2010

It’s a fickle old world

It's A Fickle Old World

2010 was a year in which the Boks came crashing down to earth after the highs of 2009.

And while most Bok supporters will be miffed at finishing the year by missing out on the Grand Slam, coach Peter de Villiers was upbeat following the tour, pointing to the positives: “We showed in our wins against Ireland, Wales and England that when we properly execute our game plan we make it very hard for the opposition.”

He was also enthused by the emergence of new players, saying, “We have been able to blood some new players in Test match rugby as well as give some young players an exposure to the Springbok environment that’ll stand our rugby in good stead in 2011 and beyond.”

But no matter these comments, we are kidding ourselves if we say we’re satisfied with the year. A 75% pass mark for the year-end Test tour is poor recompense for the disappointment of the Tri-Nations. And let’s not forget that, apart from the England game, none of those wins were convincing.

We aspire to be the best and to measure ourselves against the best, and we fell far short against New Zealand.

What was particularly galling during the away leg of the Tri-Nations was the ease with which the much-vaunted Boks were dismantled, particularly after their superiority of last year. Injuries to key players and debate about new law interpretations entered the realm of public discussion, but the horrible truth is that the Tri-Nations was largely a disaster.

The Boks set the bar during last year’s Tri-Nations, and they failed to live up to those expectations.

A strong showing by the Bulls and the Stormers in the Super 14 promised much for the year, and after a convincing win against France early in the season, much was expected. The Boks ended the year in a somewhat competent manner, but the Tri-Nations bungle is what sticks in the mind, where a weak Bok defence was easily exposed.

Off-field issues
Perhaps the most pervading and worrying aspect of the season were the column inches devoted to the controversial De Villiers.

In a country where sport can infest the psyche as much as it can in South Africa, it’s not unusual for off-field issues to take centre-stage.

But De Villiers’s ill-advised and reckless comments drew negative spotlight from near and far.

During the away leg of the Tri-Nations, De Villiers faced misconduct charges after comments that were, at the time, described as “suggesting a conspiracy theory to help the All Blacks ahead of next year’s World Cup”. This followed De Villiers saying on a television programme: “I’ve got my own observations about the last two Tests and I can’t say it in public, but we do have a World Cup in New Zealand next year and maybe it was the right thing for them to win the games so that they can attract more people next year.”

The charges were dismissed, but the damage was done: unwanted negative publicity for the Boks on what was becoming a difficult tour.

The tour also witnessed the case of the “clown” comment, where Springbok management demanded, and received, an apology after former Wallaby hooker Brendan Cannon called De Villiers “a clown” on air. On Australian programme Rugby Club, Cannon said: “I can’t believe that senior players like John Smit and Victor Matfield allow themselves to be controlled by this guy. He is a clown. He surely does not coach the team.”

And just what the hell was a Springbok coach doing in passing ill-judged comment on a provincial rugby player’s alleged involvement in the death of metro cop? Once again, controversy where there needn’t have been any.

A further distraction from the important business of rugby then arose when reports surfaced, ahead of the year-end tour, of De Villiers’s dissatisfaction with his assistant coaches, and his unsuccessful attempts to have them replaced.

All this, and the team’s poor results during the Tri-Nations, naturally led to heightened speculation over the future of the coach, a South African pastime.

For now, though, his job is secure.

Balancing the scales
But let’s try to be positive as we enter a new year, and with the World Cup around the corner it might be a good idea to balance the scales a bit.

It’s worth remembering that, for all the criticism he has received, De Villiers has delivered many great moments for South Africa in recent times: Tri-Nations victory in 2009; a series win over the British and Irish Lions; a vicious dismantling of both England and Australia in 2008; three successive victories against the All Blacks, among others.

And in my book that goes a long way.

Then there’s also the bonus of key players returning from injury next year. And yes, rugby’s a team sport, and one player can’t change a team’s fortunes. But if public opinion is to be believed, Fourie du Preez comes pretty damn close.

Springbok supporters are by and large a lucky lot. We boast some of the greatest depth in world rugby; we have some of the most talented and gifted players in world rugby; and we have some of the most physically intimidating players in the game. If we get it right, we beat anybody.

And unlike the dark days of the early millennium, we have enough talent to win, even when a firm hand may not be on the coaching tiller.

All the ructions of this year will be forgiven should De Villiers deliver the ultimate prize next year; and people may look back and remember him as opinionated rather than controversial, who knows?

Hey Div, get a spokesperson, win the World Cup, and you’ll be loved.

It’s a fickle old world, isn’t it?