/ 26 May 2017

The new, mostly white Bok squad

Leading from the front: Popular eighthman Warren Whitely has been appointed Springbok captain.
Leading from the front: Popular eighthman Warren Whitely has been appointed Springbok captain.

The first Springbok squad of the season was named on Tuesday and two things go without saying: it is vastly different from the one announced this time last year — and it is not black enough.

For many and various reasons, 15 of the 31 players who featured in coach Allister Coetzee’s May 2016 squad are absent. In that squad there were 11 players of colour, a number that dwindled as a dreadful year for the Springboks got older. There are 12 in this year’s 31.

It is invidious to reduce selection to a numbers game, but we are just over two years away from the next World Cup, at which the target imposed by the South African Rugby Union is a minimum of 50% players of colour in the match day squad. That is what the coach should be working towards, not some utopian ideal of attacking rugby.

Colour aside, it is an odd squad because it contains a number of players who have done very little to deserve a call-up. Other than, perhaps, being fit in the right place at the right time, a not inconsiderable consideration given the traction of the modern game. Nevertheless, it is what it is and Coetzee should enjoy the brief honeymoon period before France arrive in the country for a three-test series in June.

The spine of the team, the players at 8, 9 and 10, deserves scrutiny, something the Mail & Guardian achieved with the help of former Lions and All Blacks coach John Mitchell. By the time you read this Mitchell may already be back in the mainstream of South African coaching. It is rumoured that the Bulls have made him an offer to take over from the embattled Nollis Marais.

For now it is germane to point out that the three frontrunners for 8, 9 and 10 all played under Mitchell when he coached the Lions, immediately before the Johan Ackermann regime began four years ago.

The most important discussion is about the new captain, Warren Whiteley. There is no more popular man in South African rugby at the moment, but is he the best No 8 available? It might be argued that Duane Vermeulen, one of four overseas-based players included, may be the captain-in-waiting. But Mitchell was having none of it.

He said: “I really like the leadership decision. Warren is the best captain domestically and there is a real presence in this squad of in-form domestic players. No disrespect to the foreign-based players, but the game played by the Lions, Stormers, Bulls and Sharks is far faster than what they are used to in Europe.

“When you select a captain he has to set the tone for the team culture, but he really has to be the number one name down on the team sheet in my view. If Warren is only in place for the French series I don’t know if he would feel safe. I think players play at their best when they feel safe.

“There’s definitely going to be competition between him and Vermeulen. The difference is that Warren can play the game for a lot longer at a higher speed, whereas Duane is probably better at the collision,” Mitchell said.

“I wonder whether the game has evolved since Duane was first-choice No 8 a few years ago, so that now you go for a faster player in that position and the No 7 flank can play the role of carrying the ball into contact? Duane can do that and maybe that’s part of the thinking among the selectors,” he added.

It might be, then, that the back row the selectors have in mind features both men, with Stormers captain Siya Kolisi wearing the No 6 jersey.

Next there is the issue of who to pick at scrumhalf. Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach have ruled themselves out by signing for English clubs, so the selectors have gone for Rudy Paige, England-based Francois Hougaard and the uncapped Ross Cronjé.

Mitchell thinks Cronjé deserves a chance. “I’m happy with his calm head. He’s not the quickest halfback in the world, but I like the way he links with his forwards and he has good timing in his passing game. By that I mean that he seems to be able to feed flat-lying players without denying line speed.

“I used to be a big fan of a taller, more physical halfback, but now I prefer quick ball. In the modern game it’s very difficult to dominate the gain line and even if you do it’s not necessarily going to be lightning-quick ball. So you need someone who can deal with the chaos and take the pressure off the team, and I think Ross does that well.”

And because of the injury-enforced absence of Pat Lambie and Handrè Pollard, one specific player needs the pressure removed: Elton Jantjies.

“Elton feels safe when he plays for the Lions, but he’s not safe when he plays for the Springboks. We know that he can play flat and that he can link off slow ball. He has a pretty handy attacking kicking game and he’s generally good at exit strategy on the Highveld; less so at sea level. What’s needed is a scrumhalf who can take responsibility for those defensive kicks and take the pressure off Elton. But if he can just feel safe and ‘belong’ he’ll be fine,” Mitchell said.