It being the end of the year it is a good time to review what actually happened this year with the Springboks. Coming last in the Tri-Nations, losing at home against Australia (on the Highveld first time since 1963), losing all three Test matches against New Zealand and then the gut wrenching loss against Scotland was almost too much for this ardent Springbok supporter. 

It is all over, done and dusted, now but I have been pondering non-stop (I hope PdV is doing the same thing) about our season. 

What exactly went wrong and how bad was it really? 

So with this in mind I went back to the first Tri-Nations Test this year at Eden Park and watched the whole agonizing 80 minutes –something that I couldn’t do before because of the soul wrenching pain it causes me to see the Springboks so demolished- all over again. 

Personally, I think the match at Eden Park was the match that turned our year into not such a good one. Yes, I want to say bad but after watching this match again and bearing the win against England in mind I think we are not so totally off the pace as my emotions forced me to believe as the season progressed. 

We went into the match with a massive amount of confidence after probably our best S14 season ever. The body language of the players and coaches at the start of the Eden Park Test is something to behold. The coaches shook hands after the national anthems as if we’d already won the Test. The players were parading on the park as if they were super stars and there was an air of, dare I say the word, cockiness around them that speaks volumes about our mindset going into this game. 

Very few people, me included, me gave the All Blacks any change of winning this Test match. The general feeling –after the S14 humiliation of NZ teams- were that the All Blacks just don’t have the bulk and power up front to stop the Bulls/Stormers Springbok combo’s that were so dominant during the S14. 

Looking at that match again, we actually – in spite of going into the match way too overconfident and sure of ourselves – didn’t play badly in the first half. The match changed for us after the Bakkies Botha yellow card, mostly because they scored a try in those 10 minutes, and we had to start chasing the lead which put them in a situation where they could start to manipulate the tempo of the game. 

Even with Bakkies off the field we were still controlling the ball quite effectively and the ball went down the backline quite smoothly on a number of occasions. True we got smashed back at the breakdowns more often than not and we did lose possession way too often to be comfortable about it, but in essence we were right in the game and came very close to scoring on a number of occasions. Our biggest problem in this match was lack of urgency; we didn’t go into the collisions with enough speed, low enough body positions and leg drive. So we were playing with back foot ball most of the time and in spite of that looked a lot better than in the latter Tri-Nations Tests. 

We also lacked urgency with the ball in hand; we demonstrated a complete inability to pick up the pace because we got smashed back at the tackle area but our inability to pick up the pace stemmed mostly from lack of urgency when we were carrying the ball. We tried to smash through tackles as individuals; that collective urgency was missing when we carried the ball and when we went into contact. 

It was January who kicked the box kick that culminated in the first try but the try resulted more from lack of urgency in the chase than from a totally dismal box kick. January actually didn’t have an entirely bad game but he was the one that got most of the flack for us losing this match. The lack of urgency was caused by our over confidence and super arrogant attitude going into this match. In fact I believe if we did not do so well during the S14 we might have won this Test as we would then have entered the match with less of a self-assured attitude that’s going to re-write the history book and that this team is going to be the best Springbok team ever as Francios Louw so arrogantly stated before the Test. 

Pieter de Villiers said afterwards it is not a train smash and that we will be able to re-group and stage a comeback. As it panned out is was a total train smash. We were emotionally and psychologically unable to cope with the media induced hype that followed the All Blacks’ comprehensive win at Eden Park. 

The New Zealand media in particular was in awe –and I still feel more than a little irritated by that hype and their general attitude that the All Black created a “new” way of playing rugby- about the new style, the faster modern game that is so far superior to the Springboks old style kick and chase game. 

The truth is that the difference between the two teams was not that big at all at Eden Park. We lacked urgency and lost our focus, confidence and internal rhythm especially in the second half, but were right in the game. The fact that we were unable to score a try and the intensity of the after match hype resulted in the Springboks starting to doubt their game plan. We consequently went into the second Test against the All Blacks unsure of ourselves and tentative in execution and it got worse after we lost that Test as well. That we lost these two Test matches had much to do with NZ improving their ability/technique under the the high box kick which culminated in their back three preventing us from milking tries with our kick and chase pressure approach. Our ability to hold on to the ball and to recycle at speed was a concern and another major reason for our inability to score tries. We left NZ seriously doubting the way we play and their was critisism regarding team selections. 

We were on the floor when we played Aussie in Brisbane and that was by far our worst performance during the Tri-Nations. 

At this stage we were starting to see some personnel changes in the side and that didn’t help our cause at all. The Soweto Test was crucial for the revival of our confidence and we were by far the better team that day on the field, but lost the Test due to some super silly mistakes, like Morné Steyn missing with a penalty line kick. It was the pressure that was getting to us and we were gravely lacking composure at that stage. The fact that we lost that match in the dying minutes was the cherry on the cake in terms of Springboks not believing in what they were doing anymore. 

We went into the EOYT with injuries to quite a number of key players and with our back against the wall. The Ireland win was massive and the Bok forwards as well Ruan Pienaar had sterling performances but the effect of the Tri-Nations was clearly evident in our tentative backline play and in our one-dimensional approach. The media response was that the rain prevented the Irish from playing the modern faster game and that sort of produced a platform from which our old style rugby could still work. We walked out of that Test still nowhere because the rainy circumstances re-inforced the hyper critical and chip on their shoulder Kiwi media’s view that we play one-dimensional rugby. 

A sort of self-fulfilling prophecy syndrome was at work within the Springbok camp. 

We were scared shitless at this stage when it comes to running with the ball and went into the Wales match convinced we should keep it tight which made it a lot easier for them to read and counter our moves. We were unsure and tentative when we took the ball up, lacking that confidence in what we were doing in comparison to how we played in the first Tri-Nations Test at Eden Park. Scrutiny and criticism of senior players like Habana were now intense and this worked in on the team as well, I believe. 

We came out of the Wales match, again against the floor, seriously doubting our game plan after almost losing that Test. Wales looked better with the ball in hand and we believed at that stage that we had to prove to the world that we can play the faster game plan. 

So on a rainy day on a drenched Murrayfield we went onto the field with desperate desire to prove that we can run with the ball and ended-up failing dismally, for playing the wrong game plan. The drugs scare probably also worked in on the players psyche with everyone saying that even our reputed forwards strength and dominance is not real but the result of popping pills. 

It was Eddie Jones who made the difference, yet again, and who helped us to see, at last, how we’ve fallen into the self-fulfilling prophecy trap. 

Eddie came out just before the Test against England, stating that South Africa might have bigger problems than they think because they are not trusting the coach and the game plan anymore. 

I wrote about that just before the England match (see here) and think those remarks by Eddie changed the psyche of our team. 

The result was a comprehensive and inspiring win against a resurgent England team. 

All is well that ends well, is an old truism and it might well prove to be the case for the Springboks. I think our unsatisfactory performances this year had much to do with the fact that we lost our composure and self-belief and less with our players not being able or lacking the necessary skills/ability. 

Our backline play still needs some remedial work but with less personnel changes from game to game and with Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie back in the mix and with a settled centre pairing (JdV and Jaque Fourie) and some starter moves being introduced by the likes of Carel du Plessis, things can change around pretty quickly. 

Our defensive systems need some work as well, but this is fixable. 

Brussow will be back next year and with Stegmann now a Springbok as well and in much better physical shape next year we might see some improvement with regard to our play at the breakdown. 

I don’t think we are far off the pace. We’ve got three areas in our overall game that needs some creative work but we’ve got the players and the time to sort that out and with key players like Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Heinrich Brussouw, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger and Gurthro Steenkamp back we might see a vast improvement in execution, composure, and results next year.