Day to day we hear people say “Don’t give Springbok jerseys away” and others say “Give the youngsters a chance to show their mettle”

So, which one of the 2 do you want, make up your flippin minds!

The Springboks under Heyneke Meyer are in their 2nd season under this Springbok coach. Last year we almost expected some stutters along the way, being Heyneke Meyer’s first season in charge, coupled to very little preparation time, but this year we expect more, we expect an upwards curve in the way the Springboks play and in the manner how they put other sides to the sword.

This weekend will be the third Test of the 2013 season for the Springboks and we must start asking whether we have witnessed this upward curve, and if not, why not?

The 1st Test of the year was against Italy and there were glimpses of some good, but it was overshadowed by a very bad spell for the Springboks in the middle of the match when Italy’s forwards dominated the Springboks and started clawing their way back into the match. The Springboks rallied and closed out the game well, sparking calls that Scotland would be properly put to the sword, considering they have frontline players out at the British & Irish Lions in Australia and with their injury list also having grown somewhat.

Well, Scotland’s “Dirt Trackers” gave the Springboks a mighty scare amidst a referee and match officials who were blind as bats and who had no clue how to control the Test.

It took a mighty effort for the Springboks to overcome Scotland and the 30 / 17 final score was more a relief than it was comforting.

So, where does the principal problems lie and what smells like that?

Is it:

• Too many young hopefulls have been awarded Springbok jerseys
• Not enough form youngsters have been selected and rewarded with Springbok jerseys
• Certain Springboks look like ‘witbroodjies’ (favourites) and seem incapable of being dropped
• The forwards are not doing their primary jobs
• There is not enough emphasis on scrum practice and technique
• The Springboks don’t dominate the breakdowns
• The coaches are to blame
• The game plan is to blame
• The combinations chosen do not compliment each other
• The looseforwards are too similar or too dissimilar and as a result the looseforward combination does not work
• Individual players are to blame
• Something is wrong within the team culture and within the management of the team
• Injuries are to blame
• Springbok conditioning is poor

I suppose one could name some more obvious questions, but this is mostly what is out there on the streets and in the bloggesphere.

I think it is a deadly combination of a lot of the factors, but I will definately not ascribe it to giving too many Bok jerseys away. Principally I want to lay the blame on not enough emphasis being placed on the primary forwards facets of scrumming and managing and dominating the breakdown areas, protecting ball, winning ball… and yes, on the witbroodjie factor, where Jean de Villiers and Pierre Spies seem impossible to dislodge from their entrenched positions.

Firstly, the scrums: We all know Northern Hemisphere sides love to scrum, are good at it and that a huge amount of time in the Nothern Hemisphere is spent on fine tuning scrums and perfecting the scrum battle. So, would it not have made sense to concentrate here and drill the guys like a machine? It certainly seems to have been neglected by most of the Southern Hemisphere sides this June. In addition South Africa is rather thin on quality tighthead props at present and it’s getting worse by the day with more and more young South Africans leaving for overseas because of the lure of the Pound, Euro and Yen. South Africa has been hit hard by the departure of hard man props, hookers and more pertinantly locks.

Is Super Rugby to blame, where scrums are less and less important as time goes on, whereas this facet is increasingly being focussed on up north?

Whatever the answer, the solution lies in focussing more on this material aspect of play, and to employ a full-time scrum guru worth his salt. That leads me to Pieter de Villiers, Springbok scrumming guru – what has he added and is he the right man for the job? In answering that, compare him to the stellar work previously done by Os du Randt. I leave the answer in your hands.

Secondly, the breakdowns: In a regular Super Rugby or Test match there is more than 150 breakdown situations in each and every game, compared to under 20 scrums. This makes breakdown dominance probably the most important single factor apart from the actual score on the board. This means that the team has to value these breakdowns like it is a pot of gold!

Methods to control, dominate and execute the breakdowns, rucks and counter-rucks have to be mastered and mastered well, no question about it!

To be able to control, dominate and master these ground ball situations, it requires speed, accuracy and all 15 players on the field needs to buy into the common structure of handling these situations, but more than that it requires a balanced loose trio PLUS at least a hooker and the centres to act as additional ball pilferers or additional openside flankers when required. It requires sides to blow over the ground ball with the fluency of a racing machine, not only to steal ball, but also to protect and clean own ball speedily and effectively, as well as to slow opposition ball down to a crawl… all within the bounds of the laws of rugby as they currently stand.

My question is this, do you see that in the current Springbok side, if not, why not?

Thirdly, the ‘Witbroodjie Factor’: Some players seem so entrenched in their positions in the Springbok side that one would almost fancy that they have some hold on the Springbok coach and his team of assistants. The name of Pierre Spies and Jean de Villiers are the prime ones mentioned by everybody….  and I agree with them, but I want to add a couple more. Jannie du Plessis has had a relatively shocking Super Rugby season, yet he keeps the tighthead berth like it is welded to his arse, notwithstanding the fact that he is clearly tired and overplayed, badly in need of rest and recuperation.

Ruan Pienaar continues to get the nod in the squad and what’s more in the starting lineup or at least on the bench, as if he has bought all the shares in that position from the Springbok coach. He is however slow, cumbersome, cannot make basic sound pivotal decisions in a position which requires so much brilliance. At least in his case it can be said that injuries to other players in the position has helped his cause to retain that berth. One feels though that he needs Red Bull or something to help him wake the hell up and smell the roses.

Morné Steyn, yes I will indeed venture there, even though as a Bulls man I think a lot of the critisism he suffers is from fools who do not know what the hell they are talking about and we are forced to suffer their vitriol ad nauseam. The fact of the matter though is that Morné Steyn is also heading overseas in the not too distant future and it is necessary to find someone who will carry his torch. So who are the candidates? We know Johan Goosen is injured, we know Elton Jantjies has been woeful in 2013 and we also know Patrick “Timotei” Lambie has had a battling year at The Sharks. We also know Demetri Catrakilis is an option but has not properly been involved at the Springboks enough to stake his claim well enough.

The solution for now would probably be to play young Lambie back into some kind of form, but to have Morné Steyn on standby, to cover if Lambie blows cold. But then why do we have exactly the opposite, with Morné Steyn being preferred and Lambie getting more bubble-butt on the bench, week after week?

Willem Alberts, the Sharks blindside flank, again starts on the coming weekend, IF he is fit to play.  Now you tell me, did it not make perfect sense that Bismarck du Plessis first played 3 Club games before getting a start from the bench last weekend? So what makes Willem Alberts, the perrenial sick note so different, why does he get preferential treatment?

OK, I’ve had my rant now, and I feel better… your turn to get it out of your system!