I do think the SA rugby public is sometimes a little unrealistic if not arrogant with their expectations regarding Springbok rugby.

Part of the Springbok success story is certainly the high expectations so one does not want to make excuses for average performances.

Make no mistake the Pumas is a handful at home. Not only passionate but they also have a very destructive style. There is a lot of niggle; a lot of in your face; substantial clever obstruction and push and shove stuff off the ball. A few years back the All Blacks almost lost a match against the Pumas in South America.

Since then the All Blacks make sure they show-up in Puma country with a lot of presence and urgency. They announce themselves with passion and conviction and make sure they absolutely snub all attempts by the opposition to take control at the rucks.

It was that lack of presence; that lack of urgency and the overall meekness in the Springboks demenour that was for me the greatest disappointment on the weekend.

Heynecke Meyer started this year saying that he was going to target the breakdown area due to it being so important and the fact that the Springboks have shown last year that they are behind the ball game.

He apparently made an in-depth analysis of the breakdown and met up with the vodacom cup coaches with the aim to improve South Africa’s overall ability at the breakdowns.

He went forth and employed a breakdown specialist to work with the team.

The result of it was that the Springboks have scored more tries this year in their first four matches than was the case in the previous 10 years or so (I didn’t really check but they certainly scored more this season than in the previous two seasons). They’ve topped 50 points in their last two matches (before the Mendoza collapse).

The thing I’ve noticed was the fact that they look more organised at the tackle ball; that they run with more speed onto the ball; and that they have speed their game up considerably. However it only happens when the opposition allow them to dominate at the breakdowns.

When oppostion lack real physicality at the tackle ball the Springboks move the ball more to the wing, than last year; there is more passing and less bashing and there is real attempt to get the defenders on the back foot by recycling at tempo.

After the Scotland fiasco my feeling was that the match against the Pumas in Argentina will be the real test. This is the match that will tell whether the team has moved forward since Scotland. I knew, Meyer knew, the team knew and most Springbok suporters knew the Pumas were going to come with a lot more passion into this game. We knew that they were -like last year- going to target players to interrupt flow and concentration.

My feeling was that the Springboks will need to stay calm and focussed; wear the storm down and play to the corners in the first 30 minutes. Keep the scoreboard ticking with penalties and drop goals and force them to start playing in their own half. In other words get in front on the scoreboard and force them to run with the ball in their own half. Good defence will then force them into mistakes. That is how the All Blacks won them quite comprehensively last year in Argentina. This is also how the All Blacks are going to play them this year in Argentina, I predict. Make them desperate and force them into mistakes.

This approach however requires presence and urgency at the tackle ball. The boks confused staying calm with meekness.  They had no presence and no real urgency at the tackle ball. The ball security as a consequence was lacking and they started to play the ball behind the advantage line hence the poor game by Pienaar and the multiple handling mistakes.

The boks scored 4 tries of the corner line-out in Soweto and everyone including the Argentinians knew they were going to try it again. They did so with no innovation and as expected the Pumas had some counter measures in place.

Most annoyingly the Springboks tried their first line-out drive doing exactly what they did in Soweto and did so in slow motion; with no urgency; no velocity; no explosiveness. The result they disintegrated in front of the Pumas counter rucking and the move came to nothing.

Some innovative alternative starting moves of the line-out should have been in place and would have worked because the Pumas were set on counter rucking. How the Springbok management didn’t see that coming just boggles my mind. Did they really think these guys are just going to stand there and allow them to score four lineout drive tries again? Did they really think they can do the same thing with no adjustment with regard to speed, urgency and explosiveness in the way they set the maul up?

It is this lack of foresight; this sticking to stereotype; this expectancy that opponents can not think and can be beaten ad infinitum with the same moves that is so annoying about Springbok rugby.

I know it is a young team but the Pumas did exactly what they did last year and the Springboks meekness, lack of presence, urgency and innovation was therefore extremely disappointing for this Springbok supporter.

Hopefully the boks have learned the importance of presence, urgency and innovation because if they didn’t they are going to get a hiding from both NZ and Australia.

They have been analysed and counter measures will be in place for line-out mauls and the battle at the breakdowns are going to be even fiercer than was the case in Mendoza.

Based on what I saw against the Pumas in Mendoza I have very little hope for Springbok victory in Australia and in New Zealand. The Springboks have been taken on twice -this season- at the breakdowns and in the tightloose around set piece namely by the Scots and last weekend by the Pumas; they came off second best on both occations. In fact they could (if not should) have lost both matches. If these two teams had half the attacking flair of the Aussies and the Kiwis the Springboks would have lost both matches.

You can bet your bottom dollar that both NZ and Australia have taken notice. So in spite of all the focus on the tackle ball/breakdown and ball retension skills the boks still do what they do in slow motion. They still fall apart when teams purposefully take them on with regard to physicality in the trenches.

The boks will need to outpace the Aussies and Kiwis at the tackle ball. Alberts and Duane was way off the pace against the Pumas and will have to lift their game. Juandre Kruger, Beast, Jannie and our best centre Adrian Strauss were sterling in their lack of collective energy and presence; ponderous, meek and lacking cohesiveness explosiveness.

This will have to be corrected in no uncertain terms or we are going to provide Ewan McKenzie with his first Wallaby victory. Bismarck Coenie, Kolisi and Flip will have to start against the Wallabies and the concentration levels as well as overall energy will need to be lifted.  Even so I have not seen enough explosive cohesive structure in the tight loose and at the break down to expect a decent performance by this Springbok team againt either the Aussies or the All Blacks.