Brendan Venter

Nick Mallett once famously stated that you don’t necessarily have to be the best coach in the world but rather the smartest selector to attain a consistent level of success at the highest level.

I wholly concur with such a sentiment and would suggest that the core of professional coaching achievement essentially stems from discovering the right blend in terms of playing personnel.

However, it’s important to stress that although said recipe is relatively well-known within top-level coaching circles, the ingredients often prove challenging to source and assemble.

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At present, Heyneke Meyer is experiencing something of a selection conundrum. While there is no absolute formula for squad selection and composition, the Springbok side appears imbalanced.

Upon technical analysis, it’s clear for me that the Springbok class of 2014 fundamentally lack players with genuine ball-carrying ability – although they are heavy, they lack explosive pace.

As a direct result, Meyer has recently dabbled with the likes of Lood de Jager, Handre Pollard and Damian de Allende in the starting side. While said players impressed individually, they struggled to stamp their authority as a collective force.

Having narrowly escaped defeat to Argentina in Salta, Meyer has returned to a core of experienced players, such as a fit-again Victor Matfield and Morne Steyn, ahead of the encounter with Australia.

While the 37-year-old possesses a wealth of experience and his decision-making ability – particularly in the line-outs – is second to none, the law of physics dictates that the lock forward simply cannot jump as high, run as fast and be as physical as he was, say ten years ago.

Meanwhile, Steyn is simply not the type of player that poses a significant threat to defence structures with ball in hand. I believe the art of being a successful ball-carrier rests upon three key pillars: weight, speed and evasive ability.

Some players possess all three of the above qualities, while others only enjoy one or two, at most.

In Bryan Habana’s case, I believe there will come a time when the veteran’s work-rate and decision-making ability will have to be weighed up against his raw but diminishing game-breaking ability.

The reality is that the 2007 World Cup-winner is no longer an out-and-out ball-carrying threat.

The crux of the matter is that ball-carrying ability is linked to speed, of which there is no substitute, and age. As a player, speed is the one critical element you lose as the aging process takes effect.

Moreover, rugby union remains a game punctuated by physical prowess and explosive power.

Of concern ahead of Saturday’s test match in Perth is the fact that the Wallabies boast a surfeit of explosive ball-carriers in their armour and could expose the Springboks’ ball-carrying deficiencies.

Captain Michael Hopper may be small in stature but possesses genuine game-breaking ability and explosiveness. And in Wycliff Palu, the Wallabies have a bulldozing force from the back of the scrum.

Meanwhile, in their backline, Israel Folau’s physical presence and threat to the defensive alignment is undeniable, as is Kurtley Beale, who curiously starts from the wood this weekend.

I believe the dearth of effective ball-carriers selected in the Springbok side has reached a crisis point.

In Salta, Eben Etzebeth represented the primary ball-carrier in Meyer’s run-on forward pack, which is why the return of Marcell Coetzee to the starting line-up should not be understated.

Coetzee’s 28-minute cameo in Argentina, underlined the player’s considerable ball-carrying ability. The flank made a notable impact due to his physical presence and ability to get over the gain-line.

Meanwhile, in our back division, worryingly the creative magic ostensibly stems from Willie le Roux. I believe the fullback stands alone as the player that possesses the requisite speed and evasive ability.