No kind words from Mallett

2002-11-13 21:59

Hendrik Cronje

Bloemfontein - Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett had a lot to say about current coach Rudolf Straeuli and his team after they were beaten comprehensively by France in Marseilles and none of it was good.

He warned Straeuli's team to lift their game by at least 50% or risk suffering a second defeat when they take on Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Mallett said the Springboks played without a gameplan and that their performance in the scrums and lineouts was shocking.

Mallett, who attended the weekend's Test, said it was the poorest display he saw by a Springbok team in the past five years.

"The first half was even worse than when Harry Viljoen's team lost 20-10 to the French in Paris last year," Mallett said.

Mallett believes the French should be disappointed that they did not win by an even bigger margin because the final score flattered the Boks.

"Our play in the lineouts was pathetic. The Springboks had no variation and the scrums were not much better."

What worries Mallett most is that there was no apparent organisation. "One cannot play Test rugby without a plan. At the same time you should also try and retain possession."

Individual brilliance

Although the Springboks showed signs of brilliance during the Tri-Nations, Mallett thinks that South African fans were deceived by individual brilliance of Werner Greeff (fullback) against New Zealand and Brent Russell (wing/flyhalf) against Australia. "At least the Boks kept their possession in the Tri-Nations."

"Scotland are not as strong as England, France or Ireland, but the Boks would need to improve if they do not want to pay a very expensive price," Mallett added.

He said Straeuli could end up in the same boat as Harry Viljoen if the Springboks are defeated by the English.

"Under Rudolf the Springboks played five Tests against the big names like England, France, Australia and New Zealand of which they lost four and won only one.

"As coach you want to measure yourself against the top teams. You want to play countries like Tonga, Samoa and Argentina to improve your CV, but the true test is always against teams like the Wallabies, All Blacks, and England," Mallett said.

- Volksblad