Let's go home, Boks
2002-11-18 07:51
Pietermaritzburg - And you think you have problems. How would you like to be in Rudolf Straeuli's shoes as his Springboks continue breaking all the wrong records on their tour of Europe?
The Boks plumbed the very depths of mediocrity in losing 21-6 to a well-drilled, astutely-coached, well-selected Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Indeed, in the wet of Murrayfield, Scotland were everything the Springboks were not.
They kept it simple and basic in the rain, securing their set-piece possession, kicking for position and playing the game in the Bok half.
The Boks looked like they had never played together before - which, in fact, is the case.
Straeuli, touring with a bunch of rookies, made 10 changes after the French loss, fielding a new midfield pairing - a problem compounded by centre Marius Joubert's late withdrawal - a fresh pair of halves, a revamped front-row and new combinations at lock and loose forward.
Little wonder, then, that they lacked cohesion and confidence in everything they did.
No one can doubt that the players tried their damnedest, but they were operating as panicky, inexperienced individuals without a logical game plan. It was another unmitigated failure.
The lineouts were again a shambles and the scrum creaked, wheeled and retreated. The unfortunate Bolla Conradie, on his heels at scrumhalf, received ball and Scotsman together and the pressure was passed on to Butch James at flyhalf.
The result was that the Boks backline and their loose forwards were never a factor on attack.
Ball retention was again poor as Scotland took the turnover count 7-1 and won all 14 of their lineouts without bother.
Without any momentum, Bok loose forward Joe van Niekerk, a revelation in the Tri-Nations, has become almost anonymous, along with the outside threequarters.
If anything, and even allowing for the two questionable tries scored by Scotland, this defeat was worse than the one suffered against France a week earlier.
In Marseilles the Boks were at least beaten by the Six Nations champions; on Saturday they went down to the wooden spoonists. And ahead, licking their chops, are England, the world champions of Twickenham.
Straeuli has already worked his way through everyone in the squad. Where does he go from here? Home would probably be the wise choice, where he should start his World Cup preparations all over again, beginning with an experienced, battle-hardened tight five who can lay the platform for the backs and loose forwards.
Springbok captain Corne Krige later said the team's defeat was 50% due to the pressure Scotland applied and 50% due to inexperience.
"The conditions were very difficult but we still made elementary, arbitrary mistakes and we panicked when we had the ball in our hands. You cannot win a game when you cannot get the ball beyond two or three phases," said Krige.
"They were technically much better than us and they did the basic things well."
It is also fair to say that what luck was flying around on Saturday went against the Boks.
Both tries were the result of dodgy refereeing decisions, while the Boks had one - by flank Pierre Uys - disallowed for using dummy runners, a ploy successfully used by the All Blacks.
Krige, to his credit, conceded that Scotland indeed scored the first try, but wondered how the referee could have awarded it without knowing where the ball was.
But it was not a day for excuses. The Boks looked a well-beaten side simply because they could not get the basics right.
And in the wet that is asking for trouble.
The one piece of good news yesterday was that centre Joubert, who pulled out before kick-off with a shoulder injury, will be available for Saturday's game against England at Twickenham.
But, of course, it will make not a blind bit of difference unless Straeuli can somehow pull a pack of forwards out of the hat...quickly.