­
  • Home
  • Match Centre
  • Vodacom URC
  • Videos
  • Cars
    • Cheap cars for sale
    • Used Cars For Sale
    • New Cars For Sale
    • Demo Cars For Sale
  • Deals
    • One Day Deals
    • Nationwide Deals
      • Deals in Cape Town
      • Deals in Johannesburg
      • Deals in Durban
      • Deals in Pretoria
      • Deals in Port Elizabeth
    • Accommodation Deals
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Food and Drink Deals
    • Experiences
    • Health and Wellness Deals
    • Beauty and Spa Deals
  • BLACKOUT RUGBY MANAGER

SA Rugby magazine

South African rugby news, interviews, videos and more. Covering the Springboks, Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, Cheetahs and Lions, as well as schools and club rugby.

Primary Menu Search
  • Home
  • Match Centre
  • Vodacom URC
  • Videos
  • Cars
    • Cheap cars for sale
    • Used Cars For Sale
    • New Cars For Sale
    • Demo Cars For Sale
  • Deals
    • One Day Deals
    • Nationwide Deals
      • Deals in Cape Town
      • Deals in Johannesburg
      • Deals in Durban
      • Deals in Pretoria
      • Deals in Port Elizabeth
    • Accommodation Deals
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Food and Drink Deals
    • Experiences
    • Health and Wellness Deals
    • Beauty and Spa Deals
  • BLACKOUT RUGBY MANAGER
You are here: Home ∼ Mediocre Boks fail to inspire

Mediocre Boks fail to inspire

Published on August 22, 2016 | Leave a response

The Springboks are rich in enthusiasm but poor in form, writes MARK KEOHANE in Business Day.

The collective lacks substance, and individuals again won SA a Test that was in the balance with less than five minutes to go.

The Boks this season have lost one Test at home and won three against Ireland and Argentina. Ireland lacked the class and frontline players to punish the Springboks, and Argentina didn’t have the discipline or composure to win in Nelspruit when they led 23-13 with 12 minutes to play.

Home support has lifted the Boks in the final quarter this season. The comebacks have been lauded, but there must be context to the quality of the opposition because Ireland and Argentina are not the benchmark of excellence.

The Boks won against the Pumas and for that every South African will be grateful, but to gloss over the woes of those first 68 minutes is to invite hardship as the Rugby Championship unfolds.

It’s been a struggle for the Springboks in 2016, from the opening Test defeat against Ireland at Newlands, to the second Test at Ellis Park, the third in Port Elizabeth and again against Argentina.

The courage of the players can’t be denied, so too the passion of the fans. The locals have willed their team to victory and certain individuals have sparkled when the moment demanded a big play.

But this won’t suffice against the best teams in the world and currently the Boks don’t count in the top two. There’s New Zealand, incomparable at present, a resurgent England and the rest, among them the Boks.

Surely the demands of the Boks must be more, and so too the expectations.

Springbok coach Allister Coetzee’s selections have been questionable. He has picked on reputation ahead of form. How else do you explain Francois Louw’s continued selection ahead of Jaco Kriel, the outstanding Lions loose forward. Kriel has been brilliant all season and Louw struggled against Ireland and the Pumas.

Louw, a quality player, looks short on fitness and confidence. He has battled injury with Bath this year and yet he has been preferred to SA’s form loose forward in Super Rugby.

The Lions pack was the pick of the South African teams in Super Rugby, but national representation in the four Tests has been kept to a minimum. It is as baffling as it is disappointing.

The Lions put 50 points past the Jaguares in Super Rugby, and the Pumas are the Jaguares in another guise. To excuse the lack of quality in the Boks' performance is to insult the pedigree of the many fine players in the Bok squad.

The effort in Nelspruit was depressing because it offered so little for so long. Individuals fashioned another big escape, but three escapes is three too many when playing at home.

This weekend the Boks won’t have the luxury of home comforts and it will demand more science than spirit to win away from home. There has to be a huge improvement in cohesion, in structure and in control if the Boks are to triumph.

It’s the quality of performance that has been unconvincing all season. There have been short bursts of explosiveness but it’s been more out of desperation.

The pack has yet to assert itself and the back play has been a story of individuals and not a unit. These are early days for Coetzee as national coach, but they have been uninspiring.

The believers do so out of loyalty. Those who rightfully doubt the capability of the Boks to challenge the All Blacks do so because of the rugby on display.

Coetzee has played several different combinations in the four Tests, but the loose trio is one that asks more questions than it gives answers and the midfield of Damian de Allande and Lionel Mapoe hasn’t convinced.

Faf de Klerk at scrumhalf has energised the Boks and been responsible for much of the winning euphoria. He may be the smallest in the squad but his contribution has been the biggest.

To accept what has been on offer in the four Tests this year is to accept mediocrity and to accept second place.

The hard questions must be asked if the Boks are to once again seek excellence and not be content with mere survival.

Photo: AFP Photo/Getty Images

Posted in Uncategorized

Post by SA Rugby magazine

SA Rugby magazine

Check out Blackout Rugby Manager HERE!

← Previous Next →

Sevens’ party falls flat

World Rugby shouldn’t have messed with a winning sevens formula, writes SIMON...

Draining format clogs Blitzboks’ blockage

A protracted schedule took the wind out of South Africa's sails at...

England cut Eddie, Razor to stop the bleeding

England have made the rash decision to part ways with coach Eddie...

Rassie ref hom in die rooi

Rassie Erasmus is hardly the embarrassment that some are making him out...

Cut and paste Kurt-Lee for Kolbe

Kurt-Lee Arendse ticks all the right boxes to replace the injured Cheslin...

Rassie auditions for England job

Rassie Erasmus has made the most calculated of public job applications to...

Boks need to make mentality adjustment

The Springboks need to lose their underdog mentality, writes SIMNIKIWE XABANISA in...

Kolbe’s worth every penny

Cheslin Kolbe’s big-money move to Toulon should be welcomed as a massive...

‘Bok gameplan, when executed correctly, is hard to match’

The opportunity to play against the All Blacks is a career highlight...

Five key areas the Boks need to dominate for first victory

SA Rugby magazine highlights five crucial areas the Boks will need to...

Top six: Best and worst foreign imports

SARugbymag.co.za identifies six of the best and worst foreign players to play...

Column: When context is needed

As highlighted by the Argentina controversy, ‘cancel culture’ needs a spoonful of...

Dark cloud hangs over WP Rugby

The problems at Western Province Rugby are layered, and everyone involved needs...

From the mag: Foreign Favourites

As Vodacom Super Rugby turned 25 this year, JON CARDINELLI picks an...

Bulls rookies to watch

After a massive exodus of players the Vodacom Bulls will be eager...

Analysis: The new suffocate-and-strangle game

For the Boks to emerge as World Cup winners, they need to...

VIEW MORE
  • Bonus-point Bulls douse Dragons
  • Munster maul luckless Lions
  • Stormers sign off 2022 in style
  • Sharks carve Bulls on New Year’s Eve

Jacques Burger’s Perfect XV

    BKT United Rugby Championship, Scotstoun, Glasgow, Scotland 8/1/2023 Glasgow Warriors vs DHL Stormers Stormers' Damian Willemse Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Craig Watson
  • Highlights: Heartbreak for Stormers in Glasgow thriller

###


COVID-19 Corona Virus
South African Resource Portal

African Insider
African Insider News

ABOUT

  • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Videos
  • Player Features
  • Subscribe
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy Policy

TOURNAMENTS

    • Rugby Championship
    • Super Rugby
    • Currie Cup
    • Varsity Cup
    • Gold Cup
    • Schools
    • Six Nations
    • Champions Cup
    • World Cup
    • Challenge Cup

OPINION

  • Mallett on SuperSport
  • Cardinelli column
  • Lewis column
  • Xabanisa column
  • Borchardt column
  • Superbru

Primary Menu

  • Home
  • Match Centre
  • Vodacom URC
  • Videos
  • Cars
    • Cheap cars for sale
    • Used Cars For Sale
    • New Cars For Sale
    • Demo Cars For Sale
  • Deals
    • One Day Deals
    • Nationwide Deals
      • Deals in Cape Town
      • Deals in Johannesburg
      • Deals in Durban
      • Deals in Pretoria
      • Deals in Port Elizabeth
    • Accommodation Deals
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Food and Drink Deals
    • Experiences
    • Health and Wellness Deals
    • Beauty and Spa Deals
  • BLACKOUT RUGBY MANAGER