Heading into a World Cup, does one opt for creativity or reliability?

In rugby, your more conservative coaches used to believe in a golden line. A line that went straight through the heart of any team, and in fact formed the beat of many a team.  The math was simple. You draw a straight line starting with the hooker, passing both the locks, running through the eightman, the scrumhalf, flyhalf and eventually ending up with the fullback. These were the positions that one would prefer your more experienced players, calming things down whenever the bounce of the ball seems to be bouncing in favour of the opposition.

John Smit, Sean Fitzpatrick, John Eales, Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Fourie du Preez, Johnny Wilkinson, Dan Carter, Percy Montgomery and Andre Joubert are all perfect examples of

players illustrating what the Golden Line in rugby exemplifies. They are all match winners in own right but prefer the spotlight on the chap next to them, playing with an attitude of “ nothing flashy, just do the basics right”. 

Some coaches on the contrary, prefer not to believe in the Golden Line and fancy their playmakers in the exact same positions, and no example could be more suitable than Carlos Spencer, Quade Cooper, Zinzane Brooke and Isreal Felou. These are all game breakers who tend to steal the show and believe to be in exactly the right position to do so…

Following Springbok rugby quite closely, I sense that Heinike Meyer might be at a split road, especially regarding his first choice fullback. Over the last three seasons, Heinike Meyer has invested quite heavily in Willie Le Roux, the young boy that stole South African hearts by running at every opportunity he got. Le Roux played a major part on all levels of the game, and very quickly became one of the senior players in the Cheetah camp. Naka Drotsky unleashed Le Roux into Super rugby as a wing and to his delight Le Roux made a massive impact in their campaign. Although the Cheetahs were more often than not on the wrong side of the score board, Le Roux was instrumental in almost every counter attack and every try scored. 

In 2013 Le Roux made his Springbok debut and has since established himself as the number 1 contender for the nr 15 jumper. With Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana entering the final phase of their careers, Le Roux has stepped up as the playmaker and the one sparking fire of unpredictability. He is undoubtedly the man with the X-factor in the Springbok backline and has the ability to generate 7 points from a stop-start.

Meanwhile in the shadow of a poor Super rugby campaign and a serious neck injury, HM still has the option of Patrick Lambie to consider. Lambie has proven himself on more than one occasion as Mr. reliable and a player loaded with big match temperament. The typical “nothing flashy” type of guy that does all the basics right, and making it look easy too. He always seems to be in full control and just has this calmness about him. This is the perfect candidate for any coach who still believes in the Golden line.

To chose between the two is a bit like choosing between BMW and Mercedes Benz in the late 80’s. The one is this incredible sporty ride with leather seats, while the other one is this ridiculously elegant drive with a touch of sportiness… in the end they were both equally quick and you will most certainly reach your destination in both, the only question was how you prefer getting there. I tend to opt with Patrick Lambie and here’s why.

Willie le Roux is a far better rugby player than he is a fullback, meaning that he has this raw type of talent that will excel in almost any position, as long as he is on the park. Spotting gaps and running angles at high speed comes naturally for this bloke and it’s not something that can be taught, but rather something that you are born with. Such skills can be developed but you either have it or you don’t. Playing from the back against ordinary opposition, Willie le Roux will tear you apart. Just the other day he ran in three tries against the World XV.

The flip side though, is that against real quality opposition like the All Blacks, he might be neutralized by them playing strategic footy. With proper analyzing they can starve le Roux of the ball and whenever he enters the line he will ultimately leave a void at the back. Because of this, I much rather prefer le Roux on the wing. It makes it so much easier for him to enter that first five eight channel and to fire out one of his trademark bullet passes to a speedster running flat and into a gap. It opens up the option of a little chip kick without leaving the back uncovered. Opposition is to be so much more aware of the blind side with Le Roux possibly in that channel. 

Its seriously much easier to cover a wing out of position, compared to covering a fullback on the deck and both wingers having to play towards their own goal line.

Patrick Lambie offers you quite the opposite, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With 40 test caps Lambie has this mature approach, creating a sense of security at the back. He is capable under the high ball, very seldom gets caught off guard or out of position and when touch is needed he makes sure that the ball crosses the white marker. Both South Africa’s WC winning teams consisted of a fullback rather opting for a calm, steady approach and ones who left the flashy stuff to the wingers and centers.

Being the motor fanatic that I am, I would leave my Beamers out on the wing to show off their speed and skill, while the Benz who epitomizes consistency, stability and reliability takes charges from the back and insures the Golden Line to stay intact.         

Rating the Boks on their performance against the World XV

    1.      Tendai Mtwarira :    5/10

Very average performance before being substituted for obtaining quite a bad cut to the face.

   

    2.      Bismarck du Plessis    6/10

Did all the basics right but was ultimately outclassed by for former Sharks teammate Craig Burden.

    3.       Jannie du Plessis    4/10

Failed to get the upper hand in the scrums and needed his contact lenses reinserted in order to spot the opposition.

    4.       Eben Etsebeth   8/10

Got stuck into the more physical stuff and slowly starting to show signs of the Etsabeth of old.

    5.       Victor Matfield.  06/10

Glad to see Big Vic going for the full 80. Except for competing for a spot on the wing, had a pretty good game and combined well with Etsabeth.

    6.       Francois Louw    05/10

Not the performance we have become accustomed to. Was far below the radar and gave his team some defensive practice by spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.

    7.       Marcell Coetzee   08/10

Got smashed on a couple occasions in the first 40, but certainly got up tougher and made a few hits good enough to dominate the highlight real. A complete performance and certainly a candidate for man of the match.

    8.       Warren Whiteley   07/10

Played quite a balanced game and seem to pop up everywhere when least expected. 

    9.       Ruan Pienaar    6/10

Did nothing spectacular and was out runned by opposition hooker Craig Burden on two occasions. If not for experience, he would have possibly been warming the bench…

   10.   Handre Pollard. 6/10

Though he made one or two poor tactical kicking errors during a 13 man period, he played a good running and distributing game. Substandard placekicking for a international player with his abilities.

   11.   Bryan Habana 5/10

Playing on reputation and one would expect more from him in a high running game of this nature. Made an exceptional pass that lead to a try though.

   12.   Damian de Allende   9/10

The real stand out player of the day. Ran great angles, scored two tries and were physically and defensively a real menace to the opposition. 

   13.   Jesse Kriel   7/10

Made a great debut, especially considering the fact that he did not play in his preferred position. Seems to run good supporting lines and might just turn out as the find of the season.

   14.   JP Pieterson    06/10

Nothing spectacular but did his job and did it convincingly.

   15.   Willie le Roux    07/10

Recovered quite well after having three blunders in the first 20 minutes. Scored a hatric of tries and glad to see him playing with confidence after suffering from injury. Better opposition will obviously test his positional game and some might still argue that Willie would perform best on wing.

The guys on the bench made a big impact and none bigger than Vincent Koch and Schalk Burger. Between Koch and Trevor Nyakane they brought stability to the scrums. Koch made a couple of big hits and covered the park like a loose forward. Adriaan Strauss seems to have found some of his lost form. Oupa Mahoje did his part while Burger was quite instrumental. The veteran losie doesn’t have the speed anymore but does seem to have a skill set to get the flyers away. Cobus Reinach recovered well from injury, scored a try and might get the starting jumper soon. Patrick Lambie brought some calmness and stability to the back and slotted both conversions with ease.  You could literally hear the whole Newlands crowd holding their breath when Jean de Villiers got his first tackle. This shows what a phenomenal player and leader he has become. Still lacking speed, but good to see Jean stepping off both knees with confidence. 

Preparation equals perfection.

Preparation equals perfection.

When looking forward to rugby’s most prestigious tournament later this year, one can’t help but revert back to the past.

I found myself wondering as to what the blue print should be for a World Cup winning coach, and the only answer I could come up with, was proper preparation.

Upon my blast into the past I tried to find a parallel between Kitch Christi and Jake White, both men who were able to guide the Springboks to World Cup glory. My conclusions were discussed over a couple of beers with mates and the one thing that stood out most was the fact that these two coaches had shown so much continuity in their players and their positions. They both went into a World Cup

with captains that might not be remembered for being the absolute best at their positions, but for their undeniable leadership skills and ultimately for holding the William Webb Ellis Trophy on behalf of 46 odd million South Africans celebrating and uniting, not only as rugby fans but as a nation.  

In the days of oom Kitch, there was no question as to who would wear what jumper. We all knew his first choice hooker was Bullet, the locks was big old Kobus Wiese and Hannes Strydom. Flankers was Ruben Kruger and Francois Pienaar. Joost operating as the main link, Hennie and Japie playing in the midfield and the Rolls Royce covering at the back. Now you might argue that this was before rugby had turned professional and rightly so, but Jake White had the same approach and eventually tasted the same champagne in 2007.

Thinking back, there was very little time for any critics to accuse Jake of not being consistent regarding first team choices. Jake White knew very well two years before travelling to France who the 15 men was he would want in any final. Except for a injury here and there, Jake stuck to his team and as a team they played and won!

Of all South African coaches taking charge after oom Kitch, Nick Mallet was the only one to show some consistency. This was now until Jake took over. Jake had a tendency to pick players out of position quite regularly but in doing so he had this unbelievable way of phasing in youngsters and getting the balance spot on. He created real legends for not only the Springboks but for the whole global community of rugby. In 2004/2005 De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert had covered the midfield for the Springboks but JW knew they might not have four years of quality international games left in the tank, so he drew in a very young inside centre from Western Province and a even younger outside centre from the Lions in the form of Jean De Villiers and Bryan Habana respectively.

They didn’t just replace De Wet and Marius but rather seemed to be phased in by starting out on the wing, gaining confidence and experience. Bryan did so well on the outside that today he is regarded as one of the best wings to ever have played the game. Same chapter in the book of a young Francois Steyn and Patrick Lambe. JW also seems to have a talent for taking risks, and investing heavily in second chances….

He brought back guys like Os du Randt, Percy Montgomery and Bobby Skinstad, who were all seemingly written off by the media, and who evidently played a fundamental part in their 2007 WC campaign. He took Ashwin Willimse off the streets of Jozi and later in his career got South African born centre Clide Rathbone to return to the game after suffering from depression…. This is not only a rugby man, but a man who believes in building relationships, developing youngsters and one who offers great loyalty to all his players. 

All that said, I’m very concerned about the Springboks not finding the right balance between youth and experience. The pressure to win every single match has deprived coaches of taking chances, developing the young guns and creating new combinations. Pieter de Villiers played out his stint with the exact same core as the one that stood tall in France 2007. De Villiers failed to develop any of the younger players and I felt quite a bit for HM when he took over as coach, because his main core was well overdone while the squad lacked young talent. Four years after the Bryce Lawrance incident we still have to play with Fourie du Preez and Ruan Pienaar. I find this mind blowing considering the talent we had to our disposal. Should Pienaar pick up an injury, we would have to compete with a debutant in what’s probably the most crucial position on the pitch. Same can be said about our props. For way to long have we been counting on the services of Jannie and Beast. The Stormers created havoc in the scrums this year but neither Steven Kitshoff or Vincent Koch has played in the Northern Hemisphere, let alone has a test cap….

I would have liked to see a scenario where Senior WC winners like Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Os du Randt and Percy Montgomery all form part of the Springbok squad as technical assistants rather than players. They would have brought so much insight and probably added great value inside the camp.

Injuries obviously did take its toll on some players leading up to the WC, one can’t argue about that, but I am yet to be convinced that HM has a proper blueprint come September…. By this time the second best team in the world should surely have cemented out nametags to the Green & Gold jumpers with their first, second and third team choices. The fact that we need a rugby Championship 2 months prior to the WC to contemplate selections and combinations is not only alarming, but in fact disturbing.

One could only hope that sanity will somehow prevail at SARU and that they will apprehend the fact that you sometimes have to sacrifice games, in order to win trophies!