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!