Ken Borland

“What is the best way to avoid an awful thrashing,” was the question uppermost in my mind on Thursday afternoon.

It’s fair to say that my mind this week has been a bit like the ocean outside Pegasus Bay, which shelters Christchurch from the wave-tossed Pacific Ocean as it crashes into the rest of New Zealand’s South Island’s rugged coastline –restless, uneasy and with thoughts of Springbok rugby’s demise pounding away.

The lack of focus became apparent in the Sunshine Tour Media Challenge on Thursday afternoon, as Musiwalo Nethunzwi, the gifted 28-year-old from Modderfontein Golf Club, quickly dominated the front nine at Glendower Golf Club to go eight-up over hapless me at the turn.

The prospect of losing 10&8 had thankfully been averted, but the ignominy of a massive defeat was very much on the cards. At the halfway house I decided the only way forward was to stick with the things (it’s a short list) that have worked in the past and I was fortunate to also bump into Thabang Simon, the Soweto Country Club professional who has been playing on tour since 1998/99.

I suspect Simon just wanted to tag along out of morbid curiosity to watch the trainsmash that is my golf – I was having a bad day so it’s probably more like the effects of a tsunami obliterating a densely-populated area – but his presence had the effect of galvanising me and I managed to win a few holes before eventually going down 5&4.

On a serious note, the difficulties our development golfers face in trying to make it as professionals is clearly illustrated by Nethunzwi. He was magnificent off the tee, long and straight, and outplayed James Kamte, the pinnacle of Black African golf in South Africa and part of our fourball, to illustrate the talent he has.

But Nethunzwi, a thoroughly affable chap as well, does not have a full-time coach, simply because he cannot afford one, providing an opportunity for corporate South Africa to help transform the game if ever I’ve seen one.

I have a feeling most Springbok fans are expecting a “5&4” defeat at the hands of the All Blacks on Saturday morning.

It’s important to note, however, that South African rugby has been through these times of mourning before.

Heyneke Meyer’s first Rugby Championship campaign in 2012 saw the Springboks draw in Argentina before losing both games in Australia and New Zealand, the All Blacks also hammering them 32-16 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

In Peter de Villiers’ first Tri-Nations tournament, in 2008, the Springboks won just one game, astonishingly against the All Blacks in Dunedin, while Jake White started superbly, but a run of five successive defeats in 2006 left him on the brink of being fired before a 77^th-minute Andre Pretorius penalty edged them to a one-point win over New Zealand in Rustenburg. Just over a year after that, the Springboks were winning the World Cup in France.

Even their 1995 triumph came after they had won just three of their previous 15 Tests against Australia, New Zealand, France and England.

The Springboks dug their way out of those troughs and came out stronger, and former star Fourie du Preez certainly believes this will be the case again.

“It’s a tough story for South African rugby at the moment and all supporters would like to believe it will get better. As a former player though, I can tell you that this experience now will really count in their favour further down the line. I remember before the 2007 World Cup it was the same for us.

“When the Springboks have their backs against the wall, they always stand up and we still have great players. I just don’t understand why we have to wait until we’re under such pressure though. It’s very unfortunate that the new coach was appointed just four weeks before his first Test and he’s going through a tough time as well,” Du Preez said.

The inspirational scrumhalf was speaking in studio as part of The Dan Nicholl Show, which so often puts matters of South African sport in perspective. The first episode of season four, which has Du Preez in the line-up, will be broadcast on Wednesday at 7pm on SuperSport 1.

Former South Africa captain Victor Matfield believes Fourie du Preez would be “a great choice” to lead the Springboks in next month’s three-test series against England.

New national coach Heyneke Meyer seriously considered bringing lock Matfield himself out of retirement to lead the Springboks, but an International Rugby Board ruling that retired players cannot play test rugby within six months of making their comeback scuppered that idea.

Scrumhalf Du Preez, who is currently playing his rugby in Japan for Suntory Goliath, has been widely named in South African media as the next Springbok captain, although it is believed contractual obligations to his club could rule him out of the first test against England.

“Fourie would be a great choice as captain, I think he would do very well. It’s important that the captain knows exactly how Heyneke wants to play – he will be his voice on the field. Plus he’s a fantastic player and everyone has huge respect for him,” Matfield told Reuters on Wednesday.

Du Preez, who boasts one of the most accurate tactical kicking boots in world rugby, was an integral part of the Blue Bulls teams that won four Currie Cups and a SuperRugby title under Meyer’s coaching between 2000 and 2007 and would fit seamlessly into the structure-based game plan the new Springbok coach is known to favour.

“In terms of tactics, there’s nobody better than Fourie and he is a guy who Heyneke will trust. The kicking game is still very important in international rugby, but Fourie also gives flow to the game. Everyone talks about his kicking, but people forget that he is also brilliant with the way he puts other players into space. Guys like Francois Hougaard [Springbok scrumhalf in waiting] and Morne Steyn [flyhalf] can still learn a lot from him,” Matfield said.

Du Preez was acknowledged as the architect of South Africa’s march to the 2007 World Cup crown, adding pace from the base of the scrums and rucks and brilliant reading of the game to his superb kicking skills, especially when the Springboks whitewashed England 36-0 in the pool stages.

There has been speculation that the 30-year-old Du Preez would lack the sharpness required for international rugby after spending the last season playing in the less intense Japanese league, but Matfield said it would be a fresh “general” that would take the field for the Springboks.

“I haven’t seen him play over there, but we’ve done a bit of training together. Talking to him, he’s very confident, he’s been playing very well and he said it’s the best he’s felt for a long time, he doesn’t have any niggling injuries. I definitely think he’ll be able to make the step up to test rugby,” Matfield said.

Of his own potential comeback, Matfield said: “The hope of playing again was exciting and it was a serious possibility. But it’s never 100% possible, we tried to get things in place but it just wasn’t allowed.”

The Springbok squad to play England in the three-test series will be announced in Pretoria on Saturday.