Ken Borland

Bulls coach Jake White has been able to run the rule over his young assets in the last two games and he declared himself well-pleased after they secured an impressive 48-31 win over the Pumas in Nelspruit on Tuesday night.

Only eight members of the squad that won the Currie Cup final have been involved in the preparation series matches against Eastern Province and now the Pumas, as White has chosen largely youthful line-ups comprising the fringe talent at Loftus Versfeld.

“What I’ve enjoyed the most is that this team has an average age of 22. A guy like Jan-Hendrik Wessels [prop] is still U20, Reinhardt Ludwig [lock] was still in matric last year at Affies. So I’m chuffed we have some nice depth going forward and this will be a good team if we can keep them together.

“There was some over-agerness, with tighthead props and scrumhalves taking tap-and-goes and then knocking on, but that’s the thing with youthfulness and having a young side – they can make mistakes,” White said afer the match.

The Buls led 27-17 at halftime and stretched that lead to 41-17 on the hour mark, before conceding two late tries, but White said he still valued the defensive effort in the second half.

“I’m sure neither defence coach will be that happy with the first half. We gave them 17 points in the first 21 minutes, but then they did not score again until the 70^th minute, even though I’m sure [coach] Jimmy Stonehouse gave them a rev at halftime and it was always going to be difficult for us in te second half. Our defence was much stronger in the scond half,” White said.

It is a run of defeats that South African captain Jean de Villiers has admitted rankles him, the veteran of 79 Tests having played against far better Wallabies teams since making his debut in 2002.

Australia’s five straight wins against South Africa is a record for them, but they have also won seven of the last eight meetings.

De Villiers said Friday that that record is “simply not good enough. That can never be acceptable and this team has now inherited that record, so it’s our job to rectify that.”

De Villiers also added that the 2012 Springbok class is a distinct team to last year’s, pointing out that they were responsible for six of those seven defeats. But there was more than just a hint of mental block when South Africa thoroughly dominated the Wallabies in the first half in Perth but failed to put them away.

What sets Saturday’s Springbok side apart from the teams that have lost in previous years is the presence of Johan Goosen at flyhalf.

The 20-year-old has the all-round game to trouble the visitors with ball-in-hand, he engages the defence and seems to have a marvellous temperament for one so young. Plus he is in good form with the boot and a strong defender.

If the Springbok pack once again gives 100 percent and plays like they did in Dunedin against the All Blacks, then Goosen should have the platform to enjoy a successful debut start.

De Villiers admitted on Friday that the forwards were doing most of the hard work lately and that it was time for the backline to contribute.

“The forwards have really stood up, even though they are the less experienced players, they got us close in the last two Tests and the backs now need to catch up,” he said.

While the hunger of the team is not in doubt, they will obviously require more than that to beat a team with the smarts of Australia. The inexperience of the forwards suggests they could fall prey to the trap of trying too hard and making mistakes as a result.

The challenge, de Villiers said, is to not get too excited.

“That was probably shown by Dean Greyling against the All Blacks. He really wanted the opportunity to show what he could do, he was so psyched up and he really got the guys going in the changeroom before the game. But then he came out and made one or two poor decisions,” De Villiers said.

South Africa have played well enough to beat both Australia and New Zealand away from home, but it is the decision-making of the Springboks (and missed kicks) that has prevented them from turning their dominance into points on the scoreboard.

“We need to step up for 80 minutes, some soft moments cost us in the other games. The margins are very small in Test rugby, one or two mistakes and you find yourself 10 points behind.

“We’ve definitely created opportunities to score, but I believe playing for 80 minutes is the problem. We need to improve on those small mistakes,” the captain said.

Lady Luck will also no doubt have her say in what is expected to be a fast-paced game that will fully test the bodies of the Springboks.

The Australian pack has shown the ability to absorb the physicality of the Springboks and then up the pace and spread the ball in the latter stages, and nobody will be surprised if their new starting flyhalf, Kurtley Beale, dashes and darts from the outset in an effort to move the home side around as much as possible.

“Beale is a classy player and it’s quite a tantalising prospect to see him and Johan Goosen against each other in their first starts at flyhalf. Kurtley has shown what he can do at Test level and he’s also shown what he can do at flyhalf in SuperRugby. We need to be up for it defensively because he’s definitely going to test us,” De Villiers admitted.

Teams:

South Africa: 15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Bryan Habana, 13-Jaco Taute, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Johan Goosen, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Francois Louw, 5-Andries Bekker, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Pat Cilliers, 18-Flip van der Merwe, 19-Marcell Coetzee, 20-Elton Jantjies, 21-Juan de Jongh, 22-Pat Lambie.

Australia: 15-Berrick Barnes, 14-Dominic Shipperley, 13-Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12-Pat McCabe, 11-Digby Ioane, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Nick Phipps, 8-Radike Samo, 7-Michael Hooper, 6-Dave Dennis, 5-Nathan Sharpe, 4-Kane Douglas, 3-Ben Alexander, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16-Saia Fainga’a, 17-James Slipper, 18-Rob Simmons, 19-Scott Higginbotham/Mike Harris, 20-Liam Gill, 21-Brett Sheehan, 22-Anthony Fainga’a.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-28-rugby-championship-test-sprinkboks-hungry-for-wallaby-meat/#.WnhFva6WbIU

The Springboks’ humiliating defeat in Durban last weekend was a painful reminder of the gulf in quality that exists between the administration and structure of the game in New Zealand and back here in South Africa, with All Blacks coach Steve Hansen making sure to mention the decision-makers in their rugby when he was asked for the reasons behind their world record equalling run of 17 successive wins.

A solid structure from schoolboys to the Springboks is what is needed for our rugby to remain amongst the best in the world, not yet another overhaul of the national team and their coaches; that’s just treating the symptom, shuffling people around, and does not address the root cause of our problems.

And, as great as next week’s Rugby Indaba sounds – except for the unfortunate two coaches who have their preparations for the Currie Cup final disrupted (another example of Saru’s awful treatment of their flagship competition) – it’s not going to address our real problems either. There might be some good ideas about game plans and what-not, but the coaches and the franchise CEOs do not have the power to change the structural failings in rugby, that lies with the South African Rugby Union and their turkeys who will steadfastly not vote for Christmas.

Below the national sides, there should just be six teams playing fully professional rugby based in the major cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein. And those six unions should have the power in South African rugby, not the eight lesser unions, largely amateurish and as relevant as dinosaurs, which are currently the tail that wags the dog.

Below that, all 14 unions can have semi-professional teams, but the amount of money that can be saved by only having six fully professional teams and by eight economically unviable organisations no longer drawing over R20 million a year in Saru grants could go a long way towards keeping our players in the country.

Just like in New Zealand, talented rugby players must fight for a limited number of professional contracts through their performances at club level, that lead to them playing for their provinces and then being chosen for a Super Rugby deal.

The vast majority of schoolboy players in New Zealand don’t become professional rugby players when they finish their education. They go to university and play rugby there, or play for their local club side while working, which is why so many All Blacks have had interesting occupations like lumberjack, piano mover or, as in the case of Aaron Smith, apprentice hairdresser.

It’s a system that builds character and ensures only the fittest and hungriest players survive to reach the top.

Good schoolboy players in South Africa should be lauded in their school hall and with selection for provincial and national schoolboy teams; not with professional contracts and way too much exposure on television.

There is far too great an emphasis on schoolboy rugby in South Africa and that just creates entitled, spoilt players, wastes a lot of late-developing talent, kills our clubs and also gets in the way of transformation in many cases.

This is not to say that our current Springboks and their management are beyond blame. The All Blacks have a relentless drive to improve on and off the field every day, they see every challenge as a means of getting better.

Do our Springboks and their coaching staff have that same hunger? The same desire to do whatever it takes? Because it will also come down to that if they are going to close the gap with the All Blacks.

Any top professional sportsman worth his salt would turn a record 57-15 hammering at home into motivation to lift their conditioning and skills to new levels.

The South African cricket team has just completed an historic 5-0 series whitewash of world champions Australia, with captain Faf du Plessis saying a culture camp they held before the start of the summer has ensured that they are now playing as a team again and, most importantly, are really challenging each other to be better.

Now that’s the sort of indaba that could be useful for our rugby players and coaches, but the administrators still need to make the major, unselfish changes that will really benefit the game in this country.

We are constantly being told that hockey is a dying game in South Africa, unloved by the politicians that run sport in this country and struggling to stay afloat as an amateur pursuit in this professional day and age.

But when I spent last week at the Senior Interprovincial Nationals – the most prestigious interprovincial tournament – in Randburg, I was delighted to be reacquainted with a vibrant sport that has passionate followers and a festive culture of its own.

At the top level, where our best hockey players continue to be denied opportunities to play on the biggest stages like the Olympics, there are obvious frustrations, but hockey is the epitome of a mass-participation sport at school, university and club level.

I was told stories of how traditional rugby schools are now finding greater numbers of children wanting to play hockey rather than the oval-ball game.

And in terms of transformation, the South African Hockey Association (Saha) have a good story to tell with numerous players of colour involved at IPT, including several Black coaches. The SA U21 team that made the men’s final included eight players of colour, including six Black Africans.

Saha’s wise policy of humouring and engaging with Sascoc and the minister of sport has paid off with Fikile Mbalula announcing a R10 million injection into hockey’s coffers two weeks ago.

Hockey has been operating on shoestring budgets ever since I began reporting on it back in the early 1990s, so any financial input is most welcome. It’s a well-known fact that our top players have been paying their own way to compete and represent South Africa, something Tubby Reddy and Gideon Sam of Sascoc should choke on the next time they sit down for their sumptuous dinner on their next first-class flight to their next jaunt.

Due to these financial constraints, hockey, at top level, has been forced to become a sport for the young. Once the stars leave their places of tertiary education, the demands of work make it just about impossible for them to dedicate the time they need to remaining in peak shape for the game. It was noticeable how young most of the teams at IPT looked, to such an extent that it reminded me of an U21 interprovincial.

A handful of internationals have been able to become professional players in Europe.

Like cricket, it’s probably fair to say that hockey had its stronghold in English-speaking areas like Natal, Cape Town and Johannesburg, but this has changed dramatically. Northerns, with many Tuks students in their ranks, won the women’s IPT and Afrikaans schools have taken to the game with gusto, as they have to cricket. There is already an explosion of interest amongst the Coloured and Black communities.

In terms of marketing, hockey has much going for it. It has a strong youth flavour (which is always attractive) but it is a sport entire families can participate in, with leagues running from the youngsters through to the Masters, from highly-competitive to social. It is also a game that is evolving into a high-speed, highly entertaining spectacle thanks to the work of the FIH, the international body, in tinkering with the rules.

Saha president Mike du Plessis was telling me about the exciting plans they have for festivals of five-a-side hockey in which the whole family can be involved at the same venue.

Hockey should not be embarrassed that it needs money, sometimes the local game suffers under the impression that they are the ugly step-child of South African sport.

I say they should be bold about their needs, because they have much to offer and there are certainly exciting plans in the pipeline.