Springboks on the right track
Brad Morgan
24 June 2004
As the Springboks prepare for what they hope will be an early season sweep of northern hemisphere opposition - they face Wales in a one-off Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday - they take a lot of positives into their game against the Welsh after a two-nil series victory over a good Irish team.
After the disappointments of recent years, the 31-17 and 26-17 wins over Ireland were encouraging.
What is interesting is that those successes haven't been followed by a wave of rash suggestions and predictions, saying that South African rugby's woes are over. The reaction has been more grounded, optimistic, and fair.
Certainly, coach Jake White's Springboks provided plenty of reasons to be optimistic, especially when making comparisons with the side last seen in action under Rudolf Straeuli.
The first thing that strikes me is that White's squad appears better focused than the one that played under Straeuli; their play appeared to
be more constructive, thoughtful, composed and skill-orientated. Under Straeuli, the team seemed to rely more on physical force and passion. As South African supporters know, that will get you only so far and no further.
A leap of faith
Another of the positives has a lot to do with White's background with national teams in age-group rugby. He opted to bring in a number of players that had served him well when he was in charge of the South African under-21 side, and his faith was repaid.
And that's what it took - a leap of faith: throwing the young guns in at the deep end against a team ranked above the Springboks heading into their Test series, a team that captured the Triple Crown in the Six Nations Championships, including a win over world champions England at Twickenham.
Schalk Burger was the man who arguably took the biggest step up, turning in two powerful, fiery and energetic performances at flank. He is a player that is hard
to miss with his mop of blonde hair, but he made it even easier to find him as he was always around the ball, whether in a defensive or attacking position.
The fact of the matter is, though, that rugby is a team game and it takes a loose trio to put together an effective challenge for the loose ball. Burger received excellent support from two other young guns in this regard: Pedrie Wannenburg and Jacque Cronje. They, too, were fantastic and mobile around the field, which is quite a feat when one considers that either of the two could quite easily play at lock, given their size.
Speaking of rugby being a team game, the South African pack was most impressive against a far more experienced and strong Irish scrum. The Boks held the upper hand in the tight phases, and that is something that must have warmed the hearts of Springboks of old, and the side's many supporters.
In this regard, the old man of the team, 1995 World Cup winner Os du Randt, must take a lot of
credit.
A dynamic player
Du Randt provided plenty of glimpses of the dynamic player who was so dominant at loosehead prop during the time under captain Gary Teichmann and coach Nick Mallett, when South Africa won 17 Tests on the trot. He was a potent force in the scrums, but maybe what impressed people even more was that he once again showed his ability to get around the park.
Du Randt is a huge man, and when he is putting in big hits all over the field it is a sight that gets a crowd roaring its approval. Add to that the fact that he also demonstrated that he could play a full 80 minutes, which was something that his coaches had been loath to have him do in recent seasons.
Behind the scrum there was a nice halfback combination between Fourie du Preez and Jaco van der Westhuyzen. Du Preez is a big man, like former Springbok number-nine Joost van der Westhuizen, but he wisely chose not to try to do too much by himself early on in his
Test career. That resulted in a crisp service and a good clean showing.
Van der Westhuyzen maybe didn't convince everyone that he is South Africa's answer at flyhalf, but the backline at least showed some bite with him pulling the strings; under Straeuli they had become toothless.
Marius Joubert stood out at centre. Ireland's captain and the man many regard as the world's best centre, Brian O'Driscoll, was full of praise for him.
Maybe, though, what was more pleasing was the performance of Joubert's midfield partner, Wayne Julies. He was a late replacement for the injured De Wet Barry, but came through the two-Test series having answered many of the questions people might have had about him. My point is that Julies proved a good advertisement for the depth of South African rugby talent.
It was also good to see Percy Montgomery perform well at fullback in the second Test, after he had overcome a broken hand. He justified his inclusion by his assured
performance and showed that he still has a good contribution to make to South African rugby. He also provided a good argument about why overseas-based South African players should be considered for the national team.
Welsh challenge
Next up, Wales await the Springboks and they will be another tough test for White and his team, who have been quick to say that they are far from the finished article and have plenty of improving to do. That's a refreshing statement, but also one that is cause for optimism.
The Welsh recently lost 50-44 to Argentina and then beat the Pumas 35-20 in Argentina. Those results against a more than competent Pumas team are warning enough to the Boks.
But lest the Springboks become overconfident, the other two Sanzar powers also won two-Test series' recently. Australia beat Scotland 35-15 and 34-13, while the All Blacks were hugely impressive in dismantling world champions England 36-3 and 36-12.
They
are the standard the Springboks need to chase and better. Under White, it appears that South Africa has taken the first steps in the right direction.
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