Match number four in Allister Coetzee’s reign as Springbok coach, and boy do we have a long way to go.
There’s nothing wrong with a win percentage of 75% as Bok coach, bettered only by the late great Kitch Christie, but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of what Springbok rugby in 2016 has shown us fans.
It took another come from behind performance this weekend to avoid embarrassment, and you better believe that a loss would have been just that.
Bear this in mind, for example:
Now when they put on those Puma jerseys they step up the intensity, and we have some Boks plying their trade overseas that would walk into our current team, but to squeak home on our own turf just isn’t good enough.
Sport24 have highlighted a few talking points, which is a decent place to start. First up the obvious:
Curb the victory celebrations
We must not hide behind the fact that it was another below-par Springbok performance.
Had they played the All Blacks on Saturday, a 42-8 reverse would surely also have been on the cards, as the Wallabies found out the hard way.
There was not much improvement from the Ireland series, when the Boks struggled to subdue an injury depleted team at the tail-end of a long, gruelling season.
Los Pumas were without overseas stars like Juan Imhoff, Marcos Ayerza, Marcelo Bosch and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe…
The Springboks’ defence was again substandard, while their finishing was at times dreadful.
Jantjies blows hot and cold
Bok flyhalf Elton Jantjies produced a mixed-bag. He did a few good things on attack, but is clearly still learning to dictate proceedings at Test level.
Jantjies’ goal-kicking remains a work in progress, while two glaring errors almost cost his team dearly.
He crucially knocked on early in the second half, allowing Argentina to boot up-field and put the Boks under immense pressure, while a few minutes later it got comical when Jantjies, trying to clear from his own goal-line, booted the ball straight into the face of on-looking skipper Adriaan Strauss, allowing Argentina a five-metre scrum.
For your enjoyment, here’s Jantjies pegging his skipper in the noggin.
Jantjies: this is what I think of your performance, cap. pic.twitter.com/MyAXeIBQLJ
— Mike Stopforth (@mikestopforth) August 20, 2016
Compare that performance to his Super Rugby semi-final masterclass and it’s clear the Boks haven’t seen the best of him.
That being said I can’t wait for the return of Lambie and Pollard – sorry Lions fans.
Issues at fullback
Goosen’s positioning was rather poor throughout and he was unable to take care of several high balls which put his team under pressure.
The SuperSport pundits noted in the studio afterwards that perhaps Goosen was trying a little too hard.
Yes, he did show some promising signs on attack, but looked at sea too often for coach Allister Coetzee to be happy about the fullback depth at his disposal.
There was large satisfaction when the under-performing Willie le Roux was dropped, but it should be a real worry that there are not many fullbacks staking a claim for higher honours in the country at present.
It’s truly frightening to think that the All Blacks have a guy like Damien McKenzie waiting in the wings, and Ben Smith could move back to 15 if needed.
Some shining lights
They largely dominated at scrum time, scrumhalf Faf de Klerk was sublime and instrumental in turning the game around, while the impact made by substitutes like Jaco Kriel and Pieter-Steph du Toit was welcome to see.
South African fans can perhaps also take heart from the fact that they created several opportunities to score, despite their finishing letting them down.
Given that Oupa Mahoje had a pretty decent outing, perhaps it’s Francois Louw who’s going to be worried about Jaco Kriel grabbing his starting berth.
The match highlights then, for those who either missed the match or had a few too many pre-game toots.
If you made it through that congrats, your reward is a 3:45 clip of what total rugby looks like. Although they took their foot off the accelerator somewhat in the second half, the All Blacks are frighteningly good.
The Boks now travel to Argentina, a match that promises to be another tightly contested battle with a fired up team on home turf.
Don’t be duped into thinking we’re favourites for that one, given the rugby we’ve been treated to this year.
[source:sport24]
