Faded green, tarnished gold

By WYNNE GRAY

Past tense, history. It was the great rugby rivalry for those who saw or were brought up on tales of the great Springbok visiting sides of 1937 and 1956 and the tribulations of All Black tours to the Republic.

Not now, not when you see the Springboks rated as outside chances for the World Cup, when you see them concede 50 points to the All Blacks in a test at Loftus, when they have won just 25 per cent of their tests against New Zealand in the past decade.

Apart from an exuberant time in 1998 when the Springboks had a purple run with coach Nick Mallett, rugby in South Africa has been on the slide since the World Cup win in 1995.

When the All Blacks returned to the Republic in 1992 for the first rugby international since isolation, the sport was still strong.

Crusty administrator Dr Danie Craven was still the supremo. Like him or loathe him, he had defined ideas about the path and strategies to keep rugby strong.

Listening to him as he sat in a tent before the 1992 test at Ellis Park, it was clear that while his physical health was declining the country still tuned to him for guidance and direction. Similarly with Louis Luyt.

Dictatorial like the Doc, he drove the sport, he made things happen.

In his place came his son-in-law Riaan Oberholzer and professional rugby. Coincidentally or otherwise the slide started with the arrival of the Super 12 and Tri-Nations programmes, the issues surrounding quotas for black or coloured players, the changing style of global rugby, inadequate coaching systems and a weak economy in South Africa.

Rudolf Straeuli is the ninth Springbok coach since 1992. The All Blacks have used just four.

This coaching instability has created division, uncertainty and the feeling that too many Springboks have earned "soft" caps. To varying degrees there was hope under Ian McIntosh, the unbeaten tenure of World Cup victor, the late Kitch Christie, and Mallett.

But round that triumvirate there were John Williams, Gerrie Sonnikus, who was appointed but never took charge because of a scandal, Andre Markgraaf, Carel du Plessis, Harry Viljoen and now Straeuli.

In the midst of this latest erratic season, there are calls for Straeuli to be replaced but, even if that action was necessary, there is no obvious alternative.

Occasionally for the Super 12 the South Africans have turned to overseas help such as Laurie Mains, Tim Lane and Les Kiss, who was the defensive coach for the national side.

But invariably the Dutch suspicion of foreigners has told against those men. Even Oberholzer has stated that the Springboks would never be coached by an outsider. That feeling permeates through the Super 12 and provincial setups.

There are also the ongoing dramas of blending Afrikaaners, English, coloured and black players into a national side and the mixing of a variety of religions.

Mallett made some strong progress after Christie but he came from an English background, he was intelligent and that inevitably brought great distrust. Eventually he was fired over a side issue.

He has resurfaced as the coach of the French national champions Stade Francais but there seems to be no likelihood he will be reappointed.

The Super 12 and its push towards regional teams has not worked. Oberholzer remains an advocate but with the Currie Cup up for a revamp from its elongated 14-team competition to a top eight, support for a return to provincial teams being represented in the Super 12 is gaining some momentum.

Until the Super 12, the Currie Cup pitted strength against strength, the top sides going at it each season. But to appease the variety of factions and provinces, the series was stretched and competition diluted.

There is also criticism of the national administration that, like the New Zealand Rugby Union in the late 90s, it has become too corporatised and taken its gaze away from the game and its grassroots assets.

A weak national economy has also been blamed for the exodus of too many top-line players. In recent times Werner Swanepoel, Garry Pagel, Johan Ackermann, Thinus Delport, and Robbie Kempson have pursued their careers overseas.

The passion for rugby in South Africa is undiluted but the structures and administration of the game, like the Springboks, delivers an unsophisticated approach.