Rugby: Unity the only way for Boks

Springboks captain John Smit is under pressure to retain his place. Photo / Getty Images

Coaching rifts, player influence, leadership and strategy - those are the issues to be resolved as the Springboks wait to take on the All Blacks in a historic outing in Soweto, in front of a crowd of close to 90,000; all of whom will be bent on revenge.

Three straight Tri Nation losses have caused a panic in the Republic.

The dominance of the Super 14 is over and the cracks are starting to show.

The Boks have their backs to the wall. Their coach seems determined to fight anyone who crosses his path and there are major questions over captain John Smit.

There is apparently a rift between assistants Dick Muir and Gary Gold and just when it looked impossible for the drama to take another twist, up pops World Cup winning coach Jake White wanting his old job back.

You couldn't write a better soap opera if you tried.

While South Africans are used to it, we've also been caught off guard.

Since 2003, we've enjoyed a wonderful ride, tasted many a success and become accustomed to a team that functions professionally on and off the field.

Then it all fell apart in Auckland. Suddenly we were back to the dark days of Kamp Staaldraad (the over-the-top, punishing boot camp devised by then coach Rudolph Straueli before the 2003 Rugby World Cup) and irritated coaches blaming referees.

Suddenly, South African rugby is beset with issues and they have to be solved. As we shall see, all of those issues can be grouped under one major heading: unity.

Coaching rifts

The depth of the rift between Muir and Gold is not fully known - just that it exists; not a good development in any rugby team. Coach Peter de Villiers needs to fix the problem.

Player influence

Perhaps the Boks were a bit cocky in arriving only four days before the first test - a move sold to team management by the players.

They started off with a disciplinary nightmare and Bakkies Botha used his head to set the tone for the tour.

The players enjoy de Villiers, whatever his media profile may be. It might irk some people but the fact that players have a lot of say in the Bok team has worked for de Villiers in the past - and need not be an issue.

Leadership

But it will need leadership. De Villiers, who is still waiting to hear the result of his Sanzar misconduct case, hasn't helped matters with his conspiracy theories and outbursts.

No media people are close to the Bok coach but he is a passionate and emotional coach, whose ability to get players together as a unit in a short time is well-known. But his English is poor, and with it, poor media management by SA Rugby means that his colloquialisms often get lost in translation.

De Villiers likes to see himself as a manager rather than a coach - much like those of English Premiership football teams.

In a time of crisis, he needs to lead, but there are doubts he has the strong personality to get the team back on track.

South African rugby fans, it must be said, generally dislike him - at least white South Africans - while he has a strong political support base among the government.

De Villiers was not helped by SARU president Oregan Hoskins' statement that he "wasn't the best candidate" when he got the job.

This left the impression of a coach who got the job because of the colour of his skin, which De Villiers hates.

Heyneke Meyer, with a Super 14 title and three Currie Cup championships, was regarded as having a better CV.

He won't be fired

The bottom line, though, is that De Villiers will not be fired before the World Cup.

To do so would be to invite a mountain of political pressure from the ANC government which has largely gone silent since he has been at the helm.

White, for all his public statements, has mixed support among the public, while he never endeared himself to the administrators whom he now wants to give him the job back.

Overconfidence/understrength

The Super 14 dominance gave the players a false sense of security. It fooled them into thinking the kick-chase and pressure game that worked so well for the Bulls and Stormers would turn into success at test level; as it did last year.

The Boks underestimated the All Blacks and their hunger. They were without three key players: halfback general Fourie du Preez and flankers Juan Smith and Heinrich Brssow. They paid a heavy price.

ALL OF these issues can be resolved if the Boks unify themselves again, a theme advocated by former All Black coach John Mitchell.

Above all it needs the team management to lead them forward. All the talk of coaching rifts and referees has spoilt the team's public image.

The players need to band together although, as Mitchell points out, it would be suicide for the Boks to move away from their traditional strengths.

"Unity is a key factor in any team. It has to start first in team management. This is critical because the players have eyes and ears and they pick up things," he says.

"You have to learn to take these defeats on the chin and evolve. It's a tough game and referees need to be more accountable for their decisions - but I don't think it gets you where you need to be by complaining. Unity is still the key, and it is the hallmark of all successful teams.

"The Springboks need to sit back and ask the question if they are really unified? If not, it's really easy to fix."

However, it's a moot point whether the Boks' performance is quite so easy to fix.

World Cup winning first-five Joel Stransky believes the tests against the All Blacks were both poor Bok performances and a fine effort by the All Blacks.

"The Kiwis lifted their game to the next level of rugby union. They've managed to sort out their headaches - the set pieces which were their traditional weaknesses - and get on the front foot a lot more often to play," he says.

"They are playing a fantastic game at the moment which we can't deny. We have not progressed at all in comparison. We maybe slipped into a comfort zone with a false sense of security. You have to compare the sides and say the one is playing wonderfully attractive rugby while the other one is dull and predictable. Suddenly we don't look fit, or organised, and a couple of star players are looking jaded."

One of the keys is Du Preez. The halfback controlled the kicking game which the Boks relied upon and has a massive role in the team. Mitchell believes the Boks failed to adapt their game plan with Du Preez gone and it has cost them.

"Fourie du Preez is a threat with the run, pass and kick whereas the Springboks other halfbacks are more footballers who carry the ball. They are probably not as accurate in the kicking game," Mitchell says.

"Fourie, with his line speed, is like an extra loose forward and he gives Morne Steyn a lot of extra time.

"Teams have worked out that the type of game needed to counter a one-phase kicking game is to keep the ball in hand.

"Defensively, the Boks have been over-reactive and have been chasing rucks rather than staying in their defensive line. They've also overdone the kick-chase a bit, with the chase being poor because the kicking has not been accurate."

Captain John Smit may be the one sacrificed before the tournament, as there is already talk that a number of players are disillusioned with him as captain and because of his poor form on the field. With players like Bismarck du Plessis, Gary Botha, Chiliboy Ralepelle and Tiaan Liebenberg in the wings, can the Boks afford him simply for his leadership skills?

Mitchell believes this is a massive problem: "John is an exceptional leader but your number two needs to be another loose forward in the modern game."

Stransky echoes that and believes the pressure is on Smit, who will be playing his 100th test in Soweto.

"John is definitely off the pace of the game and certainly looks a bit overweight. If your captain is not able to keep up with play and lead by example by doing his bit, then you have a major problem."

The balance of the side needs to be looked at as well, with Juan Smith and JP Pietersen likely to return for the home leg and Jean de Villiers moved back to his favoured inside centre position.

Bakkies Botha will play again despite his indiscretions, but the lesson here shows the high cost of indiscipline at this level.