Andrew Austin: Former coach appears best choice to save Springboks

COMMENT

From a South African perspective the one positive thing to come from the Springbok loss to the All Blacks is that coach Rudolf Straeuli will be under tremendous pressure to justify keeping his job.

Since he took over, Straeuli has repeated like a mantra that he should be judged on his World Cup performance.

Well, that time has come and the judgment is that Straeuli has failed miserably. He has chopped and changed the team, barely paid lip-service to transformation ideals and allowed the Springboks to become the nasties of world rugby.

The greatest indignity for the Springboks was that the All Blacks took them on at their own game - an aggressive, forward-dominated style - and thrashed them.

To see a forward pack struggle against opponents weighing more than 100kg less shows that something drastic needs to be done.

There should be no more chances for Straeuli, and if South African Rugby Football Union president Silas Nkanunu sticks to his word, he will go.

Before the cup started, Nkanunu said Sarfu would only be satisfied with the Springboks finishing in the top three. Predictably and disturbingly, however, South African rugby managing director Riaan Oberholzer is now saying that Straeuli should be given time to build this team. Hopefully, enough pressure will be put on Sarfu to cut their losses and appoint a new coach.

The smart move would be to ask former coach Nick Mallett to name his price and then offer him a contract. A rising black coach such as former Springbok wing Chester Williams could be made Mallett's assistant with a view to taking over at a later stage.

One thing is certain - this team will receive a hostile reception when they fly into Johannesburg this week.

The South African population was prepared to put up with a white Afrikaaner-laden team if they were winning, but now transformation issues will bubble to the surface again.

And this time, South African rugby will not simply be able to bury its head in the sand.

The inquiry into racism in the Springboks, arising from the Geo Cronje affair, will be heard and action will be taken. Who knows, maybe even the ANC Government will begin to demand that quotas be enforced. And who could argue with that, given the performance of this largely white team.

Out of the original 30-man squad, five were black. On Saturday night, four of those black players were dressed in their blazers and ties and sitting in the grandstand.

Surely a team with more black players of the calibre of Lawrence Sephaka and Breyton Paulse would not have been as outplayed as this team were.

This is not to say that all the players in the team should be thrown out. There is talent there from which a match-winning side could be developed.

Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha are good locks, while wing Ashwin Willemse has yet to have a bad game for the Springboks.

With captain Corne Krige likely to call it a day, the depth at loose-forward is encouraging.

The Springboks sorely missed injured flanker Joe van Niekerk and he, Schalk Burger and No 8 Juan Smith could develop into a formidable trio.

Unfortunately, halfback Joost van der Westhuizen showed that he had played one season too many.

First five-eighth Derick Hougaard displayed he has the talent to make it at the highest level, despite some errors,.

South African rugby needs to look at the past eight years since the Springboks won the cup and work out a way in which to reach those heights again.

On the evidence of this tournament, Straeuli cannot be entrusted to return them to former glories.

* Andrew Austin, a South African, is the Herald's deputy chief reporter.