Mike greenaway No clue how to win

THE REFRAIN from the Springbok coaching staff in Wellington this week has been “Judge us on the World Cup”, an unfortunate, timeworn phrase often used by beleaguered Bok coaches to buy time.

It was infamously coined by Rudolf Straeuli in 2003 around the time of the 16-52 Jan van Riebeeck Test against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld. And between that regrettable result and the World Cup, Bok Test caps rained down on professional rugby players in this country like manna from heaven. The net was cast so far and wide, and so many one-cap wonders created, that Straeuli was spoilt for mediocre choice by the time the Boks had their rematch with the All Blacks in the World Cup quarter-final in Melbourne, and the team was effortlessly dispatched 29-9.

So here we are in 2018 about to play the All Blacks and in one year and one week from Saturday the Boks begin their World Cup campaign in Yokohama against ... the All Blacks.

To be fair to Rassie Erasmus, that is not a lot of time to raise the Springbok Lazarus from the dead and topple the world champions, a miracle result that would earn favourable judgement indeed.

To that end, Erasmus has been telling us that his liberal experimentation in his seven Tests thus far has been calculated to ensure the best match 23 that South Africa can muster takes the field at the Yokohama International Stadium on September 21 next year.

Fair enough, and the coach deserves to have judgement reserved until he has placed his cards on the World Cup table, but what is disturbing is that the Boks play the world champions on Saturday with key combinations undecided, notably the critical 9-10 axis where the coach seemingly has no clue as to the identity of his premier flyhalf and what his scrumhalf pecking order should look like.

The musical chairs in arguably the most important position on the field suggests the coach does not know who to back, and whoever he picks is done so half-heartedly because authority in the games has been deflected from the flyhalf.

To illustrate, when Handre Pollard returned to the starting line-up for the two Tests against Argentina, much of the play centred on Faf de Klerk. Pollard was not running the show, as the flyhalf ought to. Late in the game in Durban he was moved to 12 to provide a debut at flyhalf for Damian Willemse, the gifted youngster that Erasmus had talked up all that week. No wonder Pollard’s confidence is shot.

Further, in Brisbane last week much of the general play was built around Damian de Allende at 12 and De Klerk once more, and not starting flyhalf Elton Jantjies.

Willemse, meanwhile, appears to have fallen from grace, with recalled Cheslin Kolbe taking his place on the bench in Brisbane.

So who will start at 10 on Saturday and who will be the cover? It really should be Jantjies starting, if for no other reason than this team desperately needs continuity.

It is probably unfair to make comparisons with the All Blacks’ flyhalf contingent but the fact is they have the World Player of the Year at 10 in Beauden Barrett and probably the second best flyhalf in the world in Richie Mo’unga.

That supreme quality puts the parlous situation of the Springboks at flyhalf into harrowing perspective. It leaves you wondering if the infernal vacillation over the Bok starting line-up is akin to deckchair rearrangement on the Titanic.

Especially if we consider an uncomfortable fact: Since the last World Cup in 2015, the Boks have played 16 overseas Tests ... just three have been one, 12 lost and one drawn. This inability to win matches overseas is not going to win a World Cup played in Japan.

It begs the question: Should the focus not have been on winning

Test matches full stop? And is our coach not overly obsessed with the long-term goal of the World Cup, and at the expense of the shortterm goal of winning matches?

What is the point of the Boks going to Japan in a year’s time with the coach finally knowing what his pecking order is in each position but the team hasn’t a clue how to win? KIMBERLEY Police have called on residents to assist in the search for two suspects who allegedly sexually assaulted a girl who was on her way to school.

The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit in Galeshewe yesterday appealed to the community to help trace the two men who might be able to assist the police in solving a sexual assault case involving a 14-year-old girl.

Police spokesperson, Sergeant Majang Skalkie, said that the victim said that she was walking alone on Kgarebe Street, Bloemanda, on her way to school on Monday, July 23 2018, at about 7.30am, when the incident occurred.

“She further alleged that she was grabbed by two unknown men from behind who sexually assaulted her. However, she managed to escape and run to a friend’s house,” Skalkie said.

Skalkie added that one suspect is an African male aged between 15 and 20 years old, of slender build and medium in complexion, while the other suspect is an African male aged between 20 and 55 years old, of slender build and dark in complexion.

An appeal is made to anyone who may have information about the incident or may know the location of these men to please contact Constable Rosy Motsepo of Galeshewe FCS on 079 151 1239.

GALESHEWE Cultural groups from across the Northern Cape will take to the streets of Galeshewe today in a cultural parade to celebrate Heritage Month.

The parade will be followed by the Golden Shield Heritage Awards at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre on Friday.

The parade, being hosted to appreciate cultural diversity, will start at Tikkie stop next to the Mayibuye precinct and seeks to bring together the people of the Province in Kimberley to appreciate the traditional cultures that are preserved by the various communities with the assistance of the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Sol Plaatje Municipality.

It will proceed from Tikkie stop (the 4-way in Royal Street) at 2pm, into Morgan Street, right into Hulana and Seochareng streets, until the Pick n Pay circle.

These activities are being hosted in partnership with the National Heritage Council of South Africa.