Why SA teams struggle out on the road

● Professionalism has brought many benefits to rugby since 1996 when the sport started legally paying players, but one of the glaring downsides for SA is a growing inability to win away from home.

Before professionalism the Boks won 48 out of 77 of their away games — 63%. In the 22 years since professionalism that ratio has dropped to 52% (80 wins from 155 games).

And in the two-and-a-half years since the 2015 World Cup in England, the Boks have won just three of 15 Tests, or 20%, including last week’s 32-19 loss against the Pumas.

There isn’t one simple answer as to why the Boks — and the problem extends to Super Rugby teams as well — fail to function optimally away from home. Travel fatigue and jet lag are issues but they are not exclusive to the Boks. Medically, a lot of research has gone into dealing with jet lag.

Sport psychologist Pieter Kruger, who was part of the Bok set-up under Heyneke Meyer when they won 17 of 28 away games (60%), has pondered this question. The answer lies in an advanced high-performance environment, he says.

“When you’re away on tour, suddenly everything is different. Your natural environment is altered,” Kruger says.

“There is a lot more down time because there are no domestic responsibilities. They spend more time in their rooms, or play more golf, and do other recreational things than they would at home.

“In some ways they go into a slight holiday mode, not realising it is a business trip.

“So unless there is a very structured pro- cess in place to deal with these issues, problems could arise.

“This is where team culture and structure become a massive thing because it is what helps maintain order and discipline on tour.”

In other words, some SA players and teams are not being professional.

Kruger understands the argument that the game is the same regardless of where it’s played, but he highlights how easily it can get away from you unless there are specific tactics in place.

“Rugby is played on the same sized field with the same rules and teams, so why do we see this discrepancy on tour?” Kruger asks.

“Psychologically it has a lot to do with individual zones of optimal functioning. In other words, the mental space you have to be in to perform optimally.”

Tipping points

“Everything on tour is different — from the food and surroundings to rooming with someone who might snore. All of these factors seem like small problems in isolation and are not necessarily picked up. But on game day you see the result when a player is a few percent below his best,” says Kruger.

“Rugby is a game of momentum and if you have a couple of tipping points where things go against you, the downward spiral is rapid.

“Psychologically the crowd plays a role. At home you don’t have to do a lot extra to gain energy and momentum from the home support. Every time there is a semi line break there is a roar. The players might not consciously be aware of it, but they feed off of it.

“With away games, unless you have strategies in place on field to create your own positive energy, it becomes very difficult when the pressure is on.

“A lot of teams don’t have those reset strategies in place to pull themselves together and recuperate. At home you don’t notice those things because you naturally get away by drawing energy from the environment. Away, it’s totally different.”

When you’re on tour, your natural environment is altered

Pieter Kruger Sport psychologist