Springboks drop Rhule again
Wing Raymond Rhule has been dropped from the Springboks squad for the All Blacks test in Cape Town.
Rhule’s defensive shortcomings were exposed in the Springboks’ record 57-0 loss to the All Blacks in Albany last month and he was omitted for last Sunday’s 27-27 draw with the Wallabies in Bloemfontein.
Springboks coach Allister Coetzee has released Rhule to play for the Cheetahs in the Pro 14 competition this weekend, meaning Courtnall Skosan and Dillyn Leyds (who made his first test start against the Wallabies) are likely to be the Boks’ starting wings in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, Coetzee has called for Springboks supporters to forgive his defence coach Brendan Venter, who hit out on Twitter at the team’s critics.
Venter said, after the Boks’ draw with the Wallabies, that supporters who were only focussed on winning, rather than performance, should ‘‘stop watching’’.
He said the Springboks ‘‘deserve respect not criticism’’.
Venter had also tweeted after the Springboks’ 57-0 drubbing in Auckland that there was ‘‘nothing wrong with the Boks’ effort’’.
Coetzee said at a press conference in Cape Town that he felt Venter had been ‘‘misunderstood’’.
‘‘We’ve got a process going in this team. And we focus on the process, rather than the result. If you’re outcomes driven all the time, you will hardly get [very far],’’ Coetzee said.
‘‘I feel Brendan’s probably been misunderstood.’’