Relentless pressure
Meyer always coveted the Springbok coaching job. Any top-class SA coach does, though Meyer will be the first to admit that the task has been more difficult than he ever imagined. A savage run of injuries, a lack of form, political interference and public scorn all contributed to the enormous pressure he endured in his first season.
Unlike almost all of his predecessors, Meyer’s appointment in 2012 was universally welcomed. After the slapstick era of Peter de Villiers, Meyer heralded a return to excellence, tradition and dignity. The excitement was palpable.
But then reality hit. Schalk Burger, the totem of the national team, was cut down by long-term injury. It foreshadowed an extraordinary rate of attrition with a clutch of other top players — chiefly Bismarck du Plessis, Pierre Spies, Beast Mtawarira, Francois Steyn and Bryan Habana — all hobbled by injury at some point.
Moreover, whereas De Villiers had inherited a world-champion team, Meyer had to rebuild from the bottom up. There was no Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, John Smit or Fourie du Preez.
He even had to install a new captain, Jean de Villiers, a reluctant leader who nonetheless carried the job off with distinction.
Meyer then pleaded for patience, not the most common currency in SA rugby.
He never promised a new dawn, but in his first series, against England in June, the portents were encouraging.
The Boks played with swagger and style in the opening two tests, hinting at a game of greater width and pace. As ever, there was terrifying power among the forwards and, unusually, ambition among the backs.
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Yet, that was largely in a season in which the Springboks struggled to assert themselves. In the third test against England, for example, they got into an ugly arm wrestle. Old habits die hard and the Boks largely opted for their historic style: 10-man submission through power.
Results were hit and miss. The world-champion All Blacks and the Wallabies were handed get-out-of-jail cards in Dunedin and Perth. The results shattered the normally phlegmatic Meyer, and then the Boks came close to losing a first-ever test match in Argentina. They barely escaped with a draw.
By now deeper problems were evident. The balance in the back row wasn’t quite right, scrumhalf Francois Hougaard was struggling and, perhaps most worrisome, Morné Steyn’s performance as playmaker in the No 10 shirt was palpably not good enough. Also, the team played in fits and starts. “Too many soft moments,” Meyer grumbled.
By the end of the Rugby Championship, Meyer had given new caps to a dozen players, though the only ones to properly kick on were Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth, Juandré Kruger and Marcell Coetzee.
Unfortunately, golden boy Johan Goosen, supposedly the man to save Springbok rugby, barely made it out of the starting blocks. He, too, was cut down by injury, confirming an alarming trend.
The endless treadmill of first-class rugby and the almighty physical pounding players are forced to endure put the spotlight firmly on player welfare. Indeed, only three players — De Villiers, Hougaard and Jannie du Plessis — played in every Springbok match of 2012.
The rate of attrition is a disturbing trend and will remain a burning issue until central contracting (as is the case in New Zealand) becomes a reality.
Morné Steyn was one player who