Boks have chance to shine

SPRINGBOK coach Allister Coetzee, his assistants Matthew Proudfoot, Johann van Graan, Mzwandile Stick and Chean Roux, and the players are under siege, and justifiably so.

Since Coetzee took over the reins of the national team through a hospital pass from his employers at Saru, the Springboks have failed to be convincing, and even though they just managed to win the June series against Ireland, their frailties have been horribly exposed in the Rugby Championship.

This week will be an important one for Coetzee as the Springboks look to break a three-match losing streak that began in Salta against Argentina and ended in a horror second-half showing in Christchurch against the All Blacks.

The Rugby Championship is safely wrapped up and in the hands of the All Blacks again, but the Springboks have the perfect opportunity to show that they are better than they appeared to be in recent weeks when they host the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Saturday’s affair could be a watershed moment for Coetzee and his team as they look to turn around a dire situation that has been partly of their own doing and largely that of the failings of Saru over a number of years.

Damage

Coetzee will now have to stand up and be counted.

His abilities have never been in doubt until now, but he must heed the warnings of former Springbok players and coaches who have cited the lack of international experience in management as a major factor.

In the end it will come down to the choices Coetzee makes for his team whether the players have it in them to improve.

Coetzee has made some questionable selections, and the return of Patrick Lambie and Willie Le Roux will certainly make certain individuals uncomfortable.

Lambie’s presence will place more pressure on an already struggling Elton Jantjies. After a stellar Super Rugby season in which Jantjies guided the Lions to the final, the pint-sized pivot has failed to replicate the form that saw him take charge of matches and dominate them.

Back home now, Jantjies must realise that his time as the number one pivot in the country is running out, unless he shows it on the field on Saturday.

Le Roux’s return to the fold after being overlooked because of poor form will also see alarm bells ringing for incumbent fullback Johan Goosen, who has failed to show his French form since returning to the national side.

However, Jantjies and Goosen are not the root cause of the Springboks’ woes. That is down to the failure of the team to assert their dominance on opposition teams.

That speaks volumes about the lack of experience in the side, but also the lack of time that the team has spent together in building on-field combinations.

Coetzee’s loyalty to certain players, especially those out of form, has been the elephant in the room and it might be time for the likes of Trevor Nyakane, Bongi Mbonambi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jaco Kriel and Lionel Mapoe to be given the same backing that some of the out of form elder statesmen in the team have been given.

The porous defence, part of it due to the lack of experience of new defence coach Roux, means there needs to be an immediate and drastic change of attitude from the players.