Bok plan badly exposed
Dludlu lauds team’s attitude Defence was dire against Wales, and forwards must take credit for the tries
THE NATIONAL women’s Under-17 team coach Simphiwe Dludlu praised the players’ mental resolve, which saw them thump Botswana in their own backyard without a competitive match to prepare as a unit.
Bantwana shone on Friday despite not playing a competitive friendly, moving a step closer to qualifying for the Under-17 World Cup that will be staged in Uruguay next year.
Bantwana’s 5-2 win over Botswana at the Lobatse Sports Complex puts the team in the driving seat going into the second leg at Dobsonville Stadium on December 16. The winners of the two-legged tie will face Morocco in the last round of qualifiers after Equatorial Guinea withdrew.
“The one thing that we are not going to do in the second leg is be complacent,” Dludlu said. “This Botswana team came back from losing 5-2 in the first leg to Zambia to qualify for this stage. They ended up winning the tie 6-5.
“The positive for us is that we did this away from home. Botswana lost to Zambia in Zambia and they turned things around in their own backyard. We scored five goals in their own backyard. One thing that I need to mention about these girls is that they are mentally superior, if I may put it that way.
“They are superior because they brushed aside every challenge they faced, from the preparations to the camp, the trip we took to Botswana and even travelling to the stadium, which took us an hour. They got there and delivered. It hasn’t been easy. But their mindset and attitude has been positive.”
It wasn’t just the core of the Bantwana squad which was making their international debut against Botswana, Dludlu was also making her debut as a coach in the international scene. Dludlu, a holder of a Uefa B License, has previously coached the University of Pretoria Varsity Cup team and a Sasol League team. The former Banyana Banyana captain is currently managing the High Performance Centre side in Pretoria.
“It was nerve wrecking,” Dludlu said of her international debut as head coach. “I’ve played so many games for the country and I was always the bravest because I knew what I would bring on the field. Now I had to trust my players to carry out my vision, dream and plan. The one thing that kept me calm was the look on the players’ faces. They were confident.
“But it was an honour to lead my country now as a coach and not a player. It proved that dreams don’t end when you hang up your boots because this is something that I am passionate about. I will continue working hard and sacrificing all that I can to make sure I add value to women’s football in South Africa, especially on the development side.”
THERE WAS something about the Springboks 24-22 loss to an understrength Wales team on Saturday that mirrored everything about their recently concluded four Test tour in Europe.
The shambolic manner in which the Springbok began the game sinking to a 14-0 deficit within the first nine minutes was identical to how they capitulated in the face of a massive onslaught from the Irish in a record 38-3 loss.
The Springboks just could not deal with the Welsh ball-inhand approach with their brittle defence crumbling, but that was no mystery as a chronic but untreated symptom of the Boks failings this year has been their hobbling backline.
Without a forward in sight, it was the backs inability to deal with the aerial battle that saw them left at sixes and sevens by Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar’s aerial bombardment, but this was yet again another issue the Bok management have failed to resolve.
Obviously Gelant was going to be exposed at wing but the fact that Coetzee selected him out of position is the real issue.
While Gelant should have probably started against Italy at fullback, there are other players who could have maybe influenced the outcome and perform of the team in the games against France, Italy and Wales, but were never given sufficient time to stake their claim.
Coetzee will certainly defend his selections and justify them by citing continuity, but that continuity is counterproductive if it yields nothing better than before.
Why Rudy Paige, Lukhanyo Am, Raymond Rhule, Curwin Bosch, Chiliboy Ralepelle – and to a lesser extent Louis Schreuder and Ruan Dreyer – never got at least a start or an extended run off the bench will remain a mystery.
The fact they were selected to be part of the squad meant they were good enough to and should have been entrusted with the same responsibility the usual starters have been afforded.
As much as there were moments where the Boks showed character and their forwards were unrelenting in throwing their weight around, especially at set-piece play, it was again not convincing enough.
Those forwards did enough on Saturday to give the side a one point lead after tries by Gelant, Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel but the South Africans lacked the killer instinct to finish off the Welsh.
Fortunately against an outof-form French side and a fragile Italian side, the Boks did not need to go for the jugular to secure victory, and the tireless toil of the the forwards was enough.
But the problem areas rely too much playing according to the book and not the situation, an evident lack of a matured and knowledgeable leadership, a reluctance and trust to make the right changes at the right time, and a conservative game plan.
In the end Leigh Halfpenny’s penalty condemned the Boks to their third consecutive defeat at the Principality Stadium, bringing to a disappointing end another season where the Boks promised, but failed to deliver.
“I am proud of the team for the way they fought back to claw their way into the lead and for showing character in the second half,” said Coetzee.
In summing up the season, Coetzee highlighted the positives of his team’s middle of the road performances that saw them win seven out of the 13 Tests and draw two, while tasting defeat three times.
“We didn’t have a good start in Dublin, but we fought back to win against a determined French side in Paris and then delivered a clinical performance against Italy in very difficult weather conditions.
“If you look at where we started from at the beginning of the year, then I am pleased with the year overall. We started out as a new group, establishing a new team environment and got the results in the home series against France.
“We only lost to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship, while we were perhaps unlucky in our two draws against Australia,” said Coetzee.