The tremors still haven’t died down.
More than a week after that defeat, South African rugby remains in a state of disbelief. The game has been knocked off its axis. Rugby has known darker times, politically at least – think of the tour of New Zealand in 1981, or of Louis Luyt taking Nelson Mandela to court – but as performances go, defeat to Japan was catastrophic. The worst ever. And then some.
And yet . . . anyone with a less narrow view would have applauded it.
Rugby has long operated under the burden of being an old boys’ club; the haves and the have-nots.
World Cups are grand affairs, but we all know that only five or six teams can win it. In soccer, up to 20 teams can reasonably stake a claim. It’s a real world game.
Rugby needs its upset merchants and it needs to widen its appeal. While the Bok defeat damaged the SA psyche, for neutrals it was a treasure. Everyone loves an underdog and you sense that while Japanese rugby has limped along in recent years, this victory may prove a seminal moment.
The irony is that South Africans have abetted their improvement with the likes of Heinrich Brussow, Schalk Burger and Fourie du Preez all playing in Japan. Like any smart students, the Japanese have absorbed the lessons.
The eruption of joy at the final whistle was the moment of the World Cup so far, a cameo that captured rugby’s warm, enduring spirit. No-one could begrudge them their happiness.
I suspect we will feel the reverberations for a long time. This may be no bad thing.
The World Cup should be a watershed for SA rugby. We have long suspected that the local style of play is unsustainable, especially when measured against New Zealand. The Boks have occasionally snatched a win against them, but the balance of power rests heavily with them. The All Blacks are the standard bearers.
And it’s nonsense. With its financial and playing resources, South Africa should be neck and neck with them, if not in front.
The problem with the local game is that it’s riven with divided loyalties and political posturing. What’s more, unlike New Zealand, we have neither a national style nor a philosophy.
We need to adopt one.
A cleanout of personnel would also be refreshing. As the Japan match emphatically proved, the Bok veterans have had their day. It’s wise to be smart after the event, but we always knew the risk would be high.
The new broom should start with a new captain. Be bold, I say. Give the job to Tera Mtembu – he’s big, he’s a loose forward and he is commanding in public. He hasn’t been near a Springbok squad, but we need a revolution. We need to get this transformation issue right.
One of the tragedies of SA rugby has been the downfall of Chiliboy Ralepelle, who is sitting out after a doping ban. He looked every inch a future SA captain, but he’s lost his way.
Then it’s time to flood the team with tyros; players like Jean-Luc du Preez, Seabelo Senatla, Jaco Kriel and Vincent Koch, to go alongside Jesse Kriel, Handre Pollard and Trevor Nyakane. I’d also keep an eye on flyhalf Curwin Bosch, the Grey High prodigy.
SA has always boasted the value of experience, but it hasn’t counted for much in recent years, not in the games that matter anyway. What youngsters lack in experience, they make up for in fearlessness and instinct. They make mistakes by trying crazy things. Sometimes the best plays come from this habit. Just look at Willie le Roux.
The other point is that if you use 2016 as a year to effect a new wave, the youngsters may take a while to settle, but could be potent come 2019.
It’s all ambitious, and probably far-fetched, but the reality is that you can’t keep doing the same things and expect a different result.
If we were Japanese, we would undergo a ritual disembowelling (hara kiri), as per custom. That’s a little extreme, but in a figurative sense, that’s the way SA rugby should go.
The future is now. – © Sunday Tribune