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Comment: Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Panic-induced, wholesale changes should be avoided when the Springbok brains trust begin the regrouping process after their relative humiliation in the Vodacom Tri-Nations opener against the All Blacks.
And I offer that view, thinking ahead to Wellington next Saturday, despite the unexpectedly lopsided defeat at Eden Park -- which may effectively leave the humbled South Africans already two good results off the pace in the competition given the 5-0 bonus point situation in favour of the winners.
It is hard to imagine even many New Zealanders assuming Richie McCaw’s incredibly rejuvenated outfit would romp home by 20 points, and more importantly secure a full house in log points courtesy of a handy fourth try at the death.
Unless the Boks can dramatically manage a turnaround victory of similarly large proportions in the follow-up encounter, they are likely to stay behind their great rivals on the table even if they redeem themselves with the basic triumph at the Cake Tin.
But it would also be foolhardy, I believe, for South Africa to suddenly shake the selection bag to a ludicrous degree, signalling alarm and possibly disarray.
It just seemed as if the collective Bok focus was off the mark in Auckland and they must take responsibility for it as a broad group without necessarily resorting to drastic measures yet.
We can almost certainly assume one enforced change will be required, with the ill-disciplined Bakkies Botha set for suspension anew.
Ever-loyal Danie Rossouw shapes up as the logical replacement as the “enforcer” No 4, albeit minus the headless-chicken element Botha has brought to the party once too often.
Beyond that, though, there is a case for saying the vast nucleus of a known, mostly pedigreed Bok match 22 simply had a lousy day together, creating a domino effect that rippled right through the ranks.
Only the foolish, too, would refuse to acknowledge that the All Blacks, clearly hurting from 0-3 at the hands of the Boks last year, were quite superb. Can they, in turn, match such proficiency next weekend?
There will be those critics keen to zoom in on the fact that relative rookie flanker Francois Louw had an obviously indifferent outing in his maiden run-out against the Boks’ most distinguished historical foes.
Should he be summarily axed? I am not nearly so sure: he’s been outstanding in earliest winter Tests and was similarly awesome throughout the Super 14. I would personally prefer to put his character on the line in Wellington, and gauge whether he has it within him to storm back.
Nor can all the Springbok woes be dumped squarely at the door of some of their younger representatives: in a pack surprisingly cleaned up in all facets, Jannie du Plessis, Schalk Burger and even their veteran leader Smit (especially in terms of his lineout chores) were at the very least unconvincing.
In terms of the Eden Park lineout debacle – an area where the very Boks had so spooked New Zealand in 2009 – the coaches must share some responsibility for the hosts rather turning the tables.
Surely it was not rocket science that the All Blacks would keep set line-outs to a minimum, and rely instead on quick throws whenever they could, a tactic which nevertheless appeared to catch the Boks so napping?
Behind the pack, Ricky Januarie was again patchy at scrumhalf, mixing the good with the bad and probably not doing enough to allay fears that South Africa could do with a No 9 with snappier service and a more authoritative tactical boot.
And with All Black marauders like Mils Muliaina, intruding beautifully from the last line, and Ma’a Nonu returning to cutting-edge levels not seen from them for some time in Test jerseys, consideration may also be given to restoring an old Bok midfield firm of Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.
De Villiers is clearly more suited to centre than right wing, and was positionally suspect at times.
Given the often parlous match circumstances, I didn’t think Zane Kirchner did too much wrong at No 15 for South Africa.
A major Springbok shake-up? No, not yet …
Cape Town – Panic-induced, wholesale changes should be avoided when the Springbok brains trust begin the regrouping process after their relative humiliation in the Vodacom Tri-Nations opener against the All Blacks.
And I offer that view, thinking ahead to Wellington next Saturday, despite the unexpectedly lopsided defeat at Eden Park -- which may effectively leave the humbled South Africans already two good results off the pace in the competition given the 5-0 bonus point situation in favour of the winners.
It is hard to imagine even many New Zealanders assuming Richie McCaw’s incredibly rejuvenated outfit would romp home by 20 points, and more importantly secure a full house in log points courtesy of a handy fourth try at the death.
Unless the Boks can dramatically manage a turnaround victory of similarly large proportions in the follow-up encounter, they are likely to stay behind their great rivals on the table even if they redeem themselves with the basic triumph at the Cake Tin.
But it would also be foolhardy, I believe, for South Africa to suddenly shake the selection bag to a ludicrous degree, signalling alarm and possibly disarray.
It just seemed as if the collective Bok focus was off the mark in Auckland and they must take responsibility for it as a broad group without necessarily resorting to drastic measures yet.
We can almost certainly assume one enforced change will be required, with the ill-disciplined Bakkies Botha set for suspension anew.
Ever-loyal Danie Rossouw shapes up as the logical replacement as the “enforcer” No 4, albeit minus the headless-chicken element Botha has brought to the party once too often.
Beyond that, though, there is a case for saying the vast nucleus of a known, mostly pedigreed Bok match 22 simply had a lousy day together, creating a domino effect that rippled right through the ranks.
Only the foolish, too, would refuse to acknowledge that the All Blacks, clearly hurting from 0-3 at the hands of the Boks last year, were quite superb. Can they, in turn, match such proficiency next weekend?
There will be those critics keen to zoom in on the fact that relative rookie flanker Francois Louw had an obviously indifferent outing in his maiden run-out against the Boks’ most distinguished historical foes.
Should he be summarily axed? I am not nearly so sure: he’s been outstanding in earliest winter Tests and was similarly awesome throughout the Super 14. I would personally prefer to put his character on the line in Wellington, and gauge whether he has it within him to storm back.
Nor can all the Springbok woes be dumped squarely at the door of some of their younger representatives: in a pack surprisingly cleaned up in all facets, Jannie du Plessis, Schalk Burger and even their veteran leader Smit (especially in terms of his lineout chores) were at the very least unconvincing.
In terms of the Eden Park lineout debacle – an area where the very Boks had so spooked New Zealand in 2009 – the coaches must share some responsibility for the hosts rather turning the tables.
Surely it was not rocket science that the All Blacks would keep set line-outs to a minimum, and rely instead on quick throws whenever they could, a tactic which nevertheless appeared to catch the Boks so napping?
Behind the pack, Ricky Januarie was again patchy at scrumhalf, mixing the good with the bad and probably not doing enough to allay fears that South Africa could do with a No 9 with snappier service and a more authoritative tactical boot.
And with All Black marauders like Mils Muliaina, intruding beautifully from the last line, and Ma’a Nonu returning to cutting-edge levels not seen from them for some time in Test jerseys, consideration may also be given to restoring an old Bok midfield firm of Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.
De Villiers is clearly more suited to centre than right wing, and was positionally suspect at times.
Given the often parlous match circumstances, I didn’t think Zane Kirchner did too much wrong at No 15 for South Africa.
A major Springbok shake-up? No, not yet …
