Tri-Nations
Jake: Boks blew golden chance
2011-07-26 11:57
Jake White (Getty Images)
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Canberra - Former
Springbok coach Jake White believes the Boks squandered an opportunity
to gain a mental edge over Tri-Nations rivals Australia.
Speaking to The Australian website, White criticised the decision to rest top Boks and said that the
things that worked in 2007 would not necessarily work now as circumstances were
different.
"I
just think that if it's done based on the fact that it worked in 2007, I'm
critical of the fact that it seems to be a sort of copy act," White said.
"I think you look at things on the merits of where the team is now. There
was almost an opportunity for the Springboks, had they brought their best team,
to get a win against the second-best team in the world.”
"There
is no doubt that Australia is now set-up. They got five points from this game.
They will have a week off while South Africa play New Zealand and then they get
an opportunity to continue their momentum.”
"I'm
not critical at all about (coach) Peter (de Villiers). I'm just critical about
the fact that maybe there was a gap that was missed for South Africa to maybe
stake a claim going forward in the campaign.”
"You
want to go into the World Cup with some sort of momentum, and you want to go
into the World Cup knowing you can beat anybody. If you are on the receiving
end of losses, it becomes more and more difficult.”
"There's
no doubt in my mind winning teams create winning teams and losing teams create
losing teams.”
"That's
one thing the Springboks have to keep in the backs of their minds. They've got
to pick up a couple of wins before they get to the World Cup."
Speaking on
his website, RugbyXV, White said he didn’t want to 'sound negative' but that it
would be 'remiss' of him as a former Bok coach 'not to point out certain things
in their game'.
White questioned the Boks' defensive
system and the treatment of Springbok debutants, as he highlighted the flaws in
the team's loss to the Wallabies.
White
expressed concern about the Springboks' defensive woes.
“The ease
with which the Wallabies scored five tries is a worry. The defensive system the
Boks have introduced now a few months before the World Cup is completely
different to the one used in the past.”
“It's not
easy to acclimatise to a new system in a couple of weeks and it was a difficult
situation for those players to be put in.”
“Last year
the Aussies scored four tries or more against us, and they did it again on
Saturday. That's a big worry. We only scored two tries when the result was
beyond doubt – one from a pick and go and the other a drive from a lineout. We
didn't create anything or build momentum from 50m out or anything like that.”
White also targeted the breakdown as a problem area.
“We also
offered the Aussies many turnovers, which is obviously dangerous. We lost too
many balls in contact, which was evidence of them not playing in four weeks. It
was also clear that not many Boks knew where the ball was going in attack. That also comes from not playing together much as forwards
and backs and as a unit.”
White was
also saddened by the treatment of the three debutantes, Dean Greyling, Werner
Kruger and Ashley Johnson.
“To take
them all off (Greyling, Werner Kruger and Ashley Johnson) so early in a game
that wasn't going well anyway, was disappointing. The correct message would've
been to keep them on - that's the only way they would've learnt fully. As a
coach I felt sorry for them, even Charl McLeod who didn't even get on.”
“Doc Craven
said if you're good enough for one, you're good enough for two. If they were
good enough to be taken on tour, they were good enough to play 80 minutes.”
Jake White wrote off the Boks' chances of beating the All Blacks in New Zealand but targeted the third Test as crucial for the Springboks to build momentum moving towards the Rugby World Cup.