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Cape Town - Former coach Jake White was not surprised to see the Springboks pummelled 57-0 by the All Blacks in Albany earlier this month.
It was the heaviest defeat in Springbok history and according to White, “it’s been coming for some time”.
Via a column for All Out Rugby, White said Bok coach Allister Coetzee had made a mistake by discarding several experienced campaigners.
“Over the past four years we’ve won 24 of 43 matches and have suffered historic losses against Japan, Argentina, Italy and Wales. Like it or not, that’s where it started because if players play in a team that’s losing to those sorts of countries, the juniors at the coalface of those defeats never forget them,” White wrote.
White feels experienced Springboks playing their trade overseas that should have been roped in.
“We’ve discarded all of the guys who have the experience of beating the world’s best teams. Malcolm Marx is going to be a great Springbok, but he would get there much quicker if he was given the baton by Bismarck du Plessis. Bismarck got the baton from John Smit.
“Duane Vermeulen should be playing to give stability to the team and make sure that the next Bok No 8 knows what to do to win the big games, and that applies across the team.
“We’ve got Raymond Rhule, Andries Coetzee and Courtnall Skosan all playing in their first season as Springboks together. There’s no team in the world that will win like that.”
White, who led the Boks to World Cup glory in 2007, currently coaches Toyota Verblitz in Japan.
CLICK HERE to read Jake White's full column on All Out Rugby
