When Graeme Smith took over the captaincy of the Proteas, the team had a training camp in Pretoria before heading to face England in a Test series. The public was angry at recent performances and there had been bad press.
I was honoured to be invited by Gerald de Kock, the Proteas’ media liaison manager, to address the squad on media issues. Before my turn, players and coaches were heard and it was clear that they felt hard done by.
The media voices and scribes were denigrated as ignorant and I remember Corrie van Zyl, in particular, being very emotional. They just didn’t get it. When I was called to the podium the notes were ignored and two questions were asked of the squad. “When a team is playing badly and losing, what do good journalists write and talk about?” The answer was “why the team is so f****** bad”. The same question was put when a side is playing well and winning. The answer was “why they are so f****** good”.
The players were told, in no uncertain way, that to get rid of criticism they must start performing. Nobody is interested in reasons for failure, especially when they are well paid for doing what the people of the country would do for nothing. That was the end of the whingeing and Graeme Smith presented me with a beautiful pen for the effort. I still have it. They hammered England at Lords a few weeks later.
This came to mind when considering the current Springboks. After all the optimism about Allister Coetzee’s appointment and talk of the next level of play being reached, the country is now angry. Scribes and experts are not interested in excuses or explanations. We have seen a bunch of highly paid and admired individuals given the honour of representing us and they have, so far, failed the test. Three wins out of five against modest, but admittedly difficult, opponents and they are copping flak.
No doubt they are feeling unloved but the same rule applies as it did to the Proteas. Start performing and we'll focus on good stuff. It doesn’t help when we are also lied to. The coach selected Adriaan Strauss even though he knew retirement beckoned at the end of the year. What’s next?
Today's game is very important and the fact that the Aussies are in the same boat makes it a sort-of final. Winning is everything. The difference is that they have played England and the All Blacks as opposed to Ireland and the Pumas. Today will be tough and, looking ahead, it doesn’t look very promising. The selection of the Boks is odd. Despite the Lions being head and shoulders above the rest, particularly in attack, none now are selected in the three-quarters. All the players who have been selected are fine but, as a unit, it looks workmanlike rather than spectacular. Faf and Elton conducted the Lions orchestra with panache and it was based on speed, variation and surprise. They now look like rock musicians who have been asked to play gentle classics. They look confused and a bit lost.
The pack, as usual, appears strong and physical on paper and will try to disrupt the Aussie line-out, as did the Kiwis. That is fine but it will not, alone, win the match. Looking at the side, it is hard not to believe that Coetzee has not changed his mind one iota and that he still believes that a conservative approach, based on kicking for possession and kicking goals, is the way to go. Based on what we've seen so far, few agree with him.
However, he is the boss. He has sold his vision to the czars of our rugby and he must be given the benefit of the doubt. Maybe to play an expansive game as the template won't challenge the All Blacks and Aussies. Maybe we must drag them into an arm wrestle to have a chance. After all, Heyneke Meyer did that in the World Cup and we lost by just two points in the semis against New Zealand.
Maybe Coetzee is going to walk before running and will gradually expand after his basic plan is ingrained. Maybe we'll see evidence today that all is under control and on track. Maybe we'll win. Honestly I hope so.
However, I fear the worst. When a Springbok side is losing, unless it buys into the overall vision, players start to look at themselves and their individual survival. Provincial issues surface and there is whispering in corners. Journalists pick this up and the pressure builds. It’s actually all wonderful stuff and this is what makes rugby so marvellous. If we didn’t care so much we wouldn’t be upset. Maybe we care too much.
Please play well and win today, Springboks. The pressure will dissipate and we'll love you again. The trouble is that selections, tactics and performance so far make it look unlikely. Prove me wrong. Please!
Saturday Star