Is the Ship sinking?

To some people, it might seem premature and hasty to suggest after one bad match that the Springbok machine is becoming obsolete. The truth however, is that South African rugby fans demand and deserve a respectable display from their heroes in green and gold. I’ve always said that it’s not the fact the that the Springboks lose that makes us bitterly disappointed, it’s the manner in which they lose that leaves us feeling physically ill.

Saturday’s display brought back memories of times when the Springboks were the whipping boys of the Tri Nations. Times when our players seemed to give up, times when our leaders went missing and times when we hoped we’d win rather than knew we could.

When all goes well and you are winning, it’s easy to smooth over any problems and to the naked eye everything can be perceived to be going well. Pieter de Villiers took over Jake White’s squad landing the dream job of looking after the World Champions. Since then de Villiers has had a mixed bag of results and a year out from the World Cup the jury is still out. As much as the players back up the coach and proclaim their faith in him, his elementary public attitude and affectionate broadcasts towards his counterparts contributes negatively to the team atmosphere with the players watching their self proclaimed leader hang himself.

However, de Villiers isn’t the only suspect in this potentially ill fated saga. John Smit for all he’s worth showed signs of concern when he had to fall back on Victor Matfield for a decision on whether to go for poles or a touch finder during the match against New Zealand this past Saturday. If our World Cup winning captain doesn’t have faith in his decision making then how can he expect the rest of the players to? To further fracture his leadership trust he publicly stated his disappointment in Bakkies Botha’s head butting incident without backing the player’s abilities and positive influence on his team mates which is imperative in a team dynamic.

So the question begs, “Is the ship sinking?”

The Springboks looked complacent and disjointed in their opening Tri Nations match of 2010. It’s not that we don’t have the quality players or the experience needed, but what we seemed to lack enormously was direction. Pieter de Villiers and John Smit need to stand up and be responsible for this team. Snor needs to bite his lip and give the South African rugby fraternity the results they rightfully deserve and Smitty needs to be the player and leader we all know he is capable of being.

There is still over 12 months before the World Cup and this weekend in Wellington can be a step in the right direction.