Outfoxed... Little Japan took on and conquered South Africa's giants of rugby in the world cup's biggest upset
The pain of losing to Japan in rugby at the weekend was very deep for many South Africans. It cut through their national pride like a merciless knife. Losing is part of the game but SA rugby has no business losing to Japan. That's what so many of us believed when the Asian nation was drawn to give the Springboks their first test in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
True, Japan do not have better rugby players than SA. Their pool of players is small and limited to a few cities where programmes for rugby development exist in the extremely traditional country.
I did not watch the match because of a personal protest, though I kept abreast with progress through a radio broadcast. Rugby writers however are of the opinion that South Africa did not have a clear plan, for the match. EWN's Rafiq Ragiet wrote at halftime that "Japan [was] the more impressive team in the opening forty minutes, despite South Africa scoring two tries to Japan's one".
Apart from the ThobelaFM commentators at one time expressing horror at an error by Bismarck du Plessis, saying even under-13 players would have known better in that situation, I really do not know what happened in that game.
But I know the players selected for this Springbok team... it is not their fault, despite the said blunder by Du Plessis during the Japan match. A third of the players, including captain Jean De Villiers, did not see much action during the season ahead of the World Cup due to injuries. De Villiers and some of his teammates had not fully recovered from their wounds when they were called to play for their country.
Other players like Bryan Habana and Victor Matfield are just too old they have seen enough battles in their illustrous careers. Even worse, Matfield was hauled out of retirement.
Coach Heyneke Meyer is to blame for the mess the Springboks find themselves in. Instead of using his tenure as national coach to carve a clear path forward and usher a new era, Meyer amused himself with dubious experimentation which excluded deserving players along the way. He is so obsessed with the Blue Bulls culture that he sees little folly in trying to replicate it in the national team... Bulls players, culture and all.
People ask if the Lions are the form team in South Africa over the past year, how come their brilliance is not represented in the national team. The answer is Meyer and that Bulls supercilious folly, only because it is natural in Pretoria to feel superior to the Lions.
Meyer also has mishandled the issue of black players that nobody now trusts if he has any determination to see these players shine in the Springboks. Overall, the SA team in the world cup does not reflect the true potential of South African rugby right now. It is for that reason that the players are not to blame for the loss to Japan. Heyneke Meyer is.
He is the reason for my protest against watching the Springboks in this world cup.
The Boks have the game against Samoa to redeem himself. The Samoans are not world beaters as well, but boast a richer rugby culture than Japan. It's all up to Meyer now, to show some vision.
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