RugbyRebels

Getting a better coach would be the most obvious solution. Johan Ackermann would be worth a go, based on SR performances.

The buck stops with the SARFU, obviously. Coetzee hasn't been getting the support from the administration he requires, nor the respect from the players he deserves. But, while I agree there are pressing issues within the South African set-up which need addressing, I think once again too much is being read into results in a post-World Cup year. The emphasis now is on rebuilding. Come World Cup time we'll see the Boks back to their best, and the Wallabies and probably France too. So long as they keep getting up for World Cups - most of the time, at least - I don't think any of the traditional powers of the game can be written off. The loss to Japan notwithstanding, the Boks were quite possibly the second best team at last year's RWC and certainly gave the All Blacks their toughest work-out. If we go back to the beginning of this decade, after the Boks had been thrashed by the Kiwis and Aussies, then humiliated 53-3 by England, the pundits were saying precisely the same thing about them. & it all seemed confirmed after they failed to progress from the QFs in 2003. But what happened in 2007?

NB: If this seems inconsistent with my 'Fall of France' post, I was mostly just questioning why France's slump hadn't received more attention from the (English language) press...

The problem for NZ is that if the level of boks and wallabies drops then we will be impacted since these are the teams we play most often.

The rate Argentina is progressing that may not be too far off . . .

rowan wrote:The buck stops with the SARFU, obviously. Coetzee hasn't been getting the support from the administration he requires, nor the respect from the players he deserves. But, while I agree there are pressing issues within the South African set-up which need addressing, I think once again too much is being read into results in a post-World Cup year. The emphasis now is on rebuilding. Come World Cup time we'll see the Boks back to their best, and the Wallabies and probably France too. So long as they keep getting up for World Cups - most of the time, at least - I don't think any of the traditional powers of the game can be written off. The loss to Japan notwithstanding, the Boks were quite possibly the second best team at last year's RWC and certainly gave the All Blacks their toughest work-out. If we go back to the beginning of this decade, after the Boks had been thrashed by the Kiwis and Aussies, then humiliated 53-3 by England, the pundits were saying precisely the same thing about them. & it all seemed confirmed after they failed to progress from the QFs in 2003. But what happened in 2007?

NB: If this seems inconsistent with my 'Fall of France' post, I was mostly just questioning why France's slump hadn't received more attention from the (English language) press...

If the emphasis was on rebuilding wtf was Morne steyn doing in the team in the 4N?

Rebuilding doesn't just involve wiping the slate. You need at least some of the vets to stick around a while so that the newbies can benefit from their experience.

Like France and Wales and maybe Australia and possibly the Pacific Islands and North Americans as well, you mean? Oh dear, everyone except NZ, Ireland & England is in a slump. Panic stations !!

No denying the Boks' current woes, but once again, this is a post-World Cup year, they finished 3rd at last year's tournament and gave the All Blacks by far their closest encounter, and we've seen the Boks in this state before, in the early 2000s, but they bounced back to win the RWC in 2007. I just don't get why the alarm bells begin clanging every time SA or Australia lose a few games, while nobody hardly seems to notice when it's one of the NH teams - France over the past 5 years, for example. & strange how all these doom & gloom forecasts get turned completely on their head when the all-important RWC comes around....

cashead wrote:Yeah, we need a team that plays a radically different style to the ABs in this part of the world that'll keep them honest.

I'd love to see the reintroduction of a probable v possibles match again.

canta_brian wrote:

cashead wrote:Yeah, we need a team that plays a radically different style to the ABs in this part of the world that'll keep them honest.

I'd love to see the reintroduction of a probable v possibles match again.

The problem is that these days the coaches would insist on each having a 34-man squad or something.

Anyway, let's do it on the Friday XV thread.