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<blockquote data-quote="George Ford" data-source="post: 884480" data-attributes="member: 74118"><p>"Another day, another dawn..." in the words of the famous P. Diddy.</p><p></p><p>With 2017 now in hindsight and after all and sundry has been concluded and written about the Springboks performance last year. To sum it up: 7 wins, 4 losses & 2 draws. Reading more into those results: all the wins were against lower ranked opposition & exactly the opposite for the losses. The 2 draws against the Wallabies and these games felt like losses as it was the Boks to lose in both those fixtures who were the better side on the day.</p><p></p><p>And therein lies the crux for the story of 2017. They did what was least expected of them and their relative competitiveness advanced them out of the atrocious, awful- category they placed themselves in 2016, yet couldn't pull of the win which would've really boosted their confidence. Not even referring much to the 2 draws, but the 2 losses against the ABs and Wales.</p><p></p><p>Interesting to mention, before the 1st draw to the Aussies in Perth, the Boks were on a 5-game winning streak, the only unbeaten team among the RC sides at that stage. Dare I mention it again, we should've beaten the Wallabies that day, and then it all went - south (literally) afterwards. Albany, Ireland, Wales, etc.</p><p></p><p>Of course, I didn't expect the Boks to win all the games of the year - but at least 1 of Aus, Wales or Ireland/ABs. At least one. It didn't happen. Why? Because the Springboks have now found their new base as a middle-tier ranked nation. Why again? Well I think we all know the real answer behind the 1st answer. The players just isn't good enough. WHAAAT? NO. A lot of them may have played like they're going through the motions a bit; some of them really disappointed. But I'd like to think that most of them showed great potential, which is unfortunate because rugby is a team sport and thus you get judged on the result, in spite of a man-of-the-match performance (Malcolm Marx against ABs).</p><p></p><p>I'm sure the year in review would've felt somewhat different, if not more optimistic, had we beaten Wales. OR how different would it have been if Jaco Kriel didn't get injured, or if we had the leadership of Whiteley to call on at crucial times of the year; If Serfontein stayed on with the Boks on EOYT or had the coaching staff been more bold in their selections and brought the fringe players through more earlier in the season (Venter, Gelant), not forgetting why it required an injury to JL Du Preez that warranted the inclusion of a DUANE back into the side.</p><p></p><p>In spite of merely achieving a 55% win-ratio, the real positive from the Boks and their performances last year was the forward pack. While I wouldn't go as far as saying they were a revelation, they showed there certainly is a base to start with. As I mentioned before, in spite of losing key players through stages of the season, whoever filled the position really brought their worth. Marx, Kolisi & JLdP perhaps worth mentioning being revelations for themselves, the depth at lock and in the front-row.</p><p></p><p>There certainly is potential up front. Of course under-shadowed by a backline unit which to be hair perhaps proved that raw talent & potential is nothing without experience. But in the absence of experience you should be able to call on your mentors to close the gap so that the transition can be quite smoother. The coaching staff did get the right shake-up, yet the main instructions came from a man who is just plain and simple out of his depth at this level, in my honest opinion really.</p><p></p><p>Look, SA Rugby, despite all the kaak moves they have made (and keep on making), have now made a right call to have AC at least be answerable to a guy like Rassie. I would actually be fine if AC were to be "demoted" to just being the forwards coach, if firing him is too much of an ask. This might even already be on the cards afterall, since Johan Van Graan is gone. Jacques Nienaber installed as the new defense coach, since Venter is out. Franco Smith remains backline coach and Pieter De Villiers the new scrum coach.</p><p></p><p>The prowess displayed by our pack of forwards shows that we do have the potential to be able to "punch above our weight" and be a top tier nation again. We just need the right people to take charge and instill the right kind of attitude, create an environment which aims to bring the best our of the players. Over to you Naas.</p><p></p><p>P.S. - I am not referring to P. Divvy as the new scrum coach. (i.e. Peter De Villiers aka snorman).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="George Ford, post: 884480, member: 74118"] "Another day, another dawn..." in the words of the famous P. Diddy. With 2017 now in hindsight and after all and sundry has been concluded and written about the Springboks performance last year. To sum it up: 7 wins, 4 losses & 2 draws. Reading more into those results: all the wins were against lower ranked opposition & exactly the opposite for the losses. The 2 draws against the Wallabies and these games felt like losses as it was the Boks to lose in both those fixtures who were the better side on the day. And therein lies the crux for the story of 2017. They did what was least expected of them and their relative competitiveness advanced them out of the atrocious, awful- category they placed themselves in 2016, yet couldn't pull of the win which would've really boosted their confidence. Not even referring much to the 2 draws, but the 2 losses against the ABs and Wales. Interesting to mention, before the 1st draw to the Aussies in Perth, the Boks were on a 5-game winning streak, the only unbeaten team among the RC sides at that stage. Dare I mention it again, we should've beaten the Wallabies that day, and then it all went - south (literally) afterwards. Albany, Ireland, Wales, etc. Of course, I didn't expect the Boks to win all the games of the year - but at least 1 of Aus, Wales or Ireland/ABs. At least one. It didn't happen. Why? Because the Springboks have now found their new base as a middle-tier ranked nation. Why again? Well I think we all know the real answer behind the 1st answer. The players just isn't good enough. WHAAAT? NO. A lot of them may have played like they're going through the motions a bit; some of them really disappointed. But I'd like to think that most of them showed great potential, which is unfortunate because rugby is a team sport and thus you get judged on the result, in spite of a man-of-the-match performance (Malcolm Marx against ABs). I'm sure the year in review would've felt somewhat different, if not more optimistic, had we beaten Wales. OR how different would it have been if Jaco Kriel didn't get injured, or if we had the leadership of Whiteley to call on at crucial times of the year; If Serfontein stayed on with the Boks on EOYT or had the coaching staff been more bold in their selections and brought the fringe players through more earlier in the season (Venter, Gelant), not forgetting why it required an injury to JL Du Preez that warranted the inclusion of a DUANE back into the side. In spite of merely achieving a 55% win-ratio, the real positive from the Boks and their performances last year was the forward pack. While I wouldn't go as far as saying they were a revelation, they showed there certainly is a base to start with. As I mentioned before, in spite of losing key players through stages of the season, whoever filled the position really brought their worth. Marx, Kolisi & JLdP perhaps worth mentioning being revelations for themselves, the depth at lock and in the front-row. There certainly is potential up front. Of course under-shadowed by a backline unit which to be hair perhaps proved that raw talent & potential is nothing without experience. But in the absence of experience you should be able to call on your mentors to close the gap so that the transition can be quite smoother. The coaching staff did get the right shake-up, yet the main instructions came from a man who is just plain and simple out of his depth at this level, in my honest opinion really. Look, SA Rugby, despite all the kaak moves they have made (and keep on making), have now made a right call to have AC at least be answerable to a guy like Rassie. I would actually be fine if AC were to be "demoted" to just being the forwards coach, if firing him is too much of an ask. This might even already be on the cards afterall, since Johan Van Graan is gone. Jacques Nienaber installed as the new defense coach, since Venter is out. Franco Smith remains backline coach and Pieter De Villiers the new scrum coach. The prowess displayed by our pack of forwards shows that we do have the potential to be able to "punch above our weight" and be a top tier nation again. We just need the right people to take charge and instill the right kind of attitude, create an environment which aims to bring the best our of the players. Over to you Naas. P.S. - I am not referring to P. Divvy as the new scrum coach. (i.e. Peter De Villiers aka snorman). [/QUOTE]
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