Wanted: SA rugby (New Year's) resolution

There are many people out there who believe the advent of a New Year is one of a second chance.

Some believe that no matter how bad 2011 was for you, the gong that struck at midnight on 31 December is an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, to start a new journey. It is a time to get things right.

But being the humans that we are, we have an inevitable degree of fallibility, and seldom end up keeping the resolutions we so passionately set for ourselves.

The wise men at SA Rugby will sit down later this month to choose a new Springbok coach and inevitably there will be a lot of teeth-gnashing in Cape Town as the wheeling and dealing begins.

Let’s be honest. While we may still rant over Bryce Lawrence, 2011 was not a good year for South African rugby. It was a year where the Bulls gave up their Super Rugby title, the Stormers were demolished in the semifinal, and the Sharks flattered to deceive once again.

It was a year where the Tri-Nations was sacrificed for the greater good of the World Cup, giving us an away leg that didn’t do justice to the Springbok jersey, and a home leg that smacked more of desperation than anything else.

Then there was the World Cup – the Holy Grail of the game that the Boks arrived in New Zealand clutching, but they had to limp out of the airport in the early-morning hours following their quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Australia.

Results aside, it was a year where the Boks played an uninspiring brand of rugby, one which was usurped by the All Blacks on their way to the World Cup trophy and one in which several stalwarts of the game either hung up their boots or headed for greener pastures of euros or yen.

In essence it wasn’t a great year, not by any standards. But with the new year upon us, and a wonderful rugby season ahead which will welcome England for three tests and Argentina in the Castle Rugby Championship, it is a promising one ahead.

This is why I’d like SA Rugby to make just one New Year’s Resolution. A simple resolution. Yet it is one which needs to be made in the best interests of the game in this country.

It may sound a bit far-fetched, even ridiculous to some, but I’m pleading for SA Rugby to do just one thing – choose the best coaching candidate to coach the Springboks.

If last year’s Tri-Nations away leg taught us one thing, it is that our depth – when not completely focused and in unison – is not as deep and talented as we might think. New Zealand match us in size, and outclass us in flair most of the time, while Australia tend to out-think us more than we should allow.

Over the past few years there have been few occasions when the best candidate – both on paper and on the field – was given the opportunity. Still despite this, Springbok rugby has achieved some remarkable heights, more through sheer doggedness and some good planning (à la Jake White) than anything else.

The All Blacks showed us that consistency can win World Cups. Their victory showed that it is simply not good enough anymore to lurch from “four-year plan” to “four-year plan”.

Success, for the Springboks both as a unifying force in South Africa and as a brand in World Rugby, needs to be consistent. Too often we’ve failed on both accounts.

SA Rugby had the best candidate in 2008, but chose the political path. They made similar choices in the past, both for personal and other reasons, with Kitch Christie, Jake White and Nick Mallett the only coaches worthy of the badge over the years.

When the wise men meet in Cape Town to decide on the coach it should come down to the right decision. It should be the candidate with the best coaching record, the man who has won trophies and attained success at the highest level. It should be the candidate who can use lateral thinking to devise a winning game plan, one which is both attractive and gets the necessary results.

To those who want to add the bit about uniting a nation, it is worth noting that Graham Henry had an 85 per cent winning record when he won the World Cup. Nothing unites people like the success of a sporting team.

So for a final time, please SA Rugby make one resolution this New Year. Choose the best candidate. Not just for the Springboks, but for all of us.