Not yet a ‘White’ knight

It was Rian Oberholzer who once remarked that when the Springboks win nothing is wrong with South African rugby.

This observation by the former managing director of SA Rugby comes to mind in the euphoria of a pleasing Springbok performance in scoring a fine four tries to one, 31-17, win against Ireland for the glow of victory seems to have masked some disturbing aspects of Jake White’s first test in charge.

The most worrying of these occurred in the 84th minute – Schalk Burger being sent to the sin-bin for a vicious-looking arm-swing on Marcus Horan that might well have attracted stronger censure from referee Tony Spreadbury - and concerns White himself

The English official did not have the best of games – for instance allowing a blatantly off-sides David Wallace to steal the ball at the back of a ruck and set up a move that nearly resulted in a try by Malcolm O’Kelly and letting Gordon D’Arcy get away with slapping the ball into touch – but Burger is extremely lucky that he was shown a yellow card and not a red one.

Now Burger is a fine young player whose distinctive (some might say too eye-catching!) mop of blond hair is always to be spotted where the action is at its most frenetic but he is starting to run the risk of being a marked man.

The young Western Province forward was sent off when he captained South Africa in a semifinal of the IRB under-21 World Cup and he was also sent to the cooler by Jonathan Kaplan in the Boks’ warm-up game in Kimberley.

His position of openside flank requires that he pushes the envelope as far as he can in terms of off-sides and winning the ball on the ground but he already has a tendency to give away too many penalties.

All these things add up to a reputation he can ill afford and it is down to White to ensure that the former Matie, who has the makings of a future Springbok captain and a genuinely world-class loose forward, does not go the way of a Butch James who became encumbered by the weight of his own notoriety.

Referees, remember, are human beings. They watch television, they read newspapers, they converse with other rugby folk and they talk among themselves and Burger is too good a player, too precious a talent, to come to be seen as a rogue.

He is a favourite of White and it is up to the new coach to see to it that his young charge stays strictly within the confines of the law, plays to the ball, and properly channels the fiery zest that has enabled him to play test match rugby at such a young age.

This reservation aside, White’s Springboks made a most impressive start to a new era.

Bakkies Botha, as picked up by discerning critics during the Super 12, has become a world-class lock forward while it was good to see Victor Matfield, especially at kick-offs, stick to the metier of a tight forward.

I had my doubts about Eddie Andrews but he won my heart with the emotion he displayed while the anthems were being played – giving the lie to all those who say modern-day players lack pride in the jersey – and the way he made the step up to another plane.

John Smit is the right kind of player and captain to lead the side, I was amazed to see how trim and fit big Os du Randt was looking (and Shane “The Mullet” Byrne will never forget him after being drilled into the Free State Stadium turf!) and the loose forwards of Burger, Jacques Cronjé and Pedrie Wannenburg, with their all-round contribution, gave White the best kind of headache for a coach by making him ponder how to re-introduce Joe van Niekerk and Juan Smith.

There was little doubt Fourie du Preez possessed the class, Wayne Julies fought back well after missing the peerless Brian O’Driscoll, Marius Joubert is world-class and Breyton Paulse showed the value of having been there before.

Under White, Jaco van der Westhuyzen will be allowed the time to cut out the risky options and to take more control; Gaffie du Toit is a player transformed from the edgy, error-prone individual we had come to know and Henno Mentz will do the work he needs to on his defensive duties – especially the ball on the ground.

The Boks will work out from their video sessions that their first two tries came after long spells of recycling the ball and they will take heart at how their tackling, especially on the fringes of the forward exchanges, improved as the game went on.

All in all it was a very good start, but it was not perfect. White, however, is a realist who will know that the Irish did not play as well as they can – perhaps in fear of the affect of altitude kicking away far too much possession instead of allowing their dangerous backs more of the ball – and that Newlands, with its softer turf, will present his young team with an even bigger challenge.

He will also learn that there is no comfort zone to being Springbok coach. The challenges keep coming, expectations seldom diminish and the only satisfaction is provided by victories.

Bloemfontein, however, was good for starters. It was pleasing to see the Springboks once again enjoying their rugby, to hear a crowd getting behind their team and, moving around on Sunday, to sense the optimism welling up among rugby folk.

As we say; it was “lekker!”