SA Rugby dropping the future

“It’s not in our nature… it’s just not the way we play” said the great All Black flyhalf when I ran into him in the Press Centre at the Stade de France during last year’s Rugby World Cup.

It was the night of the semifinal between France and England and Grant Fox was wearing the pained expression that was common for every New Zealander you came across during what for them was the awful week after Cardiff – the night they went out of the World Cup.

“Foxy” is one of those former players we journos love bumping into. No attitude, no arrogance, no poorly disguised effort to try to make out that he doesn’t know who you are. He’s always pleasant, personable and able to give insightful comment. A good bloke, as my Kiwi mates would say.

Fox was in Paris in his role as a television commentator and I’d asked him why the All Blacks, in going down to the French, had not resorted to drop-kicks – after all they’d spent virtually all of the last 15 minutes banging away in front of the Tricolores’ posts.

That’s when he made the remark about it not being in the nature of the All Blacks to go for drops – a remark I found odd (seeing as he knocked over a few “droppies” himself) and which I put down to his disappointment at his country having yet again failed at a World Cup.

Surely when it comes to the World Cup you do whatever you can? Whatever it takes?

Grant Fox’s comment came back to me to when I started to become aware of the gnashing of teeth in New Zealand caused by the releasing of a tome called the “Independent Review 2007 Rugby World Cup Campaign” – a report commissioned by the NZRFU to try to come to terms with what had gone wrong in Cardiff.

And, having had perusal of the document, I have to agree with most of the comment that has appeared on Kiwi websites and in their Press.

It does seem to be a waste of money and it doesn’t tell us anything that we (the South Africa media as opposed to our mates in New Zealand) could not have told Graham Henry six months ago.

Pulling the All Blacks out of the Super 14 was a calamity – giving the Springboks a momentum they might not have had and tampering with the psyche and consistency of the All Blacks.

We could see that the grumpy Henry, with his revolving selection policy, had no idea of his best team; that the sum of their parts did not add up to a Super XV – i.e. that while the All Blacks could claim to have three teams who could win the World Cup the best team out of that group was not that much better than any of the combinations.

We could see that it was mistake not to pick Aaron Mauger (who might have drop-kicked!), Chris Jack and Keven Mealamu for the Cardiff quarter-final and we knew the Boks had been done a massive favour when the All Blacks refused to go for field-goals to ensure that, for the first time in the World Cup, they got to Paris.

I also agree that it is despicable that Richie McCaw has been fingered as the main culprit in the report authored by Don Tricker, who apparently has some prominence in softball, and Mike Heron, a lawyer.

As (former All Black coach) Laurie Mains has pointed out the report was edited, to leave out some material not intended for public consumption, but for some reason the criticism of McCaw was left in. Shocking!

However, what I absolutely don’t agree with is that the report should not have been done at all.

I find it staggering for instance that the SA Rugby Union has, for all intents and purposes, not had any debriefing sessions on the World Cup; that no attempt has been made to record and preserve the intelligence gained in winning the Coupe du Monde.

Jake White, the man who had a plan that came together, has been allowed to walk away; Xola Yeye’s views have not been sought; nor John Smit’s input solicited, Mac Hendriks’ experience turned into a manual; Derik Coetzee’s methods committed to record; or the process followed by selectors Ian McIntosh and PeterJooste committed to record – never mind getting some contribution from those of us who interrelated with the team on a daily basis.

The same thing happened in 1995. A blueprint for sound management developed around Francois Pienaar’s team (a respected manager in Morne du Plessis, a coach left to coach in Kitch Christie, a skilled media man in Edward Griffiths, the influence of former Springboks in Gysie Pienaar, Hennie Bekker and Ray Mordt – that was never again repeated) not even in France.

The people who really knew what it took to gain ultimate success are no longer involved – White, Smit, Eddie Jones, Allister Coetzee, Gert Smal.

If a country should have done an independent review it was South Africa. That it hasn’t speaks volumes for the management of the game and yet again illustrates what a miracle took place in St Denis on the night of 20 October 2007.

The fact that the Boks won does not mean we didn’t make mistakes. We made many, too many, and it seems that with a new coach, a new manager, new assistant coaches and any number of new auxiliary staff we’re about to start the cycle again. Let's hope it doesn't take another 12 years until we get it right again!