Strong medicine needed

As a notorious optimist I’m really looking forward to the Easter weekend because, miracle of miracles, I can guarantee that no South African Super 12 team will lose a game.

In fact things are really looking up because no South African team will lose at least until April 6.

Why this burst of confidence? Well because none of the South African teams will be in action until April 6!

With unusual foresight this year’s fixture list has been arranged to give all four South African teams their byes over the Easter weekend. This will give the Sharks and Cats the chance to stumble home from the badlands of Australia and New Zealand – there are those who believe they should have been made to row home! – while the unspeakaBulls and the Stormers will gird their loins for their time away.

Rudolf Straeuli will be able to clear his office at King’s Park - to allow Kevin Putt to get on with what will doubtless be the slightly uncomfortable task of moving into the space once occupied by his mentor Ian McIntosh - before setting off for Cape Town.

There Straeuli will head to Newlands to report for duty as the new Springbok coach at SA Rugby’s offices in the building that also houses the SA Sports Science Institute.

Quite apt that, because right now South African rugby needs all the science it can get.

There can be little doubt that our game is in crisis. Our teams have made the worst start in seven years of the Super 12 – in fact, I believe that for the first time we won’t have a semi-finalist – and when seen alongside the regression of the Springboks the situation is grim.

It has become impossible for me to go anywhere that involves meeting up with people without being asked: “What is wrong with our rugby?”

The answer to that is that there isn’t an answer… at least not one answer. Rugby’s problems are complex and can be sorted under many headings, so perhaps the first step should be for everyone in rugby to concede that there is a problem... no, not a problem, a crisis.

To my mind what has to stop is the “two-aspirins-and-a-glass-of-water” approach to what is wrong with South African rugby. The Boks are in decline and, as John Connolly so crudely stated it, our teams are becoming “easybeats” in the Super 12.

It’s bad enough that we – permit me to include all rugby fans by using the royal pronoun – that we are distressed by the waning fortunes but woe betide that it gets so bad that Rupert Murdoch, or whoever watches over his Newscorp rugby interests, decides that our teams are no longer worthy to be included in the Super 12 and the Tri-Nations!

So we need to stop, stand back and decide how to stop the rot.

Do we concede that our top players simply play too much top-class rugby? We do? So what do we do about it?

Is the problem that club rugby has been seriously eroded? It is? Let’s come up with a plan to fix it.

And so on down the line. Is the Vodacom Cup right for our rugby? Does the regional system really work in the Super 12? What impact is political interference having? How big a threat is the exchange rate bogey that lures our players to Europe? Are our coaches properly trained and equipped for the jobs they’re doing?

And there’s more. Is the quota system the best way to address the pressing need for transformation? Is the massively expensive development enterprise producing the required results? If not, what method should replace it?

Why do our players seem to suffer more serious injuries than those in other countries? Is our fitness training up to speed? Is the structure for contracting players serving the best needs of South African rugby?

As I said, the problem is multifaceted and there are no simple answers. Now is not the time for band aids; South African rugby needs some strong medicine. Is there a Doc in the house?