Touring brings out class

SA Rugby has missed a golden opportunity to prepare for next year’s World Cup by agreeing to an absurd tour schedule for the annual excursion to the misty isles in November.

Smug as we are about having the Wallabies over a barrel in South Africa, we could well have followed their lead in getting the most out of what will be the last chance to grow accustomed to the conditions in which the World Cup will be played.

While the Boks are heading north to play three tough tests, against Ireland plus the ridiculous back-to-back matches against England, the Aussies have planned a tour specifically designed to add depth to their resources or to test new talent by arranging mid-week fixtures as well as some “soft” test matches.

So while Jake White will be trying to make up for a loss last time out against Ireland in Dublin and to prevent what is likely to be a resolute England from extending their win record over the Boks to eight in a row, John Connelly will be able to experiment and see how promising, but untried, players cope in the rarefied atmosphere of international rugby.

Not only have the Australians arranged arguably easier internationals against Wales, Italy, Ireland and Scotland but they have added a game against the British Barbarians and midweek fixtures against Ireland A, Scotland A and Welsh Heineken Cup team the Ospreys.

Connelly readily admits that the goal of the tour will be to broaden the depth of the Wallabies, look at new combinations, give players (such as Matt Giteau and Mat Rogers) a chance in different positions and see how some, whom he might have in mind to take to France, react to playing in the gold jumper.

The All Blacks with their abundance of talent and revolving team and familiarity with cold weather and yielding fields are not in the same boat, but how Jake White could have used a few extra games, in the kind of conditions that might be encountered in France, to do the same as Connelly.

It would have been the ideal opportunity for him to rest certain players – by leaving them at home – while giving their understudies the chance to show, in the words of a seasoned international I recently spoke to, “whether they have what it takes to be a Springbok.”

Some players just do not make the step up from provincial matches and a few extra tour fixtures would have been ideal to “bring through” players who might provide a solution in the problematic, and easily identified, areas in the current Springbok set-up.

For instance. What will we do if Os du Randt breaks down? Every time big Os has been replaced this season it has been at the expense of scrummaging power so a number of outings on tour would have given Lawrence Sephaka the chance to establish himself (if ever) while also looking at some other looseheads who could perform the role – say Riaan du Preez of the Cheetahs and Heinke van der Merwe from the Lions.

This is equally true for almost all the other positions. Who do we have to replace the man our opposition consider to be our key player, Victor Matfield? If young Andries Bekker of Western Province or Francois van Schouwenburg of the Bulls, to name just two, have what it takes now would have been the time to find out.

Instead of being able to incorporate a promising tighthead prop such as Jannie du Plessis of the Cheetahs into his squad or develop some back-up at flyhalf (Morné Steyn, Willem de Waal, perhaps even Francois Steyn of the Sharks) White will be involved in a backs-to-the-wall, can’t-lose exercise that will leave no room for experimentation.

One does not know whether White can influence these things, or whether the worthies of SA Rugby simply did not think of it, but a few additional games in places like Llanelli, Leicester or Limerick would have provided the perfect testing ground for those players who have caught the eye in the Currie Cup and look as though they might have the goods to be a Springbok.

Going on tour with untried players is fraught with risk, such as the team that went overseas under Rudolf Straeuli in late 2002 and returned having suffered a string of record defeats, but by expanding the scope of the mission White would have been able to test and identify his back-up for the World Cup; where depth has often been shown to be more important than a strong frontline.

We would have been able to see whether the like of Luke Watson (!?), Robbie Diack, Hilton Lobberts, Gio Aplon, Kabamba Floors, Johan Roets, Brad Barritt, Keegan Daniel, and a number of others who are being mentioned in dispatches, really have what it takes but instead all we’ll likely get is more sub-par performances, talk of player fatigue and I-told-you-so’s.