Good reason for optimism

Happy New Year everyone and congratulations to the Kiwis, who by my calculations celebrated the start of 2008 a full 12 hours before we South Africans did. It must be a nice feeling for New Zealanders to be first at something for a change.

Of course, this being a non-World Cup year, most of the rugby world will probably expect them to be back at the top of the oval ball game by the time they celebrate the start of their 2009 at midday our time on 31 December 2008.

Preventing this from becoming the case is the big challenge facing South African rugby through until the end of the Tri-Nations season in August. A massive blow was struck on behalf of the game in this part of the world when the Bulls and the Sharks contested last year’s Super 14 final, beating two top Kiwi teams in the semifinals to get there.

But last year there was so much focus on the World Cup, and New Zealand coach Graham Henry did take something away from the competition when he rested 22 All Blacks for the duration. It backfired on him later, and allowed South Africa to gather the momentum that took them ultimately to World Cup glory, but New Zealanders will be desperate to make a point in this year’s Super 14.

It may be the start of the four year cycle to the next World Cup, and there will be a new coach in charge of the Springboks by the end of this week, but the focus of the South African coaches and players must be on the here and now. As world champions, it is a matter of more than just pride that the country’s talent carries itself like a champion nation should.

The sport in this country depends for its livelihood on success, and if the SA Super 14 teams and the national team carry on where they left off last year, then the turnstiles will continue to rotate at a merry rate at venues such as Loftus, Absa Stadium, Ellis Park, Newlands and Vodacom Park.

Swelling the coffers is surely the best way of ensuring that the other important challenges facing South African rugby in 2008, such as development and transformation, are fronted. Everything in the modern game requires money, nothing can be achieved without it, and it is what makes the world go round.

So what are the chances that SA rugby continues on its current upward trajectory on the performance graph? At Springbok level much will depend on the decision to taken later this week over who will succeed Jake White as national coach.

Following on from a World Cup-winning coach is going to be a hard act to follow. In terms of rugby achievement Heyneke Meyer should be a shoo-in. After all, he now has the Super 14 trophy to list alongside a smattering of Currie Cup titles among his rugby achievements.

However one would imagine that there will be a lot more than just the past record of the respective candidates that will go under the spotlight of the selection committee. Apart from transformation, there are matters of playing style and attitude that will come into the equation, and late last year it did seem that Pieter de Villiers might have a narrow lead in the quest to succeed White, with the former coach lurking in the background as a possible advisor.

It shouldn’t matter though too much who the national coach is, however, provided the new man is prepared to stick with the basic outline of the squad that won the World Cup and is prepared to emulate what White did with Eddie Jones by welcoming outside help when it is necessary.

With most of the World Cup winners being either in their early to mid-20s, it would be madness to dispense with the tried and trusted, and that includes retaining John Smit as captain. Much maligned in some quarters, the big front row forward did more than enough last year to prove his credentials, and selecting overseas based players would be one good way to ensure the Boks stay ahead of the All Blacks, who won’t be doing the same and who have lost some quality performers.

It would be short-sighted though to imagine that last year’s success was just down to what White and his management did with the Boks. Dick Muir and Meyer were in charge of Super 14 management teams who may have been the real unsung heroes of 2007. The precocious, youthful talent uncovered by aggressive, adventurous selection on the part of Muir and the discipline and structure which became the Bulls’ lifeblood under Meyer all played a part in the Bok triumph in France.

So it is going to be interesting to see how the Bulls fare without Meyer, and much has already been said by the critics of the decision to appoint Frans Ludeke, a former right hand man of Meyer at the SWD Eagles but not a success in his previous head coach appointment at the Lions.

The Sharks have lost some experienced players but have gained Frederic Michalak and have talented youngsters falling out of every banana tree, and they could well be the South African flag-bearers in the competition. It will be interesting to see how the Stormers respond to Rassie Erasmus, while the Lions and the Cheetahs have shown a lot of growth under new coaches Loffie Eloff and Naka Drotske respectively.

Provided the administrators don’t, in the words of Nick Mallett, succeed in “buggering it up”, I am optimistic.