It is not exactly the best time to be a South African!
Our Olympians were horribly outclassed in China, Bafana Bafana are going nowhere fast under their new coach Santana, our all conquering cricket heroes are suddenly looking like school boys trying out for the third team and our World Cup rugby champions have delivered a performance so poor that we simply have to ask the question: is it going to be all downhill from here?
Losing to New Zealand at Newlands is no disgrace but being convincingly outplayed and going down 19-0 most certainly is.
“Was the 0-19 defeat to New Zealand a bad day at the office or the first signs that the glory days of the Jake White era were a thing of the past?”
The Springboks looked shadows of their former selves as they once again tried to take on a Tri-Nations rival without a discernable game plan. The ball was turned over time and again as they either failed to support the carrier or threw wild passes, both of which gifted the grateful Australians more possession than they could have dreamed of.
The final score of 15-27 was, if anything, flattering to the Boks. The Aussies should be kicking themselves for not grabbing a four-try bonus point, which may yet prove to be crucial in the final run in, but to defy history and win in South Africa was, no doubt, enough for Robbie Deans and his charges.
One new coach has turned his country’s fortunes around whereas another must now face half-empty stadiums as supporters revolt against the demise of a team that celebrated a World Cup win on foreign soil just 10 months ago.
WHAT HAS GONE WRONG? 
Well, first up, let’s acknowledge that taking over the reigns of a world-champion outfit is not easy. Just ask Andy Robinson, who stepped into Clive Woodward’s shoes after England won the Webb Ellis trophy in 2004.
On that basis alone I always expected de Villiers to experience something of a “morning after” start to his Bok coaching career, so I chose to reserve judgement on him until he had a few games under his belt.
However, the Boks’ past two performances make it impossible to sit on the fence any longer. This guy is stuffing up our rugby, big time.
The players not only look lost on the field but they also look frustrated with everything from the referee to one another. When Steyn and Watson had that mix-up under the high ball in the final minutes, the latter’s reaction told the story of a team that started to crack last week but is now threatening to implode.
De Villiers’s continued selection of Watson is, no doubt, one of the factors contributing to this discontent but the main problem seems to be his stubbornness in insisting on moving away from Jake White’s game-plan to create his own legacy.
He is asking the players to perform outside of their comfort zones, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it is causing harm because they are now losing confidence. After riding the wave of being world champions, they are now demotivated and this is affecting their performances. When last has Schalk Burger been so subdued or Victor Matfield looked so unsure under kick-offs and in the line-outs?
De Villiers has also made it clear that he will not be rethinking his strategy and changing course and that spells trouble for South Africa. The right response to the successive home defeats would be to go back to basics and to play to our strengths. Instead we are likely to get more of the same in Johannesburg next week.
WILL PDV KEEP HIS JOB?
Many would argue that he has not yet been given a fair crack at the job and that we should judge him only a year or so down the line. I, too, would subscribe to that theory if he wasn’t so obviously blind to what he is doing to our game.
He won’t be fired, though.
Let’s not forget that he was a huge underdog for the post (a 14/1 shot, to be exact) and that the man he beat, Heyneke Meyer, was virtually a unanimous choice for the job by local rugby experts.
By sticking their necks out and appointing de Villiers, his employers simply have to stand by their man. We can expect to hear plenty of excuses and support for the coach when the media and supporters call for his head (as they will).
Personally, my plea to de Villiers is to acknowledge his deficiencies, swallow his pride and turn to the likes of a Meyer or White for assistance. Let’s not forget that White himself brought Australian coach Eddie Jones into the Bok fold before the World Cup, a master stroke that played its part in our lifting the trophy.
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