South Africa - From Disaster To Triumph?

Debacle
When respected, senior, veteran Springboks like Schalk Burger and Bryan Habana are baffled by the Springbok implosion against Argentina, you know the Boks have serious problems to overcome. Burger’s comment that he and Jean de Villiers had asked a lot of their players and had “got no response”, and Habana’s likening the Bok defeat to the 49-0 thumping by Australia in Brisbane in 2006, tell a story.

Response
What counts now is the response of coaches and players between Saturday’s horror show and the World Cup. First-choice players Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Jannie du Plessis, Francois Louw, Duane Vermeulen, and JP Pietersen should strengthen the team when they return from injury, while Wilem Alberts (perhaps off the bench after his injuries and lack of Super Rugby form), Francois Steyn, and Patrick Lambie may add to the potency of the team too. Beyond playing personnel and technical analysis though, is perhaps the biggest concern – the players’ mindset.

Fifth to First?
The only genuine redemption for this miserable Bok season – losing all three Rugby Championship fixtures and suffering relegation to World Rugby’s fifth-ranked team behind New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, and England – would be winning the World Cup on 31 October.

Discouraging Scrummaging
Unfortunately for Vincent Koch, whose strength as a scrummager is not in doubt, but whose technique draws scrutiny too often, Romain Poite is not the only referee who has doubts about the legality of his scrummaging. 

Encouraging Scrummaging
With Steven Kitshoff back from injury, wouldn’t it be marvellous to see the two best scrummaging props in 2015 Super Rugby – the Stormers pair Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe – wearing the Bok 1 and 3 jerseys?

Francois Hougaard
The standout player in the opening round of the Currie Cup was Bulls scrumhalf Francois Hougaard. Sadly, Hougaard was the victim of the Bulls coaches’ refusal to play him at scrumhalf in their dismal Super Rugby campaign, and being banished to the wing by Frans Ludeke and his cohorts has cost him his place in the Springbok squad. Hougaard has fought back in the only way he can – by playing brilliantly for the Bulls now that new coach Nollis Marais is allowing him to play scrumhalf.