Mike Greenaway: It is time to go, Mr Straeuli

COMMENT

Right, now that the World Cup is out of the way, it is time for South African rugby to do a little house-keeping.

Let's take out a broom and do a little sweeping. Out with the dust goes Mr Straeuli, and not far behind him, his boss, Rian Oberholzer ...

Straeuli has been in occupancy for 18 months. That is 1 years of misery for Springbok supporters, who deserve better given their pitiful adherence to the team's cause.

Never have so many lived in so much hope, with so little evidence that their dreams will be realised.

And so it was at the Telstra Dome. The Boks had conned the world into thinking that they were a team on the up. Some of us wiser old hacks could not understand why New Zealanders were getting so nervous.

Call me cynical, but I just could not understand why a team who are incapable of scoring tries was given a realistic chance of beating a team who threaten to score a try each time they gain possession.

Neanderthals versus athletes. This is the way it has been since Straeuli's predecessor, Harry Viljoen, fell on his sword last year.

Record defeat has followed record defeat. In 18 months, the Boks have had two wins over top-five opposition - home squeaks against Australia.

Otherwise, it has been pathetic home showings against the likes of Scotland, Samoa and Argentina, and away losses against everybody else.

There has been no improvement, which is why Straeuli must do the honourable thing. Follow Harry's example.

Please do not inflict your uninspired coaching on the Springboks any longer. Your contract runs until the end of 2005, and you know that cash-strapped Sarfu cannot afford to pay you out. So, as I say, do the honourable thing.

Then there is the case against Oberholzer. He has been in charge of South African rugby since 1996. Ultimately he, as the managing director, is responsible for the fact that the Springboks cannot pass, cannot catch, cannot organise their defence, and can never tactically match the big guns of world rugby.

He has had eight years to put structures in place that would have equipped the players with the skills to compete with the best.

South Africa produces as much young talent as New Zealand every year, and indeed, competes favourably at age-group level, but what happens when the kids grow up? Why do they not get any better and reach skill levels we saw from the All Blacks on Saturday night?

The rot set in long ago, Oberholzer, but what have you done to arrest it? You are ultimately culpable, so please step down so that we can get some dynamic leadership.

This all might sound rather dramatic, but is there really any alternative given the events at the Telstra Dome? It was painfully clear that the two teams were from different leagues.

A team of athletes dressed in black ran rings around a green-clad horde of plonkers.

The Springboks can indeed thank their lucky stars that the All Blacks did not finish with their usual efficiency. The score could easily have moved beyond the 50 mark.

Tactically, especially in the first half, the Boks did everything they should not have done.

They kicked away possession for the All Blacks to run back at them, and this they did with irrepressible verve and panache.

The All Blacks explored the width of the field with sweeping passes that South Africans can only marvel at.

But they did not only send the ball wide. Their forwards took it up the middle with great success.

But hang on, was this not what the vaunted Bok pack was supposed to do? Why did they not?

The only Bok tactic in the first half was to hoist the ball into the heavens in hope. They showed no appetite for the combat we expected up front, and had no confidence to pass the ball down the backline.

And what about the advantage in the set-pieces? This never materialised.

Most disappointing was the ragged defensive line that provided gaps for the All Blacks to make their countless line breaks.

The Boks missed 36 tackles. That is frightening.

They showed more inclination to attack in the second half, but their assaults always seemed to break down from either a forward pass or a knock-on.

The Boks desperately missed Joe van Niekerk, and their failure to keep the ball among the forwards rendered redundant the selection of big Danie Rossouw.

Richard McCaw cleaned up on the ground and the game needed an early introduction of speedy Schalk Burger.

Come back Nick Mallett, all is forgiven.

* Mike Greenaway is rugby writer for the Natal Mercury.

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