When you are involved with the national rugby team, you are in the big leagues and the time to hanna-hanna is lankal verby.
It’s not the klein skooltjies where player are supposed to refine their art and get match fit, when he puts on the Green and Gold to represent the millions of us following the team jaar in en jaar uit, then he must be the finished article. Or at least close to it. If he lacks certain skills, I can understand it. But fitness (match or general) is something I can’t forgive.
So when I hear a coach say things like: “Elton, I think he played probably fewer than 30 minutes in the year. He [injured] his shoulder, went through rehab and then his Japan club didn’t make it to the final, so there weren’t any games to expose him to”, raak my neus toe.
When I heard these words coming from the mouth of Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber in defence of Elton Jantjies’ performance in the first Test against Wales, I had to walk around the room a bit to blow off some steam.
Brother, this is not a club or provincial team - players don’t have a right to be in the national team.
You can’t guarantee a player’s place in the team and if he is not match fit or not in form, then he doesn’t deserve to be there. Simple as that. It’s the best of the best in the world’s best team for crying in a bucket.
What really gets under my skin is that somehow being in the Springbok team has become a right. No one, and I mean NO ONE, should have dibs on a Springbok jersey - it’s not like a club team where you have signed players to play for you. This team represents the best players in the country at that time.
Therefore, I always felt you could never contract Springboks, as much as you can’t guarantee a player a starting position in the squad.
It’s exactly playing to keep hold of that jersey for next weekend that should drive a player. So when I hear a coach wanting to give a player speeltyd in the Green and Gold, I get red in the face. Rant over.
Onto this week and what a breath of fresh air this new team is.
With Eben Etzebeth being the sole survivor of the run-on team with 19 changes in the matchday 23, things will definitely be different this week.
I don’t expect this team to play the “Bok way” on Saturday. Instead, with the amount of changes and the in-form individuals, I expect the Boks to run wild - Barbarian-style.
Problem is on the bench, though, where there are four uncapped players.
These manne won’t have the same impact as the Bomb Squad in other Tests and therefore, the onus will fall on the starting XV to give them a kickstart.
Unlike last week where I expected the “conservative” team to take some time to find their rhythm before their slow poison kicks in, this week’s team suggests to me a more open affair. Jittery at the start, but a willingness to counter instead of bomb it back.
With a vrag players not being Test regulars, I expect them to throw caution to the wind while at the same time leak some tries.
While it sounds exciting in theory, does this team have what it takes to beat Wales on Saturday?
The short answer is yes. However, there is a big but. And that is that they have to get a good buffer.
Wales on the other hand will be hurt after not winning the first Test - from where I was sitting, the 50-50 calls certainly went against them.
Coach Wayne Pivac had a plan to combat the Boks in that match, but I doubt whether he will have the know-how to combat this particular team and that’s what makes it anyone’s game.
Personally, the Boks already won with this team selection. Even if they lose, they have won in my books.
Between the four lines, though, if they don’t get an early buffer, I expect Wales to level the series 1-1.
So come on Pollard and company, don’t jump the gun, but let’s sprint out of the blocks.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za