A whole lot more is wrong with South African rugby than just a single Test match loss might suggest. Coach Peter de Villiers has allowed a dangerous drift to gather pace, in which players who are out of form seem to gain automatic selection. Springbok selection seems to have been made on the nod. If you're in, you're in and you stay there. Whether you're in form or not has become irrelevant.
This policy has wrecked the Springboks' Tri-Nations season. They have lost three of their four matches and haven't scored a single try in their last two games. Three tries in four games is a pitiful return for the new world champions.
To have any chance of winning this year's title, the 'Boks have to score eight tries in their next two games against Australia, to pick up bonus points. Why would that suddenly happen when they've managed three in four Tests?
It is time for De Villiers to be brave, bold, radical and innovative. Changes must be made and selections should be made that challenge players. One eye should be towards producing a far more dynamic game and the other towards the future.
Right now, a vacuum seems to exist in the Springboks' side. The mystery of Fourie du Preez bewilders me. Undeniably, he is the world's No. 1 half-back. I welcomed his selection last week, assuming he was ready for Test match rugby again. Otherwise, how could he have been chosen? Clearly he wasn't. It was an error of judgement in selecting someone not ready for the highest level after a long lay off.
For me, Ricky Januarie should return for Durban and I would partner him with Frans Steyn, on his home ground. Steyn has to be the future. If he is continually left out and messed around, there is a serious danger he will go abroad. I think he should be South Africa's No.10 at the next World Cup but he needs time, maybe two years, to learn the role. Now is the time to start.
There was a plodding predictability about the Springboks' back line against the All Blacks. They couldn't break through and lacked innovation and composure. I would shake up the entire threequarter division. Conrad Jantjes should never have been dropped for Newlands and should return. No-one is setting up Bryan Habana; thus, his lethal running is largely going to waste.
When De Villiers was making his campaign to be national coach, he talked of the possibility of moving Habana inside to No.13. It is a move I believe could invigorate the entire back line. So often these days, backs are confronted by forwards lurking out wide in broken play. Let them see how they fancy stopping Habana coming at them.
The back row looks tired, lethargic and ineffective. I am intrigued by the thought of what Pierre Spies could do in his old position as wing, coming into the play on different angles with his power. Could he be another Jonah Lomu out wide? Try him and see, I suggest.
Schalk Burger and Juan Smith are both out of form and even with them, the 'Boks have no fetcher which George Smith and Richie McCaw have brutally exposed in the last two Tests. Three years ago, Luke Watson played for the Stormers against Richie McCaw's Crusaders in Christchurch and was man of the match. He must come into the back row, probably at No.7. Alongside him, I'd choose Wickus Van Heerden, a terrific hard grafting flanker, and probably Ryan Kankowski, who also represents the future.
For me, Victor Matfield needs to focus on his own game, not the captaincy, and I'd hand the captain's armband to Jean de Villiers or Watson. Radical changes are needed to shake up Springbok rugby. It's slipped into a pit of moderation. But will the management be bold enough to shake-up the whole team?
My team for Durban/Johannesburg: C. Jantjes; JP Pietersen, B. Habana, J. de Villiers (Capt.), P. Spies; F. Steyn, R. Januarie; T. Mtawarira, B. du Plessis, CJ van der Linde, A. Bekker, V. Matfield, W. Van Heerden, L. Watson, R. Kankowski. Subs: A. Strauss, B. Mujati, J. Muller, D. Rossouw, R. Pienaar, A. Jacobs, B. James.
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