Argentina played well for their 26-24 win in Salta and we shouldn’t forget that last year they were one of the top four sides at the World Cup, with their best result being a comprehensive victory over Ireland in Cardiff. The first defeat on Argentinian soil was not wholly unexpected if you consider how close the Boks came to losing their on previous visits and the steady improvement that has been evident in the Pumas.
However, the problem for Coetzee is that the defeat came after four other games which left more questions than answers and in which his team was far from convincing. Currently Coetzee’s record reads two losses in five starts, but it could easily have been five losses in five starts. For the most part, the Boks have been poor this season, and it has to put Coetzee’s mantra that continuity (in selection) is king under pressure.
If you have a young team and you are building, then losses and lack of performance are unacceptable. But not all Coetzee’s selections speak of a building policy. Bryan Habana and Morne Steyn won’t be at the next World Cup. Neither arguably will Beast Mtawarira. Steyn is not the perfect flyhalf back-up for Elton Jantjies as you are not looking at like for like.
It was in a way good to learn that Jantjies went off in Salta because of a groin injury as putting Steyn onto the field in the 46th minute, when the Boks were chasing the game and trying to up the tempo like they did so effectively in the second half of the Johannesburg test against Ireland, just wouldn’t have made sense.
Steyn has just never been the type of player that would be required in the situation the Boks found themselves in, and Coetzee’s decision to select the same safety net, because that is what he is, that was relied on for too long by his Bok coaching predecessor, has to be questioned. And that question becomes more necessary when Steyn doesn’t completely deliver on what he has been selected to do, which his kick penalties and conversions.
Up to now Coetzee has kept changes to a minimum, but there are too many areas in the Bok team where combinations are incongruous and lack complete synergy. Rohan Janse van Rensburg is apparently injured, but when he is recovered Coetzee surely should consider the excellent Lions inside centre for a promotion straight into the starting team.
There are people saying that Damian de Allende and Lionel Mapoe aren’t a great fit in the midfield, but perhaps the problem starts at the 10/12 axis. Wouldn’t Jantjies be better off with his regular Lions partner alongside him? Of course, Jantjies’ injury could mean he won’t even be there for the games in Australasia, in which case Coetzee could be in an additional pickle.
According to the Sharks management, Patrick Lambie is now on the road to recovery, but he hasn’t played since June, so selecting him straight back into international rugby would be a risk. If Jantjies isn’t able to play, and given the reservations already listed about Steyn, the best option would probably be to move Johan Goosen to flyhalf and select Jesse Kriel as a fullback.
The loose-forwards require some focus too. Individually the players may play well, but how well do they fit together? And if Coetzee is going to persist with Lood de Jager as a No 5 lock, shouldn’t Pieter-Steph du Toit be considered as a blindside flank. He is athletic enough and he is too good a player not to be on the field for the entire 80 minutes.
