Meyer loyalty hurting Bok future

The only South African who might have any sympathy for Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is fellow national coach Shakes Mashaba.

The two have a lot in common right now, both are under intense pressure to deliver and have suffered shock results in recent months.

Meyer with the losses against Argentina in Durban and Japan in the World Cup, while Mashaba had to watch his team lose to lowly Mauritania 3-1.

However, the difference between the two coaches is that one has an average team while the other has a vastly talented array of players at his disposal.

It is mind boggling to say the least how Meyer has had four years to prepare for this tournament yet still managed to pick a squad that makes us look like the country lacks players of pedigree.

From Jean de Villiers and Fourie du Preez to Schalk Britz and Victor Matfield, players who are either old, injury riddled or have not played in the green and gold for months have been selected.

This to me is an insult to our players who have put in the work the entire season only to be left on the sidelines.

You know it’s bad when even our politicians stop talking about the quota system itself and instead focus on the age of the players.

What do players such as Marcell Coetzee, Oupa Mohoje, Heinrich Brussouw, Jan Serfontein, Franco Mostert, Juan de Jong, Cheslin Kolbe and Demitri Catrakilis have to do to get noticed by the coach.

These players have been in form and should have at least been part of the squad. Samoa is a team not to be underestimated like the Japanese. Most of their players ply their trade in some of the big teams in New Zealand and Australia. With big, imposing players that can hold their own against our Bokke, their defence will be hard to crack and their attack will be just as formidable.

There are many controversies surrounding quota systems and most South Africans would love to have players chosen on merit which is fair.

However, when players who are just as good do not get chosen as part of the squad, one has to wonder where the problem is.

Does it lie with the coach which is under pressure to win at all costs, making him relying on what he finds familiar.

Or is it the national team executives who put the pressure on the coach and do not come with solutions to intergrate players of colour into the team.

For Meyer and his team to progress in this competition, they will need to stop underestimating teams and the first step in doing that is picking players who have the ability to contend a match for 80 minutes without needing their pulse to be checked every five minutes. They will need to choose the players who came into the World Cup in form and not choose a player out of loyalty. The team will need to win all of their remaining matches, knowing there is no chance to take it easy. And finally, the coach and his players will need to show some tactical ability going forward. They came close to beating New Zealand and Australia, now they need to show that talent in this tournament.

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