Just take a look around your offices. If you’re like me and work in an open plan office, you just need to sit up straight and look around to see the christmas decorations, people wearing jeans more regularly, spending more time at the canteen than usual. Everything seems to slow down… deadlines aren’t important anymore, the boss is more likely to give you a half day Friday off… the brain is busy shutting down… the body retaining a little more fat… and generally, people just don’t care anymore…

This is how I feel about rugby right now… I just don’t care. I couldn’t be ar$ed to give an opinion anymore, I literally don’t care if we win or lose anymore. It’s the Northern Hemisphere teams…. let’s be honest, we know we’re going to win… it’s not exciting anymore… the Super Rugby 58 million local derby’s , every second column saying how tired the “old guard” is bla bla bla bla bla… over it…

I want a break, I cannot watch rugby 12 months a year, its just not right. I miss the good old days, Cricket in the summer (Brilliant cricket in fact) and rugby in the winter. A hard fought Curri Cup (When it still meant something), A supremely hard Super 10/12 where the bottom log team had a realistic chance of beating a top of the log team. When we had almost no chance of winning overseas (Which just gave me extra drive to wake up at 4am to watch the cheetahs / springboks play)

It’s just too much… and you can see it in the blogs these days too (Supersport, Keo, News24) everyone punting the same crap and then we get little article’s like “We can beat them : Brown”  or “Jean hasn’t forgotten” … come on guys? REALLY?? REALLY?????? It’s Scotland…. I’ll say it again… SCOTLAND? home to the incredibly untalented bunch of alcoholics in skirts… beautiful country, wonderful people and culture… but as a rugby team I rate them nearly as much as I rate the Cavaliers… and that’s saying something.

Skim down the Super Rugby crap, each team plays each team once. Top 4 team play round robin, Top 2 go through… there …. not 68 weeks of boredom, 17 weeks… high intensity, high quality… Then we have a 6 team Curri Cup (WITH ALL THE SPRINGBOKS) and a R5mil cash prize, make it worthwhile for the teams to play the best. I can see it now…

“The Currie Cup – The world’s oldest and richest tournament”

Then we finish it off with a 4 Nations shootout – home and away games – winner gets to decide the fixtures for the next season… more incentive…

and THEN… finally, we can have an end of the year tour… bleed new youngsters… and the Southern Hemisphere team to have the highest points difference… gets R5mil. Don’t comment below and say there isn’t money… oh yes there is… and don’t say that if will cause more injuries cause the couches with play the same guys over and over… ANY good coach bleeds young ones as he isn’t just looking at today, but also tomorrow… what this system in fact would do is encourage BETTER PLAYER MANAGEMENT and drive the central contracting system.

Finally, I know, A long rant… Finally… Let’s run our clubs like they do overseas. Privately owned businesses. The fact that a club cannot be wholly owned by a business man.. is tragic to say the least… It would do wonders for the player base, fitness and skill levels… and they don’t have to worry about empty stadiums because REAL business men know how to get bums on seats… it’s their livelyhood

That’s it for me for now, Yes, I am going to watch the Scotland game, but only because I am going to a braai and don’t feel like making small talk…

I believe the right term is “Gatvol” No matter how much you love something… eventually you will get tired of it… Imagine that you have put your body on the line for your province for 14 or so grueling games, then you change the jersey, play another 6 and then have to come back and play probably another 3…. I would be VERY agitated and tired… and then… you have to fly to Europe and play another couple of games… Come on SARU…. give the boys a gap.

I really dislike the quotes by a few readers who post “It’s their job and they must not complain.” To them I say bugger off. Walk a mile in a mans shoes first. It’s a tough game and player management has become shocking. The human body simply CANNOT take all the knocks and bruising, somewhere something is going to give up. It the corporate world we talk about “Staff Turnover”. Currently all the provinces are dipping deeply into their reserves. It’s not a good business practice and really should be addressed.

The sad thing is, it won’t. Nothing will change. Nothing EVER changes. We write week after week about changes that should happen, but they never do… And it’s a damn sad day today…

“Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.” Boondock Saints….

There are good men and coaches out there who CAN change the current state of affairs… but sadly they probably won’t…

The locker room is quiet… his teammates all going through their own pre-game rituals. The door opens and in walks his leader, his mentor… his coach…

“yes yes boys….” rings out with a small echo and hint of base. Authority has entered and will be respected…

Heyneke : “I was lying in bed last night… and drifted off and had a dream we were beating the Kiwi’s 15 – 10… but I woke up kind of sad… But then I realized it was only a dream cause.. We’ll beat the kiwi’s by way more than that…

I’d like to, I’d like to say something that I’ve prepared tonight… Hello. How ’bout that ride in? I guess that’s why they call it Soccer City. You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when I got this job, knew you guys were one of my own. And my wolf pack, it grew by 22. So – there were twenty two of us in the wolf pack. I was alone first in the pack, and then you guys joined in later. And six months ago, when Saru introduced me to you guys, I thought, ‘Wait a second, could it be?’ And now I know for sure, I just added twenty two more guys to my wolf pack. twenty two of us wolves, running around the training fields together…

It’s all right. We’re in a fight. You boys are doing all that you can do. Anybody can see that. Win or lose… We gonna walk out of this stadium tonight with our heads held high. Do your best. That’s all anybody can ask for”

Jean : ” No, it’s not Coach. With all due respect, you demanded more of us. You demanded perfection. Now, I’m not saying that I’m perfect, ’cause I’m not. And I’m not gonna ever be. None of us are. But we have battled every single game we have played till now. So this team is perfect. We’re gonna step out on that field that way today. And, uh, if it’s all the same to you, Coach, that’s how we want to leave it. ”

Heyneke : ” When you take that field today, you’ve gotta lay that heart on the line, men. From the souls of your feet, with every ounce of blood you’ve got in your body, lay it on the line until the final whistle blows. And if you do that, if you do that, we cannot lose. We may be behind on the scoreboard at the end of the game but if you play like that we cannot be defeated… ”

Heyneke walks slowly to the door, stops, turns to face his men… with the slightest of pauses… he looks down and then up…

“You have bled with PDIVVY!! Now I ask you… Bleed with me !!”

But what do they need to really explode and rip into the opposition? Well, in Lambies case it’s obvious… he needs game time. With Hougie it would be a little more time with the ball and a little more space. Goose just needs his natural game to take control and get into the zone. It was encouraging to read that HM said in an interview that they pick players based on their natural game. Will we see Free State / Sharks rugby this weekend? I think we might just… given that the right players fire at the right time and Bambie finally gets more than 5 mins of game time…

A few people have already mentioned that Goose handles pressure well… I don’t know if he will be the savior of SA rugby but I do know that the future is looking mighty bright on the youngster front… It will be a tough game and a huge occasion for young Goosen… But when the occasion demands it…. The Grey Boy delivers…

Guess what ?! Morne will start, Sideshow will too and Greyling would have been on the bench had the game not been televised… ( I say this because he only got a yellow when really it was a Flaming Ferrari Red)

So now here is my question. Am I missing something here? What does Heyneke know that we don’t? I believe every player deserves a second and third shot, but forth, fifth, sixth and seventh? I remember Andrew Hudson went on a 10 game horrible streak. You know what happened in that 11th game? He retired. He wasn’t Gary Kirsten. Not many players are. Morne was NEVER brilliant. He was accurate with his kicks, so much so they called him “The Metronome” but you know what else a metronome is ? Boring… dull… does the same thing over and over and over… How on this green earth can Heyneke possible justify starting with Morne again? Am I missing something here????

Sideshow Bob… go away… I am sure you are a wonderful human being, but like I said before, you my friend, bring nothing to the table. People might say you can catch and kick… WOW!!! MY MIND IS BLOWN…. oh wait… so can Lambie… and just about any other rugby player on the planet. What makes you so special?? Am I missing something here????

Now I don’t wanna be that kind of person who continually rants every time a post is made, but I am genuinely frustrated with this. You heard the New Zealand commentators during the game. Justin Marshall ” I don’t understand this? It’s just silly…” It’s just silly…. he was being kind if you ask me.

If you have ever worked in a large corporate company and had a little I.T. savvy, you might have found yourself in the position where you work with someone who literally doesn’t know how to copy files (You know, they come to you with a memory stick full of shortcuts to files on THEIR desktop) and you ask yourself “How the hell has this person even managed for this long??” It is that kind of frustration I am feeling towards the Boks right now.

SURELY SURELY we can “experiment” after this weekends loss. We have nothing to gain in the last 2 games. We cannot win the Trophy and if you’re not first, you’re last… I say “experiment” because I don’t consider Goosen to be second choice, I believe he is the best in the country. I don’t consider Lambie inferior to SideShow Bob either. So when I say “experiment” I guess what I am trying to say is…

“Heyneke you’re a stubborn, out-dated coach with antiquated loyalty that smacks of favoritism only displayed by fathers who coach their son’s soccer team…” WAKE UP !!! YOU’RE SUCKING OUT MY WILL TO LIVE!!!

Seriously… Am I missing something?????

Could we have the above bulleted points? Yes… Do we? No…

Then how can we win?

Because I want us to damnit! I’m tired of losing, it sucks! And as much as it sucks for me, it sucks for each and everyone of you. How much more mustn’t it suck for the guys in the change room? I was watching a cricket match a while back and one of the commentators was retelling a story about how (I type under correction here) Grahame Thorpe was struggling with his form. He then asked Sir Garfield Sobers to come watch him bat in the nets and help him iron out the technical flaws… The reply was brilliant : “You must not over think you’re game with technicalities… just hit the damn ball”

THERE WE GO! I really dislike it when all these sports writers and coaches come up with these crap figures of “oh, we need to improve by about 7.3456%” CRAP! Do the basics, do them right and just win the bloody game? Seriously….

We can beat New Zealand, We’re not nearly as bad as we have been playing. i think its about time this team gets together, has a beer before the game (The carbs will help) and go out there and just stomp on New Zealand. If not for me or you or for the country, then for themselves? Have some self belief dammit!! Make your tackles, make them hard. Look for the gaps, put pressure on the scrummie, it’s freaking Piri Wipu?? The chubbiest guy in world rugby. Don’t tell me he can make sniping runs? Bone Collector, You mark him and you mash him into the ground.Flo, steal the damn ball and slow it down as much as you can. Ruan, Don’t kick the ball back into the ruck! Trust you’re gut and run that damn back-line. Hougie, you’re fast and you have a step, so here’s an idea??? DON’T CRASH BALL!!?? JDV – Lead your men, no time for Mr. Nice guy. If someone isn’t pulling his weight, send him off the field. TAKE CONTROL ! It’s your team !! Numbers 1 – 5 Here is an idea. When you scrum, try pushing forward? Try getting your shoulder in and turn the damn thing? When it’s line out time … JUMP!!?? Phone Victor, he will give you advise, I promise you and finally, SideSHow… do us all a favour and fake a hammy! You know you aren’t as good as Lambie so stop pretending the 15 jersey is yours. You my friend, bring NOTHING to the table.

Ya, I am upset, but its a basic game, its not Chess or Tennis or Soccer. It’s a basic easy game meant to be played with flair and that reckless abandon we USED TO SEE at school boy level. Darren Scott tweeted “I pass my 3 year old son the ball and he immediately kicked it… Something is wrong with SA rugby”

Here is a secret you guys should learn “YOU CANNOT SCORE A TRY WITHOUT THE BALL!!”

There… now go out there and win??

Fact is that when in doubt, the best weapon of choice is the weapon you know…

HM is doing what he knows best. He is picking the weapons he knows how to wield best. He has asked his old management team to join him, and why not? The bulls had some good successes with them? Then he selected players whom he thought could best wield the weapons. I for one, don’t buy into the “Bulls get preference” train of thought. HM above all is a South African, not a Pretorian. Sure, he might love his province, but love his province more than his country? Cmon guys….

Let be honest here, does anyone really think HM is THAT stubborn and eager to say “I told you my plan would work” that he would risk his career? really? If Allistair Coetzee got the job, would he not have picked some of his friends from the Cape?

It all comes down to working with what you have. HM doesn’t have all his first choice players. When he started his tenure he said “I want to win every game” spoken like a true first time international coach. Remember PDivvy the revolutionist? Then something happened, the real world came knocking on HM’s door. “Hi buddy, I just want you to know you can’t have half you starting players…. ces’t la vie” Then HM moved to the more traditional ” We are building towards something great ” IE: World Cup.

So who does HM have at his disposal at the moment? Goosen, Lambie, Flo, Duane, Frans, Hougie,Bryan, Willem,Coetzee, Brussow… People ask “How the hell are we going to beat the All Blacks?”

My question is “How the hell are we not going to win?” We have the players, I believe we have the coaches… so what’s missing? Experience? A solid game plan or the ability to execute it correctly? I leave that up to you to decide. Personally (This is my blog) I think HM is the right guy for the job. Before his first game he got Rassie involved and developed a national player database, something NONE of his predecessors did. He has a proven track record. He has the knowledge, ability and skills to formulate a winning game plan. He doesn’t have the time to get it all going at once… I just hope we give it to him.

Side Note : I mentioned those players assuming they play at 110% of their potential

5 games in and I think I could spill out about 4 different scenarios… below will be mock conversations of what people would be saying to each other.

Scenario 1 : Wow, I can’t believe we just won the world cup for a third time. I mean, I know HM had a shaky start but once the players and the supporters bought into his system and ways of working, we really started steam rolling our opponents. I mean no one has beaten us in SA for the last 3 years and the way he rotated his players and got the support from the Superugby Franchises was incredible. Year end tours were executed perfectly and really were the training grounds for the younger group of players. Bismarck was a superb captain and Francois Hougaard was outstanding behind the scrum, some say even better than Fourie Du Preez. No suprises though cause with Fourie as assistant coach, could we really have expected anything else? Matfield and Os were great with the forwards and Johan Goosen dove-tailed perfectly with Lambie. For once I can sleep well knowing that the trophy is home and should stay here for another 8 years

Scenario 2 : Another World Cup, another Quarter Final defeat. Can’t believe we lost to Argentina again. They really have been our bogey team the last 2 seasons. Why was Pierre Spies the captain? I know Jean De Villiers got us off to a rough start at the beginning but the team was just as bad then as it is now? Pity he fell on his sword to save HM the same disgrace. Richardo Loubscher was out of his depth since the start of his tenure and HM lacked the conviction to make the hard changes that were truly necessary. You can’t smash into your opponents and kick the ball for 80mins hoping they make a mistake. The Stormers tried the same crap until 2 years ago when Allister resigned and they became the offload kings of Superrugby under the guidance of Carlos Spencer and Robbie Deans. Why run into someone when you can run around? Oh well… time for a new coach again… Maybe Nick Mallet will forgive and forget?

Scenario 3 : The cup is coming home! Jake did it again. Thank goodness we got rid of HM and the rest of them. I always thought his tactics were outdated and I mean we never really got going under his leadership. Thankfully Louis Luyt came back onto the scene, resurrected the Lions and eventually got rid of Regan Hoskins and the whole gravy train. He turned all our franchises into professional unions and sold them off wholly to companies. No more public servants lining their pockets. The European rugby model worked wonders in our country as the best man was picked for the position. Grass roots programs were funded by the owners of the unions as that was seen as the only way to keep a union viable. Skills development and players individual flair took center stage as that was the only way to keep the fans in the seats. Jake and Eddie finally got the support from all the franchises and with the central contract system we managed to keep the players fresh, not only physically but also mentally. It’s so refreshing to not have SA suffer from player exodus after the world cup as all of them will have permanent employment at their unions and we can retain our intellectual capital too. Long live the springbok!

Scenario 4 : You tell me in the comments section. What do you think you might be saying at the end of 2015?

Let’s look at the English team, described by the English media as a bunch of grafters with no real game winner… all the players are good at their jobs, but no one is particularly great.

And so we come to the Springboks and while it would be easy to blast off everything that is wrong and just have a go at HM and his team, perhaps now is the time to look at things from different angles and put everything into consideration.

All our players, list them 1 to 15 are good at what they do. Everyone can field the high ball, most can kick and everyone can tackle… however, how many of our players are great? If you pick a team of grafters, you get a graft like result. If you pick of great players, you get great results. Did HM pick a team of great players? I think we are all in agreement that the answer is a no… Does HM want to gamble at this stage? I think we would all agree that it is a no as well…. Should HM have gambled? I would venture a yes… When? The first 2 tests against Argentina and lets face it, putting Lambie at 15, Hougie on the wing and starting Ruan Pienaar is hardly a gamble now is it?

When he started his tenure, he stressed that all he cares about is winning. Fine, but shouldn’t that be the very basis of playing any sport rather than a statement? The time for playing it safe is now over. We will be facing the top 2 teams in the world and if our strategy and players haven’t cut the mustard to date, I doubt very much that it would be cut in the next few weeks. If you want to see where a team is going, one can only look at how they have played in the past.

I’m certainly not going to call for a complete overhaul of coaches and personnel, but anyone who watched the game also would have seen Nick Mallet make HM look like a fool in the post match commentary. HM says “yes, we were crap” Nick says “This is why”. I will support HM, he is our coach and deserves with it a high level of respect. I supported Jake White in his dark days too. HM is not an idiot, he will know almost better than anyone what needs to be done… The question is whether or not he has the balls to do it?

I would really hate to see pressure get to him, I believe he is the right man for the job. He has done some brilliant things in the past (And I am a Cheetah Supporter) and I do think he can achieve great new heights for the green and gold. Lets put Argentina behind, wipe the whiteboard clean, a fresh cup of coffee and new pair of tekkies and lets start looking at the game from a new point of view. Here is my list of points HM should look at (and I welcome all criticism and comments )

1. Change your hairstyle, it’s as old as the game plan we are trying to enforce.

2. Get Lambie at Fullback, Hougie on the wing and start Ruan behind the scrum.

3. Stop screaming on the radio during the game, get to the side of the field and chat to the guys constantly during the game. HM has said the team lacks experience, if you spot something, adjust. Stand with your troops on the field of battle and fight with them.

4. Make everyone watch Braveheart

5. Don’t be afraid to gamble a little, you’re choices are always half chance. So is everybody else’s.

6. We have 5 provinces full of players, just because we have an injury doesn’t mean that the position is dead to us. We will miss Bismarck, of course, but even Bismarck was a Bismarck in the making at some stage in his career.

7. Finally, everyone who ever played sport at school has had someone say to them “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game” Mr. Meyer, how’s about we take away your goal of “I just wanna win” let’s put a pin in that for now and change our vision to “I want every player on the field of battle to give 110% and play for the pride of the nation” If you think I am wrong, go watch SA VS AUS 2011 World Cup… we lost, but they came home as heroes.

In attempting to finish this post on a good note, let me say that “Cometh the hour, cometh the man” and that hour is now….