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Dear Mr. Meyer
Today I feel the need to write to you about my feelings and
although you don’t know me and in most cases should not care about how I feel,
I think you may find – surprisingly -
that many others share the same feelings as me after quite a few months
of hope, disappointment, new glimmers of hope, just to be smacked down to earth
by another disappointment.
This has not stopped and I really feel like a boxer with
both hands tied behind my back, while Mike Tyson is beating the crap out of me.
This will be a long letter as I have a lot to say so please
bear with me to the end, as, in my eyes at least, it is very important that you
do.
I am a fairly simple man. I love the Blue Bulls and I
therefore every so often indulge in the national drink of Pretoria – Brannas
and Coke. I have, however, disappointed many of my friends and family and even
had nasty fingers pointed at me by my “enemies” (any enemy of the Blue Bulls is
an enemy of mine) that I also have a taste for well aged red wine and in case I
have a vegetarian meal of chicken or fish, even a nice crispy white – which, as
you know, is mostly produced in the southern parts of our country, where they
have recently caught sight of the Curry Cup for the first time in many, many,
many years.
I love cricket but I hate chess although I know the moves. I
think I have a fair idea of the rules of American Football, Football (Soccer),
Hockey (Field Hockey) and I once learnt the rules of baseball over 13 beers
(Guinness to be precise) in five hours
in a bar in a beautiful forest area in West Chester New York.
As I have mentioned previously, one of my great love
affairs, which even my wife understands is the Blue Bulls. I also have more
than just a soft spot for our national rugby team the Springboks and I will also
sacrifice my life for the Springbok 7’s team.
To digress a little, I also need to tell you that I have
read many books in my life. I have not written one, but I have been trying to
for the past 14 years.
Among those books are the Bible, all the major works of Shakespeare,
Herman Charles Bosman, most of the books written my Wilbur Smith and a few
thrillers and spy novels by the likes of Stephen King, John Smit, Jake White, Victor
Mattfield and most recently Peter de Villiers.
I’m sure that you must be gathering notes as we speak for
your book, which will probably be published by January 2016, in which you will
tell us how hard the initial stages were when you took over as coach from Peter
de Villiers. How difficult it was to replace the retired players and how you
had to contend with constant politics. I can just imagine how you would tell us
about the pressure you had from Jean de Villiers’ father to make him captain
and keep him in the team or have those “photoshopped” dirty pictures of you and
Pine Pienaar in the Jacuzzi, published on the back page of the Rapport and
front page of the Son/Sun.
I can only assume that there probably is an abundance of
things you might have done wrong which may have been captured on film or video,
but I will get to that in a few minutes.
I hope you’re still reading.
I thought at this stage to tell you even more about myself
and my Rugby career.
It all started when I was born. My parents were not rich
people and they didn’t believe in bringing up sisies, so my mother never saw a
gynecologist after she fell pregnant. Instead, she was helped through her
pregnancy by the General Practitioner, who she and my father would visit every
so often, but only for a light bout of maybe Rabies, Ebola or Congo fever.
Nothing major.
This GP was also then the person who helped me take my first
breath after slapping my backside, while holding me upside down by my feet. His
name was Ernst Dinkelmann. DOCTOR Ernst Dinkelmann for you. He played lock for
the Springboks in the late sixties and maybe even early seventies.
He also brought my brother into this world at the same time
the Springboks were playing the All Blacks, 11 month later. I can tell you that
according to undocumented history, he was a bit miffed that he had to listen to
the game on the radio, due to my brother’s untimely arrival and gave him an
extra hard slap to make him realize his mistake, the moment he breached.
Anyway this is where it started. In standard 2 (grade four,
I think we call it these days) my teacher, who was not only beautiful, but also
the cousin of a legendary Blue Bulls Fullback and “unorthodox” lawyer, took me
and a bunch of my friends to my first game at Loftus. We called her Juffrou de
Meyer. That is where the bug really bit me. This was in 1976 – the year when
Pierre Spies Snr took the Curry Cup away from the Free State at the Free State
stadium. Remember that day, or were you not too much into Rugby at that stage?
I also signed up for the under 11 team of my primary school
when I was 8 and had my hands full to convince the teacher to allow me to play.
He eventually did and although I was OK’ish, I never played Rugby with my heart
as all good players do. I played it with my head and that made me a mediocre
player for the rest of my life.
It did not make me a mediocre supporter though and this is
actually what this long letter is about. Mediocrity.
You see, when I started watching Rugby, the rules were still
simple. No nancy-pancy stuff and if someone was in need of some “orientation”
it was provided for free. That included ending up on the wrong side of a ruck
and remaining there in order to slow down play, taking the ball in the lineout
out of turn and so on.
In those days other teams had immense respect for the
Springbok, not only because they were such a good team, but also because they
were an AWESOME team that gave no mercy and asked for none. Granted the All
Blacks, Wallabies and Lions (British) had similar reputations, but as John Smit
and Peter de Villers said those teams needed the Springboks to keep their
reputations in tact.
Rules have changed over the years and TV cameras, health and
safety managers and lawyers dived onto the scene to place a damper on the “robustness”
of the game. Every team capitulated and started trying to be “nice” except the
All Blacks. They took the rules and through thorough analysis found ways in
which they could bend them up to breaking point. They never lost their killer
instinct.
KILLER INSTINCT: Throw for instance Uruguay at the All
Blacks and see them wipe the floor with them. 120 – 0 is the least they will
settle for. “Yew wanah plaay wieth tha bick booiys maaite, yew whiel plaay thie
bick booiys gaaime maaite” is what they probably say at the first scrum and
then all hell breaks loose and some mediocre team gets their backsides kicked
BIG TIME!!
In South Africa we had embargoes and isolation because of
politics. During those times we built nuclear bombs, conventional weapons of
war and attempted to kill any team that came to our back yard for a game of
Rugby, just to show them and anyone else interested, that we’re actually THE number
1 team in the Rugby world.
Apartheid was a terrible thing for many of our people and
denied many good players the opportunity to wear the Green and Gold officially
or because of the color of their skin. It also denied those who were given the
jersey, the opportunity to officially show the world what we were about, but
boy when the politics changed, did we eat those Uruguayans, Samoans and other
Minos for breakfast. And boy did we show the world and especially the Kiwis in
1995.
Money then came into the game and suddenly our Rugby boys
had to scoop while the porridge was falling from the sky. Injuries became an
issue and administrators understood why contracted players would not put their
bodies on the line anymore. Every team suffered from the same illness…. Mediocrity. Except the All Blacks.
For Europe and the UK it became even worse as some tree hugger
decided to mess with their sports completely and came up with an even more
mediocre plan by banning winning. Everyone would be a winner from now on even
if you came stone last or lost 120 – 0 to the All Blacks.
For a little island with shitty
unpleasant weather and a population the size of Pretoria, New Zealand has
incredible depth when it comes to sports like Rugby. They don’t even know Pap
and Braaivleis and probably have no Brannas and Coke either, but they still eat
people (not literally anymore, I think, although up to recently I still had my
doubts about Tana Umaga….). They have no mercy and ask nothing in return. There
seems to be a national pride radiating from them, which we perceive as
arrogance. Dude, if you’re good you just can’t help it can you? Very much like
the Blue Bulls…
We were like that at some stage. The Springboks had depth
and pride and were awesome and scary up to the day Bakkies Botha left. Or so I
thought. Then I saw Eben Etzebeth and my Blue Bull heart wanted to get out the
checque book and get him to Pretoria. You picked him for the squad and it was
good.
There are still some monsters out there. Actually there are
many, but not all of them are in Pretoria. I know, I’ve just told you that I
was a mediocre Rugby player, which means that I probably know nothing about the
insides of what goes on in a Rugby engine room. But I told you I have read a
lot and although a lot of the books written by Rugby legends can be a bit
one-sided, it did give me a little insight into the inner workings of the team
and coaching dynamics.
I am also a mediocre golf player, but I can teach the basics
well as I understand the dynamics of a golf club hitting a ball on a grassy knoll…
In the beginning of this letter I also mentioned that I am a
Blue Bulls fan. I was lying. I am a fanatical Blue Bull supporter that will
commit terrorist acts for my team if need be, but funny enough I am also
objective and can recognize faults in the makeup of my team or any other when
it is necessary. I learnt this art form, when I moved to a small Arab country
in 1999. In those days the Bulls were the milking cows of SA Rugby. That’s not
why I moved though. Just in case you were wondering.
Everyone wanted to play them so they could score bonus
points. I was the odd Blue Bulls supporter that watched the game week-in and
week-out just in case there was a glimmer of hope. We actually beat a few big
teams that year and I told everyone around me that we had a 50-year plan and
were about 25 years into it.
Those days taught me to watch Rugby objectively to see a
good game, recognize the flaws of my team and acknowledge the superstars of the
enemy. Since then I have never stopped doing it.
Mr. Meyer you have made me very proud in the past with the
Blue Bulls winning the Super Series and the Curry Cup. The Bulls are my pride
and joy even if they struggle like this year. I love them more than I love my
Harley Davidson or golf clubs.
I love the Springboks just as much. They have made me very
proud in the past.
Two World Cups is an accomplishment the All Blacks could not
equal until last year and they started playing in World Cups in 1987.
We have been awesome and we’ve had teams that disappointed,
but in the old days we were beaten
by awesome teams. Unlike the recent spate of games where we made mediocre teams
look good by losing to them or beating them by a margin as thin as the skin on
the tongue of a cold virus. Read this sentence again please. We lost to mediocre teams we were
not beaten by them.
I’m not sure if you are a Steve Hoffmeyer fan or not. I like
his voice, his stage personality and most of his songs. Especially the Blou Bul
song. Some years I would agree with him that all the Bulls should be
Springboks, but I’m afraid you have taken that song a bit too literally, so far
in your career as the Springbok coach.
There are nearly 60 million people in South Africa. Out of
the 60 million we have a few million who play Rugby and from what I see it is
growing. Politics still infects most sports and I’m sure Rugby too. Having read
Peter de Villiers’ book, however, I cannot think for one moment that you have
as many politicians on your back as he had. I cannot, for one moment, think
that Minister Stofile or Oregan Hoskins or God forbid Cheeky Watson insisted
that you stuff the locker rooms with Blue Bulls players. I personally think it
was your own idea, which may or may not have come up during a Brannas and Coke
session at the Loftus restaurant or during a braai with Pine Pienaar – So by
the way, where the hell did he come from? Is he family of Frans Ludecke….?
The fact that you loaded the team top-heavy with Bulls
players is one thing, but actually leaving out valuable Bulls staff is
inexcusable. Please explain to me the absence of the best kicking coach in the
world – Vlok Cilliers – while a real example of inconsistent kicking – Louis
Koen – rubbed off on Morné Steyn so much, that you eventually HAD to drop him?
Anyway, I digress again. Let’s look at depth in South
African Rugby. For the following reasons I will exclude the Eastern Cape from
this as the province is a boiling cauldron of mediocrity, politics, big egos
and little talent when it comes to Rugby administration and in typical African
fashion, they are under the impression that life and SA Rugby owes them.
I will start with the so-called previously disadvantaged
players and with this I’m not referring to the Lions, Cheetahs, Western
Province, Griquas or Sharks, although some of them might have their roots
there.
The transformation efforts have done a lot to develop Rugby
amongst players of color in South Africa. It has been done to such an extent
that I can put nearly a full team in the field with players of color on merit.
I also disagree with the SA Rugby Board or Union or whatever they call
themselves these days that development is not on par. Development is well on
par, but money for facilities in previously disadvantaged areas is either not
used or pilfered in dodgy dealings by the very same administrators who keep on
sticking out their hands for more money and blaming the traditionally white
unions for not supporting development.
The reason why no player of color or let’s rather say, very
small numbers of good players of color come from poor areas and schools is
because the large rich schools scout them and take them in to develop them
further in more appropriate conditions.
So the theory of politics and interference by politicians is
flawed, should you want to side-step in that direction. I cannot see that
politicians will encourage you to choose mainly players from the historical
bastion of Apartheid, Pretoria.
I can assume that contracts probably come in to play. Then I
would also assume that, like you, players may just have a performance clause
built into the contract? Or have we lost the good lawyers to the “sport” of chasing
ambulances and corrupt politicians to satisfy their greedy appetites?
I actually don’t really know what to say about contracts as
I don’t know enough about the set-up you have going there. What I do know is
that as an employee, I need to perform to certain standards and if I don’t I
lose my bonus and eventually my job if it continues for too long.
I also know that recruiters look for talent when employing
people and so do CEO’s.
Mr. Meyer, I see you as the CEO of the Springbok team as
well as the talent scout. I am also well aware of the fact that a single
performance does not make star player – what is does tell me, however, is that
there is talent that can be tapped and developed.
What I am even more aware of is that continuous under-performance
may point to lack of commitment, lack of skills or in some cases lack of
talent.
During the summer months (your winter in the Southern
Hemisphere) I watch Rugby every weekend. Every Friday and every Saturday. I
watch New Zealand Rugby, Australian Rugby, South African Rugby and sometimes
the odd game during that time in Europe and the United Kingdom. This made me
realize that there is loads of talent in New Zealand, basically nothing in
Australia and many, many times more in South Africa, when compared to New
Zealand.
What I cannot understand and please forgive my ignorance;
why I see the exceptional players, my countrymen see them, the Kiwi’s and
Aussies see them, but our selectors ignore them. Could it be that we are all
complete idiots and you and your selection team are the only people who know
what is going on or are you really in a corner due to contracts, dirty pictures
of you and Pine or is the Illuminati these days controlling South African Rugby
too?
Why can we not choose players with talent irrespective of
their color and background and most importantly province? I assume that once
the touring squad is picked there can be no changes unless injuries force a
player home?
So we need proper planning as far as players are concerned,
especially when taking into account conditions and opponents.
I’m not sure if you only find out who you’re playing and
where, the week before the match, but I get a schedule months in advance in the
Newspapers and especially on the Internet. I know that winter has arrived in
the Northern Hemisphere this time of year and that it will most probably rain,
that the fields are heavy and that running Rugby might be a bit of a gamble. I
also know that the other team knows this. So scrums will be important…. But so
will surprising them by not kicking the ball away and all over the place!!
To end my letter I will only discuss the “issues” of last
night and leave the star players, who never saw the ball, alone…
Why pick the worst scrummers in the Universe for the
Scotland game last night!!!? The two Valies were great against Ireland last
week, but you insisted on bringing CJ and “Waar’s my boetie?” Jannie in on
prop. Dude. There are actually really good props back in SA. Guthro seemed a
bit tired and out of form as well, so I have no idea what the plan was and I
and many others need clarity on this unwise choice.
Juandre Kruger had an OK game, but nothing to write home
about. Probably the only Blue Bull that I will keep in my team… oh and maybe
Hougaard, but not on the wing.
Ruan was player of the season in Ireland,
whooopi-freaking-dooo!! And his dad was a Springbok fullback. I think we have
many scrumhalves to pick from and while you’re building up for the World Cup,
try them all in different combinations – you have a few years to go – and THEN
if we lose, no one can say that you did not test all the options.
Lambie should be lucky that he’s not dead yet. Pienaar makes
him look like a palooka and it’s going to cost him his place. We will lose
another excellent fly-half to Japan or Europe. Give Jantjies a playing chance
PLEASE!!! He has talent and is not the “quota player” you think he is!!!
Ah, and then there’s our intercepting captain.
Mr. Meyer, a captain is supposed to be a leader. Some of the
best leaders we’ve had were Francois Pienaar and John Smit. Not the best
players in their positions at the time, but their leadership helped us win the
World Cup. Twice. Our current captain is not the best player in his position
and even less of a leader. A passenger, taking up space where real talent is
discarded and frustrated out of their sculls.
We have plenty of Centers of all colors and provinces with
real talent. If you need the names, please email me.
Kirchner is a brave choice indeed. Brave because you never
know how he will play and because of the high stakes we play for, you cannot
afford keeping him in the backline. Why don’t we see Gio Aplon, Louis Ludick or
Riaan Viljoen on the list?
The thing is. You have been proved wrong time and again.
Flippie van der Merwe, I could have told you, is a walking yellow card. May I
introduce to you Anton Bressler. No, no wailing about you can only play locks
on their preferred side and all that rubbish. Tell Bressler you have a Bok
jersey for him, but it’s on the “wrong side” and see what he does. Then see if
he disappoints.
To come back to last night’s game against Scotland, let me
give you my five sents worth.
The props were diabolically pathetic. I am incredibly
thankful that the Scots didn’t have a tank full of petrol.
To play a game plan like you tried last night, I would have
done the following:
1.
Fire the props and got good ones from SA or put
the two Valies in. I don’t think Guthro was too bad, but didn’t have the best
night. In comparison to CJ and Jannie, however, he was a superstar.
2.
Get Anton Bressler on the bench and fire Flippie
3.
Get Keagan Daniels on scrum-half (and captain)
and Ryan Kankovsky on fly-half
4.
Should Kanko manage to hold on to the ball,
swing it to Jacques Potgieter and then to Dewaldt Potgieter on the outside
5.
Potgieter will pass to Pierre Spies, who will
run until he is grabbed by the legs and collapses like a sack of sand, while
Daniels tries to recover the ball.
6.
Daniels gets the ball fakes a pass and runs
straight into the biggest prop he can find, but escapes unhurt, while flinging
the ball to Siya Xolisi on fullback, who hands off several guys twice his size
and scores under the post.
7.
Kanko misses the kick, but is confident the Boks
can win on tries alone.
8.
We beat Scotland 21 – 10 and at least you have a
whole brick outhouse full of Bulls players in the team and of the type that can
play the “running-into-a-wall-time-and-again-while-getting-nowhere” game
without getting hurt.
Mr. Meyer, I know you’re not really as slow as your team
selections make you out to be and I really wish you a lot of success with the
Springboks, but just to clarify the purpose of this letter, I need to tell you
why I wrote it.
I wrote this because I am seriously concerned about the
state of our beloved Springbok team. I am also seriously concerned about my
wellbeing as a South African, surrounded by Brits, Kiwis, Aussies and all sorts
of other nasties, which you probably have never even come across before. The
constant heckling and unwanted taking of the… ahm…. mickey is really getting to
me and I am afraid I will soon be forced to commit violent and bloody acts to
defend my dignity.
I also want the rest of the Rugby playing world to fear the
Boks again and not laugh at them in their faces.
I want our national Rugby team to get back the killer
instinct and become as arrogant or even worse than the All Blacks. Not because
we’re an arrogant nation, but because we can afford to think (and KNOW) we are
really the best.
Most of all, however, I want to protect the Springbok on the
jersey. It has been attacked by politics and politicians in the past and has
survived because in the past, albeit a bit distant, we were a force to be
reckoned with and that needs to come back. If it doesn’t and mediocrity
continues to be OK, we can change the picture to a Rose (oh that’s been taken)
or a Tulip (taken too) or maybe a chicken (taken too and I will rather stay
away from the word cock) or a kangaroo (hmm taken too) or anything else
mediocre and benign…. Maybe a Labrador leading a blind man…
Groete uit die woestyn en aan al die Arabiere
H
of Arabia
