The same questions are faced by every coach of every team before this series of phoney war clashes a year out from the Rugby World Cup. Are you planning for the here and now or for 12 months hence?
The South Africa coach, Heyneke Meyer, still smarting from Saturday’s 29-15 defeat in Dublin that checked the upward trajectory of his exciting side, gave the only sensible answer: both.
In making the argument for five changes for this Saturday’s match against England in the “unbelievable pressure cooker” of Twickenham, a match that has become a must-win for both sides in the wake of their respective defeats, Meyer said he was focused only on victory. But he is also mindful of trying as many combinations as possible as he whittles down his options.
“We only had this game in consideration. It is always a tough game and I felt we would put more experienced players in this game,” he said. “I truly believe what happens now does not have a big influence on the World Cup. In a sense it is almost better if you lose as your guys know they will then have to step up.”
In the main Meyer has opted for experience, with JP Pietersen, Adriaan Strauss and Schalk Burger (combined caps: 155) among those to return. Cobus Reinach and Pat Lambie come in at half-back, the latter replacing the exciting but callow Handré Pollard at No10.
Meyer was quick to make clear that the changes had been made not in direct response to the shock to the system in Dublin but driven by his search for the perfect blend for the Rugby World Cup.
Emphasising the strength in depth outside the squad, he said every member of his side was playing for his Test future. By the end of the tour the coach will know perhaps 80% of the names that will return to England next autumn.
Yet the need to immediately bounce back from defeat by Ireland . Meyer saw things in Dublin – a failure to convert possession into points, moments of ill discipline that led to “silly penalties”, an inability to handle the inclement conditions – that worried him.
“We need to upskill our players in South Africa and we need to make a huge step up before the World Cup and train 90% of the time with a wet ball and in wet conditions,” he said, accentuating the difference between tournament rugby and regular Tests. “The guys have to step up and show they can do it under pressure. And the main thing which I don’t think we’ve been good at as a team is playing in wet conditions. We don’t face it too often in South Africa.
“We have time to fix it before the World Cup. It’s totally different: more arm-wrestle, more physical at the breakdown, you have to be very good in defence. It’s always within three to four points. You have to be disciplined and use every opportunity and we’ll see which players can do that.”
Meyer has spent the past two years building a side that plays a more attractive brand of free-flowing rugby, with full-back Willie le Roux (one of five players nominated on Wednesday for the IRB’s player of the year award) aamong those coming to the fore.
Meyer stressed, however, that his side had to be less casual in possession and better at capitalising on opportunities than they were against the Irish. “It would be easy for me to say there was nothing wrong with the gameplan but, if the players can’t keep the ball, then as a nation we have to work at that. We were criticised for playing too conservatively and we’ve moved on but we still have to win games,” he said.
“I don’t want to move away from scoring tries and playing attractive rugby but we have to work harder with the players and probably a bit closer and sometimes slow down in games and build phases and have respect for the ball.”
Yet there was plenty of carrot proffered alongside the stick and Meyer pointedly remembered the defeats South Africa endured in 2006, 11 months before lifting the World Cup.
There were encouraging words for the dropped Pollard. “Handré turned 20 only this year so he is going to make mistakes. He is probably close to the best attacking 10 in the world,” he said. “But he has to develop his own game. I am always, up until the World Cup, going to give him chances, pull him back, give him more chances.”
Pollard will sit on an inexperienced bench but it is the sort of scenario – coming on with 10 minutes left at Twickenham with the game in the balance – that Meyer feels will point the way to the World Cup.
“These are four tough games; we needed something like this. It is going to test our character and our depth,” he said. “Without giving out the wrong message, you don’t have to motivate the guys when they play England. Motivation and physicality won’t be a problem but we need to be clinical because we are playing a world-class team.”
