Boks don't need a blue Monday
Morris Gilbert, Beeld
Pretoria - A blue Monday is the last thing the South African Tri-Nations rugby team need as the Springboks start their short training camp in Johannesburg this week.
The decision about the extension of Jake White's coaching contract, to be taken by the presidents' council of the South African Rugby Union (Saru) on Monday or Tuesday, is still hanging like a dark cloud of uncertainty over the national team.
The Springboks also will be holding their breath when they go out to train on Monday.
They are still staggering after the withdrawal of flyhalf André Pretorius who, by all accounts, should never have been considered for the tour of Australasia.
Pretorius's groin injury will keep him out of action for some time still, opening the door for Meyer Bosman to return to the Springbok team.
Bosman learnt only on Friday that he had to join the Springboks on Monday. On the same evening, he featured in the Cheetahs' run-away Currie Cup victory over the Falcons.
'Contract fiasco'
White has indicated, after discussions with Saru last week, that he would accept any decision taken by the presidents' council, even if his contract was not extended until after the tour of the British and Irish Lions in 2009.
What the influence of such a decision, or the absence of any decision, will have on the team spirit will emerge only during the tour Down Under.
In Australia, in particular, White's "contract fiasco" and criticism from within SA rugby because there are insufficient black players in the team are regarded as one of the Wallabies' Tri-Nations trump cards.
White is likely to have called for full medical reports of all players who, because of injuries, did not play at all or only in some of the recent home Test matches against Scotland and France.
Among them are wing Breyton Paulse, centres Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie and lock forward Bakkies Botha.
There also will be much interest in the nature and extent of wing Bryan Habana's rib injury.
It can be accepted that Habana will not leave for Brisbane with the rest of the team this week but he may be a thorn in the flesh of the All Blacks in Wellington on July 23.
Habana was injured during the Test against France at Newlands in Cape Town on June 24. The initial diagnosis was a broken rib that would keep him out of action for six weeks.
The good news for the Springboks is that he could be back much earlier.
The team's first practice, to be held at St Stithian's in Randburg on Monday, should provide a good indication of which players still are not fully fit.
Enough time to recover
Fortunately for White and the Springboks, their first Tri-Nations Test, against Australia, is only on July 15. This will leave injured players with enough time for recovery.
Australia and New Zealand get the Tri-Nations series underway in Christchurch on Saturday.
The inclusion of three members of the SA Under-21 team in the Springbok squad has shown that the national selectors are now starting to invest in younger players who eventually will form the new core of the team.
Only time will tell how hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle, loose forward Pierre Spies and utility back JP Pietersen will be deployed. The ideal will be to give each of them an opportunity to make his Test debut.
Ralepelle must face the reality that John Smit is not only the Springbok hooker, but also the captain. And the experienced Danie Coetzee is the other hooker in the team.
Coetzee has been out of action for so long that it makes sense that he should be the reserve hooker in Brisbane.
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