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 Springboks style Mallett: We had no attacking option
Posted: Wednesday November 03, 1999 02:13 PM
CARDIFF, Wales (Reuters) -- Coach Nick Mallett admits South Africa's World Cup has ended in failure but blames injuries to key players and a Southern Hemisphere test playing schedule that allows no room for mistakes. Mallett, under fierce pressure after the Springboks went out in the semifinals to Australia, insists he had no option but to play a tight game because he did not have the personnel capable of more invention. The nature of Southern Hemisphere rugby, where almost every game is a major clash and every defeat a national disaster, meant he never got the chance to experiment and his players could not develop the skills needed for a more attractive game. Forthright and honest, Mallett talked with the media about the state of the South African game for more than an hour before the third place playoff and staunchly defended his tactics. "Of course it's a failure that we are out of the tournament but only one team can win it. We beat a heavily fancied England and lost a game to Australia which could have gone either way," Mallett said. "We didn't concede a try in either game and I still believe in the way in which we played and to play a different style would have needed a huge amount of time -- time we didn't have." "If we had not had [center] Brendan Venter suspended and [flyhalf] Henry Honiball injured maybe we could have played both style of games but you need the players. "I'm in no way denigrating the players who replaced them but they are a different type of player and we decided on our tactics to suit them. "It's pragmatic -- you can't force players to play something that's not their natural game -- you coach the team to do what they like to do best. You don't practice a rugby that is romantic but one that is practical -- I still believe this was the best we could have played. "It wasn't as if the Australians threw the ball around. Most of their breaks were after one pass, a piece of individual skill. Of course I didn't tell my players not to make breaks and it was very, very frustrating for me to see us create a couple of overlaps and not use them. "That's not down to me telling them to kick it all the time, it's down to individuals making decisions under pressure -- as Tim Horan did for them to great effect." Mallett said that South Africa were at their most inventive a couple of years ago with Dick Muir at inside center, a man the coach described as one of the best communicators in the game. After Muir's retirement from the international scene Mallett went for Pieter Muller, which has meant a closer style of game with the outside backs rarely involved in attack. Mallett took over the coaching duties in September 1997 and led the Boks to a record equaling 17 consecutive test victories. He is striving to keep his side up with the rapidly changing styles of the other leading nations, a need that triggered the surprise sacking of captain Gary Teichmann. "We watched the Stormers go in the Super 12 trying to throw the ball around and they got absolutely smashed," he said. "In the last Super 12 the Cats scored the most tries but also had the most against them. "When we won the Tri Nations in 1998 we won it by limiting our mistakes but now that's not enough. You have to be able to vary it and we haven't been able to." Mallett said the only way for the Springboks to be able to develop a more expansive style was to find players able to make the decisions on the pitch and then play games against lesser nations so they can try new tactics with less pressure. "Next year again we have a tough schedule -- Tri Nations, two against England -- you don't have a chance to build confidence there because you have to do everything for the win," he said. "We have to have more games against the weaker teams where you can try things and then bring it in when it is right. "He believes the Super 12 is the road to improvement and says South Africa have to improve their poor record in the competition to give him players to work with at national level. There is already a harmonious relationship -- by South African standards -- between him and the country's Super 12 coaches and, although he insists he would never interfere with their methods, there is a certain unity of purpose amongst them. "Let's see how we do in the Super 12 next year because that is the cutting edge," he said. "We have the players, we just have to get them to develop certain areas. "It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing - we have to develop our skills, use the backs more, but that is a risky policy and when it goes wrong it leads to turnovers and heavy defeats and everyone is too scared to try it again. "It is very hard to score tries these days - no team has ever defended like the Tri Nations teams defend now and it's up to us to find a way to get through." "I've got two more years and I'll keep doing the job as long as I enjoy it," he said. "Of course everyone gets upset when the team loses, of course I feel it too and in South Africa everybody has an opinion. "I love this job, but it can get vindictive."
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