Here’s a New Year’s thought for the Boks: every cloud has a silver lining
It’s always darkest just before the dawn, as the old saying goes. South African rugby hopes that is the case because 2016 was a nightmare for the Springboks under new coach Allister Coetzee. The Boks lost eight of their 12 Tests‚ a record number of losses in a calendar year‚ worse than the seven defeats of 2006 and 1965. They also failed to win away from home for the first time in 14 seasons. The Boks started the year ranked three in the world and ended it sixth. Along the way they suffered a record loss to the All Blacks‚ a first home loss against Ireland‚ a first away defeat against the Pumas and a winless November northern hemisphere tour for the first time since 2002. The Bok defence was the worst it had been in the professional era‚ conceding an average of 2.9 tries per game. That was down to a host of problems from utilising three defence coaches in six months‚ to lack of intensity by the players. Coetzee tried to use these issues as excuses‚ but they only served to highlight ...
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