Rugby Union: Springboks still labouring under Dr Craven's orders

IT IS as hard to keep politics out of sport as it is to keep some politicians out of sports gear. The irony of the French Government's preposterously late demand for a token black player to be included in the South African tour party was that the Springboks' management team, which had to deal with the rumpus, had itself been formed as a result of political chicanery.

It was, in effect, an every day tale of rugby folk - intrigue, duplicity and downright cussedness - and the man who will have to bear the brunt of the decisions made in the corridors of power is the South African coach, John Williams. He has been thwarted at almost every turn, and it is a measure of his enthusiasm for the job that he still wants any part of it.

After the All Blacks and the Wallabies had laid bare the Springboks' many deficiencies, and had once and for all exploded the extraordinary notion, still abroad in South Africa, that the Springboks were the dominant force in world rugby, it was clear that, tactically and technically, the South African game is outdated. Williams recognised this and pressed for change.

The man he wanted as his assistant was Eugene van Wyk, the backs coach from Northern Transvaal. He had vision and imagination, but he had never played for the Springboks and was therefore unacceptable to Dr Danie Craven who, despite the unification of the various governing bodies, remains the most influential figure in South African rugby.

Instead of van Wyk, the man chosen as Williams's assistant was the 61-year-old Ian Kirkpatrick, a threequarter of great distinction 30 and more years ago whose reputation in recent years has been built around his work in various development projects. There are grave fears that Kirkpatrick's presence could further undermine the authority of Williams, and in a management party of eight, which originally could not even accommodate a fitness coach, the indians are hopelessly outnumbered by the chiefs.

One of the concerns is that the very real potential of this Springbok side could be smothered by old fashioned thinking. There is talk of a threequarter line bubbling with talent and of Pieter Muller, a centre of the highest class. Muller is a protege of John Robbie, the former Irish and British Lions scrum-half whose old club, Greystones, benefited from Muller's presence last season. His midfield partnership with Danie Gerber is reckoned to be one of the Springboks' major assets along with the squad's versatility and flexibility. But with two sets of half-backs (Botha and du Preez, and le Roux and Wright) of totally contrasting styles, it is a flexibility which could prove to be counter-productive.

The backs, however, are less of a problem than the forwards. The unavailability of Uli Schmidt, their world-class hooker, is the cruellest of blows to a side not especially noted for their scrummaging power. And if their illegal line-out strategies, detected and scuppered by the referees for the Tests against the All Blacks and the Australians during the summer, are not completely reformed it is hard to know how the Springboks can survive.

In an effort to improve their line- out organisation, the Springboks are expected to deploy Adolph Malan, their tallest player at 6ft 8in, as a front jumper. The hope is that he will be allowed more freedom there than he was in the middle of the line-out during the summer Tests. Malan's physical presence will undoubtedly present a problem for opponents throwing in to the line- out, but the tactic can only prosper if there are also big men further back, and here the Springboks appear to be struggling.

Both their middle jumpers, Drikkus Hattingh and Steve Atherton, are short by modern international standards although both are reputed to have the mobility and agility so conspicously absent when the Springboks played the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

It will be even more important to inject pace into a back row which was much too ponderous for the modern game. Jannie Breedt, who played in both Tests last summer, is not in the party, but Wahl Bartmann and Ian Mcdonald are, and the opportunity to promote a genuinely quick flanker appears to have been missed. There was no denying that the sluggishness of the South African forwards had a baleful influence on their half-backs.

At scrum-half Robert du Preez's tour place was secured only by an outstanding display for Natal in the Currie Cup final while Naas Botha's abject form almost persuaded him to call it a day. His reluctance to tackle was savagely exposed against the All Blacks, and against the Wallabies his whole game fell apart. Nevertheless, the sheer force of his presence on the field and his vast international experience will be invaluable to a side as uniquely unacquainted with touring as this one.

The French can be trusted to make life as awkward as possible for the tourists both on and off the field. If it is not the French Government it will be the French Federation where the power broker is no longer Albert Ferrasse but Robert Paparemborde. In a very short time, he has built up a formidable management structure around the national coach, Pierre Berbizier.

The route the South Africans have chosen for their return to international rugby, by way of New Zealand, Australia, France and England, could not have been more arduous. By the time they reach these shores, they will be wiser men. Less certain is whether they will be better players.