THE Boks In PE -2012

This week in Port Elizabeth it has been hard for us reporters who have been on the Bok beat for many a year to fail to see the disparity between the Springbok mood before this dead-rubber Test against England and the exact same scenario three years ago against the British and Irish Lions.

In 2009, the build-up to the third Test in Johannesburg after the Boks had won the series by winning in Pretoria the week before was all about Peter de Villiers and his frankly outlandish comments about gouging Lions in the bush, pink tutus and all that other rubbish that he garbled to the grateful British press, while this week, with the Boks 2-0 up against England, the current Springbok coach has spoken only about a “culture of excellence” and a refusal to compromise standards that are, in fact, not yet up to the standards that he is willing to accept.

Back in 2009, in the same situation, Peter de Villiers made 10 changes to the Springboks and they were walloped 28-9, a hiding in anybody’s language, and the gloss was taken off the team’s series triumph.

This week Heyneke Meyer has made three enforced changes to the team that secured the series last week. Patrick Lambie cannot play because of a sprained ankle. Willem Alberts cannot play because of a knee ligament problem and, months ago, Frans Steyn told Meyer that his wedding date had been set for this Saturday.

Otherwise he would have fielded the same 22 as last week.

That is how a true professional works. Compared to 2009 and the joke of the third Test against the Lions, this is about the consummate professional versus the coach who made it up as he went along and often got it wrong.

To put it harshly, the ring master of 2009 has left the Big Top that was his duly elected domain four years, and in 2012 the Real Deal is at the wheel.

There has been no talk of resting players from Meyer, who has spoken all week about lifting standards, about the value he attaches to each Springbok jersey and his refusal to give it away to a newcomer just for the sake of it.

It is interesting that each time Meyer gives a jersey to a debutant, he talks about how important an impact it has on the player and his family. It means he knows how valued the occasion of a first cap is for a greater family.

Meyer, highly focused this week on securing a 3-0 whitewash, could not cut a more contrasting figure to De Villiers three years ago ahead of what could have been a 3-0 whitewash for the Boks had they kept their focus.

The corresponding week in 2009 was all about De Villiers the personality and his dilly comments in the press and almost nothing about the Boks’ series win. And three years later De Villiers is reportedly still castigating the press in his autobiography for not giving the team credit while, pathetically and comically, if you are into black humour, still not realising that he made himself the news story of that week after the series win and preceding the dead rubber third Test. He still does not get it. He thinks to this day that the SA media sold him short by not patting him (and the team) on the back in the press conferences when, in truth, he was exultantly talking about gouging Lions in the bush in pink tutus, and all of that other tripe that exposed him to be a comedian as opposed to the genuine rugby coach that has succeeded him.

By Mike Greenaway