Thursday 29 October 2015 10:20, UK
Sky Sports' Thinus Delport believes the Springboks have been left behind in world rugby, and has called for a change in mentality.
The Boks ran the All Blacks close in the semi-final, but never looked like scoring a try against their old foes. The result was yet another loss to the number one side in the world, and the end of the road for South Africa in a World Cup of mixed results.
Asked why the Boks did not live up to their billing in this year's tournament, the retired winger pointed to the shock loss to the Brave Blossoms in the opening game as a major contributing factor.
"You'd have to start at the beginning," Delport told Sky Sports. "That loss to Japan was a massive blow to players, coaches and fans.
"We came into the tournament with players already injured so our plans for the first game were disrupted. South Africa started undercooked and paid the consequences against the Japanese."
"Someone needs to restore the brand and get that fear factor back after the Japan loss, because it dented the Springboks' reputation."
The former Bok says that a change in mentality is needed if South Africa are to bounce back from a poor World Cup showing.
"If you look at the rugby played by New Zealand, Australia and - even more worryingly - Argentina, you can see that the Boks are being left behind by the rest of the southern hemisphere.
"Argentina are the best example of how a rugby team can evolve. If you compare the way they are playing now to the way they played three or four years ago, the two are miles apart.
"Graham Henry was brought in as a consultant and they've really bought into a different style. Not only that, but they back themselves confidently to play that way.
"South Africa doesn't have that. The Springboks seem to break down after five or six phases; after that the support runners are depleted. There is a shift that needs to take place in the way South African teams play.
"The Tier Two nations have really stepped up in the way their defensive structures are organised, and they've all caught up in terms of physicality.
"The days when the Boks could just turn up and bludgeon teams into defeat are over. They have to start evolving their game. The tactical kicking was not up to scratch, and that used to be a strength of the Boks."
Heyneke Meyer has not had a great record during his time with the Springboks, losing several games to nations the Boks would expect to beat. Delport says his performances should be the only factor in deciding whether or not he should be reappointed.
"You have to judge him on his record over the past four years, and unfortunately it hasn't been good," he said. "We only won one out of eight against the All Blacks, we lost to Japan and Argentina for the first time, and we lost to Wales for only the second time in history during his tenure.
"It's a tough call, but there is a lot of unrest among Springbok fans and there is a strong case to be made about replacing him as coach."
Delport says the SARU shouldn't be afraid to appoint a foreign coach if a suitable candidate can't be found at home.
"You've got to look at the performances of the South African coaches if that's the route they want to go. Otherwise they may look at overseas candidates. The game has moved on. It's a global game and South Africa need to compete on a global stage.
"We need to be able to get the best people, regardless of nationality, to lead the team. If the best person happens to be foreign then get him in regardless. The World Cup showed that teams can becomes successful with foreign coaches.
"Performance is the most important thing, not nationalities. Someone needs to restore the brand and get that fear factor back after the Japan loss, because it dented the Springboks' reputation."
There is one particular foreign coach who will be moving to South Africa soon, the same man who constructed the demise of the Springboks last month.
"Eddie Jones is coming in to coach the Stormers and he did fantastic work for the Wallabies and Japan," added Delport. "It will all boil down to whether South African Rugby would be prepared to employ a foreign coach."
Should SARU look closer to home, Delport has pointed to the work done by the coaches who led their side to Currie Cup glory last weekend, but warned against rushing them into the system.
"Johan Ackerman and Swys de Bruin at the Lions have done really well," he said. "They just won the Currie Cup and performed admirably in Super Rugby with limited resources.
"That said, they haven't been tested at international level, so it may be a case of giving them the Under-20 team to test them at that level. You could throw them in the deep end but we saw what happened with Lancaster and his coaching staff when they were put into a high-pressure environment without the experience."
