Pick players for attitude and passion

The weekend rugby championship provided another frustrating display of the state of one of the country’s most treasured national sports.
The Boks’ display against a lowly ranked team was embarrassing to say the least. I am told that this country, with its hundreds of clubs and thousands of rugby-playing schools is brimming with talent. Where is the talent? Barring some brilliant displays by a few players, the Boks looked like a group of lost tourists looking for a way out of Salsa.
Now I am not a scrum specialist by any stretch of the imagination but to me it looked like the Argentinian loose forwards had a sneaky technique of scrummaging inwards which disrupted our whole pack. Whatever technique they used one would expect that our so-called “experienced” front row, or tight five, would be able to counter the Pumas. Instead they looked like schoolboys playing international rugby by some cruel mistake. I would love to blame the ref for not picking up illegal scrummaging techniques, but if this is the case then change the rules of the game.
The All Blacks display showed (again) how rugby should be played. Apart from the skills, what impressed me most (again) was the pure passion which the team displayed. The main difference between SA and NZ Rugby is simply: Passion. The team that wants to win at all costs will usually come out on top. The Pumas almost pulled it off, but ran out of quality players to complete the job.
Our rugby players seem to play the game for the glamour and macho status it gives them starting at school level. The problem runs deep. Just have a look at the regional games in New Zealand and compare them with our Currie Cup games. The NZ guys are faster and seem to have far less handling errors. Coaches at all levels of the game should perhaps concentrate a bit more on the attitude of players than their reputation or size.
Unfortunately the 2014 Rugby Championship winner has already been decided so the Boks can only try for second place, again.
HILTON ASHTON
Ballito