I'm sorry but was PDV not your coach when you won the Lions tour?
So far under Meyer its Wallabies -1 Boks -0
I agree with the scond part of your post, not the first.
It was a commonly known fact that two games into PDV's tenure when he was trying to get the team to swing the thing around and run it off our own line, game plan and coaching for all intent and purpose were taken over by Smit, Matfield and du Preez. There was a player revolt.
I could have coached that team. Drills were run by Gold and co (assistants) and Pdv held pep talks with players one on one and hopped from media disaster to media disaster.
Now I think the team would have done better with a strong coach who had control of the dressing room but the senior player called the shots. That has been known fact.
So no, as far as most people are concerned, PdV deserves very little credit.
But this situation has come and bit us in the bum becuase in that same year (2009), the coach should have started to bring in younger talent and didn't becuase the players had a stranglehold.
2010 until now has been the knock on effect of that. Too many older players (until last year anyway) and more importantly, no knowledge of who could make the step up. Not one bold selection was made in three years (some people suggest Brussow is a credit to PdV. Rubbish. Burger got suspended and Brussow was breaking the door down week after week and he had to pick him because Smit asked (told) him to).
So now we are further back than we should have been. Meyer has shown ominous signs of sticking with the older players and game plan but circumstance is forcing his hand which is a good thing.
I don't think anyone can deny that the Wobs have had the wood over us. All I want to see is progress and process. It would be a great start because we has absolutely NONE of that for four years and it hurt our rugby badly.
I don't mind losing at the moment. I mind losing and stupidity at the same time. We are unfortunately very good at that.
