Straeuli none the wiser from poor Bok A draw
Just about the only good thing to come out of Wednesday's 30-30 draw between South Africa A and Argentina at Wellington was that no one was injured.
The match was treated as an extra trial to give Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli another chance to take a look at some of the contenders for the Tri-Nations next month. But with the exception of lock Geo Cronje, centre Wayne Julies and No 8 Juan Smith, none of the South Africa A players impressed. In fact, several harmed their chances.
Straeuli and SA A coach Rudy Joubert were quite guarded with their comments and considering the performance of the team, it was hardly surprising.
Julies, who moved from Boland to Free State at the beginning of the season, has played only one club game so far this year and looked particularly sharp. He straightened the line whenever he got the ball and distributed well - something few of his teammates seemed capable of.
The stocky centre has had a horrendous run of injuries in the last few years, but said yesterday he was feeling 100 percent and couldn't wait to get some matches under his belt.
It was disappointing that he was replaced at half time by Robbie Fleck, but Straeuli wanted to test Fleck at inside centre.
Bulls hardman Cronje was the other standout. Rock solid at the kick-offs, he had several incisive touches among the backs.
The tight five were a problem however. Playing against an Argentina pack is always difficult, but it was particularly disappointing to see the visitors control the ball in the tight phases.
To be out-muscled by a good pack like the Argentinians is one thing, but the SA A tight five never matched the workrate of their opponents. No one cleared the opposition out of the rucks, a factor that slowed down the SA A possession.
The South Africans looked far from hungry, which seemed odd considering they are trying to force their way into the World Cup squad.
Argentina always dominated the scrums and the Bok management's experiment of trying Bulls loosehead prop Wessel Roux on the tighthead side was a failure. Straeuli is looking for another prop such as Robbie Kempson who can pack down on both sides of the scrum, but on Wednesday's evidence, Roux is not the answer.
Straeuli said it was understandable for a team that played together for the first time to lack continuity. But that does not explain how experienced Test backs Andre Snyman and Thinus Delport struggled to string two passes together or hold onto the ball.
Delport, recalled from overseas to bolster Straeuli's options ahead of the World Cup, had a poor match. From his first touch, which he knocked on, nothing seemed to go right for the Gloucester player.
Straeuli was adamant, however, that players would get more chances and nobody had been ruled out after Wednesday's performance.
Snyman's performance was perhaps even more of a disappointment. He had a solid Super 12 for the Sharks and by general consent was the No 1 choice for outside centre at the start of the international season.
Two poor performances against Scotland, however, meant that he needed a strong game against the Pumas on Wednesday as both Marius Joubert and Gcobani Bobo have probably moved ahead of him in the coach's plans. Although he did score two tries, Snyman never looked comfortable when distributing.
Point scorers
South Africa A (16) 30.
Tries: Andre Snyman (2), Shaun Sowerby. Conversions: Thinus Delport (2), Butch James. Penalties: Delport (3)
Argentina (10) 30.
Tries: Martin Gaitan (2), Jose Nunez-Piossek. Conversions: Juan Fernandez-Miranda (3). Penalties: Fernandez-Miranda (2). Drop goal: Fernandez-Miranda