The Springboks were given their 2nd worst drubbing in history today. They were absolutely smashed by a Wallaby side that was murdered by an All-Black side last week.
The Wallabies were good, but the biggest reason for today’s loss was how bad the Springboks were. I was at the 53-3 loss against England and I have to say that today we were as woeful.
To me the main reasons for South-Africa’s demise are as follows.
Jake White: He has dropped the ball (pun intended) this season. His financial needs have overshadowed his commitment to the team.
His team selections have also been very suspect this year. It seems as if being Jake’s mate is more important than being on great from. His personal vendattas against players like Luke Watson and the deceased Ettiene Botha are cases in point.
He also has to take responsibility for the lack of basic skills and defence.
In essence, he is not doing his job anymore. In the workplace if you don’t do your job you get fired. Thus I now think it is time for Jakey to take his big mouth somewhere else.
John Smit: He has a one-dimensional approach – only knows how to bash into people – and he is about the third best hooker in SA after Schalk Brits and Gary Botha.
His basic skills are also notoriously bad. Smit’s knock-ons are not acceptable for a player at this level. How can you expect the rest of the team to have basic skills when you as captain struggle in this department?
As a captain he is the exact opposite of his predecessor, the dreadful CornT Krige. He smiles alot and everybody thinks he is nice. The problem is that no-one respects him. This is evident in the bad discipline that has crept up again. On field discipline is a captain’s responsibilty.
History shows that John Smit has simply not delivered.
Political Interference: The Springboks are still expected if not required to give black players & administrators free rides. Alastair Coetzee (who coached EP for god’s sakes) is just one example of someone that probably would not have been involved if this were not the case.
At the time of writing it feels like this year is going to have a long Tri-Nations. Stranger things have happened though. I will never forget one year the Sharks beat the Bulls 57-15. Everyone thought that was the Bulls’ season over. Naas Botha had other ideas though. The Bulls destroyed the Sharks in 63-6 in the return game and, if memory serves, they went on to win the Currie-Cup that year. But then again you don’t find a Naas Botha under every tree!
Attie Heunis's Journey 
I have no words… all I can say is that I agree with your reasons, nothing to add….
I sometimes think, alright, it builds character losing, but losing this bad, does not build anything. It is bad for the game in general, and also bad for the Tri-Nations, and then it is bad for the Springbok rugby and South African Rugby in general. No matter how I try to think about it, I can not see the positive of this loss.
Losing does build character. Just ask Clive Woodward’s England. They lost 76-0 (I think) to Aus only to take the World Cup from them 4 years later.
Handling was atrocious and the players did not believe in themselves. Jake has a lot to answer for after that one.