When you combine youngsters who haven’t had much game time in the last year, an over-eagerness to impress and the mandate to speed up play, you will get an interesting concoction.
Is it a concoction I would want to order on ice, gulp down and ask the waiter to keep ‘em coming?
I’m afraid not.
Now call me boring or old school, but I like a bit of structure, with a double shot of flair, to my rugby.
So while watching the Stormers and Griquas go at it on Tuesday, I couldn’t help but think this whole speed-up-the-game plan is too much for the players.
Believe it or not, I actually felt bad for a guy like Godlen Masimla, who looked rushed behind the base of the scrum.
Yes, Masimla scored two tries and no one can ever doubt his attacking play. But this is his opportunity to prove that there is more to him than just an attacking scrumhalf and then because he must “speed up the game”, it leads to unnecessary unforced errors like knock-ons.
I’m using Masimla as an example, but this counts for all the other players also.
Given a licence to thrill doesn’t mean you have to try super hard to do the extraordinary.
Kade Wolhuter at one stage ran almost the entire width of the field from flyhalf – soos in laerskool.
We also saw Sihle Njezula nearly costing his team a try on the stroke of half time.
I really hope one of the coaches gave him at mouthful at the break because of that chicken wing pass.
For those who missed it, Njezula was one-on-one with the final Griquas defender and Sergeal Petersen on his outside.
Primary school coaches will tell you: trek en pass.
Not Njezula, who is out to impress, remember.
He decided to give the chicken-wing and passed the ball forward, at least in my book.
Luckily for the Stormers, the TMO awarded the try.
But it could so easily have gone the other way and it could so easily have been a big match and a match-winning, or losing, moment.
What these youngsters must realise is that a Porsche with a Beetle engine won’t beat a warm-gemaakte Ford Cortina in a drag race.
Jy kan maar mooi lyk terwyl jy iets doen, but if it’s not effective you won’t crack the nod.
Luckily for Njezula, he impressed on the day with his strong running and his try assists.
But coaches are looking at what you do in those big moments and sometimes less is more.
Anyway, kudos to the South African Rugby Union for their efforts to speed up our game and make it more interesting.
I just hope that we can set the pace when it comes to competing against the “slower” European teams in the Rainbow Cup.