There's nothing like a long off-season to breed a fair bit of optimism.

The last time a South African team of broader interest played was in October at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, when referee Bryce Lawrence decided the ruck was something best left to the players to officiate.

In the meantime, the disappointment of the Springboks' World Cup title defence ending with a faint whiff of daylight robbery in the quarter-finals has steadily been drowned out by the contented sounds of hope springing eternal.

Everybody seems to agree with the identity of the new Bok coach; the Bulls have appointed Pierre Spies and his muscles as their new captain; and the Southern Kings, theoretically, finally have something to play for.

But a leap of faith can come with doubt. Can Heyneke Meyer handle the fact that coaching the Springboks has little to do with actual coaching? Is Spies really the best candidate to lead the Bulls?

And is the South African Rugby Union serious about the Kings playing Super Rugby next year?

Besides the novelty of having to prepare a side for a test match in seven days, Meyer is faced with a few more challenges.

In taking the most thankless job in international rugby, Meyer said he felt the timing was right for him to take over the reins.

But had he taken over when Peter de Villiers was appointed, it would have made the search for a captain less of a headache because Victor Matfield, his trusted lieutenant at the Bulls, would still have been playing. Meyer has suggested the identity of the captain is not a priority, but successful teams have always had coaches who had a special relationship with their captains. Talk of bringing back Fourie du Preez from Japan to be that kind of foil for Meyer is dangerous, given the scrumhalf's unhappy stint as Bulls captain in the Super 14 in 2008. And, of course, transformation will continue to be an issue.

In a country where only Gert Smal got the tricky equation right with Border in the late 1990s, Meyer is in good company in being up against it - except he will be blamed for the failings of those coaching below him.

With regard to Spies's captaincy of the Bulls, outsiders see it as a typical Pretoria decision, even if it came as a surprise, given the players he was up against.

Dewald Potgieter seemed the obvious choice, while Chiliboy Ralepelle's leadership credentials at previous levels demanded he be taken seriously.

But Potgieter is not guaranteed a place in the starting line-up, and maybe the formerly injury-prone Ralepelle was considered not to have played enough to have won the respect of the dressing room.

Which means Spies, after one of his least convincing years, has been guaranteed a place in the Bulls starting line-up.

Maybe the captaincy has more to do with dragging consistent performances out of Spies.

Saru's decision to include the Kings in Super rugby showed commitment to solving the Eastern Cape rugby mess, however belated it might be. Yet one can't help but feel the timing was off: Saru have decided to revert to a six-team Currie Cup premier division and the Kings didn't look like a Currie Cup team, let alone a Super Rugby team last season.

The Kings - who have become a retirement village for journeymen and do not have the best of black talent in the country - have regressed from the vibrant team that was going places two years ago.

Quite how their inclusion can be justified, and at whose expense (let's face it, Sanzar will never agree to a 16-team Super rugby tournament), should keep us as entertained as anything that takes place on the field.