For Gordon Igesund it's his first match in a job he has long coveted. For Heyneke Meyer it will be his first match since his honeymoon ended.

Sadly for Igesund, the Bafana job does not come with a honeymoon. He will be required to win on Friday night - against Brazil in Sao Paulo - because we are a nation of football experts.

Since a dismal draw against Argentina last week, foreshadowed by an equally dismal win against them at Newlands the week before, the Springboks will need to beat the Wallabies in Perth for Meyer to escape a similar fate. We are also a nation of rugby pundits.

But even in a nation of know-alls, someone is occasionally right. All those who have been bemoaning the absence of Elton Jantjies in Meyer's Bok squad are right. So are those who struggle to understand how Pat Lambie can be left on the bench.

All those regretting the absence of Andile Jali and Oupa Manyisa - even Teko Modise - in the Bafana midfield, bringing to the operation an element of steel, have a point too.

So which of the two coaches will look better by next Monday?

Igesund is a tough cookie. Anyone who can stand up to Orlando Pirates fans who are after your blood is no yellow-belly.

It's harder to figure out Meyer. Until he became Springbok coach, he was Mr Cool. But seeing him with that walkie-talkie on TV and he's Mr Lost-it.

He can change that. For a start, he could tell the Supersport paparazzi to bugger off, and start working out where his new strengths lie. These are not the Boks of 2007 or even 2011.

Meyer no longer has Victor Matfield as a banker in the lineouts, so why persist with a kicking flyhalf in Morne Steyn (and a clone in Johan Goosen as back-up)?

The problem appears to be that Meyer is someone who is fearful of losing.

If he really is such a bangbroek, he should call up predecessor Peter de Villiers for advice. Div didn't even get a honeymoon. From the moment Oregan Hoskins declared him Bok coach, De Villiers was made to feel the heat.

"We have made the appointment and taken into account the issue of transformation when we made it. I don't think that tarnishes Peter; I'm just being honest with our country," said Hoskins at the time. So, no pressure then?

De Villiers, a rugby romantic, promised something different from the predictable Bok style. But he quickly realised he needed to fall back on the old formula, and ended up beating the Lions and winning the Tri-Nations in 2009.

Meyer has done the opposite. He no longer has Matfield, Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez. Schalk Burger, Bismarck du Plessis, Juan Smith (will he ever recover?) and JP Pietersen are still injured.

But it's not as if we don't have other talent. The Wallabies, who have to compete against league and Aussie Rules for rugger talent, would go down on their knees for a Jantjies or a Lambie. We keep them at arm's length.

Meyer needs to start thinking outside of the box instead of hiding inside an old one.