If you had offered Springbok rugby coach Allister Coetzee a series win over Ireland after the disastrous defeat at Newlands in his maiden Test at the helm, he would have jumped at it. The Springboks fought well in the third and final Test in Port Elizabeth, and while the playing group is only three matches into a new era for South African rugby, confidence is growing.The feeling is that the Springboks are not yet ready to rival the top-ranked All Blacks, who swept Wales aside 3-0, and I don't disagree. However, the three-Test series against Ireland was an invaluable exercise for South Africa because the new caps had to be blooded.Bongi Mbonambi, Faf de Klerk, Franco Mostert, Jaco Kriel, Ruan Combrinck and Steven Kitshoff all debuted for the men in green and gold against the Irish and will be wiser for the experience.From a professional coaching perspective, the only way you are going to see which players can graduate from Super rugby to Test level is by playing them. Coetzee must be commended for affording the majority of his 31-man squad game time during the June Test window.Coetzee is looking to build a team for the next four years with the 2019 Rugby World Cup in mind, and is in the process of figuring out which players can take the step up from domestic level to the national fold and which can't. There will be casualties along the way because there is no chance that every player he selects for South Africa is going to be perfect and become a seasoned, 50-Test international. However, I would argue that there is considerable value in allowing players to develop within a protected environment and sticking to combinations.Much was expected of halfbacks De Klerk and Elton Jantjies and they delivered. The Lions pair grew in stature as the series progressed and Jantjies's game management was evident during the decisive Test.It was clear that he gained an understanding that he needed to use the boot sensibly, because in Test rugby it's not as easy to break tackles, defences are better organised and generally the opposition doesn't play as much rugby.Among the Springbok forwards both starting locks - Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit - were dominant and Warren Whiteley's stock rose exponentially.In contrast, Duane Vermeulen was hampered by injury and a lack of form.If I were the Springbok coach, I would definitely not opt for overseas-based players any more. I'm convinced that Coetzee and the suits at SA Rugby could come up with a workable solution of selecting only home-based players.Coetzee enjoys a healthy working relationship with all six local Super rugby coaches and, if we want to prove competitive, we need to work together as a team more often and train as a collective.Instead of holding a two-week training camp just before a Test series, it would be to the national team's benefit to meet more regularly throughout Super rugby.If I were involved in the decision-making process, I would simply find a way to get the playing group together every three weeks in order to fast-track the team's development...