Adelaide loss sees Nienaber's Bok win record drop below 60%, but there are caveats

Jacques Nienaber's oft-repeated line that winning will remain their first and foremost objective is starting to ring hollow.

Following this past weekend's 25-17 reverse against a canny Wallabies outfit in Adelaide, the incumbent national coach's win percentage has now dropped to under South Africa's admittedly mediocre historical benchmark of 60%.

Under Nienaber, the Boks have won 58% of their 19 matches to date, which translates into 11 victories and 8 defeats.

Statistically, that means he now drops into the category of "underachievers" such as Harry Viljoen (53%), Rudolf Straeuli (52%), Allister Coetzee (44%) and Carel du Plessis (38%).

However, there's an important caveat to note in this regard.

Kitch Christie (1994-1995) - 14 matches, 14 wins (100%)

Nick Mallett (1997-2000) - 38 matches, 27 wins (71%)

Jake White (2004-2007) - 54 matches, 36 wins (67%)

Heyneke Meyer (2012-2015) - 48 matches, 32 wins (67%)

Rassie Erasmus (2018-2019) - 26 matches, 17 wins (65%)

Peter de Villiers (2008-2011) - 48 matches, 30 wins (63%)

Andre Markgraaff (1996) - 13 matches, 8 wins (62%)

Jacques Nienaber (2020- ) - 19 matches, 11 wins (58%)

Harry Viljoen (2000-2001) - 15 matches, 8 wins (53%)

Rudolf Straeuli (2002-2003) - 23 matches, 12 wins (52%)

Allister Coetzee (2016-2017) - 25 matches, 11 wins (44%)

Carel du Plessis (1997) - 8 matches, 3 wins (38%)

Ian McIntosh (1993-1994) - 12 matches, 4 wins (33%)

John Williams (1992) - 5 matches, 1 win (20%)

All of these former Bok mentors had tenures of no more than two years maximum, meaning there were unique circumstances influencing all those percentages.

One could argue Nienaber is in the same boat given that 2020's Covid-induced Springbok-less year means he will also have a shortened gig (3 years) as things