Solving the Hougaard hoodoo
15 Feb 2006
Heyneke Meyer has told keo.co.za that Derick Hougaard has emerged from two years of trials as a more complete player, and more consistent match-winner.
Hougaard, who delivered a composed and commanding 80 minutes against the Cheetahs on Friday in the Bulls’ Super 14 opener, will wear 10 again against the Brumbies.
Meyer’s selection of Hougaard was highlighted as a masterstroke – by this site before kick-off and by others subsequent to his performance – and the irony is not lost on the Bulls’ mastermind.
“Last year when I picked Morne Steyn everyone was happy, now it’s the other way round,” Meyer laughs. “I just felt Derick had a brilliant off-season, he trained harder than ever and gained confidence as a result. I’m a big believer in playing the right player in the right game, and that was the case on Friday night.”
Meyer confirmed that Hougaard will start the next two fixtures before Steyn is given an opportunity.
“Derick will play against the Brumbies, I told him I would stick with him for three games. He’s had a bit of a dip over the past two years, and I don’t think working with seven different coaches helped him at all. There’s been a lot of pressure on him, but I think now he’s able to deal with that.”
When the observation is made that the Hougaard of Friday night was able to maintain his composure despite misfiring when kicking for poles, whereas the Hougaard of 2004 or 2005 would have let the rest of his game slip similarly, Meyer is delighted by the comparison.
“I’m very happy you said that, because that’s a point I’ve been making to him over the past few months time and time again. He needs to keep cool and keep focused after mistakes, and on Friday he did that. He is a much more mature player now, and if he manages to keep his feet on the ground, he will emerge every game as a stronger player because of his experiences.”
A noticable aspect of Hougaard’s performance on Friday in Bloem was his willingness to attack the gain line, and Meyer admits it has taken conscious effort to remould Hougaard’s tendancy to stand too deep.
“I’ve worked very hard with him at attacking the gain line, and I think that was evident on Friday. He is now a far more complete player, where in the past you could say he was an exceptional kicker only, now to say that would be completely false. It’s now a matter of him getting his confidence back, and if he continues to play like he did against the Cheetahs, that will come flowing back every game.”
41 Comments
15 Feb 2006, 11:30 am
It has to be said Meyer man-management in superb. In this regard, in the Chilliboy matter – even with old Big Vic when he threw a strop (with the Boks) a year or two ago.
15 Feb 2006, 11:32 am
Agreed Gecko…
15 Feb 2006, 11:34 am
Ja
Now if only he would use habana at outside centre
15 Feb 2006, 11:36 am
This is a healthy situation to be in, Hougaard pulled his socks up last season after being discarded for Steyn, so now Steyn will be working harder too get back in.
15 Feb 2006, 11:39 am
DH acquired the label of a kicking flyhalf because he is a good kicker of the ball. Fact is that he is a talented rugby player that can vary his game IF properly coached. Same happened with Jannie de Beer. And Naas Botha.
15 Feb 2006, 11:43 am
Without sounding downbeat !!! –
I would like to see Derick in action for a few more games? –
Attacking the gain line against the cheetahs as opposed to attacking the gain line against the Brumbies and the Waratahs in the next two weeks are three different scenarios – lets re-visit this point after the game against the WARATAHS on the 25th Feb ??????
15 Feb 2006, 11:48 am
A lot of rugby talent in DH, the other franchises wish for the no 10 depth the Bulls have!!
We are just loveabull !!
15 Feb 2006, 11:54 am
I think we will the fruits of Habana playing at wing for a few seasons once he moves to 13 in a few years. Tiquiri, Larkham, Umaga (considering he came from a league background being a Kiwi schoolboy league international) all learnt the trade out wide (or at 15 in Bernie’s case) then moved inside with great success. Another piece of Meyer management.
Add to that he is currently our stand out wing.
I hope the Bulls fan realise we do appreciate good rugby/coaching when we see it and don’t judge the Bulls team on the average Bulls fan appearance.
15 Feb 2006, 11:55 am
Attacking the gain line against the Brumbies and Waratahs at Loftus compared with attacking the gain line against the Cheetahs in Bloem should be a walk in the park.
15 Feb 2006, 11:56 am
DH is a excellent tactical and goal kicker but still think he kicks way too much and that steyn is better at getting his backline away. Although Rassie and Heyneke seem to disagree.
15 Feb 2006, 11:57 am
St Peter … you could be wrong – you could be right ? – lets discuss this point on the 25th Feb …
15 Feb 2006, 11:59 am
only when Hougie starts running onto the ball at pace and actually gets his backline moving can he be considered anything close to a complete player.
15 Feb 2006, 12:03 pm
He may take the ball a bit flatter now but he still doesnt attack the advantage line and like i said kicks the ball way too much if both the bulls and the cheetahs kick as much as they did last friday against the likes of rococoko,Tuqiri ,Sailor ,sivivatu im afraid they could be headed for trouble.
15 Feb 2006, 12:09 pm
I’d like to think Hougaard has more to offer than Jannie de Beer.
I love making fun of the chubby little guy, but if he sorts his game out, and it seems Meyer is helping him do that, he will be a bok again one day.
15 Feb 2006, 12:14 pm
Sure Hougie kicks a lot, but he also wins the important games.
In retrospect…
If Hougie played the 2005 CC final, maybe the CC would still be in the Bullring.(just maybe)
Keep Hougie at flyhalf. Meyer is the best provincial coach in SA, he knows how to manage his players.
GO BULLS!!!
15 Feb 2006, 12:18 pm
wow gecko thanks you are to kind
15 Feb 2006, 12:19 pm
I’m afraid to say I still prefer Steyn to DH. The only reason the bulls got away with all that kicking is that the Cheetahs were dull enough to kick it straight back. When teams with a little more common sense and talent in the back three play the bulls kicking like that is not going to work. Steyn in my opinion is a much better all round flyhalf.
15 Feb 2006, 12:19 pm
BlouBloed – agree – based on evidence Meyer is currently the best in the country – but my point is that Hougaard can only be truly evaluated when more evidence becomes available, and we will hopefully witness this in the next two weeks ???
15 Feb 2006, 12:22 pm
Question – Is Jacque Cronje transforming into a Jannie Brooks (big buttocks) “look and feel” profile or perhaps the pixels on my TV are misleading?
15 Feb 2006, 12:23 pm
hougie is a tough little bugger. i think he is going to come through fine this season. and if we make the play-offs, meyer had better play him!!!!
15 Feb 2006, 12:28 pm
‘look and feel’ peacefrog? lol. are you a stormer?
15 Feb 2006, 12:30 pm
All SA 10′s are at best only average compared to their NZ/AUS opposition.
Lets just hope they get better than average as time goes by.
15 Feb 2006, 12:33 pm
No JUSM – A Shark but honestly – remember Jannie Brooks all of a “sardine” transformed into a “bloatie fish”?
15 Feb 2006, 12:41 pm
nope PeaceFrog, have to say i can’t specifically remember what jannie brooks looked like at the mo. i do know JC is one strong mofo, that’s for sure.
you must be v happy with the win on the week-end. hope u get a few more.
15 Feb 2006, 12:45 pm
JUSM – I’m happy as of now – Apart from the super performances by Pienaar, AJ, Percy etc. I really thought Bobo & Strauss played well in the midfield? – Again – the Sharks are only as good as the last game … so lets “look come see” in two weeks time? JUSM supports …?
15 Feb 2006, 12:58 pm
I still think the Bulls flyhalves are hampered by du Preez at scrumhalf. His was the more wayward (pointless?) kicking against the Cheetas. Hougis tactical kicking went further and put the Cheetas under more pressure.
I think du Preez is overrated. Would like to see Adams get a run. He actually passes to the backline.
15 Feb 2006, 13:14 pm
Sinbin – I disagree. Thee are some very average flyhalves playing for both NZ and Oz teams.
I dont rate Donnely, McKay may develop, and the 3 Reds flyhalves are solid at best. I rate Larkham, and think Rogers can play well at 10. Even Giteau is prone to a shocker at this stage of his career.
The blues have some young gun, who could lose as many matches as he wins, and although Mcallister is one to watch he is playing 12. Evans is decent and Carter sublime. But I dont rate the Canes or Chiefs halves as anything more than solid.
Lets lose the inferiority complex. We have good established flyhalves in SA – Jaco, AP, Hougie, Butch, Steyn and promising youngsters Grant and Bosman.
15 Feb 2006, 13:22 pm
naas was also accused of kicking too much – and like naas did back then, hougaard will hopefully do at the end of the S14 season – simply point to the scoreboard.
btw – he is one of the most attacking flyahlfs i have seen when on song.
hopefully this will be his year.
15 Feb 2006, 13:24 pm
munkiboi
Will have to watch the game again but perhaps ur right i just seem to remember a hell of alot of pointless kicking from both sides particularly De Waal. I rate du preez but i do think he kicks way too much possesion one aspect of his game which has deteriorated over the last six months is his service it used to be really slick but recently he seems to throw alot of these slow loopy passes.
15 Feb 2006, 13:30 pm
PissAnt
Problem is that in naas’s time kicking was a good option lifting wasnt allowed in the lineouts and you almost had a 50/50 opportunity of getting the ball back with lifting now allowed its alot tougher to get the ball back from a lineout teams like nz and aussies have adapted to this change i still think sa sides are still inclined to kick too much. Not that i dont think theres a place for good tactical kicking in the game though.
15 Feb 2006, 13:31 pm
Redox
What stood out for me was how static the flyhalves were in the Hurricanes/Blues game and how slow the passing from the scrummies were. A helluva lot of looping, almost pop up passes – like our own Bolla. The flyhalves didn’t run on the ball either. I think Peter Grant did more than those two. In loose play they are very effective though.
We can’t just focus on our flyhalve play. Ball retention, especially when tackled behind the advantage line and skills are more important and of course doing the basics right. The Crusaders, Waratahs(2005) and Bulls do the basics better than most teams
15 Feb 2006, 13:32 pm
Its that idiot *** Rudolph that screwed poor Hougaard up.. Since the Strauli days he went down hill…. Too much preasure on him when he was too young, he is now starting to mature so should start to come of age..
Maybe to much of a kicking man though.
15 Feb 2006, 13:33 pm
redox,
try and get your hands on a book “the chosen”. there was a perception (which i shared) that naas kicked too much, yet in this book he is compared to flyhalfs from all era’s where tries were scored more often when he was flyhalf than what most of us would care to believe.
i think hougaard is judged on the same perception.
15 Feb 2006, 13:34 pm
Redox – agreed on de Waal. Anyone who mentions him and bok selection in the same sentence is an idiot. We dont need another Braam. I think Braam was quicker though, and a better defender…
I am going to be watching du Preez. I need to figure out why people rate him so highly. He plays like a 4th loosie (who kicks a lot) to me, and not a scrummie.
15 Feb 2006, 13:38 pm
Bokpiel – it was not Straueli that destroyed him – it was the media hype and the fact Hougie started to believe he was the next Naas Botha. A return to earth and a bit of humility has done wonders for his approach and his game.
Well, in my opinion anyways. If any coach assisted in his fall from grace it would have been Joubert. But he left the bulls ages ago.
15 Feb 2006, 13:44 pm
Hobbo
There is a perseption that steyn is this talented,for some even great,all round nr10.I disagree.I think its because he is so average at both running & kicking uot of hand that people say that he now is an all round nr10.At least with Derick u know when he’s in form u have a point machine with the boot.
15 Feb 2006, 15:15 pm
I thought it was Brian Lima who destroyed him
15 Feb 2006, 16:03 pm
munkiboi – I doubt Du Preez plays as a 4th loosie. I watched Friday’s game and he didn’t get to half the rucks in time to clear the ball.
15 Feb 2006, 19:33 pm
gecko – you sure he wasn’t at the bottom of most of them?
Brumby – Lima hit him hard, but the kid stood up and played on without it affecting his game. The ‘destruction’ came later in his career.
15 Feb 2006, 19:34 pm
gecko – did you see du Preez got man of the macth on Friday? Would love to know who judged that!
16 Feb 2006, 11:31 am
One swallow does not a summer make. Let’s talk after the S14 about Hougie
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