Bakkies and Habana crocked
21 May 2006
Bakkies Botha and Bryan Habana will miss the two-test series against Scotland because of injury.
Both were injured in the Bulls Vodacom Super 14 semi-final defeat against the Crusaders in Christchurch, with Habana’s ankle injury looking bad.
Habana and Botha are integral to White’s first-choice Springbok line-up and neither looked comfortable when leaving the field.
Habana, who only touched the ball once on attack — and scored from it — tried to continue playing but the pain was too bad, while Botha left the field before half-time after failing to make much of an impression in his 50th match in Super rugby.
White has already lost the services of BJ Botha and Andre Pretorius, while Os du Randt is out for the next two weeks.
Habana strained ankle ligaments, while Botha hurt his achilles. Both are expected to be out for anything between four and six weeks.
121 Comments
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21 May 2006, 14:49 pm
The Bulls don’t have the game nor the maturity level to win the Super 14. They don’t like taking risk and playing an open game. The teams that have won the Super 14 in the past had such a gameplan. The Stormers came closer than any other team to win the Super 12 a couple of years ago when they had a home semi final. They played an expansive game. The Crusaders scored 5 tries in a SEMI FINAL!! The Bulls wait to beat local teams to bring out their best which shows they are more like local Bullies than anything else.
21 May 2006, 14:52 pm
I agree with both Attie and Edwill
Does that make me schizophrenic?
21 May 2006, 14:53 pm
If Jake White and everyone else is so worried about Springbok injuries, can someone explain why De Wet Barry is playing for a World XV in Richard Hill’s testimonial?
21 May 2006, 14:57 pm
I read on News24 that White in way blames the Super 14 for the number of injuries. One thing is a fact: the media and money will ensure that the number of matches will not become any less. I feel that SA Rugby should resolve this (and in a way they are already doing so) by developing a Springbok squad of 45-50 players picking 3-4 players for each position. A good mixture of youth and experience will ensure that players get adequate rest (or some rest) during the international seasons. This will not cheapen the Springbok jersey. White is a little too reluctant to hand out colours, but the fact is, we’re only going to need these younger players later on anyway. As it is, there are already 4 props out for various lengths of time. White, let it be as standard that we pick a large squad every year.
21 May 2006, 14:58 pm
Cos the Law is more worried about his back pocket than injuring himself perhaps?
21 May 2006, 15:07 pm
Sorry but I just don’t get how someone who can write such idiotic articles and give stranger quotes than Murray Mexted can be hired and taken seriously to train rugby players. Can someone please tell if there are 2 David Campese’s. (I mean no offence here but has anyone read a Sydney Morning Herald? Has this guy really made a difference?)
21 May 2006, 15:47 pm
This whole thing about resting players is a load of ****. I’ll believe it when somebody can convince me that Bakkies or any SA player has a harder or more demanding season than a player like Chris Jack.
Just reflect on his 2005 season – 3 Lions tests; Super 12 (right to the final); Tri-Nations; Year End Grand Slam and the NPC. Now add this year’s super 14 (to the final again) to that. He’s still standing.
It took England a decade to build to a world cup and then they went back to just being average again. Jake stop talking (every time you open your mouth these days i get irritated), pick players on form, stop being stubborn about the Watsons, Britz’s and Davidson’s of SA rugby. Admit you are wrong and that these players have proved it. No more bullshit excuses, you owe it to SA and most with half a brain have seen through them.
It’s Scotland for f@cksakes!!! It shouldn’t be a crisis. Pick Akona for Habana (he was the only Bulls player with a bit of determination yesterday – How Welsh keeps him out, i’ll never know). Give a youngster like Skeate a run against the Scots … he’s unfortunately not even in the picture, but that’s because form doesn’t count in SA unfortunately.
21 May 2006, 15:50 pm
Derek 103
The only reason I can think of is that Richard Hill will be playing against the World XV and that he would like him to be on the winning side.
21 May 2006, 16:12 pm
Enjoyed PissAnt’s 30 black hi perfoance squad as I did Rasafox analysis in #23.
I think the Bulls squad and results just confirm how ordinary HM is rather than the players. On a squad comparison and financial resources basis the Bulls confirmed that this top performing franchise is seriously short of skills training. More than that they lack any semblance of competitiveness at a team level when compared with the cohesivenes and fluidity of the Crusaders.
Heyneke Meyer has brought this squad about as far as he can. The Bulls have been the most consistently staffed squad from both a player and coach perspective. Not for the first time, the Bulls have been found wanting in the tactical, skills and creativity area. Time to bring in those who train skills, fitness, focus and on field tactical appreciation.
I am not having a go at the Bully Boys supporters, I just think they’ve reached the upper limits with their current coach and game approach. Apart from the midfield, hooker and loosies, the Bulls are exceptionally well equipped to make the S14 final if they don’t have to meet the ‘Saders in the semis. There are loosies to burn in RSA and getting a couple, together with a hooker like Schalk Brits should just be a cheque book exercise. The midfield excepting Olivier, rarely looks like a challenge to the other top S14 teams. It just does not ask the right questions. FdP is not playing any better than Ricky Januarie, with poor option taking and a dreadful service to Morne Steyn, but you can always replace him with Adams without losing anything. You’d probably gain quite a bit!
Having said all of the above, I can only see the Sharks and Cheetahs offering any hope to their supporters next year, along with the Bulls.
Although you can turn any rugby team around quite quickly if you have the right coach and talent, the Cats and Stormers are mired in a useless set of administrators with under-peforming coaches and players. Neither have a set of Vodacom Cup strength players that threatened the finals, nor do they look a proposition in the CC. Sadly the franchise focus in each case is neither results nor fan based. It seems a never ending anal examination of no value or consequence is the standard CEO approach for both franchises. Strangely enough, the case for the complaints of the under priviliged of the past against our rugby authorities is brilliantly laid out for th complainents by the administration of the Lions and Stormers. Their fumbling non performance at every level of the game allied to their total lack of transparency regarding the problems of their most prized assets (S14 franchise) more than fuels the belief that they are a bunch of self serving incompetents with no interest in the opinions of their fans or any interest in the game itself.
21 May 2006, 17:52 pm
Hi everyone. Could you please e-mail your world XV team, with reserves to frmeyer94@yahoo.com
21 May 2006, 18:25 pm
I watched All Out Rugby earlier and i feel like vomiting when i see the **** that JW and his team of coaches do to the boks. Just look carefully at how they practice and you wil understand why we play this lie down and f%ck us up type game. Practice what you preach or rather practice make perfect. Now we are practicing these guys to go down to fall the right way instead of staying longer on your feet.
Its a joke by Jake , and no-one in NZ go on and on about too much rugby , they are even willing to play a trail match , and let me tell you that is like war. If a country like SA cant replace Habana or Bakkies we are in deep sh$t, we have hunderds of thousands of rugby players , if our selectors stop attending functions and only big matches they will find many Habanas…
Kevin W post #107 i agree with you look at Jack , high quality performance each week, what helps him is that hes not made out to be the star player like Matfield every game, he has a whole team players doing thier work. That is also why the Crusaders are so good, the whole team performs not only a few per match.
On the Bulls side we never build up momentum this year, partly because we lost our great frontrow of last year and the lack of new plans by HM. HM said himself Jake is useing Danie rousouw at the wrong position and then he went on and did the same. What happened to Derik Kuhn ,I felt we would have been much better with Tim , Pedrie , Spies and as backup Kuhn, ag so we can go on and on but the fact is the Bulls never played this season 2 or 3 game where you could feel now we are getting momentum, the whole season was a stop start afair. Anyway not so bad if we still had the guts to claim the most improbabble 4th spot.
21 May 2006, 20:37 pm
I’d like to see a Souther Hemisphere team play against a Northern Hemisphere team, after the World Cup. Just as a spectacle and as a send off for the majority of players.
How would a Southern Hemisphere team look like:
15.) Chris Latham
14.) Bryan Habana
13.) Stirling Mortlock
12.) Jean de Villiers
11.) Lote Tuqiri
10.) Dan Carter
9.) George Gregan
8.) AJ Venter
7.) Richie Mccaw
6.) Jerry Collins
5.) Victor Matfield
4.) Bakkies Botha
3.) Carl Hayman
2.) John Smith (c)
1.) Os Du Randt
21 May 2006, 21:22 pm
Edwill you must be joking. AJ Venter ahead of Soaialo. Also Aaron Mauger is the best inside centre around. The only South African to make the team will be matfield.
22 May 2006, 02:20 am
Butch James is crocked again! Can’t blame that on playing too much rugby, hey? And you can’t build a game-plan around a sicknote in the #10 jumper.
22 May 2006, 08:11 am
BakkiesTheBullsBatteringRamBotha; What a joke, he may have been a bantering ram but that acheived nothing.
His stats:
1 tackle (matfeild made 13)
0 Assists
0 linebreaks (Engels got 3)
0 turnovers
Hope he’s better in time for the tri-nations, that should help the Aussies and Kiwis
Edwill#5 and #13 Here are some of Macaws stats for the S14 so far:
lineout takes 30, (so he can even jump)
Tackles sucessfully made 124
linebreaks and go forwards 36 (the Bulls whole team acheived a total of zero go forwards in their last game!)
Turnovers 31
Pissant #41 I dunno if Tackles is an idiot or not (I do know he likes winding you lot up!) but the only round Saint Jerry didn’t play in was round 9 when the Canes had a bye
22 May 2006, 08:26 am
Bakkies had an injury going into Saturdays game, and should NEVER have played.
22 May 2006, 08:44 am
SA should have two teams one for home games at loftus and another team to play overseas.
Basically only play the pathetic bulls when at home and pick the players with heart and courage to play overseas.
The bulls are dissapointing cause they have so much potential but away from loftus they dissolve.
22 May 2006, 10:24 am
Edwill 19,
That actually looks like a great match 22.
I second that team.
22 May 2006, 10:35 am
Edwill,
I’ll have to agree with capeflatsboy to an extent on your S Hemi’s team.
Aus and NZ have much better all round wings than Habana.
Aaron and Giteau are better inside centre’s on attack and defence than De Villiers.
Do not think Bakkies will be the first choice 4 (on the bench though).
John definitely not the best 2 either (and you already have a number of options at captain).
However, AJ is twice the player Soaialo is and there is no 8 that matches him this S14 (check the stats), no one has ever taught Os a lesson in anything and Matfield is the line-out king of the world; that is unfortunately it for SA though.
22 May 2006, 16:43 pm
but would the northern hemisphere team play Spenser or Mertins?
22 May 2006, 17:33 pm
A lot of guys have included Jaco in their Bok XV’s as the fly-half – big mistake; you sense he has the potential but he holds onto the ball too long, he runs sideways (the fatal flaw where all the dysfunction begins)and he doesn’t have the hands – he’s a proven liability in this position: why keep repeating the same mistake with him – he has NEVER delivered a commanding Test preformance?
We need a foreign coach for the backs – Campese, St. Andres, even John Mitchell.
John Cowper – Detroit
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