Jake’s hooker horror
24 May 2006
Springbok captain John Smit may miss the World XV match next weekend.
Smit failed to train with his team-mates at Shimla Park on Tuesday and is still struggling with his groin problem. The Bok No 2 had an operation that forced him to miss several Vodacom Super 14 matches and is being monitored by the Bok medical team.
“John has not yet recovered 100% from his groin operation. The medical team has recommended that he must rest,” Springbok coach Jake White said. “He won’t do any lineout throw-ins, because this could have an impact on his groin injury.”
And to add to White’s woes, former Bulls front-rower Danie Coetzee was hobbling around in a foot brace at practice, which leaves just two fit hookers in the entire squad. Hanyani Shimange though was also absent from Tuesday’s afternoon practice, leaving just Gary Botha to throw in at the lineouts.
Botha has more important things on his mind. He fled Bloemfontein late on Tuesday to be with his wife, Anrike, who is expected to give birth to their first child some time today.
While Springbok management are doing their very best to deflect the focus from the mounting injury list and associated disruptions, it is an inescapable reality that unlike their Antipodean counterparts, the Boks are more severely prone to falling foul to niggles.
This news was offset though by the welcome arrival in Bloemfontein of the Bulls which saw the intensity of the training sessions increase dramatically.
“We were playing it easy for the first few days to give the guys some much needed rest,” assistant coach Allister Coetzee told keo.co.za. “Yes, we are still missing some guys, but we will be getting most of them back in the next few weeks.”
While White is taking the World XV match very seriously, it will be nothing more than a festival ocassion – a Baabaas game in disguise. However, defeat at Ellis Park will be a severe blow at the start of a long season.
And Scotland’s recent fine showing in the Six Nations means they can not be taken lightly either in the two-Test series that follows. France at Newlands will be the biggest test ahead of the expanded Vodacom Tri-Nations.
By Andrew Hollely, in Bloemfontein
450 Comments
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24 May 2006, 10:05 am
Thanks Bloem Leeu
24 May 2006, 10:06 am
The forwards had a very good scrum session yesterday. The guys that didnt practise was Smit, Bakkies, Pedrie, Rossouw and Juan. The only Bulls to practise was Victor and Botha
Botha’s throw ins at the line outs werent to good
24 May 2006, 10:07 am
Hey redcard, that should start the “balls” rolling!
This Bok “training camp” is becoming a joke anyway. Remember how well Straueli started off – the famous victory against Oz at Ellis Park in 2001/2002 comes to mind – then he lost the plot and the wheels came off.
Just hope this isn’t history repeating itself…
24 May 2006, 10:15 am
Jake is getting more ridiculous than Brian van Rooyen.
Oh the folly of our ways!
24 May 2006, 10:17 am
This is pretty much what happened to Australia last year with all the injuries and they only won 1 game. Think we got more depth than them though so hopefully same wont happen to us
24 May 2006, 10:17 am
why not call off the traing camp and regroup in a week?
24 May 2006, 10:18 am
I am glad to see that intensity and the tempo changed dramatically when the Bulls arrived. Is what happens when your class players arrive…
24 May 2006, 10:21 am
Jake White is not a coach. He’s never even coached at CC or Super Rugby level. The man who should coach the Boks is Heyneke Meyer. Jake is lots of hot air. Jake is not the reason for the Boks performing better the past 2 years. It is just both NZ & Aus had a dip. Jake always attacks Heyneke for playing and not resting Bulls players but he puts guys through fitness sessions after they have already played for 3 months. Through his own propoganda he just makes himself this super coach. I don’t believe it.
24 May 2006, 10:26 am
Capeflatdoos
You just showed you know f&%kall about rugby!!
Heyneke cant even change his gameplan (if he has one) The Bulls only perform when they play other SA teams, but when it comes to playing NZ or Australian teams he hasn’t got a clue on how to beat them. U NEED TO WAKE UP!!!!
24 May 2006, 10:27 am
you must be joking capeflatsboy. jake took us from no.6!!! to a few points of being no.1 last year. Heyneke Meyer will make a great forwards coach under Jake White cause like we all have seen this season he’s ****
24 May 2006, 10:28 am
…and if Heyenke would coach the Boks the Crusaders will klap them.
24 May 2006, 10:28 am
Well said Bloem Leeu!!
24 May 2006, 10:31 am
Moegrat if you believe the Boks are a few points below no1 one you fooled my man. The Boks will lose to AB’s, Aus, France and England this year. Jake White is a good tactician that’s all. If Heyneke had the players at his disposal which jake had, he would win the S14.
24 May 2006, 10:32 am
the saders will probably klap die bokke under any coach…
24 May 2006, 10:32 am
exept fester…
24 May 2006, 10:32 am
In all fairness, The public is so demanding that any coach would be prone to always select his best 15 regardless of minor niggles.
Well, now this is the result, The public demands wins, the coach puts out his best side too many times since we dont have enough easy games to blood the newer players, and then suddenly the injuries start accumulating.
Someone mentioned that the same thing happened to Oz and look at their demise, You are spot on.
We do have the depth in talent, but not in experience at the top level. Now we are forced to use the 3N as a breeding ground. The kind of thing that could end international careers before they start.
If the players have the passion and the pride associated with wearing the green n gold, we will see it, and those who cant cut it should make way for those who can.
24 May 2006, 10:33 am
Allot of love on this thread
24 May 2006, 10:34 am
Bloem Leeu, well said,I cant agree more.I think JW should not let the Boks shadow team were the green & gold — if they are not awarding caps for this game then they should play in another jersey.
24 May 2006, 10:35 am
Look at the Bulls. Why do they have depth. Because Heyneke believes in player rotation. Jake stick to his tried and tested bunch and bemoans the lack of depth. But he does not rotate and test other players. The Bulls, even though they lost to the saders, can send in a 2nd string team and will still beat all the other SA teams.
24 May 2006, 10:36 am
Capedoos
If Heyenek cant win or even get to the Final with the Bulls team he had for the last 3 years, then he will never do it!!!
Look at the players Heyneke had and compare it to the other S14 teams, then you would see Heyneke can fall in the same bracket as Ludeke and Fester. Jake has to play and win against International teams not S14 ****
24 May 2006, 10:36 am
Maybe your right Capeflats but at the moment we’re no.2 on the log and we got there by winning
24 May 2006, 10:37 am
Bloem Leeu
The fact is jw fitness regime is the cause of a lot of injuries at this very moment. the last two years he was quite lucky in that regard, but now it is catching him. a week or so ago, while talking to a journalist, he mentioned that one of the players at the camp, because he was not fully fit, was given xtra sessions to do. my innitial response was that the player, although his name was not mentioned, was butch james (he only played 2 super matches?) few days later bjames is injured etc etc.
how many players have been injured SINCE joining the camp and hoe may more should be injured before the fitness training is stopped? why not work on the players’ skill levels?
24 May 2006, 10:38 am
Im not worried about a dearth of hookers , we have plenty of good one that arent part of the squad.
What worries the **** out of me is that everyday there are more players being injured at the training camp – players that arrived there uninjured are now hobbled and last year it was the same.
Is Jake White implying that John Smit played the Super 14 not fully fit??? You quote him as saying that JS has not recovered from his groin operation and yet he played all but 3 games (I think ) in the Super 14 and just the other day we were informed that Smit would be extensively used in the upcoming games because he has had a good rest with his suspension and post op recovery.
WTF
What is going on in Boem?
24 May 2006, 10:38 am
Jake is becoming bizarre – but HM? Ye Gods – save us!!
24 May 2006, 10:39 am
OK lets give jake the Bulls team and see if he can win the S14. Jake has the cream and he does not select them. If Jake had his way, the Boks would be the only team playing rugby in SA. Like Keo said in a column earlier in the week, it is ludicrous to call for players to be withdrawn from competitions. We will then not have a S14 or CC.
24 May 2006, 10:39 am
Jake’s the 2nd or 3rd most successful coach in Bok history (not sure if he’s just ahead or just behind Mallett at the moment..), so it’s a bit daft to say he’s not a good coach..
24 May 2006, 10:40 am
Remember Jake has a performance clause in his contract. He has to win games and bring in new players, tough Job. What would you do??
We all know what happened to SA coaches that didn’t perform.
24 May 2006, 10:40 am
capeflatsboy, you speaka througha ur gums-a..
the 2nd string side of the bulls hardly made an impact on the vodacom cup and the bulls showed about as much adaptability and creativity as a plank… maybe u think again, or think at all…
24 May 2006, 10:40 am
Why do you all doubt him so much, Remeber what a joke our team was when he came into being our new coach. A ******** in pretoria was embaressed to wear his springbok jersey to church.
And what happened, we started performing and suddenly Jake was our saviour.
Then comes the next year and Jake makes his team selection ( amidst political pressures)
And everyone forgets what he did for us, and starts doubting again.
come 3N and there we beat the ABs in CT and the Aussies in Oz.
And suddenly the doubts are gone.
Then comes Selection time and everyone is full of doubt again….
Can this man win with you people, what more would he have to do to get some deserved loyalty?
You are the type of people that support whoevers winning… “Plastic Supporters”
24 May 2006, 10:41 am
I wonder how many players are “developign” injuries as a way not to go through the fitness tests.
It seems quite easy to balme fatiugue as it seems to be quite fashionable of late to be prone to niggles due to too much rugby…
And we all knwo how JW bemoaned our unfit players last year…
24 May 2006, 10:43 am
i think bloem this time of year is possibly the worst plave to have a training camp… with temps like that u pull a hammie just getting out of bed… they should have it on the natal north coast, nice and warm (for winter) and enough fresh air to go with…
24 May 2006, 10:44 am
Bloem Leeu the Super 14 coaches also has performance clauses. Jake wants them to rest their players, especially the Bulls, but he does not rest the Boks. Last year there were suggestions that the top Boks not go on the end of year tour, but Jake still took them along. My problem is Jake criticise Heyneke and others but he does the same thing they do. They also have jobs to look after.
24 May 2006, 10:45 am
So Boks get more injuries than Oz and NZ players? Could the fact that the Antipodeans always try to run through gaps while Boks always try to crash-bash clean over an opponent be the reason?
24 May 2006, 10:46 am
jakie boy.. we dont doubt our 1st team will do well, its the back-ups that worry us… look now with all the injuries, what will our 2nd stringers look like, get real, we dont only need our 22 best player at the traing camp, but also the next best 22 to cover for them, and that is certainly not he case with the ‘back-ups’
24 May 2006, 10:47 am
By the way I’m not a Bulls supporter, but Heyneke needs to be given respect. He took the Bulls to 2 semi-finals. Was also Stormers assistant coach when they had a home semi and has won a few currie cups as well. Also when he coached SWD, they went to Loftus and shocked the Bulls. One can only admire his CV in senior rugby. Something Jake does not have.
24 May 2006, 10:47 am
big g
Where do you suggest- St Lucia, Sodwana?
Any more suggestions like that and I think Andre Joubert would seriously consider a comeback.
24 May 2006, 10:48 am
quickly checked my stats, Mallett is 2nd on 71.1% win ratio and Jake 3rd on 68% win ratio…so Jake is the 3rd all time most successful bok coach…
24 May 2006, 10:48 am
Tackler nobody can sidestep out of gaps like our boys!
24 May 2006, 10:50 am
Having subjected myself to a re-run of the semi-finals on the weekend I have posed a question to myself that I struggle to answer.There can be no disputing the Crusaders are an awesome team.My observation has been that the standout players for the Crusaders and other top sides is that their international stars always seem to come to the party.Just looking at this weekends match Chris Jack was immense and handed Bakkies,Vic and Dallas their arses on a plate a number of times at lineout time,was prominent in the tight-loose and even got in for a 5 pointer.Carter was as ever in control and Mauger bottled up Olivier and scored a fantastic try.Even at the back Leon McDonald was solid on defence and always looking for attacking oppurtunities.Sommerville was huge and offset the inexperienced Crocketts woes at scrum time.On the other hand Bakkies was anonymous for the 30-odd minutes he played,Vic tried his heart out in a solo effort and Jaco v/d Westhysen was abyssmal as fullback.In a semi final the big names have to stand up and be counted.The Stormers showed this season that when your Bokke go AWOL in a game you will get a hiding.Those players that knew they would have a long ask to get the Bok call played some of the best rugby this season.Here mention must be made of Luke Watson,AJ Venter,Jacques Botes and a list of others.These guys knew that they could not afford to coast and had everything to play for.For my liking too many of Jakes men seemed to be happy with mediocrity and unable to stand and deliver.Exceptions here were Juan Smith, Jacques Fourie and Os du Randt.So after all that my big question is:
Why are our Springboks not putting their hands up in the Super 14????
24 May 2006, 10:50 am
This is a blessing in disguise. These injuries will force White to get new players in.
Sometimes it works like that, when the body stops working on adrenaline, it begins to break down in certian areas. Sounds like White knows how to relax the Boks
24 May 2006, 10:51 am
Asha
Ive been a couple of time to Bok practise’s in the last since they arrived.
Most of the players were already injured or played with niggles during the S14. The first thing Jake did was a test and assesment session so that he could find out who’s not fit and who has injuries. Then the **** hit the fan….
Butch and John Smit didn’t fully recoved from their injuries in S14 and BJ had a back problem-the reason why he didnt play in the last Skark game! Its shocking and **** Muir is to Blame.
More than half the players that started practise last week had more plaster on them than a mummy!! Andre Snyman look like the Best guy in shape and form, he hugh and fit.
Now alot of people think the Boks are getting injured in Bloem which is nonsense!! They didnt even had a contact session yet!!
24 May 2006, 10:51 am
Tackledoos
What about all the Aussie injuries last year?
24 May 2006, 10:53 am
rastafox. The super 14 is a long *** competition, even i hold my breath at the start. If the Bok players knew they were going to get a 2 month break between T.N’s & E.O.Y. tour, they would play with a bit more commitment. Also i believe SA coaches are not as good as the ozzie or kiwi coaches.
24 May 2006, 10:54 am
Suparugby
If i am not mistake 13 Aussies were injured last year. Tackler jou poepol.
24 May 2006, 10:54 am
U know for once I’d agree with Tackler
Our bohemyths do try to run over the man,
Their bodies do take more of a pounding,
capeflats – u dont know **** about rugby.
Heyneke is a good CC coach, but the CC is not the super14. The Bulls tactics will work against SA teams, but not internationally.
Its a different ball game, requiring different thinking.
Jake has asked our Provincial coaches to play a certain type of football, but what happens? allot of players are played out of position and tactics are questionable.
Have faith in the man who is doing the job,
He has made a big difference, for once we are actually respected by the AB’s as a formidable opponent capable of winning against them.
24 May 2006, 10:54 am
Rasta .. good points (#89)
24 May 2006, 10:56 am
Ek dink Jake is goed, maar dit beteken nie veel om die 3de beste SA coach se wees as jy nie ape kyk wat afrig het in die verlede nie…
24 May 2006, 10:56 am
Tacler has got a valid point
Agree with u Jake_White
24 May 2006, 10:57 am
Bloem Leeu. There was the possibility of relegation and for the Bulls and Sharks semi-final places at stake. Do you think the coaches would rest their players? Come on the stakes were too high. The Boks should either play less games or the franchises whould work closer with the national set up. It is known that Super 14 is the competition that makes money. Each ground in South Africa maybe get 1 test a year (Brian deprived Dbn of a 3Nations game) whilst they get either 5 or sixes Super games. The public will not go to those games if their teams are not competitive. I just think Jake is unreasonable to criticise the Super 14 coaches.
24 May 2006, 10:58 am
I tell you guys even if all the hookers in South Africa is injured Jake won’t give Schalla a call because his as stubborn as can be.Bet he would rather phone OLLIE than schalk!!!!!
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