Release the Russell rocket
24 Sep 2006
Brent Russell is our most potent attacking weapon and he’s desperate to be used.
In a revealing interview with SA Rugby magazine, on sale this week, Russell expresses his frustration at the way he’s been treated by our coaches.
“Could I have achieved as much as Matt Gitaeu if I’d been given a chance? That’s a question I’ve had many years to think about,” he told the magazine. “Have I been properly utilised by South African rugby? I believe I could have been played more, I could have been better utilised.
“To be honest, I can’t really relate to Giteau at the moment, because I’m in such a different space. I can’t tell you how good a player I could be, because I don’t know myself.”
Also in the new issue:
– The next generation: Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen and Brad Barritt
– All-out attack: changing our mindset
– Why SuperSport’s commentators suck
– Andre Pretorius: “I haven’t reached my best”
– Exposing SA’s goal-kicking myths
– Coaches circle: Nick Mallett, Brendan Venter, Gysie Pienaar and Chester Williams on the way forward
– Jeremy Guscott writes about England’s new man in charge, Rob Andrew
– Lote Tuqiri rates Bryan Habana
– Why the Boks need a full-time defence coach
– SA players in France (and why they left)
– Why the NFL is in a different league to rugby union
– Lions fullback Louis Ludik on his first season of Currie Cup rugby
– Plus columns from Naas, Nick and Keo
131 Comments
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25 Sep 2006, 11:01 am
the teams that do the best in the homeless soccer wc are the teams with the most homeless people!! i can’t see a 1st world country celebrating their homeless team winning the trophy
25 Sep 2006, 12:15 pm
How can you guys put Russell’s defense down.Stats (from SA Rugby mag a few months back) show him to be a solid defender.Look at all the linebreaks the Boks get against.No one put JDV defense down when the Aussies pumped us 49-0.Funny thing that.
Yes he’s small,thats why he’s a flyhalf.He never asked to be put on the wing or at fullback where his height and size became an issue.
Think of the plonkers who have played for the Boks at 10 since 2002 (when Russell emerged).Koen,Braam,Jaco,Bosman.Its a joke.
Russell was the best 10 in the 2004 Currie Cup by a country mile when James got hurt.We can only dream how good he could have been if a coach had the guts to play him at 10 for the past 4 years.
25 Sep 2006, 13:38 pm
pietrman, sorry die tweede!
25 Sep 2006, 13:39 pm
shame…poor brent has forever been given a raw deal by all coaches he has played under in sa.
you should have stayed in the cape mr russel!
25 Sep 2006, 13:49 pm
londonshark……2 things
1. russel himself said his preferred position is fullback, so not the coaches fault. tho i agree he would be amazing on form at 10.
2. u lament about criticism of JDV’s defence. theres a reason we cant fault JDV”S defence that day…..he didnt play. wynand olivier ws inside that day
25 Sep 2006, 14:06 pm
Schalla,2 things.
1.Russell’s 2nd position is fullback.He has ALWAYS maintained that 10 is his number 1 position (as confirmed by the latest SA rugby and countless interviews).
2.I’m not putting JDV down.My point is that if Russell,for some odd reason, had been playing at 13 that day,he would have been blamed for the 49-0 loss.
25 Sep 2006, 14:57 pm
Koos
Daar was mos op n stadium n grap oor Naas: Wat noem jy Naas en Karen se kinders?
Springnase! Ek dink Karen kom daar uit Ermelo se wereld, Springbk verspringer.
25 Sep 2006, 15:57 pm
I forgot JDV wasn’t playing by the way.I should have made my point with JF instead.
25 Sep 2006, 15:59 pm
After reading that, I know why Russel aint in the bok team. Same reason Luke isn’t. Jake doesn’t like blokes who rate themselves.
25 Sep 2006, 16:02 pm
Jokey Jokey Jokey.
25 Sep 2006, 16:03 pm
I can’t wait to read the Naas Column.
25 Sep 2006, 16:04 pm
I’ll tell you why the NFL is in another leage.
Cause it’s another sport you dimwits.
25 Sep 2006, 16:05 pm
I mean imagine those guys trying to play rugby.
They’ll look like the bulls, only passing the ball once.
And they’ll be exhausted after 10 minutes.
25 Sep 2006, 16:31 pm
Say what you want … when Russell touches the ball, you expect something to happen. He should be the first name pencilled in any match 22 – Springboks or Sharks and I am a huge supporter of both. I cannot believe he doesn’t get game time.
Brent, if the Spears do get a crack in the Super 14 next year – come home boy and bring along all those other SEC boys performing for all the other provinces / franchises.
25 Sep 2006, 17:16 pm
Both the Boks and the Sharks teams are picked on a racial quota basis, therefore backs such as Burden or Russell may not be picked since at the back division quota players are less likely to be exposed
25 Sep 2006, 17:27 pm
Hello all!
Heres the sharks side id like to see
15 steyn
14 petersen
13 barritt
12 russell
11 burden
10 butch
09 pienaar
08 kankowski
07 brits
06 solly
05 muller
04 ackermann
03 botha
02 du plessis
01 carstens
Reserves
lensing
daniel
bote’s
sykes
jacobs
murray
jeneker
as you might see i didnt choose a second scrummy as i believe russel could fill that gap
and i have him at inside center where i believe a strong butch sending him into the gaps he could cause mahem with his pace off the mark,so too at scrummy
25 Sep 2006, 17:30 pm
The best thing for Russel would be if he moved to the Bulls. The Bulls need a player with hs flair and he needs he ball going forward.
Kom nou Bulle, maak vir Russel n gawe offer sodat ons hom kan unleash op die res van die wereld.
9. Fourie du Preez 10. Hougaard/Steyn 11. Habanna
12 Olivier 13.Habanna 14. Russel 15. Roets
Met die backline kan ons mos die wereld regeer ?
Kom Bulle betaal die rocket
25 Sep 2006, 17:32 pm
Sorry 11 is Ndungane/Mametsa
25 Sep 2006, 17:40 pm
doos ur name says it all lol
you have a russel you guys just to stupid to see it
its basson hes brilliant
25 Sep 2006, 17:45 pm
man how the sharks could have done with AJ last saturday
25 Sep 2006, 17:45 pm
The Bulls still think that Jacques Cronje is an intelligent player.
25 Sep 2006, 17:50 pm
Doos
That backline is VERY average.
25 Sep 2006, 17:51 pm
lol skim
25 Sep 2006, 17:53 pm
Goeie Doos.
25 Sep 2006, 19:18 pm
The last time Russell scored a try in an international was the last time he played (against France earlier this year). He had one shocker against NZ at loftus 3 or 4 years ago (but who didn’t?) and he is still paying for it. It seems the SA mind set is that you have to be big and strong to defend but you can’t score tries if you don’t have players with speed and vision or if you are defending for 80 minutes.
25 Sep 2006, 19:28 pm
Who’d win in a tri-battle between Basson, russel and Aplon?
My money is on Aplon.
25 Sep 2006, 19:30 pm
How ’bout this:
10.Butch
11.Basson
12.Halstead
13.Fourie
14.Russel
15.Aplon
Some big guys together with some little guys.
25 Sep 2006, 19:33 pm
Halstead’s, the knock on king, bit over the hill dude, De Villiers is much better
25 Sep 2006, 21:13 pm
71…skim,i know mate…and thats what is wrong with our rugby! brains will beat brawn everytime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25 Sep 2006, 22:30 pm
Russel needs to stop being a stopgap player. If he wants 2 b a 10 then he must concentrate on that. You will never here anyone saying Butch is back up @ wing.
He is a talanted footballer and he should not secrifice himself for game time.
25 Sep 2006, 22:54 pm
Maybe Russell just isn’t good enough for the top level. Can it be that his provincial and national team coaches just don’t think he has the quality to succeed at the highest level?
Russell has good skills, but so does Shane Williams of Wales, and I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my team because of his vulnerability on defence, regardless of how much his attacking game offers offensively.
If Russell was to be moved inside to #10, it should have happened years ago. He will now be, at best, a valuable utility player. Another case of raw talent not being developed properly in SA I guess.
25 Sep 2006, 23:32 pm
its soo true what people say about size… here in south africa its all that matters. take a guy like hendrik meyer of the cheetahs. in the currie cup he might seem to be a ‘standout’ player, but put him against dan carter and aaron mauger… damn, he’l never make more than 5 metres. but take a guy like matt giteau, a small guy with a wonderful swerve, he has the potential to weave through them. i’ve seen russell ghost through defenses far more than any other player in the current national set up, and its not like he CANT tackle, its just that he misses the occasional tackle on a large fellow, but wow, he can offer a lot on attack. personally i think fullback is his best position, but at the moment, gio aplon is probably a better option. until aplon is exposed for being too small, i believe he is the answer for fullback.
25 Sep 2006, 23:51 pm
ziyaad- there is so much talent in jp pieterson its scary. someone needs to smack him on the side of the head and tell him that he’s got the potential to be the world’s best at 15, it always seems as if he has so much time when he’s got the ball-as if everything he does is in slow motion
26 Sep 2006, 00:13 am
SA Rugby battle heats up
25/09/2006 21:48 – (SA)
McKeever slam saru plan
Norman Silke , Die Burger
Port Elizabeth – Tony McKeever, chief executive of the Southern Spears, is confident of being on the winning side in their Cape high court action against SA Rugby on Tuesday.
SA Rugby is applying for leave to appeal against the August 4 findings by judge Dennis Davis.
The judge found that a legal agreement existed between SA Rugby and the Spears that guaranteed the franchise participation in this year’s Currie Cup competition and the Super 14 in 2007 and 2008.
The national body last year guaranteed the Spears participation in the competitions. It also agreed to maintain the team until the end of this year and obtain sponsorships for the franchise.
When SA Rugby overturned the decisions this year, the Spears went to court. Judge Davis then returned to the Spears their place in the Super 14 and found that the franchise could, if needed, approach the court to claim damages regarding the Currie Cup competition.
The Spears are now applying that the findings concerning the Super 14 come into force immediately. They also claim damages of R7.5m.
McKeever said on Monday he was still seeking R6.4m that SA Rugby owed the Spears for the period until the end of December.
He said the amount of damages claimed constituted the losses the Spears suffered by not playing in 14 Currie Cup matches.
If SA Rugby’s application is successful, a drawn-out court case could follow and the Spear’s participation in the 2007 Super 14 could fall through.
Reached an agreement with Border
Meanwhile, SA Rugby’s efforts to acquire shares in the Eastern Province and South Western Districtict rugby unions have apparently received a major boost.
SA Rugby is trying to acquire 25.1% of the shares in the three feeder unions (it has already reached an agreement with Border) and to buy the 24.9% share SA Investments Limited (Sail) owns in each of the unions.
With a 50% share in each of the unions, SA Rugby can appoint directors to the Spears board, which could have an important influence on the future of the franchise.
Stag Cronjé, president of the SWD Rugby Union, confirmed on Monday that the union had agreed verbally with SA Rugby to sell the shares. Border announced last week that it would sell its shares.
Liam del Carme reports from Johannesburg that the Southern Spears’ chances of playing in the Super 14 next year have just about disappeared.
Basil Haddad, acting managing director of SA Rugby, said on Monday there were verbal agreements with EP and SWD, as well as Sail, to acquire shares in the unions that constitute the Southern Spears.
With a 50% share in the three unions, SA Rugby will have the right to make appointments to the board of the Spears and have a say in decisions regarding the franchise’s Super 14 participation.
Several documents still have to be checked and signed.
“We have already come to an agreement with Border. They have signed and we have received the documents,” Haddad said on Monday.
“We have agreed verbally with EP and SWD on several occasions. There are some unfinished matters we have to look at but that should not implicate the purchasing of the shares.”
You can get sports results and information via SMS. Read more on http://www.news24.com
26 Sep 2006, 07:09 am
Who saved us from disgrace against France earlier this year?
Who pretty much single-handedly destroyed Aus in 2002?
Hmmm…
26 Sep 2006, 07:49 am
Brent Should go play for The Stormers next year. In fact, if the Stormers and Sharks work closely together, they could really get two great teams together
Stormers:
15.) Conrad Jantjies
14.) Brent Russel
13.) Sireli Vuki
12.) Jean de Villiers
11.) Gio Aplon
10.) Francois Steyn
9.) Scot Mathie
8.) Robbie Diack
7.) Joe van Niekerk
6.) Luke Watson
5.) Ross Skeate
4.) Andries Bekker
3.) Cobus Visagie
2.) Schalk Brits
1.) Deon Carstens
Sharks:
15.) JP Pietersen
14.) Odwa Ndungane
13.) Andries Strauss
12.) Brad Barrit
11.) Waylon Murray
10.) Butch James
9.) Ruan Pienaar
8.) AJ Venter
7.) Justin Melck
6.) Warren Britz
5.) Johan Muller
4.) Selborne Boome
3.) BJ Botha
2.) John Smit
1.) Kees Lensing
26 Sep 2006, 08:18 am
I think the whole Brent Russel issue just epitomises the way South African coaches think and play the game.
Sure, we all know Brent Russel has a weakness in defense and in the tackle situation, but he has so much to offer on attack. I think he’s shortcomings can be coached, and he needs someone who has faith in his abilities and who will give him and extended run in a specialist position.
I don’t see any reason why he can’t be compared with the likes of Gitaeu and Carter as he offers the same if not more than these players on attack. But I believe he needs a coach that will sit down and work on the other side of his game.
26 Sep 2006, 08:24 am
Simon, give us some of the good stuff you are smoking……
26 Sep 2006, 08:32 am
Why does everybody doubt Brent’s defence when he doesn’t even play? Defence is not all about size, its about technique. Thats the problem with SA defence. We think, because we are big, all we need to do is run infront of a player and he will be stopped. How many times have you seen an aussie or AB back running into a big SA loose forward, only to be bumped back but not held, and then running through the defence.
Aplon have saved many tries with his 72kg’s. There was nothing wrong with Russel’s defence in the games that he played. In any case, he so damn quick, if he misses a tackle, he’ll just run the guy in from behind.
26 Sep 2006, 08:47 am
Kom Kaap toe Brent! Ons is nie bang om sogenaamde ‘klein’ spelers te kies nie. O en ek sal nie n Bok span kies sonder Russel nie.
Geluk aan die Lions, julle het uitstekend gespeel en ek haal my hoed af vir julle na alles waardeur julle is die seisoen.Verder dink ek nie iemand gaan die bulle stuit as hulle die naweek wen nie.
So seer soos dit maak om dit te se is dit seker waar.
Go cheethas,doen ons almal n moerse guns…toe!
26 Sep 2006, 08:55 am
Spokie,
Brent kom van die kaap af, Julle wou hom nie kies juis oor sy grote.
stem saam met jou oor die leeus, hulle speel regtig goeie rugby en die 2 petoorse kook soos ‘n koffie keteljie.
ek dink Jaco pretorius het vir sarel Potgieter uit die wp span gespeel
26 Sep 2006, 09:00 am
Russell, you should have taken the offer from WP, and moved back to Cape Town. WP is not scared to play smaller guys!!!
26 Sep 2006, 09:16 am
It was Gert Smal who didn’t want Brent Russell and he was forced to go to the Pumas and then he went to the Sharks. Of course Uncle Gert went on to F*ck the Stormers up big time with a one dimensional vision.
I think Fester/Kojak VD Merwe should “gupse” him very quickly. Otherwise I think the Lions will want him.
26 Sep 2006, 09:24 am
I agree with Die Doos.
Russel must join the Bulls. Its a win win situation.
26 Sep 2006, 09:35 am
Whoever compared Russell to Carter and Giteau…can I have some ofthe stuff you’re smoking?
Russell is a good broken field runner. But when faced with an organised defence (not a South African one
), he tends to be impotent on attack from what I have seen of him.
His style is similar to that of Jason Robinson. But Russell can only dream of doing some of things that Robinson managed to do on a rugby field, like standing up and skinning Latham on the outside, or standing up the entire French backline drift defence and darting through to score.
Russell is a good player, but you guys are building him up to be some world class player who has never been given a chance. If he is really as good as some of you make out, do you really think he’d be languishing in the background? No, me neither.
Russell isn’t good enough to be a #10 IMO. He has never shown himself capable of running the game from that position.
Fullback is in my opinion the best position for him to specialise in. It allows him the opportunity to field the ball as the last man and to run at the sometimes unstructured opposition defence. This is where his running skills are utilised best and has been shown to be in the past when looking at his best performances in a Bok jersey. Playing fullback also allows him to join the backline at the right moments to add spark to the attacking movement.
BUT, in order to become a true fullback, he needs to work on his kicking out of hand and his field positioning (which has been suspect in the past and teams have profitted).
26 Sep 2006, 09:42 am
Brent Russel is a very good player. Just one problem, he is greedy when he has the ball. Never ever offloads, is predictable and tries to run everything. If he varied his game and was a team man, then maybe he could be like Giteau. Till then he will remain a talented player who forgot he was in a team sport.
26 Sep 2006, 09:53 am
londonshark #52 – JDV didnt play in the 49-0 game you idiot.
how can russel become world class, or at least show his true potential, if he doesnt get game time? or if he gets dropped when doing one thing wrong in a game? how will he regain confidence?
who questioned his defence? oh yes, the tackler. you are a waste of space. how can a player be a brilliant 7′s player and have bad defence?
does gio aplon, jaco pretorius or kabamba floors have bad defence? please tell me in which game you saw anybody run over him. he might not be os, but he can tackle good enough.
he needs to be on the subs bench for the boks coz he can play anywhere in the backline or come on when you need a different game plan, but first he needs some confidence.
26 Sep 2006, 10:02 am
Stodders,
I’m not saying Russel is in the same class as Carter/ Gitaeu, u idiot, he certainly has the potential to become one.
It would’ve been frightening to see what the Ozzies or the All Blacks would have done with this potential.
26 Sep 2006, 10:03 am
Russel is probably the best impact player in the world.
26 Sep 2006, 10:19 am
Russel should be a Lion!!
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