Butch back with a bang
16 Apr 2008
Butch James helped Bath torture Leicester’s Tigers in his comeback game.
The Bok World Cup-winning flyhalf, outstanding in the first month of the season before dislocating his shoulder, played for the first time in two months as Bath hammered Leicester 26-12.
James kicked three penalties and a conversion in an impressive return which will give Bok coach Peter de Villiers a bit more comfort. De Villiers is a known fan of Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant, but outside Grant there has been nothing to enthuse about among South African Super 14 flyhalves.
James, superb in the World Cup final, adds to De Villiers’s options, but to be in contention he needs to be playing.
Bath, with James back and strengthened by six current and former England internationals in the pack, crushed Leicester in the first half and led 23-0 after 43 minutes.
The Tigers fought back in the last quarter, but their second try five minutes from time could not make up for the embarrassment of the first 40 minutes.
52 Comments
15 Apr 2008, 23:50 pm
Dragons, Go Butchie slaughter those paleskins!
16 Apr 2008, 00:06 am
If I was Pdv, I would take a fit Butch over Grant.
16 Apr 2008, 00:08 am
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
16 Apr 2008, 00:19 am
Coach
Agreed, but Grant is improving by the game, must say he impress me a lot lately!
16 Apr 2008, 00:28 am
Yes agreed nice to know we have Grant there too, and with his current form would be a good choice at 10.
#3 Keep pumping.
16 Apr 2008, 03:55 am
grant is finally starting to deliver on his promise – but i do not think he is ready to stake a claim for the bok jersey. a fit butch must be picked – and hopefully andre “butcheek” pretorius can find some form and fitness ahead of the international season.
16 Apr 2008, 04:29 am
Munkiboi, Andre Pretories just has to look at a rugby ball and he gets injured.
I cant see him back as bok flyhalf again
16 Apr 2008, 05:30 am
Dissapointing match from a rugby perspective.
However Butch was good whilst a little rusty. For a fair part of the match he seemed to shun too much physical contact presumably because of his previous injury but this aspect improved as the match progresed.
As for his play, still better than what we’ve seen from the other potential #10s in SA. Mostly rock solid and great distribution skills.
16 Apr 2008, 06:58 am
No doubt in my mind Butch second best flyhalf in the world (WAS THE BEST AT THE WORLD CUP) always gets the line moving,rock solid in defence and not to bad at breaking the line himself.Reckon Grant will be the real deal come international season,start Butch Grant on bench if PDV plays his cards right we going to have an awesom Bok team.Only 3 players from WC winning team who deserve to be in Bok team at the moment Butch,Juan smith and habana(even his form is dodgy but blame that on bulls not getting ball to him).
16 Apr 2008, 07:25 am
I watched the game last night and was very impressed with Butch. There is no debate that he is the best no 10 in SA at the moment.
I was equally impressed with Michael Claasens. I am not talking him into a bok jersey or anything, but have been very impressed every time i see him. His passing is back to its quickest, most accurate and crispest ever. He really got the pack going, and dictated very well. As a Cheetah supporter, I am happy to see him happy and doing well in Bath.
16 Apr 2008, 07:47 am
Solid game from our Butchie, very good hands and great distribution of the ball to get the backline flowing.
Classic Butch no-arms high tackle at the end of the game……just to remind his opponents that he is there.
Entertaining game, but I reckon just about all the S14 sides would wipe both these teams.
16 Apr 2008, 08:06 am
Butch distributed well last night. some nice skip passes to create space out wide.
his few “no-look” passes were a tad suspect and one cld hv resulted in an intercept try for Leicester.
kicking for goal was average – which brings me to a major concern – who will kick for poles for the boks if Percy doesn’t play?
none of our Super 14 kickers is reliable and you don’t beat the AB’s and a touring Lions team with an average goal kicker???
16 Apr 2008, 08:07 am
Welcome back Butch, looking forward to see you in the tri-nations.
16 Apr 2008, 08:08 am
Brains_trust @ 12
The boks can use Kockott to do the kicking!!
16 Apr 2008, 08:11 am
For a country that apparently has no flyhalfs, Butch on the park and Grant on the bench doesn’t look too shabby.
16 Apr 2008, 08:15 am
I watched the game last night and he had a great game! Had one brain **** but if the guy caught the ball it wouldnt have looked so bad! And those english comentators are useless! First they call him a world class flyhalf and then in the final minutes he smashed a guy out on the side and they were saying its a penalty and thats the old Butch and bla bla bla! He used his arms and he did it well! Go Butchie!!
16 Apr 2008, 08:26 am
bok team for Wales should read:
15 – Percy
14 – Chavanga
13 – Jacques Fourie
12 – Jean de V
11 – Habana
10 – James
9 – Fourie
8 – Kankowski
7 – Juan
6 – Schalk
5 – Matfield
4 – Botha
3 – BJ Botha
2 – Smittie (cptn)
1 – Guthro
Bench:
JP Pietersen / Steyn
Peter Grant
Ricky January / Pienaar
Heinke vd Merwe
Andries Bekker
Bismarck du Plessis
Spies
Percy to play becuase we need a goal kicker that kicks an 80% average. without Percy we don’t have that…
16 Apr 2008, 08:31 am
The Sharks are well on their way to securing their second successive Super 14 home semifinal after remaining unbeaten after nine rounds of the 2008 edition of the Southern Hemisphere’s most gruelling competition.
The Sharks, along with the Crusaders, are the only unbeaten team in the Super 14 to date, with the Sharks draw against the Hurricanes being their only blemish thus far.
They second-placed Sharks are five points ahead of the third-placed Hurricanes, and are seven points adrift of the table-topping Crusaders.
Last year the Sharks finished top of the log and secured a home Final, the final result being heartbreak for all Sharks fans.
So far, they have accumulated 31 points from their eight this year – a very impressive return. But lets take a look at how that compares to their record at this stage last year.
At the same stage last year the Durban-based franchise had amassed 25 points from their eight games.
They had already lost two matches, to the Brumbies and Western Force, and were in fourth position after Round Nine.
There are a few glaring similarities between Johan Muller’s team and John Smit’s men of 2007.
The Sharks have struggled to score tries this season, and have copped their fair share of criticism for this.
They have only one bonus point for scoring four tries or more, but this time last year they also only had one bonus point, and still managed to top the log.
They have a proud defensive record this year, and are second only to the Crusaders with regards to points conceded. After Round Nine in 2007 they were third in the defensive stakes.
Amazingly the try-scoring records of the two campaigns are identical – 16 tries scored and nine conceded. Those Sharks fans who believe in fate will be hoping for a different ending this time around!
From these two observations it’s clear to see that the Sharks strength lies in their defence. They are a hard nut to crack and have shown this year that they can win ‘ugly’.
That’s not to say that they can’t play expansive rugby. Conditions have conspired against them this year, and this has made it tough to give the ball some air. But with players like Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen, Frederic Michalak and Waylon Murray in their ranks, they have plenty of firepower if need be!
This year the Sharks have scored 150 points, compared to last year’s 168, but have only conceded 100 – 25 less that last year’s 125 at this stage of the competition.
The Sharks have another three games on the road before finishing the round-robin campaign with two games in Durban.
With five matches left to play the Sharks have their home semifinal destiny in their own hands. If they want to go one better than last year, securing a semifinal in Durban is paramount
16 Apr 2008, 08:31 am
# 16 TM
I also watched the game and he really played well – He picks himself in the Bok team honestly for soemone who hasn’t played for 3 months, he looked fantastic. We’ve got flyhalves playing in our SA S14 teams that look like kids compared to him!!
16 Apr 2008, 08:31 am
The stas above should shut a few people up!
16 Apr 2008, 08:32 am
stas=stats
16 Apr 2008, 08:34 am
Playball
I agree! The Sharks were stupid to let him go! Im sure if he was there then we would be scoring tries and everybody would leave Barrit alone because I think they complemented each other. Look at how k@k Mauger looked last night without Carter.
16 Apr 2008, 08:41 am
Good post Mauler, puts the Sharks performance this year into perspective. Sharks certainly don’t have an easy run from here into the semi’s, but if we can get at least 8 points from the next 3 away games we should be in with a shout for a home semi.
Funny how people like to emphasize the negatives about the Shark’s season, harping on about the lack of bonus points, instead of looking at our great defensive record and position on the log.
16 Apr 2008, 08:49 am
jonnow
Yes and the fact that last season we also only had 1 bonus point at this stage. We lost 2 and we are 6 points the better this time.
16 Apr 2008, 08:49 am
17 brains_trust
I don’t disagree, but if you only want Percy because for an 80% kicking average, you might as well take Grant. He’s got a 78% kicking average in this year’s Super14 and that’s only because he went of the boil in the last few games.
16 Apr 2008, 08:49 am
jonnow that seems to happen often,everyone is waiting for a stumble then the knives are out!!
16 Apr 2008, 08:56 am
Mauler it’s all well and good that the sharks get a home semi – but you can bet your house that they’ll have to travel to NZL for the final against the indomitable Crusaders.
16 Apr 2008, 09:00 am
15.Jantjies
14.Tondai C
13.Steyn
12.JDV
11.Habana
10.Butch
9.Fourie
8.Kanko
7.Schalk
6.Smith
5.Vic
4.Botha
3.B.J
2.John Smit
1.Guthro
16.Bismarck
17.v.d. Merwe
18.Bekker
19.Vermeulen
20.Januarie
21.Pienaar
22.J. Fourie
16 Apr 2008, 09:03 am
Excellent post Mauler. Puts things in a different light. It also says a lot if you consider that of their away games, only one was played without it raining. The rain in the away games and the humidity at home both conspired to produce “ugly” rugby.
16 Apr 2008, 09:05 am
# 25
Does Grant play fullback now?
16 Apr 2008, 09:09 am
# 29 KS
I love this “ugly” rugby, it seems to have put us 2nd from top of the log! Imagine playing pretty rugby does anyone know who does?
16 Apr 2008, 09:28 am
#30 – exactly
16 Apr 2008, 09:29 am
kinda hard to have a kicker slot goals from the bench – innit….
16 Apr 2008, 09:46 am
Can anybody plz explain to me??? On what form should Fourie be in the Bok team? Victor??? You guys do know that the super 14 is the toughest tournament in world rugby? I’m just thinking you should at least be on form and for me 80% performance in the super 14 is better than 90% anywhere else. The likes of Andries Bekker, Rory Duncan, Kockett and Vermaak. Also Grant is playing well under Rassie, a lot of players have performed above weight under Rassie but under de Villiers? and no international experience…?
16 Apr 2008, 09:58 am
Sharksbru – experience counts for everything in test rugby. our WC winning team would decimate the so-called S14 “form” team.
read the following article by Keo from a few weeks back http://www.keo.co.za/2008/04/03/when-selectors-box-clever/
16 Apr 2008, 10:01 am
The presence of Butch was so Evident! He even makes Makes Matt Stevens look good in the midfied!
16 Apr 2008, 10:04 am
31 & 33: No and off course.
But as qualified Percy as a necessity on his 80% kicking only, all I’m implying is that on that same merit Grant can fill that necessity. Thus, we can play with the options at centre and fullback. Ie. if you’d prefer Jantjies or Steyn above Percy for his general play you can say that for the same reason Percy qualified that Grant can slot in at 12, moving JdV out to 13.
I’m just trying to highlight the options we have using Grant’s (come-lately) kicking success. Up until I looked at his stats, I (like most bloggers on here) thought he’s kicking was poor.
16 Apr 2008, 10:06 am
# 34 Sharksbru
One word – Experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You don’t change players that have always performed well for the Springboks!!! Change them when they are injured or play really badly for the Boks!!
I am a Shark, but i would still pick Fourie ahead of Rory, despite how well he has played!!!!!!!! The best teams in the world in any sport are those that display consistency in thier team selctions!!!!!!
Who says S14 is the toughest? I bet 3N, 6N and WC are tougher!!!
16 Apr 2008, 10:32 am
Bighead
Only change I would make would be Steyn at 12 and de Villiers 13, otherwise solid team
16 Apr 2008, 10:34 am
Does anyone else realise how classy A Jacobs is. Cant understand why **** hasnt given the guy a full game at 12 and see what happens. I know Barrits defence is better but its still worth a try
16 Apr 2008, 10:34 am
# 34
Experience? Where do you start experience and when? First test after reaching your highest goal? I think that is a good place, especially if your experienced halfback is out of form.
You say you don’t change players that have performed well? Consistency? Did you enjoy Jake’s book? Sounds like it.
Look at the Bulls, perfect outfit last year…then came the change in coach and I believe they should have changed a lot more, cant keep players because they worked well in a specific set up.
Super 14 is played over 13 weeks, I agree 3N and WC is tougher games, but to my opinion S14 is the toughest tournament for players.
16 Apr 2008, 10:45 am
bok fan
i dig adi and brad both. but i really feel for adi.
16 Apr 2008, 10:56 am
Adi is very good off the bench, and it is working for the Sharks.. His opp will come and he will step up to the plate. NO PROBLEM
16 Apr 2008, 11:09 am
Brains trust
You could be right! But the Crusaders still have to get past the Chiefs who have been a bogey side for them! The Blues who if they can start playing to their potential can beat the Crusaders and then its not impossible for the Sharks to beat them on their home ground! Then they still have to beat a good team in the semis like the Canes ,Force, Stormers or Tahs! So anything can happen! But I do expect the Final to be in Christchurch though!
16 Apr 2008, 11:12 am
Last year AdiJ hit some good form, but the sad part is that he hasn’t been given enough game-time this year to be able to make any call on his form.
I agree BokFan, **** has almost played every possible combo with the centres, even messing with Murray on the wing – he might as well give AdiJ a well deserved chance as well.
16 Apr 2008, 11:26 am
# 7
Andre Pretorius dreamt he was playing rugby again. When he woke up he had torn ligaments in his ankle
16 Apr 2008, 12:26 pm
Guys this is off the Sharks blog, it looks like this weekend Ruan will be tried at No. 10 off the Bench, lets see maybe he will prove to be the new no. 10 for SB! I hope so he is one of my favorites.
16 Apr 2008, 12:26 pm
It was so good to see butch back! he was outstanding last night, and really knows how to get his backline going, and spoilt his 1st centre again last night! peter grant must be next in line , but BUTCH IS STILL THE KING!
PDV…………PICK THIS MAN
16 Apr 2008, 12:28 pm
myball……..i agree big time! no problem boet boet boet!
16 Apr 2008, 12:28 pm
AP dreamt that he was playing rugby and woke up with torn ligaments in his butt…
16 Apr 2008, 12:29 pm
bokfan………i have heard umours ad likes playing off the bench….. he does not want a start!
17 Apr 2008, 10:27 am
BUTCH BUTCH BUTCH!!!!!
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