Seven steps to glory
30 Jun 2008
The Springboks have not won a Test in New Zealand since 1998. Former Springbok mental coach Henning Gericke explains how Peter de Villiers can achieve what Jake White couldn’t.
White may have a World Cup winner’s medal, but the former Springbok coach has something missing from his impressive CV – his side never beat the All Blacks in New Zealand.
In 2004, White’s first year in charge, the Boks came agonisingly close to claiming what would have been a shock victory in Christchurch. With 30 seconds to go, they led 21-18, having scored three tries to nil. But a botched line-out call 5m out from the Springbok tryline led to an All Blacks scrum from which winger Doug Howlett slid over in the right-hand corner.
In 2005, the Boks arrived at the House of Pain in Dunedin needing a win to clinch their second consecutive Tri-Nations title. With six minutes to go, they lead 27-24, only for All Blacks hooker Kevin Mealamu to be driven over from a line-out for the match-winning try.
The Boks were never going to make it third time lucky for White in New Zealand last year, after the coach opted to rest almost all of his first-choice players ahead of the World Cup. While the second-stringers put up a good fight and trailed 12-6 with 20 minutes to go, three All Blacks tries in the final 10 minutes resulted in a 27-point thrashing.
Former Springbok mental coach Henning Gericke was a key member of White’s management team during that time, and it still grates him that the Boks never won in 2004 or 2005. He believes that while they were mentally prepared for the task, they didn’t have the experience or self belief that the finished product, which won the World Cup, had.
‘I honestly believe that the Boks can win one Test, if not two, in New Zealand this year,’ says Gericke. ‘They just need to focus on these seven points …’
1. HAVE A NO-RESPECT MENTALITY
‘Springbok teams are guilty of putting the All Blacks on a pedestal and believing they are unbeatable. Don’t get me wrong, they are a great team, but we’ve shown them too much respect over the years. We now need to change our underdog mentality into a world champion mentality. We mustn’t listen to all the talk that we haven’t won there since 1998 or that we have never won a Test in Dunedin. We are the world champions and we should believe in ourselves.’
2. AIM TO DOMINATE
‘If your enemy responds to you, you are strong; if you respond to them, you are weak. The Boks must arrive in New Zealand, with the intention of dominating the opposition.’
3. PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
‘The Boks must do what they do best. The All Blacks don’t like to be tackled hard and confronted physically. New Zealanders throw 50-50 passes in the Super 14 because there’s space, but in Tests you can close that space down and put them under pressure. Playing a physical game doesn’t mean you are playing boring, one-dimensional rugby. It means you are playing clever rugby and giving yourself the best possible chance to win.’
4. HAVE SEVERAL LEADERS
‘The more the unyielding the challenge, the more flexible your leadership has must be. In 2004 and 2005, [captain] John Smit was the only real leader in the team. The Bok side of 2008 will have quite a few leaders, and that could make a big difference. Jean de Villiers was an excellent captain for the Stormers this year, while Juan Smith did a good job with the Cheetahs. Victor Matfield captained the Bulls to the Super 14 title last year. The All Blacks, meanwhile, don’t have many strong leaders, which is why I believe they lost to France in the World Cup last year.’
5. BECOME A FAMILY
‘You need to create an inner circle that creates positive energy. If you have a family environment, you will be able to handle outside pressures because you are so tight-knit. However, it may take time for De Villiers to create the kind of family vibe that we had under Jake. Look at what happened to the Bulls when Heyneke Meyer and a couple of key players left. That family structure was broken to some extent.’
6. SEE OPPORTUNITIES, NOT OBSTACLES
‘When you are in New Zealand, you must really want to be there. Embrace the people, the culture and even the weather. Go out and explore the country. If you have a negative mindset about how terrible a place it is, your game will suffer.’
7. HAVE BIG MATCH TEMPERAMENT
‘When you play the All Blacks in New Zealand, the games are going to be close more often that not. You’re going to find yourself in a situation where there are just three or four points in it with a few minutes to go. Your players have to be able to stay mentally strong and close out the game, which is what the Boks didn’t do in 2004 and 2005.’
What Peter de Villiers says:
ON THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
‘It goes without saying that playing the All Blacks anywhere is one of the toughest tests in the game, but in New Zealand it becomes even tougher. New Zealand have been the most successful rugby country in the world over the last decade, with the exception of their World Cup performances. They are true rugby thinkers and they play with supreme confidence at home, resulting in an attitude that does not contemplate defeat when on home soil. I’m not surprised at all that we have struggled there since 1998, but it should be remembered how close the Boks came to victories in 2004 and 2005.’
ON MENTAL PREPARATION
‘We will leave this country with our minds focused on the first Test [in Wellington] and the first Test only. There’s no use planning and getting worked up about the novelty of two Tests in New Zealand. The reality is one Test is played after the next, so I will prepare the squad for the first Test only. When it’s completed, we’ll reassess and then prepare for the second Test [in Dunedin].’
ON WHETHER HE WILL VALUE EXPERIENCE OVER YOUTH
‘I trust all South African rugby players, and will pick the side I feel has the best chance of winning. That doesn’t just go for the New Zealand Tests. Whoever I name in my 22 for any Test, regardless if they have one cap or 100, will have my full faith and backing.’
ON WHETHER HE’LL BE HAPPY TO WIN JUST ONE OF THE TWO TESTS
‘I am not a loser. I will never be satisfied if we lose.’
By Simon Borchardt, in SA Rugby magazine
928 Comments
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1 Jul 2008, 05:10 am
#898 BokiNZ:
I don’t think it is the immigrants.
#897 Tomsta:
Yes, it seems like the NZRU are worried about the publicity of events rather than the severity.
#896 RugbyRulz:
I think we are on the same slippery slope that may see us like America. I am not sure about our police. There still seem to be large elements of old boys network. I have spoken to Police in many countries overseas and although some are corrupt they are nice and I feel no danger. In NZ I grew up in a tough neghbourhood where as a 12 year old the police would be throwing me against the side of a car and searching me for walking down the road. I was even threatened into not giving a statement about someone who was un over because the driver seemed to be associated with teh poilce. I was threatened bt a police detective!
I have recently spoken to police in Christchurch with bery negative responses. I asked one policeman for directions and he swore at me. When I asked why he was acting that way he said “why the fork would you ask me, piss off”.
I think that on a global scale NZ police generally suck. There is probably a lot more corruption than the recently reported rapes. I am not saying that there are not good policemen but the current structure does not weed out the bad ones.
1 Jul 2008, 05:21 am
#898 BokiNZ:
#899 Tomsta:
Sorry, bad wording … when I say ‘include’ I mean as a genral cycle of generations and not as a result of immigration. I actually think that immigration in New Zealand helps the diversity in opinions and behaviour. Most problems seem to come from the Kiwis who have never travelled.
1 Jul 2008, 05:25 am
NZ is going to the dogs, South Auckland is a ghetto although I have been to SOWETO and that place is a complete shambles.
1 Jul 2008, 05:25 am
#900 Tomsta:
It was Eric Rush. He was no onger an All Black but he was still associated with the New Zealand sevens. I can’t remember what happened. I thought that he fell asleep at the wheel. Was driving rediculos distances with little sleep (his fault).
1 Jul 2008, 05:46 am
There’s an article on news24 titled “Div ready to fight for Butch”.
A few quotes from the Snor himself:
“Butch is brilliant. He is one of the players whose name you write down first on the team sheet,” De Villiers said here on Monday.
“He provides valuable input and he is world class. People, especially in South Africa, sometimes underestimate him.
“But the team appreciate him and he believes in himself. That is a recipe for success.
“What makes him so good is that he is so unselfish and such an unbelievable team player,” De Villiers said.
“We will lean over backwards to get him back.”
In my opinion, the place where PdV has shown his worth the most so far is in player relations. He does seem to really value players and he makes an effort to keep everyone happy.
This is a contrast to Jake White who treated his chosen few favourites like kings and everyone else like ****.
1 Jul 2008, 05:49 am
#904 church – like chch but pronounceable:
true, that refreshes things. he wasnt drunk. did fall asleep at wheel and cuased accident. pity that.
i know some people who are in police. and when i say i know, im not associated with them. some of them are really pleasant people, while others are complete dropkicks. with the cops trying so hard to reach their recruitment drive targets id hate to know the % of the new recruits who are just dropkicks.
still cant believe kaino is let off completely. it seems henry has a 3 strikes policy with squad members.
1 Jul 2008, 05:54 am
#905 siener: This is a contrast to Jake White who treated his chosen few favourites like kings and everyone else like ****. Nothing new or isolated. PdV is having a crack at honesty which is quite refreshing and again nothing new.
I am not a Jake White fan but will attribute the man to one saving grace…. Management. The guy knew he wasn’t a coach but a damn good manager. He surrounded himself with the right people and thats how you get things done. Sorry skop if you’re reading this m8 but on that there can be no denial. Clive Woodward couldn’t coach either but a damn fine manager. Got him a WCup too!
1 Jul 2008, 05:55 am
the butch v carter show is going to get confrontational,,then swing it wide just one, and we get the jdv v nonu show which we all know is going to get confrontational……then swing it back in a few and we get the burger v rodders show. need anybody say anymore?
1 Jul 2008, 06:01 am
#905 siener:
We need to send Graham Henry on some sort of peoples skills cource
1 Jul 2008, 06:04 am
#906 Tomsta:
Robbie Deans attaches consequences from your first mistake. I think it makes for a better lesson.
1 Jul 2008, 06:17 am
#910 church – like chch but pronounceable:
Did you bag Deans after the 2003 failure?
1 Jul 2008, 06:20 am
church is to henry what skopskiet is to white
1 Jul 2008, 06:22 am
I dont believe Robbie Deans was the AB coach I do believe it was John Mitchell. Robbie was assistant coach. Also GH inherited the beginnings of something that both men had begun to mold. nuff said I reckon.
1 Jul 2008, 06:25 am
#912 Fern:
You would have seen the red and black eye patches on your travels to Chch, went to a Bledisloe Cup match there in the mid 90′s the crowd booed a couple of Ab’s from Auckland, they were wearing the black jersey but that didn’t seem to matter.
1 Jul 2008, 06:29 am
#912 Fern: No I dont think that is correct, I think its all about merit. Skop is quite right about JW. What other national coach with his results has held their position ( leading into a WCUP )? On the other hand GH has quite a formidable record. Difficult to sack a man with his impressive stats… Also the numbers had him home and hosed. You see NZ is a very small place with just about ALL its population on the north island….. GH Stronghold. The end result was the up and coming, tried, true and proven candidate to possibly topple GH was tossed. Therefore I can see why Chch is so pissed about it. Robbie Deans is a visionary and generally all round good guy. Just what sport needs. Thank you NZ (north island). We in OZ are more than proud to accept his service…. win lose or draw.
1 Jul 2008, 06:43 am
#915 RugbyRulz:
he won us a wc,nuff said.skopy is like a chick on the rag at the best of times.
chch,jafas deserve that treatment.
your bud g13g is a jafa
1 Jul 2008, 06:47 am
#916 Fern:
Henry is from Chch you clown.
1 Jul 2008, 06:48 am
just another fking aucklander….. Chch is from Christchurch which is in the South Island. Auckland being on the North Island…. bah! never mind ….
1 Jul 2008, 06:52 am
#917 NZINCHINA:
**** away bro.
i was talking about the auckland players getting booed that chch was referring to.
1 Jul 2008, 06:53 am
#918 RugbyRulz:
******* wow you clown.ask chch what my sentiments are about Christchurch.
seems you are a jafa or you are from some small shithole like Clive
1 Jul 2008, 06:57 am
#920 Fern: Suggest you lay off the sauce and read above. It isnt brainiac science trying to tackle where I am from.
1 Jul 2008, 06:59 am
#921 RugbyRulz:
dont you have to go and report to your parole officer?
btw jafas are proof that aussies can swim
1 Jul 2008, 07:00 am
#922 Fern: Fern you’re obviously missing your princess but alas I cant fill that void for you. boo hoo. suck it up assclown.
1 Jul 2008, 07:01 am
#920 Fern:
Yer I’ve read the shite you share with us about NZ, clearly you are from Pretoria if you enjoy Chch the people are very similar – whats that monument just outside of Pretoria the one the ANC failed to blow up, it was the highlight of my trip to Pretoria.
1 Jul 2008, 07:23 am
#911 NZINCHINA:
I baged the Tana Umuga decision. It was John Mitchell’s show though
#914 NZINCHINA:
Does “Carlos blows goats” ring a bell as a crowd chant?
#915 RugbyRulz:
The basis of my gripe is not that GH is that bad. It is the fact that he made mistakes, failed to admit them, said judge me after the WC, then instead of leaving himself went head to head for the job with Deans who was a perfectly good replacement!
If there was no other good candidate then I could forgive GH but there was.
IMO the All Blacks and NZRU have lost a lot of integrity
Aus have gained a good man. He has been both manager and coach in the past (Crusaders and Canterbury) and will bring a lot to the Australian game.
#917 NZINCHINA:
He is from Christchurch. He is now part of the NZRU furniture though. The NZRU that don’t even want to give the South Island a semi-final in 2011.
I get harrased all the time for challenging GHs actions…. I get called a one eyed Cantabrian …. the irony
1 Jul 2008, 07:34 am
#925 church – like chch but pronounceable:
When he’s wearing a provincial jersey he’s fair game but you would think when players put on the black jersey it would be different, Chch is too small to hold a semi, Eden Park even with the upgrades is inadequate.
1 Jul 2008, 08:17 am
#926 NZINCHINA:
Do you think that NZ got awarded the WC because of its huge stadiums!!!!!!!
1 Jul 2008, 08:32 am
#927 church – like chch but pronounceable:
No and clearly Chch deserves a semi but they aren’t going to get one.
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