Only the best for Heyneke
4 Sep 2008
Heyneke Meyer wants to make the Leicester Tigers the best club team in the world.
Meyer and Leicester’s competitive season begins on Sunday against Gloucester. After his predecessor, Marcelo Loffreda, lasted less than a year, there is pressure on Meyer to deliver in his first season at the helm. Moreover, Meyer wants the Tigers to set the standard in the Premiership and across Europe throughout his next three years in charge.
“My long-term goal is to make Leicester the best club side in the world,” Meyer told The Guardian.
“We should be able to achieve that in my time here. When I left the Bulls after winning the Super 14 last year and failed to get the job of South Africa coach, I thought my time in rugby was over. I turned down a number of offers from international and club sides. Then Leicester came in, a club which shares my vision and values, and here I am.”
Meyer’s vision and values include success via hard work. This is epitomised by the coach’s current injury, where he ruptured his Achilles tendon during training last week. “It was a sort of race. Put it down to team-building. I will be in plaster for six weeks and then see how it goes,” he said.
With these core values in mind, Meyer will only sign players who are willing to put the collective before the individual. “We need a wing because of all the injuries we have: we will take our time because as well as being a world-class player, the guy must fit into the values of the club. Individualism must not come before the team. Every aspect of Leicester and everything we do must be totally professional,” said Meyer.
“It [the English season] will be a new experience for me, but I have watched a lot of Premiership rugby in recent years. It is different to the Currie Cup because it has 12 good teams in it. The English season is tough because three competitions overlap and you have international calls, but we have drawn up plans and we have a very strong squad,” he said.
Much has been talked about the new attacking inclinations of teams under the ELVs, but a pragmatic Meyer noted how sides have to play to their traditional strengths. “We will change tactically, improving when it comes to intensity, skill levels and try scoring, but you always have to play to your strengths.”
Meyer left South Africa having nurtured the best provincial side in the world. You wouldn’t bet against him revitalising a tiring Leicester outfit into the flagship team of Europe.
356 Comments
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4 Sep 2008, 11:35 am
#80 asha1:
Yes asha1, i agree with you, this unstructered approach (a six or a nix) that are preached by PDV is absolutely rubbish.
4 Sep 2008, 11:35 am
#98 Tisme:”WC ranking is based on consistency”
what are you talking about
4 Sep 2008, 11:36 am
#100 vindicated: You are only as good as your last game or tournament…… Woods is ranked 1 because he has consistently performed over a period of time….. same goes for Federer, but on current for in 2008, Nadal creams his arse…. Nadal is the best tennis player in 2008!
4 Sep 2008, 11:37 am
#102 vindicated: Typo, World Ranking
4 Sep 2008, 11:37 am
Hellooooooo rugby guru’s and WP supporters and Guppies supporters & Lions supporterrrrrr….
Heyneke…….. gooi mielies my bloubul broeder…… show them what a true coach is !!
4 Sep 2008, 11:38 am
I’m a great fan of HM but I don’t know if he’ll make it in England.
The “rugby = holy war” method of coaching won’t work with European players so unless he fills his Leicester team with Saffers he’ll have to change the religious outlook that worked so well in South Africa.
4 Sep 2008, 11:39 am
#96 It is just a game: no i dont agree that England were better than Australia in 2007 – I agree that they played well in the World Cup quarter final – but they werent a better side than the Aussies in 2007
4 Sep 2008, 11:40 am
c’mon guys, this debate will go on and on. Some people look at tournaments, others at consistency in and out of tournaments. As SA proved last Saturday, you can be 3rd one week, and second the next.
So if you like titles and trophies, being called a World Champ, a trinations winner, a Bledisloe winner, then keep debating. Or you can just enjoy rugby and realise you win some, you lose some, will go up and down tthe rankings, and somebody out there will always think they’re better than you based on their own opinion.
4 Sep 2008, 11:41 am
#103 Tisme: federer are seeded 2nd mate. nadal is 1st.
4 Sep 2008, 11:42 am
#103 Tisme: you have lost me !!
your logic is all over the place – so im not even gonna try to understand what you are saying – it will give me a headache
4 Sep 2008, 11:43 am
#108 Richie_7: richie, you expecting to move down the ladder again anytime soon?
4 Sep 2008, 11:43 am
So Heyneke is not talking about changing the way Leicester plays or introducing a new brand of rugby?
4 Sep 2008, 11:44 am
#108 Richie_7: yes but the point is – you cant win one tournament and claim to be the best it the world
and not when one other team has dominated you in the same period
Like I say – enjoy the World Cup win – but dont try and make it anything other than it is
4 Sep 2008, 11:44 am
#86 vindicated:
4 Sep 2008, 11:44 am
#110 vindicated: i was wondering when you will notice that. sometimes it’s just better to walk away…..
4 Sep 2008, 11:46 am
#111 Windhond_Sharks:
Ladder schmadder……. You win games, people say it was against poor opposition. You win tournaments, people say it was a devalued tournament. You rank higher than another team, people say there were certain factor leading to this.
So who really knows who is best, who is the champion, or who is #1. Somewhere out there someone will disagree and have an opinion. Lets just enjoy rugby
4 Sep 2008, 11:46 am
#112 Horing: supprised. do you think he would’ve accepted a coaching job in aus or nz? he knows rugby, but better yet, he knows forward dominated rugby. Leister moet aan sy lippe hang…hy se natuurlik al die regte goed.
4 Sep 2008, 11:46 am
#104 Tisme: and by the way – they have changed the seedings methodology for the next world cup – thank goodness
4 Sep 2008, 11:48 am
#116 Richie_7: agreed.
4 Sep 2008, 11:48 am
#118 vindicated: please elaborate….
4 Sep 2008, 11:49 am
grant
i’ve just read mike greenaway’s “why boks ran riot against wallabies” on iol. please bring it here! yes, he’s agreeing with yur point of view … so no need to be afraid of it!
would make for a nice discussion!
4 Sep 2008, 11:50 am
#118 vindicated: How is that gonna help NZ and OZ?
4 Sep 2008, 11:51 am
#120 Windhond_Sharks: it will now be based on IRB ranking positions rather than World Cup results
4 Sep 2008, 11:52 am
#118 vindicated: Okay so WC obviously means nothing to you.
What about world rankings? What problem do you have with that? I mean it should suite you argument because IF you win you’ll be second?
4 Sep 2008, 11:56 am
#121 asha1:
“why boks ran riot against wallabies”
Didn’t read the article, but i’m sure it says that they played with last years game plan.
4 Sep 2008, 11:58 am
#122 It is just a game:
In 2007 it was impossible for the number 1 and 2 ranked sides in the world to play in the final – had they progressed, one would have knocked the other one out in the semis
4 Sep 2008, 12:01 pm
#124 adj nm: where did I say the “World Cup means nothing to me” —– find the text and copy it so we can all see it
If you cant find it – please come back and say so
4 Sep 2008, 12:06 pm
Where in my post do I say that you said it. But if someone goes on and on and on and on and on and on about how the fact that the Boks won the WC means nothing then don’t you think its a fair asumption to make. And that is exactly what it is and asumption based on what you are ranting on about. So I ask you again if winning the WC means nothing – what do you think about the world rankings system?
4 Sep 2008, 12:06 pm
#127 vindicated:
2 words: rope, custard.
4 Sep 2008, 12:07 pm
Rugby World Cup Ltd has announced that the IRB World Rankings will be used to seed teams for the RWC 2011 Pool allocation draw, which will take place in December. This is the first time that the IRB World Rankings have been used in such a manner and the cut-off date for the Rankings will be December 1, following the last of the November internationals in Europe.
“The pool draws for previous tournaments, including RWC 2007 in France, used results from each respective preceding tournament to seed teams for the allocation draw. However, the RWCL Board felt that the Rankings are a more accurate record of a team’s position at any given time and will provide the best possible chance of evenly matched pools emerging from the draw.”
“This was also the view at the IRB Integrated Season Forum in Woking in November 2007 where there was a strong common consensus among participants that the Rankings should have a greater role in the seeding and pool allocation process for RWC,”
4 Sep 2008, 12:07 pm
#126 vindicated: If one of the two top teams didn’t top their pool they could have met in the final.
4 Sep 2008, 12:08 pm
“Ideally we would have liked to have the draw in 2009 but this would not allow enough time to negotiate and confirm venues for the 48 matches and the associated team base camps. The organising committee Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 also needs sufficient time following the pool draw to develop the match schedule in association with RWC broadcasters, and there are other important time-dependent tournament planning considerations such as the ticketing programme,” added Dr Millar.
4 Sep 2008, 12:14 pm
#131 It is just a game: yes thats correct – there was even a good excuse for the Aussies to throw their last pool game
we would have met the Boks and not England
4 Sep 2008, 12:14 pm
#125 Snoek:
yebo!!
but seeing that our esteemed writers on this site are to afraid to touch the subject, i just thought i’d suggest bringing someone else’s view (which coincides with theirs) here for discussion!
4 Sep 2008, 12:14 pm
#129 Sheriff: 2 words – ****, head
4 Sep 2008, 12:21 pm
#135 vindicated: 128 was for your comment
4 Sep 2008, 12:21 pm
I find this ‘who is the best’ debate amusing and all the definitions that go
with it.All trophies reflect various competitions.The fact that the Boks
won the World Cup twice and the ABs once does not imply that the
Boks are the better team over a period of time.If we have to measure
performance of a period of time say ten years one only has to look
at the results of matches between these two rivals and the common
opponents they played during that period and you’ll see that the
ABs were the better performers,i.e having a higher winning ratio
and deserve to be the no 1 ranking team.
The Boks were simply coached by two superior strategists in both
Winning world cups.Coaches who knew to get the best from the
team at the right time,something the All Black coaches have failed
to do hence only one World Cup for the Abs.
4 Sep 2008, 12:24 pm
#135 vindicated:
No **** is the asst coach. PdV is the head coach.
50 + 3 = ________
5 + 3 = ________
Reflect on that. See what a difference a nil can make.
4 Sep 2008, 12:29 pm
#128 adj nm: “Okay so WC obviously means nothing to you”
how about that for a start
4 Sep 2008, 12:30 pm
#137 brentie: Agreed and what they do to measure this is called the world rankings. It takes everything you mentioned into account.
4 Sep 2008, 12:31 pm
#138 Sheriff: a nil ??
as in 49-0 or 19-0 –
that sort of nil ??
4 Sep 2008, 12:33 pm
#138 Sheriff:
And if you replaced the 19-0 with a WC medal, then a 0 would mean nothing?
4 Sep 2008, 12:35 pm
#139 vindicated: is there a ‘say’ or a “said” in that sentence? Its called an assumption. And you know what they say about assumtions. I actually made two wrong assumptions today. The other one being your intellectual abilities.
Sorry to bother you. Please feel free to keep on contradicting yourself. Yesterday I found it ammusing. Today annoying and in future I learn to live with it.
Have a nice day
4 Sep 2008, 12:37 pm
Oh Heyneke…if only you were around to make the Springboks the best team in the world.
4 Sep 2008, 12:38 pm
Vindicated, once again you are going on and on about the world cup. You are a ONE TRICK PONY.
4 Sep 2008, 12:40 pm
#141 vindicated:
You took 420 seconds come up with that.
The wheels are coming off.
4 Sep 2008, 12:42 pm
#142 Richie_7:
Richie
I sense pain in your question, but I’m not sure what you’re after.
Regroup quickly and rephrase.
4 Sep 2008, 12:43 pm
#143 adj nm: sarcasim is the lowest form of wit
“Please feel free to keep on contradicting yourself” –
please show me an example of where I have done this
If you cant – please apologise
4 Sep 2008, 12:46 pm
#146 Sheriff: and in those 420 seconds
I have made lunch
recieved two phone calls
made one call
replied to other bloggers
if you think that my interactions with you are any more important or warrent any more attention than any thing else in my life then you have one heck of an inflated sense of self importance
4 Sep 2008, 12:46 pm
#147 Sheriff:
Basically that things can be twisted to make a point
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