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, 13:58 pm
#200 vindicated: Did they beat the All Blacks in NZ? Did they get record winning margins against the Wallabies? You are in danger of sounding like a Kiwi ever since 1991.
4 Sep 2008, 13:59 pm
#198 BokEd:
hey hey, easy on the praise. The All Blacks have only looked good in the wins over Aus and Samoa. They’ve been pretty ordinary
4 Sep 2008, 13:59 pm
#198 BokEd: technically you have been underachieving since 2005 – your saving grace was an easy path through to the World Cup final – but after that you have reverted to type through 2008 with yet another 3rd place finish in the Tri-Nations
4 Sep 2008, 14:00 pm
#201 BokEd:
LOL 2 wins out of 6 and you’re still bleating about the record win against Aus and the win in NZ?
4 Sep 2008, 14:01 pm
#202 Richie_7: But they have been winning which is where PdV (6 or Nix) will come unstuck. We are setting ourselves up for a big choke.
4 Sep 2008, 14:02 pm
#196 Richie_7: Don’t get me wrong I agree with you – you can spin anything in anyway to proof your point.
Kinda what I’m trying to get into vindicated’s head.
Sheriff used a clever mathematical equation by using one scoreline.
All I highlighted is that your reply don’t fit his equation. It didn’t stop you from creating your own by using 19 – 0 and 49 – 0 or any other one that fits your argument.
4 Sep 2008, 14:03 pm
#201 BokEd: yes all good – I remember you also won a dead rubber against the All Blacks in Rustenburg
And the win in NZ – while it was good to win in Dunedin and all that, really needs to be kept in context
As do the following three games which were the ones you needed to win
4 Sep 2008, 14:05 pm
203 vindicated: Technically you lost on your “harder’ road to the final against WC 03 winners England, whom we beat 36 – 0. Explain that one for us?
#204 Richie_7: From the two bleating teams in the 3N, SA’cans are definitely not one of them.
4 Sep 2008, 14:07 pm
#208 shooter: don’t expect an answer from vindi anytime soon. It doesn’t suite his argument. But you make a very good point
4 Sep 2008, 14:08 pm
#206 adj nm:
Exactly, I twisted the number zero to suit my argument. That’s what i told Sheriff originally. Numbers can be manipulated to act in your favour
#208 shooter:
Hey hey, don’t bring their girlfriends into this
4 Sep 2008, 14:12 pm
#208 shooter:
So SA beat England in the WC, and England beat Aus in the WC, which means SA would have beaten Aus, or should be considered better, right? This is the point you were trying to make?
4 Sep 2008, 14:12 pm
#208 shooter: I was asked the same thing yesterday and I said Australia played poorly in the quarter finals and were rightly sent home early
Allthough I dont know why you choose to use the word “harder” road when talking about England
Are you suggesting that because England won in 2003 they had the right to still be thought of as World Champions and therefore tougher opposition – that arguement obvioulsy ignore the complete meltdown of English rugby post WC2003
Its strange that you would say that – are you subconciously trying to make another point ??
4 Sep 2008, 14:12 pm
#209 adj nm: vindicated only knows he knows very little.
#210 Richie_7: It wasn’t a good 3N for us. in fact, I think it could have gone alot better, but hey, the year is still not lost.
4 Sep 2008, 14:14 pm
#203 vindicated: “”your saving grace was an easy path through to the World Cup final”‘
….just read everything again, because you imply your road was harder, if then, we had an easy road.
4 Sep 2008, 14:15 pm
#213 shooter:
No disrespect, but SA have only had two good Trinations ever. The only thing that changes every year is their excuses
4 Sep 2008, 14:16 pm
#208 shooter: would you like me to go back through the threads here on Keo and copy and paste all the bleating from John Smit and Regan Hoskins during the current Tri-Nations
Do you want me to re-post all of PdV cheat claims – cheating Kiwis in the lineout – cheating Aussies in the scrums and the breakdown
I can also copy the blogger comments with reference to the above
Either you are ignoring reality or you got an incredibly short memory ability
And may I also say that to go back and read all of that stuff would probably be as embarrassing to you now as it was to the rest of us back then
4 Sep 2008, 14:16 pm
#211 Richie_7: Argentina would have beaten Oz at last years RWC.
4 Sep 2008, 14:19 pm
#212 vindicated: Assumptions. Plenty of them. Is that now okay to do? O I forgot it suites your argument.
4 Sep 2008, 14:20 pm
#217 BokEd: They would have also beaten the Kiwi’s
4 Sep 2008, 14:20 pm
#213 shooter: can’t agree more
4 Sep 2008, 14:21 pm
#219 It is just a game:
How do you reckon if you never played them?
4 Sep 2008, 14:22 pm
#219 It is just a game: For sure, but only if it was in the knock-out stage (choke choke). Anything in the pool games and the ABs will score a ton.
4 Sep 2008, 14:22 pm
#216 vindicated: If you’d be so kind. Please do. And remember you promised ALL of them. Don’t dissapoint.
4 Sep 2008, 14:22 pm
#216 vindicated: I know PdeV talks a lot of sh*t but the Aussies do cheat in the scrums. The Kiwis also said so not just the Boks.
4 Sep 2008, 14:22 pm
#215 Richie_7: That’s true that we haven’t been playing great 3N tournament rugby.
that’s why I’m glad PdV wanted to turn things upside down. Weighted winning ratios of 65% per year/games is just not good enough.
We should be adressing issues that will make the Springbok seriously feared team again. Regardless of the opposition. That has to do with our playing style. We’ve figured out how to win the world cup. Now all we need to do is implement a new! game, what we are doing. Hopefully, continuity can be brought about, and at the same time the mean standard/ benchmark is upped ito real fundamental play. What I mean -last sentence, is that we strive to win 40 /45, like the AB’s over an extended period of time.
4 Sep 2008, 14:23 pm
#221 Richie_7: The beat France twice.
4 Sep 2008, 14:23 pm
#221 Richie_7: Assumptions – its okay you can use it.
4 Sep 2008, 14:25 pm
#214 shooter: have a look at the draw – have a look at the seedings – the Boks were in a protected side of the draw
The number 1 and 2 ranked sides going into the tournament could not have played each other in the final – in the end it didnt matter as neither progressed through the quarter finals
Why do you think they have changed the seeding methodology for WC 2011
4 Sep 2008, 14:26 pm
Vindi, do you understand 208 now? after what I explained to you in 214? Would you like to comment on that?
4 Sep 2008, 14:27 pm
#228 vindicated: Seedings have nothing to do with winning the World Cup. You have to score more points than the opposition in all your games.
4 Sep 2008, 14:27 pm
#216 vindicated:
Yes please go do that copy paste thing.
We will wait for you..
4 Sep 2008, 14:28 pm
#228 vindicated: first you say that the boks had the easier route you’ve even called it a protected side of the draw can’t wait for your next spin. This you say to argue a point.
Then you say but in the end it didn’t really matter?
Now if that is not a contradiction then I don’t know?
4 Sep 2008, 14:29 pm
#226 It is just a game:
So by your reasoning Samoa C scored 14 points against the AB’s and SA scored nothing at Newlands. So it’s safe to assume then that Samoa C can beat SA?
4 Sep 2008, 14:29 pm
#228 vindicated: You see it didn’t matter. They were both too kak to actually make it to the business end. They had to settle the 7th and 8th spot. Why don’t we just scrap the whole tournament and just say that the teams ranking 1 and 2 in the world in 2010 should play 1 game and that will decide the World Champion. Rubbish. Rankings fly out the window at World Cup time and upsets happen.
4 Sep 2008, 14:29 pm
#231 Snoek: LOL his favourite – o but only if it suites him.
4 Sep 2008, 14:30 pm
#228 vindicated: And about an easier path. I dont think Tonga, Samoa and Fiji is a easy path. It might be easier to beat them but the chances of injuries (especially due to high tackles) are so much better.
4 Sep 2008, 14:31 pm
#233 Richie_7: Yes you can say that.
4 Sep 2008, 14:33 pm
#237 adj nm:
Not on your life chap. SA would kill that Samoan team from yesterday. That’s why I can’t understand the reasoning behind “SA beat France twice, so we would have beat the AB’s”
4 Sep 2008, 14:39 pm
#238 Richie_7: I agree with you. All I said is based on the previous bloggers reasoning you came to your conclusion. And its a fair conclusion even though you and I know its stupid.
4 Sep 2008, 14:40 pm
#233 Richie_7: Not exactly. We scored 53 points against OZ while NZ could only put 39 points past them in their last match. That means Samoa C can beat the Boks and the Kiwis.
4 Sep 2008, 14:40 pm
Who was the other big teams Aus had to play? Ah either way.
and Vindi, in the land of the blind. the one eyed is king, since you also keep on telling every one how one-eyed they are. so just listen, as your lipreading skills is zero. Aus and NZ and Eng and every single team in the world, their supporters at least, will bemoan any situation or event or events if they are losing or just lost.
Face it, even if you want to cover your ears, some of this so called complaining and cheating stuff, it’s all in the game, and some of it has merit, some don’t.
Fact 1 referees are even more afraid of the physical stuff than NZ and Aus. so we’ve been on the receiving end of some kuk decisions.
Fact 2 The travel issue that you antipodean bro’s always try to reduce to myth.
those are the two top factors (you’ll read excuses) that influenced most of the last few 3N.
4 Sep 2008, 14:40 pm
#234 BokEd: a better idea is to play the World Cup every 4 years as they do – but in addition add a World Champion trophy that is up for grabs on a yearly basis
The team that is number 1 on the IRB ranking log at 30th December is awarded the trophy and a fat prize packet
It would hapefully also go some way to ending the sending of b / c sides on outbound tours
4 Sep 2008, 14:41 pm
#241 shooter: are you trying to justify something or just repeating the same old excuses
4 Sep 2008, 14:44 pm
#241 shooter: I will tell you what also infulenced the last two Tri-Nations – it was South Africa’s inability to win games at home
no amount of travel based bullshit will change that fact
4 Sep 2008, 14:44 pm
#238 Richie_7: I’m talking about Argentina.
4 Sep 2008, 14:47 pm
#243 vindicated: you still waiting for me or should i make my own conclusion
I guess having nothing to say does say alot.
4 Sep 2008, 14:49 pm
#245 It is just a game: you do realise that your argument is stupid?
Using your method I can argue why the Griffons should have won the CC 12 years straight. (Its going to be difficult but its possible)
4 Sep 2008, 14:50 pm
#242 vindicated: That is another sure way to widen the gap between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier nations. That is ridiculous. We should scrap the tri nations for starters. It isn’t working and it is taking the privilege of watching the best teams in the world at their best. If it is recognition that the ABs want for their consistently brilliant results then they can just continue beating all and sundry week after week. No added bonus should be given. That is why the World Cup is given so much emphasis by them and why they choke at every attempt. What we need is to start including the have nots in some way and to play NZ and Oz bi-annually.
4 Sep 2008, 14:50 pm
And the reason you bang on about the World Cup is that when it comes to the true test of a team ability, when it comes to putting yourself up against the best – you cant cut the mustard, let alone the custard
How many years in a row finishing last in the Tri-Nations ?
is it 3 or 4 in a row
4 Sep 2008, 14:52 pm
Meyer is a **** coach. How long were the Bulls wooden spooners in the Super 14. How long? Please. Meyer coaches 10 man rugby and that’s why an english club would want him. More 10 man rugby.
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