sure terblanche has made a good comeback. he provides solidarity and gives guys around him a lot of confidence. i would however stick with jantjies, and i think the coach will stick with him too, and possibly be a similar case of jp’s poor prov and super form and then striking hot for test level. jantjies i feel needs to be given the torch and we just gotta believe in him. dropping him now for a player who will only serve 1 last season in bok colours is hardly a step forward. jantjies will be prime age for 15 come next world cup. his maturity and presence then with the experience over these next few years will be vital. i reckon you put faith back in him.

steyn at most is cover for jdv at 12. possible bench cover at 15/10, but only if injuries occur. the last few weeks of seeing him at 10 for the sharks proves the kid has skill, no doubt about that, but also proves he doesnt have the game right now to play 10. defensive lines like the crusaders only needed one player to push up quickly and the defenders in the inside channels to come up slower to convince steyn there was a gap to exploit by stepping inside. he fell for it over and over again, and he didnt seem capable of identifying this strategy and allowing his outside backs to get fluid ball. if steyn is going to be encouraged to remain an instinctive player the boks will need him to be surrounded by more astute ball players to give steyn the ball when its right (@12) and therefor put him positions to let his instinct run wild without negative effects.

i do like nokwe too. for me its either him or chavanga. both provide electrifying speed and finishing ability, and both at this time still bring defensive frailties. but i cant look past keep our wing combination intact for Lions tour.

Expect the rugby rules to change again soon to make it more of a certainty that attacking teams get their ball back from a ruck. This means that teams will prefer to run more and kick less, and will make Habana useful at fullback. the current uncertainty means that teams prefer to kick and chase, which is ruining rugby as a spectacle. I dont like the aerial ping pong -nobody does- too much like Aussie rules football!

Terblanch is good, but getting old. Zane is good and shows promise, but is still not as fast with a bit of space to run in. Good off the bench.

For the current rules, it just makes the most sense to have Steyn at 15, to slot drop goals from the halfway line every time that they kick the ball in field on defence. It is REALLY stupid not to use this option – really easy points that no-one can match! Even if he only slots 1 in 5, this happens many times a game. We need to play the percentages cleverly.

Then, when they start kicking the ball out, we get a good attacking platform in their half. If they kick it out directly after passing back, we get an even better attacking platform.

But for now, 13 is probably best suited for Hanbana with is drop in speed, his reading of the games and intercepts (look what JdV did from 13 with his intercepts). His pace wil also make space on his outside for Nokwe, since opposition will stillneed plenty of manpower to mark him.

He does make finishing look effortless though.

He is blitz vinnig, but he is a known entity now, and they know if they crowd him he crabs sideways.

You could see Nokwe surge past him in the first few metres, but not enough in the long run to get past him totally.and let me make this clear: Nokwe is BLOODY fast.

Ruan needs to own the position for ever. (I hope he is doing a LOT of practice kicking). Butch should stay in retirement.

And Smit is a 2. CJ or BJ at 3. Simple.

Number 8 – and loosies in general we have plenty. Although Piet Snor might just have to get used to Schalk not being an opensider.

It seems more technique to me.

Maybe Buck can give him a lesson or 2.

fisrt of habs is a better all round player ,nokwe scores lucky tries habana scored an intercept under tremendous pressure with an overlap and he still pulled it off with a textbook hand off !

secondly the cheetahs prefer to give the ball out wide to their dangerman nokwe whilst moren steyn rather prefers to kick or give it to the bruiser forwards .

then theres defence HABS has nade 31 tackles compared to nokwes 12 enough said !!

at present you are making tackles the same way someone like brent russell or other smaller guys make hits, by just trying to get your man to the ground. that is not good enough for an 8. every tackle is an opportunity to impact the situation at ruck time.

as Chopper would say, “harden the eff up!”

This year we should have asked for the S14 to start a week or two early. As we have the Lions tour staring so soon after the S14. Wish S14 ended this year mid May. Would have given players a rest before starting to train for the Lions series. Going to be tough. By the time we play 3N we will be dead on our feet. Far too much rugby being played. One tourney finishes and the next starts. Crazy. Need breaks before each tourney.

Jonahs whole career – prior to his Test debut vs France, on the wing – was at no8.

Fantastic coverage of Jonah playing 1st XV rugby, swatting guys off like flies. Literally. He was no8 for NZ Seondary Schoolboys for 2/3yrs.

#33 Tacitus:

Thats really interesting, Makes sense, re his anticipation. Quick but not lightning. But lightning in the top 2 inches.

Similarly I like Dougie Howlett. No sidestep or power like S.Williams or Jonah but seriously serially concentrating, ready to pounce on every opportunity. Similarly, in that way, to Habana.

I still put Habana as the best wing around altho his form this year is surely just building. Surely ?!

I honestly believe we would’ve won on Saturday if we had Nokwe instead of Ndungane. I still can’t get over how Odwa failed to score a try with no-one to beat! Jeez even Demas wouldn’t have screwed up so badly. Why didn’t he just dive for the ball? Useless!

Vulindlu must start in place of Odwa from now on, he’s inexperienced but it just can’t get any worse than Saturday’s performance! I don’t think you can blame the Sharks lose solely on Steyn, Ndungane should also take responsibility as well as Pietersen because he should’ve picked up that ball rather than toeing it down field…eish!

anyway, nokwe isnt the first player deemed not good enough in the cape … the list of such players who achieved success elsewhere is long
therefore my reason for describing them (wp coaches, decision makers etc)
as
c*nts!!

#70 Ashley:
must say tho, nokwe looks a completely different player this year and could be the real deal, whereas before he just looked too uncertain and fragile. he could be used as a real attacking weapon especially if he’s confidence is boulstered even more.