Blending brains and brawn
12 May 2009
Heyneke Meyer believes a hybrid of tactical precision and mental strength will determine the victor when the Sharks meet the Bulls at King’s Park on Saturday.
Meyer coached the Bulls to the Super 14 championship in 2007 before narrowly missing selection for the Springboks coaching role in 2008. He then coached Premiership club Leicester Tigers before returning to South Africa to be with ailing family members. He is currently the CEO of Sports Max, a company that looks at the holistic development of elite athletes.
Meyer said he expected the game to be relatively conservative in nature and that it would be characterised by an emphasis on forward play and tactical kicking. He noted the Sharks’ prowess from broken field and stressed that the Bulls must starve their supply in this regard, or risk exposing themselves to dangerous counter-attacks.
‘I watched the Bulls play the Cheetahs [last Saturday] and knew that if they opened it up the Cheetahs would feed off their mistakes. That’s exactly what happened. They can’t afford to make the same errors against a very good side like the Sharks,’ Meyer told keo.co.za.
‘What they’ve done so far has made them successful. I’ve heard criticism of their percentage approach but they’re top of the log with a chance of hosting a semi-final. They must have been doing something right.
‘The Sharks are an accomplished unit who are very difficult to beat in Durban. In the 2007 final they pinned us in our half through the boots of Percy Montgomery, Ruan Pienaar and Frans Steyn. The Bulls can’t allow them to dictate the field position like that because once they get on a roll they’re very hard to stop.’
Meyer said the return from suspension of Rory Kockott would add a skilled tactical kicker to their arsenal and added that the Bulls’ capacity to match them in this facet of play would hinge heavily on the availability of Fourie du Preez. The incumbent Springbok No 9 injured his calf muscle a fortnight ago and is uncertain of being fit for the match.
‘Not taking anything away from Heini Adams and Francois Hougaard, who are good scrumhalves in their own right, it’ll be a massive boast if Fourie was available, especially considering the [tactical] pattern the game is likely to follow,’ Meyer said.
‘He is the best tactical kicking scrumhalf in world rugby, and if you review the Bulls’ season you’ll note that many of their tries have come from box kicks Fourie has put up. He can put the ball on a dime and weights it so perfectly that he gives his wingers enough time to contest the ball. This puts a massive amount of pressure on the opposition. He’ll be a key player if he is fit.’
Meyer did, however, explain that given how closely the teams are matched, technical and tactical superiority would not be the sole determinant of the winners. He said the ability to manage the pressure of the occasion and focus on the task at hand without being influenced by outside distractions – like qualification permutations – will be central to the success of either side.
In recent years the Bulls have often scrapped for a semi-final spot in the final stages of the tournament, the most notable of which came against the Reds in 2007, when they achieved the goal of having to beat the Queenslanders by a 72-point margin.
‘I won’t say it gives the Bulls an edge to have been in high pressure situations over the last couple of seasons, but they will know how to prepare and also have the benefit of knowing that they have beaten the Sharks at King’s Park in a high pressure match [the final in 2007],’ Meyer said.
‘But ultimately what happened before is fairly inconsequential. The Sharks will be determined to beat their great rivals irrespective of whether they are knocked out of the tournament by kick-off or not. You have to remember there is plenty of pride at stake, but more than that, the players will be wanting to make an impression on the Springbok selectors. That’s a huge motivating factor in itself.’
Meyer continued, saying it was imperative that the coaches of both sides have a clear idea of how they want to play and that they communicate that effectively to the players.
‘You have to control the controllables,’ he said. ‘Neither team can afford to wait until Saturday afternoon to decide how they should approach the match because of whatever scenarios the preceding games would have throw up.
‘They coaches should have a clear idea of how they want to play and that should have been drilled into the players from the Monday morning practice already. Players need clear messages so that they can prepare adequately. It’s crucial that both coaches detail exactly how they intend to play from the outset.
‘The Bulls must set themselves to win first and foremost, then focus on getting the bonus point,’ he added.
‘The Sharks will know what’s required by the time the match begins and they’ll probably need five points to book a place in the semis if other results go their way.
‘It’s set up to be one of the best South African derbies in years.’
By Ryan Vrede
791 Comments
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12 May 2009, 07:47 am
huge
12 May 2009, 07:52 am
This is going to be bigger than Ben Hur, bring on Saturday!
12 May 2009, 08:03 am
Bulls have more brawn than brains. Anyone with a brain knows that.
Since the “vote of no confidence against Jake White” the Bulls union is not my favourate at all – it is with great diificulty that I will support the Brawn Bull Supermodels (Matfield, Olivier and co) for the Super 14 final. But can assure you I wont shed a tear when they loose. For the sake of showing John O Neil the finger it is important for SA to win the trophy….
12 May 2009, 08:04 am
History does not shine on the Shorks for this one..that and their present form.
12 May 2009, 08:19 am
#3 Honkie: Dont really need your support Honkie so dont beat yourself up about it
Funny how the BB gets branded with being one dimensional, and still end up higher than their SA teams
If it is a SA final every fan that is not BB fan cheers for the other team, all of a sudden WP and Shark fans are die hard Cheetah fans…. very fickle imo
12 May 2009, 08:22 am
#3 Honkie: so by the way the intellegence of Kockett and frans steyn is really something to be proud about, not to menion Terreblance last saturday
12 May 2009, 08:30 am
Steyn is special with those 1 out of 10 drop goals just as the Sharks are finally able to string together a meaningful attack on the opposition tryline.
12 May 2009, 08:31 am
#3 Honkie:
Bulls will get the result
12 May 2009, 08:39 am
dear keo or roy or whoever is in charge of this (can i safely say rugby?) site
…
i’ve been sitting in front of my pc for the last half an hour wondering whether i should log on today
now
thats where my problem lies
…
i’m not hesitating because of poor journalism (which i sometimes accuse you of) or because here isnt anything happing,
but
because there are stuff happening (and being said) on this site that should not be allowed!!
i, for one, am fedup with this situation … i come on here because i love rugby, love to discuss it and just love learning more about this game. i come here because i love dscussing rugby with guys like tighthead, pissant etc who seem to know a lot about the game and also love to share their point of view. then theres guyus like chch, wallabie etc who give us an insight of how the nz/aus rugby public is seeing things. i seriously doubt whether the mentioned guys will keep on returning to this site if stuff like yesterday keep on rearing its ugly head here.
i would suggest banning anyone who steps over racial and religious lines for an hour or two. yes, it might seem like nothing, but i can assure you if you banned the guys who start the stuff for an hour or two, sanity wouldve returned to the site by the time the returned.
and
if they should come back guns blazing, just repeat the process again (or make the banning a few hours longer)!!
i can assure you,
1. they will get fedup with not being able to post comments
2. you will not lose a lot of bloggers for days because of bannings
12 May 2009, 08:45 am
I’m actually thinking that there will be a top 4 that could look something like this…
1.Bulls
2.Hurricanes
3.Crusaders
4.Brumbies
…….that would suit the Bulls perfectly.
12 May 2009, 08:47 am
No Chiefs?
12 May 2009, 08:49 am
No matter what happens on Saturday, the Bulls are guarunteed to finish top of the South African teams.
12 May 2009, 08:50 am
Lillith, ek verstaan nie mooi nie, jy is die een wat begin het en jou nic verander het, met moet ek erken seker die vieslikste woord in Afrikaans, jy het begin met die naamgooi en ‘mudslinging’ toe jy die backlash kry wil jy “cry foul”….
Niks wat gister op hierdie site gebeur het was toelaatbaar en ek kry skaam vir AL my mede bloggers…..swak swak swak, en ek stem saam met Ashley, onaanvaarbaar…..
weereens wil ek stres jy het alles begin!!!!
12 May 2009, 08:51 am
#11 lilith:
i preferred to ignore it
problem is, although i stay logged on, i do not sit in front of the pc the whole time
you would noticed though, that i logged off later disgusted with what was happening here,
therefore my post of this morning
12 May 2009, 08:56 am
#5 Tisme: plumtree has been trying to replicate the blue bulls ”one dimensional” style, but it hasn’t come off, now the highly over-hyped sharks are looking down the barrel of a shotgun & behind the shotgun are the men in blue, who, through peter russouw have learnt to blend the one dimensional with the expansive, the same recipe jake knew he couldn’t cook up hence he invited another chef to help him spice up the meal…the blue bulls should win this one easy, the sharks are looking clueless by the day & are not playing like a team, everyone wants to shine & be seen for bok selection…
12 May 2009, 08:57 am
Ag come on. I tried to log on last night, only to see this Lilith character post some 5000-word-long list of grievances of some sort. I promptly logged out again and went to bed.
Then I log on this morning, happy to see a new thread, only for the same individual to post the same War and Peace-length collection of who-knows-what.
GET RID OF THIS PERSON. I don’t know what it’s about, but clearly things have gotten out of control.
12 May 2009, 08:58 am
and here we go again…. i’m out here!
Ashley sorry dude you are wasting your time here, its like pissing against wind on both fronts
12 May 2009, 08:59 am
#19 Tisme: Until something is done. NO RUGBY!
12 May 2009, 08:59 am
#11 lilith:
Quit ruining the threads for 99% of us ‘rugby’ bloggers you tool with that garbled, long-winded cut and paste!
12 May 2009, 09:01 am
#15 Ashley:
oh, and before you jump onto my comment of “i prefered to ignore it”
..
because of the fact that i’m not in front of my pc the whole time, i do not know where the whole thing started yesterday (and i certainly aint going through THAT kind of comments to try and figure out who started it!!)
jeez man, i tried reading on that thread this morning to see what happened after i left yeaterday afternoon
and
i couldnt even finish the page i logged off on!! it was DISGUSTING to say the least!!
12 May 2009, 09:02 am
#4 Predawn: What are you talking about? The Sharks and Bulls have played 12 won 6 each in the S12/14. History doesn’t favour either side.
If the Sharks weren’t such mental powderpuffs this year it would be 50/50. The Sharks’ fragile mental state and the Bulls’ ambition to finish top of the log makes this one 70/30 to the Bulls.
12 May 2009, 09:02 am
#17 Transformation:
I hope the Sharks are still in contention tomorrow. Then they will play expansively to try and get 5 points and the Bulls can simply play their normal game and feed off the Sharks’ mistakes. Most likely both teams will then score 4 tries and as long as the Bulls win by 1 point, they will end top of the log.
If the Sharks are out, and simply playing for a win, it will be a tst match type game, with the Bulls probably not getting 4 tries, and thus ending up 2nd on the log, even if they win.
12 May 2009, 09:02 am
#20 lilith:
what do you suggest then?
12 May 2009, 09:04 am
This is my first post on this blog. I used to read and enjoy the rugby and other sports discussions on here, before it became a cesspool of racial slurs and personal vendettas.
I thought of just never coming back here, but then thought **** you, you vile pieces of ****. I love sport, especially rugby, and I would like to discuss and debate it with like-minded people.
The vile pieces of **** I’m referring to know who they are, but they include the administrators of this website, who allow the unacceptable, disgusting behaviour to continue unabated.
Your blog is mainly about sport with balls, MOFOS – GET SOME!!
12 May 2009, 09:05 am
#24 Spooner:
not so sure
..
if the sharks are in with a shot come kick-off on saturday,
they’ll be very difficult to beat!!
12 May 2009, 09:06 am
#17 Transformation: Dont really agree with you on all points, Sharks are leaderless at the mo, Smith is not getting enough game time and Muller cant seem to control his troops although I rate him, but second to Vic and Bekker. In a nutshell the sharks are playing like individuals and not for the team, the “team family” Heyneke drilled into the bulls is what is needed forthe sharks
It takes a brave man like JW to admit his short commings and get another coach like Eddie moans to help
12 May 2009, 09:06 am
#16 lilith: gaan kyk bietjie wanneer laas het ek geblog, kry nie tyd nie….netso kan almal al jou stront wat jy kwytraak post, 6 van die een en halfdosyn van die ander…..
ek gaan ok nie nou met jou in ‘n gesprek betrokke raak nie…..ek voel net jy het alles begin en dan draai jy om en wil jou ogies uithuil omdat hulle durf terugveg en nou maak jy dit sommer ‘n seksuele abuse of whatever…..as jy dit begin en stook en POOES in jou nic sit, kan jy jou nie soos ‘n reine dame hier nouprobeer gedra nie, dis net soos vrouens wat hulle mans slaan en dan die dag wat hy terug slaan is hy die abuser……..
Anyway ek is nou klaar met die simpel site
12 May 2009, 09:06 am
GET RID OF HATER/LILITH PLEASE.
12 May 2009, 09:07 am
im not even going into what happened yesterday….
Lets be honest guys, as much as id love to see them in the semis, the sharks are not going to make it.. I hope the bulls get the win and stay top of the log, because no one in world rugby is going to come to loftus in a semi final or final and beat us.. excuse the arrogance, but the bulls have alot of experience now, and to finally get a semi and final at loftus is huge! Bulls will win their 2nd super 14!
12 May 2009, 09:09 am
#23 lilith:
Little Rebel without a cause… I could care less… there are other blogs for us rugby punters… see you on the screen in your All Blacks jumper booing as the likes of Beast trundles over the try-line against the Lions… your pap-sak toting mob in tow… all frothing at the mouth… eye’s glazed… it aint a pretty sight but as the score-board ticks over and the Springbok’s score the series winning try… it’s really quite inconsequential to us fans…
So blabber on by all means…
12 May 2009, 09:09 am
#31 lilith: dont start, we dont care anymore…
12 May 2009, 09:10 am
AND THE SAME GOES FOR THE RACIST IDIOTS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE TO LILITH.
12 May 2009, 09:11 am
#13 Tacitus: bar major miracle happens, i.e., combining of;
Bulls lose and get zero
AND
Chiefs get at least 1 point
AND
Canes get at least 3 points
AND
Saders get 5 points AND sum ot their winning margin and Bulls losing margin is 36 or more
AND
Brumbies get 5 points AND sum of their winning margin and Bulls losing margin is 58 or more.
12 May 2009, 09:11 am
I vote for a limit on the length of posts.
12 May 2009, 09:11 am
Screw this I am not even going to browse this site anymore.
12 May 2009, 09:13 am
lillith
ek sien j het ñ comment van my ook tussen die ander posts, maar nie die post waarop ek gereageer het nie!! sal jy omgee om dit ook hierheen te bring?
205. Ashley :
May 11th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
#198 Lang Lip Lilith:
nou vi’ wat dra djy sukke goed?
12 May 2009, 09:14 am
#36 Spooner:
agree!!
12 May 2009, 09:15 am
#11 lilith:
Get over yourself.
Whilst I agree these comments were really not justified, every time I log on and you are commenting, it is never about rugby, but seemingly to wind everybody up.
i myself, go to another story or just log off when I see your name. I am sure there are many others that do so.
Talk rugby or go elsewhere,please.
12 May 2009, 09:17 am
#41 lilith: please stop posting rubbish… no one is reading it… ur just making this unpleasant for everyone!
12 May 2009, 09:17 am
Don’t answer the cnuts emails.
12 May 2009, 09:23 am
Please somebody ban these folks so we can get on and talk rugby. Any comment that contains inflammatory language should be prohibited and both parties are to blame in this instance i.e. the instigator and the one reacting. This is not the kind of Saffa I want to be associated with.
12 May 2009, 09:23 am
Why the hell do you guys have to clog up the site with this bulls&1t.
I think this sort of thing should be banned and that people should be flagged for this. It really is like a type of spam.
12 May 2009, 09:24 am
#50 lilith: ok but we get the point… its over! move on.. life is too short to worry
12 May 2009, 09:24 am
lilith/hater – we are taking action on this! All new registrations have been stopped till the clean up is done.
12 May 2009, 09:25 am
#52 lilith:
Ups yours cretin. Go away.
12 May 2009, 09:25 am
#53 Harlequin: i know, its ridiculous… we cant even come on to this site and talk about rugby anymore…
12 May 2009, 09:25 am
Hater/Lilith
Why do you always play the poor little race victim? You bring this ALL upon yourself with your racially motivated jibes and insults. You only have yourself to blame, so stop playing the ubiquitous race card.
12 May 2009, 09:27 am
how do u guys think the log standings will end up??
my prediction :
bulls
chiefs
hurricanes
crusaders
12 May 2009, 09:27 am
#53 Harlequin: Hater has already been banned before. There is nothing stopping her just coming back under a new nick, ala Lilith. That’s the problem with this site.
12 May 2009, 09:28 am
#60 ray-bulls_fan:
No Chiefs?
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