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, 15:14 pm
#542 Ashley:
My finger is on the, “big red button”,…………is your family clear………
TMPMOE.
12 May 2009, 15:15 pm
Wat gaan hier aan behalwe n klomp rond kyk en hout soek kuk! Ek dog die is n ruggas blog?
12 May 2009, 15:18 pm
time off for good behaviour?
12 May 2009, 15:19 pm
#545 rangerman: almost…but at least its not:
Saffa1: you’re a racist
Saffa2: no, you’re a racist
Saffa1: you’re deragotory
Saffa2: stop calling me names, racist
12 May 2009, 15:20 pm
#548 rangerman: Is jky nog steeds hier op Keo…??? Eks n jaar weg kom terug en hier is rangerman!
12 May 2009, 15:21 pm
#547 CUZZY is BAAACK: Cuzzy, hoe gaan dit ?
12 May 2009, 15:21 pm
Actually Ranger, Severus is correct. The talk on RH is rugby. None of this BS and no there are Kiwis, Aussies, the odd Brit and Saffa. EVERY post is moderated by the Editor and if he thinks a comment is warranted he does so. The site is not fast paced and neither are the answers. It can get heated with the ‘across the ditch flexing’ but all in all tame, well rounded comments. The Ed to my knowledge is a Kiwi gent… so don’t say the Aussies don’t give any man a fair crack of the whip.
12 May 2009, 15:21 pm
#547 CUZZY is BAAACK: Hoe lykit Cuzzy?
12 May 2009, 15:21 pm
#540 Severus101:
fair enough, lets talk rugby.
this match will have quite a few saffas in a bit of a quandry, cos if the sharks beat the bulls with a bonuspoint the sharks have an outside chance of sneaking in.
this would of course mean that no SA side will have a home semi-final.
so the question is do we support the sharks hoping that two SA sides get into the playoff or do we support the bulls hoping they get a home semi?
12 May 2009, 15:22 pm
#537 rangerman:
you will be drinking cane for the pain on sat my boy …. I will be in the car park afterwards enjoying some “venison” burgers..
12 May 2009, 15:23 pm
#547 CUZZY is BAAACK: scratch that question, not bloody likely!
ja, but i am not often here nowadays. things have got hectic of late round here.
how was the congo or whatever hellhole you have reappeared from?
12 May 2009, 15:23 pm
#549 Severus101:
hehehe
12 May 2009, 15:24 pm
Yes yes…..wat nou?
12 May 2009, 15:24 pm
#558 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: Middag K9. Hoe gaan dit my Leeu maat?
12 May 2009, 15:24 pm
Sharks r going to take this one…..check!!
12 May 2009, 15:25 pm
#554 cab: You support your team., top of the ladder or bottom rung. That is what real rugby people do.
12 May 2009, 15:25 pm
#558 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: Het jy gehoor Rassie en Bonzai is besig om te praat!!
12 May 2009, 15:25 pm
#551 grootblousmile: Jirretjie maar hier is n klomp kuk aan die gang… Wie is die werfetters hier op Keo? Praat die mense nie meer rugby hier nie?
12 May 2009, 15:25 pm
#558 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: Nou niks…. ons blog in vrede….
12 May 2009, 15:25 pm
#559 Ed_the_Lion: Lekker lekker. Moet net keer of dit gaan beter. Is hierdie blog terug na normaal?
12 May 2009, 15:26 pm
#554 cab: No contest…have to support the Bulls. Home ground advantage has resulted in 20/24 wins in Super rugby. Biased of course as I support the Bulls.
12 May 2009, 15:27 pm
#562 Ed_the_Lion: Sal nie verbaas wees nie……hys neter as Brock.#564 grootblousmile: Dankie tog!!!#563 CUZZY is BAAACK: Hey!!!
12 May 2009, 15:27 pm
#565 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: Weet jy K9, ek lees net die ordentlike blogs nou. Ek gaan nie meer betrokke raak met ander nonsens nie. Ek dink die blog is so normaal soos wat jy hom vir jouself maak.
12 May 2009, 15:27 pm
#562 Ed_the_Lion: Hulle het sopas klaar gepraat, dit was ‘n kort gesprek….. BonzaiGBS het vir Rassie eers paar tips gegee oor die tight five en toe vir hom moertoe gestuur….
Hahaha
12 May 2009, 15:27 pm
#562 Ed_the_Lion:
sy pa het genoeg geld
..
hy kan verniet kom speel!!
12 May 2009, 15:28 pm
#561 RugbyRulz:
yes, but surely when watching a game you have in the back of your mind who you would prefer to win.
i mean when england play new zealand, do you support the roses or the ABs? stodders also tries to tell me he’s impartial when it comes to Bokke-AB players and games, but the bugger is a blatant AB supporter…
12 May 2009, 15:29 pm
Hello almal.
Gedink ek sal maar gou my gesiggie kom wys voor ek geban word vir “lack of use/abuse”
Hier word deesdae duidelik baie meer rubbish gepraat as rugby.
12 May 2009, 15:29 pm
#561 RugbyRulz:
Agree.
Go sharks!
12 May 2009, 15:29 pm
#571 cab:
btw
what happened to sir stodders?
12 May 2009, 15:30 pm
#569 grootblousmile: hehehe, ons gaan nog die mannetjie groot rugby sien speel. Een van die dae rol hy sy pa.
#570 Ashley: dit is die ding, Rassie bied hom baie aan maar hy wil nie. Hy het ‘n soft spot vir Loffie, so hy kom Leeus toe.
12 May 2009, 15:30 pm
#549 Severus101: true, but at least we are already on keo
#552 RugbyRulz: fair enough rulz. what makes me laugh is that the saffas who profess undying love for kiwi teams (never aussie teams, strange eh?) probably dont blog on that site as they have nothing in common with the kiwis outside of rugby and it probably gets stale pretty quickly.
funny how once you take the team support out, birds of a feather flock together?
#555 gunther: you wish. buffalo is a bovid and someone offered me a whole herd at R15/kg slaughtered and skinned, just two weeks ago. far cheaper letting the sharks do the skinning for me
12 May 2009, 15:30 pm
#554 cab: I received a bottle of brandy out of the blue. So it’s Bulle all the way for me.
Will wear my Stormers jersey though. At least it’s blou.
12 May 2009, 15:31 pm
#572 trupisero: hy Trupi.
12 May 2009, 15:31 pm
#574 Ashley:
lol, still around, but think bessotted with new baby, similar to katman.
12 May 2009, 15:31 pm
#567 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: Mirag swaer what happening?
12 May 2009, 15:31 pm
#572 trupisero: Hier gaan die neighbourhood….net toe dit weer lekker is hier.
12 May 2009, 15:31 pm
#575 Ed_the_Lion: Dissie meer lank voor hy my rol nie….
Bwahahaha…. Leeus toe…. bwahahaha…
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !
12 May 2009, 15:32 pm
#572 trupisero: Mirag djie blerrie f@k@n gemors….Hehehhehe!!
12 May 2009, 15:32 pm
#575 Ed_the_Lion: Hy rol sy pa al klaar hehe#580 CUZZY is BAAACK: Niks nie swaer…..eks maar stil oukie.
12 May 2009, 15:33 pm
#582 grootblousmile: hehehehehehe, ek het geweet dit is jou grootste nagmerrie. of miskien 2de grootste.
12 May 2009, 15:33 pm
#578 Ed_the_Lion: Hey jouself!..hehehe. Jy moet paar van daai O3′s stuur as jy spares kry — ek moer vinnig stukkend!
12 May 2009, 15:33 pm
#577 Dantalion:
very nice, maar jy het seker een van daai reversible-truie wat Pietman verkoop? een kant met strepe, die ander nie. die sokke is a probleem…
12 May 2009, 15:33 pm
#571 cab: I have to be honest, I only support my Wallabies. To be fair though, it must be hard for a person that has immigrated. I suppose if you did so at an early age then your new home would be hard to deny.
I say that because my husband was not born in Oz. He supports the Wallabies all the way., easy when Greece doesn’t have a rugby team of note.
12 May 2009, 15:34 pm
#584 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: ek het so gedink, maar GBS wil nie vertel nie.
12 May 2009, 15:35 pm
#581 K9 the Lion: King of Beasts: faaarkkoff!!hehehe.more daar in julle valley — kom klap jou sommer..hehe
#583 CUZZY is BAAACK: hello robbies…jy afrika getem?
12 May 2009, 15:35 pm
#586 trupisero: reg so, my nuwe sponsors kom binnekort dan het ek spaar O3′s vir jou.
12 May 2009, 15:35 pm
#588 RugbyRulz:
dj spin-a-da-cd’s?
12 May 2009, 15:36 pm
#587 cab: hehehe
12 May 2009, 15:36 pm
#585 Ed_the_Lion: Hel, jy sal maak dat ek in die aand wakkerle…. en aan slapeloosheid ly.
Vandag weer vir BonzaiGBS ‘n nuwe Toksak gekoop…. hulle het ‘n toernooi of iets in die Baai of daar naby die naweek.
12 May 2009, 15:36 pm
#589 Ed_the_Lion: Hy’s bang bonzai moer hom weer…
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