Boks are playing winning rugby
11 Aug 2009
The Springboks have experience and rugby intelligence to go with their physicality, writes Keo in his weekly Business Day column.
Not enough credit is being given to the South Africans. The All Blacks said it after taking a beating in Bloemfontein and Durban. And the Wallabies said it after taking a pasting in Cape Town.
Both visiting camps agreed that it was a darn good Bok side, certainly the best South African side they had played in the last decade.
South African supporters also need to start recognising the quality of this side while they are still together because there will come a time in the future when we yearn for the quality of player wearing green at the moment, the leadership of John Smit, Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez and Jean de Villiers and the no frills kind of wins we have seen in the last three weekends.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers a year ago wanted to tamper with the Boks’ winning formula. He berated Jake White’s World Cup winners as robots that couldn’t think for themselves and said it was unacceptable that the ball never went to left wing Bryan Habana in the World Cup final.
De Villiers’s ego undid him as much as the Wallabies and All Blacks did a year ago. This year De Villiers reverted to the formula that works for this particular bunch of players and he has enjoyed three convincing home wins against the All Blacks and Wallabies. For that he needs to be applauded and not mocked.
Had De Villiers continued with the naive notion that the guys play what is in front of them without any structure or framework the results this year would have been very different. The Boks may have scored more tries, but so too would the opposition.
The dynamic of this Bok side feeds off structure and knowing who does what and when. They rely on brutal defence, the most imposing lineout in the game and a halfback kicking game that can’t be matched at the moment. The Boks are at their most potent when they keep it simple on attack and play risk-free rugby. They are a side blessed with the players who can turn defence into attack.
The team’s greatest attribute is its physicality, but what this side has more than any South African team since readmission is experience and rugby intelligence to go with the physicality. Each guy knows what to do and that is the result of most of them being together for six years.
Neither New Zealand nor Australia wanted to look foolish on attack but incredible defence and the most accurate field-kicking game turned these professionals into bumbling schoolboys. Defence is a skill, as much as attack is, and one of the most difficult skills to master is the line kicking game.
It may not look pretty, but it is effective, and I for one want a Bok team that wins consistently playing to its strengths rather than one that appears to entertain, but merely plays into the grateful and winning hands of Australia and New Zealand.
Fourie du Preez’s ability to read the game and Habana and JP Pietersen’s chase of the kick spells intelligent rugby and not boring rugby. If New Zealand and Australia had players with those skills they’d be playing it exactly the same way.
The lineout duo of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha reduced New Zealand and Australia’s lineout to rubble and that took all the potency out of the visitors’ attack.
New Zealand and Australia rely on the lineout as their primary platform of attack. Against the Boks this was never possible.
Springbok captain John Smit is right when he says that by winning the home games all his team has done is hold serve, and that the tournament will be determined by how many games they win on tour.
There has been no premature celebration from the Boks, but the criticism that they are still short of being the complete side is nonsense. They have shown they can play the most extravagant rugby. Take the effort against Samoa at the 2007 World Cup and against the Wallabies in Johannesburg last year.
When it is on they have the qualities to put on a show. For now they have shown us just what a quality side they are in playing a brand that was necessary to hold serve, and that needs to be commended and not dismissed as players and coaches lacking ambition.
364 Comments
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12 Aug 2009, 02:48 am
Ja, they have consolidate their strengths. Now they have to improve their weaknesses.
12 Aug 2009, 03:21 am
#350 Big Hit: LOL well said – soon the boks will score tries- as soon as the AB’s and Wallas let them (when they realise it will cost them less points- or will it?).
12 Aug 2009, 03:48 am
#324 SodaJoe: You can actually watch cricket there by buying a cricket package from Setanta via DIRECTV, I did in 2007 and watched the Ashes series.
Watching sport on the TVs in the US became a revolting experience now except Golf, the baseball is a degraded sport played by mostly brain dead latino who resemble clones of Arnold Schwarzenager or Hulk Hogan, the basketball is a write off: the NBA finals 15-20 years ago were getting a 20% TV Rating, this year it reached a whooping 3.4%, while the American football broadcasting comprise now of 70% commercials, a great prospect to spend your Sundays.
So, unless you are a soccer lover which I am not, you are obliged to watch rugby there and cricket when available.
12 Aug 2009, 07:33 am
#350 Big Hit: #350 Big Hit: how come the aussies can score two with 13 men and both teams can hold them out–to one try a game — if they were capable of scoring tries they would have but they couldn’t and it showed,sadly they are following in the footsteps of the poms where they know they cant compete in the running game or the upfront rugby where a certain amount of toughness is required, instead taking the less difficult option of penalty pulling and droppies!
12 Aug 2009, 11:25 am
I read this on Will Carlings Rugby Site Rucku. Very interesting to read the perception of others when it comes to the Boks.
I remember the day, not that long ago in fact, when watching the Tri-Nations was like a breath of fresh air, an escape from the reality of the hard, tight and at times negative, rigours of the northern hemisphere game. We were treated to fast running rugby on hard grounds, bonus-point wins, 60 points or over in games, an ambition to attack from deep.
Times have changed. There’s been a revolution. And although I would doubt that Peter De Villiers is responsible for this, South Africa have jumped ahead of the field. As far as the Springboks are concerned, wingers are included in the starting XV predominantly to chase kicks from the prodigious boots of a fly-half and full-back who offer little else to the team. From there comes territory, followed by pressure, followed by penalties, followed by points. It’s a simple formula, and if you look at the strengths of their team at the moment, it is looking harder to combat.
There are few teams in world rugby that would be weakened by Schalk Burger returning to the side. The Springboks are one of them. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they are the strongest team in world rugby right now, and it certainly puts into context just what the British & Irish Lions achieved earlier this summer. But is it pretty? Will it encourage youngsters outside of South Africa to pick-up the game? Will it bring in extra revenue to promote the game at all? I doubt it. Even the first Bledisloe game of the season, though tight and exciting, was riddled with errors from two teams concentrating harder on forcing mistakes from their opposition than forcing a piece of attacking class that’s been on show for years. The next three have been absolute carbon copies of each other. South African power and discipline versus an Australasian inability to counter this.
I hope for rugby’s sake that there are people who know a lot more about the game than me sat franctically studying hours of video, trying to establish a new way to break these overly organised defensive lines, shifting philosophy on how to counter the endless kicking, anything at all, because I’m not sure how things can be changed without further tinkering with the rule book. This may not come before the end of the Tri-Nations, but I hope that by the time the internationals kick off in the autumn, there are enough canny coaches to have come up with something!
To me right now the game is stagnating and something needs to be done, otherwise a site like this may become surplus to requirements, along with the game of rugby as we know it.
12 Aug 2009, 15:31 pm
#355 jdjames: Thankyou for posting something that came from Carlings mouth. A great follow up to what I have been saying all along, the F’n kicking is going to get out of hand, the game IS going to stagnate and we are all going to be bloody sorry for it. Already it is becoming boring – kick.. kick back..kick…kick back..kick for touch…kick for territory… kick for points…
You Bok supporters have to wake up to the fact that your not as good as you think you are. Look at your record for god sakes over the last few years. Two hidings where you have been ashamed in zero point matches, the best win you have had is by two points over the AB’s in three years( prior to this series) your home and away record has sucked big time, always complaining about travel and then when you have been beaten at home theres another excuse. You have only really improved this year and majority of all your points have come off Morne Steyns boot??.. and one the tossers that get on here spouts off that the Boks are on the verge of greatness.. for what? Doing what they should have been able to do for years and years- win at home at least, but the scary thing is that hardly not one of you are admitting there is a problem in the style of win. God sake you lot wake up to whats happening to the game and more importantly what could be happening to your team that is always huffing and puffing over how tough they are. As Carling says, how can someone like Burger become a hindrance in a team that is supposed to play rugby??
This is not about SA winning a couple of games, its about how now all other teams will lay down their preparation to counter the kick or try to pull as many penalties. The day may come that each team will only field two players for a sudden death kick out, no wouldnt that be exciting
12 Aug 2009, 18:26 pm
#356 captain fantail: We shall speak again, come the EOYT!!
Tell Moanin’ Ronan, O’Driscoll and Philips to grease up their buttholes so long
12 Aug 2009, 18:36 pm
#356 captain fantail: whine whine whine whine whine.
love it.
keep it up please.
12 Aug 2009, 22:43 pm
#358 rangerman: Sounds like u have a tape recording of yourselves over the last 6 (six)years in the wilderness, lost amongst shadows of the AB’s, biased refereeing, travel and the multitude of cry baby excuse’s we have had to endure as to why the Boks couldnt…now they’ve found a kicker, well our s#$t dont stink no more..:_D.
It will be your undoing compadre,be warned.
12 Aug 2009, 22:51 pm
#357 Atreides: why wait till the eyot, how do u think the boks will go against nz at home? i think they will be in for a proverbial smacking and a real ‘lets take a good look at ourselves’awakening.
If they dont, well theres the old we can’t travel excuse or we have nothing left to prove ploy, if they do well I will just have to eat humble pie till next year. Mind u cant speak for the Wallies but am sure they will be a different team as well!
12 Aug 2009, 23:40 pm
#354 captain fantail: how many tries have NZ scored, more than the Boks? if not perhaps it might be an idea to get your own house in order.
So now Will Carling’s an expert, I can tell you no one listens to him here so why is he an expert in NZ eyes all over sudden.
Stop bleating, the Boks are the World Champions and NZ are quarter-finalists, that’s just how it is.
12 Aug 2009, 23:40 pm
poppa,
if you are around, i would like to express my best wishes to you and your old lady – keep the faith mate, you are a good guy.
i really don’t think that gunther meant any harm – if he had known the situation i doubt if he would have made that flippant comment.
you are one of the better kiwi posters so you are always welcome back here – from me anyway.
cheers
charo
13 Aug 2009, 10:02 am
#360 captain fantail: I’m sure there wil be excuses….but excuses usually come from the same people every time. I agree, the AB’s are going tobe a much tougher prospect at home, really looking fortard to one almighty contest….and may the best team win! The recipe for success is winning your home games, so in that context both the Boks and AB’s are on track so far…unfortunately the AB’s fate now rests in the wallabies hands. I think they’ll be a stiffer test this time too, but I just don’t see them having the firepower in the end
15 Aug 2009, 11:01 am
The Boks are playing winning rugby; that’s a given
It must be noted however that there style of playing is indeed tedious.
What’s so difficult for the scrumhalf to kick up-and-unders and for the wings to follow it up?
It’s more to me like a dog owner throwing his dog a bone to fetch and only for the dog to wag his tail between his legs if he couldn’t catch it.
There is nothing intelligent in the game plan of the Boks.
They scare off the opposition with their physicality.
Bakkies and Victor certainly look intimidating and are perceived to just about hand out “snot klappe” to anyone who dare to come in their path. However it must be said, that in a recent game against the AB, I was surprised to see how Bakkies actually shoved his own player away to avoid a confrontation with an AB. Well done Bakkies – you actually proved the point that the Boks can mentally mature as well!
Credit is long overdue for PdV – he inherited a Jake White side that can only physically bash the opposition into oblivion. This is a Bok side whereas if Plan A fails then we revert to Plan B and C etc…the only downfall is that A=B=C=D=X where X = infinity.
Slowly by slowly PdV are grooming the Boks to play intelligent rugby i.e. allowing them to think for themselves on the field. He was quoted as saying that (is it now 4 years from now?) the Boks will no longer need a coach. Yes PdV ‘sit hulle op hul plek”. Who ever believed in that ****, that what we are seeing now is because of PdV being surrounded by the supporting coaches and having the best Bok team?
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