Boks to benefit from S14 momentum
31 May 2010
John Smit says South Africa’s powerful forward showing in the Super 14 bodes well for the Test season.
The Springboks beat the British & Irish Lions and won the 2009 Tri-Nations thanks to their brilliant defence. Clinical kicking translated into territorial dominance, while Heinrich Brussow’s pilfering ability amplified their threat at the breakdown.
Officials were ordered to police the breakdown more strictly in 2010, a change rugby’s authorities felt would end the slowing tactics at the breakdown. Teams were asked to adapt, and the Bulls, Stormers and several other teams made the necessary adjustments. Meanwhile, four of the New Zealand sides persisted with outdated tactics and finished outside of the top four.
There’s little doubt Graham Henry would have noted the tactical failings of the Blues, Chiefs, Highlanders and Hurricanes, and you can expect the All Blacks to learn from those mistakes. But will the All Blacks be able to match the Boks by the time the Tri-Nations rolls round? The South Africans, after all, have been thriving under the new laws and will be more than one step ahead of their archrivals come July.
Four Tests precede the Sanzar tournament, with the Boks arriving in Cardiff today. The Test against Wales will be used to experiment with new players and combinations, as will the two-Test series against Italy. The one-off game against France and the Tri-Nations, however, should see a full-strength side riding the momentum that comes with another Super 14 title.
Smit was on the losing side when the Bulls captured their first crown in 2007. The Sharks lost narrowly to the Bulls at Kings Park, and while Smit was disappointed, he noted the effect the win had on the Boks.
The Bulls players brought that success into the national camp, and the Sharks men, despite the loss, were also brimming with confidence and form. Then coach Jake White rested the first-string for the away leg of the Tri-Nations, but at the World Cup, a Bok team packed with Sharks and Bulls players flourished.
The Bulls won the Super 14 trophy for the second time in 2009, and again the success was replicated at Test level in a series win over the Lions and in the Tri-Nations. It’s fair to say that the Boks will be difficult to beat in 2010, especially since the bulk of the team will comprise Bulls and Stormers players. This fact should be confirmed when the squad for the France and Italy Tests is announced this weekend.
The Bok scrum has barely managed to hold it’s own in recent times, but the lineout has always been a strength. Under new laws that favour attacking teams at the breakdown, the Boks should obtain some good go-forward from this set-piece, and as seen in the Bulls and Stormers’ campaigns, South Africa has the backline quality to make the platform tell.
Smit said that while the physicality of these teams has been impressive, the Bulls, Stormers, and even the Sharks, have managed to blend brain with brawn at lineout time.
‘Out of the top five lineout teams in the Super 14, South Africa had three, namely the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks,’ he told keo.co.za. ‘You have to look at who they have making their calls. At the Sharks we had Johann Muller and Alistair Hargreaves [who is listed on the bench for the Wales Test], the Bulls had Victor Matfield and Danie Rossouw, while the Stormers had Andries Bekker or even a guy like Anton van Zyl making the calls.
‘They’re the type of guys that do their homework and that preparation usually pays off when they’re contesting at the lineout. We really are blessed in that department. If there’s ever a choice between lineout or scrum, it’s obvious what the Boks will opt for.’
A Bok side without many notable combinations will have to work to beat the Welsh at the Millennium Stadium, but a full strength side should be too powerful for the French at Newlands. The Boks were bullied up front in Toulouse last November, but after a long European season, the Tricolores should lack the intensity required to best a Bok pack that boasts form and experience.
By Jon Cardinelli
92 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
31 May 2010, 08:44 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-42: The issue with Stormers/WP is depth, or lack of it. It has been discussed to death this weekend.
Bringing younsters through is all very well, and half the team are talented youngsters, but experience is needed to nurture the talent and that is exactly what CJ will bring.
31 May 2010, 08:45 am
Where oh where could Skopskiet and Transformation be?
I would love to hear their take on how average FdP and Steyn are and how badly that ‘super quota’ Hougaard played this season.
I can scarecely remember when two people got it so wrong with their calls.
31 May 2010, 08:48 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-48: I a player has mad SA schools then their respective province have no excuse for losing them….
I understand what you mean, but its a professional level and you need to look at investing in your players at an even younger age….look at the soccer guys they are recruiting at 10/11…I’ve seen the Bulls involvement with promising players in Pta at the age of 13/14.
Remember the really talented GOOD players have the right training from a very very young age
31 May 2010, 08:48 am
Oh and well done to the Bulls. Awesome season.
31 May 2010, 08:49 am
@Shauny(Shauny)-53: sorry horrible english in my last post…
“once a player has made…..
31 May 2010, 08:50 am
Not sure if i must post this… but hell let’s do it!
I have got a few questions today…..
Where are the 60%plus people who voted that it would be a Stormers vs Saders final? Hulle is seker ook maaar net rugby liefhebbers en nie kenners nie.
Where are the “Bulls will lose momentum in not playing full team vs the Stormers” bloggers and news people Dit was nogal snaaks….. how can you miss the obvious that the Bulls were planning for the semi in that off time???? Huh??? They were gaining momentum… ask Richie……. and eat your heart out “look ma, no shampoo Mexted” !
If they played the A team Stormers might not even been in the final….. (speculation – yes i know! 
)
Beginning of the year i read numerously on this blog that the Bulls back 3 were so bad.. Huh?……. those kortgatte vannie Stormers had eyes like Karoo brommers Saturday when the kicks were launched at them…
even Habs was rattled 
…and how monstrous Aplon is as a tackler…. well please tell him that that bus that hit him and went over him was only Hougaard!
Bloggers on this site telling all and sundry how good the front three of the Stormers are, and telling all how bad Gary & kie are …… Grant10 will now have to name his Stormers frontrow as “Turbo Reverse”…..
But please don’t blame the ref…… please….. if you wanna blame someone blame Schalla – who imo is not a captain, never was and never will be a good captain that can read the game and change it when it should be… (and i posted it the day he was named as captain)
Blaming the ref……… SA always blamed the ref when the A4Y’s and Aussies won us… nowadays we don’t blame him anymore… they do…… think about it….
Bloggers on this site telling all and sundry that Vic is a has-been and worse than Bekker and not a good captain and worse that JS as a captain……. yeah right….
As a word of advice…. years ago i saw a Wp team with Bekker, Cockrell, Henning, Hempies, Divan, Carel, Colin, Rob, Theuns, Willie, Calla, Michael, Neill ens ens… they were winning them 5 in a row…….. only later on did i really understood how good they were…
This Bulls team are maybe the best Provincial team i have seen… yes provincial…….
I have made this invitation to numerous bloggers on this site… (and only one has taken up my invitation) IF you really want to know what it means to the Bulls players when they play WP/Stormers… i invite you to the Bulls locker room/warm up facility to come and see the stats vs all the Wp teams in history… maybe you will then understand…. it’s an eye opener…
One never knows … maybe they (WP) will win the CC this season….
I have always rated Wp as the main opposition because they are so good and have respect for their history of wins……. maybe some of the wp/stormer bloggers on this site must also have more respect for what Wp has done in history and not bark their own insulting opinions before thinking it through… and that goes for some Bulls bloggers as well..
I will now go back to be the normal unbiased blogger that i am but will enjoy these next few days… sorry but my mind is not yet at the Bok game… i am still enjoying the final…
Sorry if my post offended you….
Oh before i go… as a joke… why did WP buy Habana for such a hell of lot of money when a set of dentals for Mr Tobie Titus would have cost way less?
eish scary sight that!
31 May 2010, 08:54 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-48: I agree – Potgieter was apparently signed by the Bulls as a 16 year old. But the Eastern Cape doesn’t really have a particularly good team, so a different situation.
Perhaps a draft system for youngsters, with the province where the player went to school having first choice over a player? Or players can only be signed when they have finished school or are 18 years old?
A lot of people say that rugby is a professional sport and that buying players is part of this. It is for sure, but it is only a very small part of it. South African rugby still has a very long way to go regarding the identification and development of talent, and this opens it up to poaching between provinces and also to poachers from rugby league in Australia and teams like the Crusaders.
31 May 2010, 08:58 am
@Shauny(Shauny)-53: AFL in Australia has country wide development squads from the age of 12. These squads monitor talent and it is all centrally organised and run. Very impressive system.
31 May 2010, 09:04 am
@Staal(Staal)-56: LOL good post, you deserve a bit of crowing this week.
I posted on this site that a Cusaders/Stormers final was a possibility (i’m not a “voter” as such), and that it would be a great thing to have the Super 14 final at Newlands. Now that may have been disrespectful to the Blue Bulls as they were the defending champions and log leaders, but I was posting as much in hope as I was in reason. As a fan I reserve my right to be a little blinkered from time to time. Quite frankly, the Blue Bulls played better in the two knock out games the past 2 weeks than i’ve seen them play this year. And they’ve played well this year. They are deserved winners and If I’m going to be wrong, and I’m wrong quite often as my wife likes to point out, I would be happy to be wrong in the instance where the best team of the season has won the Comp.
Congratulations to the Bulls for deservedly winning the championship, and congratulations to the Stormers for doing so well. In my dissapointment I’m consoled by the fact that we have improved much, but have some improving still left to do, which will make for some great rugby watching in the future.
A further consolation is that there are many rugby supporters who feel a great deal worse, such as Australasian rugby supporters or, heaven forbid, a supporeter of another SA team.
31 May 2010, 09:10 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-59: no problem…
yip you are correct… being a Lion supporter must be horrible…..
like being a Bull supporter in 2002 (i think)
31 May 2010, 09:11 am
@Staal(Staal)-56:
Toby Titus….lmao
My take on the game:
FDP is the best rugby player on the planet by a long way. It is as though he has seen a tape of the game before he runs onto the field.
Victor Matfield’s confidence as captain on the field was an eye opener
Heaven knows why the Bulls are all raving about VD Heever when you have Hougaard
Craig Joubert had a shocker. He is not the reason why the Stormers lost – they did not deserve to win. However, he was completely out of his depth for this game.
We have our tighthead prop solution. Werner Kruger was awesome and Gurthro even more so. Beast is nowhere near our no 1 no 1. Gurthro’s defense is aggressive and he gets around the park – then he is a good scrummager to boot.
Andries Bekker should partner Matfield at 4 lock. The way he muscled people backwards and his workrate just does not justify leaving him out for Bakkies or anyone else.
Vermeulen and Louw were very good. I would be a litte worried if I were Schalk, Juan Smith, Heinrich Brussouw. The way all six loosies played on Saturday means that no-one can take his place in the Bok team for granted.
Peter Grant is Morne Steyn’s understudy at the Boks.
The players from other franchises who are selected for the Bok team will have to seriously up their game because the intensity of this game was bigger than anything I have seen in the last couple of years.
The Boks should not lose to anyone this year and next year.
31 May 2010, 09:13 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-57: Yes good points all. I’m not sure that these players (I think they were all at Rondebosch) were not being given special attention at the high performance centre and counselling by the Union. I think they were.
I think the reason that they went to the Sharks is that they were promised senior game time earlier than at the Stormers, where no such guarantee is given. At WP the process is to bring them through the ranks of the junior squads, and then blood them if and when they are ready and good enough.
That’s the part that irks me really. I think that the agents are creating the wrong expectations with players as a whole. Yes, there will certainly be players like Frans Steyn and Pat Lambie who are given opportunities early (both at the Sharks interrestingly), but as a rule you need to develop properly and keep your hunger and respect for the game alive. You need to earn your place. But by touting to these guys earlier and earlier it become harder to not create a bunch of football type prima donnas.
31 May 2010, 09:15 am
Damn, and there I forgot to say what I wanted to say in the first place:
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BULLS
We could not have lost to a better team
31 May 2010, 09:19 am
@GI POT(GI POT)-61: some very good point there …. specially the last line!
31 May 2010, 09:20 am
@Shauny(Shauny)-4: They have the Air NZ Cup which is tougher than the Currie Cup. And in 2006 they had the BI Lions plus the AirNZ plus 3N plus EOYT and they pretty much won the lot. In 2009 they had much tougher EOYT opponents — a Grand Slam tour, duly slammed.
Their schedule is always just as hard, or even harder, than the Boks one.
And they don’t ever melt down on a soft EOYT versus club teams.
31 May 2010, 09:30 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-65: Since when is the Air NZ Cup Tougher than the Currie Cup?
31 May 2010, 09:33 am
@Falken(Falken)-66: Yes, agreed. The air NZ is a watered down version of the Super 14, whilst the CC still has the core 5 teams that competed for the Super 14 in it.
Intrenational duties allowing, the top 3 teams of Sharks, WP and Bulls will look pretty much the same as they did for the Super 14. No way that’ll be the case in NZ. Cheetahs may lose a few players to Griquas, that’s all really. Some shuffles after this S14, with players moving provinces, but that will always happen. These shuffles may well strengthen the overall competition.
31 May 2010, 09:36 am
@Falken(Falken)-66: Since Tackler moved to New Zealand.
31 May 2010, 09:41 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-68: That must be it then.
31 May 2010, 09:53 am
Air NZ is strength v strength in the 8 teams. Much tougher than the Currie Cup on a week-after-week basis. No minnows to bowl.
31 May 2010, 09:56 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-68: LOL well put. Besides, playing in front of at least 5000 fans must be deafening…..
31 May 2010, 10:00 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-71: That must be the tough thing about the Air NZ Cup. Playing with almost no support.
31 May 2010, 10:52 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-71: add onto that the baaing of the sheep in the fields just outside the stadium and you are left with an atmosphere more intense than the Super 14 final on Saturday. And we moan about the vuvuzela’s!
31 May 2010, 11:07 am
Baaing of sheep is better than the chatter of AK47s or the groaning of stab victims or the whoo-hoo-hoo of blue light convoys.
31 May 2010, 11:34 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-74: I take it you heard all that in your time in SA?
31 May 2010, 11:35 am
And John. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Sharks had the worst forward display of all the SA teams!
31 May 2010, 14:38 pm
@Bouts(Bouts)-76:
Not when Smit moved from tighthead to losehead/hooker.
Then the Sharks dominated. It’s a pity our backs are kak.
31 May 2010, 15:18 pm
The squad looks good to take the grandslam at the end of the year, that’s all i’m interested in:
15.) Frans Steyn/Zane Kirchner/Joe Pietersen
14.) JP Pietersen/Lionel Mapoe/Gerhad van der Heever
13.) Jacque Fourie/Juan De Jongh
12.) Jean de Villiers/Wynand Olivier
11.) Bryan Habana/Jongi Nokwe/Francois Hougaard
10.) Morne Steyn/Peter Grant/Butch James
9.) Fourie du Preez/Ruan Pienaar/Dewald Duvenage
8.) Pierre Spies/Duane Vermeulen/Ryan Kankowski
7.) Juan Smith/Francois Louw
6.) Schalk Burger/Heinrich Brussouw
5.) Victor Matfield/Andries Bekker/Johan Muller
4.) Bakkies Botha/Danie Rossouw
3.) BJ Botha/CJ van der Linde
2.) John Smit/Bismarck du Plessis/Tiaan Liebenberg
1.) Beast Mtawaria/Wicus Blaauw
31 May 2010, 15:37 pm
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-78:
U forgot the name of the best loosehead prop in SH at present:
Guthro Steenkamp
-Johan Muller is no longer available,not in national plans.Flip vd merwe has been impressive for Bulls
-Any of Deysel/Potgieter/Stegmann/Alberts can stake a claim in that squad too.
Otherwise fairly accurate
31 May 2010, 16:12 pm
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-78:
No Guthro?
Johan Muller not even playing in SA anymore and out of form, versus Juandre Kruger who is coming back for Currie Cup. Even Flip v.d. Merwe a better option.
31 May 2010, 16:12 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-79: Agreed.
31 May 2010, 16:14 pm
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-78: Some corrections required there my mate.
15. Zane Kirchner/Frans Steyn
14. JP Pietersen/G vd Heever
13. J Fourie/J de Jongh
12. J de Villiers/W. Olivier
11. B. Habana/ L. Mapoe
10 M. Steyn/B James
9. Fd Preez/Ruan Pienaar/F Hougaard
8. P Spies
7. Juan Smith/Dewald Potgieter/Schalk Burger
6. H Brussow/F. Louw
5. Matfield/A. Bekker
4. Bakkies Botha/D Rossouw
3. BJ Botha/CJ vd Linde
2. J Smit/Bismarck du Plessis/B Maku
1. Beast Mtawarira/Gurthro Steenkamp.
31 May 2010, 16:30 pm
@catleya(catleya)-82: Yes, I like yours more…
31 May 2010, 17:12 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-70: Jy praat kak en jy weet dit! Counties Manukau is the Kiwi version of the Lions in the S14. And we all know the Lions in CC is a different kettle of fish! And then there is also North Harbour, BoP, Manawatu and Northland. Strength vs strength! BS more like it! Air NZ only 2 genuine contenders in Cantebury and Wellington- they’re in the mix year after year. The rest dependant on the season the other teams are having.
31 May 2010, 18:29 pm
@John Galt(John Galt)-52: i’m here john galt, what do you have to say?
31 May 2010, 19:31 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-65: B&I Lions was in ’05 (pedantic point, but i know you like ‘em). Air NZ Cup is a bit useless really, especially now NZ lack depth.
31 May 2010, 20:36 pm
During the S14 final, the inner character of many players was on display during and after the game. There is something to the Bull team-ethic crucible where many players have now being hardened and actually improved. These are players you would want at your side going into combat in the gladiatorial coliseums of world rugby. Not due so much to the all round skills/ability of individuals because in many positions there are some from other franchises who are better individually. But rather for the incredible self belief to win and the iron will not to lose. These Bulls truly respect opponents. Not in the lip-service “we are humble” false respect but rather an honest appraisal of strengths to be overcome and weaknesses to be exploited.
). Look no further than Meisiekind whose sheer bloody-mindedness and will in defence has improved immeasurably from last year, Gary Botha who embarrassed the claims of the pretender Liebenburg and Hougaard who is a serious claimant for the no 11 jersey of Habanero (good, keep him on his toes). Slangkos Potgieter is the rugby version of soccer’s man-marker. He did an absolute smother job on the Incredible Sulk in the final. Werner Kruger is now the premier tighthead in SA at scrumtime. Of the Stormers, Brok Harris did himself no shame at the scrum and towered in industry in the tightloose doing the work of absent loose forwards.
Although this team is a whole many times greater than the sum of its parts there are some parts (excluding the more obvious and unquestioned such as Matfield, Du Preez, Spies, Steenkamp and Steyn) who deserve higher honours (They might have to be somehow deconstructed to transfer their undoubted Blue steel to Green
Other than Harris, Stormers worthy of a mention were the usual suspects who played their hearts out but with a severe lack of purpose and unity that their opponents possessed. Fourie, Burger, Bekker and De Jongh played well but were individuals. The Stormers management need to give themselves a good snotklap for not playing Aplon at 15 – they are to blame for the poor performance of a player who has excelled at the rear this season and who would have been no worse than primadonna Pietersen. Out of the losers the only one who I would honestly want in a game of life and death other than the usual suspects mentioned would be Harris. (For that I sincerely apologise for any previous insults.) The rest would be Bulls other than a few Sharks and 1 or 2 Freestaters.
31 May 2010, 20:50 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-87: stop posting such great posts…..you make it difficult for me to dislike you!
Prat!
31 May 2010, 20:52 pm
@grant10(grant10)-88: Prat yourself. Just don’t read if it offends…
31 May 2010, 20:53 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-89: LOL
1 Jun 2010, 08:46 am
Guys,don’t give “THE TACKLER”the time of day.He is a joke who belongs with his traitors at the end of the earth.You just chill out there The Tackler,there is nothing else happening in your neck of the woods,dosile and about 60 years behind the rest of the world.You are a joke!All you have is rugby,what else do you have to offer?Keep quiet down there little boy,let the world champs talk between each other
1 Jun 2010, 13:35 pm
Holy **** Stormers boy, what are u talking about. Guys like F Steyn and Lambie were brought into S14 because they were up to standard. Oh and by the way its not just the sharks that play the younsters, D Hougaard was 19, F Hougaard was 19, J o Connor was 18. F Steyn is the find of the decade, he is going to be the best 15 the world has ever seen. Now tell me it was a mistake to bring him into the system so young.
There are some of you that actually make sense when you comment and then there are these lunatics that prob didnt watch rugby before your team started performing and now you think you are Eddie Jones. Go back to your chat room on iAfica.
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.