The big debate
1 Jul 2010
Has Chiliboy Ralepelle become a political pawn?
YES
Ollie le Roux, former Springbok prop
‘I think it’s a disgrace that Chiliboy was selected for the Springbok Test against Wales, especially when you consider he only played 20 minutes of Super Rugby this season and is the third-choice hooker at the Bulls.
‘There are so many world-class hookers in South Africa at the moment, with John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis [who’s currently injured], Tiaan Liebenberg, Gary Botha, Adriaan Strauss and Bandise Maku all in great form. Chiliboy’s selection is disrespectful to those hookers who deserve a call-up, as well as to the Bok team.
‘It’s sad for Chiliboy because he obviously doesn’t pick himself, yet he’s the one who has to suffer the consequences.
‘Chiliboy was a great player at age-group level and is earmarked to be the next Bok skipper, but this can’t justify his selection for the Cardiff Test. I can’t even remember what he brings to the field because I never see him play. He needs to go to a union where he will be the first-choice hooker and can prove to people that he deserves to be in the Springbok team.’
NO
Robbie Kempson, former Springbok prop
‘Chiliboy’s selection for the Wales Test was criticised because of his lack of game time in the Super 14 but I didn’t have a problem with it. He’s been sidelined for a long time because of injuries, which has seen him drop below Gary Botha and Bandise Maku in the Bulls’ pecking order at hooker. But keeping him in the Bok mix will help with his development as a player and keep him exposed to the team structures.
‘Chiliboy will also learn from the best players in the country and have the guidance of the Bok coaching staff, who can explain exactly what they want from him. That’s the ideal mentoring an up-and-coming player needs.
‘Unfortunately, he will be under fire because people feel he hasn’t proved that he’s worth a Bok call-up. But if he can make a success out of it, he will win the respect of the public.
‘Chiliboy has to remain focused, work hard, and make the most of his opportunities. He’s a good player with plenty of potential, but he has to make the step up.’
– This article first appeared in the July issue of SA Rugby magazine
506 Comments
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1 Jul 2010, 13:52 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-198: No. Why should it be? I don’t know whether they are, but a safe guess would be, yes? And…? Anything you want to say about starch…?
1 Jul 2010, 13:56 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-200: I think there is merit in what I said.
Same way you think there is merit in picking Stegmann ahead of Brussow.
I don’t laugh at your statement.
1 Jul 2010, 14:00 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-201: Nothing at all in this regard, you are the one who felt obliged to ask why I mentioned “Afrikaners”.
1 Jul 2010, 14:02 pm
@willievz(willievz)-202:
That’s because my statement is not ludicrous.
Rugby really is simple, that’s why we get the same articles- different spin everyday.
Look, saying the Bulls/Boks/Stormers vary to such a large extent in gameplay/approach that they need such a vast gulf in class, form and fitness and style…that is ludicous.
The Bulls rely on “fast ball” and the Boks should more so.
What you said there has no bearing on the anything whatsoever.
1 Jul 2010, 14:03 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-196: do you feel “attacked”?
1 Jul 2010, 14:06 pm
Perhaps this article should be headlined “We desperately need to generate more hits”.
1 Jul 2010, 14:07 pm
And why am I not surprised to see that Simon is the “author” of this “article”?
1 Jul 2010, 14:08 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-203: Context, my son, context…
Your comment:
“is it because Afrikaaners are looking after each other, here I’m referring to the pedestrian Botha and a failed flank forward being picked ahead of young explosive black hookers”.
Now lets do a thought experiment and change your comment slightly –
“is it because Xhosa’s are looking after each other, here I’m referring to the pedestrian Chilliboy and a failed flank forward being picked ahead of young explosive white hookers.”
Interesting commentary you give, innit…
1 Jul 2010, 14:10 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-195:
Alucard reminds me of that guy in the ‘vaste 6′ advert!!
1 Jul 2010, 14:10 pm
@willievz(willievz)-202:
Jammer Willievz, I’m sleep deprived and I don’t care to be tactful right now….
But if what you said was true at all, they we could just as well have had schools for teaching the fine arts of scrumhalf-play in various styles for various students that would match and have the rewuired attributes for that style, and then the various teams could do their shopping at select “dojos”
On a small scale obviously.
The team and management at ANY level won’t even be able to tell you that they wouyld like such and such a 9 with specifics to a T. You can select the best based on his performances within the team he has grown up in. An not relating it to yours in some pseudo-scientific way.
1 Jul 2010, 14:11 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-210:
rewuired=required.
1 Jul 2010, 14:12 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-205: No, I am positively enfranchised… Sorry you can’t laugh at disenfranchisement with me, I’m afraid…
…hissy fit follows by transformation after a couple of 2-step toyi-toyis outside the SARU offices….
1 Jul 2010, 14:16 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-212: your useless jibes are only that, useless.
but keep trying, much entertainment while i’m waiting for this tender to be approved 
1 Jul 2010, 14:18 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-213: They are not jibes, but the truth it seems… Looks like you have already done the hissy fit, the 2-step, and are now inside… You are now just waiting for the dosh
1 Jul 2010, 14:19 pm
@wpw(wpw)-209: or like those ignorant okes that post in the Echo, always blaming Lucas even if he didnt play
, the similarities are uncanny
1 Jul 2010, 14:21 pm
@willievz(willievz)-197: Willie Chilli cannot offer more to a team with his lack of time spent on the field.
Ricky’s test caps hardly makes him an automatic choice as most no 9′s in the world will kick his ***.
1 Jul 2010, 14:32 pm
We are forgetting Maku! He actually has been playing well enough to feel aggrieved that Chili has leapfrogged him!
1 Jul 2010, 14:35 pm
I hate deadlines. It’s as though Father Time himself is conspiring against me.
Bloody old crooked b@stard.
1 Jul 2010, 14:36 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-193: its rather useless to have a debate where the goalposts is being shifted to suit a certain point of view.
1 Jul 2010, 14:38 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-210: Actually, the “top” schools in the country do try to adopt the regional playing pattern – it is a request from the provincial unions so that players can make the transition to senior teams with greater ease.
Whether or not I agree with this is a different story. I think schools rugby is a different kettle of fish altogether and I have very sceptical views on how domestic rugby coaches apply their “knowledge” to a young audience.
But the issues I highlighted is quite straightforward. Chilliboy is, together with Hargreaves and Potgieter, part of the prospective future leaderscorps of the green and gold. Giving them exposure to the structures now (even though their might be better players currently available) will be beneficial to Springbok rugby in the long run.
By 2015, all three of these players could have played 80+ tests, same as with John Smit and Matfield, who will hopefully hit the 100 mark before the 2011 tournament. Experience at test level win World Cups.
Januarie has repeatedly proved his BMT in 3N tournaments and is a logical choice at 9 in the absence of FDP because he has the most experience.
It is really that simple for me. And yes, of course I can be wrong.
1 Jul 2010, 14:39 pm
@KevinRack(KevinRack)-217: Well, thats not for the first time Bandise has been in this situation, the Bulls converted and played a flank ahead of him and Gary Botha returned from wherever he was and was put straight into the team ahead of him, so whats new?, poor lad
1 Jul 2010, 14:39 pm
@KevinRack(KevinRack)-217: Yup, a big nail on the head, driven into the coffin logic of Chilli’s selection… Its all farked up, man… (picture the rugby hippy, smoking his Ellis Park grass!)
1 Jul 2010, 14:41 pm
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-216: Chilli cannot offer the team much at the moment but he could potentially aid in guiding our Bok team to glory in 2015.
1 Jul 2010, 14:41 pm
the question is not whether chilliboy is the second best hooker in our opinion, but whether he is in pdv opinion. as there is no evidence to suggest he is not, this whole debate is a waste of time
1 Jul 2010, 14:42 pm
@mamma_lou(mamma_lou)-219: Yup, its like one of those trick pictures where you get shown a rabbit and get told “look again, carefully” and you see a dog ugly woman…
1 Jul 2010, 14:44 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-222: Funny, I dont recall your support when I questioned Kuun being converted from flank to hooker and Botha being played ahead of Maku.
1 Jul 2010, 14:45 pm
@willievz(willievz)-220: “By 2015, all three of these players could have played 80+ tests”
Eish, maths is not a strong point of mine
1 Jul 2010, 14:45 pm
@willievz(willievz)-220:
I didn’t mean schools pre se.
But I do disagree with you that those you mentioned are but the future (for reason’s other than plain skill). Yes, of course they could be selected and groomed for that- it’s up to the Brady bunch.
But, Chili etc are “pawns” (keo.co.za thinks so. Said numerous times and to takethis article from the SARugby obviously), and Hargreaves is a favourite.
None of these players are good enough. Chiliboy is much better than Maku though. People seem to think Maku is great.
1 Jul 2010, 14:46 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-215:
Congrats with YOUR team’s new coach!! bwahahaha
1 Jul 2010, 14:46 pm
@mamma_lou(mamma_lou)-224: That is a fair point. Same with Jake who consitently claimed that Shimange was his second choice.
That simply is not true.
1 Jul 2010, 14:47 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-226: I wasn’t talking about Kuun…
Now, settle…
1 Jul 2010, 14:49 pm
@wpw(wpw)-229: **** dont tell me, they have gone Roy Hodgson!!!!!
1 Jul 2010, 14:50 pm
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-216:
Dan Carter can’t even kick Ricky’s ***.
1 Jul 2010, 14:55 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-232:
They have!!
An initial transfer budget of 15 million quid.
Who/what the hell can he buy with that??
1 Jul 2010, 14:57 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-232:
3 year contract dude!! THREE YEARS!!!
His Fulham side finished 12 in the league and yet he is still named Manager of the Year!!
The Brits are really a strange bunch!! Mediocrity rules!!!
1 Jul 2010, 14:57 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-228: They are only pawns if the management claim that they are the second best in their positions. They are not the second best.
However, if the management communicate the message like it is intended to, namely to build the future leaders of Bok rugby, they are not pawns.
Who is going to replace the Smit-Matfield institution?
This whole debate depends on how you view the Bok jersey. Should the best 22 or squad always get selected at that specific point in time, regardless of age and future contribution post a specific date? Or should the squad include players who can in future be of immense value to Bok rugby even though they are not necessarily the best option at current?
Now traditionally I would have favoured the former approach. No questions asked. However, we are no longer living in the amateur days where only a handful of tests are played in a calender year, and where global tournaments do not exist.
In a globalised rugby society and dynamic time and space variables, you need to manage your resources so that your combined squad comprise a certain number of test matches. I would say a combined test total of 500 caps should be a benchmark for all Springbok teams from now on and the absolute minimum requirement.
If you brought Chilliboy and Hargreaves into the bok team at the same time as their peers four years later, you would have robbed the extended squad of a probable 100 caps.
1 Jul 2010, 14:59 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-232: ****!!! it is so, I am a man torn apart, now lets compare the next three years of Hodgson at Pool and Rafa at Inter, now I hope those fcuks live long enough to see what a mess they have made.
1 Jul 2010, 15:00 pm
Skrik ek nou my gat af toe die “pop-up” hier regs onder uit kom!
1 Jul 2010, 15:03 pm
@Staal(Staal)-238:
1 Jul 2010, 15:03 pm
@willievz(willievz)-230: we all know jake white did not have final say over team selections. pdv only signed his contract a couple of months after being appointed because he wanted final say(and a better package) so i really cant see the political link here
1 Jul 2010, 15:03 pm
@willievz(willievz)-236: “Who is going to replace the Smit-Matfield institution” – They will be hard to replace but I give you Slangkos, not Chilliboy…
1 Jul 2010, 15:06 pm
@Staal(Staal)-238: lol. Soos ‘n porn site. So **** ek maar naturlik.
1 Jul 2010, 15:06 pm
@XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-226: hahaha you’re barking up the wrong tree, heavens game is an old school colonialist. You expect him to take up cause for natives
not a chance 
1 Jul 2010, 15:07 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-239:
1 Jul 2010, 15:09 pm
@willievz(willievz)-236:
“This whole debate depends on how you view the Bok jersey”
No, even if the Boks didn’t exist, I could still tell you who the best, or near best, or top players difficult to distinguish the best…
It is NOT difficult to tell that Ricky and Chili etc.are not the best.
There is an unofficial quota policy. Quota are also being enforced on the age group level and limiting our talent coming through. So inevitably, we aren’t seeing the best come through and to be the best you have to beat the best, I not happy with a ****** Lions team or anything else in any province, since we’ll be bring ourselfves down accross the board.
Simple fact is: these guys aren’t the best available no matter how anyone spins it, and we also have to content with mass SA incompetancy and reverse racism/discrimination.
Final.
1 Jul 2010, 15:09 pm
@wpw(wpw)-235: **** not only 12th but they never won an away game the entire season, ****!!!!!!
1 Jul 2010, 15:09 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-241: Of course Slangkos need to be there, possibly as captain.
I can always talk of a Smit-Matfield-Burger-Smith institution.
All leaders that need to be replaced. It would be futile to replace them all at once. We will revert back to the Straueli-days of an inexperienced squad.
1 Jul 2010, 15:10 pm
@mamma_lou(mamma_lou)-240: Couple that with the fact that he has been at loggerhead with figure heads in SA Rugby many teams over the transformation issue. That he had the spine (unlike some other coaches) to say:”No, I will select who I want to”. PDV is not a well liked man in SA Rugby. He has stated that he knows that he will be fired, irrespective of results achieved on the field, and will therefor not seek a contract extension after the World Cup. The fact that he’s not trying to appease the politicians (coupled with his 4 year contract) means he has freedom to select whoever he wants. And he does.
1 Jul 2010, 15:11 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-243: Why an “Old School Colonialist”?
What cause and for what “natives”…
Aaah, but we must take up the cause of poor disenfranchised Chilli… Fark, anyone who went to PBHS must be disadvantaged…
Ask any Affies old boy or supporter about the “Boer Oorlog”…
1 Jul 2010, 15:12 pm
@Staal(Staal)-238:
LMAO
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