PdV’s excuses getting worse
13 Aug 2010
GRANT BALL writes that Peter de Villiers’ latest excuse that the Springboks didn’t have time to adjust to a new game plan isn’t good enough.
De Villiers’ responses to the Boks’ three losses in the Antipodes have been eccentric. After defeat in Auckland the referees and the local TV producers were blamed for their role in Bakkies Botha’s sin-binning and the adverse effect it had on the Boks. After Wellington, De Villiers believed his side ‘played really well’ despite being outscored by four tries to two. He said he was mystified as to how they’d lost.
De Villiers peddled the conspiracy theory that the perceived poor refereeing performances were linked to the desire to build up hype in New Zealand’s ahead of the World Cup. But now that some introspection has taken place, De Villiers said the Stormers and Bulls players – who reached the final of the Super 14 after dominating the competition – hadn’t had time to gel.
In late July Keo.co.za reported that there are two different camps within the Bok squad, with two distinct playing philosophies. De Villiers has now confirmed this, saying: ‘Last year the bulk of the squad came from the Bulls and the Sharks, who play a similar style of rugby,’ said De Villiers in a statement on Thursday. ‘With more Stormers players coming in this year we have had to adapt a bit.
‘We didn’t have the opportunity, or in fact the time, to get everyone fully on the same page, which we have now been able to do during this week’s training camp.’
De Villiers’ latest justification for why the Boks have performed so poorly doesn’t sit comfortably. De Villiers is saying in four Tests over the June internationals (which was one more than the All Blacks), they didn’t have time to integrate the different mindsets of the players, but after two days in the most recent camp, everything is resolved.
That lack of time is even being used as an excuse is ludicrous. Isn’t it his job to get the players to gel, and it begs the question why wasn’t De Villiers doing sufficient planning during the Super 14? This only reinforces the widely held perception that a core of senior players are running the show.
De Villiers, like Graham Henry and Robbie Deans, watched the entire Super 14, and from halfway through it was clear the Stormers players would be on form as they had a chance of reaching the play-offs and that more of them would be putting their hands up for the Boks (after round seven, the Stormers had won five out of six, while the Sharks had won two out of seven).
Deans and Henry would have been envious at the talent at De Villiers’ disposal, but the Bok coach sees it as a problem. The All Blacks base their side on a core group of Crusaders, who had five starters against Australia, but the Saders’ defensive style is different to the way the Blues and Hurricanes play – who contributed four each. Henry and co haven’t struggled to integrate styles in adapting to the new law interpretations.
Since the completion of last year’s Tri-Nations, the Boks have regressed and have won just one Test out of six against the top five nations. The Blacks are unbeaten, and much of that can go down to how their coaches have improved.
Some who defend De Villiers argue that if the senior players are in control, they should be blamed, and not the coach. But De Villiers is getting paid a hefty salary to be coach of the Boks. He needs to display stronger leadership.
With De Villiers’ admission that he’ll keep the same group of players for the Grand Slam tour and World Cup and not inject new blood, the coaching staff will have to evolve if the players are to stop falling behind.
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547 Comments
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15 Aug 2010, 22:49 pm
SAfricans in NZ are usually most noticeable by their loud, weirdly accented voices and their 1930s attitudes to almost everything.
15 Aug 2010, 23:06 pm
@Auntie Mavis(Auntie Mavis)-501:
Classic…….kiwi’s in NZ are most noticeable by their……oh wait there arn’t any left, they are all foreigners……….doos comment by a troll?
15 Aug 2010, 23:07 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-474: Morality is always looke at in context of (local) history.
a difference should be recognised between racialism and racism. The first is a recognition of differences between races and includes recognition of ethnicities and cultures, while the latter is the causing of prejudice to a race based on that recognition of racial differences.
Where local history weights te sensitivities (eg SA) then even racialism can be close to poor taste, and any kind of exclusion is bad (one way). Where local history is more mediocre, with less conflict, then sensitivities are not heightened, and recognition of race differences, and even reservation of places in a (minority) team is considered OK – if its for a positive purpose.
15 Aug 2010, 23:18 pm
@Auntie Mavis(Auntie Mavis)-501: How many generations are you in NZ?Most propably ran away from UK . Your comments are as racist as the ones you are attacking.You reeeeaaally belong in the kitchen granny and not on this blog!Go away.!
16 Aug 2010, 00:01 am
Of my great great grandparents place of birth
Northern Ireland x 4
Scotland
Aotearoa
New Zealand
England
Aotearoa
New Zealand
England x 2
China x 2
Dublin x 2
I’ll leave you to work out why I write Aotearoa and New Zealand.
16 Aug 2010, 00:29 am
@Auntie Mavis(Auntie Mavis)-505: Thank you. But now I am really confused.You seem to have a multicultural background .Yet your attitude towards Saffas is that of extreme prejudice and smacking of reverse racism. It doesnt gel. Please explain.(by the way ,you have got me with Aotearoa)
16 Aug 2010, 00:35 am
@SjamBok(SjamBok)-503: Morals aren’t looked at in terms of local customs. This is a global world and morality is now judged in GLOBAL terms. Slavery was once a universal tradition and even the Bible, Torah and Qu’ran do not discourage or forbid it — but today it is globally unacceptable and criminal.
Morality changes as TIME changes. What once was OK, is now not OK — e.g. slavery, cannibalism, caning schoolboys, hanging murderers, racial exclusivity. What once was not OK is now OK: homosexuality, pacifism, rugby players wearing make-up, inter-racial and inter-faith marriages.
And the TIME has run out on racial exclusivity in rugby. It’s an idea whose time has passed, whether in SA or in NZ or in Abu Dhabi. It’s globally immoral.
16 Aug 2010, 00:46 am
@Auntie Mavis(Auntie Mavis)-499: The great chemical reactions require a catalyst to stop two inert substances from remaining forever inert. NZers need a social catalyst to show them the inertia of their racial attitudes, trapped in a world which was appropriate 50 years ago but which is inappropriate in 2010.
But a Sunday Star-Times public poll taken in 2009 revealed that over half of all respondents felt that a NZ Maori team was not acceptable any more. So, changing the metaphor, the ripples of change are already spreading and will eventually swamp your shores too. The tide of racially-exclusive rugby is receding forever and everywhere, including NZ.
16 Aug 2010, 01:01 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-508: quit with the Sunday Star-Times stuff, the only people who are relevant are rugby supporters and the vast, vast majority of global (since you’re concerned with global morality) rugby supporters couldn’t give a hoot about the Maori selection procedures.
16 Aug 2010, 01:10 am
@optiplay(optiplay)-506:
Aotearoa is the accepted modern Maori term for New Zealand.
In other words, I would qualify as a Maori.
16 Aug 2010, 01:33 am
@optiplay(optiplay)-506:
He has Moari blood and would therefore qualify to play for the moari Rugger team.
16 Aug 2010, 03:46 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-508: @TheTackler(TheTackler)-507:
You ae the only one that has an issue with this. Rugby supporters by and large support the NZ Maori team and enjoy what they bring to the game.
Tell me when the last white guy played for Samoa ,Tonga or Fiji. Nobody is pressing for those teams to stop being racially exclusive.
You obviously need educating around racism. You are so off the track its laughable. If you do have Maori blood Hone Harawira does run decolonisation hui for you guys.
16 Aug 2010, 04:09 am
Tackler,
do you know what “whakapohane” means?
Consider yourself the recipient of one.
16 Aug 2010, 04:55 am
@lapoftherugbygods(lapoftherugbygods)-512:
I beg to differ bud. Any team selected on racial grounds is racist. Hey, I enjoy watching their footie, but they are still a racist rugby side.
16 Aug 2010, 04:57 am
and for the record, old Hone has to be one of the biggest racist biggots around. twat of note.
16 Aug 2010, 05:01 am
what is most ironical out of all this interchange between these fellas like inevitable handing out high 5′s to Tackler for his grandiose expose on racial morality and universal logic is they simply cannot see the degree of racial intolerant bigotry peeking out from behind their clouded illogical judgment.
What you generally find in life is those proclaiming to be the custodians of high moral virtue and justice with the premise that they are using highfalutin self righteous logic as their yardstick, to be the most intolerant and racially beligerent custodians of supremist colonial style bigotry on the planet
And this goes for most these two faced holier than though pedantic pale face pricks about the place, those like inevitable (and good few others which for purpose of this excercise we’ll omit naming) being the forefront idiots who wouldn’t know a racist if one smacked him in the face, simply because he is one through and through himself, unbeknown to his high and mighty ego rankled smug faced bigoted haughty holier than thou self..
16 Aug 2010, 05:05 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-516:
“pedantic pale face pricks”……….just one of your many anti white racist mumblings……….you are right at the top of the list. In fact top of two lists, racist list and doos list!
16 Aug 2010, 05:07 am
“who wouldn’t know a racist if one smacked him in the face, simply because he is one through and through himself, unbeknown to his high and mighty ego rankled smug faced bigoted haughty holier than thou self..” skopdoos………talking about himself
16 Aug 2010, 05:08 am
What you generally find in life is those proclaiming to be the custodians of high moral virtue and justice with the premise that they are using highfalutin self righteous logic as their yardstick, to be the most intolerant and racially beligerent custodians of supremist colonial style bigotry on the planet
Praat jy alweer van jouself in die derde persoon?
16 Aug 2010, 05:09 am
SNAP
16 Aug 2010, 05:20 am
@whatever(whatever)-515: Now that I can agree with, but I still feel that the non-kiwi bloggers on here haven’t quite caught on to why the NZ Maori team is a good thing rather than a negative thing.
People like Hone are trying to stir up racial division in NZ and that seems to suit his personal prejudices and possibly political aspirations. Fortunately he is part of a tiny minority. Unfortunately, he is in a position where the media see him as a cheap story and report much of his racial rantings.
@SjamBok(SjamBok)-503: Sjambok – you seemed to have caught on to the concept of the NZ Maori team and expressed it pretty well as I see it.
) extensively on business. One of the things you get to note is how bland most big cities have become as globalisation has taken away from the local culture and left some sort of ‘global boredom’ as it’s legacy. Unlike Tackler, I applaud the efforts of some countries and minority cultures to retain their sense of identity. If this involves some ‘positive racialism’ then lets support it rather than decry it for not fitting in with dumb ‘globalising’ of the worlds cultures.
For many years I travelled the world (incl SA
16 Aug 2010, 05:59 am
let me wonder for awhile whatever and slartibartykoos, what was it precisely and emphatically that forced you to depart the land of your birth like it did Tackler?
What exactly did you find so repugnant about this country and its peoples that forced you almost against your hereditary patriotic will to seek solace and shelter with more favorable social horizons elsewhere?
Could it remotely be that you simply felt you were like a fish out of water in a continent where dark skinned people are the majority and ultimately their social norms and customs eventually will inevitably prevail or what was it specifically that drove you away?
Now conclude for me one more time who or what constitutes a racist and who has tolerance in their thinking or in their heart and who has not.
Let me tell you something categorically, that I have met a good many people in my time on this earth and the vast majority of those that harbour intolerance and ill bred racial judgment in their psyches are predominantly and in most cases white, not black. Obviously one cannot generalize in these terms absolutely but as generalizations go from my experience that is by far the conditional norm and not the other way around.
I know it may be a bit of a bitter pill to swallow but the white European descendant still has, generally speaking that is, quite some way to go to rid himself of the unsavory aftertaste of his exclusive racially influenced social dispensation, its far deeper inbred than most would even dare to care to consider is still prevelant within their thought processes, but whether one is able to recognize it for what it is or not, believe me its fundamentally in many cases in society in general still unfortunately prevalent.
16 Aug 2010, 06:03 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-516:
“What you generally find in life is those proclaiming to be the custodians of high moral virtue and justice with the premise that they are using highfalutin self righteous logic as their yardstick, to be the most intolerant and racially beligerent custodians of supremist colonial style bigotry on the planet ”
You just gave yourself an uppercut!
Hilarious stuff!
16 Aug 2010, 06:19 am
In a perfect world we would all be coffee coloured, almond eyed, robots.
Call me a racist, I don’t care… but I like the different colours of our skins, the heights, blue/green/brown eyes, curly and straight hair.
I love the complexities of our cultures and I do not want generic kids. Hell no.
16 Aug 2010, 06:29 am
yeah rulz the more diversity the better – who the hell hankers after pure bred petrified colonies of self sanctified conviction afraid to mix blood or consciousness? Only those attached to the paranoia of their inherent supposed cultural superiority, or if viewed more closely its actually they paranoid about exposing their inbred inferiority when push actually comes to shove.
16 Aug 2010, 06:30 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-522:
I fail to see the relevance of your ramblings……..people move around the world for many various reasons, love, crime, family, work………your attempt to link my move with something more sinister is pathetic to say the least.
You are a sick puppy dude. I’m supprised they allow internet connections in your asylumn!
Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooos
16 Aug 2010, 06:30 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-522: I have met, worked with, and done business deals with a quite a lot of South Africans who have emigrated to NZ. Even one of my neighbours is a SA family. Their number one reason for emigrating is nearly always crime and safety of their families. There might well be other reasons, but over many different SA people I have talked to this is what is spoken about first.
Years ago when I had a branch office in SA and offered some of the young black (can I say that??) guys the opportunity to work in Europe they listed the travel opportunity as the first ‘incentive’ and then crime/security for when they had families as a 2nd incentive. I am sure there are plenty of people of all races that have different views, but the one you seem to hear most about from expatriates outside SA is the crime.
16 Aug 2010, 06:36 am
I notice the cap fits you most perfectly money-grubber, how poignant of you to acknowlege and notice the inherent condition.
16 Aug 2010, 06:43 am
so what was it the whatever, what forced you outa here, crime is I guess as good a justification as any but in your case what skopped your gat to getanotherlife gondwanaland? Whats so patantly sinister about justifying that?
16 Aug 2010, 06:51 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-529:
The mere fact that I was granted a passport, ……you on the other hand are lucky they allow you out of your straight jacket to post your mindless ramblings, never mind travel the world.
The sinister part was your weak attempt to link the move to racist motives……….poor form, but thats a given with you.
16 Aug 2010, 07:00 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-529: ?????? Something lost in translation there. I am actually a Kiwi who just happened to operate a large international business out of Europe for several years. We opened an office in SA, invested several million Euros in training a number of ‘previously disadvantaged’ people and supporting some under-funded SA training institutes. We eventually closed the office due to issues with government corruption (as admitted by the government so not my judgement) making the business case for further investment untenable.
When I closed the office I offered as many as possible of the ‘previously disadvantaged’ people we had trained positions in our European bases. Please do not make veiled references suggesting that I am a racist or anything similar. SA is a beautiful country, but it does have crime and corruption problems. Probably about what you would reasonably expect at this stage of it’s evolution, but they do exist. It is the only country I have traveled to (out of 30 – 40 countries) and been robbed (twice).
16 Aug 2010, 07:04 am
@aliboy(aliboy)-531:
Mate, heres one for the books, I had only been in NZ for 6 weeks and I had my brand spanking new lawn mower stolen from my shed. Never had a robbery in SA (Had other crime though)……pretty ironic I thought
16 Aug 2010, 07:29 am
yeah sorry aliboy – loss in translation obviously, my #529 was directed at whatever not you. Its admirable what you and your organization tried to achieve and then through disappointment in mismanagement and crime having to pull out again. Africa is not a first world economy or society and doubt it even pretends or aspires to be such yet, still very much in infancy yet growing through its teething pains. What I was referring to earlier was more about inherent attitudes setting people and classes apart on racial or ethnic lines, but then thats nothing new for human kind we been doing that since Adam fell off the idyllic bus
16 Aug 2010, 07:30 am
@whatever(whatever)-533:
My kids had a bad habit of jumping off their bikes and leaving them lying on the lawn. Yep you guessed it, some kid wanted it more than he did. Nicked.
My teary son (all of 6 at the time) made me take him to the local police station to report the crime. The officer dealt with him (buckets of tears)with compassion, so much so that he escorted us to the stolen property room. He asked him if one of these ‘lost bikes’ could be his bike? I couldn’t believe it.
Here I am, telling him to look after his possessions and a copper is offering him an out. My son said that the ‘Mongoose’ looked almost the same. It could be close.
Geeez, I had to step in an say, “Close, but no cigar.”
16 Aug 2010, 07:32 am
@whatever(whatever)-532: Yeah, it happens. Had my car burgled for loose change 3 times in the past 35 years.
There certainly is crime in NZ as there is pretty much anywhere. Where you have poverty (or in some NZer’s cases ‘perceived poverty’) you have crime regardless of race etc. I must admit that I found walking the streets of Sandton around our office a little intimidating, although much of that could probably be related to being in a strange environment with a highly publicised crime problem.
Like many other countries I have visited I was amazed at the apparent disparities in wealth in SA. One moment you are driving past derelict shacks that people call home and the next you are in Sun City or a game park lodge. I guess some might claim this is a legacy of previous ‘white’ policies, but it is no different to lot’s of other countries where the indigenous peoples have always ruled.
You can always aspire to a more ‘equal’ society like most of the Scandinavian countries have, but they are almost all verging on bankrupt because their highly desirable social equality policies are financially unsustainable. There ain’t no easy answers that anyone has found yet.
16 Aug 2010, 08:35 am
r u off the ball? didnt P divvy get cleared of this conspiracy claim? he never mentioned that word, and yet u still go on about it! i think the whole of keo.co.za should go on an ethics course on journalism or are you gonna shout your mouths off about freedom of speech!! that is until your dirty tricks get played on you! report honestly not on what sells, but mayb that is all you really care about, and not the man in the middle
16 Aug 2010, 09:26 am
Logic being fuzzy, rears its ugly head.
16 Aug 2010, 10:05 am
@aliboy(aliboy)-535: I thiink the media play a big role too….I’ve lived in Joburg for over 10 years, and have been robbed 3 times (once a car, twice my electric gate motors) Never been mugged, hijacked or burgled….so I guess I can’t complain! But I have friends who have been victims of far worse, so you do tend to live in a constant state of apprehension, cos you never know when it might be your turn. My biggest issue is that my kids have to grow up behind 8 foot walls and electric fences…they won;t grow up the way I did, always out an about on my BMX. We spent our days in the veld, at the parks, etc etc we pretty much headed out after school and came back after dark, there was never any worrying about where we were etc…my kids are still very young but we won’t let them out of our sight. We are looking at moving to an estate to allow them that freedom but it’s very expensive. It’s sad, for them.
16 Aug 2010, 10:37 am
@Atreides(Atreides)-538: That is pretty much what the South Africans I know in NZ say about emigrating. They want their kids to grow up how they did.
16 Aug 2010, 10:48 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-287:
Er no you wrong as usual.
You glibbly say now that only #1 ranking matters. But conveniently bring it up when New Zealand was ranked higher than South Africa so you can take your usual dig at South Africa.
Come now troll you got to lift your game
16 Aug 2010, 11:46 am
NZ is almost ALWAYS ranked higher than SA, only surrendering that ranking for a few weeks at most before reclaiming it.
16 Aug 2010, 11:52 am
@lapoftherugbygods(lapoftherugbygods)-512: Over 50% of the thousands who responded to the SST poll felt the NZ Maori team must be scrapped. So I’m clearly ver far from being alone. It’s a concept on life-support these non-racial days.
16 Aug 2010, 11:54 am
@aliboy(aliboy)-521: A racially-exclusive rugby team is NOT a good thing any more than cheap slave labour which boosts a nation’s economy is a good thing.
A racially-exclusive team is a VILE thing. A relic.
16 Aug 2010, 11:59 am
@lapoftherugbygods(lapoftherugbygods)-512: ANY white man eligible to play for Samoa Tonga or Fiji and good enough to make their teams is WELCOME to play. None of those teams are racially-exclusive and they pick purely on merit.
NZ Maori is different. It, by definition and deliberate policy, specifically EXCLUDES non-Maori.
16 Aug 2010, 22:37 pm
@skopskiet(yliad)-516:
The unfortunate thing is, you have no idea what a virulent racist you are. If only you had the courage to confront your demons you would be taking the first step on the road to rehabilitation. It’s never too late, although your case might be the exception.
17 Aug 2010, 03:57 am
All things considered why is Tackler residing in a country with, in his words? “A racially-exclusive team is a VILE thing. A relic.”
Odd indeed if he feels so strongly why not move to another country? Answer is easy, there are far more pros outweighing the cons.
The Maori is distinctly ‘reasonably’ logical to New Zealanders and until there is a national referendum to alter the local logic the Maori team will remain. Global influence is of little consequence to the Kiwis, they do not kowtow to the USofA’s navy, so what hope has tackles. Fokol.
I suggest if Tackles feels his logic is far more logical (sic) than the local logic then perhaps he should strike a blow. Picket his local government, write letters to the NZ media, set up a website to bring down the Maori Rugby team.
Tackles has a lot to say on this site, has he the voice and gonads to take on his country of residence?
17 Aug 2010, 06:56 am
@whatever(whatever)-515:
You dont understand what the term racism means. There is a difference between racialism and racism. You need to do some research. Racism is about power and how one race exerts this over another to gain advantage for one and supress another.positive discrimination is another thing all together.
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