Boks must back Butch
23 Aug 2010
RYAN VREDE argues that Butch James must start at flyhalf at Loftus.
In announcing his squad for the Tri-Nations, Springboks coach Peter de Villiers told the media that the World Cup winning flyhalf had had limited opportunities in the incoming tour Tests, and because of this he deserved an opportunity to prove he still had the aptitude for Test rugby.
That opportunity has amounted to 39 minutes out of a possible 320. This while Morne Steyn struggles to replicate the form that saw him monopolise the shirt in 2009. James’s time is now.
Steyn is an excellent goal kicker and is suited to the kick-chase approach that the Springboks employ as a primary means of attack. However, he has failed to consistently display the variation that is a feature of his play with the Bulls and was evident with the Springboks in 2009.
Against the All Blacks in Auckland Steyn took the ball to the advantage line just thrice in 33 handles, with a solitary linebreak. A week later in Wellington Steyn attacked the gain line four times with zero success in 35 handles, while against Australia in Brisbane he breached the defence once in 19 handles. While typically accurate in his goal-kicking (sinking six from six) Steyn’s struggles with ball in hand continued at Soccer City.
Tellingly, just once in the aforementioned matches has he offloaded in contact – a marked feature of the Blacks’ Dan Carter and Wallabies’ Quade Cooper’s play. Carter had made nine play-maker offloads in four matches prior to Saturday’s Test in Soweto, while Cooper made four in the one match he played prior to his suspension. One doesn’t need to elaborate on the value of a flyhalf who creates attacking opportunities in this way.
There are mitigating factors, the most notable being the Springboks coaches’ unrelenting fascination with a flawed, pragmatic game plan. Their impotency at the tackle point on attack and consistent inability to deplete the opposition’s defence through multiple phases is another. And there can be no doubt that his potency is diminished in the absence of Fourie du Preez, who takes immense pressure off his flyhalf through his all-round excellence.
With nothing to gain from the remaining Tests, there can be no justifiable reason to omit James from the run-on side. Steyn’s selection will amount to nothing more than a conservative move from a desperate coach.
James, who impressed with Bath in 2009 before an injury sidelined him, watched the entire match in Soweto from the wood. De Villiers argued that the result could have rested on a 50m penalty and that in that situation Steyn was his go-to man. That rationale is understandable given that Steyn is a superior goal-kicker with experience in sinking pressure kicks.
But the next two Tests must be used to measure James in order to accurately establish the depth at pivot. The stocks were trimmed with Ruan Pienaar’s departure for Ulster, and outside of Peter Grant and more recently 19-year-old Pat Lambie, none at franchise level have impressed.
James physicality in defence will be a boon against the hot-stepping Cooper, while his directness in attack – something De Villiers says was lacking in the second half in Soweto – will add a dimension to the Springboks’ play which has been sorely lacking.
There is no risk in the selection. James is an experienced player, versed in the ethos and playing philosophy and whose combination with inside centre Jean de Villiers is well established. He is also a competent goal-kicker (there will be an insurance policy in Frans Steyn should Butch’s kicking boots still be in Bath) and has the skill to adapt to various styles of play.
James is a must for Loftus.
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267 Comments
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23 Aug 2010, 09:03 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-95: Great Post, that is the right attitude – having said that there is a place for tactical kicking and the All Blacks Struggles to field some of the high kicks but when you are not accurate with your punt it is very very dangerous,as you say much safer to keep ball in hand,
23 Aug 2010, 09:04 am
‘can’t see sh’t for fairy tales’
You are one funny oke skop.
23 Aug 2010, 09:05 am
@Hondo(Hondo)-19: Merit selected players ? Like who WO ? you Pathetic , racist Doos , get a farkin life , Why is Habana now a quota ? De Joughn is the best we have after Fourie at 13 and probably the second best if not the best number 12 as well in teh country !!!
Its people like u that gives us proud SA Boks supporters bad names , You make me ashame to even wanna supoprt the Boks if that is what a Bok suportter is seen as by the rest of teh world , farken racist idiot. Piss off.
On a more calmer note Steyn was not the problem , we played well until the 60th odd minute and then one could sense that we starting ti lose grip , having said that if Habs did not shoot out of line (again) and Smit made the tackle then the game would have been over for the ABS. Fact is even when Habs shot out that try and in by millimeters , so close it was.
Still not good enough though , we should never celebrate a good loss , especially in front of 90000 Bok fans.
Lastly Schalk Burger is Koning , how can people (read Tac) still call for his head ? He has consistently been SA top flank since the beginning of the year
23 Aug 2010, 09:05 am
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-96: I couldn;t believe it, they subbed the 2 best players? Seems to be a habit with our ‘coaches’…though to be fair, Hougaard looked like he was beginning to cramp and I guess you don;t want to take chances with tearing a hammie etc
23 Aug 2010, 09:06 am
@NZMaori(NZMaori)-101: ABs kicked quite a bit too. Used the chip over the rush defense and grubber through the line too. Clever stuff that kept the Bok guessing.
23 Aug 2010, 09:06 am
@Airwell(Airwell)-98: It was a mile forward!
23 Aug 2010, 09:08 am
Ref missed a massive forward pass …. no clear effidence on mccaw’s try ..
Player ratings :
Aplon 6 /10
habana 1/10 – shocking year! shocking game – earl rose II
JDV 6/10
De Jongh 7/10
JPP 6/10
Steyn 5/10
Hougaard 8/10 – brilliant!!! .. january is hond k@k – Soweto boo’ed january when he came on .. made all the haasbekke quite!
Spies – 5/10
Burger 7/10
Juan Smith 9/10 – Killed mccaw
Matfield – 4/10 bad game ..missed alot of tackles
Flip 6.5/10 decent
Guthro 6/10
J Smit 3/10 1st line out = scew, 2nd he took 2 long, missed a vital tackle for final try. Like habana
Jannie – 6/10
23 Aug 2010, 09:11 am
@Atreides(Atreides)-100: “There is no evidence the foot was in touch before he grounded the ball”
Mate touch and go decision,esp off the forward pass, but i have read very few Saffas winging about this, it was very close and could have gone either way. Thankfully The All Blacks scored again to cement the victory, had we not it probably would be a very controversial issue. The evidence looked simunlateous, same time he grounded it his foot went out, but the head on view may have just had a frame a milli-second earlier (super-slow-motion) that favoured McCaw BUT you could not see if his toes were touching the doubt.
Objectivly I am happy to see the benefit of the doubt go with the attacking side – too often do we see tries disallowed beacasue the TMO doesnt have the balls to award it.
One other thing to remember – this decision and the forward pass cost you guys the tri-nations, not the World Cup
23 Aug 2010, 09:12 am
@RugbyRulz(RugbyRulz)-66: lool, i applaid some of the players for their efforts but some are just bloody stupid – kicking the ball aimlessly!
@bananas(bananas)-77: yeah right! You can try and hide behind the ‘revised law interpretations’ but i’ve got only one question for you….
when the all blacks demolished france – the same team moered the boks earlier- by 30-plus points last year on their eoyt, was it under the revised laws? Gtfoh
you must listen to wayne smith when he say the are playing the same way as last year but what has changed is that they’re are far better conditioned & have worked hard to improve their skills sets from last year!
Keo and co referred to that gameplan as ‘headless chicken rugby’. Just because you hear something being sprouted on keo too many times doesn’t mean you have to swallow it whole!
Anyone that believes the all blacks are winning because of the revised law interpretations is delusional!
We scraped through with the skin of our teeth last year in hamilton with the all blacks mounting a late come back like they showed at fnb stadium, that day we got away with it as carter’s cross-kick went out of bounds otherwise we were f*cked!
23 Aug 2010, 09:13 am
@sparticus(sparticus)-103: Burger and Smith are both brilliant, think they should both start intermittently; both are excellent blindsiders. Now when Brussow comes back into the side the only problem then is the 8 man. Spies is being heavily marked so he needs to dig deep, find a new edge or he will be replaced. Verneullen (spelling) could fill the roll, the kid looks ok.
I like my 8s learning their trade at blindside and 8, not retreading centres or wingers. The buggers play enough there naturally.
23 Aug 2010, 09:13 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-95: Hi Skop. You must understand that the style of play that you suggest demands superfit individuals who can cover the field in both attack and defense. John Smit would obviously veto this style of play because it would show up his lack of conditioning and it would immediately make the need for a more mobile hooker apparent for all to see. No room for sentiment.
Those of you who think that we nearly pulled it off with our kick chase game have to think again. The Boks were as fired up as I ever saw them – they all, with the exception of Spies and Habana, gave 110%. It was their passion that made them competitive, but you do not win games on passion alone. Further more, passion is not sustainable. You will see a far less passionate team at Loftus this coming Saturday – it is a mere fact and law of nature.
I said that we will be competive for most of the game and then our passion will pilfer out – it is the way things work.
23 Aug 2010, 09:14 am
@NZMaori(NZMaori)-108: Thanks for the reply, not whinging, I was just unclear about what the TMO said….which is why I asked?
And our TN was lost 2 weeks ago
23 Aug 2010, 09:15 am
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-111: I thought Victor was looking really slow and ponderous too…he’s never been the quickest guy but I think he’s also losing some of his edge
23 Aug 2010, 09:16 am
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-96: Finally somebody with some vision!!
Look at the subs:
CJ for Jannie. Jannie was having his best game in a bok jersey and we were dominating scrums, CJ was nowhere and our scrum lost its dominance.
Danie for Flip. Flip was playing awesome, but I guess this was a decent sub.
Flo for Smith. WTF. If Smith had stayed on he would have been MOM. I hear he was injured or something. Only reason to explain this crazy move. Spies was by far our worst loosie and should be starting from the bench anyway.
Ricky for Hougaard. Another shocker. Hougaard could have been MOM as well. When Ricky came on his pathetically slow service was a direct contribution to the all important last turn-over.
Now excuse me if I’m not seeing something, but aren’t you meant to take off your **** players and leave the ones that are playing well on? If you look at our subs, not one made a positive impact and many made negative ones. Also I am a fan of Ricky, but the guy is currently nowhere. Chilli and Ricky wouldn’t make their CC squads. You simply can’t carry guys like this. Also Spies is the Tin-man of SA rugby. He should be coming on in the 60th minute when the game is opening up. We simply can’t carry the guy for 80 minutes at the breakdown, Aplon cleans rucks better than this big pu$$y.
23 Aug 2010, 09:17 am
Skopskiet you are even dumber than I thought.
You say the bulls play running rugby under slapchips?
Then you criticise them for being limited at test level because of the senior players?
Your stupidity is breathtaking.the fact that you build houses for people scares me.
I wouldn’t even put you in charge of building a rabbit hutch.
23 Aug 2010, 09:17 am
Gunther ….your wisecracks are like elastoplast on the cancer…..
doesent work….just highlights your complete and utter lack of any rugby knowledge.
You the biggest sheep follower ever….a little baa baa white sheep.
23 Aug 2010, 09:18 am
The Return of the Butcher ?!
Talk about regressing, or, in G10-parlance “turbo reversing” !
Desperate measures indeed.
M.Steyn certainly showed far more glimpses of attcming verve for Bulls this season than he has for Boks. I would sooner blame the inept kick’n'chase ‘gameplan’ of Krusty and his cohorts than the player himself, he’s clearly under specific instructions to kick e drugging to the sh*thouse and ignore any attacking instincts.
Butchers was waning years ago and English club rugby hardly reinforces a players natural flair. Backward step, another one.
23 Aug 2010, 09:19 am
@NZMaori(NZMaori)-108:
“One other thing to remember – this decision and the forward pass cost you guys the tri-nations, not the World Cup”
still not good enough by the refs i can see this happening at the world cup and it might decide who goes to the semi’s or finals.
there is no benefit of the doubt like league , had it been a case of the grounding being inconclusive then award the try – but a case of being in or out of touch or simultaneous grounding is a definite “no try” .
having said that i have no idea what habana was doing he should have been covering that area
23 Aug 2010, 09:20 am
Atriedes
It sure was. Nearly as forward as Freddies’, in fact.
23 Aug 2010, 09:21 am
only a blind bat sheep will not be able to identify our main weaknesses currently
2
8
10
and i still feel we need to address the fetcher issue…..Pocock is waiting.
23 Aug 2010, 09:21 am
JdV was a weak link in defence and he did not creat anuthing for JdJ. He turned the ball over that lead to the AB’s try. He also missed the tackle that lead to AB’s ( Mc Caw’s ) try just before that.
23 Aug 2010, 09:22 am
2 and 8 add to the misery at the breakdown.
How good was Bissy and Beast on Sat?
Just dont move fats to loosehead in place of either beast or guthro…..pdv you do that i will puke on my bok jersey!
23 Aug 2010, 09:22 am
habana should go play club rugby .. token player!
23 Aug 2010, 09:24 am
Sometimes you have to admit when you are wrong!
I was all for John Smit and some of the older players staying on and using their experience through to the WC………after this weekend I must admit we cannot afford to do this.
John and Victor must retire ASAP ( let Victor get his 100th). We need Bismarck & Bekker to replace them now for good. Victor didn’t even compete in the lineouts, Flippie & Juan did.
As for the others……..Spies, Steyn, Habana all need to be dropped on form. Steyn offers zero on attack which is very dissapointing.
Once Brussouw is fit and ready to go him at 6, Juan 7, Schalk at 8 and Captain
Fogdog out
23 Aug 2010, 09:24 am
Crikey
Excuse the fat thumbs at 117. I conclude that texting on an iPhone absolutely sucks. That stupid caps button by the A and the Return button too just does my head in.
23 Aug 2010, 09:24 am
@grant10(grant10)-120: Hey muscot, add no.5 to that list
23 Aug 2010, 09:25 am
Grantie
I am a sheep because I say what I think?
Rather than just agreeing with you and your ****** buddy?
Speaking of wisecracks isn’t it about time you called me young lady again?
Or mentioned pompoms?
You sad old ballie…
23 Aug 2010, 09:25 am
Gunther, the Bulls do play running rugby, when their 10 man rugby gains ascendancy. This only happens when he is in his comfort zone… leading on the scoreboard. Nothing wrong with their plan, it works for them.
23 Aug 2010, 09:25 am
he = Morne
23 Aug 2010, 09:25 am
@fogdog10(fogdog10)-124: it takes guts to admit when you were wrong.
You got guts….compared to okes like Gunther.Ratel Brussow and a few other wallys….
I salute you.
23 Aug 2010, 09:25 am
@geroom_sexwater(geroom_sexwater)-123: Are you still crying ala Mrs Smit?
23 Aug 2010, 09:27 am
@Atreides(Atreides)-113: I maintain that Victor is gatvol with the unprofessional setup at the Boks. He is used to better at the Bulls. He tried his guts out in the first game of the 3N in NZ.
@Ratel Brussow(Morne Steyn is under-rated)-114: I get the idea that the three stooges decide beforehand who they will sub and when. They are not guided by the situation on the field. Case in point the first Lions test. What irks me is that these people do not learn. I am so livid at their incompetence.
23 Aug 2010, 09:27 am
mighty ..like i said, i enjoy watching the boks loose – the k@kker PDV’s record, the better
23 Aug 2010, 09:27 am
@Mighty Horua(Mighty Horua)-126: LOL
I do feel Matfield can come back strong…..of all the players he is the most overplayed…..but yes….currently he is poor….and it will be the sentimentality that keeps him there this week…..s sad SA affliction.
23 Aug 2010, 09:28 am
NZMaori @ 108
since when does a TriN table that read NZ 19 SA 0, prior to JoBurg, mean that the forward-pass “cost” the Boks the TriN ?????!!!!
23 Aug 2010, 09:29 am
@gunther(gunther)-127: sorry G
But i find you a bit of a wally….
You a follower….as are 99.9999% of the worlds population…..dont cry, its okay to be average.
23 Aug 2010, 09:29 am
Ratel
Juan Smith was clearly injured.
But I agree our substitutes and their timing was poor.
Rulz
Exactly.
How then can they suddenly be one dimensional when they play for the boks?
23 Aug 2010, 09:30 am
@gunther(gunther)-137: Oh that is easy to explain… S14 aint test level
23 Aug 2010, 09:31 am
Look at our subs compared to theirs!!
40 start of second half start of second half
42 Weepu – sub on
Cowan – sub off
43 Steyn – penalty goal 19 – 14
49 Donnelly – sub off
Whitelock – sub on
57 Dagg – sub on
Rokocoko – sub off
58 Louw – sub on
Smith – sub off
62 du Plessis – sub off
van der Linde – sub on
Steyn – penalty goal 22 – 14 Afoa – sub on
Franks – sub off
66 22 – 17 Carter – penalty goal
69 van der Merwe – sub off
Rossouw – sub on
70 Vito – sub on
Kaino – sub off
76 Hougaard – sub off
Januarie – sub on
77 22 – 22 McCaw – try
79 22 – 27 Dagg – try
80 22 – 29 Carter – conversion
80+1 end of second half
end of half end of second half
end of half
23 Aug 2010, 09:32 am
To be fair Morne NEEDS FDP to make him look good. This is nothing to be ashamed of, most 9 & 10 s are a combo. Morne struggles without FDP.
23 Aug 2010, 09:32 am
@geroom_sexwater(geroom_sexwater)-133: PDV’s record is way better than all Bok coaches excluding Kitch, but Kitch didnt play the OZ and Blacks each and every year! Kitch with the Lions was an average coach (50%). PDV will be remember for his 3-0 blackwash which no coach will ever again repeat!
23 Aug 2010, 09:33 am
Carter…. $hit this guy could function with Burgess. Need I say it, “Carter is a freak.”
23 Aug 2010, 09:34 am
@capebull(capebull)-121: What? Did you see an improvement in our defensive system from the last matches? Ascribe it to JDV, my friend. He organized the defense brilliantly. He cleaned out rucks and played pillar on many occasions – thus setting the offside lines and his communication to other players was outstanding.
How do you expect him to get JDJ into gaps when MS kicks the freaking ball away? He kicked away two balls that I can remember with an overlap on his outside when JDV was calling for the ball. The next phase, after Jean had cleaned out the ruck, MS passes the ball down the backline with only de Jongh against Nonu and Smith – where is the vision?
No, my friend, pick another scapegoat because nobody is going to convince me that JDV let the team down.
23 Aug 2010, 09:34 am
no … matfield & John will be remembered for the 3 – 0 whitewash
23 Aug 2010, 09:34 am
@grant10(grant10)-134: So who will you play at 5 this weekend, genius?
23 Aug 2010, 09:34 am
@geroom_sexwater(geroom_sexwater)-107: I thought De Jongh was more a 8.5/10 IMO. From the whistle he was putting momentum stopping tackles on both backs and forwards alike. His only missed tackle was the attempted ankle tap on Thorn which slowed him enough for the cover defence of Danie.
Burger also deserves better (a 8.5/10). Flip was also good, he passed with flying colours. In Flip & Bekker we have our next generation of good locks for after WC2011.
Habana…eish I was not pleased with him after the McCaw try. But when I calmed down I realised that it was not the first time in the match that he shot out of line… the difference was that the other times (like the momentum stopping tackle on Nonu) it worked and gave the Boks defence time to regroup and the 2 times that it did not work we had points scored against us…
when he times his run correctly, it has the desired effect of stopping the attack and preventing the overlap…
when he gets it incorrectly (like he did on Sat and during most of 2010) it creates an even bigger overlap…
the problem is that he has got it more wrong than right… but still that does not warrant a 1/10. =
23 Aug 2010, 09:35 am
I think now is the time to rest our senior players and start with a winning strategy for the world cup. Rest:
John Smit, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies, Morne Steyn, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers.
These guys are world cup winners and their way of playing will ensure a world cup.
The All Blacks run from anywhere approach makes for good tv but is not the kind of rugby that wins world cups. Sorry! That’s a fact!
I think they should pick the following team for Saturday:
15.) Frans Steyn
14.) Gio Aplon
13.) Jacque Fourie
12.) Juan de Jongh
11.) Lwazi Mvovo
10.) Butch James
9.) Francois Hougaard
8.) Duane Vermeulen
7.) Francois Louw
6.) Danie Rossouw
5.) Victor Matfield (c)
4.) Flip van der Merwe
3.) CJ van der Linde
2.) Bismarck du Plessis
1.) Beast Mtawaria
23 Aug 2010, 09:36 am
who will be remembered for the current 4 nil reverse???
23 Aug 2010, 09:36 am
That’s ok grantie.
I find you a lightweight who changes his views according to whatever he reads in the argus.
In fact you are rugby lite.
I can’t wait to see who SAB chooses for the vocals for your advert..
ABBA?
Milli Vanilli?
23 Aug 2010, 09:37 am
@Ratel Brussow(Morne Steyn is under-rated)-145: Matfield…..its at Loftus….his 100th may just add the neccessary fuel in the tank and fire in the belly.
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