Imminent boom or sad burial?
22 Sep 2010
RYAN VREDE wonders if Bjorn Basson will develop into a world-class wing at the Bulls or bomb like some of their recent backline recruits.
On Wednesday the Bulls announced the wing’s signing from Griquas on a two-year deal that will keep him at Loftus until October 2012.
On the surface it appears to be an excellent acquisition. Basson has the pace to trouble defences, and will improve his strength and conditioning under Basil Carzis at the Bulls, amplifying his threat.
While Francois Hougaard adequately filled the void left by Bryan Habana on the wing in 2010, Basson’s arrival offers him the opportunity to play more regularly at scrumhalf – a boon for the Bulls and Springboks.
However, whether Basson elevates his play in Pretoria and in doing so increases the potency of the side, or whether he descends into a maze of mediocrity, remains to be seen.
Undoubtedly, the Bulls hope to have purchased the V6 that was on the showroom floor in Kimberley, with ambitions of souping up their investment.
They’ll have to, because they’ve purchased too many meek 1.4s in recent years.
Topping that list is Jaco Pretorius, who, in three seasons at the Bulls, has failed to replicate the superb form he showed for the Lions in 2006 and 2007.
Zane Kirchner is another who arrived from Griquas promising much, but delivering little beyond the basics. In keeping with the motoring metaphor, he’s been like a Toyota Corolla, unfailingly reliable, but hardly a wet-your-pants ride.
Both will dangle their Super Rugby and Currie Cup medals to refute the suggestion that they have been ordinary, the former’s case further supported by his Springbok call-ups in 2009 and 2010. But both were supporting cast in those domestic triumphs, and Kirchner’s limitations were brutally exposed at Test level, an assertion supported by his subsequent axing.
Basson must buck that worrying trend, and the Bulls, through their game plan, must maximise his immense potential, lest Loftus develops a reputation for being the place talented backline players go to die.
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105 Comments
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22 Sep 2010, 15:21 pm
I think he runs well. Always has. not sure why he hasn’t kicked on to the next level though.
22 Sep 2010, 15:26 pm
Zane plays kuk bottom line..the bulls can only produce 9 & 10′s…rest of the backline they buy
22 Sep 2010, 15:28 pm
Coherence – 45th? And he’s our supposed Bok fullback? Farkalaka fella, my aunty mabel is a better fullback.
22 Sep 2010, 15:32 pm
@StormersB: Zane is a tad to slow for international level
22 Sep 2010, 15:35 pm
However he would outpace Stephan “Bloodbrother” Dippenaar
22 Sep 2010, 15:36 pm
Jaco Taute also seems to play in SlowMo
22 Sep 2010, 15:38 pm
Might be. He seems a yard off the pace lately. It;s interresting though that this didn;t seem the case at Super 14 level, where he played against the same guys….
But yes, he has been quite mediocre as a Bok 15.
22 Sep 2010, 15:41 pm
Who’s currently the fastest fullback in SA?
22 Sep 2010, 15:42 pm
I wonder..
22 Sep 2010, 15:43 pm
Not Lambie. Not Zane.
22 Sep 2010, 15:44 pm
Conrad? Jaco Taute?
22 Sep 2010, 15:44 pm
Probably Gio Aplon
22 Sep 2010, 15:45 pm
Daniller or Viljoen?
Doee Basson not ever play fullback?
I’d say Aplon would have to be the quickest out there at the moment, but he doesn’t always play 15.
22 Sep 2010, 15:45 pm
they overlooked joe petersen while he was way better than zaine….bottom line lay a little in the sun & you can have your fun
22 Sep 2010, 15:45 pm
Jantjies with 1.5 legs..maybe?
Who the hell is playing 15 for the outfit from Dirtbin?
22 Sep 2010, 15:46 pm
@ 54. goyougoodthing2
That’s good for a player whose main responsibility is not try scoring.
For instance, the only SA fullback ahead of him is Michael Killian, who is also a winger and not necessarily as good at kicking and defending. Joe Pietersen scored the same number of tries as Zane Kirchner. Are you going to say that your aunty mabel is also better than Joe Pietersen?
22 Sep 2010, 15:47 pm
both jaco and zane are way better signings than ralapelle.
zane, is an excellent superrugby player. In fact, under a better coach I fancy he’d show a lot more on the international stage. He still hits the line on attack better than any other fullback in sa. And I’d have him as the hardest tackling 15 in the country as well.
jaco, is ok…injuries I fancy have screwed him up.
wingers do well with the bulls and generally get a bok call up historically. olivier,snyman,habana,akona,hougaard come to mind in recent years…
only a matter of time before van den heerver gets capped but he needs to up his work rate off the ball.His defence has improved recently.
Basson will do well.
22 Sep 2010, 15:47 pm
definately Aplon at the moment, but Conrad Jantjies is plenty fast, or at least he was…
22 Sep 2010, 15:50 pm
66. coherence(coherence) I am saying Zane isn’t a Boks bum. Thats what I am saying.
22 Sep 2010, 15:51 pm
Could it be that “13″ just is not that important a position in the greater scheme of things and not worth paying top dollar for?
Let’s face it…JP Nel was very limited but played like a superstar within his cicle of responsibility.
22 Sep 2010, 15:51 pm
In 5 years time Zane will be playing 12 for SWD…like Bevin Fortune
22 Sep 2010, 15:51 pm
Cheers dudes and dudinne!
ps. WO for Bok captain
22 Sep 2010, 15:55 pm
I actually expected more from bevin. He had potential.
22 Sep 2010, 15:56 pm
Aplon when played at 15?
22 Sep 2010, 16:09 pm
@Tacitus(Tacitus)-17: Well said. I was going to lay into Vrede’s woeful attempt at an “intriguing angle”, but your rant pretty much does the trick.
Come on, Ryan. I’m not saying you’re a great writer, but you can surely do better than this. From the tone of your article we expect a revelation of some kind pointing to Basson’s pending failure. But it never comes. Instead we get tenuous comparisons to Bulls signings that you, subjectively, believe were not successful.
Even if Zane and Jaco were miserable failures (which they clearly aren’t), what in Krishna’s name would that have to do with Basson?
22 Sep 2010, 16:14 pm
Sticking with Vrede’s car analogy, this site needs cosmetic attention and is not currently running. Breaking up for spares.
22 Sep 2010, 16:25 pm
farkoff that primadonna joe was better than Kirchner… only in WePee eyes…
22 Sep 2010, 16:30 pm
Whoa Ryan absolutely **** article congrats!
22 Sep 2010, 16:38 pm
This guy is fantastically talented and the Bulls have signed the right guy. He’ll be a regular Bok before long too.
The Bulls have got it right for the last 7 or 8 years no doubt about it, excellent continuity across the age groups and excellent acquisitions. I’m a Stormer but all the best to them, they deserve it.
22 Sep 2010, 17:11 pm
here is a list of talented backline players that came from the bulls
Joost
Naas Botha
Ray Mordt
Pierre Spies Snr
Gerbrand Grobler
Danie van Schalkwyk
Fourie du Preez
Ettiene Botha
Morne Steyn
Gerhard vd Hever
Jacques Louis Potgieter
22 Sep 2010, 17:22 pm
christo wagenaar
willem
stapelberg
andre van
staden
jonnox
tommie dup
the list
is endless
22 Sep 2010, 19:49 pm
Saw a vid on News24 where Lachlan Turner wins a 100m foot race against other Australian footballers. Usain Bolt was there – was some sort of promotion.
He ran it in 11.1s. I found this quite interesting. This is probably round the average for fast backs in Union. (union players came 1st and 2nd) I then did some reading, Habana admitted in an interview that he at school ran 11 flat(not the 10.2 some claim). His 40m time is good, 4.81(this equates to about 4.45 over 40yeards – which is OK for an NFL running back.
I enjoy comparing speeds of different players, but it seems that it is a topic wrought with urban legends.
Now Basson again has lots of speed, but its probably not freakishly impressive.
I find that straight line speed in Rugby is a nice to have – Bolt probably couldn’t use his speed effectively in 15′s game(maybe 7′s). Its more about balance, being aware of space, running lines and definitely a good step.
Always thought what made habana a great wing was his elusiveness backed with good acceleration – not so much is top line speed.
Would be interesting to hear your guys’ thought on this
22 Sep 2010, 20:48 pm
girsh: are you Tacitus’ illegitimate son?
22 Sep 2010, 20:55 pm
Nah, I’m his Daddy
23 Sep 2010, 00:57 am
basson will be a superstar.he is originally a 15,would like him to have sum time there at sum point.great under high ball,just hope he doesn’t become 1 dimensional much like Kirchner who prior to being a Bull was superb with ball in hand at Griquas-smooth running lines and elusive.In 4 yrs he has been converted to a better Johan Roets clone.Sad.Solid but still sad as he had potential to be a real star.
23 Sep 2010, 01:14 am
mshiniwami:
bjorn @ Dale didn’t have that much ball skills though, his pace & his step were sick even then…
23 Sep 2010, 02:51 am
transie
Eish another EP product…mese kuthiwa iFranchise yeS14 wouldn’t succeed.
Didn’t know he went to Dale,must have bn a runt bk then! Will get nice & solid at Bulls.Will improve his speed too.Natural talent this boy!
23 Sep 2010, 04:31 am
girshin(girshin)-82:
Comparing speedsters has always been a fun pleasure of mine too.
The trick is that 100m speeds are fairly irrelevant in Rugby, it is all about speed over 10m, and over 40m.
And as you said, the speed over even these distances is not necessarily in a straight line.
An interesting example is someone like Mark Gerrard, who had big acceleration off the mark so was great over 10m, but was actually not all that fast at top speed so his 100m was not great.
In contrast would be Pierre Spies, who while very quick over 100m (especially for big guy), his acceleration over 10m and then 40m is nothing special.
Habana falls into the category of great acceleration as opposed to top speed, as evident when he got chased down over 75m by a turned-around Fainifo in Canberra last year.
Regarding the race, in Lachie’s defence it was clear he hadn’t run track in a while. He had a horrible start, which easily cost him an extra 0.5 second.
23 Sep 2010, 05:17 am
@89 Donut, Habana has slowed down since ’07, he used to have great top speed but it’s dissipated over the years
23 Sep 2010, 06:30 am
Killian, Gio and Viljoen are way better than Zane. His Currie Cup performance of late has been standard. Hell I would even select Daniller above Zane Toyota .
Shadow is an overated spoilt plonker like JPP who does not stick his head in the ruck either.
Pity about Joe Pietersen.
KILLIAN should be selected at FB and Gio on the wing. They can interchange to keep the opp guessing. But please get rid of Zane.
What I like about Basson is he works hard and is committed. He has great speed and kick well. Still would select Killian though(no I am not a Lions supporter)
23 Sep 2010, 06:35 am
90. Big Hit(Big Hit): It happens to the best, that just comes with age.
His speed off the mark though is still one of the best in world rugby.
91. Kevinrack: Basson under the highball looks to be very impressive too. I think this skill, along with his speed, will ensure he will fit in well with the Blou Bulle.
23 Sep 2010, 07:09 am
just to mention a few
23 Sep 2010, 07:38 am
Perhaps there is a simple answer and that is that the best offer came from the Bulls.
23 Sep 2010, 08:00 am
why killian? the guy is 27 and a overrated banggat. play the younger guys … Shadowwww
23 Sep 2010, 09:54 am
Is this moderation mechanism part of the ruling party’s media tribunal plans?
23 Sep 2010, 10:00 am
It may just be. I’ve emailed Roy, the webmaster, but no response yet.
23 Sep 2010, 10:34 am
**** this article!! My corolla wets M3 drivers pants on killarney all the time!!
23 Sep 2010, 13:09 pm
To suddenly suggest that joining the Bulls is most of the time bad for the development of a rugby players career is quite a statement from Mr Vrede. What happened to all the WP/Stormer purchases? I think he should also look at the ability of all the other Franchises to develop promising players. There are also many other factors that can influence the development of players.
23 Sep 2010, 15:38 pm
zane is the most predictable player in world rugby. When he gets the ball he kicks. Basson can fill the no 15 jersey beter. But my concern is that he mite be like jaco, at the lions he was a star because there was nobody close to his skills, but the bulls got internasional stars that outshine him. And that is what i think wil happen
23 Sep 2010, 20:39 pm
Zane is Werner Greeef
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