Boks’ brains trust lacks ambition
29 Nov 2010
JON CARDINELLI says it’s going to take more than uncompromising physicality and guts to topple the best teams in 2011.
Last week, Peter de Villiers spoke about laying down a marker against the English. De Villiers said the Boks wanted to make a statement that would allow them to win, travel back to South Africa with a three-from-four record, and ultimately enjoy Christmas.
What followed at Twickenham was a great result, and yet the performance and subsequent press conference offerings left you largely underwhelmed. Can anybody in the South African rugby community really enjoy Christmas after such a dire international season?
Yes, the Boks were back to their bruising best at Twickenham, bossing the set-pieces and dominating the collisions with sadomasochistic enthusiasm. Yes, their tactical kicking was better and allowed them to dictate play, and yes, it was a fantastic response filled with courage and resolve after a humiliating defeat to Scotland.
But it wasn’t enough to suggest the Boks are, once again, world beaters.
They smashed England by sticking to a traditional game, a game that requires little imagination and relies on opposition mistakes. It’s a game plan that’s proved flawed in the last 12 months, and a game plan that’s failed to acknowledge the evolution of the sport.
The Boks are still in a pit. They can make it back to ground zero before the 2011 World Cup, but there’s not much to suggest they’ll challenge the teams that embrace a total game. Under current management, ground zero may be their ceiling.
They finished the 2009 Tri-Nations at the zenith of world rugby, but the end-of-year tour marked the start of a decline. The physical hammering they endured in Toulouse and Dublin was replicated in the 2010 Tri-Nations. The Boks failed to adapt to the new law interpretations and adjust their tactics accordingly, and they paid a terrible price.
Whenever they’re met head on in the physical stakes, no amount of guts, pride or any other intangible can guarantee a win. The Bok were manhandled in Auckland, Wellington and Brisbane. They countered the All Blacks well in Soweto, but didn’t have the necessary class or variation to hurt their opponents where it mattered.
In each case, the opposition was better on the day, but it’s become a simple formula that seems to have no counter. If you can beat the Boks up physically, you’re likely to pick up a win.
England couldn’t produce the grit required to unsettle the Boks last Saturday, and so the visitors’ approach proved successful. Victor Matfield said in the aftermath that the performance proved that the Boks don’t need to copy other teams. It was a frightening admission of what is a lack of ambition within the South African set-up.
Peter de Villiers will survive the axe despite the abomination against Scotland, but there is a move to install a technical committee that will assist with rugby decisions. While the Boks’ kick-chase approach does still have value, the team needs to recognise the need for alternative strategies, and select players capable of switching between styles.
The All Blacks have been hailed for their running game in 2010, when in truth they have struck a balance between the conservative and attacking. They kicked more than any other team in the Tri-Nations, and they also finished with the best try-scoring stats.
They were aggressive in the forward exchanges, and took that dominance on their successful Grand Slam tour. They’re playing a total game, one that every team should be looking to replicate.
Unfortunately, the Boks are running out of time to get their house in order. De Villiers blew a series of opportunities on this tour, neglecting to trust Pat Lambie in a starting flyhalf capacity. Lambie displayed his tactical versatility in the Sharks’ successful Currie Cup campaign, and deserved an extended chance to ignite the Bok backline.
He’ll have very few opportunities in 2011. The Boks play four Tri-Nations Tests, two of which will exclude the frontline players as they rest up before the World Cup. It’s a shame that there hasn’t been the foresight to play Lambie behind the strongest Bok pack, and develop a game plan that allows for variation. Twickenham was a triumph in isolation, and shouldn’t hide the fact that the Boks are a limited force that refuses to evolve.
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167 Comments
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29 Nov 2010, 13:01 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
nothing ventured nothing gained…
29 Nov 2010, 13:06 pm
@mountaingoat(mountaingoat) : Look I’d fancy my chances against Aus most days, but playing them in New Zealand will be very tough. Either way, we will need to beat the best to win it. I don’t think we’ll get as favourable a draw as last time.
29 Nov 2010, 13:58 pm
@89. PissAnt(PissAnt) : PA its not that rugby or that the teams have evolved, its that the way in which the rules are now interpreted means that the AB’s and the Ozzies with their support play and continuity game are benefitting most if the ball isn’t slowed down. As you quite rightly point out turnover ball is still the best to score off which means our way of playing could still be effective i.e. play for territory and force the errors, which the AB’s do a lot as well.
29 Nov 2010, 14:34 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) : agreed but there’s no substitute for experience & we have a few big guns returning afresh from injury which bodes well for next year
29 Nov 2010, 14:38 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
we didn’t get a favourable draw last time.we were due to meet oz and nz.
hardly our fault they couldn’t win the easy ones,was it?
29 Nov 2010, 20:53 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl) : 100% FINALLY – if France or england lost would it be because they had an unfavourable draw.
You play what is in FRONT of you. Not what you can plan for months ahead.
@stormersboy(stormersboy) : I would not bet against the aussies next time. I see Quade Cooper cantering in under the post showing the AB’s “4 more years” again.
29 Nov 2010, 22:35 pm
I agree that we blew the chance to develop our game. at least hwe held on to it in the England game for a change!!
Although d!ck Muir must go – honeslty I think his “head up rugby” is just an excuse for players and him not to work hard. **** enjoyed success at club level – where individual contributions can make a coahc look good. But at this level (and at S14 level) he has been shown up for being ouyt of his depth. Pdv must get in a backline consultant again, or even better replace the idiot.
Muir has also been the driving force behind “unstructured play” – WTF? How DUMB is this idea? So instead of KNOWING WHERE your next play is going to be, so that your cleaners can get to the ruck quicker, you give the opposition as much chance of getting there first as you? Thats just DUMB!!!!
I feel that Muir is the main problem in that team – not Divvy. At least Divvy is open to changing his mind when he is WRONG….
29 Nov 2010, 23:19 pm
Lambie … Lambie … Lambie – get real!
He is not going to evolve into a world-beater for quite some time, if ever[ a player with inherent greatness would have converted at Myurrayfield (where, incidentally, Frans Steyn should have taken the kick in the absence of Morne).
As Zane Kirchener, Kabamba Stores and a hundred before them have proved over and over again – S14 is NOT Test rugby. It’s a whole new level altogether.
The quality of our backs is excellent – the harnessing of their talents by **** Muir/P de V. a disaster, Do you honestly think Lambie coming in under this coaching regime is going to make any difference?
30 Nov 2010, 06:18 am
@poppa69(poppa69) : POPPA69
You are such a kn*b! Olivergm is allowed he’s say as obviously he’s a proud and a passionate supporter of the Boks. Of course this entitles you to your say as well, but I can’t help but notice that each time I read your comments (which are quite factual indeed)you kick Bok supporters with quite smart *** comments. Case in point “there’s that saffa arrogance again”.Yes, we are arrogant, we expect more out of team (The mighty Bokke), and get p%#ssed off when we watch them play lately. So we vent, have a bit of a winge…just like you and your Kiwi mates have a cry every four year’s or so when your team chokes at the World Cup. To be fair, I notice between my travells to Australia (I include your little Australian province of New Zealand in my comment), and South Africa…we are actually all quite similar in our feelings to our respective squads. So stop messing with the little saffas who constantly bite at the little comments you and your kiwi china’s make, and don’t worry bout what we say about the Mighty Bokke (who will win the WC in Australia next year)and just focus on how your coach is going to keep the boys playing this well, for when it really counts. And just cause you may ask…what does really counts mean: 1. WC and 2. Tri-Nations and yes we are all perfectly aware how many times the AB’s have won this…But you guys don’t have a politician telling Henry how to go about his business. HAve a nice day with you sheep and your crumbled litte economy.
BOERTJIE
30 Nov 2010, 07:50 am
I believe that with the return of many of our best players next season will undoubtedly be a far better season for us.
All that we must doe now is rest our premier players fot ay least three months.
My squad for next season looks as follows:
1) G. Steenkamp; The Beast
2) B. Du Plessis; J. Smit
3) J. Du Plessis; C.J. van der Linde
4) B. Botha; D. Rossouw
5) V. Matfield; A. Bekker
6) H. Brussouw; S. Burger
7) J. Smith; J. Deysel
8) P. Spies; W. Albert
9) F. Du Preez; F. Hougaard
10 M. Steyn; R. Pienaar
11) B. Habana; G. Aplon
12) J. De Villiers; W. Olivier
13) J. Fourie; J. De Jonge
14) L. Mvovo; J.P. Pietersen
15) F. Steyn; C. Jantjies; Z Kirchner
30 Nov 2010, 08:08 am
@iceman(iceman) :
only change i would make there is
12) J. De Villiers; J. De Jonge
13) J. Fourie; A. Jacobs
15) F. Steyn; Z Kirchner
30 Nov 2010, 08:18 am
Pearler:
“Everybody will say it is the Boks that are playing there. And for me that is the carrot that is dangled in front of us.”
30 Nov 2010, 08:20 am
@Boertjie(Boertjie) : just returning serve mate… we fair copped it last year and before this years 3Ns… so suck it up..
have fun dodging all the murders.. as for your economy, just how much is a blood diamond these days?
30 Nov 2010, 08:27 am
@poppa69(poppa69) : obviously more than you can afford seeing as you don’t know. Besides, what is a cop’s salary in NZ these days?
30 Nov 2010, 08:31 am
@logie_Jumpbuck(logie_Jumpbuck) : I dont know, whats the average bribe to a cop in SA these days?
30 Nov 2010, 12:46 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy) :
As favourable draw as last time? That was the most physical campaign we’ve had in a WC ever! That would be an absolute nightmare schedule for this frail Bok defence, especially given their poor discipline.
1 Dec 2010, 12:55 pm
@Alucard(Alucard) : No Australia,NZ or France. The 95 Bok RWC squad would have something to say about that.
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