Super Lambie’s light shines bright
28 Feb 2011
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day newspaper column, writes Pat Lambie again showed why he – and not Elton Jantjies – is the future No 10 for the Springboks.
Lambie’s effort against the Blues again emphasised how poorly he was utilised on the Springboks’ tour in the UK.
Elton Jantjies’ performance at flyhalf for the Lions against the Stormers in Cape Town an hour later confirmed why he should not have been on tour with the national side.
Bok coach Peter de Villiers selected Jantjies ahead of Lambie at flyhalf against the Barbarians at Twickenham. He even gave Jantjies the goal- kicking responsibility. Predictably, Jantjies flopped, even though a case was made for the 20-year-old that it was a learning experience.
What then of the other 20- year-old who had been man of the match in the Currie Cup final — one Lambie?
He had been overlooked as the young player of the year in the Currie Cup because the politically correct decision was to give it to Jantjies. Such madness must be put aside if the Boks are to take the 30 best to New Zealand to defend a title won in France four years ago.
Lambie is of the Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Giteau mould. His age is incidental. He is doing what you expect of veterans and he is doing it consistently, be it in Currie Cup or Super Rugby.
Lambie, outstanding as a schoolboy fullback, flourished in the midfield for the Sharks last year. But it has been as flyhalf where he has shown himself to be special.
I was among those who questioned the decision to move him from fullback to flyhalf. I feared the juggling between fullback, flyhalf and centre could lead to a repeat of Frans Steyn — where potentially the world’s best fullback thinks he is a flyhalf but spends most of his time playing centre.
Lambie, from what I’m told, is emotionally stronger than Steyn . Lambie, from what I have seen, has to be playing in tandem with Butch James for the Boks in the Tri-Nations as preparation for the World Cup.
The better players are measured by how much time they have on the ball and by how they don’t get flustered when making mistakes.
Carter is like that. Wilkinson, in his youth, was that kind of player, and so is Lambie.
Jantjies has some way to go before he can be spoken of as a national flyhalf. If only the national selectors had listened to Lions coach John Mitchell, who cautioned that his player was good but not yet good enough to play international rugby.
Mitchell and Carlos Spencer believe in the future of Jantjies, which is why he is the Lions’ first choice, but it is a problem for Mitchell that Jantjies is averaging closer to 40% than 80% as goal kicker.
Mitchell’s Lions are well coached and his mix of youngsters and journeymen have proven outstanding pupils, but for a side as limited in pedigree they need every bit of luck and also a kicker who can convert points. Jantjies, so far, has failed and cost the Lions two wins.
There is no way the Lions, on performance, should have lost to the Stormers, who were woeful.
I don’t know if the Lions could have shown greater commitment and I doubt the Stormers could have been worse in the opening hour, yet the home team led at half time and led at the final whistle.
The Stormers, for all the wobbles, showed the quality of a champion in kicking for the corner in the 76th minute, winning the line-out and rumbling over for the winning try. Peter Grant added the conversion, which meant the Lions had to score a try to win.
The visitors gave it everything, kept the ball for four minutes and worked 17 phases in advancing 80m. But not once did they break a tackle or force a line-break. Mitchell won’t take comfort from coming close and neither should the Lions.
To be a better team they have to get better results because for all the heroics they still haven’t won a Super Rugby match since May 2 2009.
The Stormers should also not focus too much on the bravery of their effort as that would be settling for second place.
Grant provided the impetus in the last 20 minutes, even if his introduction from the bench after a season in Japan should have come 20 minutes earlier.
His effort was exceptional but even this cameo was second to what Lambie produced in Durban, which should tell you just how good Lambie was.
Not so Jantjies and it is a problem if the Lions are to get reward for effort.
780 Comments
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1 Mar 2011, 10:01 am
ask your mother.
ahem.
1 Mar 2011, 10:20 am
Sweet Mary, this thread turned into a pile of garbage. Grantie, you are fast becoming as nutty as Rossi. That’s the problem with blog escalation. You can’t back down from whatever silly path you once arbitrarily picked, and before you know it you’re a frothing loonie. No one buys that noble freedom fighter bs, particularly not the IRA nonsense. You’re not changing the world from the top of your long flight of Clifton stairs. That’s like a guy driving a 4.6L V8, but giving everyone a hard time about recycling and waste. It just doesn’t gel.
1 Mar 2011, 10:26 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-742:
No need to buy a box Shauny. We can recycle the one you’ve crawled out of. The extra space for the tail between your legs will come in handy……again.
1 Mar 2011, 10:29 am
@JockBok(JockBok)-753: problem is, he needs it for the space between his ears.
1 Mar 2011, 10:30 am
I’ve found though it’s simply best to ignore old Shaun. If you feed the troll you’ll never get rid of him.
Nice to see that they’ve reversed their decisions to supply internet to council houses in Stenvenhage though.
1 Mar 2011, 10:32 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-752:
blog escalation?
grantie is the original Dr Strangelove.
1 Mar 2011, 10:35 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-755:
the old stevenage pipjejoller.
1 Mar 2011, 10:40 am
@Pinky Kekana kills Beemer buys Merc(gunther)-757: Yeah what an a ss.
But I’m in a better mood today, so who knows.
1 Mar 2011, 10:52 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-752: where i live and what car i drive has nothing to do with this ….its about naked racism being allowed to flourish……stick with your 1 liners ….this has less than nothing to do with you.
1 Mar 2011, 10:58 am
@grant10(grant10)-759:
grantie.
nobody would know where you live.
if you didn’t keep telling them.
1 Mar 2011, 11:01 am
i like this, the level of righteous indignation when someone expresses tactless opinions.
1 Mar 2011, 11:11 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-761:
nobody is righteously indignant with your tactless opinions transie.
you just confirmed what most people have long suspected
1 Mar 2011, 11:20 am
@Pinky Kekana kills Beemer buys Merc(gunther)-762: i hope everyone sleeps happy tonight then 8)
1 Mar 2011, 11:24 am
@grant10(grant10)-759: You’d kill for some of my one-liners. Admit it. As for your well-publicised opposition to naked racism, it all seems too much of just that: well publicised. Everyone is a rainbow warrior these days, and no one ever voted Nat.
Just walk the walk and let others do the talking.
1 Mar 2011, 11:35 am
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-725: you are the biggest racist and hypocrite on this blog.your hatred for coloured people on this site is well known but you gladly accept money from these scum born on the cape flats at your establishment,the cattle baron ,down there at canal walk.maybe it’s time that you and your establishment just like kuhli,mnany and ngoro gets exposed for their naked racism towards cape town’s coloured people.
1 Mar 2011, 11:56 am
@capo(capo)-765: dont be so dramatic.
you sound like a real whiner. must be why you and grant get on so well.
p.s. we are all cullarts buddy, didnt you know?
1 Mar 2011, 12:12 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-766: i am not your buddy you piece of racist filth!
1 Mar 2011, 12:25 pm
@capo(capo)-767: shhhh now, its all right. the bad times are over now.
there there.
buddy.
1 Mar 2011, 12:32 pm
@capo(capo)-767:
Is that racist as in the world wide definition or the South African definition….
‘You don’t agree with me, I’m previously disadvantaged, you are not, ergo, you are a racist?’
…which is backed up by your earlier definition, when right after you got pisssed off that Mandela wouldn’t allow you to shoot whites, you said non-whites can’t be racist.
So I think it’s the South African definition, because how can a racist call another guy a racist in the commonly held definition, but I’m just checking so I can keep up.
1 Mar 2011, 12:56 pm
maybe I started all this bullsh’t in which case I call truce, seriously such stupidity is not worth the inflamed egoism or idiocy being displayed. In all walks of life you get right, left, center, right of center, left of center and ultra right or ultra left, which if you had to try separate the sentiments the ultra extremists kill or die for you find they are closer to each other than they would care to acknowledge.
Everyone is human at end of it all despite the derogatory sentiment and compliments being flayed about
1 Mar 2011, 13:08 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-770:
for what its worth I don’t think you did.
we were talking cars remember.
furthermore i think i was more than a little harsh towards you.
for that I apologise.
1 Mar 2011, 13:24 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-770: white flag accepted skop.
lets all move on.
1 Mar 2011, 13:32 pm
In the words of the great Paul Rogers
“I get up in the morning and its just another day
Pack up my belongings, Ive got to get away.
Jump in to a taxi and the time is gettin tight
I go to keep on movin I got a show tonight
Mmmm,
And Im movin on, movin on from town to town
Movin on, baby, yeah Im never touchin the ground. Yeah. “
1 Mar 2011, 13:33 pm
its Ok Gunther g you now what they say presumption is the mother of all ……
None can sit inside anothers head and presume they know what he’s thinking or what drives his thoughts or emotions.
Bottom line is humanity don’t really realise it but at the base of every single individuals aspiration is actually love, love is the fundamental binding force throughout creation, without love existence would cease, planets would spin out of orbit and suns and solar systems would degenerate back to nothing. Love is the prime mover in everything and every good man that ever visited this catastrophe has done so with the prime motive to spread it and direct the wayward soul back toward it.
Humanity at large and individuals get caught up in its opposite due to the discrepancy in our psyche seeking self importance above unity or harmony, this is our human disease aligned to our separate instinct to protect our vulnerable identity, but at the back of every iota of our thought and wish and being is the desire to know and merge in love, none more nor less than any other in spite of the vast shortfall prevalent through our endless conditioning..
1 Mar 2011, 13:38 pm
and it takes a big person to actually back down and apologise, that shows sincerity and not some small degree of character.
Lets not get too mushy now, tomorrow is another fight when Stormers got to gird up their loins and put forth to the battle when they gotta face up to and fck up those Sharkies or Bulletjies, but we leave that for another day for now.
1 Mar 2011, 13:41 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-773: @skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-775: It’s not Norah Jones’ daddy but it’s as far as I’m prepared to go
1 Mar 2011, 13:58 pm
what Ravi Shankar got to do with the current status quo?
1 Mar 2011, 14:24 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-777:
Nothing, he failed the audition. He didn’t look good in denim I guess
9 Mar 2011, 22:33 pm
I respect Lambie, however I think from an expansive view point at 10, Janjties should be the man and lambie go to 15. i think he is so calm under the high ball and he makes the right decisions, and now he is stretching his legs a bit. Lambie is not a Dan carter, Johnny wilkinson so lets not get carried away. I remember Wilko and DC at Lambie’s age and their goal kick ratios were far much higher. Lambie will be good, but not at 10 for me. he is a 15..
9 Mar 2011, 22:36 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-1: I agree, Lambie is good but he is not where he should be as a 10 in SA rugby. He cannot run a match at test level and his kicking is not Test stabdard yet. If SA are crazy enough to play him during BIG games at worldcup, I think it will be a mistake. He is Overhyped, but a good prospect.
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