Return of the king
10 Mar 2011
RYAN VREDE, writing in SA Rugby magazine, explains why Fourie du Preez will be the Springboks’ key player this year as they seek to defend the World Cup.
Accept, as a point of departure, that the technical qualities that constitute skill are speed, accuracy, adaptability and form, combined with the less observable quality of heart.
Now consider the assertion that rare prodigious skill is achieved when those qualities are blended with vision, intelligence and consistently cool temperament under pressure and you move towards a greater understanding of why Fourie du Preez is South Africa’s most gifted and, in a World Cup year, most valuable player.
Few of Du Preez’s contemporaries have displayed all these qualities as consistently as he has throughout his career. Even fewer have embodied all at any one time, where doing so has defined Du Preez.
It is therefore no surprise that the Springboks, and to a lesser extent the Bulls (in the Currie Cup), struggled without him in 2010, the former resembling a zombie staggering aimlessly and impotently through the international season. His return from a shoulder injury reignites hope of a defence of the promised land the Springboks occupied in France in 2007 and improves the Bulls’ bid for a third successive Super Rugby title.
Only All Blacks Richie McCaw and Dan Carter can compare with Du Preez’s value to their sides. All are players with the capacity to be the difference between defeat and victory.
‘There’s no question about that,’ Heyneke Meyer, Bulls technical director and long-time mentor to Du Preez, agrees. ‘If he doesn’t play the Boks are in serious trouble and the Bulls wouldn’t be the side they have been in the past couple of years.
‘People point out that he is integral to their game plan, which is true. There isn’t a better box-kicking scrumhalf in world rugby. But that doesn’t take into account his full value.
‘As the link between the forwards and the backs he is the most influential player on the park. Your decision-making has to be so sharp there, especially at international level where space and time are at a premium. No player can match his decision-making under pressure. How often do you see him take the wrong option, whether it be a quick tap, breaking around the blindside, countering from deep, picking off a strike runner or playing wider?
‘It’s no secret why Morné [Steyn, Bulls and Springbok flyhalf] excelled in 2009 and struggled in 2010. Fourie takes so much pressure off him. He is the team’s brain and his absence is more often than not reflected in the result.’
Du Preez’s former team-mate at the Bulls and senior Springbok Bryan Habana concurs and extols his value beyond the technical disciplines.
‘You’re lifted when you see him lacing up his boots opposite you in the change room,’ Habana begins. ‘He has an aura that few players I’ve ever played for or against have. He brings a sense of calm, a sense of expectation. What’s more, you know there are a bunch of guys down the corridor wishing he was in their change room, and a team of [opposition] coaches who’ve spent weeks analysing his play, trying to make sure he is a non-factor. I know, I’ve been in the opposing change room. You can’t put a value on a player like that, especially in the big games.’
Habana raises an important point. While there is no action, no manoeuvre, and no tactical insight beyond Du Preez – what he sees in his mind’s eye he is able to execute with precision – his ability to do so in matches of the highest significance amplifies his potency. It is one of the qualities that separates the good from the great.
Consider his most significant contributions in recent history for the Bulls: scoring their first two tries in the 2009 Super 14 final to settle their nerves after a poor start, and later setting up a decisive score for Habana with the most perfectly weighted grubber.
In the Currie Cup final later that year, Du Preez’s execution matched his awareness with a cross-kick to an unmarked Francois Hougaard on the wing. To illustrate that his range of ability knows no bounds, he later scooped a wayward pass off his bootlaces and put Habana away. Their third try saw Du Preez chip into an unmanned space, leaving Habana a simple collection and sprint to the tryline.
He turned the tide of the 2010 Super 14 semi-final when he broke blind to score a momentum-shifting try against the Crusaders, and in the final he picked off Hougaard’s angled run to strike an early blow from which the Stormers never recovered. A similar highlights package could easily be compiled for the Springboks, his masterclass against England in the pool match of the 2007 World Cup headlining the piece.
‘If your scrumhalf crumbles under pressure your whole team will fall apart,’ Meyer explains. ‘Fourie never will because he has no flaws that can be exploited. Absolutely none.’
Du Preez says: ‘I’d like to think that I can excel, not just survive, in the biggest games. When you look around the field in big Tests and finals rugby you can see the guys who are just happy to survive, happy to be there. I won’t settle for that. I want to be the difference between my team winning and losing, and when you’ve got a team of players with the same mindset, it makes for a formidable unit. I back myself to put in at least an eight out of 10 performance in the biggest matches. Anything less and I’m letting my team down when they need me most.
‘The game has changed in form a lot in recent years, but the one thing that stays the same is that you have players who can handle the pressure of big matches and those who can’t. I’d like to be remembered as a player who wasn’t found hiding in a bunker while my team-mates were taking heavy fire.’
Too many Springboks were holed up in those bunkers while under siege throughout the 2010 Test season. Admittedly their generals (read: the coaches) had failed them with a flawed battle plan, one that was too reliant on their star soldier, who described watching from his couch or the stands as ‘torture’.
‘There are a couple of reasons the Springboks did poorly,’ Du Preez begins his post-war assessment. ‘We came into the 2010 season still on the high of 2009. We were on top of the world and when our confidence took a knock we never recovered. It didn’t help that we also had a tough two-Test series in New Zealand where we seldom win.
‘But the main reason is that the guys couldn’t seem to make up their minds about how they wanted to play. In 2009 I was a part of the decision-making process regarding our game plan. I was probably also central to it working. But without me there the guys kept playing the same game, there was no adaptation and not enough appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of my replacement, be that Ricky Januarie, Ruan Pienaar or Francois Hougaard. Our execution was poor, sure, but I think we could have been more clever tactically.’
The impermanence of Du Preez’s absence was the consoling thought in a nightmare international season. However, his return, not unlike a second coming given the redemptive qualities that accompany it, will be short-lived.
Du Preez has decided to pursue a career with Suntory in Japan following the World Cup (he’ll be 29 at the time), citing a desire to get out of his comfort zone and spend more time with his family as the primary reasons for his eastern expedition. With Du Preez restored, 2011 promises much for the Springboks. However, if a successor isn’t identified and invested in quickly, 2012 threatens to resemble the apocalyptic film by the same name.
Du Preez’s thoughts on this issue have been documented by this magazine, and having watched his anointed, Francois Hougaard, in an extended run with the Springboks, they haven’t changed.
‘He was brilliant in the Tri-Nations games he played,’ Du Preez says. ‘He showed he had the temperament to complement his talent. He struggled in the wet on the end-of-year tour but he’ll improve in that area.
‘He’ll be the Springbok scrumhalf for the next seven to eight years. My aim now is to pour as much of my knowledge into him as possible before I go to Japan. To leave empty.
‘He’s the perfect student, always keen to learn. I’ve come across team-mates who’ve wanted the guy ahead of them to fail so they could get a chance, but that’s never been the case with Francois. I want to leave South African rugby in better shape than I got it, and in Francois you have a player who could exceed what I’ve done.’
Having named his heir, what then of a coaching successor to Peter de Villiers? Du Preez doesn’t hesitate: ‘I think Heyneke would be the perfect candidate and he deserves the opportunity given what he’s achieved.
‘Next year will be a rebuilding year for the Boks and Heyneke has shown that there’s nobody better at putting structures into place for long-term success. He could build something that lasts beyond the four-year cycle between World Cups and I think we need that. He hasn’t been a head coach at Test level but indirectly he’s been responsible for much of the success of South African rugby through his player identification and player development at senior and junior level. A hands-on role would make him so much more valuable to South African rugby.’
Du Preez concludes with a telling statement: ‘I’d reconsider international retirement if Heyneke became coach.’
In that eventuality the debate will be raised about letting his genius rest at its apex, rather than exposing it to the erosive effect of ageing and the criticism that accompanies that process.
That is a discussion for the future. The present has Du Preez as a master of his craft, the Bulls and Springboks’ fulcrum and the player on which a world title defence rests more than any other.
However his story unfolds, Meyer believes Du Preez’s rugby eulogy won’t change.
‘Joost van der Westhuizen had the ability to hurt sides around the ruck fringe with his physicality. Then defences became tighter with the introduction of league-style systems and his threat was lessened.
‘George Gregan was the best when the game demanded a No 9 with sharp passing skills during the era where multi-phase play was the trend. But Fourie combines both those strengths and adds an unmatched kicking game and immense rugby intelligence.
‘He’ll be remembered as the best scrumhalf ever to play the game.’
– This article first appeared in the March issue of SA Rugby magazine. The April issue will be on sale from 16 March.
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227 Comments
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10 Mar 2011, 10:40 am
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-96: I thought I’d go “wild card” on this one.
I’ve some catching up to do and I know the smart money would be on the Cheetahs, especially after their showing against the Bulls in Bloem, but I’m not going to improve my points tally by staying inside the box.
Surely they’ll pull off a win sooner or later? They’ve come so close this may be their best chance.
I am really keen to see how Heinrich gets on. He really would make a difference to the Springbok setup if he can get his A game back.
But I guess the whole country is hoping the same thing.
10 Mar 2011, 10:41 am
There was a time when this “king” could not compete with Ricky and Bolla… so the boere network sent Ricky down to the Cape to unseat Bolla at the stormers and therewith shorten the queue for a very average player who needs constant PR to perform. Rassie then also signed Dewalt D hoping that the dog fight between Ricky and Bolla will leave one casualty and therewith space for another Afrikaner, who remains a very average player
The plan seemingly worked but it does not prevent me from exposing it
10 Mar 2011, 10:42 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-102: The phrase “tilting at windmills” ring a bell?
10 Mar 2011, 10:44 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-103: I will give you an opportunity to explain so that I make further gat out of you.
10 Mar 2011, 10:47 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-101:
not quite the whole country.
only the white supremacists
10 Mar 2011, 10:51 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-105:
10 Mar 2011, 10:54 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-105: Forgot to add that bit. he’s keeping Kabamba out of the team probably, after all.
10 Mar 2011, 10:54 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-106:
langers how is your property search in france going?
10 Mar 2011, 10:55 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-107:
I know.
the situation floors me.
10 Mar 2011, 10:57 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-109:
10 Mar 2011, 10:58 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-108: Completed the purchase two weeks ago… Almost a Billiionaire now
I need to look at my SA portfolio now… looking for properties with decent rental and capital appreciation potential
10 Mar 2011, 11:02 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-111:
the rental market in france is very good but the capital appreciation is poor.
rand is strong if you are using external funds.
if you want strong capital appreciation from a depressed market you should look at spain.
rental returns are weaker though.
10 Mar 2011, 11:08 am
I have looked at Spain and as you said, rental returns are poor. The place is saturated. You can still get rentals of 4.5% in France. I can still get good rental in the UK but it requires high management if you rent on a per room bases. My friend has 11 properties in Stevenage which he rents on a per room bases. Loads of stress… he has 35 rooms and therefore 35 tenants to bug him.
10 Mar 2011, 11:11 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-113:
35 rooms?
that’s a lot of eastern europeans.
10 Mar 2011, 11:15 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-113: @The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-114: if you looking to buy to tent here you had better have at least a 40 % deposit….banks are more than conservative…they atre making Jaap Marais look like a raving liberal….fark me it is a challenge to get the banks to approve…i am bisy with 2 absolute beaut deals….and fark me am i having a battle…banks are insanely conservative…
10 Mar 2011, 11:16 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-114: GlaxoSmithKLeins big headquarters and laboratories are in Stevenage.. Many visiting foreign interns from all over the world but mostly from India.. Stevenage is very multicultural. Good place to be
10 Mar 2011, 11:16 am
buy to rent…not tent
10 Mar 2011, 11:20 am
@grant10(grant10)-117: Unless you are doing a deal for Ghadaffi
10 Mar 2011, 11:21 am
@grant10(grant10)-115:
40% deposit?
that’s hectic.
no wonder nobody is buying anything.
I think the property market here will be in its moer for the next decade.
We bought overseas last year 20% with a fixed rate of 3.1 for 20 years%.
10 Mar 2011, 11:22 am
@grant10(grant10)-115: Bankers are w ankers mate.. The money is all being used in the grand casino of investment banking. The c unts are buying up commodity options because of their herd mentality. All they have created is a commodity bubble which will burst when Obama decides to release Strategic Oil reserves and then the whole world will be in kak again be cause of w anker bankers. Hopefully we will do the proper thing and put them all in concentration camps.
10 Mar 2011, 11:24 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-119: banks are absoltuely looking for any reason to decline….they sniff an opportunity to say no they will decline. Buy to let market stuffed 6 love….i have some very good mates [ developers ] who have been forced to liquidate….property market still very poor….i would steer clear of any speculation unless an absolte gimmee
10 Mar 2011, 11:26 am
@grant10(grant10)-121:
that’s why I went the overseas route
ouch so business must be quite ****** then?
10 Mar 2011, 11:26 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-120: couldnt agree more …predators of note….the amount of pain and suffering i have seen so many go through over last 4 years is absolutely terrible….they have f all mercy, good people cast out of there homes through no fault of there own….disgraceful at times…
10 Mar 2011, 11:27 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-122: ja…volumes down literally 90 % since the 2007 days….very tough and frustrating….
10 Mar 2011, 11:30 am
@grant10(grant10)-124:
chin up.
at least you are beating me on superbru.
if the worst comes to the worst you can become a sports pundit.
or you can breed just rugby and sell the puppies
10 Mar 2011, 11:30 am
i feel so sorry for those trying to apply for home loans dirctly t to banks themselves….no chance i tell you, especially if you self employed….we literally have to spoon feed the banks….vast amounts of info required…and fark me dnt have a sniff of a poor cr record….then you well and truly farked…even if its a bloody gym,doctoe, truworths acc, etc…
any small thing….banks say no!
10 Mar 2011, 11:32 am
@grant10(grant10)-121: You can get 90% mortagages in the UK at 5% pa which is a total ripoff if you consider that the Bank of England rate is .5%… However anything below 4% can be cover by rental which makes the buy to let market still very lucrative. I am on 3.5% at the moment but it should be 2.5%.. I still need to take the matter with the FSA. They added an Arbitary 1% because they are w ankers and presume that can do as they please
10 Mar 2011, 11:33 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-125: LOL
Ja…it has been tough….but my heart goes out to the consultants…who work 10 times harder for a 10 th of there income they used too….
boom times were enjoyed, bur fark me they well and truly becoming a distant memory
10 Mar 2011, 11:34 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-119:
China was the place to be for property over the last 2 or 3 years an appreciating yuan and skyrocketing year on year % gains, the city i’m in is up rough 300% since I’ve been here, unfortunately there is over 60 million empty apartments and that number is climbing rapidly, when you go out at night there is often one or two lights on in a 20 storey building. There is no yield though so prices are going to come back big time at some point in the future.
10 Mar 2011, 11:35 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-127: far better than here….dont even try and get a discount below prime anymore….i see deals being approved at prime plus now….the other day prime plus 4 %…asked why, banks reply was basically tell your client thats the deal or no deal….wanke rs i tell you.
my advice shaun…dont invest here now mate…its still far too volatile
10 Mar 2011, 11:37 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-129:
I’m a simple soul that’s why I went for france.
steady unspectacular growth, long term tenants, strong legal framework good rental returns and low borrowing costs.
china scares me.
they made mrs gunther eat dog.
10 Mar 2011, 11:41 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-131:
Yer but France is a mess, overrun with unemployed North Africans and the rest who don’t really want to work, the last time I was there I thought i was in Algeria. Economically Europe is farked, the Chinese will be ruling the joint in 20 years, they work very hard and plan 50 years out, get used to it, we have dog most nights…
10 Mar 2011, 11:42 am
sri lankans going mal here
10 Mar 2011, 11:43 am
Even the King cannot save the Bulls or Boks when you have a backline devoid of runners and idea. The King could not stop Olivier acting like a P0EPH0L on Saturday and being glory boy instead of passing the ball to get the try.
A Kiwi friend of mine and I were talking rugby in the gym this morning and he said a very simple, but (to me) a very truthful and accurate statement. He said “besides a few legends, rugby is a young man’s game”. In SA we to often hang onto players because of their reputation or form a few seasons back.
At the time he was asking me about Smit and what is going to happen with him. He was using Brad Thorne and Rokocoko (sp?) as examples in NZ. He reckons players like Fruean, Ranger, Poki (excuse mis-spellings) will be in RWC.
Got me thinking about SA squad. Will they persist with players like Olivier, Jean and Habana? Players undoubtedly great a few years ago (2009) but too old and unimaginative for RWC 2011.
When will the Juans, Bassons, vd Heevers, Lambies and so on get their turn?
10 Mar 2011, 11:43 am
FdP,
“‘But the main reason is that the guys couldn’t seem to make up their minds about how they wanted to play. …………….”
There is the problem in a nut shell.
“the Guys couldn’t make there minds up…………….”.
FFS,
The Coaching Staff should be deciding, and dictating tactics and style.
Too many Chiefies and not enough heads down to do the graft.
Player Power is a HUGE folly.
10 Mar 2011, 11:44 am
@The X-factor is staying at home.(gunther)-131: LOL
10 Mar 2011, 11:45 am
@grant10(grant10)-130: I have two properties that I need to upgrade ( New Kitchens, Bathrooms and flooring). I will propably need R200k.. The properties are mortgage free so I could raise a mortgage but It would probably be best to use UK funds.
Got to shoot off….
Till later all… and remember that I am omnipresent.
10 Mar 2011, 11:51 am
@cane(cane)-135:
indeed.
the management are two busy booking massages and trying to work out if their ties match their shirts.
so the lunatics are running the asylum.
10 Mar 2011, 11:52 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-132:
sigh.
you are probably right.
10 Mar 2011, 12:00 pm
@BringItHomeBoks(bokfan1)-134: so very true…
10 Mar 2011, 12:01 pm
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-137: use the uk funds if possible my man…save yourself the frustration
10 Mar 2011, 12:15 pm
will sri lanka make 400?
10 Mar 2011, 12:21 pm
in 2007 fdp took over from latham as the best rugby player in the world.
he still holds the mantle.
10 Mar 2011, 12:25 pm
Fourie will continue to be the best 9 in the world …….however the Bulls are not a force in the modern game like they were last year. Based on last weekends performance they were always behind in the pace of the game ………Fourie was ok but not the same as 2 years when he was super fit and confident . Fourie other challenge is Morne Steyn …..the man can kick a bit but there not much else. Put Lambie outside Fourie and it could be the top 9/10 combination in the world!
10 Mar 2011, 12:57 pm
oh yes another of the Great Ones, who can walk on water and lift RWC trophies along with Thabo.
10 Mar 2011, 12:59 pm
Anyone know the average age of the England RWC-winning 2003 squad?
Unbeatable.
10 Mar 2011, 14:17 pm
rugby is a young man’s game 100% on the button.
here’s my young man’s team to smack the delirious old ghosts of Xmas past to delirium and back again
Taute / Viljoen
Poolman
De Jongh
F. Steyn
Mvovo / Basson
Grant / Van Aswegen
Duvenhage/ Mcleod
Koster / Whitely
Elstadt / Alberts / Strauss
Minnie / Brussow / Steggman / Daniel
Bekker (c)/ Hargreaves
Flip
Buys
Maku / Burden
Beast / Kitschoff
Come bring your ou manne, this team will smack your 2007 Bokke super duper stars to Xmas past and beyond. Wanna bet, any takers?
10 Mar 2011, 14:32 pm
@grant10(grant10)-142: what? ya kiddin’ me.
10 Mar 2011, 14:39 pm
are we playing fantasy league now?
10 Mar 2011, 14:43 pm
@charo(charo)-143:
If you say so.
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