Brutal truth: Boks need Butch
14 Apr 2011
JON CARDINELLI, writing in SA Rugby magazine, says Butch James has the hunger, the experience and the intimidating aura to be a match-winning figure at the 2011 World Cup.
‘Objects may be closer than they appear’, disclaims the rear-view mirror, a foreboding that sets its reader on edge. It doesn’t matter when or even if the Mac truck hits, only that it’s there; a threatening presence capable of reducing brave men to quivering wrecks.
Butch James looms in the psyche like a Mac truck in the rear view. Opposition coaches pore over blueprints and videotape in an attempt to nullify him, while seasoned pros like Dan Carter take the field knowing that at some point, they will be run over.
This aura shouldn’t be underestimated, especially in a World Cup year. Global tournaments are won on defence and experience, and James’s value as a game-changing defender is as indisputable as his 2007 World Cup winner’s medal. And at 32, he’s still rattling opponents.
‘I’ve never thought of Carter as a fragile player,’ James says in explaining the psychology of big defending. ‘It’s more a case of making your presence felt. You want your opposite number to know you’re around. You want him to be constantly thinking about what you’ll do next.
‘In the past I went looking for the big tackles. Now I let them come to me. If you read the situation correctly and your timing is just right, you’ll make the big hit. It’s something I learnt. I’ve matured a great deal over the past few years.’
The Springbok selectors need to face up to some inconvenient truths after a diabolical 2010 Test season. Morné Steyn may have come off the bench to kick the series-winning penalty against the British & Irish Lions, and his kicking game may have helped the Boks secure the 2009 Tri-Nations. But 2010 proved that far more is required of a Test flyhalf.
Steyn’s accuracy can no longer compensate for his defensive frailties or his failure to impose himself on attack. These shortcomings were mercilessly exposed in the 2010 Tri-Nations, a tournament where South Africa finished last on the log and trailed their opponents in
the attacking and defensive stats.
Psychologically speaking, Steyn is no more a debilitating force than Peter de Villiers is a rocket scientist. A champion team requires a flyhalf with gravitas, somebody like James who commands respect and has the capacity to make things happen. If things continue as they are, however, the Boks will field a reactionary. Steyn is more a punisher of errors than an active agent of victory. He wasn’t good enough in the 2010 Tri-Nations, and he isn’t good enough for the World Cup.
Consider South Africa’s World Cup opponents. Is Stephen Jones worried about Steyn’s gainline running ahead of Wales’ Pool D clash with the Springboks? Is Jonny Sexton losing sleep over Steyn’s attacking variation before a probable quarter-final meeting? And is Carter, one of the Boks’ likely semi-final adversaries, expecting Steyn to smother the All Blacks’ attacking fire with a well-timed defensive rush?
The answers are no, no and most definitely not. Steyn doesn’t inspire confidence in any of these departments, and is limited to a predictable type of game.
In his book, Captain in the Cauldron, John Smit describes James as the heartbeat of the team that won the 2007 World Cup. Smit reveals that every Springbok team member felt confident, and relieved, when James was named to start at flyhalf for a big Test. As Smit suggests, James’s on-field aura can be galvanising.
Injuries have limited him to 40 Tests in 10 seasons, but spineless selectors have also played their part. The conservative streak that runs through every national coach has cost him as much game time as his crocked knees and dodgy shoulder. Any regard for his virtues in general play is overruled by the paranoia that James will miss a kick at goal.
Jake White is not exempt from this group of conservatives, and it took a compelling argument by former Bok technical adviser Eddie Jones to change White’s mind on the eve of the 2007 World Cup. Because of André Pretorius’s reputation as a kicker, White so nearly ignored James’s other match-winning attributes. By the end of the tournament, the decision to back James proved inspired.
De Villiers came into the Bok job with grand ambitions of total rugby, but after failing to keep James in the country and a half-hearted attempt to convert the promising Ruan Pienaar to flyhalf, he too settled on the conservative option.
Steyn is the incumbent because De Villiers is convinced that goal kicks win matches, and while there is some truth in this belief, other aspects of the game also need to be taken into account. The 2010 season was a case in point, as despite Steyn’s 41 successive penalties and conversions, South Africa still lost five of their six Tri-Nations Tests.
De Villiers needs to be brave and pick a flyhalf who can offer him more than goal-kicking security. James is in the coach’s plans and will return home to join the Lions in May. While De Villiers may have decided on his starter for 10 in New Zealand, James is determined to change his mind.
‘It’s a talented group of players, the calibre of which we won’t see again for a while,’ he says in reference to the Boks’ decorated senior core. ‘I want to be a part of that again. It’s going to be hard to break into such a formidable side, but to start for the Boks at the World Cup would be a dream come true.’
His first task is to perform for the Lions at the back end of the Super Rugby tournament, and convince the selectors he has what most experts already recognise as the aura. It took White a while to buy into the idea, and De Villiers will also take convincing. Fortunately, James is used to making fools out of sceptics, and will relish the fight to regain a jersey that was once unequivocally his.
‘The Lions already have some impressive flyhalf options in Elton Jantjies, Burton Francis and André Pretorius,’ he says. ‘That’s fine. They’ve made no promises to me about starting and that suits me perfectly. I want it to be tough; I want to have to fight for a start. Winning a starting place is my ambition, especially in a World Cup year. After that, I want to show the national selectors what I can do.’
Four years on from the 2007 World Cup and James has added to his repertoire. The improvement has been patent in his showings for Bath in the European club competitions, and the time abroad has forced him to become a more rounded player.
‘Competing in northern hemisphere conditions can really alter your playing style,’ he says. ‘I’ve had to embrace tactical kicking a lot more, as that’s the skill set required for wet weather. There’s also more focus on the No 10 as the player the team depends on, so it’s made me grow up a lot.’
Jones argues that James has what it takes to revive a Bok backline that’s shown few signs of life in the past 12 months.
‘He hasn’t lost any of the skill that made him such a force at the 2007 World Cup,’ Jones says. ‘Bath are a different side when he starts for them. His physicality certainly adds something to their game.
‘As for his kicking, he’s always been good at identifying space and his rare ability to kick on the run means the opposition back three need to be wary. It keeps them thinking about their positioning and means that they can’t go into the game with a set plan. That’s not to say Morné Steyn is a bad flyhalf, but Butch certainly ticks a lot of boxes.’
Jones also stresses that under the current laws which favour attacking momentum, Test teams need flyhalves who can vary their play.
‘Butch can change his alignment at speed. Stevie Larkham was great at it, and Butch is right up there too. When you get quick ball, you want a flyhalf to run on to the pass, but you also want him testing the defenders with different running lines. It’s an invaluable weapon under the new laws, as the tackle is far more combative. You want a guy who can breach the gain line and set up quick ball.’
Bath coach Steve Meehan agrees that James has more than lived up to his reputation. Over four seasons, Meehan has watched James develop a maturity that amplifies his threat.
‘Defensively, I think he’s misunderstood in the sense that those big hits are more calculated than they look, and it’s not just an individual thing but something that’s planned within the team context,’ says Meehan. ‘Those big hits inspire team-mates to follow suit, and it can also put them on the front foot. There’s nothing random about Butch’s defence.’
Like Smit, Meehan doesn’t hesitate in endorsing James as the heartbeat of the team. While he’s not a leader in the strictest sense, his abrasive style and shrewd option-taking sets the standard for team-mates to follow.
‘Butch is a World Cup winner, but he’s also a fighter. He’s come back from so many injury setbacks, and the dedication it’s taken to get through rehab and then get back into his groove hasn’t been lost on the other players.
‘They admire him for his skill, and when he has something to say, there are no arguments. He tells it pretty simply, but there’s a lot of thought behind those plain words.’
It’s a travesty that James so rarely receives plaudits in his home country. It’s an injustice that stems from the perception that he can’t kick. Those who argue for Steyn as South Africa’s only kicking option are ignorant of James’s accomplishments with the boot. In the last decade, coaches have trusted Braam van Straaten and Percy Montgomery ahead of James, and James has only kicked for goal in 16 of his 40 Tests. But aside from the coaches’ lack of faith, you can’t fault James’s strike rate of 83%, a record that’s marginally less accurate than Steyn’s.
And an argument for Steyn as the Boks’ sole tactical option holds no water when you consider James’s outstanding contributions in this department. Few would have forgotten the pin-point kicking display that laid the foundation for a 53-8 hammering of the Wallabies in 2008.
He’s also never been scared to use the kick as a weapon; those attacking grubbers, chips and cross kicks so often resulting in tries for team-mates. While Steyn is the master of one discipline, James is more like Carter in that he can switch between a conservative and an attacking style of play.
‘A flyhalf needs to vary his game,’ says James. ‘If he sits back in the pocket and boots the ball continuously, he’s going to make it easy for the defence, and if he takes it to the line every time, he also becomes predictable.
‘I’m happy with the standard of my tactical kicking, and realise that it’s an important part of Test rugby. But is it everything? I prefer to play my rugby with ball in hand. My kicking is good but you need more from a flyhalf, you need somebody who can bring the backline into the game.’
– This article first appeared in the April issue of SA Rugby magazine.
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229 Comments
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14 Apr 2011, 06:21 am
Butch James is over the hill. Might as well call in Chuck Norris.
14 Apr 2011, 06:27 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-1: Chuck Norris is quite possibly the most complete flyhalf the game has ever seen.
Butch is too old, still doesn’t have self control or discipline, is too fragile (see the tests he played in last year), and hasn’t played southern hemisphere rugby for a number of years.
Suggesting he is some how the saviour of the Boks is crazy, especially considering the role du Preez played in guiding Butch round the field during the World Cup.
14 Apr 2011, 06:44 am
My granny wouldn’t be intimidated by James , he was average at best despite a WC medal, the Bokke must be desparate.
14 Apr 2011, 06:50 am
i would rather have Butch at 80 % than the absolute 1 dimensional skop en jag artist that is M Steyn.
Be bold PDV, have a close look at Lambie, Grant and Butch and then decide.
Lambie will play against Grant [ once ] Steyn [ twice ] and Butch James [ once ].
Lots of opportunity to see the contenders in real high pressure matches up against each other.
But M Steyn a huge no no in my book.
And I agree, Butch tactical boot far better imo than M Steyns aimless ‘skop it doer and gone down the middle of the field ‘ rubbish that we see week in and week out.
Give me anyone of Grant,Butch or Lambie, at least we then give our outside backs a semblance of a chance and will benefit by a 10 that is a real defensive weapon as opposed to M Steyn.
14 Apr 2011, 07:16 am
Jon, do you actually watch rugby?
How did you manage to waffle so much and not once mention Peter Grant? You are stuck on an old broken down flyhalf who might break down after game one in the world cup? Then you are also getting carried away with the Lambie hype who has yet to play a really challenging game (with the exception of the Currie Cup final)
The flyhalves for South Africa must surely be Grant and Lambie, and possibly Butch if they have the head count.
14 Apr 2011, 07:20 am
@grant10(grant10)-4: Nothing backs up what you are saying. The Stormers can’t score trys with Grant at 10, he offers nothing on attack and has a pop gun boot. Stormers fans don’t want to admit it, but you are playing Bulls rugby from 2009 – great defence, great set pieces, great physicality, no attack.
Butch has not done anything worth mentioning in four years. He has probably been injured for 2 of those and hasn’t played Southern Hemisphere rugby in ages. He thinks he is tough, Keo thinks he is an enforcer, Butch James’ body disagrees.
The only player that should be considered is Lambie, with Steyn on the bench for tactical variation.
14 Apr 2011, 07:26 am
And this sets the site up for another lively debate today……
I’m for any one of 4 players that are in form and have proven this.
It’s likely to be Butch/Lambie/Steyn
Probably all 3 that will go as Lambie and Butch cover 12 as well.
Too early for me to make my pick, as Butch needs to playe here IMO in order for us to really judge his form. He may be fit but is he sharp?
14 Apr 2011, 07:27 am
Don’t want my Butch anywhere near Divvy, look at what he did to Elton. No we need him to win the CC.
If Divvy wants to take a lamb to the slaughter let it be Lambie.
14 Apr 2011, 07:33 am
I like Butch but its time now to move on. Its time for Hougaard, Lambie, Sarel, Whitley etc..to start playing a great role in our rugby.
14 Apr 2011, 07:34 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-6: the great thing is we swill be able to compare apples with apples as the season progresses as all contenders will be up against each other.
My take though is the 3 ‘real ‘ 10 s are Lambie,Grant and Butch.
M steyn is a certain type that cannot change. I do not care what anyone says, I have seen enough of M Steyn to conclude that his DNA is not suited to any game plan other than the skop en jag. He may have been ok when his Bulls forwards were all over the opposition, but once the opposition get parity, he goes back to his roots and heads for the pocket.
Never measure the 10 when his pack is on top, look at him when his pack is on the back foot and under pressure. Then we see the real M Steyn, a deep in the pocket, defensively below average skop en bid artist.
Ja, he has a great pole kicking boot, but is that enough?
Not a chance I say.
14 Apr 2011, 07:39 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-3: Classic post !!! LOL
14 Apr 2011, 07:41 am
Lets put this plainly – SA doesnt have an established , fit , experienced and on form flyhalf for the WC – i would worry boys
14 Apr 2011, 07:41 am
@KevinRack(KevinRack)-9:
Hougaard, really …. haha bwhaabwha.
14 Apr 2011, 07:46 am
It’s time for South Africa to take a gamble (coz lets face it, we dont have much to lose the way we’re playing) and make Lambie starting 10 at the worldcup….seeing him perform in pressure situations its so clear that this boy is ready. In SA we have this ridiculous theory that players are “too young” etc and look where it lands us, with a dads army springbok team of average performing middle agers….across the indian ocean punts have been taken on talented youngsters like quade cooper, kurtley beale, james o’connor, SBW (young in terms of rugby union experience), dagg, cruden, guilford….the list is endless. and they are head and shoulders more superior than our oupas…..Lambie needs to start at 10 with Butch as a bench option playing a role similar to Smit (not a bad plan considering those knees barely hold up anyway)
14 Apr 2011, 07:48 am
This is an extract from an article today on Rugbyheaven.nz. Unfortunately I agree. We are going to the WC with rugby plyers that have reached their sell by date>-
OPINION: The Springboks won’t be able to defend the World Cup because their core of stars are over the hill.
The cracks began to appear last year and they are opening up in alarming fashion for Boks coach Pieter de Villiers during Super Rugby.
From skipper John Smit in his confusing front row roles through to Bryan Habana’s struggles on the wings, leading South African players are clearly struggling for form.
Even the once-feared locking partnership of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha is losing its aura.
Botha’s ill-discipline will always pose a problem in a tournament situation and it’s hard to dismiss the thought that Matfield’s effort against the Crusaders last weekend was his worst performance in more than 100 Super Rugby games.
It’s also hard to put aside the notion that de Villiers will toss aside this much experience in a World Cup year.
He has other options but he’s unlikely to be radical with the responsibilities that come with defending the golden cup weighing so heavily on him.
14 Apr 2011, 07:48 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-3: Yeah yeah, we already know all that. And SA only played Fiji, Tonga and Arg enroute to the final. Blah blah defckn blah! To the victor goes the spoils m8 and until one of your precious AB’s can say the have a WC medal on display in their lounge, I think you should shut the fck up
14 Apr 2011, 07:53 am
On Butch…if his form is up, I can’t see why he can’t be the 10 at the WC. Would be fun to see him and SBW shoulder-charging each other. Butch will get the cards and citations tho, due to past indiscretions. tsk tsk tsk
14 Apr 2011, 07:54 am
Frans Steyn has , perhaps, a 30% succes goalkicking rate, but it will be terribly unfair not to mention that he hardly ever takes one of less than 50meters. Sure Butch kicks 83% in the bok jersey, but hardly any kicks outside the 22, or with a 30 degree plus angle. Needs to be said as well.
14 Apr 2011, 07:58 am
De Villiers needs to be bold and sellect jong guns from the start of the Try Nations but I know this is only daydreaming. The players for the WC have already been contracted and I fear it will all end in tears.
14 Apr 2011, 07:58 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-16: touchy touchy , just cause you have no flyhalf dont make your problems ours – we can lend you one if you like !!!
14 Apr 2011, 07:58 am
@DROOOL(DROOOL)-15: I saw that and have only 1 thing to say…there is still alot of water to go under that bridge. You and the rst of the kiwis write the Boks off at your own peril. I’ll reserve my thoughts till we get there. Remember, we were still losing games weeks out from the tournament in 2007 and BOOM…we hit Eng with 36-0.
14 Apr 2011, 07:59 am
Also needs yo be considered: Both Butch and Bakkies on the field- two walking yellow cards. Yuo can never risk both of them at the same time, just as you can never have Spies and Plod on at the same time- allways a player short
14 Apr 2011, 07:59 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-16: I think the whole team of 87 could say they have a WC winners medal in their lounge, wouldnt you?
lets see how SA fare this year when they will come up against sterner opposition… full credit to them for 07, but surely even you can admit they had an armchair ride to the final, through no fault of their own…
14 Apr 2011, 08:00 am
@DROOOL(DROOOL)-19: Might not be day dreaming the Tri Nations this year is perfect for gettin combinations correct
14 Apr 2011, 08:02 am
boks with the Fat Boys Club better pray they get out there pool!
Wales Samoa and Fiji will all fancy there chances against these pld plodders, with the pRsident of the Plodders Foundation firmly entrenched at hooker, leaving the best 2 on the planet gathering splinters….
14 Apr 2011, 08:03 am
@Stiff-arm(Stiff-arm)-22: spies and plod = major k ak for boks….
14 Apr 2011, 08:03 am
@stew(stew)-20: nah, you keep ‘em. I’ll take an avg F/H with some guts and backbone anyday over the “world’s best ” who goes all limp when the heat comes on.
14 Apr 2011, 08:06 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-23: pardon, I shudda said post ’87. Sorry. All the same, it’s been a long time between drinks
14 Apr 2011, 08:08 am
@grant10(grant10)-25: No need why the best 2 on the planet can not come on and wreak havoc in the last 30. His line-out throws is not that flash either at the mo
14 Apr 2011, 08:10 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-29: you part of the problem.
wanting to start the president of the fat boy over the best 2 on the planet.
only in SA i tell you.
If plod was a kiwi , a pom or an aussie he would be working for fox or sky sports 2 years ago already.
14 Apr 2011, 08:12 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-29:
Surely better to have him causing havoc for the full 80 ??
14 Apr 2011, 08:12 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-28: it has been a long time, but it will make it all that much sweeter when they eventually do win another… hopefully in my lifetime
14 Apr 2011, 08:14 am
@grant10(grant10)-30:
that is simply not true! I consider myself part of the solution. You, on the other hand… 
14 Apr 2011, 08:20 am
I first want to see Butch play superugby before i comment.
14 Apr 2011, 08:22 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-31: True but I feel a fit John Smit, playing well in a single position is more important to SA’s cause than Bismarck wreaking havoc. But with every passing week, time is running out for Cpt Fantastic. Every week he gets shunted around, is another week lost re Smit and hence strengthens Bismarcks case. If this confusion remains by the start of the 3N’s into the WC, I’m not too sure about our chances. We need Smit to focus our energy and he can’t do that if he’s not leading from the front
14 Apr 2011, 08:23 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-29: True John Smit’s lineout throwing is the best in S.A.
14 Apr 2011, 08:25 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-32: oh yeah? How much time you have on that clock of yours, mate?
14 Apr 2011, 08:28 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-37: a few years yet…so long as I stay out of SA (because Im sure theres plenty here who would like to change that number)
14 Apr 2011, 08:30 am
@iori Yagami(iori Yagami)-36: Yes, and not only that…the confusion can’t be good for team dynamics and him as captain leading the team. If Div sees him as the captain then he should play, like in NOW. He needs to make us believers, esp folks like grant10 and only way he’s gonna do that is by playing. Plum has an obligation to the Sharks but there is a bigger picture here
14 Apr 2011, 08:33 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-39: If he is not up to it anymore, a couple of games as the starting 2 would show that and then Div should be brave enough to call it and choose a new captain.
14 Apr 2011, 08:36 am
Ok so I went for my routine check up today and everything seemed to be going fine until he stuck his index finger up my @rse!
Do you think I should change dentists?
14 Apr 2011, 08:36 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-38: Nah, you got Saffas confused. They’re not into the death threat business. You might get tackled and stretchered off to hospital yeah. That I’d believe
14 Apr 2011, 08:36 am
Butch has been consistently excellent whenever he’s been fit for the past five years. If he joins the lions in May in good condition and plays to his usual standard, he could well be our best option for the world cup. His situation is not anything like that of smit and habana who have been consistently poor for over a year. The two flyhalves who would give SA a shot at the WC (provided a whole host of other selections are well made) are butch and lambie. The Peter Grant fan club has been very active on this site, but I’m afraid they weill be disappointed. Grant is a good player, but if a backline including the talents of de villiers, fourie, de jongh and aplon consistently struggle to score tries, there is something missing. Grant has been consistently good without ever really being world class. He’s also been around long enough for us to know that what weKve seen is wht we’ll get and there probably isn’t a whole new dimension to his game that will pleasantly surprise us. It’s got to be between james and lambie
14 Apr 2011, 08:37 am
@Pick the team in August not March(stormersboy)-41: Doing a root canal?
14 Apr 2011, 08:40 am
I can’t understand why Butch is even in the reckoning and no one has even seen him play yet
14 Apr 2011, 08:40 am
@BokiNZ(BokiNZ)-42: so long as its toe to toe, and not the king hit variety HG seemed to enjoy, then I wouldnt have a problem with it… might knock a few back in the tackle myself..
@Pick the team in August not March(stormersboy)-41: so do you whistle when you f@rt?
14 Apr 2011, 08:45 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-46: I do now Pops. I do now……
14 Apr 2011, 08:49 am
If PdV persisted with Ruan Pienaar at flyhalve, we would’ve had the second best 10 in the world (after Dan Carter). Pienaar has everything the other limited 10′s don’t have, including Lambie i.e. experience on the big stage.
14 Apr 2011, 08:50 am
@Pick the team in August not March(stormersboy)-47: so going to the dentists meant it came back to bite you on the @rse
14 Apr 2011, 08:52 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-49: he he
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