Another Div inspired PR disaster
21 Apr 2011
MARK KEOHANE writes Peter de Villiers’s selection of 51 players for World Cup planning sessions is a poor public relations exercise and a costly time waste for players whose World Cup selection should be determined by their ability to perform in Super Rugby.
Very few take Peter de Villiers seriously as it is, but I am astounded at how easily the media have been lulled into thinking there is any value in him naming a player base of 51 (excluding northern hemisphere based players) in the middle of the Super 15.
Only 30 players will go to the World Cup and last year De Villiers told the world that if a player wasn’t in the equation by the November internationals there was little chance of him making the World Cup squad. So what has changed?
Nothing!
De Villiers in naming three players who haven’t played for South Africa, says he is rewarding Super 15 form, but then he picks 30-plus players who are fortunate to be making their Super Rugby franchises at the moment.
What exactly is De Villiers going to do with these players in the next few months? Is he going to have the odd Monday session, at huge travel expense, to tell them what his expectation of a player is for the World Cup?
The entire thing (the naming of a World Cup planning squad in excess of 50 players) is so out of place in the context of the season. The World Cup is played three weeks after the completion of the Tri Nations. There can’t be a better preparation for South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
It is during the Tri Nations that the finishing touches of the last four years should be applied to the Boks. The World Cup is another tournament and the preparation should be similar to how the Boks would prepare for the challenge of the Tri Nations. It is a tournament in which a team aims to peak in the play-offs. It doesn’t need a four year preparation.
What the South African rugby public should find particularly disturbing is that De Villiers, four years into his tenure, has named Rassie Erasmus to do an ambulance job as his technical adviser; that he tried to get Eddie Jones in as well; that he is still trying to get rid of Gary Gold and Dick Muir and that he now wants the services of the 2007 Bok conditioning coach Derick Coetzee.
I am surprised he hasn’t tried to lure Joel Stransky out of retirement to kick some drop goals.
De Villiers committed to the core of the 2007 winning World Cup squad to successfully defend the World Cup. Whether we agree with it or not that is the reality of the Springboks in 2011. John Smit was promised the captaincy and he will go to the World Cup as Bok captain, even if there are games in which Bismarck du Plessis starts at hooker and Victor Matfield takes over the captaincy.
The decision to invest in the 2007 winners always came at a risk that the tournament was a year past the peak of many of these players. De Villiers believes they have one big tournament left and that is the World Cup. I, like many, believe it is a tournament too far for some of the best players ever produced in this country.
De Villiers has given too much comfort to too many players out of form and not enough reward to potential bolters. Of the three uncapped national players in his extended squad the only realistic World Cup option is Duane Vermeulen but already De Villiers, in attempting to boost the player, has only confirmed how far down he rates him in the pecking order. It will take injury to several players for Vermeulen to get an international Bok cap. Vermeulen would be better off going overseas to Munster, serving his three years and then making the Irish team.
Sarel Pretorius is also not going to make the World Cup squad ahead of Fourie du Preez, Rickey Januarie and Francois Hougaard. So don’t get too excited with that selection.
Don’t get excited about any of the names. Rather get a bit depressed about the continued investment in so many players off form. The same names are there that for the last two years have done nothing to inspire confidence in the national set up.
The speculation that Smit is also playing for his international future is ill-informed. De Villiers has said he will only pick him at hooker, which doesn’t mean if he isn’t playing hooker for the Sharks he won’t be selected.
Smit, Matfield and Du Preez have controlled the Bok squad for the last four years and De Villiers knows he can’t change the situation now, even if he wanted to, and he doesn’t want to.
The World Cup squad, to be named in a few months, will be consistent with the squads De Villiers has selected over the last few years. Smit will be in charge, so will Matfield and Du Preez will be as influential.
There will be no uncapped player in the World Cup squad and it will be De Villiers’s belief in the longevity of players who were once brilliant that will be tested against father time.
575 Comments
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21 Apr 2011, 09:26 am
@grant10(grant10)-548: Lionel Cronje panicked when he last played against the Sharks if I remember correctly and had a terrible game.
21 Apr 2011, 09:27 am
@pokkel(pokkel)-551: really?
When was that?
21 Apr 2011, 09:32 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-549: Well van Aswegen will have to really step up with his tackling to be a next JW, but Elstadt certainly looks the part, tremendously strong in the tackle etc , a bruiser but have not seen him do anything with the ball ala Juan Smith, maybe thats because of the role he curently fulfills.
21 Apr 2011, 09:38 am
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-553: van aswegen a very neat distributor and a fearsome tackler for his size, a lot like lambie in that regard.
Lambie and Van Aswegen 2 special players imo.
But watch L Cronje…..he is different….he has a swagger about the way he plays….i sense he may be the one who makes the opposition sit up and take notice the most.
Just a opinion at this stage…..he needs to show it at the top level ….
21 Apr 2011, 09:43 am
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-553: elstagt is a hard so d ….i also feel he may be better suited to blind side as opposed to enforcer lock, although he seems to be doing the 4 job just as well….
watch the young Etsebeth oke come through….the Ikey 4 lock….now there is another fine prospect
21 Apr 2011, 09:52 am
@grant10(grant10)-554: I agree about Cronje and think he is a great balanced runner and quick thinker on the field. I rate his skillset higher than that of Lambie but think that Lambie has a better mindset i.e. can handle possible failure (BMT).
Did you notice against the Lions how GVA dropped that pass in the first 10 minutes and then managed to recover and jinx his way past a few defenders. The problem was that there was hardly any pressure on him at the time that he dropped the pass and that makes me wonder about his temperament, although he more than made up for it.
I also really enjoyed this Sadie fellow and the guy he replaced Poolman. Two really exciting runners , would consider Sadie at outside centre as well.
21 Apr 2011, 10:02 am
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-550: good morning piesangs
this is my point , we talk up lambie they moan , but they can talk up who they want . moan as they want , its elstadt the worlds best and alberts who???????????????????
now if that is not arrogance what is????
and i know grant will think i am referring to him but i aint , he atleast gives sharks players credit
diffs is Van aswegen is nowhere near lambie yet and has only just hit the scene , where as lambie has had a super 15 cc and now super 15 behind him
and a bok tour
in saying that , nowhere am i saying cronje or van aswegen are not good players or potentially very good
but i mean alberts who?? after 3 great seasons as remember he was already showing stardom at the lions, and yes gotten better at the sharks but still he earned his stardom
and as good potentially elstadt is, its alberts who??? now thats a f*ing laugh and a half
21 Apr 2011, 10:07 am
I for one can see where Peter is going with this,the Super 15 is going to be quite long,then after that its the Tri Nations.Peter is going to rest most of his senior players during the Tri Nations cos the franchise coaches are not willing to assit in this regard.
21 Apr 2011, 10:08 am
hmmm. lets not underestimate the influence rassie could well have on de villiers decision making and selections. rassie has no loyalties and will be keen to make a difference.
another spin on the naming of the 50, is that it might just be an attempt by devilliers to show those out of form older boks that they are not the only players in contention for the competition and that they need to lift their games or see themselves over taken by others in the wider group.
whilst i agree with the fact there is no need to name any squad for a good few more months, especially as those outside the 50 may get a bit bummed, imagine how much protest there would be in div named a preliminary squad of just 35 for instance???
21 Apr 2011, 10:10 am
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-556: BMT is the most priceless assest one can be born with , you cannot train that
i have made this comparrison in here so many times
and i have not seen this in van aswegen , grant or cronje , and thats the calmness and BMT of Lambie , yes lambie started off with his kicking not as it should be , he worked on it and walla , top % kicker in the SA conference
lambie however attacks the advantage line like butch of old and does so better then eny of his young counterparts
taking pressure? all one has to do is go watch the chiefs match where the sharks lost , lambie still had a very good steady game kicking out of hand , never missed a kick at poles or never missed a tackle
now take grant when the pressure came in the reds match where the stormers lost, grant missed tackles , missed kicks and over all game was not good
yes when the stormers were dominating grant was excellent,
now its that calmness and BMT that lambie has that seperates him
NOw a good example of BMT and a player that has the better techinque is a one Mr Jonty Rhodes compared to Darryl Cullinan, which one had the BMT and which one the better batsmen technique???????????????
21 Apr 2011, 10:11 am
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-556: sadie looks very talented , JR had told me about this kid and to watch him ,would love to see him start a game and at center where he actually plays
21 Apr 2011, 10:12 am
@grant10(grant10)-542: why you so defensive over him grant?
21 Apr 2011, 10:15 am
@munkiboi(munkiboi)-559: I wouldn’t call the 50 a PR disaster, he has covered just about every player who could make the Boks and like you say it will be good if the older boys like Habs, Spies, Ricky, and Smit will hopefully catch a wake up.
21 Apr 2011, 10:20 am
@foreverrugga(foreverrugga)-563: actually smit has gotten better after his surgery , match for match
but some way to go yet ,
ricky i think is about past it now , although i aint gonna knock his selection
its the bulls players form that concerns me ?? , although agian the WC is 4 months away and by then they could be firing big time
and take into account the squad contains 16 bulls players
21 Apr 2011, 10:33 am
I was very worried abt the WC but this morning I woke up with a sense of calm. Everything is gonna be alryt. We are all in a panic about players who know wats at stake and still have time to improve their game considerably. I think the mood will be very different within 2 months time. We r gonna look lyk da champions we plan to be and the rest of the world wont know where we’ve come from.No wishful thinking involved here.
21 Apr 2011, 10:37 am
The Boks did not play well last year – we all know that. The alarming thing to me is the excuse for their lack of performance that was tabled by the coach and the senior players: “There is nothing wrong with our game plan – the problem lies with the execution of the game plan.” One can make the following deductions from this statement:
1. The players did not have the capacity to do what they were told to do by the coaches
2. The coaches did not have the skill to transfer their vision to the players who, in turn, did not buy into the game plan
3. There were players missing from the squad (read FdP) who were integral to the game plan execution
If a team continues to under perform and there is, in the mind of the coaches, a perpetual non-implementation of the game plan, then surely one has to either alter the way you play or you have to employ other personnel.
The way the Bulls are playing this season tells me that there is no intention whatsoever to alter the way they play. A very alarming state of affairs if one considers that Matfield and FDP are both in that team and they have, according to reports, a lot to say about the way the team plays.
Equally alarming is that PDV does not have the cahoonas to change the team and we will, therefore, have players who are horribly out of form, very low on confidence and generally over the wall. So, my conclusion?
We are screwed. As much as I and many others like me are very excited about young talent coming through and glimpses from the Sharks on how we know we can play rugby, the sad fact is that all of that will go unnoticed and will neither have an impact on who is selected for the Boks nor how they will play. Expect the same old disregard for possession and an early ticket home in the quarters.
21 Apr 2011, 10:39 am
@Ace11(Ace11)-565:
Take your tongue out of your cheek, and, if you were serious, take your head out of your arse
21 Apr 2011, 11:04 am
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-567: Its not possible that all of our quality players have irreparably sh#t. If a few of them can regain form or inspiration, it can have a huge effect on the rest of the team. There are some who are truly over the hill but for most I think its the fire and desire that is missing. Pitting them against in-form players in a “planning squad” is one way of lighting that fire but even then, I think the occasion and country is too much for them to ignore. The fire will return.
I’m not in the business of imagining but imagine bakkies, Alberts and Bissie playing like their lives depend on it, and we know they can. If Spies is being held back by fear, he’ll realise that there is no place for mediocrity in such a pack. He’s cr#p ryt now but he’s still big, strong and fast. Take the banggat out of him and we could see big things.
My head is out of my arse and I’m starting to see da bigger picture. We don’t need a Jake White ryt now but rather a man who can bring out the beast that SA players are famous for. PDivvie myt just b crazy enough to do it.
21 Apr 2011, 13:50 pm
@grant10(grant10)-542: Wtf is wrong with you pathetic little child!! Is that all you can do is swear at people?! Jeez and this coming from the biggest windgat moaner of them all! Call yourself a grown intelligent man? More like a fat bully in a playground!
21 Apr 2011, 19:44 pm
@JR – The Real Make The Circle Bigger(JayDaFiveOh)-569: @JR – The Real Make The Circle Bigger(JayDaFiveOh)-569: @JR – The Real Make The Circle Bigger(JayDaFiveOh)-569: Keohane has got it right and so has Grant10.
22 Apr 2011, 10:20 am
@keo(keo)-5: So you suggesting De Villiers should have unilaterally dropped the IRB team of the year because in your humble opinion they had peaked?. And that would have made sense?
22 Apr 2011, 10:35 am
I think to have any chance of world cup success, we need a blend of exciting talent, and old wise heads …. my 22 for key game – say NZ semi …
15 F Steyn
11 B Basson
12 J d Villiers
13 F Fourie
14 JP Pieterson
10 P Lambie
9 F du Preez (vc)
1 Beast
2 B du Plessis
3 J du Plessis
4 A Bekker
5 V Matfield (on field captain)
6 S Burger
7 W Alberts
8 D Vermeulen
16 J Smit (c)
17 G Steenkamp
18 D Rossouw
19 P Spies
20 F Hougaard
21 J de Jongh
22 R Pienaar
thoughts guys and gals?
22 Apr 2011, 11:15 am
Jeez Ballbag, not looking forward to seeing Rene Ranger or Hosea Gear skin JPP. JP has NEVER tackled a player coming at him. Relies on his speed to catch from behind or shepherd to touch. He’ll be found out against any strong fast wing and NZ has loads of them – David Smith had to go to Oz to play S15. We are really short of wings at the moment but rather Gio. Smaller but a way better tackler. Probably matches JP in the air too.
Gotta have a fetcher. Heinrich if he plays anywhere his past form in the next 2 months.Then from your squad would have to drop Schalk or Alberts. Tough choices. I agree Spies’ strengths are best used from the bench.
Neither Victor nor Bakkies deserve places at the moment. Are they hungry enugh?
22 Apr 2011, 11:37 am
Ya you right, JP not great! Not sure too many options though!! I hope Mapoe would come through, but not looking great at the moment … i agree though … Aplon probably best though …
25 Apr 2011, 09:16 am
World Cup squad of 30 players on merit:
13 Backs:
15: F Steyn(cover 10 & 12),Aplon(cover 11 & 14)
11/14: Pietersen,Basson,Habana(only for his experience).
12/13: De Villiers(vice-captain & on field captain)/Fourie/De Jongh
10: Lambie(cover 12 & 15),Grant(cover 12)
9: Pienaar(cover 10 & 15 & extra goal kicker),Du Preez,Hougaard(cover 11)
17 Forwards:
6/7/8: Alberts,Burger,Smith,Brussow,Vermeulen,Spies(only for his speed).
4/5: Bekker/Matfield/Van der Merwe,Rossouw(cover 7 & 8)
1/3: Beast/J du Plessis/Steenkamp/Van der Linde
2: B du Plessis/Strauss/Smit (only for experience & tour captain playing of bench)
Unlucky players: Bakkies Botha(discipline probl),Butch James(discipline probl),M Steyn(one-dimensional & defence suspect),Francois Louw(concedes too many penalties),R Kankowkski(playing style not suited 4 heavier fields).
Comments & suggestions welcome.
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