Coetzee denies BMT concerns
3 Jul 2011
Allister Coetzee says the Stormers don’t suffer from ‘stage fright’, despite them losing a home semi-final and three other big matches at Newlands this season.
It was the same old, same old disappointment from the Stormers. After the Super 14 final and the Currie Cup semi-final defeats to the Bulls last year, they blew another play-off tie as they delivered a dismal display against the Crusaders that saw them lose 29-10.
Realistically, the Cape side were favourites for the win. The game was played in their own back yard and had the previous week off while the Crusaders had to travel from New Zealand immediately after their qualifier triumph over the Sharks the Saturday before. Despite this advantage, Coetzee’s men imploded. The hosts looked like they were the ones who travelled around the world for the match as they were outplayed and beaten convincingly.
In retrospect, the semi-final hiding against the Crusaders was the Stormers’ fourth big defeat at Newlands in 2011. They lost against the Reds, Crusaders (again) and Bulls during the league stage at home – all pressure fixtures. After the loss against the Bulls, Coetzee defended his team by saying they won more close games this year, even with a flyhalf injury crisis. After Saturday’s semi-final loss, Coetzee lamented the performance but argued that the players didn’t falter because of the pressure.
‘We didn’t suffer from stage fright. We were beaten by a better Crusaders side,’ Coetzee told keo.co.za. ‘There is reason to be critical. We were poor in the scrums, we made elementary errors and the Crusaders capitalised on turnover ball.
‘We also let ourselves down tactically. By half-time, the Crusades made 70 tackles while we only made 20. We had more ball but we were playing it in the wrong areas of the field. We played with two inexperienced scrummies too and they did well. The loss of Dewaldt Duvenage was huge though as he’s been in these type of situations before and he’s been instrumental for us.
‘But I don’t think we lost because of stage fright. We just need to take this defeat on the chin and move on. This has still been a successful season.’
Inside centre Jean de Villiers said the Stormers’ early missed try opportunity had an effect on the game.
‘We scored the first points of the match, but we should’ve scored a try,’ De Villiers said. ‘We ran about four or five phases near the try line and decided to go with the short options. The Crusaders would’ve been happy with only conceding three points in that situation. After that, they scored an intercept try and from then the momentum swung their way.
‘I think these play-off defeats will help us in future seasons. The Bulls lost play-off games before they won their first Super Rugby title. It’s flipping tough but we just need to keep our chins up.’
Coetzee added that he believes silverware will come soon as he plans to bolster his squad, especially now that flanker Francois Louw (Bath) and lock Anton van Zyl (Stade Francais) will head for Europe.
‘We want to win trophies but we will need to create depth in certain positions,’ said Coetzee. ‘The Crusaders had Matt Berquist and Brent Ward to depend on when they had injuries. Both of those players had Super Rugby experience. The Bulls also have depth as they always have quality players coming off their bench.
‘We need to build a squad of 40 players. There’s plenty of character here but we need to get it right. The trophies will come.’
By Gareth Duncan
175 Comments
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3 Jul 2011, 17:42 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-59:
oh about that 2008 title theres a question mark there about who was coaching them. it might have still been deans.
3 Jul 2011, 17:42 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-43:
In 2008, after winning the S14 title the previous year, the Bulls ended in 10th spot. This when they lost only Victor Matfield who went to France.
Next year you will be without 5 of your stalwarts (VM; FdP; Gurthro; Gary: Bakkies) and possibly Danie. How do you think you will fare in the coming years when the lost of just one player had such a huge impact on your team’s performance just a few years ago?
Rather worry about that than the Stormers. We will still be there or there about in the coming years, challenging for the title. Your boys?
I don’t think so. In fact, I know they won’t.
3 Jul 2011, 17:46 pm
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-99: ha ha ha you are kidding. De.Lu.Sion.Al.
saders are million times champs, a walking all black team, winners in the last 4 years.
stormers have won nothing at all in 11. Nothing. Zero sweet FA. 2 Finals 1 semi and nada.
You can’t compare
3 Jul 2011, 17:52 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-67:
would anyone say that similarly its that type of ‘perspective’ which has led blackadder and the crusaders team and union bosses into an acceptance of the status quo, with unrealistic expectations and ultimately a long trophy drought because they’re sticking with blackadder the players and their systems?
no,i dont think anyone would but how is this different to the stormers ‘perspective’. the fact is they still only have 1 trophy out of 5 attempts, so far. (yes lets see what happens next week).
3 Jul 2011, 17:59 pm
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-104: Are you honestly saying you think that the Stormers are as good a team as the Crusaders? Seriously?
If you are then you need some therapy
3 Jul 2011, 17:59 pm
@funkyzoo(funkyzoo)-78:
exactly, agreed.
in fact, i think if we investigated it we’d probably find out that’s more or less chapter one of the crusaders coaching rule book.
3 Jul 2011, 18:01 pm
@Yetirat(Yetirat)-92:
There is plenty we can highlight as specifics for the failures last night, I do however feel that all those are small things to be corrected.
I did put my thoughts together earlier today, you might like it.
http://www.ruggaworld.com/2011/07/03/hearing-is-believing/
3 Jul 2011, 18:10 pm
@BillTong(BillTong)-96:
nah man, the first two are really just special olympics ‘every bodies a winner’ stuff and the 3nations and bledisloe’s just gonna be about mind games, rondfok and testing combo’s this year.
theres only one show in town, we all know that…
3 Jul 2011, 18:17 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-105:
even the crusaders dont get a prize for ‘being as good as the crusaders’, guy. remember, its not the special olympics, trophies are what counts at the end of the day and by that measure it hasnt helped the crusaders for ‘being as good as the crusaders’ in the last 5 years.
3 Jul 2011, 18:19 pm
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-109: So, answer the question then. So 1 from 4 so far and ZERO from 22 (CC and Super Rugby) is comparable. LOL ha ha ha lol lol ha ha ha someone give me some O2. bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha
3 Jul 2011, 18:22 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-107:
I just went to your link and read your article.
I can sense your disappointment. I can sense your passion. But I must be brutally honest.
I think you are too close to the team and players, and your emotions are interfering with your reason in this shall we call it “soft” analysis of the Stormers failure.
Fact is, in the nothing has changed at Newlands for 10 years. The team of next year will be missing almost as many senior players as the Bulls will. Yet we keep hearing about the Bulls reaching the end of an era, while the Stormers are apparently “building for something big in the near future”.
Sorry. That is simply not the talk of someone in touch with reality. The Stormers chance at a trophy has come and gone. Probably for the next 3-5 years at least.
3 Jul 2011, 18:23 pm
Coetsee is lost, he’s a useless JW clone coach and he just follows orders when Burger and Rupert shout jump then Coetsee and Rassie ask how high.
They never used the true leaders in the team van Zyl or JdV properly and played wrong mix of loose forwards with Burger actually stuffing up the cohesion in the team with Elstadt playing wrong position and Louw the real breakdown specialist playing wrong side of scrum.
Whole Stormers philosophy is flawed with this idea of hero worship status of likes of Burger, Bekker, Fourie, Habana etc getting too big for their boots. Real captain and down to earth leader and brains in engine room Van Zyl hardly got a game shows what dismal lunacy runs this team with the idiot Burger leading the charge of the light brigade game after game.
Had van Zyl or de Villiers captained this team then BMT would not have been an issue and can almost guarantee would have finished with far more credibility than we did under the Rassie/Coetsee/Burger delinquency that has hamstrung this team for 2 years on the trot.
Bring in a Deans or Mckenzie with a proper brain and leader for captaincy and see the huge difference unfold.
3 Jul 2011, 18:27 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-111: Tac the truth is all Stormers’ supporters and even the team are deluded. JDV said in an interview “we are where the Bulls were before they won”. Big statement from a deluded mind.
3 Jul 2011, 18:29 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-112: I thought AC was the saviour, your genius who should have been Bok coach?
3 Jul 2011, 18:33 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-113:
The Bulls team that lost 2 semfinals in 2005 and 2006 lost both of those in Australasia, not at home. And that Bulls team had already won 3 Currie Cup trophies in a row.
The Stormers had no reason to lose yesterday. The Bulls teams that won the trophy in 2007 and 2009 didn’t even have a rest weekend like the Stormers did last week.
Fact is, it was only mental weakness that cost the Stormers their victory. The Crusaders came to Loftus and Soweto 3 times in semifinals, and got clobbered by the Bulls each time.
I mentioned to someone that when the Bulls were playing in home semifinals, they would come out firing and stampeding, but in comparison the Stormers came out like limp breezes.
There is no other explanation than mental weakness. They are NOTHING like the Bulls team of the mid 2000′s.
3 Jul 2011, 18:36 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-115: No they are not, even their mothers know this, deep down inside.
When I hear them crowing now I won’t get cross and think they are arrogant anymore, they are mentally ill. Deluded. Like Moses in the wilderness 11 years of empty cabinets has driven them all mad
3 Jul 2011, 18:36 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-110:
no man, were comparing blackadder’s reign and teams under him with ac’s reign and teams under him for the duration of their respective seasons so far.
your not focused on what were discussing and (as well as) the thread/articles topic in question. this was never a discussion of the history of the two teams and their successes within the duration of that history.
3 Jul 2011, 18:39 pm
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-117: Ok then. No trophies for you. 1 for them.
A record which is 100, 300 or 1 million times better than the WP and AC.
1 Final choke, 1 semi choke.
Not good reading really.
You can’t spin it any way other than no trophies.
Can I claim half a 2007 s14 trophy because the Sharks were robbed? Not a chance. Sharks zero bulls 3. Same applies to you
3 Jul 2011, 18:40 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-111:
i thought we shot down this ‘cyclical peak theory’ of yours guy?
3 Jul 2011, 18:43 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-111:
No problem Tac. But I would like to think it is different.
I think you know how I not only analyzed, but praised the Bulls structures and the way they went about getting the job done.
To add, I have been extremely critical of the Stormers/WP setup over the last 6 years, highlighting mostly, but not exclusively, their lack of planning and investment in junior structures.
Look ultimately supporters judge their, or opposition teams by the silverware they have in the cupboard. And supporters of the Stormers or those criticising the team will use this as their primary platform or foundation to highlight the union’s failures, and they have every right to of course.
For instance I read the Bulls new streamlining of their structures with much interest on Wednesday, and I said at the time that they are getting it 100% spot on and will yet again lead the way for other teams to follow. Many will believe they will go through a ‘dip’ – I dont.
Perhaps it is also because I am seeing this in my current work environment, or the fact that success in general, not just rugby, is built on a ‘culture’ that exists within any business, and not short term achievements that I have written that.
Believe it or not, my motivation for writing what I did was not Allister, Jean or the Stormers match last night – it was when the Crusaders boys came out to do their bit in the press conference.
The Crusaders, similar to the Bulls in a South African context, is not a winning team, it’s a winning culture.
Stormers/WP to my mind, is there and there abouts achieving this very thing.
3 Jul 2011, 18:46 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-120: PA the truth is your Union is being run by the Presidents’ Council and not by rugby men, nor by business men.
That’s why there is no money and Rob Wagner has no say in what goes on. That is why things are a mess. How can a province with so much talent at varsity level be so poor to be honest? Because there is a major issue that goes deeper than rugby.
3 Jul 2011, 18:46 pm
I must call time though folks, chat tomorrow.
3 Jul 2011, 18:48 pm
where you get your garbage from Goodytwoshoestwat? Have you ever seen me praising AC ever? you must be fckd in the head deluded, same way as you reckon Burger is a better human and captain leader and rugby player to Watson, that’s how much you actually know or read about what I painfully stipulated for dunces like you here day after painfully obvious f’ng days.
Coetsee has NEVER been my choice for coach EVER. As coaches go Pdv leaves this JW dubious chickenarse clone of a coach in the absolute shade. And that ain’t saying all that much in the final analysis when Pdv picks Smit Matfield Burger Spies and FdP as his hope against disconsolate hope vanguard to bring him some miraculously hopeful WC spoils. Ain’t gonna happen long as these goons run the saffa rugby show.
Long as players like Burger, Smit, FdP, Spies etc get put on falsified pedestals when they simply don’t possess half the degree of character or class that their hero worshiping status’s denote, then we’ll always play off the back foot.
Coaches have to realize what actually represents the strength in a team and its never the fake hero individual but always the uncompromising whole.
3 Jul 2011, 18:48 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-118:
thats my point exactly, we can agree that the team of the last four years were the bulls. we certainly cant say the crusaders were the team of the last four years anymore than we can say the stormers were not.
3 Jul 2011, 18:48 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-121:
Mate you seemed to have summed up the Lions union, or any of the other 13 unions in SA there…
3 Jul 2011, 18:56 pm
@nama1(nama1)-102:
That’s not entirely correct.
The Bulls had a change in management. They were negative about losing Heyneke MEyer, and most importantly, they refused to adapt to the ELVs that were brought in for 2008.
It wasn’t just a case of losing V Matfield. And let’s not forget that was 4 years prior to 2012, so there has been plenty of growth and maturing among players and coaches.
I don’t see any problem next year with a Bulls team like this:
1. Greyling
2. Chili/Willie
3. W Kruger
4. Flip vd Merwe
5. Juandre Kruger
6. Stegmann
7. Potties
8. Spies (K?)
9. Hougaard
10. M Steyn
11. Basson
12. Olivier (K?)
13. Dippies
14. GvdH
15. Kirchner (could see an import give him competition)
Add R de Klerk, CJ Stander, GJ vVelze, Bandjes, Berend, Watermeyer etc. The Bulls are fine.
The Bulls have enough talent to take the S15 in 2012, in my opinion.
We can’t they build an even bigger legacy? Hougaard can be better than FdP, the Flip/Kruger combo can become huge. And our loose trio is a formidable unit and remains unchanged. Our halfback pairing is top class, our backline remains the same, our front row remains the same.
So what is the problem exactly?
3 Jul 2011, 18:57 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-125: Maybe not the Sharks and Bulls so much PA.
3 Jul 2011, 18:59 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-123: I see, okay then. Don’t have a conniption fit.
3 Jul 2011, 19:00 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-120:
Fair enough. I think you have a lot more insight into the inner workings at WP than I do. But nothing about their structures etc. would have changed yesterday’s result. It was just a terrible, terrible performance.
It’s like these guys – including Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers, Andries Bekker and a horde of other veterans – have their brains turned to jelly when they enter a must win, big game situation.
To lose 29-10, at NEWLANDS. Man, there’s no excuse for that.
What makes it even worse is that I wasn’t surprised when it happened in the least. It was just the continuation of an established trend.
3 Jul 2011, 19:00 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-127:
Bulls might be the exception, but as far as the Sharks goes, give this a read and specifically the comments that follow (not from myself but those boys close to the union)
http://www.sharksworld.co.za/2011/07/01/importance-of-a-youth-structure/
3 Jul 2011, 19:03 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-115:
“Fact is, it was only mental weakness that cost the Stormers their victory. The Crusaders came to Loftus and Soweto 3 times in semifinals, and got clobbered by the Bulls each time.
I mentioned to someone that when the Bulls were playing in home semifinals, they would come out firing and stampeding, but in comparison the Stormers came out like limp breezes.
There is no other explanation than mental weakness. They are NOTHING like the Bulls team of the mid 2000?s.”
Reading through all the junk of the day, this makes it worth it. Tacitus, you bring a smile to my face…. and sometimes a tear or two.
Toughies WP. You won 2 games more than the Bulls. Gratz.
Let’s look forward to the Tri Nations.
3 Jul 2011, 19:05 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-129:
You are absolutely right Tac, not only was this an embarrassment for the union and their fans, it makes a mockery of whatever they proclaim to be working towards.
Call it BMT, call it whatever you like, the Stormers/WP lacks that one thing, that one instinct that is the difference between a champion team, and a bridesmaid team.
Personally, I believe that is something that starts with a culture or mental application on these occasions rather than individual skills or talent. And my point of reference is that a culture, in business or in rugby, is not bought, it is earned and developed.
3 Jul 2011, 19:07 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-131:
Correct, and I am tired of saying how important mental coaching for mental application is in sport.
3 Jul 2011, 19:10 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-132:
Ah. I see your reasoning. At the Bulls, I think it came down to a few very special individuals who formed the core of that culture, led by Heyneke Meyer and Victor Matfield.
It will be interesting to see if that can be re-established, and it seems that Heyneke is intending to build it all again from scratch, identifying the new Victor Matfield, Du Preez and Rossouw at age group or Currie Cup level, and building a new dynasty around them.
In that, you are right that it takes years to instill such a culture. But I just don’t see the Stormers progressing towards it. Buying high profile players that didn’t come through the ranks of your unique culture – like Habana, Fourie, Van Zyl etc. certainly does not help, in my view.
That is the opposite of the type of bottom up development that you’re advocating.
3 Jul 2011, 19:11 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-132:
Do you think that players under such a culture from a home franchise can breath that into a national team? If so, do you think that their greater representation in the national team can amplify this effect?
3 Jul 2011, 19:15 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-134:
They are not there yet, but imo they are tinkering on getting there.
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-135:
Bok rugby is a strange beast, for me its more about who leads the Boks than how many represents them. Compare 2003 to 2007 for example.
Must be off now folks, commitments.
Hope we can continue this tomorrow.
3 Jul 2011, 19:18 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-130: Hmm, weird questions from people who are ‘close to the Sharks’.
Academy was set up long before the Bulls and has produced many players. Players have left (Pienaar, Steyn) not due to Sharks but due to being messed around at Bok level and realising they may as well go.
Academy attracts boys from all over SA and the UK’s top 2 schools regularly make use of it in their summer (June).
Rudolph does scouting, as does Hans Scriba and Adrian Garvey, who owns a percentage, also owns Sharks’ kids – how young do you want them
Sharks are a business, with shareholders. They have won CCups recently and turned a sizeable profit as well.
Sharks PTY is run by the CEO, club structures run by the President and his council on which the CEO sits too.
Not sure the tail is wagging the dog there mate?
3 Jul 2011, 19:21 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-137: And one more thing: if you look at the brand of rugby the Vodacom Cup Sharks play, the Under Age and the big guys, it’s all the same – none of them won anything this year but they looked the same so they are def all on the same page
3 Jul 2011, 19:22 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-126:
Leadership on the park, Titman…… that’s where your problem is going to be. Leadership.
Like it was in 2008 when VM was not there.
We can revisit this issue after the S15 in 2015, OK?
3 Jul 2011, 19:26 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-136:
Cheers.
I just think winning combinations are more important, where a player in a certain position can look up at another that he is so familiar with and in a split second can tell what that other player is planning on doing- what he can expect to happen and what he should anticipate.
Getting the combinations right is key.
Players need to rely on eachother. Where fancy skills fail, there needs to be heart, guts and toughness (mental and physical) and determination and fitness to carry the team through, and a deep respect for one another.
This is why Stegmann fits Bok the team better than Louw or Daniels. The core of the Springboks can rely more and Stegmann and at the Bulls they have a deep respect for him.
The whole Bok team respects our lock-combo and the leadership. The Springboks have always been a team that relies on team work to get the job done. That is enhanced through familair partnerships when the elements of the game are broken down into discrete segments.
3 Jul 2011, 19:29 pm
@nama1(nama1)-139:
Deal.
I just wanted to point out to you that a lack of a leader figure was not the only factor that contributed to the result of 2008. And in my opinion not the most important one either.
3 Jul 2011, 19:30 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-140: 100 percent right.
99 times out of 100 you want the stable guy in your team to do the job when there is a space to fill. Same as in business.
A guy has to be EXCEPTIONAL to be able to be a maverick and slot into a squad, and even then, it can be an absolute mess.
And they need to get on with everyone else. I always pick people with good personal skills and av ability than the other way around unless it is a specific project. They are just too much hard work otherwise.
3 Jul 2011, 19:40 pm
Stormers have a very simple problem.. It is called leadership, simple as f’ng pie to analyze you don’t need any f’ng degree or masters in psychology to check the problem. Burger is NO F’ng Leader, can’t you schmucks open up your dumbass eyes?
And Coetsee and Rassie are very shaky coaches at the best of times who cannot even compare notes in the same room let alone put a winning team together
far too much conflict of f’ng interest at Stormers/WP
starting with the goddam Rupert/Burger trust in the winelands ousting Watson for the sake of the f’ng hopeless blue eyed nincompoop who should never have been given no captaincy armband ever. And ending with a stupefied set of brainless selection calls throughout the season.
Elstadt should never have played lock… ever.
Van Zyl should have captained the team or at least been leader of the forwards with JdV captaining the backs.
Van Zyl to lead, Bekker to jump in line outs not call the f’ng shots. Burger to contest breakdown and tackle and that is ALL, nothing more and NOTHING less.
Flouw to play open side, Elstadt blind side, Burger 8 or bench switching with Verneulen and Elstadt and Koster as a horses for courses option.
The best games we had this season is when Burger was OUT THE TEAM or you idiots still can’t remember that far back? Who fckd up Bulls at Loftus and Highlanders and Force in Cape Town PRIOR to the advent of the idiot with the screwloose kop as captain?
3 Jul 2011, 19:42 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-140:
Flouw and daniel are both better than Stegmann but neither will be called and neither will be choisen.
Burger the dunce got the hole shot for No.6 even though he’s not an open sides arse.
Next is Brussow who is carrying injury, and then comes Steggies who is a penalty machine and not as good as either Daniel or Louw in open play.
3 Jul 2011, 19:43 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-143: You do know who your wine masters would love to be coach, don’t you? Their prodigal son…
3 Jul 2011, 19:46 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-142:
Yeah, and let’s not forget the Bulls are the closest family of rugby players in South Africa.
It’s not my fault, I just want to point out that half the Bok run-on side will be Bulls players. That they’ve won 3 S14 titles in 4 years is no coicidence and they don’t only respect eachother, they have a lot of talent amongst them.
The way Matfield spoke of Stegmann in 2010 from the S14 to the EOTY, really tells the whole country that the “team” wants Stegmann there and not Louw for example. This is just an example. Some have said that’s because Steggies is his buddy, and buddies are looking out for buddies. I disagree, I think Matfield is the real leader in th national setup and he knows what it takes, plain and simple.
You won’t find a team player like Steggies. Remember the try that Dewald Potgieter scored against the Blues in 2009? The ball bounced loose over the Blues line after a grubber, and Steggies and Potties bolted for it. Stegmann made it to the ball first. Instead of dotting the ball down as he was already over the tryline, he plucked the ball from the air and popped it over his head to Potties to score. How many times have we seen that from players? Almost never.
I remember the try Steggies scored against the Pumas in last years Currie Cup opener from a l/o drive. He didn’t jump up and celebrate, he walked up to each player involved in the maul- all the forwards- and patted them on the chest and congratulated them.
I’m using this as an example to point out that you simply can’t buy that kind of attitude and respect.
Conversely, how many times have we seen players sign their tries in the air, and throw the ball at the crowd and make as though they were a one-man team. I’m sorry to say, but some players are just too immature to go the distance when the paw-paw hits the fan especially.
3 Jul 2011, 19:50 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-146: True words. It comes down to the Bulls being fairly homogenous. The Sharks have started playing better rugby since they all turned religious together, and I think family and faith go hand in hand at the Bulls.
I’m the least religious person on earth but it seems to bind them together.
I used to dislike the Bulls intensely but their attitude and their dedication won me over. Other teams don’t do that at all.
3 Jul 2011, 19:53 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-145: Andre Markgraaff…
3 Jul 2011, 19:54 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-144:
Skopskiet, how you have changed your tune in 4 weeks. Is it because the Bulls didn’t make the play-offs?
Are penalties the only thing you can find against Stegmann?
I already pointed out many times that both Louw and Steggies give away roughly a penalty every 30 breakdowns. Stegmann simply works much harder.
Hey, here’s a though:
You know, penalties give the opposition 3 points directly, perhaps even 7 points indirectly. mainly it is about an immediate loss of possession and some or all of your territory.
So let me ask you: What about handling errors? They can be just as damning.
Stegmann has made 4 handling errors the entire season. Louw has made 17.
So Louw was repsonsible on 13 occasion more than Stegmann for a loss in territory and possession. Is this not worthy of a mention?
Stegmann missed less tackles, broke more tackles with ball in hand- runs harder than Louw- and most importantly, he does more of everything, excpet where Louw gets the ball more in space. In other words he has demonstrated that he has the heart and fitness to deliver the biggest work rate in South Africa. You can’t argue with the fact.
basically I just want to point out how that you opinion has changed 180 over the course of a month, and that you are talking nonsense regarding penalties, it can be shown concretely to be bunk.
So really, who would listen?
3 Jul 2011, 20:01 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-147:
“I used to dislike the Bulls intensely but their attitude and their dedication won me over. Other teams don’t do that at all.”
+1
Respect. At least being “areligious” you can display an appreciation for what seems to work under the circumstances. There is some common ground that supporters (anybody) can relate to and this counts for the players too obviously. People don’t have to agree with your world view, but you can win them over with your dedication to a discipline that they admire.
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