Analytical approach
15 Jul 2011
GAVIN RICH discovers that Marius Joubert has become a thinking midfielder.
Everyone knows why the Sharks felt they needed to get Marius Joubert on their books, so to make the query would be to risk the disdain that is heaped on those who ask obvious questions.
In most of the Sharks’ defeats during this past Super Rugby season, it was the midfield that was targeted, particularly by the Crusaders and Sharks’ two fiercest rivals
from back home, the Stormers and Bulls. At some stages over the past few months, the Sharks centres were a bigger topic of conversation around Durban than the municipal elections.
Meyer Bosman was brought to Durban from the Cheetahs to fill a playmaker role at inside centre alongside the evergreen Stefan Terblanche, but while the Sharks coaches are still optimistic Bosman will come through and vindicate their decision to recruit him, their patience must be wearing thin.
Terblanche is still an honest player who probably should have been rewarded for his good form in 2008 and 2009 with the Springbok fullback jersey for the series against the British & Irish Lions. You would hesitate to suggest, though, that he is a natural outside centre, and while he has put in yeoman service for his adopted province in the unfamiliar position, it always looked a stop-gap move, albeit a long playing one.
The former Bok wing is not going to be around in top rugby for much longer, and you could say the same for Adi Jacobs, who looks better suited anyway to an impact role than one in the starting team. So the gap that Joubert is going to fill is hardly a secret – the Sharks need an experienced player who can impose himself in the midfield battle.
However, as was the case when Terblanche moved back to Durban from Wales in 2007, Joubert could provide them with a lot more than they bargained for. The Sharks management didn’t know what to expect from Terblanche, and they got a pleasant surprise. His years spent overseas had matured Terblanche to the point that the Sharks got more than just an experienced wing who could switch to fullback, they also got a consummate professional whose work ethic and insights rubbed off on those around him.
It would be fair to say that Terblanche’s contribution way exceeded expectations. And while some may remember Joubert as a Springbok who lost it a bit in his final season with Western Province and then with the Cheetahs, that was a long time ago. He has never lacked talent, and France is a tough school, so don’t bet against the 31-year-old proving as valuable as Terblanche was to the Sharks’ fortunes.
‘I have matured a lot since I left South Africa. When I went to France I was in many senses just a boy, but it’s a heck of a tough place to play and I was forced to grow up,’ says Joubert. ‘Before I left home I played a lot on instinct. I didn’t put much thought into what I was doing. I just went out there and played. What has changed for me in my time in France is that I have become deeply analytical, and Clermont’s Kiwi coach Vern Cotter has taught me to pay more attention to the small details.
‘Vern’s whole approach was that if you did something you had to know why you were doing it. If something went wrong, he wanted you to figure out why it happened. From what I hear, John Plumtree is similar to Vern in that way.
‘In Clermont I lived close to the stadium so I spent a lot of time there on the chalkboard, looking at ways to break down defences and analysing opposition systems. It was something I hadn’t done before. I started to read the opposition moves and intentions a lot more than I had in the past.’
Plumtree was pleased to hear Joubert believes he has become more of a thinking player, and there was some irony in him being told this as just a few days earlier he had spoken about his team’s dearth of such players and the need to develop them. He had addressed it with the players after the Durban defeat to the Bulls.
‘If Marius has become more of a thinker, I will be extremely chuffed because it does relate a lot to what we were talking about – we need that kind of player. It’s absolutely crucial that we breed players who fall into the thinking category and who are not just bashers,’ says Plumtree. ‘Marius is an experienced player who has spent four years playing in France. He is bound to have matured in that time, and we at the Sharks have profited from having players like that in the past. Stefan is the obvious example; when he came back he made an immense contribution by sharing his experience and what he had learnt with those around him.
‘If Marius can also do that for us he will be worth his weight in gold. We’ve had a high turnover in the backline in recent years, and we have a lot of young players who are only just coming through and can do with some extra guidance.
‘But it’s not just what Marius can do as a leader that’s important. In Stefan’s case he played some of the best rugby of his career when he returned from overseas. It was the same with Percy Montgomery. Maybe Marius will do what Stefan did and play some of his best rugby over the age of 30.’
Certain measurables inevitably change with age, such as speed and explosiveness, but Joubert reckons that at the age of 31 he is returning to South Africa as a much more complete player than the one who played for the Springboks.
‘I still feel fast, but there are other things I have developed to make me more efficient and accurate in everything I do. Whereas in the past I used to do four or five good things and then make a mistake, hopefully you’ll find that now I have cut out those mistakes. I won’t be trying to create magic every time I get the ball, but I will be playing a more accurate kind of rugby, more error-free than it was before and also more solid on defence.
‘Speed is obviously a big factor for a backline player, and while I don’t feel I have lost speed, I have been working on ways to make sure my speed complements my game more. Being a smarter player is part of it, and I would say I’m a much more skilled player now than I was before.’
Joubert said in an interview with SA Rugby magazine last year that as long as he plays he will always be available for the Springboks. But that wasn’t what brought him back to South Africa.
‘Look, it’s a bonus that it’s a World Cup year, and after missing out on the last one, I would be delighted if I played well enough to somehow force my way in,’ he says. ‘But the timing of my return to South Africa is just coincidence, I certainly wasn’t thinking about the World Cup when I decided to come home. For me it’s now just the right time to return. I’m 31, and if I want to have any kind of rugby career back home before I retire, now is the time to make the move.
‘I’ve been in France for four seasons, and in that time I experienced many things and the team achieved a lot. We played in two [Top 14] finals, winning one of them, and we played in a semi-final. But there isn’t much more I can achieve or experience in France. I really enjoyed the first two or three seasons, and I’ve made great friends. Clermont is an unbelievably friendly city, but there comes a time when you just want to go home.
‘My son, MC [Marius Charl], is now a year old, and I want him to get to know his grandparents. I’ve only been back to South Africa a couple of times in the past four years, and only for two weeks in the past three years. Last year we didn’t go home in the off-season because our son had just been born. I miss my parents and my friends. So when the opportunity came up to play for the Sharks, it came at the right time.’
Joubert says the Sharks were one of the teams he had told his wife he would be prepared to play for if he was ever made an offer as he had always enjoyed their playing style and culture.
‘The Sharks are a well-known franchise throughout the world. When I tell people in France that I’m going to play for the Sharks I don’t have to explain what I’m talking about. I suppose it helps a bit that Frédéric Michalak has played for them and has just returned to Durban. They also play a style that I enjoy and that isn’t dissimilar to how the Stormers played when I was with them.
‘I watched the Sharks beat Western Province in the Currie Cup final last year and felt that their playing style would suit me. They have a good balance to their game. I got to know John Smit well from the time he spent playing for Clermont and also when we were both with the Boks, and we have kept in contact. When he said there might be an opportunity for me at the Sharks I was immediately interested.
‘It also helps that Durban has such mild winters and is known for its great climate. As much as I have enjoyed France, there were times when the winters got to me. Clermont is right in the middle of France, and it gets really cold in winter; last winter was particularly cold. That is one aspect of playing in France that I won’t miss with any sense of regret.’
– This article first appeared in the July issue of SA Rugby magazine. The August issue will be on sale from Wednesday, 27 July.
36 Comments
15 Jul 2011, 08:10 am
lets see how it goes…..can only be an improvement
15 Jul 2011, 09:01 am
@grant10(grant10)-1:
ja, an improvement of six years on stefan.
15 Jul 2011, 09:17 am
kudos on the graphics keo, i like.
15 Jul 2011, 09:36 am
Wasn’t all that fond of the “old” Marius. Too impulsive, but let’s see how he goes.
I hope he still has his pace. Can’t believe he’s only 31.
15 Jul 2011, 09:51 am
Joubert is more of a thinker but he looks very confused in that photo! Hehe why do all the Wp rejects sign for the Sharks: Percy, Skinstad and Joubert
15 Jul 2011, 10:03 am
@RugbyGuru_0_(RugbyGuru_0_)-5:
hahahahaa he does look confused
15 Jul 2011, 10:04 am
Joubert: “I am a thinking player now…”
And there you lost 90% of South African coaches buddy!
Good luck!
15 Jul 2011, 10:08 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-7: Atleast he will be playing for a Kiwi coach so he will be allowed to think on his own.
i remember when PDV was laying out his strategy at the beginning of his tenure, and he said he wanted players to play the situation and be able to think on their own on the field. Almost every journalist and supporter wanted to kill him…..
15 Jul 2011, 10:23 am
@Stoan(Stoan)-8:
Yup, we only coach robots in this country – an opinion is not allowed…
15 Jul 2011, 10:24 am
Welcome back Marius, looking forward to seeing you in the Sharks jumper!
15 Jul 2011, 10:42 am
@Stoan(Stoan)-8: the theory was “if the players do all the thinking, then he is a useless coach and smit/matfield & du preez are running the team ie doing the thinking“. either way pdv must come across as useless
15 Jul 2011, 10:48 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-11: That is a sad reality and unfortunately the coach folded and went back on his word and did not implement his original ideas. I think today Boks would be talked of the same excitement as you find with the Aussie team(backline), and to top it off, we would have the forwards to dominate….
15 Jul 2011, 11:03 am
@Stoan(Stoan)-12: it’s crazy, i was reading an article on how graham henry called up gordon tjietjens(sp) – the kiwi sevens coach – and stood back while gordon took the all blacks through their paces, to a point where some of the okes dropped off with niggles and some were visibly bushed. afterwards gordon complimented a guy like jarrad hoeata who he singled out as having stayed on and did the skills set drills that were meant for the backs even though he is 1.9m and a forward.
and we wonder why that team seems at times to stay ahead, cos some of their players embrace new challenges and acquire new skills when our players seem to hit a point and then hit auto-pilot from thereon
15 Jul 2011, 11:13 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-13: Now imagine that happening in SA, PDV will be killed i tellu, if he were to ask Treu to come for a session. I mean he asked Plum to come and work with the guys for a couple of sessions and everyone said the coach doesn’t know what he is doing he is getting everyone to help etc, SA mind set is mind boggling…..
15 Jul 2011, 11:18 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-11: @Stoan(Stoan)-12:
honestly, i think you guys are spinning pdivy far more than he deserves to be. how on earth does ‘play the situation in front of you’ amount to keen rugby insight & the creative ability to translate that into game plans, playing systems and structures that not only work for a team on the field but also wins games?
divy really doesn’t have any of that but he does have an ‘inspirational stands back but says the right words kinda guy’ ability, that i give him.
15 Jul 2011, 11:22 am
@Stoan(Stoan)-14:
Tietjens pours it on
Thursday, 30 June 2011 9:49 p.m.
It was a case of back to the future for some, while others learned for the first time the gruelling nature of one of Gordon Tietjens’ training sessions.
On the final day of a two-day camp in Wellington for All Blacks hopefuls, the New Zealand sevens coach took the fitness and skills session as All Blacks coach Graham Henry watched on with interest.
Players like Mils Muliaina, Cory Jane, Hosea Gear – who limped out of the session with a sore Achilles – and Ben Smith have all played in Tietjens’ teams and knew exactly what to expect – and he didn’t disappoint.
“It was reminiscent of the good old days really – the teams when you just wanted to walk off and give up,” said Muliaina, who won a Commonwealth Games gold medal with Tietjens in 2002.
“It was nice having Titch there. There were a lot of guys with their hands on their knees but the drills that we’ve done definitely related to the skill level you need to have at All Black level.”
At the end of the 90-minute session Muliaina still had the energy for a joke with his former sevens mentor.
“I asked him if I was still in contention for the Olympics in 2016,” the All Blacks fullback quipped. “He had a little laugh. I know I would have been about 15kgs lighter (back in 2002) but it was good to get out there and experience it again.”
It was halfback Jimmy Cowan’s first experience working with Tietjens. “It was quite enjoyable really, doing a hard session like that and doing skills too made it more enjoyable than just straight running up and down the field,” he said.
“He’s got expertise in something different and he’s been good. You’ve seen guys who have been away with him in previous years, guys like Ben Smith and Adam Thomson, and they’ve all gone on to bigger and better things. It’s only going to benefit us.”
Cowan felt the biggest lesson he had got out of the session was learning to react to situations as they unfolded in front of him.
“It was a slow introduction today, but it’s about seeing the space and seeing what is in front of you and adjusting to what’s in front of you,” he explained.
“A lot of the time in 15s we go in with prescribed moves but he’s more along the lines of seeing what’s in front of us and playing what’s in front of us. It’s about seeing the space and trying to get the ball to space.”
Tietjens may have toned down the session for the All Black contenders but he was still impressed by what he saw, particularly from the only two forwards who were involved – Jarrad Hoeata and Tom Donnelly.
“They dug in and hung in there but that’s what you expect at this level,” Tietjens said.
“It was difficult conditions and you don’t expect them to throw passes like an outside back but they dug in and were quite accurate in what they did.”
However, Tietjens did notice a disparity in the fitness levels between some players but said the session, and those that will follow at a similar camp in Wellington next week, would ensure that gap closed.
“Some were really right up there now, some need to get up there and they will. What we did today will have been beneficial for them.
“There are certainly some of them who are right up there in terms of fitness and the skill sets [of sevens players].
“The sevens component is great for our game of 15s now. I think they will get a lot of benefit out of what they did today. The game of 15s at international level has got a lot quicker now and sevens can offer a lot in term of the skill sets that are required and the fatigue levels as well because you’re going to have to be very, very fit to win this World Cup.”
15 Jul 2011, 11:24 am
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-15: yep that’s how he won the junior world cup, on “inspiration alone”
15 Jul 2011, 11:42 am
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-15: Playing the situation is exactly what Reds did to win the Super 15, of coz that is done within a structure within which the team plays in, PDV was saying there will be structure but he wanted ti empower players to make their own decisions on the field, for an example, he doesn’t want to decide before a game that if you are in your own half you must always kick, if you r in your try line and you have an overlap, he wants the ball reciever to be able to jusge on his own whether to kick or should feel comfortable enough to be able to run the ball which could result in a try for the Boks but if it does not work out that way, he still has comfort in knowing that he has the coach backing. that is playing the situation. not play like a robot.
NB: playing the situation does not mean there is no structure.
having no structure is what Harry Viljoen tried to do when he toured Argentina, that was always going to fail.
15 Jul 2011, 11:47 am
@Stoan(Stoan)-18: the irony is that if you read the article jimmy cowan talks about the same thing in 2011, that tjietjens was STILL skilling them in “playing what’s in front of them” but some would read that there’s not “structure” in how the all blacks play
15 Jul 2011, 11:54 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-16: wooooow, these guys seem to be pulling all the stops. Scary the likes of Mils are seemingly so fresh and fit, think if he has another season like he did last year, a lot of teams will be punished
15 Jul 2011, 12:08 pm
@Stoan(Stoan)-20:
Well they certaitly didnt look it (fresh) in this years S15..Especially those mentioned in article-Jane,Mils,Gear and were in poor form throughout.
Along with likes of Toeava, Dagg, Sivivatu injured or out of shape struggling to make grade one session from Tietjens however great the legendary 7′s coach is wont change that fact.Barring the Crusaders players the NZ teams were not impressive neither.And Blues the next best team have few AB’s-Woodcock,Afoa,Mealamu,Kaino,Toeava.
15 Jul 2011, 12:17 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-21: same as last year, kiwi teams didn’t do that well in the s14 – with only saders making semis – BUT blitzed almost everything in the Test arena
15 Jul 2011, 12:41 pm
@Stoan(Stoan)-18: lol I remember that, didn’t he say that kicking was banned? the Boks managed to win but only just.
15 Jul 2011, 12:47 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-21: Think most of the guys that knew they had their places secured(Mils), didn’t put much effort in the Super 15, and for me the international setup is different to the Super 15, but i hear what you saying and agree they did not but watch them WC time.
15 Jul 2011, 12:48 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-23: Really now, who goes into a rugby game and says no kicking at all, that was a joke.
15 Jul 2011, 12:50 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-23:
That was the worst test I have ever seen the Boks play.
Even beats the 49-0 fiasco.
15 Jul 2011, 13:21 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-22:
Yeah but in 2009 it was the same and they got blitzed that year by Boks.
Last year it was the other way around
Its not a foregone conclusion.
They have their won problems and Saders let it slip last week which will aslo plays its part.when have likes of: Nonu,Smith,MCaw,Sivivatu,Mils,Woodcock,Donnelly,Gear,Dagg,Toeava played consistently this year? And 7 of those are AB starters.Half the teams
Instead likes of Ellis,Guilford,SBW,B.Franks,Crockett,Hoeatta,Whitelock have been best performers(Saders) and between them barely have 35 test caps…If that.Test rugby boys.
Last year granted they didnt do all that well but their teams were alot lot more competitive than this season.Chiefs,Canes were a lot weaker than in previous years and Highlanders after bright start capitulated spectacularly. Barring Saders all the rest of the other theams are comparable in strength if not weaker to Sharks,Stormers,Cheetahs,Bulls.
@Stoan(Stoan)-24:
Well the same argument could be made for the underperforming Bulls players who are backbone of Boks…”their places were secured” so that didnt give the S15 their all…even though they did better than Canes,Chiefs,Highlanders…Bllues were always erratic.
15 Jul 2011, 13:28 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-27: i think we’ll all agree that super rugby form or lack thereof is not an indicator of what happens in tri-nations/tests
15 Jul 2011, 13:36 pm
Pink suits him
15 Jul 2011, 13:46 pm
Thinking player – a south african – can this possible be true
15 Jul 2011, 14:03 pm
@stew(stew)-30:
will gladly watch oz or nz ‘think’ their way to a world cup. enjoyed watching oz ‘think’ their way through england (oh sorry, that didn’t happen) last time round. 1 try to 0 pffffffft
you blady thinkers…
15 Jul 2011, 14:08 pm
@stew(stew)-30:
and btw that must have been the sshittiest q/final knockout in the history of wc’s. i mean really 10 -12 wtf ffs?!
15 Jul 2011, 14:27 pm
sadly the new south africa is not a breeding ground of thinking people. so theyll lay into joubert! these fekked up crazies go on about creativity and instinct but never knowing what you are doing!!! how clueless hehehe
15 Jul 2011, 14:30 pm
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-32: arsestalia were pathetic. second half they got to the half way line a few times that was it bwahahahaha!!!!! but we never faced their ultimate challenge so we aint champs!! oh deary me. a aussie… always good for a laff!
15 Jul 2011, 14:48 pm
@Blitzbok(Blitzbok)-34:
it really was an uberkuk game. at some points i thought they were on a tea break. ffucckall going on, on the field.
15 Jul 2011, 15:33 pm
@he’s not the messiah. he’s a very naughty boy!(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-31: LOL – talk about open for attack !!!!!
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