PdV waves white flag
30 Jul 2011
Peter de Villiers has given up all hope of winning the Tri-Nations and says the Springboks will now focus on the World Cup.
The Boks were pounded by Australia in Sydney and then smashed by New Zealand in Wellington. At the halfway stage of their Tri-Nations campaign, there’s no real chance of them rebounding to win the tournament.
De Villiers went into the Tri-Nations with the aim to win it and reclaim the No 1 world ranking, although this declaration was at odds with his selection policy. He excluded as many as 21 players from the touring group, and they were sent to a World Cup preparation camp in Rustenburg.
After the loss to New Zealand, De Villiers conceded that there is no way back in this Tri-Nations campaign.
‘Pretty much the Tri-Nations has gone for us. We’ll move our focus to preparing for the World Cup,’ the Bok coach said. ‘The All Blacks are more ready now for the World Cup and they deserve the tag of favourites to win it.’
De Villiers said that the first-choice players will undergo medical tests next week, but there are no guarantees that they will feature in the last two Tri-Nations Tests in South Africa.
De Villiers said he was still able to take some positives from the double defeats on the team’s two-week trip to Australasia.
‘Obviously, I’m very disappointed. Test rugby is the ultimate. You have the opportunity to come out here and represent your country,’ he said. ‘There are a few positives, especially when you look at what we do have, such as experience, and there are a few guys who put up their hands and there are a few who didn’t. So, for me, there are a lot of benefits going forward. These kinds of experiences you can’t buy at any stage.’
The record-breaking defeat in Wellington featured some of the worst defensive play seen in De Villiers’ tenure, but he chose to focus on their performance when they retained possession on attack.
‘Our execution was much better tonight than it was a week ago. When we held on to the ball the guys were very neat out there. But you can’t lose the ball at critical stages and give the All Blacks that many turnovers. They punished us and we were made to scramble and we didn’t have the most mobile pack today.
‘But then again, the positive is that when we hold on to the ball you can see there was no answers on our players.’
365 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [8] Show All
1 Aug 2011, 02:27 am
@optiplay(optiplay)-350: Don’t know where the yellow face comes from . It should be a P.
1 Aug 2011, 02:28 am
@optiplay(optiplay)-350:
Oh i see now.
Yeah i agree.. SA managment seems to keep away from any sort of a dispute like that.
Seems to be no cover for their players. Mind you they could have had the American military covering Bakkies and he still would have gotten shot.
1 Aug 2011, 02:29 am
@optiplay(optiplay)-351:
lol yeah i got that
1 Aug 2011, 02:33 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-353: Nevertheless I am a big Bakkies fan. (as you can see)Good luck against the AUS.Until later.
1 Aug 2011, 03:02 am
@optiplay(optiplay)-348: Its not a reflection on the supporters or even the players, its not them that make these decisions. I’m sure alot of the players are equally upset over the scenario that has unfolded. The situation with Australia vs Samoa was one of complete arrogance and they paid the price, SA has just sent lambs to the slaughter with no pretense. The only worrying thing for SA is that this could either be a magnificent season or the absolute worse in their entire rugby history.
Its obvious that this is all about the defense of their title, but if they do not lift the Cup this will be a year they have lost everything..S15, Tri-Nations- Mandela Cup and their WC title. How SA rugby would recover from this ( in the worst case scenario) could almost be impossible. The fall out in supporters belief, sponsors, self belief amongst players and the players belief in coaching and management would hit rock bottom. Taking into account their ranking and how they would be viewed by the rest of the world could almost be crippling.
I remember (as we all do) when dads army won the WC. Joyous occassion for them but they did nothing since. Their whole plan was winning without having to go over the half way mark by pulling penalties and winning via the golden boot of JW. Their plan nearly came unstuck and was won only in the last moments by a ‘droppie’. They invested millions of pounds into that, and although successful, was nearly not, and I can assure any reader here that if Woodward was on a heart monitor the printout would not have been one of a confident and composed man in the last twenty minutes of that game hope.
I hope for your sake and the sake of SA rugby ( which is much needed to keep us all honest) can find a way forward, albeit not at the expense of us losing at the WC though.
1 Aug 2011, 03:25 am
SA rugby in itself is in good nick.The quality of young talent coming through is excellent. We have vibrant competions at all levels. From schools to varsity cup to Currie cup and Super rugby the game is well supported. It is at top of the pyramid that things are out of whack. Too many vested interests from all directions are handicapping our top teams. South African fans will not see a year devoid of success as a worrying reflection on the state of our rugby talent but on the quality of our national leadership.
We have a rudderless and greedy national body ( SARU) who make decsions which are not in our best interests. We also have several provincial bodies who are no better and a coaching staff without leadership, vision and the courage to back themselves.
Rugby is only professional in that there is money involved. It is not professional enough in its structures. If SARU were run like Manchester United or the New York Yankees we would have a success orientated culture instead of one of looking after the good old boys.
1 Aug 2011, 03:25 am
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-355: Excellent post.Thank you
1 Aug 2011, 03:27 am
captain fantail: what a load of bollocks! All this kak about sarugby this & that and how everyone would view it is only in the minds of all blacks supporters, who know fully well how it is to be constantly viewed as chokers by the rest of the world!
Go and watch the qrter final in 2007 in cardiff and listen to the exact words of the commentator as the french guy boots the ball to the stands! He summed it all up very succintly – the harrowing despair of failure on the biggest stage of them all – all those years back & every thing he said is still true about new zealand today
steve hansen said it just last week, that nobody in new zealand would care of the tri-nations 2007 was lost if the all blacks had won the world cup that year, clearly exprssing the true feeling on the ground despite all sort of futile protestations by the likes of you
1 Aug 2011, 03:44 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-358: I am sure you are a one day cricket fan! No respect for the game. No respect for your opponents. All about a Cup.I say to you —BOLLOCKS. Every test match is important.We have two WCs but still trailing the ABs by at least 20 if not more tests.And the way it looks now the AB will have to LOOSE this WC. Maybe it is all about the WC for you , but there are many hardcore SA supporters that are hurting big time at the moment .Unacceptable approach!!
1 Aug 2011, 03:56 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-317: nice post.Agree with on Daniel
1 Aug 2011, 04:00 am
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-356: Very good post. Spot on!!
1 Aug 2011, 04:13 am
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-355: Mate, if we lost by 50 against Fiji, 70 against Samoa, and 100 against Wales, nothing could eclipse Kamp Staaldraad as the lowest ebb in SA Rugby. SA Rugby fluctuates from great to bad (sometimes over very short spells), and we will be back, irrespective of what happens in NZ in a months time. I do think that if the All Blacks had to cope with the administration, coaching and politics that our players do, they would not be much better off.
1 Aug 2011, 04:21 am
359 optiplay: make as many baseless assumptions as it suits, i could care less chap. All i’m saying is everyone is quick to heap hyperbole about sarugby, the boks and the supposed dearth of pride etc, when australia have just renewed the contract of a coach who has hovered at 55% win ration, been snotted 10 losses out of 11 against the all blacks, deans hasn’t won across the ditch since he was appointed, the wallabies hoodoo in nz goes all the way to 2001, they haven’t won the tri-nations in soooooo long.
Yet it is the south africans and their springboks that have reached the nadir of their once proud existence…blah blah bullsh*t man!
I guess new zealanders were just happy to piss $nz 50 million on graham henry’s 2007 botched attempt at the world cup because it’s not important to them.
1 Aug 2011, 05:08 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-363: I am not assuming anything.I am just going on what you put in writing. I am not saying the WC is not important to the NZ. I am arguing the point that we go into a test series with 2 props on debut and 2 locks with one test between them .How is that a positive approach to the game.No planning. No vision from the selectors.POT STROND.
1 Aug 2011, 07:20 am
@optiplay: the funny thing is that our mainstay tighthead now, made his debut on the corresponding tour in 2007
hehehe. Muller & albert van den berg were the locks that year.
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [8] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.