Samoa bring Boks back to earth
30 Sep 2011
RYAN VREDE watched Samoa give the Springboks a reality check despite going down 13-5 at the North Habour Stadium.
The Springboks’ showings in the last fortnight has seen even some usually astute commentators divorce from their senses to join the unadulterated celebration of the team. Tonight was a jolt of note for the defending champions, who would have been beaten by a more refined opponent, so impotent were they on attack (zero linebreaks) and porous on defence (they missed 27 tackles, in line with their average of 26 per match).
They undoubtedly benefited from Samoa’s early tactical naivety. So much for the structured Samoa that could have beaten the Springboks had they not relied on misplaced enterprise – running from deep in their territory – as much as they did. It was a nonsensical tactic to employ, particularly since they looked more than capable of mixing it in the heavies and establishing a better attacking platform on the rare occasion they chose to.
The islanders were denied despite long passages of play in possession in the first half, then undermined their cause in the second half with a string of handling errors, laboured decision-making and poor discipline, the worst example coming from Paul Williams who was red carded at a crucial juncture for shoving Heinrich Brussow in the face.
The numbers were evened out a minute later when John Smit was binned for what was adjudged to be a deliberate knock down with 10 minutes to play. But Samoa never possessed the killer blow. Their effectiveness rode on hope of defensive lapses, when more certainty and purpose would have served them better. Indeed they played like rave music was pounding in their minds, when they should have tuned in to a station that promoted greater composure.
The Springboks will testify to the ferocity and bone-melting qualities of a Samoan tackle and the islanders were rarely asked any telling questions. The Springboks’ opening try was birthed by multiple phases setting up a centre-field ruck before the ball snapped left to Bryan Habana. Morne Steyn converted, before Frans Steyn reminded of the Springboks’ unique trump card by banking a 58m penalty.
Morne Steyn kicked another just before the break, but the 13-0 scoreline going down the tunnel spoke to attacking impotency against competent and combative defensive units which is deeply concerning. The sterile, uninspiring fare they served up on attack tonight won’t see them progress beyond the quarter-final in Wellington next week.
Samoa burst into life in the second half, dominating possession and territory. The Springboks’ much-vaunted structure capitulated and they were reduced to a bumbling mess in the face of incessant attack. George Stowers, immense on the night, crossed for a try which Tusi Pisi crucially failed to convert.
You sensed the Springboks were on the ropes, and they will speak of their character in denying their opponents, but the reality is so much different. They were tested to their limit by a side they have consistently thumped by an average of 50 points.
This Springboks side is a pretender to the one that captured the title four years ago. Their journey continues, but surely not for much longer.
By Ryan Vrede, at the North Habour Stadium.
Follow Ryan’s World Cup coverage on Twitter
1,781 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 26 27 28 29 30 [31] 32 33 34 35 36 » Show All
30 Sep 2011, 20:31 pm
@cab(cab)-1490: Spot on… we got out of jail by the skin of a f’ng teeth vs Wales .. if either of the Welsh late kicks had gone over our WC might have been history from first game of the campaign.. And when Smit was on we were trailing BIG TIME… It was literally a miracle that pulled us out the fire that first game,, between Hougaard, Bismark and Alberts.. is precisely where the miracle transpired in the last 30 minutes…
If they think that stunt will work next time vs Aussie or AB’s they are going to see their gatte BIG TIME.. If Smit, Spies and FdP hand Aussie or NZ a cushion of 10 – 15 point lead… not a fck will Bismark, Alberts and Hougaard pull it back again every time like magic..
30 Sep 2011, 20:32 pm
Mpundulu and ET can support whoever they like and i guess they support the ABs for historical reasons, since they were the only ones that could occasionally beat the nasty brutish Boere and all – but i personally have FAR FAR more respect for Transformation. His post earlier today about the jersey being worn widely in the townships and the way he is behind the Bokke, is all that is best about SA and the future potential of the country, right there. Rugby has the capability of being perhaps the biggest unitive force in SA, who would’ve thought.
30 Sep 2011, 20:32 pm
Time to take Madame Gunther out for some sushi.
There had better be some silver spoon service.
30 Sep 2011, 20:32 pm
Am sorry jinx2 we miss him too.
We always remember him at drinks and he wouldn’t want us to be miz!
30 Sep 2011, 20:33 pm
@David(David)-1484: My support of the AB’s, the genesis of that support was no different of yours supporting the boks, I imagine that your love of the boks was ingrained in you through your grandfather, father, uncles etc. This was mine introduction to rugby from a very young age, I no different from you was indoctrinated and then later in life, when my love for the AB’s was well cemented the political reality of south Africa was explained to me by my relatives. Ask yourself this, what argument or sentiment would make you change allegiance from the boks to another team? Nothing, you’d have no link that’d make sense to you. The boks mean nothing to me, I’ve no inkling of commonality with them at all, they are entirely irrelevant now as they were when I grew up.
30 Sep 2011, 20:33 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1493:
So am I.
30 Sep 2011, 20:33 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-1504:
You are right. Ta.
30 Sep 2011, 20:34 pm
@David(David)-1506:
Cheers.
30 Sep 2011, 20:35 pm
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-1485:
hehehe…
why is it that people who can’t debate have to start the personal insults…?? you disappoint…
but for the last time…. and for your benefit…
i answered your question… three times… if you don’t accept that answer… asking me a million times is not going to change my answer…
which was not my opinion BTW… i just posted the fact that Tew (and most new zealand AB supporters as opposed to saffa AB supporters obviously) consider the PI players born and bred in auckland to be bona fide new zealanders…
if you don’t like that… you deal with it… if it puts you out of step with everyone you claim solidarity with… you deal with it… if you disagree with tew… you deal with it…
why is it that people who can’t debate the point or admit they’re wrong throw red herrings into the argument to deflect attention from the fact that they painted themselves into a corner…??
see…? the personal insults are easy… but hardly promote the debate…
30 Sep 2011, 20:35 pm
Will Rassie get the Job?
30 Sep 2011, 20:35 pm
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-1499:
been there done that… still picking up the pieces…
30 Sep 2011, 20:35 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-1496:
It might be the match of the tournament so far.
Probably going to be lots of emotion playing the “auld” enemy
I read today England/Scotland is the oldest international fixture in rugby at 140 years!
It seems as if the conditions will be wet- it will probably marginally benefit the Scots.
Gonna be close.
30 Sep 2011, 20:36 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-1501:
ja that welsh game we shouldve lost, no doubts, they should never have started with smit in that game and we would’ve certainly lost if they kept him on for a couple minutes more. i’ve never seen a game’s momentum being turned around so massively and obviously with those subsitutions, the Boks would have lost that game 9 times out of 10 – must have been divine providence of iets cos no logic involved there, sheer luck.
30 Sep 2011, 20:36 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1493:
me too russ…
30 Sep 2011, 20:38 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-1497:
yikes… please no…!
30 Sep 2011, 20:40 pm
Whatever we are drinking tonight, wherever and whoever we are or support, during the WC, let us raise a glass to Jinx!!!!
30 Sep 2011, 20:41 pm
Evening all… anybody have any ideas why o why we resorted to stereotype in the 2nd half?
Arguably, we have the best pack in the tournament – what is wrong in keeping possesion? Poor old JFourie didn’t didn’t get a smell of the ball either.
Bit worrying… I thought we should of scored at least 4 tries to make a statement. Nearly did… but didn’t. Maybe its a good thing… keep the okes hungry & working on the small points.
But – not that k@k a display that any team will be convinced that they can beat us. Game by game from here… OZ next – I reckon they’re over cooked. A game too far for them.
30 Sep 2011, 20:41 pm
@cab(cab)-1502:
Good post. Real people with real hopes and aspirations linking their own lives to that of the community and country. A bond to be shared and common ground with previously at odds countrymen who now in some small way, unite and hope together, celebrate and commiserate together.
I can’t imagine it was easy for a lot of folks, but we are talking your country here, as David said, not teams. Your country.
I was in CT when the 2007 WC was paraded. As a Jock it was fantastic to see. It’s a pity some feeble minded individuals choose to exclude themselves form THEIR own countries joys and celebrations and align themselves with a country who couldn’t give a flying fark about them. Why would they?
30 Sep 2011, 20:42 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-1496: You only have a pack of forwards, but bar Richie Gray (who is amazing) and John Barclay (Lewis Moody is like John Smit, only in because he’s captain) all your forwards would play second fiddle to the English forwards if they were in the same team. If you had a high quality fly half and inside centre, Scotland would be a very good team. I hope both teams go through, but only England will.
30 Sep 2011, 20:42 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-1516:
You are great people. I will light a fire and sink some Black Label.
30 Sep 2011, 20:43 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-1516:
To Jinx..!!
30 Sep 2011, 20:43 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1500: @wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-1498:
That is FDP not Morne Steyn.. FDP is the SOLE culprit of kicking every good ball away and he’s been doing it since EOYT 2009 when he handed both Ireland and France wins we should never have lost…
FdP is the coward that kicks EVERY f’ng decent ball we get down opposition throats and EVERY single time without fail like clockwork they gain more than 50 mts on the rebound and nearly ALL our scrambling is as a result of FDP having kicked perfect good attack ball down the f’ng oppositions throats..
fdP don’t tackle nd he don’t get his backs away… Spies don’t tackle and Smit cannot tackle and cannot contribute f’all in the loose..
If Smit had started today i am pretty much convinced there would have been a VERY strong possibility of big tears as a result..
Had Smit not started against Wales they would never have come close… instead Wales were leading going into last 1/4.. Bismark and Alberts stemmed the tide and turned it around with Hougaard providing the emphatic spark in attack…
Smit is a dead beat liability we CANNOT afford at this level.. today his first contribution was a free kick for a slow throw in.. next he was off with a yellow card for tapping a ball from offside… Other than that he provides stuff all momentum or breakdown involvement which every other decent hooker on the planet does… like Bismark, Hore.. Moore… and the rest of them..
Start Smit and FdP and Spies vs Aussie and I start sweating that it could be our last game this campaign…
30 Sep 2011, 20:44 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1510:
I never met Jinx in person but we had many discussions here mainly about music.
During our last chat we talked about a bloke called Rob Schoonraadt (Stretch) who was the frontman of a local CT band called the News- Jinx told me he knew him as well and that he is is currently living in the USA and still in the music business.
Jinx seemed to know just about everybody on the local music scene.
I miss our chats
30 Sep 2011, 20:44 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1520:
jinx is a very wise, compassionate, deep and enlightened soul…
30 Sep 2011, 20:44 pm
@jocuba(jocuba)-1517: FDP … there’s your answer… get rid of the genius fckng play making dunce and Boks rugby will come good… how much you wanna bet ?
30 Sep 2011, 20:44 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1500: yep, why are we so scared to actually play WITH the ball?
Our defence is actually not quite as hot as the team and coaches will have us believe. A better team than Wales and Samoa will score tries against us.
30 Sep 2011, 20:46 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-1512:
Yep, Scotland played in, and won the first rugby international. Seeing as their were only two teams in the world, does that make us the first winners of the world cup?
Anyway, here’s some great moments to get the blood pumping for tomorrow morning…
http://sport.scotsman.com/rugby-world-cup-2011/In-pictures-Scotland39s-last-five.6845456.jp
It’s going to be a cracker alright, but knowing our luck, we’ll win by 7
30 Sep 2011, 20:48 pm
ok totsiens mense, en geniet die res van die aand.
go big, go bokke!,…
30 Sep 2011, 20:48 pm
@ufo(ufo)-1524:
I’m the opposite!
30 Sep 2011, 20:49 pm
I think Jinx would be hugely amused at the malarkey on this site nowadays.
He was always the mediator par excellence always trying to calm everyone down!
30 Sep 2011, 20:49 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-1525:
Spot on. Bring on the Cobra. Line break city. Joost factor
30 Sep 2011, 20:50 pm
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-1505:
I was referring to your intellectual justification for supporting the ABs, not the emotional one.
None of that is true, but I’m not prepared to explain my background or loyalties here. It’s just too boring.
30 Sep 2011, 20:50 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-1518:
yes i agree with you, even if the Boks are too hard to support, it should be about supporting SA, but i suppose they can support who they want – however unlike ET, mpundulu does not seem to actively try denigrate the Boks so i suppose he must support who he wants. But the real rugby manne here are mshini and transie, and you want to know anything insightful about the game, these two you read.
30 Sep 2011, 20:50 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-1522: The personal stuff on Smit is maybe a bit heavy… but we’re all entitled to opinions. Everyone in the team is surely going for broke.
Maybe if Smit had started we wouldn’t have had squeue throws. Surely we can only talk about how someone performed. FDP didn’t have a great game… let it go. He’s not the anti-******… he’s trying his best.
30 Sep 2011, 20:50 pm
@cab(cab)-1502:
That is it…
some these exiles who sit up some phoefyfied yankee doodle dandies @nus cannot even see the degree to which rugby has taken to the masses on the ground here… these schmucks that support AB’s for some massive historical chip are the biggest losers going…
Mandela realized this.. he swung the ENTIRE country around in 95 by wearing that green No.6 jersey…
Today go to any shopping mall or any informal settlement in the country.. Springbok jerseys are worn by EVERYONE.. and the groundswell of the masses in the townships are the PROUDEST wearers of that jersey of the LOT…
Springbok rugby is huge as a galvanizing force.. if Boks win this thing this time.. I reckon this country will ERUPT with inner deep seated pride like no one has ever seen YET
30 Sep 2011, 20:50 pm
@ufo(ufo)-1524:
you’re not a ranger are you?
but anyway, ja…go jinx…
30 Sep 2011, 20:51 pm
@jocuba(jocuba)-1517:
i’m holding at cat by the scruff of the neck…
“anybody have any ideas why o why we resorted to stereotype in the 2nd half?”
quite simply… PANIC… and a lack of leadership…
and why we have to start john smit…
and the cat is off…!!
hehehe…
30 Sep 2011, 20:54 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-1529:
would be cool for you to join the kaolin’s who knew and loved jinx for a few brews next time you in cape town…
@reechie maak so lank die pan warm, bakkies bring die wors…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-1536:
not sure what you mean bud…
but i was a gameranger in my youth…
30 Sep 2011, 20:55 pm
Rrrrrrryan
It is all about the view
More refined teams would have been beaten by Samoa
Samoa played a home game today, desperate to move on.
Spoiling and cynical, many high tackles not punished and a *** , yes a homesexual ref not knowing if he is coming or going, officiating.
Boks were slack in the 2nd half, agreed, but many Top 6 nations would have struggled under the Samoan desperation
30 Sep 2011, 20:56 pm
join the keolings… $%^# predictive text on Lion…!!
30 Sep 2011, 20:57 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-1527:
Thanks for the link- its good stuff.
Talking about bad luck, I just read in the Argus about the 1991 game when the ever reliable Gavin Hastings missed the penalty right in front and Rob Andrew then won it for England with a drop.Hastings, overcame with emotion, broke down during the post match interview and could not complete it.
Wonder who will be the “culprit” or “hero” tomorrow.
30 Sep 2011, 20:58 pm
its actually an incredible country when the ppl of it who were most persecuted can so proudly wear the symbols of persecution, its actually fkn unbelievable, ppl worry about malema but when u got the national sportsminister telling the Boks to ‘moer hulle’, you realise how very special the ppl are, so much goodwill, where does it come from?
30 Sep 2011, 20:59 pm
Today we were WELL on top after 30 minutes.. cruising and aiming at handing Samoa a serious hiding .. and THEN.. FDP starts kicking it.. one after the other good ball he starts kicking it STRAIGHT down Samoa’s throat.. HANDING possession away like he’s the f’ng good Samaritan at Xmas time…
30 Sep 2011, 20:59 pm
anyway…
i’m outta here…
cheers all.. enjoy the rugby… enjoy your weekend…
and tell your loved ones you love them…
30 Sep 2011, 21:01 pm
@David(David)-1532: @David(David)-1532: Well if none of that is true for you, then you’ll never understand where I’m coming from, support of a sporting team is emotional. I don’t support the boks, but I love south Africa, rugby is purely a sport, the south African government has not declared war against new Zealand. This is just rugby nothing more, and there’s no argument on earth that will convert me to a bok supporter it’ll never ever happen ever!
30 Sep 2011, 21:01 pm
@cab(cab)-1542:
Well said, Cab.
30 Sep 2011, 21:03 pm
Kaolins. Mmmmm.
I like it!
30 Sep 2011, 21:03 pm
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-1519:
You are right in one sense I agree that Scotland have only really ‘had’ forwards for probably 10-12 years now. Both 12 and 13 have especially been a problem but Ansboro looked to me to be a real prospect and Sean Lamont at inside is a good strong lad who can make space inside rather than beat 3 players on the wing in isolation.
But as I said earlier, thankfully Parks is not starting. Scotland look much better with Jackson who got the backs moving somewhat in terrible conditions against the Argies and there were opportunities there even though they weren’t taken. I’ll blame the weather
But up front, and defensively, Scotland will more than match England. The part I don’t really agree with you is that the rest of the forwards are inferior to England, Murray and Strokosh particularly, but I guess we’ll see tomorrow. I expect it to be a pretty close one. Hopefully it’s dry and we’ll see some good rugby.
30 Sep 2011, 21:03 pm
@jocuba(jocuba)-1534: ….maar hy moet gou wakker skrik, ou FDP
30 Sep 2011, 21:04 pm
@ufo(ufo)-1537: Smit would have lost today.. almost guaranteed.. same way as Smit would have LOST had he stayed another minute against Wales.. where oh where was all that clear headed calm leadership when we were getting fckd HOLY up by Wales under John Smit..?
Had Smit not got OFF the field vs Wales we were absolute TOAST.. Had Smit started today we would likely have been chasing the game from 2nd half and very likely not got out of jail a second time… .. Samoa were f’ng rampant and Smit would have been dead in the water worse than he was against Wales… Non existent in fact…
Pages: « 1 … 26 27 28 29 30 [31] 32 33 34 35 36 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.