PdV sticks with Smitty
6 Oct 2011
John Smit has been reinstated as the starting hooker and captain for Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final against the Wallabies.
De Villiers started Bismarck du Plessis in the last pool match against Samoa, and it was rumoured that he would continue to play a bigger role in the knockout matches. But with Thursday’s team announcement, De Villiers stuck to the original script, favouring the man he made a promise to in 2008. Smit will start ahead of Du Plessis because De Villiers believes that the former is an indispensable leader.
Du Plessis has been named on the bench, but the Boks could certainly use his particular skill set in a game of this nature. More mobile and aggressive than Smit, he also possesses a strong breakdown game and is known to make the odd steal off the deck. Against the Wallabies, you’d want players of this ilk on the park from minute one.
It is also false to claim that the Boks don’t have the leadership outside of Smit to see them through a knockout match. Victor Matfield has captained the Bulls to three Super Rugby titles over the last four years, and has led the Boks admirably when Smit has been unavailable.
Matfield will play alongside Danie Rossouw in this match, as regular second row partner Bakkies Botha is unlikely to recover from injury. Beast Mtawarira is left out of the match 22, with Gurthro Steenkamp starting at loosehead prop. Other changes to the side that fronted Samoa see Jean de Villiers replacing the injured Frans Steyn at inside centre.
The Bok coach has also reverted to a traditional four-three split on the bench. There is still no sign of Johann Muller, and Willem Alberts will cover lock once again.
Francois Hougaard will cover several backline positions, and Butch James will give the team an alternative flyhalf option if Morne Steyn and the Boks’ one dimensional game plan doesn’t come off. Like the benching of Du Plessis, it’s a selection the coach will soon regret, as James’s skills are tailor made for this type of opposition.
The Boks have spoken about playing a forward-oriented game, but someone like Gio Aplon will lend them attacking impetus in the final quarter. Aplon has been used sparingly in this tournament, but will provide the Boks’ with a lively running option against what should be a tiring Aussie defence.
Again, the team may have been better served if Aplon was selected to start rather than ride the bench. Like Du Plessis and James, he has the ability to influence the outcome of a match and ideally these sort of players should be playing a greater role rather than a bit part in a do-or-die fixture.
Springboks – 15. Pat Lambie, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Schalk Burger, 6. Heinrich Brüssow, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Danie Rossouw, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. John Smit (c), 1. Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Subs: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Willem Alberts, 19. Francois Louw, 20. Francois Hougaard, 21. Butch James, 22. Gio Aplon.
486 Comments
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5 Oct 2011, 20:42 pm
You don’t have better players than those on the field on the bench, of course they’ll look good off the bench, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t start. So just because Lambie as a sub would have made Kirshner look like the talentless mug he is should he start from the bench? ****** logic. Impact players should offer something different if needed, Brent Russel springs to mind. Not be all round better players.
5 Oct 2011, 20:42 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-45: Skop most teams would have two hookers. So it seems understandable that one of the props had to take a fall for the team. Pity it had to be Beast. He makes such a impact when he comes on later. Damn which he covered both sides. I just don’t rate CJ at all.
5 Oct 2011, 20:42 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-42: I have it on good authority that he was.
5 Oct 2011, 20:43 pm
@Puma(Puma)-52: which = wish
5 Oct 2011, 20:43 pm
CJ is covering tight head and Jonny Blue eyed Palooka is covering the Beasts position off the middle of the park.. Smit is the glaring F’ng WEAKNESS in this team.. Him and the other pretender Spies.. though at least in Spies’s case he can STILL run for 80 minutes.. and an open game vs Aussie is at least more up his alley than a trench war grind out vs AB’s or a NH team…
Smit is a dead beat f’ng conglomerate of lard once game goes past 30 minutes.. how the FCK they still expect him to play 50 minutes at 2 and then SWITCH to loose head for a further 30 is a F’ng Brain Explosion like you would expect from a mesmerized moron on memorabilia juice
5 Oct 2011, 20:44 pm
HG: have to agree. SA with pdivvy accept mediocrity. No way we wld have tolerated this from Mallett or Jake
5 Oct 2011, 20:45 pm
HG: have to agree. SA with pdivvy accept mediocrity. No way we would have tolerated this from Mallett or Jake
5 Oct 2011, 20:46 pm
Pleased Danie is starting and no Bakkies. Think Bakkies might have cost us like Mitchell mentioned and like probably we all though anyhow. He is a marked man with the refs. Could pick up a red card and that would have been a big mess up.
Though I think he simply never made it cause he is still injured. So have no clue why he is still there. Cause if we make the semi and he is over that injury he won’t be game ready. Danie will still have to start ahead of him.
5 Oct 2011, 20:48 pm
@Puma(Puma)-48: The 4/3 split to me is both an insurance policy and a ground war declaration of intent…
An insurance policy for the backline in terms of Aplon as cover for JPP and Lambie if things don’t work out at 15 or if JPP wont last a whole game. Hougie is there as cover for FdP and as impact wing. Butch is there as an insurance policy for Morne and JdV. We better hope Mossie doesn’t get injured otherwise we are in shitstreet of note.
Two fetchers on the bench in Bismarck and Flo tells us all we need to know about how the Boks will play. Slow Oz down on D and keep ball on attack. I envisage Ratel and Schalk will be let loose to run themselves into the ground with one being replaced with Flo come 60 mins.
Alberts is there for impact and CJ is nothing more than insurance for Jannie DuP.
5 Oct 2011, 20:48 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-55: They won’t play John at LH. It will be CJ. Will be a straight swap for Bissie when John comes off. Well I think it will be.
5 Oct 2011, 20:49 pm
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-53: Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
5 Oct 2011, 20:50 pm
@55.ashampoopaloo:
Dude you are going to do yourself some damage, take it easy! John Smit is our captain. He is the most capped Bok ever and the most succesful bok captain ever. Show some respect pal, who the hell do you think you are calling him a ” dead beat f’ng conglomerate of lard ?”
Punch yourself repeatedly in the face for me, as I can’t reach through my monitor.
5 Oct 2011, 20:52 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-59: Yes we have covered ourselves well there. But still feel for Beast. Also we should have had a 4/3 split for Samoa. When Frans got injured he said after he just kept on playing in pain cause there was no replacement on the bench to take his place. JdV had gone to wing by the time Fransie got injured.
Who knows if he had come off straight away with that injury he could still be fine. So yes, we have covered ourselves proper here. But one had to take a fall for the team and I feel for Beast. He is a superb impact player when he come on. Will be missed for sure.
5 Oct 2011, 20:53 pm
@Train(Train)-57: Don’t like Jake, but both of them are light years better than Dippy and his crew in terms of organisation and planning.
I can only imagine if Mallet were in charge of this set of players. Fark me, Bill would be as good as in the back pocket already.
But we are fortunate that Rassie and especially Nienaber are involved now.
(Wonder what DickMuir actually does in this setup now?)
5 Oct 2011, 20:54 pm
R.I.P Boks
The farken fat boys club have won.
Beast and Bissy must be seriously pi ssed off…
5 Oct 2011, 20:56 pm
Spies and our best player in the last decade FduP have to come to the party. FduP was better against Samoa so let’s hope he’s starting to turn things around. If Bakkies was there it would’ve been good night nurse, Danie won’t let us down. Kicking game needs to improve a hundred fold too or we”l be run to shreds.
5 Oct 2011, 20:56 pm
@mako(mako)-39: Damn I had to laugh at that. So the Aussies think Deans is planted there for NZ to win? hahahaha. Bloody funny that.
Have to read RugbyHeaven sometime. Do they post there?
5 Oct 2011, 20:57 pm
These dumb fck fckfaces like HG and Train suggesting PdV is worst Bok coach since readmission when his ACTUAL record surpasses ALL white coaches prior to him including Jake the skunk eyed snake…
Mallet ran on Carel Dup’s brainwaves and fckd it up solid at the death.. White arsecrept up Eddy Jones backside else he was a nobody of mammoth ineptitude.
The other fckups like Streauli, Viljoen, Williams and Maakraaf were so far inferior rugby coaches to PdV they are not even fit to tie his bootstraps
PdV leaves all these fckups IN the DUST..
PdV is the ONLY coach with an equal win / loss ratio to NZ since readmission.. better than Mallet and far better than White.. White has a 3 from 9 loss ratio against them with one little win in Rustenburg by ONE measly gift of a missed kick point…
PdV is out and out the best rugby coach this Bok team has had in a LONG LONG time.. since Kitch Christie to be exact…
5 Oct 2011, 20:58 pm
@mako(mako)-62: Your last line………hahahaha. Had a good chuckle….hehehe.
5 Oct 2011, 20:58 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-55:
Smit is a dead beat f’ng conglomerate of lard once game goes past 30 minutes.. how the FCK they still expect him to play 50 minutes at 2 and then SWITCH to loose head for a further 30
That is where the game will be lost – no reason to replace Guthro at all for Plod, he is going to taste his arse turbo reversing if he thinks he owes it to himself to be on the field stealing Guthro’s position.
Play him for 40min then bench him for Bissy, it’s the only way.
5 Oct 2011, 20:58 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-64: Look Mallet may be a good coach but not great
He threw his players to the wolves, blamed them for a loss
He was also a palooka when it comes to selections, he selected Bobby ahead of Teich and a flank as a scrummie
Say what you want about PDIvvy, Snor, Lapa Lip, call him whatever, but he is and remains loyal to his players. He has a passion for the Boks and I believe he was let down by his support staff
Jake White was a technical good coach, a real video jockey, but poor on selections in his first and third year and he would shoot his mouth off and get the oppo all excited and frothing at the mouth
5 Oct 2011, 20:59 pm
@Puma(Puma)-63: Yeah, I feel for beast too. But with beast there, one of Butch or Apples would not. I think they have made the right call wrt that. Certainly I think Gurthro has the edge over Beast at the moment
It looks like they dont reckon the Aus scrum will pose any outright danger so Beast’s impact might not be as much as say a fresh Apples and Hougie to keep the backline Wizards of Oz in check and possibly to fight fire with fire by taking the game to the Aussies on attack.
Butch is there as backup for the midfield.
5 Oct 2011, 20:59 pm
Disappointing team.
The loss of Bakkies and Frans, and the resultant addition of Butch and Louw has destroyed the impact of the bench. De Jong could at least have come on and scored the winning try after a sniping fresh legs break down the middle.
Don’t know what the hell Butch is going to add, other than REDUCING the pace of the midfield if he replaces De Villiers.
And Louw is going to add f-all, whereass Alberts as a loosie replacement coming on in tandem with Rossouw as the lock replacement and Bismark would have added a tripple whammy wrecking ball of note.
In short, our impact bench has been replaced with an insurance policy bench in the form of Louw and Butch James. Very disappointing.
5 Oct 2011, 21:00 pm
@67.Puma:
Yep, they’re tearing their hair out. They are not that confident of beating the Boks on sunday. I love it when the Aussies start squaling before the game is evn played, they are scared!
5 Oct 2011, 21:00 pm
@grant10(grant10)-65: Oh, phulease get back into your hot tub
Boks do not need your support, get yourself another team jersey, maybe Aus…. Oh I forgot they have already lost a game
5 Oct 2011, 21:02 pm
Not sure why skopshyte is throwing his toys out of the cot at the news John Smit is starting.
It was pretty obvious that he was going to. If you’re surprised at this, you’ll be surprised at the sight of the sun coming up tomorrow morning.
5 Oct 2011, 21:03 pm
post 76 applies to Gwant10 too.
5 Oct 2011, 21:03 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-68: See my post 71
5 Oct 2011, 21:03 pm
i tink we going home, and to top it all off, there is no beast on the bench, my god they are mad.
5 Oct 2011, 21:04 pm
@mako(mako)-62: He is the most overrated captain yet.. with a glorious win / loss record against top 5 rank countries of exactly 10% in the past 2 years of captaincy prior to this WC … 11 games started 10 LOST … his tri nations record since 2009 reads played 10 LOST 9 .. hows that for a SUCCESSFUL RUGBY CAPTAIN .. you gotta have success inverted for FAILURE because where I come from to LOSE is to FAIL.. dumb fck IMBECILIC DUNCE!!
He better turn that sinking LOSING trajectory he’s been on since 2009 around RIGHT NOW because it is NOW that actually COUNTS…
5 Oct 2011, 21:04 pm
@mako(mako)-62: Mako what do you base your comment on that John Smit is the most successful Bok captain ever? Caps? Even in the modern era when we have not dominated, he has a worse win loss ratio than Pienaar, Tychman, Matfield.
Even his cap count is suspect? How many games was he taken off the pitch? 40%?
5 Oct 2011, 21:04 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-68: So 17 consecutive wins on the trot is due to Carel Du P… You farked in the head worse than I thought, man.
Before this RWC and the welcome additions of Rassie and Nienaber, I reckon after the 3N, Dippy had an equivalent record to, if not worse than Straeuli as Bok coach. Hardly inspiring, hey?
Stop apologising for his lack of authority and credibility – its actually patronising to him.
5 Oct 2011, 21:05 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-72: I think they will be wanting Steenkamp to last the 80min. Then of course we don’t have fresh legs there after 55min. Something we had all this tourney.
Righ now Steenkamp is playing better than Beast have to admit. But Beast is still playing superb. Feel for him being dropped. Wish he covered both sides. Cause sure as hell it would not be CJ on the bench then. We HAVE to have two hookers. So that is understandable.
We just have to weigh it up. We start to fall behind then we need to bring on Bissie rather sooner than later. Even before the break. Or straight after.
Really that Cooper got to me now listening to the big mouth. When asked if Boks had any flair he just giggled. Then said mentioned Lambie, Hougaard and Habs name but he had to think about it first. Fool. Hope we keep him out the game like Ireland did. Shut his trap up that would. No wonder the kiwis don’t like him.
5 Oct 2011, 21:06 pm
I must be the only one who feels Butch shouldn’t be in the 22. I just don’t see what he offers. Sure, he’s another kicking option, but we have Steyn, and if something happens to him, we have Lambie. The inside back replacement should be Juan de Jongh. He is infinitely more dangerous and unpredictable on attack. And he’s a deadly defender, unlike Butch who only has two flailing arms and a badass reputation. De Jongh is a gamebreaker. Butch is a journeyman. Looking at the rest of our bench, we seem to have favoured gamebreakers.
5 Oct 2011, 21:06 pm
I can tell you if Frans Steyn was still at inside centre. Cooper would be bloody worried.
5 Oct 2011, 21:06 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-73: Get real, we need to have a lock replacement
Vic will not play 80 minutes and if he does, Alberts is insurance for your love child, old Spies
Send him a twitter and tell him JL1 says he owes us a big game
5 Oct 2011, 21:06 pm
Tacitus you were a revelation today.
That spine not so rigid after all huh
5 Oct 2011, 21:06 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-73: Oh, I see you agree with me re Butch.
5 Oct 2011, 21:07 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-84: Cardinelli and Keo wants the Butcher there
5 Oct 2011, 21:08 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-73: If the Boks lose then Bakkies career will end suddenly …….. without him even walking off the field.
I think that Plod will want to stay on the field for the whole 80min – his ego is too big to do the right thing and sit on the benf for the good of the team – remember he owes it to himself to be on the field.
5 Oct 2011, 21:08 pm
Skoppie’s on tik again. He’s had the best players at his disposal of any of the post apartheid coaches, and he doesn’t have the best record. Stick to pot, you’re already slow so no side effects.
5 Oct 2011, 21:08 pm
@JL1(JL1)-71: 17 consecutive wins – a record – indicates a very good coach. A coach is not there to be matey matey with players. Mallet did not need to be mates, he had authority and could actually think for himself. Unlike Dippy…
Mallet made cockups, sure… What coach doesn’t. And he admitted his Teichmann error.
His record for the Boks speaks for itself.
5 Oct 2011, 21:09 pm
@JL1(JL1)-89: So? I bet they also want strippers with big breasts to still love them in the morning too. Doesn’t mean it will happen.
5 Oct 2011, 21:09 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-84: Katman,
Our wings on the bench are gonna come on for both Habs and JPP. They I think are gonna start with slight injuries. That is a worry. So Aplon wont be able to cover fb. So we had to have Butch to cover 12 and 10. JdJ adds flair but we need a big 12 to cover for Morne. Pity Frans is no longer there. Huge pity.
5 Oct 2011, 21:09 pm
@cab(cab)-79: Aplon is a better winger than Beast and you know it
5 Oct 2011, 21:10 pm
Katman
See my post 73. I said as much.
Butch is an insurance policy in case Morne gets injured, nothing more. The cowards went with the safe option, and in doing so robbed our bench of a potential impact player, either a forward like Beast, or an attacking back like De Jongh.
I must be honest, this reeks of Rassie and the Stormers paranoid cowardice which has cost them so many play off games in recent years. Scared to lose rather than determined to win.
5 Oct 2011, 21:10 pm
Pity Bakkies is injured.
I would have liked Beast, Bismark, Rossouw, Alberts and Hougaard all coming on at the same time in the 2nd half to add that bolt of energy.
Smit is not as big a problem as some are making out…
Francois Louw is a non entity, might as well just have had 21 players.
5 Oct 2011, 21:10 pm
Bakkies still injured then? Why is he not sent home?
5 Oct 2011, 21:10 pm
The Aussies at least will be delighted that John Smit starts
5 Oct 2011, 21:10 pm
Guys JS has won a rugby world cup, has beaten the British Lions, won Tri Nations and is on track to lead his side to a very good defence of the World Cup. In my book that makes his achievements greater than any other Bok Captain. The respect that he has from every member of his team shows us how the players rate him as a captain, and the fact that every coach he has played under since Straulie has wanted him to lead the Boks. He has been groomed for leadership since school days and is doing agreat job! To speak of him with the disrespect that Shamps is using amounts to treason!!!
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