PdV’s misplaced loyalty could cost Boks
7 Oct 2011
JON CARDINELLI writes that Peter de Villiers has failed the Springboks by favouring John Smit over Bismarck du Plessis.
‘Don’t be surprised if Bismarck starts the big games,’ a source close to the team told me last week. By that point, Smit had started the Boks’ first three World Cup matches, but there was still a strong belief that Du Plessis would wear the No 2 jersey in the play-offs.
Before Thursday, Du Plessis had pledged his support to his mentor and captain, although privately he may have expected to start the big games. When the team to play against Namibia was named, Du Plessis told an Irish journalist that he’d accepted his role as Smit’s understudy, but following the announcement of the Boks’ quarter-final line-up, he cut a dejected figure at the team hotel.
When he was interviewed, there was none of the good humour that had characterised his media offerings earlier in the tournament. There was also a rumour that he’d reacted badly to the news that he would be riding the bench, and that the head coach was unimpressed with this reaction.
De Villiers calls it a bad attitude, I call it a bad decision. Not for the first time in the last four years, the Bok coach has favoured Smit over Du Plessis even though it’s become increasingly evident that Smit can no longer meet the standards of an international hooker, let alone match the trend-setting Du Plessis.
Smit is also no longer the indispensable leader he was during De Villiers’s early years. On the 2010 tour to the Home Nations, Victor Matfield proved himself to be a capable leader in Smit’s absence. When he was handed the responsibility at this World Cup, Matfield admitted that the captaincy wasn’t as demanding when you had leaders like Bryan Habana (73 caps), Jean de Villiers (71), Jaque Fourie (68), Schalk Burger (67), Danie Rossouw (62) and Fourie du Preez (61) in the side.
There can be a case made for Habana’s exclusion, but the rest of these players deserve their places regardless of their age. The same cannot be said of Smit, and you have to wonder if the reasons around his selection are truly rugby related.
There will never be another John Smit. He’s already the most decorated Bok captain of all time, and his achievements are all the more remarkable given what he’s had to endure from an off-the-field perspective.
It was during the turbulent times of 2008 and 2009, when De Villiers was at his controversy-inciting worst, that Smit needed all of his experience and diplomacy, and behind the scenes, Smit worked to ensure the right calls were made in terms of selection and tactics. While he had already achieved so much prior to 2008, his value and contributions during the first two seasons of De Villiers’ tenure should never be underestimated.
When I interviewed Smit in April 2010, he told me that he would continue to put the team first. He said that the time may come where he would need to step aside, either to warm the bench or support the team as a non-playing squad member. He said this with conviction, and his past deeds both on and off the field gave me no reason to doubt that he would make good on his promise.
I couldn’t help but think about that conversation when Smit was announced as the starting hooker for this Sunday’s quarter-final against the Wallabies. The senior players have a big say in selection and strategy, and so I felt Smit’s selection didn’t align with his commitment to put the team first. By marching on as the starting No 2, he is doing the Boks no favours. By standing in the way of Du Plessis, he is, ironically, doing his country a disservice.
De Villiers will also need to accept responsibility for this situation. He may feel that he owes Smit something but the reality is that a Bok coach should always place the needs of the team above the needs of individuals.
Du Plessis is right to feel aggrieved. The best player won’t start in the No 2 jersey this Sunday, and this decision could cost the Boks’ in the decisive battle up front. It could cost the team everything they’ve worked for over the past four years and lead to an embarrassing quarter-final exit on par with that of Rudolph Straeuli’s side of 2003.
Through the weak management of De Villiers and Smit’s refusal to face the fact that he’s a spent force, the rugby world has been denied the privilege of seeing Du Plessis in his prime on the greatest stage of all. From a South African perspective, the decision to favour Smit has robbed the Boks of the stronger, more dynamic starting option, and it’s likely to be a decision the entire nation will come to lament.
717 Comments
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7 Oct 2011, 21:57 pm
Don’t need me to stir at all,
they’re off!
all by themselves
7 Oct 2011, 21:58 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-489: Your Captain is your Captain
Just because he is your leader you do nt jump ship, or do you?
Oh and I have just geographically seperated myself from SA
7 Oct 2011, 21:59 pm
@ET.(ET.)-540: Go tell another porky… Your support changes like the moods of a menopausal woman…
Remember to sing the national anthem at the top of your voice even if it is “Waltzing Mathilda”…
7 Oct 2011, 22:00 pm
lekke lekka!
suvaafricans,give dem five minutes
and they’re off on the rave thing!
c’est dingue n’est ce pas!
7 Oct 2011, 22:01 pm
@ET.(ET.)-537:
Who in god’s name do you think you are talking to, you old goat.
I think you’ve got your finger up the wrong hole!!
7 Oct 2011, 22:01 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-548:
But you surely flick through a phone book, find some random bloke who’s name points towards him possibly being black, and call him to invite him to watch rugby with you don’t you?
I thought everyone did that.
‘Hi, you don’t know me, but I’m looking for a black person to come and watch rugby with me. How about it boet……boet…..hello…..are you there??’
7 Oct 2011, 22:01 pm
Naah he likes God save the Queen
7 Oct 2011, 22:02 pm
@Duiwel(Duiwel)-549: No, just someone who despite his proud brownness on the outside, can’t bring himself to give up the good life of the white bwana on the inside. You’d never say it, listening to this ET fool, but the struggle (which he continues to fight) is actually nowhere near Phillyfuckingdelphia.
7 Oct 2011, 22:02 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-547: He’s just getting used to daylight…Too much felching in darkness…
7 Oct 2011, 22:04 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-559:
7 Oct 2011, 22:05 pm
GO BOKKE!!!!!!!!
thatha maBhokobhoko!!!
thatha mathole omthonyama!!!
int’ ezatsiba uPhungela ngenqu!!
hambani magorha esizwe, nibuye nayo londebe kaWebb Ellis.
viva BOKKE viva!!!
7 Oct 2011, 22:05 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-556: Ja, and with a whole colour spectrum to consider I might even have needed to specify “Ethnic Black” too. Far too confusing…
7 Oct 2011, 22:06 pm
lost me there,boet,
for me a poepol is a poepol.
The colour of the ring is irrelevant.
Can’t be a lot of poepolle elsewhere
cause an awful lot seem to be present here tonight.
7 Oct 2011, 22:07 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-561:
Yeah, what he said………
7 Oct 2011, 22:08 pm
just when patriots start bullshitting themselves that they’re patriotic then the phillyarsed horsefly arrives.. and then real patriotism hits a new bottom curve…
shows the outright inadequacy of ball sport pandering to be the showcase of pseudo patriotic fervor at its zenith point…
REAL pity Bismark is not starting.. That was our ONE chance of fckng up these convicts for good.. now all we are left with is another hope and a f’ng prayer in this archaic stereotyped delinquent that somehow believes that God has ordained to give him the sole rights to the Bill lofting ceremony delights…
Whatafucking imbecile thinking he had ANY kind of patent out on what rugby requires from a soul.. its the utmost height of aggrandizement when an individual starts perceiving himself to be the sole savior of a team.. thats when you know its tickets.. and even if your inner urge is to hope your country and team prevails down in your gut you know they don’t really deserve what is not categorically theirs to own…
7 Oct 2011, 22:08 pm
561.Transformation said:
steady boet,we want them to play for the cup
not steal it.
7 Oct 2011, 22:09 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-562:
Hey, I *might* be in Blighty on Sunday for a couple of days. You up for a beer?
7 Oct 2011, 22:10 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-561: “mathole omthonyama”
Still got to get there first…
7 Oct 2011, 22:10 pm
Bonne nuit Duiwel
Je vais dormir pour le rugby demain.
Vous ete encore parle avec Boerman sur RW?
Bon chance avec le velos.
7 Oct 2011, 22:12 pm
Toi aussi,
oui,je lui parle,c’est un tipe de bien,un ancien vrai,
merci !la season est termine,bientot la neige!
annerdag ,boet;
mooistap
7 Oct 2011, 22:12 pm
@Duiwel(Duiwel)-566: who said anything about stealing? put the skokiaan down boet
7 Oct 2011, 22:12 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-567: Could be a very good idea… A victory drink in Richmond would go down excellently.
7 Oct 2011, 22:13 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-548:
That post is addressed to your buddy “I am a stormer moffie ” who has been many times at the Boet.
Have you seen what s hit your stereotyping of Kiwis has got some ‘boertjies into in N.Z.?
Two very smartarsed ‘boertjies’ were set upon and whipped to a pulp by some Maoris.
7 Oct 2011, 22:13 pm
Dunno,thought all thieves spoke Zulu.
7 Oct 2011, 22:16 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-572:
Cool, I’ll know in the morning. 50/50 at the moment but I’ll give you a shout if it’s happening.
7 Oct 2011, 22:18 pm
What’s all this moffie business from someone who professes to be anti stereotypical
7 Oct 2011, 22:19 pm
@ET.(ET.)-573:
You must be very happy.
7 Oct 2011, 22:19 pm
@ET.(ET.)-573:
What the living *** are you on about, you old goat?
You’ve got lots of explaining to do and I don’t have a lot of time.
Hurry up.
7 Oct 2011, 22:20 pm
@ET.(ET.)-573: Well if those “boertjies” can’t walk the walk then they mustn’t talk the talk…
As long as Maoris whipping “boertjies” gives you a thrill… This soutie can hold his own.
I don’t stereotype Kiwis, I tell it as it is. Like I tell you, AB supporter.
7 Oct 2011, 22:21 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-576:
It’s par for the course. Dr John was awarded the Nobel Prize for Hypocrisy today…
462.ET.:
30 Sep 2011, 11:13 am Paul Williams you are a hero to greater Cape Town. You were hit first by that dutchy.
7 Oct 2011, 22:22 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-575: Good man. Will give you an email and take it from there.
7 Oct 2011, 22:23 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-572:
That ex-tjommie of yours is on a slippery slope.
I think it’s all downhill for ET now.
7 Oct 2011, 22:25 pm
Seriously now. Let’s move on, kerels. It is going to be a fantastic weekend.
7 Oct 2011, 22:27 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-581:
Ok, will catch you on here tomorrow if it’s happening.
@I am a stormer(I am a stormer)-582:
NOW?
7 Oct 2011, 22:28 pm
@I am a stormer(I am a stormer)-582: Farken epitome of a Caped Crusader, and to think I thought different.
7 Oct 2011, 22:29 pm
Yep. Beach after rugby, feet in sand,
7 Oct 2011, 22:29 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-583:
Well said that man. Where is this Springbok Bar you talk of? Is it the one in Covent Garden?
7 Oct 2011, 22:30 pm
@Jinx2(Jinx2)-583: Christmas comes early. Even playing a Vets Match tomorrow afternoon… Its going to be ugly playing rugger after a few beers consumed over breakfast watching the games.
7 Oct 2011, 22:32 pm
Lol, Rooney is a twattttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!
7 Oct 2011, 22:33 pm
That’s it. Your time is up.
For the rest of the weekend, rugby rugby rugby.
Got Ireland by 12
England by 15
Boks by 1 (it’s all we need)
AB’s by a good margin (20+)
Catch up tomorrow.
7 Oct 2011, 22:34 pm
Bok fans having sleepover at newlands tomorrow night. Vok my.
7 Oct 2011, 22:35 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-587: The Bok bar could be a place to meet, but fark it gets full. Like a dungeon.
Been there years ago. There’s also another bigger Saffa bar in the area, forget the name though.
7 Oct 2011, 22:36 pm
@I am a stormer(I am a stormer)-590:
England by 15
You do need some sleep, you are obviously delirious
7 Oct 2011, 22:40 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-592:
If it’s the one in Covent Garden, I used to pop in now and again. Down a flight of stairs iirc.
Probably a few of them dotted about London now I’d imagine. I remember the first one in Paddington, it was like a speakeasy. Saw eVoid play there as well
Must have been 20 years ago ffs.
7 Oct 2011, 22:43 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-594: Thats the one. You can’t even move it gets so full when rugby is on.
There is another bigger one around that same area… Can’t remember the name though.
7 Oct 2011, 22:44 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-594: Farken eVoid…
7 Oct 2011, 22:44 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-594:
Also one in Shepherds Bush about 15 years ago, just remembering now. Don’t know if it’s still there, somewhere below the shopping centre at the green I think.
7 Oct 2011, 22:44 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-593:
Only because the French are in disarray. But they have this habit of putting on a performance that came from nowhere.
The England team are more organised on the field – less so off it.
And I have the bru to think about – it’s balls to the wall from now on.
7 Oct 2011, 22:44 pm
@I am a stormer(I am a stormer)-590: Cheers.
7 Oct 2011, 22:45 pm
@JockBok(JockBok)-597: Got no idea now.
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