Lame legacy for spineless De Villiers
12 Oct 2011
RYAN VREDE writes that Peter de Villiers styled himself as the puppet master for the Springboks but ended his reign as no more than a puppet.
De Villiers wanted his legacy to be about evolving the Springboks tactically and implementing meaningful transformation. He failed on both counts and will be remembered for his lack of backbone in resisting the agenda of his senior players, poor selections, technical ineptitude and embarrassing media offerings.
The Springboks crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage on Sunday, equalling their worst-ever performance at the global showpiece. Defeat to Australia was neither surprising nor disgraceful, but it is a fitting exit point a coach as ill-equipped as De Villiers was.
I overheard him speaking to a group of people in the Springboks’ team hotel last week. ‘I’ve been building towards this for four years,’ he said. ‘After this I don’t want to see a rugby ball.’
He shouldn’t have seen one at Test level in the first place. De Villiers was selected ahead of a far superior candidate, Heyneke Meyer. South African Rugby union president Oregan Hoskins said the decision was motivated by the need to have a black coach. Four years later Hoskins and his provincial presidents are still in power, while De Villiers will struggle to find a job with an elite franchise and will never coach a major Test nation again.
From the outset of his tenure he positioned himself as the antithesis to former coach, Jake White. He expressed strong views on a range of subjects relating to the Springboks, most notably stressing that they would play a more expansive brand of rugby and committing to improve what he said was a slow rate of transformation under White. The former ideal was shelved after one abysmal season, the senior players, most notably Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez, engineered a shift to more pragmatic approach.
Meanwhile De Villiers window-dressed beautifully with regards to the introduction of black players, without implementing any meaningful change. The core of his preferred side was the one that won the World Cup for White. Beast Mtawarira is Zimbabwean born, Odwa Ndungane was Test impostor and Chiliboy Ralepelle still knows more about the composition of tackle bags than he does about the rigours of Test rugby.
De Villiers’ record – Played 48 Won 30 Lost 18 (62.5%) – is poor, especially since he has had the finest generation of players in some time at his disposal. Examine his record against Australia and New Zealand, the benchmark against which the Springboks should measure themselves, and his mediocrity is starkly illuminated. Four wins from 12 against the Wallabies and five from 11 against the All Blacks is utterly unacceptable.
De Villiers enjoyed great success in 2009, beating the British & Irish Lions and later capturing the Tri-Nations title. However, by that stage the puppets had realised the puppet master’s lack of aptitude in handling them. They cut the strings and reattached them to his appendages.
Those players then duly decided for themselves they had a World Cup left in them. A more astute coach would have recognised they reached the very peak of their powers – particularly in the case of John Smit, Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. He claimed experience would be crucial at the World Cup. Experience, however, counts for very little when you lack the physical ability to execute the lessons experience has taught.
The Lions series also saw the nadir in De Villiers’ flirtations with insanity during press conferences. In the post-match gathering after the second Test he vehemently denied Schalk Burger has eye-gouged Luke Fitzgerald, despite video evidence showing he had. This incensed the travelling media contingent, who asked him about the incident once more on the following Monday, offering him a shot at redemption. De Villiers delivered a series of embarrassing rebuttals, none more so than: ‘If we wanted to eye gouge Lions, we would go to the bush, find some and do it there.’
Never must a political agenda, any agenda for that matter, take precedence over rugby credentials when selecting a Springbok coach. Those who drove De Villiers’ cause are the same men who desperately sought the assistance of Rassie Erasmus ahead of the World Cup to compensate for what their chosen one lacked in technical and tactical skill. They need to be accountable, Hoskins more than any.
However, De Villiers cannot be mitigated. He must be measured by the standards he has set. His repertoire of one-liners is impressive, his favourite being: ‘Even the bad days are good.’ On the contrary, the bad days have been very bad, none more so than in Wellington on Sunday.
By Ryan Vrede, in Auckland
Follow Ryan’s World Cup coverage on Twitter
483 Comments
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12 Oct 2011, 09:38 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-138: I left yesterday(at least I think if was yesterday). Currently in the little town of Guangzhou, sharing my space with 16 million other humans.
Kiwi was unbelievable. One of the highlights of my life I have to say. We(my mate and I) drove about 2000 odd kms meeting folk, partying up a storm and soaking up the atmosphere of a country tuned into a rugby phenomenon. In Wellington the other day, the place was green. Two shades. The obvious two. After the French tossed the Poms aside we participated in the biggest most festive party I’ve ever experienced. The place was pumping I tell you.
12 Oct 2011, 09:40 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-144: I’ll stand by you on that one JR. Passenger of note.
12 Oct 2011, 09:42 am
@grant10(grant10)-150:
cool grant…
trust me… we’re ALL gutted… every single bok poster on this blog is gutted…
the up side of it all is that…
we’ve got some damn fine talent coming through and will be just as competitive next year as we’ve always been and with carter and mccaw… retiring to europe or the crocked farm… stand a very good chance of getting to number one in the world…
12 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@ufo(ufo)-143: you been reading my book. The one I forgot to publish. Good attitude.
12 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@grant10(grant10)-150:
like you united behind the old one?
Namibia?
Don’t make me larf.
12 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-151:
Great stuff !!!!!!! glad you had a blast, it must be great though knowing that you are coming home to an even beter place
12 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-137:
You are correct.
Football has so much trouble as a minor sporting code in both Aus and NZ, that the pro leage actually plays over the summer.
So it has just kicked off and will finish in February.
In an arse about face way, it is actually competing against cricket.
12 Oct 2011, 09:44 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-95:
Don’t you dare question grant. Him and ashampoosomethingarather are clever guys. They make more sense then anyone else swearing on saying I FARKING TOLD YOU SO YOU IDIOTS! Very mature. Very intelligent.
Nowhere did I talk about the selection of Alberts & Bismarck. I’ve said in the past Alberts should’ve been at 7 with Burger at 8… but I’m stupid so when I say it, it doesn’t count. I did say John should start, and he was not near as bad as some of these fools are making out. Bismarck added a new dimension off the bench. John did nothing wrong.
12 Oct 2011, 09:45 am
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-151: Great to hear.
12 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
South African rugby is missing a great chance to go forward and develop, but they instead decide to stick their heads in the sand by building this whole narrative of the Boks having played the perfect game, only to lose due to those dastardly, cheating Aussies and that Mean Mr Bryce Lawrence, who was part of an evil ANZAC conspiracy.
A lot of questions need to be asked about the last 4, and more specifically, the last 2 years. We have gone from being the Super 15, Tri-Nations, World Cup, Mandela Cup etc. holders, to only having a victory against the BI Lions to our name. Why is that? Surely that isn’t horrible Mr Lawrence’s fault?
We came last in this year’s Tri-Nations because we rested players for the World Cup – was this the correct call, especially with guys such as du Preez and Habana off the pace?
Some of the team selections were crazy – why was the best hooker in the world on the bench? Why did Bakkies Botha go to the World Cup, when he was clearly struggling? Why weren’t players such as Mostert selected, who fulfill Botha’s role? How does Pierre Spies – the ultimate ruck inspector – have so many caps, with so little to show for it? He was dominated by a 35 year old converted wing who couldn’t get a contract a couple of years ago.
We always talk about adapting to the ref, and adapting our play – how come we didn’t do that against the Wallabies? Why did we commit so few players to the rucks? – We don’t need Spies, Burger, Danie and Matfield as ball runners in the backline. Why didn’t we keep the ball close, and ensure that someone was there to smash Pocock every time he stood over the ball?
Why were players who were clearly out of form, and struggling to keep up with the pace of the game, still selected?
What does it say about our development of rugby players if we need to play John Smit, despite him being the 6th best hooker in the country and clearly a liability on the field, because we supposedly can’t function without him as captain?
Why did our coach need to get so much outside help 3 months before the World Cup?
Introspection is needed at the moment, and analysis of what went wrong over the last four years, but that won’t happen all because that unkind Mr. Lawrence didn’t blow his whistle enough.
12 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
@grant10(grant10)-147: hey you me the same. We’ll be watching very closely. Small for forwards coach. Rassie maybe HC. Alaistair backline coach as before. I think that would make a good management team. We’ll see.
Under them, we have some real talent coming through. Exciting times ahead.
12 Oct 2011, 09:48 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-156: lol true that.
12 Oct 2011, 09:50 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-111:
Colin Meads thinks that 10 year olds were the next generation after the 2010 World Cup?
No excuse for not performing. Rugby is still a big part of life in NZ. He’s living in a dream world.
12 Oct 2011, 09:51 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-141:
hehehehehe
watch the sharks skin the lions.
12 Oct 2011, 09:52 am
Gert Smal will not take an assistant coaching job with the Springboks.
Head coach, or nothing.
12 Oct 2011, 09:54 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-160:
Good, thought provoking post !!
12 Oct 2011, 09:56 am
@justrugby(justrugby)-156: looking forward JR. I’m the die-hard Inkosi patriot my wife arm-wrestles with daily. But I have to say, Kiwi was a special place. Way better than imagined. If Malema and his jerks forced me out of SA I’d move there tomorrow. But they’ve still got a lot of work to accomplish to move me off my favorite patch. See you at Forries.
12 Oct 2011, 10:00 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-160:
Fair points, but ignoring the fact that Lawrence did not enforce the laws of rugby correctly.
We can improve, but we were in a situation whereby we could, and should have won.
12 Oct 2011, 10:01 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-160: lot of insight in your post Mr Wolfman. Mistakes were certainly made in the recent past. And like some speculate; we could have won this thing. Let us believe that lessons will be learnt. I’m a great servant of the ‘glass half full’ theory. Now I will support the AB’s to take Bill because they both need and deserve it.
12 Oct 2011, 10:04 am
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-169:
0_0
GO WALES!
12 Oct 2011, 10:07 am
This site can suck major donkey balls sometimes.
12 Oct 2011, 10:10 am
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-167:
LOL !
See you there !!!
12 Oct 2011, 10:11 am
Morning G10,
Welcome back, I missed your comments.
As you know, I have always been a big Smit fan, I am hurting massively. Bismark was noticeably more impactful in general play when he was on. no doubt from me. I still don’t think we would have won though, just had that sick feeling from the minute Danie pulled the Aussie lock down, that something was conspiring against us.
I think that we all need to look to the future now. PDV made his calls & his bed 1 year ago. We had a long time to get to terms with it, and we have finally lived through it.
Moving forward – who is your pick for the new coach?
12 Oct 2011, 10:17 am
I can’t for the life of me understand why people are suggesting AC as backline coach, other than to include a black member of the coaching team under their preferred head coach. Alistair did nothing for the Lions or the Boks in that capacity. I still remember him stating, after 2 years with Jake, that the backs will be adopting some more attacking moves, but don’t expect things like offloading in the tackle yet. That’s not the words that I want from a backline coach.
12 Oct 2011, 10:21 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-168: As soon as you focus on evil Mr. Lawrence, you lose the agency of the coaches and the players. If you blame the ref for losing you the game, you are suggesting that your players are helpless little so and so’s who can’t control their own destiny.
We made some bad mistakes in the game tactically, and no-one on the field or in the coach’s box could see that, or figure out a way to change our game plan. Watch the second half – we were committing 1 or 2 players to the ruck, sometimes 3, whereas the Wallabies had 4 or 5.
We had one out runners without any support, who were often isolated, with the Aussies crowding the tackled player.
Pocock was often on his feet when he was contesting the ball – sometimes illegally. Where was Louw, or Roussouw or Burger to blast him out of the way? Bakkies would have had a field day with him – unfortunately we didn’t have any one to really hit the rucks and clear players out. This comes down to people being willing to hit the rucks and being willing to hit the rucks with the correct technique.
In the second half, Bismarck and Burger were fighting a lone battle at the ruck, without support from the other forwards, whereas the Wallabies were committing numbers to the ruck. That sneaky Mr. Lawrence might not have blown the rucks correctly, but South Africa didn’t have the insight, willingness or ability to change there tactics. And that was despite Captain Fantastic, the man we can’t win the World Cup without, being on the field for 50 minutes.
You might argue that it shouldn’t be the case, and if it wasn’t for the horrible Mr. Lawrence, we would have won, but that ignores all the problems that have plagued the Springboks for the last 2 years, at least, and pointing the finger at the ref constantly. isn’t going to help South African rugby sought some of its problems out.
12 Oct 2011, 10:29 am
What a kuk lame spineless apology for a so-called fecking “article”
12 Oct 2011, 10:30 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-176:
SORRRY tHat SHOULd’ve been in fECKING cAPS
12 Oct 2011, 10:37 am
next coach HAS to be White!
12 Oct 2011, 10:44 am
@David(David)-174: I agree…..The Crusaders C team even beat his Stormers A team in CT. With a wealth of talent he has nothing to show. Its time we took our heads out of the sand and get the best person possible. And that just may be a foreigner…..shock of shocks!
12 Oct 2011, 10:45 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-175:
-_-
I’m not going to ignore the fact that Lawrence did not enforce the breakdown laws. Don’t understand how ignoring that will help us get better.
No one is saying we can’t improve, but don’t be ignorant.
12 Oct 2011, 10:45 am
Ah! Thanks Ryan. Another pointless article.
I don’t think anybody in world rugby haven’t heard or read what you just said before. I hope you guys are now done with this story. I don’t think anyone still want to hear about this.
What we want to hear is about the future. The World Cup and PDV’s reign (although he still has to complete his tenure) is old news. We want to know the interpretations of important roleplayers and stake holders regarding the future coaching staff and even team composition and predictions for the future. Give us something new to chew on… a decomposing clown doesn’t taste all that nice.
12 Oct 2011, 10:46 am
Haha. So Hoskins and Saru admit to appointing De Villiers with transformation in mind , yet you always feel the need to bash the coach Ryan Vrede ? Why not the people who appointed him with transformation agendas. Are they not the ones we should be blaming ?
The coach did not appoint himself ?
What about his assistants ?
Everyone loved giving Eddie Jones credit in 2007 , should **** Muir and Gary Gold not also share some of the blame.
Not a Div fan at all , but can’t blame it all on him either.
12 Oct 2011, 10:50 am
@XV(XV)-179:
That’s a lie.
1 Wyatt Crockett 2 Corey Flynn 3 Owen Franks 4 Brad Thorn 5 Sam Whitelock
All 3 are all Blacks, not Crusaders C team.
6 George Whitelock 7 Richie McCaw 8 Kieran Read
All 3 are All Blacks (I believe). Not C team
9 Andy Ellis 10 Dan Carter
Both All Blacks. Not C team
12 Sonny Bill 13 Robbie Fruean
One All Black, and one future All Black and first-choice entre. Not C team
11 Zac Guildford 14 Sean Maitland 15 Tom Marshall.
An All Black, another first-choice player, and Tom Marshall who had an excellent tournament standing in for Dagg.
You’re a liar. Pathetic.
http://www.sarugby.net/matchbreakdown.aspx?id=20374&category=&leagueid=795&homeid=8388&awayid=8395&fullview=true
12 Oct 2011, 10:50 am
PS: As for the your final paragraph. That’s actually funny. The only two guys who could actually improve on silly/intentional funny one-liners would be Naas Botha and Brendan Venter.
Should that be a requirement for the post? Hmmm… that might exclude Meyer and Coetzee from the short-list.
12 Oct 2011, 10:55 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-183:
And the other game Crusaders at Newlands had:
Luke Romano for Brad Thorn – Definitely not C team.
Chris Jack for Sam Whitelock – Excellent former AB, not C team.
Matt Todd for Richie McCaw – Called up to the All Blacks. Definitely not C team.
Kahn Fotuali’i for Andy Ellis – A player many have argued should be starting. Starter for Samoa. Not C team.
Matthew Berquist for Dan Carter – Was a time when Berquist was in high demand. One of the very best goalkickers available to NZ. Not C team.
And Israel Dagg played in this game also instead of Tom Marshall.
I hate it when people make up these stories to discredit people they don’t like.
12 Oct 2011, 10:56 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-183: listen you snivelling little W.A.N.K.K.E.R if you cannot blog with the appreciation that everyone has an opinion then go elsewhere. if someone has a different opinion to you you get all nasty. now FO little man.
12 Oct 2011, 10:58 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-180: The furor around the match and Lawrence has meant that everything else has been forgotten, apart from the refereeing.
Very few journalists have mentioned the poor tactics, substitutions or team selections. When people mention those things, they are treated as heretics, because the Springboks can’t lose a game, it has to be someone else’s fault. I haven’t seen one analysis of the match which hasn’t only focused on the refereeing. I also haven’t seen any-one go through the game and objectively point out all the errors that Lawrence made.
It has been a highly emotionally reaction from all quarters – not only the fans, but players, coaches, former referees, and this is detrimental to South African rugby. Perhaps it is only because the wound is so fresh, and later on we will learn from it. I won’t hold my breath.
That was the most experienced Springbok team of all time, and they have been saying for the past four years, you have to adapt to the referee’s interpretations. We didn’t. Why not?
12 Oct 2011, 11:00 am
@XV(XV)-186:
Your opinion? Saying that was a Crusaders C team is not an opinion, it is a lie.
Please tell me who from there is from the Crusaders C team?
If you do I’ll be happy to apologise. But you can’t because you’re a pathetic liar.
12 Oct 2011, 11:02 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-187:
Like I said, you are correct. We can improve. Mistakes were made.
But I’m not about to ignore Lawrence not enforcing the breakdown laws, which played right into the Aussies hands.
12 Oct 2011, 11:03 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-188: 7th May 2011……
12 Oct 2011, 11:05 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-188: http://www.keo.co.za/2011/05/07/stormers-vs-crusaders-1705-ko/……now get your head out of your arse…..
12 Oct 2011, 11:05 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-188:
I agree its bullsh*t , Crusaders had their A team with a few injuries. The current Province team has a quite a few injuries and players on Springbok duty , does not mean we should call our Currie Cup team the D team now hahaaa .
12 Oct 2011, 11:05 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-189:
It’s like a soccer referee allowing a central defender to be a second goalkeeper, and letting him use his hands. Then saying we should have been prepared for it.
Lawrence should have enforced the breakdown laws. If he had, and we’d still lost, I wouldn’t have had a problem.
Instead he completely ignored it, which favored Australia.
12 Oct 2011, 11:08 am
@XV(XV)-191:
That link goes to “Now Botha is crocked”…
I gave you the facts. I showed you who played.
Now admit you made up stories to discredit Allister Coetzee.
@wp_boytjie(wp_boytjie)-192:
Rich to accuse me of being a w.a.n.k.e.r. when he’s making up these stories. I’m just making sure other bloggers don’t actually believe this rubbish.
12 Oct 2011, 11:09 am
@wp_boytjie(wp_boytjie)-192: 7th May 2011. Coetzee did not cover himself in glory did he?
http://www.keo.co.za/2011/05/07/stormers-vs-crusaders-1705-ko/
12 Oct 2011, 11:10 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-194:
http://www.keo.co.za/2011/05/07/stormers-vs-crusaders-1705-ko/
12 Oct 2011, 11:11 am
Also, just to be clear… that Crusaders team that played in the semi-final will be the exact same first-choice starting XV for the Crusaders next year, except for Israel Dagg coming back in for Tom Marshall, and Crotty replacing Sonny Bill.
Outside of Israel Dagg, they had all of their best players in that game, and Fruean will be an All Black in the very near future.
12 Oct 2011, 11:13 am
Ryan, so much of this article is skewed and in hindsight, and its been blatantly obvious for a long time that you have a major grudge against PDiv, for some weird reason.
The only part I agree with is the Boks record against ABs and Wallabies – but then no Bok coach besides Mallet and Christie have had good records against those 2!
However – the point remains – if PDiv was not coaching the team, and the players were (as you claim) then surely the poor record is not HIS but is the players’? Surely Smit, Matfield, Du Preez etc are to be held accountable? And surely the issues like Bismark not starting over Smit are their responsibility too, and not Pdiv’s?
There is so much hypocrisy WRT PDiv and the “golden generation” of Boks.
Put yourself in Div’s shoes, and tell me you wouldve done any of this differently:
- held the core of a RWC winning team together in your first year (included win in NZ, and 19-0 in Durbs). Experience was to be required for the next seas against B&I Lions, so cant overhaul the team then.
- Changed the team after winning EVERYTHING in 2009 (Morne and Brussow were brought in, experiment with Smit at prop and Ruaan at flyhalf).
EOYT – a few new faces and in-form players given a chance at Bok level – some work, some don’t.
- 2010 – SA teams dominate S14, Boks smash France, everything looks in place to continue dominance of 2009.
World comes crashing in during Tri Nations as established players dont perform. Bismark loses form, Smit moved back to hooker.
Whose fault are those bad performances???
After having the assistant coaches lambasted by the public, PDiv goes looking for new ones – only to be ridiculed for doing this by the SAME public! (?!?)
EOYT is slight improvement, disastrous loss to Scotland. Start of new Bok strategy of playing like **** and winning in the last 15 mins (against Wales & Ireland) – this is a joke
2011 – SA teams do reasonably well in S15.
RWC year, so many first choice players are rested during 3Ns (further destroying PDiv’s record against 3N opposition – but for a good reason).
Boks drastically improve as RWC continues. They dominate Aus like never-seen in past 4 years, and narrowly lose.
Being in PDiv’s shoes as those seasons unfolded – most of us wouldve done exactly what he did!
Di c k Muir was a major problem, and PDiv couldnt get rid of him (it seems).
Personally, as most fans do, I believe that Bissie shouldve been on the field longer, Habana shouldve been on the field less and Hougaard more and Alberts shouldve been used more, and so on.
But how to do it?
And remember – as much as we make fun and 2nd guess PDiv – he is a better coach than ANY of us could be and none of us could coach the Boks.
Im going to miss him and Smit, Matfield, Du Preez. Its the end of an era, an dit didnt end like it shouldve
12 Oct 2011, 11:15 am
With the Springboks’ World Cup done and dusted, there are those who deserve to be honoured and those who perhaps had a tournament to forget. Here below we look at five players who enhanced their reputations at the tournament and five who would rather forget the New Zealand experience in totality.
Five players who enhanced their reputations
1. Bismarck du Plessis
Probably the biggest injustice of the World Cup, Bismarck came into the tournament knowing that he was by far the best hooker in the world and expected that if he performed admirably he would have started the playoff rounds. But it was not to be, as coach Peter de Villiers ignored his strong claims and kept on with John Smit at hooker. Against Australia, after losing Heinrich Brussow and with David Pocock having a field day, the Boks desperately needed Du Plessis on the field earlier as an extra loosie, but he only came on after 50 minutes.
2. Francois Hougaard
Wing or scrumhalf? It doesn’t matter where you put Hougie, he’s simply one of those players you want to have on the field at all times. Electric in his pace, and only coming off the bench, he led the tournament line breaks after the pool stages with much less time than anyone else. As Fourie du Preez’ natural successor he will get a lot more game time at halfback next year, but his versatility makes him exciting and an asset to any team. Definitely a Bok great for the future.
3. Pat Lambie
Call him Superpat, as some do, but young Lambie moulded himself into the fullback role with ease, looked calm and composed and always seemed to take the right option. Its hard to believe this baby-faced Bok is old enough to play senior rugby but as long as he is given the freedom to settle in one position, and not be moved around like a pinball, he is set to develop into a future Superstar for World Cups to come.
4. Frans Steyn
After his public spats with coach Peter de Villiers a year ago, there were those who questioned his value to the team. That was all quickly slammed into oblivion with the first monster penalty from 60 metres out, and when Jean de Villiers injured his ribs, showed just how valuable he is at inside centre, adding new options and a physicality to the team that was much needed in the Pool of death. He may stay in France, but is definitely part of the Bok woodwork right now.
5. Heinrich Brussow
We all saw how much he was needed when he went off the field in the quarterfinal, and Brussow is a key man in our attack and defence with his ball-playing abilities on the ground. As a terrier he has no equal and it was a horrible cheap shot from Dan Vickermann to get him off the park in that game.
Five players that didn’t enhance their reputations
1. John Smit
While we all knew Smit’s captaining abilities and he did have his best game of the year in the quarterfinal, his workrate and form was that of an aging man. Overshadowed by Bismarck, Smit stayed in the team because of a promise made to him by coach Peter de Villiers earlier in the year and should have been big enough to take the step back. While nobody can blame him for the Bok defeat, this was definitely a case where he could and should have been the bigger man for the good of the team.
2. Bryan Habana
Still living on 2007 glory, Habana finally got the ****** off his back by breaking the try-scoring record against Namibia. But other than that, served little purpose on attack and was consistently off his game during the World Cup. While we all know how high his work-rate is, Habana is a shadow of his former glory and certainly should have made way for Hougaard during the tournament.
3. Bakkies Botha
He arrived at the tournament as the enforcer, set for a final big fling into the sunset, but his Achilles problem flared up and Botha’s contribution was very little on the field and more a talking point off it. It may have been no fault of his own, but the big man certainly didn’t do himself justice by hanging around and eventually went home without hitting a ruck in anger.
4. Pierre Spies
While his confidence grew in the games against Fiji and Namibia, Spies is also a shadow of his hard-running self and has been given ample opportunity to regain his form. His running was curtailed by defences, and his star wained as his workrate dropped at rucks as the tournament went on.
5. Fourie du Preez
This is a tough one, because by any other country’s standards, Du Preez would have had a good World Cup, but the 2007 Player of the tournament has pretty lofty ones and still seems to be struggling to find his form after a year layoff. His kicks were average, often too far and struggled with swirling winds, but he still remains one of the most dangerous players in World rugby. By his own standards this was judged, and while it may be tough, he was nowhere near the 2007 form in this tournament.
12 Oct 2011, 11:15 am
@XV(XV)-196:
One of the players that was missing was Ben Franks, who was on the bench behind Crockett most of the time anyway.
Also, Chris Jack came in who was another All Black.
If AC is such a terrible coach, then everybody else who lost to the Crusaders should probably just quit.
And that definitely was not a Crusaders C team. Why did you claim that it was? It was an A team with a handful of injuries.
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