The 2011 keo.co.za awards
6 Dec 2011
JON CARDINELLI and RYAN VREDE rate the real winners and losers of the 2011 season.
THE HEROES by Ryan Vrede
The Irresistible Force - To watch Schalk Burger live borders on a spiritual experience. His work-rate can only be fully appreciated when you watch him effect a tackle then spring from the ground as if it were strewn with scorpions, track across the field and make another, then another and yet another. There is nothing elegant about his ball carrying, but what it lacks in panache it makes up for in power which is fuelled by a deep determination to cross the gainline. He was outstanding at the World Cup and has yet to show signs of a drop-off in potency. Thank God. The Springboks are significantly less formidable without Schalla.
Rocking Rookie - Jaco Taute is an excellent prospect and has the makings of a Springbok. The Lions fullback plays with a healthy disregard of failure, a trait I last saw as strongly exhibited in a young Frans Steyn. He will be central to the Lions’ Super Rugby cause in 2012. Franchises with better prospects of Super Rugby success are sure to be suitors in the coming years. The Lions have to secure his short-term future if they are serious about significant advancement.
And now for something completely different - Israel Dagg plays Test rugby with the freedom of kid on a run out with mates in the local park. There are players I’d pay to see left on the team coach, then those, like Dagg, who somehow justify the mind-blowing ticket prices for Tests. He has a complete technical skills set and the temperament to amplify his threat. But, like the greats, he has something in reserve – that indefinable quality that ‘x-factor’ doesn’t completely do justice too. The try he crafted for Ma’a Nonu in the World Cup semi-final is a prime example and was the most sublime piece of individual play I’ve ever seen live. He will be, at least, as good as the great Christian Cullen. He is my Player of the Year.
Bloody Legend - Richie McCaw’s foot was held together by hope and steel during the World Cup. Doctors had advised him to miss the tournament, explaining that there was no way he could endure the pain the injury would cause. They said the strong pain killing injections being administered wouldn’t dull the sensation of him tramping on needles everytime he put pressure on it. They said he would cause further, potentially permanent, damage. He said ‘thanks’ and set about confirming his status as the most decorated captain in the game’s history by lifting the Webb Ellis trophy.
#thatawesomemoment - For those fans with an appreciation for the theatre of the game (as opposed to the morons who chant ole ole ole) the All Blacks’ Haka in their pool match against France at Eden Park was breathtaking. The stadium fell silent and Piri Weepu’s call to prepare for battle was clearly audible. Then the super-charged collective challenge put to France reverberated around the stadium in a way I’ve never experienced. ‘Wow’, best encapsulates the magnitude of that moment.
Ground breakers from broken ground - Many of the Crusaders players were affected directly and indirectly by the earthquake that ravaged Christchurch early in 2011. It destroyed the AMI Stadium, forcing the Crusaders to play the bulk of their home Super Rugby matches in Timaru and Nelson. They travelled more than any franchise in the tournament, spending time on the road while family and loved ones who were rebuilding their homes and indeed their lives. Few gave them a chance of making the semi-final given the gruelling travel schedule they endured to get to Cape Town. Yet they won and then came desperately close to what would have been one of the great sporting achievements in history. We always knew they were big on talent. Now we know their hearts are equally sizeable.
THE VILLAINS by Jon Cardinelli
In the category of Dimwits in Denial, there were some strong contenders: the Springbok supporters who said Bryce Lawrence was solely to blame for South Africa’s early World Cup exit, as well as the South African journalists who joined the ‘Blame It On Bryce’ campaign instead of facing up to a less parochial reality. In the end, there is only one King of Calamity and in his last year in charge he stood head and shoulders above all the other candidates. Peter de Villiers has refused to admit that the Boks have been in decline since late 2009. The senior players have enjoyed too much freedom which has contributed to the creation of an insular culture rather than a progressive one. Unsurprisingly, De Villiers has maintained his stance that nothing was ever wrong and will be reapplying for the head coach post. Denial thy name is Divvy.
The Immovable Object – John Smit will be remembered as one of the greats of the South African and international game. In the context of the 2011 World Cup, however, he will be remembered as the man who stood in the way of Bismarck du Plessis. The best hooker in the world was in a foul mood towards the end of the tournament, as promises that he would start in South Africa’s big matches were broken. Smit also broke a promise made to the Boks in 2010 when he said that he would stand aside when it was clear that his best days were done. That time came and went long before the global showpiece.
Flop of the Year – In another example of the Bok selection shambles, De Villiers announced two weeks before the start of the World Cup that Morne Steyn would be his No 1 flyhalf. It came as a shock to many, including Butch James who had been told by the coach that he would start the big matches in New Zealand. Predictably, Steyn’s limitations on attack and frailty on defence cost the Boks, and his supposedly dependable goal-kicking game was anything but flawless.
Dinosaurs must die – Tobie Titus and the other freemasons at the Western Province compound have had the final say on the Cape Town Stadium issue, and woe betide anybody that brings this topic up again. When it was announced that Saracens would be playing Biarritz in a historic European Cup game at the Cape Town Stadium in January, Titus blew a fuse, stating that Newlands is the home of rugby in the Western Cape. Eventually Saracens decided to move the game back to England, and so Capetonians will miss out on the chance to watch the best of Europe slugging it out. Bizarrely, the Saracens team will still be coming to Cape Town in January for some R&R and to conduct a few coaching clinics. God, we have some useless administrators in this country.
…and while we’re talking about WP, a special mention must be made of the player management at the union. Peter Grant will enjoy a second stint in the Japanese league and miss the Stormers’ pre-season yet again. Just a couple of months after Lionel Cronje had been snapped up by the Bulls, the Stormers started targeting other young flyhalves like Burton Francis. The biggest management bungle, however, relates to a promising centre and an established international midfielder. Johann Sadie left Cape Town because Jaque Fourie was expected to hold a monopoly on the No 13 jersey in 2012, but just last week Fourie confirmed that he would be moving to Japan for the next two seasons. D’oh!
Daai’s (Nie) ‘n Try – Ahead of the 2011 league match between the Stormers and Crusaders, a mass contingent of Cape-based Crusaders fans mobbed the open training sessions. Some of the fans claimed to be connoisseurs who favoured the Crusaders because of their brand of rugby. Others said that their reasons for supporting a Kiwi team were rooted in South Africa’s segregated past. What escaped both groups of supporters was the fact that the Crusaders held a reputation as one of the more pragmatic teams in the tournament, and that the Crusaders were a predominantly white side. Fortunately we will enjoy a break from this deluded bunch next year, as the 2012 league match will take place in Christchurch.
Daai’s Nie ‘n Ref – Did Bryce Lawrence take one two many relaxants before the World Cup quarter-final match between Australia and South Africa? Lawrence adopted an ‘anything goes’ attitude towards managing the breakdown, and consistently avoided penalising either side in this facet of play. In the end, it was the Aussies that adapted best. Last week, Lawrence was honoured with a referee award in New Zealand. Perhaps there aren’t too many professional referees to choose from in Kiwiland, or Lawrence is in fact, as once suggested by Peter de Villiers himself, the son of IRB referee chief Paddy O’Brien.
Union in Turmoil – The chain of controversial events that characterised England’s World Cup campaign read like the script of a Will Ferrell movie. Dwarf-tossing, hotel-staff harassment, senior team members cavorting with mystery blondes, drunk junior players diving off moving ferries… all that was missing was a KY jelly wrestling match and Lewis Moody streaking through the quad en route to KFC. The rugby was also beyond ordinary, and unsurprisingly some important changes have since been instigated at RFU headquarters.
The Frank the Tank award – The colourful behaviour of the England squad paled in comparison to that of Zac Guildford post the World Cup. Bleeding from the head and naked, the All Blacks winger stumbled into a family restaurant in the Cook Islands and proceeded to clout a couple of patrons. Reports of this incident were succeeded by news that Guildford had verbally harassed a Cook Islands athlete, also while he was heavily intoxicated. Will Ferrell and co do come up with some madcap characters, but would struggle to dream up a fighting nude rugby player who also cruises the streets on a hired scooter shouting obscenities at young women. Crazy.
By Jon Cardinelli and Ryan Vrede
313 Comments
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6 Dec 2011, 09:32 am
Some funny things in there, nice read.
But JC, for the love of all things starting with an F…
Morne Steyn: and his supposedly dependable goal-kicking game was anything but flawless.
You are aware he was the Rugby World Cup’s top points scorer don’t you?
6 Dec 2011, 09:33 am
plod
bok dream killer
6 Dec 2011, 09:51 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-1: I think the important part is the important kicks he missed. Some of them easy ones. But if taken in context, he was probably one of the best kickers in the competition, considering how very few kickers mastered the new ball.
6 Dec 2011, 09:52 am
Nice piece, apart from the fact that you cannot seriously be punting Butch’s cause ahead of Steyn.
O hang on, there’s that book thing. How’s that going?
6 Dec 2011, 09:56 am
@Bouts(Bouts)-3: But in hindsight, the best kicker we should have used for the series would have been De Waal. Love him or hate him, he wins games with his boot. He did it for the Free State, for the Stormers and he’s doing it in England at this moment.
Yeah… he’s a bad runner and tackler, but he’s still a game-winner. Sadly we had very few such players at the WC (a few of the players in the squad did that in the past, but haven’t done something similar in years!!)
6 Dec 2011, 10:11 am
@grant10(grant10)-2:
you really are a unhappy sod
6 Dec 2011, 10:14 am
Comments on Steyn are largely unfair. Butch hasn’t done anything since 2007 to come close to justifying his selection for the Boks, and the selection of Steyn wasn’t the reason the Boks lost the quarter-final.
6 Dec 2011, 10:14 am
@Bouts(Bouts)-5: you want willem de wall in the bok team?
hehehe
6 Dec 2011, 10:15 am
@grant10(grant10)-2: why was plod yellow-carded over the weekend?
6 Dec 2011, 10:20 am
@grant10(grant10)-2: Dial 0800-drama-queens- united, ask to speak to somebody who cares
Your daily ranting screws up at least 40% of the posts on Keo ,ET screws up the others posts
6 Dec 2011, 10:22 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-9: For killing the Bok’s dream. Personally, I think that deserves a red card.
I think it was for killing the ball in a ruck in the Saracens 22. Professional foul.
6 Dec 2011, 10:23 am
The real Rookie of the Year….
Johann Sadie.
Will be our best attacking player for many years to come.
6 Dec 2011, 10:25 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-7: Exactly. The fact that Butch will be lucky to make the Lions bench next year says it all.
6 Dec 2011, 10:26 am
John smit did a Mugabe….its not so easy stepping down when everything clearly says u should
6 Dec 2011, 10:26 am
Thanks to one word……ego
6 Dec 2011, 10:27 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-12: What exactly did Sadie achieve this year, apart from many column inches of media in the Cape press and on this site? Can’t possibly compare his season to Taute’s.
6 Dec 2011, 10:29 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-16: Sadie scored 1 pretty good try, and therefore deserves all the hype. I don’t think any-one else on this planet could have scored that try, and is the best outside centre since Danie Gerber – infact, I would go as far as saying he is better than Danie Gerber.
6 Dec 2011, 10:32 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-17: Oh, my bad then.
6 Dec 2011, 10:36 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-1:
my point exactly.
how stupid.
6 Dec 2011, 10:38 am
I suppose its a lot easier to call things when you have a PhD in hindsight.
6 Dec 2011, 10:39 am
wolfman no 17 you obviously never saw danie gerber play.
and if you did you are ehttp://www.keo.co.za/wp-admin/profile.phpntiled to your opinion
6 Dec 2011, 10:39 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-16: I am really excited by Taute – hopefully he can maintain his youthful exuberance, and not become an up-and- under specialist.
He tries a lot of things, and is able to pull them off more often than not. If you can keep him and Jantjes together, and add one or two players, you will have a great backline. Shame Mjekevu isn’t rated at the Lions – any ideas why that might be the case?
Taute will do well to learn from Kamana, who has great support play, and I would have loved to have seen Kamana, with Taute and Mjekevu as your back three.
6 Dec 2011, 10:42 am
no 21 should read:
and if you did you are entitled to your opinion
6 Dec 2011, 10:42 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-16:
Taute is rough. He does some things well, some things not so well.
At this stage Pat Lambie is still a much better choice at fullback.
Sadie played superb rugby when given a chance with the Stormers, even sparking a come-from-behind win against the Blues in Auckland.
He then had a heck of a good Currie Cup, before injuries slowed him down and eventually lead to him sitting out the last few weeks.
Led the try-scoring tally for a while, and outside of that had a hand in pretty much every other backline try scored by WP for a long time.
It’s a tight race, but give me Sadie.
6 Dec 2011, 10:43 am
“Tobie Titus and the other freemasons at the Western Province compound”..?…
i knew it…its true…
6 Dec 2011, 10:43 am
Taute the next big thing…..great prospect….imo
6 Dec 2011, 10:44 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-16:
Let’s not forget that it wasn’t the Cape singing his praises either.
Heyneke Meyer was his biggest supporter, and reportedly made him one of the highest paid players in South Africa.
Not bad for a guy who’s hardly played Super Rugby and hadn’t even played CC rugby yet at that stage.
6 Dec 2011, 10:45 am
@norman(norman)-21: That was a sarcastic comment, based on the hype surrounding Sadie. He has talent, but doesn’t deserve the hype. He played one good game against the Blues, and was injured for chunks of the Currie Cup.
Hopefully he doesn’t disappoint.
6 Dec 2011, 10:46 am
Surely we aren’t still punting Butch James.
Keo’s fellow dwarves are talking nonsense about Butch being promised a place in the World Cup starting 15.
Everybody else who was promised a place got theirs.
Butcher was lucky to get a holiday in Pongoland after his impotent display vs Aussies in Debbin.
6 Dec 2011, 10:52 am
As much as it hurts me to admit, there is more than 1 reason why we lost thr RWC this year.
1) Coaching staff got the game plan & selection strategy wrong
2) Certain players should not have been there. (Yes I am and have always been a Smit fan – but I also feel that Bismark would have offered more had Smit retired 6 months prior to the RWC)
3) Player promises that were made and broken would ultimately have cause unhappiness within the squad, and this does not create a environment where everyone trusts eachother, and wants to succeed.
4) Political influence has yet again played its role in SA
6 Dec 2011, 10:54 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-27:
Not the highest paid exactly, but he is cashing in just over a bar and a couple of spare cents.
6 Dec 2011, 10:56 am
@WOLFMAN21(WOLFMAN21)-22: I really don’t know what the story was with Mjekevu. I know that Mitchell doesn’t tolerate laziness, tardiness, ego etc, but I have no idea whether there was a clash of heads or whether he simply didn’t rate him that highly. With Mapoe, Killian, Murray, Taute, La Grange, Hollenbach, Kamana and Des Fountain we have the backline pretty well covered though.
6 Dec 2011, 10:56 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-31:
therefore not even close to being the highest paid players in SA.
6 Dec 2011, 10:59 am
Guess John Mitchell is an idiot too, then. What with Butch not making the Lions starting line up and all…
The most laughable comment in the history of this blog was Keo responding to me on the blog sometime during the World Cup, indignantly stating that surely I cannot believe that his integrity would allow for him to punt James just to up his book sales.
Surely not. Hehe…
6 Dec 2011, 11:00 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-24: Lambie a “far better choice” at fullback? That would pass as a pretty subjective (and debatable) opinion.
As far as Sadie is concerned, he may be the same age as Taute, but he hasn’t managed half his achievements. I think he’s a great prospect, but I also think you’re overselling him by some distance.
6 Dec 2011, 11:01 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-31:
Small change compared to the great Luke Watson’s R3m a year excluding win bonuses at the mighty Kings.
You telling me that Sadie is only one third as good as Luke?
6 Dec 2011, 11:02 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-36:
It does seem a bit strange doesn’t it? Kings not really rolling in the money…
6 Dec 2011, 11:05 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-37:
doesn’t seem strange at all.
6 Dec 2011, 11:05 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-36: The Watson’s didn’t struggle to be poor. It’s their turn to eat, whether we like it or not.
6 Dec 2011, 11:05 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-37:
Don’t worry. I’m sure the proper approval processes were followed. After all, no contracts can be approved without sign-off by the leader of the organisation.
So that ensures utter transparancy and impartiality.
6 Dec 2011, 11:06 am
Same sh*t different day.
-Swipe at PDivvie & the infamous ever cotinuing reference to “open secret” senior player blah blah blah
-Swipe at John Smit
-Punting of Butch James
-Supposed “promises” none ever really confirmed & the fact that if you play sh*t that promise goes out the window-Steyn won PE Test on his own points tally wise-so was he meant to be dropped after that due to this dogmatic keo-esque approach to the “promise” doctrine….Not a fark.Boring
6 Dec 2011, 11:23 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-32: i see you don’t metion van rensburg…
6 Dec 2011, 11:26 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-36: i see luke’s salary grates your carrot
you moaned about it even before he joined the Kings tl tl
6 Dec 2011, 11:29 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-43:
How many players in SA do you think are earning that kind of salary?
10? 15?
Then ask yourself: is he one of the top 15 players in SA?
6 Dec 2011, 11:33 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-44: is wynand one of those players?
6 Dec 2011, 11:37 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-12: Based on what? On things to come? tsk… tsk..
6 Dec 2011, 11:40 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-45:
Don’t know. But Wynand is a sh*tload better player than Luke.
6 Dec 2011, 11:43 am
JC and Ryan,
Some ironic and humous stuff.
………………………..And some home truths.
I hope you both enjoyed 2011 as much as we Muppits enjoyed castigating one another.
Call again anytime,
8)
6 Dec 2011, 11:43 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-42:
hehehe lol yeah rather conveniently leaving out van Rensburg too….
But in
La Grange-decent player but thats his ceiling-he is also 28
Hollenbach-journeyman,injury prone
Murray-knee,injury prone
Mapoe-was showing good form-injury prone
Kamana-journeyman,injury prone
Des Fountain-poor mans JdV-mediocre player
Killian-useful player-but also 28
Van Rensburg-hehehe no comment
Not as much depth especially quality wise….
6 Dec 2011, 11:44 am
About JS
One has to be honest in evaluating the Boks’ camp situation in 2011
If you expected the quota coach and a quota team manager to control, manage, prepare and coach a Boks team in a RWC Year all by themselves then you are entitled for that opinion, you won’t be alone in this regard.
However, if anyone thought those two pathetic clowns were well out of their depths then he has to realise the role JS had in 2011.
We know Bismarck, Adriaan Strauss, the other Strauss, Gary Botha and possibly Schalk Brits are all far ahead of JS, so tell us something new.
Enough said.
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