Leading SA’s rugby revolution
26 Dec 2011
What do Francois Hougaard, Bismarck du Plessis, Gio Aplon, Johann Sadie, Andries Bekker, Pat Lambie and Juan de Jongh all have in common?
They all have the X factor, something that sets them apart from the rest.
If the Springboks are to achieve consistent success against the world champion All Blacks over the next four years, they will have to change their conservative mindset and play an expansive game when the situation demands it.
These seven players can lead South Africa’s rugby revolution and take our game to the next level.
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Also in the new issue:
– Many junior players have failed to make the transition to senior rugby over the years because of flaws in the Baby Boks set-up, but the situation seems to be improving
– Why rugby is ripe for a global rebel league
– SA Rugby magazine reveals how Solly Tyibilika wasn’t the only black player to be mismanaged over the past four years and how South Africa has regressed with regard to transformation at the highest levels
– Saracens flyhalf Derick Hougaard on suffering from depression, the ‘soul destroying’ experience of Kamp Staaldraad, and his desire to force his way back into Bok contention
– England’s shambolic World Cup campaign left Martin Johnson with no choice but to resign
– Victor Matfield speaks to SA Rugby magazine about his post-retirement plans, why players should be treated like adults, and his second-row partnership with Bakkies Botha
– Your ultimate guide to the 2012 Super Rugby season: Everything you need to know about the 15 teams
770 Comments
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26 Dec 2011, 08:14 am
We all know these players SHOULD lead the revolution, but the reality is in conservative SA it will never happen, and we will continue to languish behind the x factor players already dominating NZ and wallaby rugby
26 Dec 2011, 08:16 am
having bissie and hougaards copming off the bench was embarrassing to say the least and epitomized the way south african rugby is run like a schoolboy team….the seniors MUST PLAY first team rugby regardless of if theres a grade 10 freak on the bench
26 Dec 2011, 08:17 am
With a Mallett we will nail it with these guys.
26 Dec 2011, 08:18 am
so nice article, pretty cover, but no point getting our hopes up….more of the same lies ahead folks. the occasional win against NZ but for the most part a regular old 60% record for the boks
26 Dec 2011, 08:46 am
I know what Aplon and De Jongh have in common,,
Not sure about the rest
26 Dec 2011, 09:30 am
Can add the following to this list:X-factor
Elton Jantjes
Johan Goosen
Coenie Oosthuiyzen
Lwazi Mvovo
Frans Steyn
Ryan Kankowski
Beast Mtawarira
26 Dec 2011, 09:38 am
@mshiniwami-6:
I’m pretty sure they meant quality players with x-factors. That means no Mvovo, Kankowski for starters…
It’s a pretty broad term to use really. Would be better off using examples to back up the belief that those players have that ‘something special’ to turn a good team into a great one.
I mean if x-factor means big moments in a game, then where is Heinrich Brussow? When it matters, that guy delivers. What they’re getting at is running rugby… but rugby isn’t all about running.
26 Dec 2011, 09:45 am
I’d remove Kankowski and Beast from that list mshiniwami. They’ve had the chance to prove themselves but they’ re not up to international standard. The step up is a bridge too far for Kankowski and Beast is a liability with his illegal scrumming technique.
26 Dec 2011, 10:09 am
Bismarck du Plessis, Andries Bekker, Heinrich Brussow, Schalk Burger, Francois Hougaard, Francois Steyn, Johann Sadie, JP Pietersen & Patrick Lambie.
They’re all a class above.
Beast is a good player, but he’s no sure thing for a starting line-up. If Coenie sorts out his scrummaging (Beast is a lot better in that department… ignore ratel), he’d easily overtake Beast.
26 Dec 2011, 10:21 am
Taute
Aplon
Sadie
De Jongh
Engelbrecht
Goosen
Hougaard
Alberts
Coetsee
Minnie
Bekker
Elstadt
Oosthuizen
Du Plessis
Greyling
26 Dec 2011, 11:17 am
Hougaard had the worst defensive stats for RSA in the RWC and De Jongh cannot pass… nope no X factor there…
26 Dec 2011, 11:26 am
@bryce_in_oz-11:
Hougaard also led linebreaks for ANY player in the RWC, and scored some very useful tries.
One which got us past Wales when we looked done for…
So don’t talk **** hey
26 Dec 2011, 11:33 am
@hendrikp-12:
There was one line-break in the game that counted namely the 1/4′s and JDV… Hougaard missed 50% of his tackles in that game… not one of the bench players made an impact and the rest they say is history…
26 Dec 2011, 11:33 am
Simon,
Not sure why you guys talk about the Bulls second-row like it’s a problem area…
I mean sure, it’d be asking much to live up to what Matfield & co. achieved.
But heck… Flip vd Merwe (a Springbok), Juandre Kruger (a probably 2012 Springbok) and Wilhelm Steenkamp (with the potential to be one also) are 3 very good players that would still rate as one of the best second-rows in Super Rugby.
26 Dec 2011, 11:38 am
@bryce_in_oz-13:
I’ll just laugh it off… I was busy writing a big reply wanting to say how silly your argument is, but I’m confident 9/10 people reading it will also laugh it off.
Bryce, often you talk sense… today not.
26 Dec 2011, 11:50 am
bryce is a wally
26 Dec 2011, 11:52 am
“Swami Army” at the MCG!
How rude are these commentators!
26 Dec 2011, 11:52 am
How many Wooden Spoons does it take to make a PrickBok ?
Multiply lobotomized loser lemons by the factor of X.
26 Dec 2011, 12:09 pm
regarding derick:
a lot of the old boks in that group said they personally experienced a lot of growth from the staaldraad training camp. i dont agree with straueli as a coach but i would put my squad through exactly the same sort of training if i ever coach the boks one day. people are different and what may have been soul destroying for him was character building for the others. most of the big players said as much.
regarding vic:
victors right about treating players like adults but i hope he also mentions in the article that a healthy distance must be kept and respected between coach and players.
regarding rugby revolution and the x factor:
hello! isn’t this what heyneke’s been saying about the bulls plans and teaching individuals to play different types of rugby as a team? besides, its shouldn’t just be about x factor players.. in fact one could argue that x factor players are easy learners and its the non-x factor players who should be drilled in the required skills and mindset to be able to play different types of games, be it expansive or tight.
also dont make the mistake of throwing the baby out of the bath water in regard to tight, ten man, forwards rugby (or whatever one calls it), basically i mean the opposite of this new fangled expansive style, because consider the last world cup was won as the lowest points scoring affair of all wc’s and that, as always, it was teams that better defended than they attacked overall (this doesn’t mean they could not attack) that prevailed.
say what you want about it but sa’s rugby has still been the second most consistent world wide (total number of games against quality opposition.. i know its arguable) and we have only recently started to fall off against the ozzies, other than nz.
also the springboks are still the only team to have beaten the all blacks the most during henry’s reign and in fact have beaten them more times than the rest of the world put together, in the last four years.
26 Dec 2011, 12:12 pm
the last four years = shoulr read last eight years.
26 Dec 2011, 12:24 pm
and personally, in my opinion they have left out the single most important type of x factor player needed in their theory to make success….a new, dynamic, powerfull and well conditioned for high running meters, but still a litlle ‘vintage old school’ type number 4 lock… call him what you will… a breeker, an enforcer, hitman, the diesel in the engine room… but a guy like that is the foundation of a team no matter what rugby they play, perhaps more so in my opinion than the th.
26 Dec 2011, 12:26 pm
@mshiniwami-6:
take out mvovo and kankowski.
beast really has just blown hot and cols over his career so end up being mediocre or average (whichever works better).
26 Dec 2011, 12:52 pm
it is interesting that johan sadie is the only player listed as an x-factor player for the boks sans any experience at International level?
26 Dec 2011, 13:13 pm
@Transie, Sadie seems to be the next best thing, without having done anything consistently enough to deserve this mantle.
Don’t get me wrong, the kid has got talent, but compared to some1 like Jantjies? Whose dominated @least currie cup 2 seasons in a row.
I’ll give the lad a chance but too much pressure being put on him, IMHO
26 Dec 2011, 13:14 pm
Bekker’s best is gone. Will struggle to play through a super 15 season, nevermind a test season. Aplon is OK, but he has not really made the Bok team and he is also past his prime. De Jong is good, but if passing skills is something that let olivier down to make the step up then he will also struggle. The following players all stand a good chance to become the best in their positions:
Hougaard, lambie, f steyn, sadie, goosen, arno botha, taute, bismark, greyling, oosthuizen. I am trying to include a non white and province player so let’s say kolisi and then we got both. Oh yes, eben etzebeth is a very good talent.
26 Dec 2011, 13:14 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…-19: and thank god you won’t be anytime soon!
26 Dec 2011, 13:16 pm
@Horings-25: you have included a lot of non black players in there…..
26 Dec 2011, 13:24 pm
Can we all@least agree in principle to never name Kankowski again when x factor players are bing discussed?
Thank you
26 Dec 2011, 13:28 pm
Dont know bout JdJ so much and x factor.
26 Dec 2011, 13:39 pm
@Horings-25: you list a kak non-black like greyling as an x-factor player and then you play race issues when you have to include kolisi
26 Dec 2011, 13:40 pm
@XV,seriously,that’s all you took from Horings list?
26 Dec 2011, 13:48 pm
@30 maybe it is because I know the Bulls youngsters better than other youngsters in the country. And yes, Greyling may have struggled in 2 tests as a prop against some of the world’s best, but he was probably the Bulls best players in his first super season and I have never said x factor. It is non measurable. You need 5 or so world class players to be a very good test team and I am looking for those players who have the talent to become a world class player in 4 year’s time.
26 Dec 2011, 13:52 pm
So treehugger, which is your list of x factor players considering you want JdJ off that list?
26 Dec 2011, 13:53 pm
Another player who impressed me immensely is the young loosehead prop from the Cheetahs. Can’t remember his name now.
26 Dec 2011, 13:58 pm
@Horings-32: revisit your list of players and you will see “goosen, lambie, taute” they are NOT bulls players, you seem to rate them ostensibly for their talents & not their skin colour but kolisi only makes your cut because you’re “trying” to include a player of colour, not because of his skills. pffft
26 Dec 2011, 13:59 pm
“What do Francois Hougaard, Bismarck du Plessis, Gio Aplon, Johann Sadie, Andries Bekker, Pat Lambie and Juan de Jongh all have in common.”
Do I really need to spell it out Simone.
26 Dec 2011, 14:05 pm
Actually, horings list is actually a joke containing untested names of his list of ‘talented’ players.
This thread is about x-factor players who will allow the Boks to play expansively.
One name missing from this list is definitely Elton Jantjies, he’s really blossomed under the tuetalage of King Carlos!
26 Dec 2011, 14:09 pm
If I was selected to coach the Boks this would be my first 30 Man squad I would try and work with towards the next World Cup…..
15. Riaan Viljoen / Jaco Taute.
14. Gio Aplon / J.P. Pieterson.
13. Jacque Fourie / Johan Sadie.
12. Francois Steyn / Juan De Jongh.
11. Lionel Mapoe / Bryan Habana.
10. Patrick Lambie / Johan Goosen.
9. Francois Hougaard / Sarel Pretorious.
8. Pierre Spies / Willem Alberts.
7. Schalk Burger (c) / Juan Smith.
6. Heinrich Brussow / Derrick Minnie.
5. Andries Bekker / Juandre Kruger.
4. Bakkies Botha / Rynhardt Elstadt.
3. C.J. Van Der Linde / Jannie Du Plessis.
2. Bismark Du Plessis / Andriaan Strauss.
1. Coenie Oosthuizen / Dean Greyling.
26 Dec 2011, 14:16 pm
@37 Did I mention the lack of measurability of x-factor? How do you define it? If it is to be effective in a running game the you need better creators than de jong.
@35 I am sorry, I try to include some of all teams, genders and colours. I just don’t rate the next generation of coloured and province players out there. There was a time when wilton pietersen, habana, jp pietersen, guthro steenkamp, ralepele, lobberts, mapoe really convinced me to back them as the next generation, but at this stage they don’t spring to mind.
26 Dec 2011, 14:20 pm
Sadie is going to have to do a hell of a lot to live up to the expectations of the Media that’s for sure.
26 Dec 2011, 14:30 pm
We’re running a bit short on quality in the Wing department I think. I’d like to see some youngsters put their hands up this S15. Habs is just about done and Pieterson is losing his potency at an alarming rate. Aplon will be hitting the big 30 shortly too and his game is heavily dependant on pace.
26 Dec 2011, 14:32 pm
@horings, in your defence you said your next generation that can make the step up.
However, your fault was in saying ‘for the sake of including a non-white player’…like wtf?
A players opinion I really respect was Rob Ebherson’s. He said his issue@ Cheetahs was tht okes like JdJ were developing faster than him cos he’s under tuetalage of JdV and JF!
So I think I’ll rather take his opionion over yours about whether JdJ should be included in this list of x-factor players or not!
26 Dec 2011, 14:43 pm
@42 it is not that I do not like jdj. Where I would have included him in my list last year, he has shown this past year that he is pretty much 1 dimensional. Some in my list will be worse than de jong and some even better than I think. Can some of you tell me which Province players we should watch out for to emerge in the next few years? They have some good young props, etsebeth, kolisi. I liked what I saw in v aswegen.
26 Dec 2011, 14:47 pm
33 @ I Dont know if we really have any players with the x factor like Dan Carter has, how do u define it. Somebody that makes a big difference ? I think maybe the closest we would come would be Frans Steyn, and thats a y factor not always x. Aplon i have always liked, he has something special, only problen he is sadly to small, if he wasnt playing against mostly orcs that can run over him if he doesnt he the tackle just right i would rate him the x factor
26 Dec 2011, 14:51 pm
In saying that we hv a lot of good players and by saying a person doesnt hv the x factor is not an insult, i just think it is a term that is dished out to liberaly.
26 Dec 2011, 14:53 pm
@Papoose-42:
Just because Ebersohn said that, it doesn’t necessarily mean JdJ is developing faster
Anybody with a half eyesight could see that JdJ has actually regressed in 2011 compared to 2010 and that the inevitable self preservation took over of his game, he missed/faked almost 80% of his tackles last season while passing is something he can’t even spell.
A full complement for Aplon
26 Dec 2011, 15:10 pm
@Hondo-46: 80% of his tackles? kak talk put down the ale hondo
26 Dec 2011, 15:26 pm
@Transformation-23:
are you saying more simillar players should have been mentioned? such as some of the lions?
@Transformation-47:
that is such a ridiculous percentage its beyond ridiculous. can it even happen? i suppose if a player only gets enough game time to make 5 tackles all season and misses 4..?..
still ridiculous, must be something stronger than ale…
26 Dec 2011, 15:30 pm
@Horings-43: “pretty one dimensional”? hhmm how much game time has he had this season playing behind jdv?
everyone is socsadie befok & conviniently his missed tackles stats get ignored.
26 Dec 2011, 15:31 pm
@XV-26:
why? would it be a bad thing?
the english trained with the royal marines during woodwards time as well as ashtons.
i have read of all blacks, at least at junior level, receiving training from ex-army officers.
if we searched for it i’m sure we could find examples of more countries doing similar things.
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