Captains laud opening camp
20 Apr 2012
Cheetahs captain Adriaans Strauss and Lions leader Josh Strauss say the opening Springbok planning camp gave the players a better understanding about coach Heyneke Meyer’s plans and structures.
A group of Cheetahs and Lions players attended the first of three Bok planning camps earlier this week (16-19 April) in Pretoria. This is an initiative, requested by Meyer, to ease all the players into the national system. This also provides early preparation ahead of the June Test series against England as the Boks will only have one week to train as a squad before the first game in Durban (9 June).
Cheetahs skipper Adriaans Strauss said the camp was productive for the players.
‘It’s great to see the structures that the coach wants to put in place,’ said Strauss. ‘It is good to share the vision, and to know all the South African rugby players are sharing the same vision that the coach has.
‘I think we are leaving here with a lot of work done and we know the structures that Heyneke wants to put in place.’
Josh Strauss added that it wasn’t a tiring week, but they were very productive: ‘It was awesome. The intensity wasn’t too high. It is a bye week for the Cheetahs and the Lions, so you get time to refresh, but a lot of detail is put in as well.’
Meyer said he also had breakthrough meetings with all the players, which allowed both parties to pass on their say.
‘I had one-on-ones with every single player, going through their stats, and I think it went well,’ said Meyer. ‘It is actually surprising how much we covered in three-and-a-half days. They know exactly where they stand.
‘Sometimes you don’t understand why a player in a certain position makes an option that I sometimes think may not have been the right option. It was great speaking to them and asking what their roles are in their respective teams, and what the coaches want from them in a specific situation.’
Meyer will hold his second planning camp with a 45-man squad of Sharks and Bulls players next week (23-26 April) in Pretoria, and he’ll have his final planning camp with a selected Stormers squad in Cape Town from 1-3 May.
62 Comments
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20 Apr 2012, 06:34 am
geez these dragons have no chance getting Bok callup despite form.
Too much brainstorming Meyer. just get straight to point with these camps..
“you guys have no chance getting a callup”
“you guys have small chance of getting a callup”
20 Apr 2012, 06:42 am
keo, Ryan
get to the point and please start with articles looking at possible Bok selections.
20 Apr 2012, 06:48 am
When you squeeze lemons you can only make lemonade.
20 Apr 2012, 06:52 am
What do you make when you squeeze your pimples p rickster? Marks on the mirror…!
20 Apr 2012, 07:04 am
Let the pessimism begin in typical South African fashion. Meyer is doing things that are much needed and very positive; lets not whinge about it. And please spare us those tiresome lists of Bok XVs that are never based on reality and only used to manipulate the poor sods that know nothing about the game.
20 Apr 2012, 07:16 am
that is a moerse lot of one on one’s….
just makes me respect heyneke even more.
something tells me the guys are gonna start dying for the jersey like they havnt in a long, long time.
20 Apr 2012, 07:25 am
@Alucard(Alucard)-5: Too right.
The one-on-one thing is a great idea. Too often players feel alienated by coaches.
Hats off, Heyneke
20 Apr 2012, 07:43 am
Well, if these meetings have positive impact on the players and the super 15 teams, then well done. Great to see that he is interested in what the coaches at there unions expect from them before telling what they need to change.
20 Apr 2012, 07:43 am
after all the “one on ones” are done all us as Springbok supporters want is a minimum 80% win ratio after the eoyt.
20 Apr 2012, 08:10 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-9:
if you build it… the victories will come….
20 Apr 2012, 08:18 am
speaking of lemons.
I can see two big sour ones right here.
20 Apr 2012, 08:23 am
@PrickBoks going South(PrickBoks going South)-3: Very deep Tackles, very deep.
20 Apr 2012, 08:30 am
I think the Meyer is starting off the right way, he’s clearly a man who has a very methodical approach to everything.
I think that if you count all the players that he’s called up, it will end up being close to 120.
Can you imagine if you weren’t one of those 120 called up? Jeez then you have no chance lol.
20 Apr 2012, 08:33 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-6: Schweet.
20 Apr 2012, 08:34 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-13:
Earl Rose is frantically re-checking his voice mail and epoes.
20 Apr 2012, 08:37 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-15: haha poor b@stard.
Ashfak will be outraged. Expect a Cape Times diatribe from him soon.
20 Apr 2012, 08:41 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-16:
Afkak.
20 Apr 2012, 08:44 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-13:
Ja, Meyer Bosman never should have caught that ball that bounced between Du Preez and Roets in the 2005 Currei Cup final.
The wheel has finally turned.
Hehe.
20 Apr 2012, 08:48 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-14:
i believe…
20 Apr 2012, 08:52 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-17: That’s the one.
He’s still better about Isma-eel Dollie not being the first choice Bok 10.
20 Apr 2012, 08:56 am
Where’s skoppie?
I hope he hasn’t gone shark-hunting out at Gordon’s Bay…
20 Apr 2012, 08:57 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-20:
Bitter as the cud?
20 Apr 2012, 08:58 am
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-22:
20 Apr 2012, 09:00 am
If they have Bok aspirations, they’re not about to tell the soap box crowd thayt the new coaches camp was kak now are they!
Another nothing article.
20 Apr 2012, 09:07 am
@Wptid, lol! Nazi sharks?
20 Apr 2012, 09:14 am
Fantastic stuff H, you bring tears of joy to my eyes!
All these players now know where they stand, and what they need to do and which players are ahead of them in the pecking order.
Previous coaches may have spoken to the 2nd choice and maybe the 3rd choice just to make him feel better. Not HM – this where you are, this is what you need to do.
This means that these players who would never have even had the faintest clue about Bok potential now have goals they can work towards.
This in turn means they will work hard for the jersey and pressure the incumbents. No more holy cows and “this is my team for 4 years so the rest of you can suck eggs” stuff we’ve had for the last 8 years. Now we have a squad of 120 hungry players, not 22 with some hangers on.
Even if he has a rocky start against England, I expect long term that Bok rugby may become stronger than we expect. Under HM and Rassie, we could finally get back to being the dominant rugby nation like we were in the amateur era.
Patience people, this is a long term thing. The English tour is just the starting blocks, a hurdle to get over before the long and arduous task of building Bok rugby can really get underway.
Let’s be patient with HM, he’s doing things that deserve patience, unlike any of his predecessors who did not deserve the same courtesy.
20 Apr 2012, 09:19 am
@zoo cleaner(zoo cleaner)-26: “Let’s be patient with HM, he’s doing things that deserve patience, unlike any of his predecessors who did not deserve the same courtesy.”
Why is that?
Please do tell.
20 Apr 2012, 09:27 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-27:
Very simply both his predecessors picked a team and stuck with them come hell or high water. Neither JW or PDivvy had any real plans beyond the next tour.
Yes, they spoke about the RWC but that was to keep the hyenas at bay whilst they lost in the interim. Neither had any long term plan to speak of. 4 Years then nothing. Nothing, except a vacuum of planning. PDivvy was lucky most of JW’s squad was young enough to continue, but stuck with a few too long. Another version of those two and we’d be in an England situation – win the RWC then stagnate and decline into miserableness.
Their lack of planning also contributed to player exodus as no-one beyond the chosen few was ever really spoken to or told what is expected of them and how to do it. No real competitors to the incumbents emerged because there was the closed shop so what was the point. Not even Bismark in the form of his life could dislodge Smit!
These plans by HM and Rassie are durable and are not aimed at RWC but consistent dominance.
That’s why patience with HM and Rassie’s mehtods is being earned by them.
20 Apr 2012, 09:29 am
I seem to remember Jake also saying that he intended to keep all the fringe Boks up to date on what he expected from them and where they needed to improve to be considered for the Boks. There was also a rating system in place then I seem to remember. Then when some of them decided to move overseas it was because they’d never heard from him and didn’t think they were in his plans.
Somehow I don’t think Meyer is talking the same bullshit.
20 Apr 2012, 09:30 am
@ #3 I happen to like lemonade. It can be very refreshing. And it curdles sour milk even further you sour little man.
20 Apr 2012, 09:32 am
@zoo cleaner(zoo cleaner)-28: patience is the name of the waitress at my local pub…i as a Bok supporter want a winning team like the All Blacks, if Meyer can achieve an 83% win ratio like graham henry and then as a bonus win the world cup, kudos to him…
how he does it is no reason to make me smile and cheer. i want to WIN, surely that’s what you also want?
20 Apr 2012, 09:37 am
@David(David)-29:
Exactly.
What HM and Rassie are doing is not just telling fringe players whats up, leaving the incumbents with 1 competitor.
Here we have 120 players, creating theoretical competition of 8 players per position.
Nice…
20 Apr 2012, 09:41 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-31:
is she a hottie..?…
20 Apr 2012, 09:41 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-31:
I also want an 80%+ win ratio, but at least we’re seeing HM and Rassie putting in place the mechanism to do it. We have to be patient in the first bit, nothing is going to happen overnight.
I personally expect the fruits of this to really kick in next year. That’s when we will begin to see some real dominance…
20 Apr 2012, 09:48 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-33: she’s from zimbabwe..
20 Apr 2012, 09:51 am
@zoo cleaner(zoo cleaner)-34: i’m also positive about heyneke’s plans but i’m not about to start cheering because apparently he leaves mints underneath the players’ pillows to inspire them, beating the f(ucking aussies for one will make me happy and them another clean up of the abs like in 2009 will make me happy!
20 Apr 2012, 09:54 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-31:
It’s not just Graham Henry who’s responsible for their win ratio, it’s the whole way that NZ rugby is structured and focussed on developing players for the ABs. There’s certainly the same provincial divisions there but the NZRU actually dictates the game, not the provinces as in SA.
Hopefully, HM and Rassie have been given the go ahead to create similar structures and focus.
20 Apr 2012, 09:55 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-35:
with patience for a name she coulda been from sa too.
i’ve seen some stunningly beautiful girls in zambia, perfect features for catwalk modelling.
so, is she a hottie?
20 Apr 2012, 09:59 am
@zoo cleaner(zoo cleaner)-34: Wow, why wasn’t pdv granted this same patience when he said he wanted to expand the gameplan?
20 Apr 2012, 10:00 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-38: depends on what u looking for.
20 Apr 2012, 10:01 am
@pompies2(pompies2)-39: because pdv was talking gibberish
20 Apr 2012, 10:03 am
@pompies2(pompies2)-39: plus he didn’t have “one-on-one” chats with 120 players, he only flew to france to talk to plod & victor, that was the extent of his “one-on-ones”!
20 Apr 2012, 10:04 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-41: I’m gonna put it differently. What people heard and comprehended was gibberish. Sure he was a malkop, but did\does it mean he can’t coach? Even now, i see worse than him.
20 Apr 2012, 10:07 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-42: i’m geeting a remarkable sense of de ja vu with the way HM is operating. Is it because they’ve both been sired by Mallet?
20 Apr 2012, 10:08 am
geeting = getting
20 Apr 2012, 10:13 am
@pompies2(pompies2)-43:
PDivvy could actually coach (believe it or not!), however, he did not set up anything beyond his squad of 30. When one big boy goes down injured it was a massive crisis. JW was similarly dependent on a limited pool –
remember when Burger went down he nothing to fall back on, nothing.
What we’re seeing here is the development of a system like the ABs where we can field 2 or 3 teams capable of beating anybody.
Any comparison to Mallett isn’t such a bad thing, he is the last decent coach we’ve had.
20 Apr 2012, 10:20 am
@pompies2(pompies2)-44: @zoo cleaner(zoo cleaner)-46: speaking of “one-on-ones”
now i see why heyneke meyer wants du preez as his captain, fdp has this mano a mano psycho babble thing down pat!
‘Fourie is still a valuable asset,’ Clever told keo.co.za. ‘As we prepared for the two finals, many of our players were nervous heading into the fixture … especially in the locker rooms before kick-off. But Fourie was a calming influence as he had already played on the biggest stages of world rugby before. He went to every player, gave them advice and told them to focus.His experience helped us on and off the field. I’m sure he can do the same for the Springboks.’
20 Apr 2012, 10:29 am
@zoo cleaner(zoo cleaner)-46: I seem to recall PDV having a few of these camps. Even Earl (the daddy moerer) Rose made it to one.
20 Apr 2012, 10:33 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-47: So Heyneke wants players who know him and what he wants to achieve and implement. Is this like having someone on the field who thinks like the coach and can implement the coach’s tactics? Sounds familiar. Groundhog day?
20 Apr 2012, 10:43 am
@pompies2(pompies2)-49: Why don’t you like Heyneke Meyer?
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