Meyer last hope for Spies’s rejuvenation
7 May 2012
RYAN VREDE writes that the mentorship of Heyneke Meyer will be crucial if Pierre Spies is to realise his potential as a Test No 8.
Spies will start for the Springboks against England, not because his Super Rugby form warrants it (this was the criterion Meyer said would be foremost when selections were made) but because of a lack of competition.
Meyer rates the Stormers’ Duane Vermuelen highly and sees him as Spies’ primary competition. However, a knee injury has ruled Vermuelen out of action until the resumption of Super Rugby in June. Sharks incumbent Keegan Daniel is thought to have physical and technical limitations that would preclude him from selection while the Cheetahs’ Philip van der Walt and Lions’ Josh Strauss aren’t on the radar at present.
The option of shifting a flanker adept at playing in the position will be considered but at present Spies has the inside lane because Meyer believes he has the aptitude to dominate Test rugby and he knows Meyer’s playing structures well given that they will replicate those Spies has played in for years at the Bulls.
Spies’ best form has been displayed under the tutelage of Meyer, who converted him from a wing to eighthman in 2005, assuring him that he had a better chance of being a Springbok if he made the shift. Spies was duly capped at Test level a year later, then was outstanding in the Bulls’ title-winning 2007 Super 12 campaign.
But his form has drifted between very good (the 2009 and 2010 Super Rugby campaigns being prime examples) and ordinary since. He hasn’t progressed as expected as an international player. A strong argument can be made that he has stagnated, if not regressed.
The world’s elite eights possess a degree of mongrel Spies lacks or hasn’t exhibited. Forty-seven Tests into his international career you have to believe it is the former. The frustration with Spies is that his impressive physical constitution is not supported by a mental constitution of the ilk that the All Blacks’ Kieran Read – the pre-eminent player in his position in the game – possesses. I’ve written this previously and still have no reason to change my view.
Meyer doesn’t share this view. He has consistently extolled Spies’s virtues, among those being mental strength that ensures he won’t fold or become anonymous under pressure and a fearlessness that makes him indispensable to the team’s cause.
One of his biggest tasks as Springboks coach will be to draw out those qualities in Spies and ensure that consistent excellence marks the remainder of his Test career, not just the sporadic flashes of brilliance we’ve become accustomed to.
Follow Ryan on Twitter
Follow SA Rugby mag on Twitter
125 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
7 May 2012, 20:05 pm
The moment the Bulls drop Spies and Arno Botha gets a decent shot, you’ll see how poor Spies really is. Arno Botha could’ve had the same type of breakthrough season Kolisi and Etzebeth are experiencing… he’s serious quality.
7 May 2012, 20:11 pm
@lepel(lepel)-101: To a certain extent I agree with you, although Potgieter, Stander and Botha would have been a very inexperienced loose trio.
7 May 2012, 20:13 pm
@lepel(lepel)-101: can’t wait for that oke to get gametime. he injured his back though beginning of the season.
7 May 2012, 20:34 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-46: Hey, I think you’ve got the wrong guy. I’m neither a Bulls nor a Spies supporter. I was simply saying that with injuries to Schalk Burger, Duanne Vermeulen and Juan Smith, Spies is probably all thats left at nr. 8.
7 May 2012, 20:38 pm
somebody echo’d my ealier post about Spies’ lineout play. His athleticism makes him an excellent player in this regard, but it is his general play that causes concern. Some of the stuff he produced against the Brumbies was comical, That ‘non try’ the Bulls flanker scored for example. Watch the replay and note Spies’ slow reaction and non awareness of the try. He knocked the ball on and missed tackles badly in that game.
Most good provincial players are good art the back of the scrum when there pack is on top. When the Bulls or Bok forwards are under pressure, Spies disapears on Defence. FACT.
7 May 2012, 20:42 pm
Here’s my view of the best #8 in world rugby
-1)Sergio Perise (Italy)
2) Toby Faletua(wales)
3) Jean Lobbe (Argintina)
4) Kieren Read ( NZ
5) Imanol harinordoquay(France)
6) David Denton( scotland)
Funny thing is that the majority of this players with the exceptiono f Read are NH players, while lobbe players club rugby in the north
All them have the basic attributes of
A #8 strong ball carries,strong runners from the back, good line out options,all round abilities & reliability
Sergio & imanol are perhaps the most complete in morden rugby but guys like Denton & Toby are excelling & are always giving MOM performances
As for Spies compared to this okes…Lol
An Eighthman that really fell of the radar is Ryan kank ( remember how good he wad 07-09)
As For Samo I don’t see him making the Aus#8 ahead of Higginbottom this(whose responsible for keeping him on the bench)
7 May 2012, 20:46 pm
This might be controversial but i believe that Spies has got the wrong build for an 8th man and is better suited to flank. He is light in the legs and has enormous upper body strength and therefore cannot get the drive on that is needed for an 8th man off the back of a scrum.
7 May 2012, 20:52 pm
@TooMuchRugby(TooMuchRugby)-104: yeah sorry bud the comment was aimed at Robert.
apologies.
7 May 2012, 20:57 pm
Spies is a glory boy. He would have fitted in well with the Stormers team of two seasons ago.
7 May 2012, 21:03 pm
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-107: Maybe you’ve got a point there, piesang
7 May 2012, 21:09 pm
@TooMuchRugby(TooMuchRugby)-110: I really like the guy and believe he has tremendous potential as an athlete but not suited to where he is playing right now
7 May 2012, 21:12 pm
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-111: he has hoofs for hands though.
7 May 2012, 21:15 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-112: Well he hardly gets to handle it with the amount of kicking done so when he gets it , its a surprise
7 May 2012, 21:17 pm
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-113: haha, could be lol.
7 May 2012, 21:38 pm
Fact.
SPies goes missing when the going gets tough. His defence is hardly in the tradition of the quintissential Saffa loosie.
Ultimately he should be compared to international players as storie joernaal has intimated.
Better than Reid; Parrisse; Harinordiqy? I think not.
The ‘hooves for hands’ analogy is spot on, He seems to lack the skills the above 3 have. He has a special physique and strength, but the play reading and ball playing aspects of a world class 8 we are yet to see.
And please, I am not a Spies basher. Just concerned about the form of what all the people in the know such as Meyer regard as our best 8.
Not convinced but would love to be.
8 May 2012, 05:01 am
@hensopper1(hensopper1)-115: he has everything but distribution and lateral defence. not that much different from olivier or jean at centre, not great distributors and flimsy on defence. spies does draw 2 to 3 defenders as a ball carrier and does good graft bu without offload skills like cronje or van niekerk it is too easy to hault play by bringing him down. you can commit those defenders on him knowing it wont be exploited. on defence he does do very good work but at times get caught out. he isnt as bad as you say but he isnt perfect either. all our 8s are kak the worst being carthorse strauss.
8 May 2012, 05:02 am
@hensopper1(hensopper1)-115: by the way your FACTs dont hold up to stats bud. dont be so quick to blurt things out as fact when you got nothing to back it up! spies actually did better thaan schalk at the world cup something for you to keep in mind. fact!
8 May 2012, 05:17 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-112:
Hoofs for hands…:lol:
@bananaboy(bananaboy)-111:
What is his ‘potential’ build on? Surely not what he has delivered on the field in the last 2 years!
Thing is, how much more time do we need to give him to fulfill this ever elusive potential. I think time is up and we should start looking somewhere else. We all know certain playrs, no matter the potential, build, speed, power or you name it just can’t take the step up. History is filled with those names and maybe Spies is just one more…flat track bully who has NEVER stepped up in a tight game, never!
8 May 2012, 05:47 am
@Blitzbok(Blitzbok)-117:
perhaps you could provide the statistics and facts to back up your
opinion“fact”…8 May 2012, 08:33 am
@ufo(ufo)-119: alucard aka blitzbok makes up his own stats by rewinding & forwarding his vcr
8 May 2012, 08:41 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-120:
hehehe…
you serious… has dracula changed his nic…
then it all makes perfect sense…! hahaha
8 May 2012, 09:32 am
@storiejoernal(storiejoernal)-106:
Kieran Read is the best of the lot especialy over the last 2 years.Parisse about 3 years was outstanding,still is but not to his previous level(funny thing is that he is also Argentinian)….Dave Denton had a very good Six Nations(Zim borm,South African raised & schooled).Toby Faletau had a MASSIVE world cup & Six Nations(player of the tournament in 6N i think) and he is also of Pacific Island origin…So even though out of that 6 you mentioned are playing in Europe about 5 of them are Southerners….I think you can add Heaslip to list he has been outstanding for a few yrs now for Ireland.
8 May 2012, 09:41 am
@storiejoernal(storiejoernal)-106:
David Denton is a great player.
Considering he plays behind a comparatively weak pack, the oke is an absolute machine.
Would love to see him behind a dominant pack.
8 May 2012, 11:55 am
Spies HAD mongrel before his pulmonary embulism … most evidenced in Man of Match in the Rustenberg test win over the All Blacks, and that general season – after those spots in the lung, which are potentially fatal, he hasn’t been the same.
It suggests to me there is a connection – much like Skinstad was never the same again after injuring his knee; same principle at play.
10 May 2012, 09:21 am
Spies wont get any better. If his health is a concern and has caused him to give less than 100 % then he should do the honorable thing and stop handicapping the Springboks.
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.