Sharks bruiser is Meyer’s man
28 May 2012
JON CARDINELLI says Willem Alberts’ strong performance against the Stormers bodes well for the three-Test series against England.
Alberts’ detractors will be snorting in disbelief. One dominant showing and he’s suddenly back, suddenly the answer to Heyneke Meyer’s blindside quandary? So much for a measured evaluation.
It’s an understandable reaction. Alberts has struggled with injuries over the past year, and when he has actually played he hasn’t been as effective at the gainline as before. He made a terrific impact in the first half of the 2011 Super Rugby tournament, but battled for form in the months that followed.
That was until last Saturday. Backed by John Plumtree in the most important match of the Sharks’ season, Alberts turned in a powerful performance. The Sharks forwards manhandled their Stormers counterparts, and Alberts was particularly effective in that ball-carrying role on attack, and that momentum-stalling role on defence.
It was an important performance in a Springbok context. When two of the strongest teams in a conference clash, the national coach is always going to be watching. If you can make an impact in this contest, you can stake your claim for national selection. If you can make inroads into the best defence in the Super Rugby competition, if you can outmuscle the most physical team in South Africa, you can make a massive statement.
What will help Alberts’ cause is that there aren’t many blindside flankers available at present, at least not the type of No 7s that Meyer is looking for. Juan Smith, Schalk Burger and Duane Vermeulen are all sidelined with injuries while Danie Rossouw has also told Meyer he is not available.
Who else but Alberts fits the job description, at least in terms of what Meyer values in a blindside? He ticks the boxes of experience and size, as the latter lends itself to the dual role of ball-carrying and defending, not to mention providing an extra option in the lineout.
And as he showed this past Saturday, he is coming back into form. He will have one more opportunity to gather momentum before the England series as the Sharks play the Lions this Saturday. While this will be useful for a man coming back from injury, he’s already shown what he is capable of against the Stormers. That performance against the Stormers showed how he could be an important figure for the Boks in that England series.
The Boks are favourites to win that series and some South African pundits have been as bold as to predict a 3-0 result in favour of the hosts. To realise that goal, however, they will need to outplay England at the set pieces, breakdowns and collisions.
Some may be taking the English lightly, and for good reason. They are in a period of rebuilding and will be touring South Africa without several key forwards.
But Meyer has never been a coach to underestimate his opponents, and will pick his strongest available side for the coming series. He will select players that best fit his game plan, which is one of the primary reasons Fourie du Preez will start at scrumhalf and lead the team.
It is also for this reason that Alberts, in the absence of heavy hitters like Smith, Burger and Vermeulen, should be entrusted with the No 7 responsibilities.
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384 Comments
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28 May 2012, 12:59 pm
Indeed Mr Salinger.
Met eish.
28 May 2012, 13:03 pm
15. Lambie
14. JP
13. JdV
12. F Steyn
11. Habana
10. M Steyn (Goose when fit)
9. FduP (c)
8. K Daniel (look at Schalk or Vermeelen when fit)
7. Alberts
6. M Coetzee (Schalk when fit)
5. J Kruger (Bekker when fit)
4. Etsebeth
3. Jannie (Give Coennie more time at TH)
2. Bismark
1. Beast
Coennie
Strauss
Bekker
Flip
Broussow
Hougard
Aplon
(Lambie can cover 10 and JP 13)
Fringe players
Joe Pieterson
J Taute
Whitehead
Kitsoff is still too young
CJ Stander
Mvovo
To come back from injury
Burger
Duan Vemeerlen
Bekker is not right at the moment
Goosen
Look at Spies on the wing, he is no loose forward
Looking thin at 9 after FdP and FH
Looking thin at TH as usual (need to convert Coennie – Os must stop making all THs LHs – Marcel van der Merwe is another Os moved from TH to LH!!!)
28 May 2012, 13:08 pm
@willievz(willievz)-291: i will watch him again against the guppys this week.
28 May 2012, 13:09 pm
good to see so many stormers supporters manning up and facing the music (literally) on keo after a lousy loss…
kudos to you all my stormers mates…!!
28 May 2012, 13:16 pm
@ufo(ufo)-304: Eh. Win or lose the same old tosh gets flung about by all sides. It’s like when you play. You’d rather pitch up and lose than not pitch at all.
28 May 2012, 13:19 pm
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-305:
you need to qualify that with ‘the same old tosh gets flung by those who bother to pitch up after their side loses…’
anyway… just an observation…
28 May 2012, 13:20 pm
@ufo(ufo)-304: Yeah,you certainly won’t see us going for sabbaticals to France or barricading ourselves in on klienhoewes in the Eastern Cape.
28 May 2012, 13:21 pm
@RWC’11 was fixed(richardmarais)-302: Coetzee is a blindside / number 8 doing a decent job at openside at S15 level. I would still have Brussouw ahead of him at 6 at test level
I would be tempted to try 6. Brussouw, 7. Alberts, 8. Daniel with Coetzee on the bench, or even 6. Brussouw, 7. Alberts, 8. Coetzee with Daniel on the bench
It will most likely be 6. Brussouw, 7. Alberts, 8. Spies with Coetzee on the bench
28 May 2012, 13:26 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-307:
28 May 2012, 13:28 pm
@ufo(ufo)-306: Just spare a thought for the oke with the RW’11 nick.If memory serves me right we are now well into 2012.Just wonder if he intents to carry it through to 2015.
28 May 2012, 13:32 pm
ARTIST @ 301. Note the admiring capitals in the greeting. Well done .Clever and seriously funny at the same time.A rare combination.
Thought I was safe.
I read the other day that it was rated in the top 20 works of fiction of all time..Not so
sure.Enjoyed it thoroughly as an angry,pimply teenager.
Do not think it has travelled that well.
Kind regards.
Not so sure.I you are an
same time.
28 May 2012, 13:39 pm
THE ARTIST.The comment re:clever?funny applied to you.Not JD
28 May 2012, 13:41 pm
a hard rain’s gonna fall
at the end of it all….
28 May 2012, 13:42 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-251:
Come on people, let’s be honest about BEAST’s “benchpressing” exploits, as SS put it.
A foward should easily hold up his own body weight above his head in a powerclean and jerk motion, especially easy with extended arms.
There was nothing impressive about Beast holding up Bresler.
BJ Botha did that with Albert vd Berg in 2007 against England, and it was more impressive since Albert rocked much further back, and BJ responded with more power.
Come on guys, really?
28 May 2012, 13:44 pm
and in case people didn’t understand that, or TL;DR-
BJ is Beast se baas, mkay.
28 May 2012, 13:47 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-314: Except Albert weighed around 100kg and Bresler around the 116kg mark if Supersport stats to be believed
28 May 2012, 13:49 pm
@Bokhoring(Bokhoring)-308: Agree Brussouw is quality, but the way rugby is being reffed this year, it does not suit a a specialist open sider. That’s where K Daniel has the advantage over Brossouw I think, he is more of an all-rounder.
28 May 2012, 13:49 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-314:
Albert vd Berg weighed as much as a three pack of Durex.
The sharks backs used to bench press him.
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-311:
All teenagers are angry and pimply.
Some are even sexually confused.
Just look at Stormerforhiswife.
28 May 2012, 13:50 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-314:
Hahahaha yeah right, Botha is half the athlete Beast is.Mtawarira did it 2/3 times and whichever you look at it its impressive.Period.
Tell u one thing,im yet to see anything remotely as impressive from likes of Kruger,Greyling,Kirsten etc
28 May 2012, 13:55 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-314: The new colour of envy Pink and not Green, huh….?
Jealousy gets you nowhere…
Beast makes other looseheads look tame. Simple
28 May 2012, 13:58 pm
LOL
people relax, and Albert vd Berg was listed as 114 Kgs too
BJ holds the benchpressing record at the Boks I believe, besides, Beast is very mobile, former flank, I like the guy a lot, but BJ will crush him one-on-one
28 May 2012, 13:58 pm
@ryecatcher(ryecatcher)-295: Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die…
28 May 2012, 13:59 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-321: Ahem… Ja… Beast is nie Bees nie, cuzzie…
28 May 2012, 14:00 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-319:
It wasnt impressive at all, these guys C&J more than 120Kg.
28 May 2012, 14:01 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-319:
…or, maybe impressive that a Mr. Price broekie held up…
28 May 2012, 14:02 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-323:
heh?
28 May 2012, 14:04 pm
the sharks are gaining momentum at the right time
28 May 2012, 14:06 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-326: Just translating for you… Maybe you confused slightly… Maybe you could be talking about a whole different Bees altogether…
Let me be explicit… Beast Mtawarira is not Bees Roux… Maybe thats who you thinking about when you talking about a tighthead getting the better of a Beast.
It actually cant be Beast the Legend, see?
Just helping you out….
28 May 2012, 14:07 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-327: I find it amazing that people wrote them off mid-season.
28 May 2012, 14:08 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-325: Could actually be a very good ad for whoever manufactures the Sharks kit. Instead of Beast pushing disposable razors, imagine him saying “when I lock press, I prefer Mr Price shorts”
28 May 2012, 14:10 pm
willie this is the business end of the comp
depth is very crucial now
28 May 2012, 14:14 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-328:
Then let him do something legendary instead of just picking up a 116Kg weight for a few seconds.
@Bokhoring(Bokhoring)-330:
Hah, good point.
“I dont always shoulder press locks, but when I do I make sure it causes a local sensation”.
Corny enough?
28 May 2012, 14:15 pm
Bresler and THE Beast…. Atlas shrugged…
28 May 2012, 14:17 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-332: Done already… Raging Bull tamed and long, distinguished career destroyed… by THE Beast.
28 May 2012, 14:18 pm
hg
these stormer supporters dont understand the dynamic
28 May 2012, 14:19 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-333:
No I didn’t
28 May 2012, 14:20 pm
Anyways the Sharks supporters are on a high I can see.
A win over a strong opponent for a change. How does it feel?
Yep, us Bulls supporters get that every weekend just about. Our endorphin receptors are a bit blocked up, suffering a loss this weekend was cruicial for our mental health.
Don’t wanna be chasing the dragon, but giving the Sharks the upcoming pomping in their fishtank will be enough.
28 May 2012, 14:21 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-335: Naah Fernus, the dynamic has popped… Exploded by Black and White Dynamite…
28 May 2012, 14:22 pm
@Atlas(Atlas)-336: Atlas Shrugged…Google it… Stuff of legends…
Like Beast.
28 May 2012, 14:22 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-337: I guess two losses in a row really opens up those receptors
28 May 2012, 14:23 pm
the stormers front row popped plenty aswell.
28 May 2012, 14:25 pm
Pfft, Breslertjie is a mere 112Kgs they say, even lighter than Albert vd Berg when BJ lifted him like that for a restart in 2007.
Somebody please get that 2007 video in here so that the kids can see real strength from BJ, please.
28 May 2012, 14:26 pm
@Bokhoring(Bokhoring)-340:
Broodnodig ou tjom.
28 May 2012, 14:27 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-337: “giving the Sharks the upcoming pomping in their fishtank will be enough.”… Lol… Them Pienk Koei “heroes” going to come get some too… Watch.
Then we see what THE Beast does… Maybe a 20m dash around Meisiekind the “brave” carrying Juandre Kruger, who has the ball, in the perpendicular and diving for the tryline while ripping the ball in mid air…
Considering Saturday and the renown “toughness” of Timotei, this is entirely possible if not probable…
28 May 2012, 14:28 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-342: You do realize it is really weird for a Bulls supporter to be arguing with Sharks over the relative exploits of 2 Sharks props (and 2 Sharks locks)
28 May 2012, 14:29 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-342: Of course BJ is strong… He was a Shark and once a Shark, always a Shark, Sharks Forever and all that…
But THE Beast… MAN ALONE.
28 May 2012, 14:29 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-344:
Woah there, Charles Dickens, may as well not even go see the game now.
Riveting tale old chap
28 May 2012, 14:29 pm
hg
the sharks are going to give the bulls aproper taste aswell.
28 May 2012, 14:31 pm
@Bokhoring(Bokhoring)-345:
Just pointing out to the fanboys how non-impressive this “lockpressing” was.
28 May 2012, 14:33 pm
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-348:
Pgh, by that time THE Warmongrel will be back and bloodthirsty.
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