Bekker injury opens door for Kruger
31 May 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes that Andries Bekker’s untimely breakdown could see Juandré Kruger starting for the Springboks sooner than expected.
Bekker has long been touted as Victor Matfield’s successor. When the Bok legend retired at the end of 2011 he assured the South African public that the future of the game, as far as lineout management was concerned, was in good hands. After mentoring Bekker for four years, Matfield was ready to pass the baton.
Since his appointment in late January, Bok coach Heyneke Meyer has been open about the locking situation in South Africa. While the country is spoiled for choice in positions like hooker and loose forward, there is a dearth of good locks, especially in that specialist position of No 5. Meyer said he would have to count on Bekker and Kruger to perform this role in 2012.
Now that Bekker has been ruled out of the England series with a back injury, Meyer’s options are limited. Kruger has plenty of experience having played more than 50 matches for Northampton in the northern hemisphere competitions, but is yet to play a Test. Nevertheless, he may now be asked to wear that No 5 shirt in the series against England.
Not many gave the Bulls a chance after they lost six senior Boks at the end of last year. And yet, their pack has been impressive and Kruger has been one of the standouts. Taking over from Matfield at the Bulls in that No 5 position, he has ensured that the Bulls have continued to perform at the lineout and at the kickoffs. These two areas will be important against an England side that places an emphasis on forward ascendancy.
His partnership with Flip van der Merwe may also be considered a plus. Meyer will have just six days to prepare his Springbok 22 for England, and so he will be relying on existing combinations and structures. Now that the experienced and imposing form of Bekker is no longer in the frame, a Bulls locking partnership may be favoured at the highest level.
One specialist No 5 will not be sufficient, however, and Meyer will need to bring another lineout manager into the squad. The Bok coach has said that he will call on South Africans based at overseas clubs if there is a need to do so. In this case, Johann Muller is a strong option.
He’s not only an experienced player but has been in excellent form for Irish club Ulster, who made it to the final of the European Cup. Muller will also have played against many of the English players in the northern hemisphere competitions, and will be able to provide some insight regarding their strengths and weaknesses.
Meyer will name his 30-man squad on Saturday after the Bulls-Stormers derby. That squad will be without several key players if you consider that Juan Smith, Bekker, Schalk Burger and Duane Vermeulen are all still sidelined with injury.
Fourie du Preez will be named captain for the England series and Ulster scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar is also set to be included. Meyer has always been a fan of Francois Hougaard’s skills but the Bulls man hasn’t been in great form at the base of the scrum. One of Pienaar or Hougaard could be included as a utility player with the other providing cover for Du Preez.
As he has shown on numerous occasions for the Bulls and at the 2011 World Cup, Hougaard can be a devastating runner on the wing, and his physicality also makes him suited to a tighter contest. His kicking game, while not yet up to the standard of scrumhalves like Du Preez and Will Genia, will be a bonus in the back three.
Frans Steyn should also be included and considered a prime candidate for the No 12 position. Coenie Oosthuizen and Adriaan Strauss will be in line for Bok recalls, and as far as uncapped players are concerned, Kruger, Marcell Coetzee and Eben Etzebeth should all be in the mix.
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403 Comments
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31 May 2012, 15:50 pm
Strauss by far better than Bissy this season. But past injustices (John Smit take a bow) is now for some reason making him an automatic selection, which shouldnt exist with a new coach! If HM purely picked on form, he’d go with Strauss, but as experience is the biggest preference for these first few tests Bissy will get the nod.
31 May 2012, 15:50 pm
Wasn’t there a team who had 2 captains at the same time, or was the the English football team?
Seems that’s what its gonna come down to.
Bok Captains: Schalk, JDV, Du Preez, Biz, and whoever else you rate from your respective team.
31 May 2012, 15:51 pm
What bothers me is why JdV and Habana walksas if they are “knyping their boude toe”. Why?
31 May 2012, 15:51 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-149:
just to be clear,
i did not say any comments are awaiting moderation.
31 May 2012, 15:52 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-142:
hehe
yeah… i can see his ‘reign’ of commentary is gonna be to knock everyone and everything heyneke does…
he’s worried heyneke’s gonna break his 17 game streak…
i’m confident heyneke IS going to break it and set a new record…!!
go heyneke…!!
31 May 2012, 15:52 pm
@nama1(nama1)-147: “At outside centre Jean is a really poor defender,” Mallett said about the Stormers captain, “So he is going to have to sharpen up because (Manu) Tuilagi is going to run rings around him. Tuilagi is very physical, big and strong.
“That’s the problem at outside centre, but then again we never pass the ball in SA Rugby so it might not be necessary to select a centre,” Mallett joked. “If he can’t chase up and unders and tackle, then what is he doing there…?”
The former Bok mentor also called Spies, the Bulls captain, “a flat-track bully” who had never impressed him.
“Loose forwards are a big issue. I don’t rate Spies as a defender, he is poor on defence and his close ball skills at the back of the scrum are also poor,” Mallett said. “He is only good against weak teams. A flat-track bully who will run in three tries. We are missing out on someone who is good from the base of the scrum.
“I know Heyneke likes Willem Alberts, but it is also worrying that he is in the top five in Super Rugby in terms of missed tackles. He’s missed 24 tackles in six games, and that’s bloody high. Marcel Coetzee is the guy I would pick, he is in the top five in terms of tackle stats and in ball carries.”
31 May 2012, 15:52 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-128: No need to be so emotional with the smileys daaahling…
31 May 2012, 15:53 pm
@nama1(nama1)-147:
nick who?
31 May 2012, 15:54 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-156: Sorry I forget – that’s your job. **notetoselfdontsstealhg’semotionalmonopolysmiley
31 May 2012, 15:55 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-155:
Yes and Mallet is a d*ckhead.
Now everyone’s been rated, including him.
31 May 2012, 15:56 pm
Transformation you fence sitting wanna be,take some time out from your token job and tell us who is your captain.
as well as all the other hero’s and hairdressers here who have such a loathing for the Sharks vice captain
31 May 2012, 15:59 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-159:
that will learn him.
come here with his western province manners.
31 May 2012, 15:59 pm
mallett coach sergio parisse of four years, he knows what class @ 8 is when he sees it, and Britney ain’t it
31 May 2012, 15:59 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-155:
alberts’ missed tackled stats are bad because his shoulder wasn’t quite right yet when he resumed playing… against the stormers he didn’t miss a tackle… made 11…
aren’t ‘experts’ supposed to look beyond the obvious…? read between the stats and give us clearer picture of what is going on…?
nick mallet needs to up his game if he wants to retain any credibility…
31 May 2012, 16:00 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-161:
hehehe…
eina…
no… he’s bringing his italian-manners…!
31 May 2012, 16:00 pm
@Jeez(Jeez)-150: Strauss “by far better” than Bissy this season.
Farkenhell… You know zigactly what you’re talking about.
31 May 2012, 16:00 pm
@ufo(ufo)-154: Mallet finds himself in the fortunate position of one with time on his hands……too much time possibly for a man who should be involved with rugby in this country. I reckon he is going to enjoy playing devil’s advocate though……Mallet himself was ridiculed, scorned and walloped by many when he coached the Boks – I reckon he is going to enjoy dishing it out instead of sucking it up.
31 May 2012, 16:01 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-159: okaaaaayyyyyy, now counter his assertions with reasonable thought….
31 May 2012, 16:02 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-155: Mallet speaks truth…
Harsh but fair. Straight talker. None of this soppy PC pussyfooting around.
Good on him
31 May 2012, 16:03 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-162:
when you got a choice of one… don’t need to be a rock scientist to make that choice…
31 May 2012, 16:03 pm
short of hirering a padophlie i would take any man irrespective of his history or personality if it means a 71% and up winning percentage and a 17 game plus winning streak.
31 May 2012, 16:03 pm
@ufo(ufo)-149:
From the quote that you put up here (p.135), it seems as if Nick talks about JdV’s defending at “outside centre.”
Now, I don’t know how many games he played at outside centre for the Boks (He played there when Adi was inside centre – 2008 if I’m not mistaken) but maybe Nick picked up something about his defence then.
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-157:
Mallet
Apparently he has some interesting views on certain players.
31 May 2012, 16:03 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-162:
Seriously, what kind of “respected” person talks like that about players in a public forum?
A blogger can mouth of personal insults like that, on a forum like Keo. But you take it form whence it comes.
And an Ollie le Roux type of character can mouth of like that to the papers.
But a supposedly “respected” coach like Mallet? That’s always been his problem.
Never in a million years would you hear Heyneke Meyer say that kind of stuff about any player.
He might not rate someone, but calling him a “flat track bully”, or having “not a tenth of the talent of someone else in the line out”, or saying that some English centre will “run rings around him”, those are extremely denigrating comments.
Mallet has always been a d*ck.
31 May 2012, 16:03 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-158: Now open wide… :wink,wink:
31 May 2012, 16:05 pm
Mallet can be a douche sometimes, but on Spies he’s spot on.
31 May 2012, 16:05 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-168:
come now.
you had to have your cambelt changed when he dropped teichman for chocolate bob.
31 May 2012, 16:05 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-162: Hehehehehehehe, I wonder what Spies thinks about being called a ‘flat track bully’? He is probably delighted because it’s the first time the word ‘bully’ and ‘Spies’ have been mentioned together – ever. I just wish there would come a time when ‘bullied the opposition or bullied the breakdowns’ and ‘Spies’ were used in the same sentence.
31 May 2012, 16:05 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-169:
true, true.
sometimes that is a good thing
but sometimes it is a bad thing.
31 May 2012, 16:06 pm
@nama1(nama1)-141:
He just doesnt have the carisma you need from a captain to woo the oppositions supporters during interviews and refs for that matter. A bok captain should be liked and respected from all rugby supporters and media. Brussouw- he’s got the boyish temperament and not necessarily a first choice flank… not in the longterm… Besides you dont want your captain to get the most penalties in most of the games, but it is expected because he’s a fetcher and they play in the gray areas of the laws and border of the penalty calls.
So in short Brussouw bad idea for captain. Schalk short term (2 years) vice captain to follow up. If you communicate with the players and be honest, I dont see it being a problem…
Kruger the future bok cap (if you are looking at young guys), but I like the Stander idea, although being a flank in SA….too much competition… !
31 May 2012, 16:06 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-166:
yeah… i understand that… but at least a guy of his stature should get his facts straight… maybe someone can tell him jean’s been playing inside centre for a few years now…
even if a lot of people think he’s an outside centre…
31 May 2012, 16:06 pm
Truth hurts but Mallet has no bums to kiss so he can tell it like it is, and not like it was
31 May 2012, 16:07 pm
@wpstormerbok(wpstormerbok)-174:
Trannie left out the bit where he talks about Bekker, and says that Bekker is a k*k line out forward, who just wins lineouts due to his length, and doesn’t have a fraction of Matfield’s line out intelligence.
Sorry, but you don’t talk about players like that in public, if you want to have their respect. Very different from being some anonymous blogger ranting on an obscure blog.
31 May 2012, 16:07 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-165:
zigactly
31 May 2012, 16:07 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-176:
31 May 2012, 16:07 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-168: i see he agrees with you on donkey
31 May 2012, 16:08 pm
Poor form by Mallet. Spewing his froth in public.
The thing is though…
I’m struggling to see where he’s wrong.
Bissie and Jannie are petulant and need to watch their discipline
Matfield has no equal and Bekker has a long way to go.
Spies is a bit soft against tougher oposition.
And Jean is a poor defender in that 13 channell.
Respected rugby brain like yourself shouldnt have said it out loud Nick.
31 May 2012, 16:08 pm
@nama1(nama1)-171:
yeah, that’s why i made it bold nama… that is a cut n paste from the supersport site… that’s what mallet wrote…
obviously not letting the facts get in the way of slating players…
31 May 2012, 16:08 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-172: Meyer is a bad comparison to Mallet…
Meyer not half the Bok coach Mallet was, yet…
Mallet is a straight talker… If these players and Meyer actually listened and took on board what the man is saying they would become better players and the Boks a better team…
31 May 2012, 16:10 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-184: Yes… And I’m sure a good few more honest coaches, players and supporters do too…
31 May 2012, 16:11 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-188:
You wouldn’t hear Robbie Deans talk like that about a player either. Or Graham Henry.
These are folks who are gentlemen. Mallet is a hard*rse, abrasive personality who many people don’t have much respect for.
31 May 2012, 16:11 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-166: well said…
Former Springbok and Italian coach Nick Mallett says he honestly “pities” current Bok mentor Heyneke Meyer, who has the tough task of turning the Boks into a winning unit in less than a week to face England in a three-test series.
Mallett, who made Meyer his assistant when he was coaching the Springboks between 1997 and 2000, said Meyer sat with an almost impossible task of satisfying the public demand of a winning team and playing great rugby in his first test in charge.
While there had been some criticism in public circles about Meyer’s plans for the England series, Mallett, who has joined SuperSport as an analyst for the series, said there should be more understanding for the task Meyer faces.
Asked if he agreed with Meyer’s plans, Mallett was cautious to criticise but explained why he thought Meyer had such a tough task ahead of him.
“It’s difficult for me to say because if I was coaching next week I would have a different plan to Heyneke,” Mallett said. “But he understands if you lose as a Bok coach — no matter what you try to build and try to do — you will be criticised.
“He knows the only time he will buy space for himself is by winning those three games. Then he can buy time for himself to start building and maybe preparing his philosophy for games in the Castle Rugby Championship.
“I really pity him, because it’s really hard going into a game straight after a derby like this with one week to go against a side with two weeks’ preparation and some of their players having three weeks’ rest.”
Mallett also warned the Boks not to underestimate the English, who will be bringing a squad full of youthful exuberance with them to South Africa.
31 May 2012, 16:12 pm
Interesting comments with many different views.
31 May 2012, 16:12 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-181:
That’s why I said he’s a douche no question.
But what he says carries much more weight than opinions of anonymous bloggers.
He’s right about Bekker too, all the attributes to take line out play to the next level yet he’s never beaten Matfield in a contest, not even once and has never dominated at Test level, the guy has a mental block much like Spies.
31 May 2012, 16:13 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-172:
good post
31 May 2012, 16:13 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-176: Lol… A mistake definitely and Mallet paid for that in spades… No Billy Webb 1999 as a result of replacing his Zimbo Shark leader of men with another Zimbo Golden Boy…
And Mallet has manned up to this many many times…
31 May 2012, 16:15 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-190: But then again many people DO respect him for his honesty…
No fence sitting “niceties”.
Good on him.
31 May 2012, 16:15 pm
I have great respect for Mallett as a coach. He is an extremely intelligent man with very interesting ideas. If I was Heyneke I would listen to his ideas but not take everything he says too seriously.
31 May 2012, 16:16 pm
Thing is though, Mallet and Meyer are quite close and respect each other.
Often speaking to each other and bouncing ideas around.
I wonder if Mallet says these things to Meyer in private and if so I wonder if Meyer takes any of it into consideration?
31 May 2012, 16:16 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-178: Yes and Bakster and my post 188 refers.
31 May 2012, 16:17 pm
@wpstormerbok(wpstormerbok)-193: And he is right about the DuPs
And Wrecking Ball Coetzee too.
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