Meyer must trust his gut
1 Jun 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day column, says the Springbok side for the first Test against England pretty much picks itself.
Given the injury situation, Fourie du Preez is the obvious choice to captain the Springboks against England.
Heyneke Meyer has always been emphatic that his captain will be a player he trusts, a player who makes the starting XV, and a player who will give him comfort as he eases his way through his first international head coaching experience.
Meyer has trusted his gut and he should never waver from this. So many coaches have compromised, tried to please a certain province, a certain media or a certain sector of the public, failed and regretted not doing it their way. I hope Meyer stays true to his gut feeling on what represents a match 22 good enough to win without much coaching in the Test opener against England in Durban.
Meyer would have had three training sessions with the match 22 before that first Test. To pick a bunch of young guns would be a recipe for disaster. A coach builds over four years, not in his first week.
Some will argue that Meyer’s selection will be biased and favour the Bulls. Others will argue that it is a conservative selection and some will never be pleased because of his history with the Bulls. I see any selection Meyer makes, based on his comments to the media and several discussions with him in recent months, as the most logical to see off an England challenge that will be dangerous in the first Test but should get easier as the series progresses.
Injuries have ensured Meyer’s ideal XV won’t start and he may well find his ideal XV never starts in the next four years. He won’t be the first Bok coach to experience that kind of frustration. He won’t be the last.
Crucial to the first Test will be the performance of Bismarck du Plessis, Pierre Spies and Willem Alberts. If these experienced players show the necessary application, attitude, physicality and brutality, there will be enough of a platform to fashion a victory.
I am not expecting anything but a workmanlike display in the first Test, with an emphasis on protecting the ball, playing field percentages and attacking the defensive vulnerability of England’s halfback pairing, who ooze talent but aren’t blessed with natural physicality.
I don’t rate England a top-five side. I think their struggle against physical packs like those of Scotland and Italy is more indicative of their limitations than the smashing of an Irish team that lacked the oomph up front to threaten at Twickenham.
SA will produce a decent pack, which will get stronger once internationals like Schalk Burger and Juan Smith return.
Du Preez, given the lack of Test match experience among the forwards, was an obvious choice to calm the nerves and implement a percentages match against England.
The side, on form, pretty much selects itself. Morné Steyn has done more than enough to play the master tactician at flyhalf and while he will always have a defensive issue at Test level it has seldom been exposed because so few teams dominate the Boks physically.
Frans Steyn and Jean de Villiers are formidable in the midfield and Meyer won’t look beyond the experience of Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen on the wings. As the international season unfolds he will tweak in areas like the back three and there will be more of an integration of new faces than a discarding of the old.
Meyer has been consistent that 2012 is about winning Tests and building a winning culture. He will think about 2015 in 2015 and if his selections have been consistent between now and the next World Cup, it will be a squad that rewards form, youth and experience that arrives in England with conviction and not just the hope that came with the reputation of those who failed in New Zealand last year.
I’d start with Pat Lambie at fullback, but Meyer may feel pressured to pick Zane Kirchner because of a lack of black representation in his match 22. It’s an awful situation because Kirchner has played well enough to be picked on merit, as have Juan de Jongh and Chiliboy Ralepelle. But others, who just happen to be white, have also played at a standard that makes a healthy case for inclusion.
Meyer will be a bundle of nerves in his first Test and that is why Du Preez and De Villiers, more than any other players, will be more influential and instrumental in Durban than any of the coaching staff.
Meyer has been very clear that in the first Test he wants to be judged on the win and that the style of play will evolve over the season. Again, it is the most logical of statements that deserves the most logical of acknowledgment from the country’s fanatical support base.
249 Comments
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2 Jun 2012, 13:38 pm
UFO.Going to be very physical.Hope it is a good
game.Regards.
2 Jun 2012, 13:40 pm
Both Carel and PDV had the most talented Boks of our generation at their disposal put couldn’t implement their attacking philosphies onto those players.
They didn’t have the communication skills to translate what was in their minds and make them believeable to the players.
Simple as that.
2 Jun 2012, 13:42 pm
Greybeard @ 170.Nobody could have improved on your post.Regards.
2 Jun 2012, 13:55 pm
Carel was a rugby genius that should have been allowed to see out his far reaching vision to fruition, instead it was handed over to Mallet to run with it as far as he could and he got stopped short of the continuity when Carel’s visionary genius ran out and Mallet couldn’t implement any genius of his own. Carel’s team was his own from inception, he created the Mallet team and just when they found their feet and their rhythm the rug was pulled from under his feet.
Pdv a different kettle of fish, his philosophies were side swiped and overriden by the holy grail of the 2007 lucky packet WC captain and his collective of grey gratuitous gravy trainers, he never got out of second gear because already by mid 2008 the grossly overrated grey groupies of Smit and FdP had shoved the throttle firmly into reverse gear and it never got anyway further than that. Reverse all the way from 2008 – 2011, not one brave step forward since Carel Dup was stuffed in the eye by the grey beards that run rugby into the ground around here.
2 Jun 2012, 14:02 pm
ryecatcher you arsecreeping and backslapping much better so true to your arse creeping back slap ‘regarding’ mentality, good Lordy Lord, ain’t that just a grey groveling grumbling grumpy turnup for the books ?
and some these archaic archangel grey beards actually live under the self deluded disillusioned denial that they’re the grumpy greyarsed grownups around here.
2 Jun 2012, 14:08 pm
There we go.All a sputter and trembling with rage.
The alliteration is getting so tiresome.
As I predicted.”Incoherent”
2 Jun 2012, 14:16 pm
come on groupie arselicker looking for backslapping appreciation, surely you can do much better than that, there hardly a splutter or a trembling of rage going on here, purely just seeing precisely who all the precious arselick backslapping grey arsed contingent of mutually admiring chickenshits are around here.
2 Jun 2012, 14:22 pm
Ag shame man.
2 Jun 2012, 14:41 pm
no shame is all yours man.. poor self righteous backslapping arse creep looking for mutually admired appreciation.., shame is all yours and no amount of sucking up to some pie in the sky good Lord cowering with your two faced back slap ‘regards’ will ever change any of that. too bad.
2 Jun 2012, 14:41 pm
Hehe, there is going to be a lot of pissed off Stormers supporters tonight, for 2 reasons!
2 Jun 2012, 14:45 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-210:
PA.
A bonus point will be good enough for me.
2 Jun 2012, 14:49 pm
which 2
what if Stormers win .. who gonna be pissed off then? keo and his cahoots of cohorts and cronies
Meyer gonna have to produce the goods and show he ain’t the rearguard action conservative coward I somehow starting to reckon he might fundamentally be, in spite of his entourage of baying praying grey groveling groupies expecting deliverance from out the shadow of the valley of destitution cast upon the springbok grey waters by the ineffective idiot predecessor PdV…
2 Jun 2012, 14:53 pm
TOAD.
The 8th deadly sin is being boring.You have that characteristic in spades.
Insofar as “regards”
is concerned.It is a civility I have practised for years.I would not
expect you to understand. A question of breeding you see.
Your stagnant pond awaits you.
Human/amphibian communication truly sucks.
2 Jun 2012, 14:59 pm
So here we are last game before Internationals.
If Sharks beat Lions with a 5 pointer that effectively gives the Sharks 54 points on the log including a bye.
Should the Stormers draw with the Bulls, this gives the Stormers 52 pts and Bulls 50 pts
Should the Stormers beat the Bulls, which will never be a 5 pointer, the Stormers will have 54 and the Bulls 49 (with bonus point)
The most likely scenario is that the Bulls beat the Stormers with a 5pointer which leaves the Stormers on 50 and the Bulls on 53…
So, at 9 o clock tonight we shall see the SA conference looking like this:
Sharks 54
Bulls 53
Stormers 50
Bulls and Stormers likely to win their first games after the Intl break with likely 4 point victories leaving the log at
Bulls 57
Sharks 54
Stormers 54
The championship game will then be played by the Sharks and Bulls with the Sharks likely to get a 4 pointer and Bulls a possible 1 point BP loss. Stormers could come short against the Cheetahs with a losing Bonus point.
The standings will be
Sharks 58
Bulls 58
Stormers 55
The last game of the season will play out as such
Sharks 63
Bulls 63
Stormers 60
Leaving the dynamite with a home semi…
You read it here first.
2 Jun 2012, 15:00 pm
yeah your breeding is so civil and enlightened you have learned the human art of gatkruiping to the Nth degree… endorsing this with a two faced embellishment of a ‘regards’ to endear your highly bred counterparts into this falsifiable delusion of self endorsed ‘breeding’ you are so auspiciously self righteously imbued with you self serenading falsely enlightened highly civilized poor delusional schmuck.
2 Jun 2012, 15:02 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-212: Never ever going to happen… Bet your mjondolo and whatever outhouse you may be building, Bob.
2 Jun 2012, 15:02 pm
Sharks are going through with either Bulls or Stormers joining them.. unless Lions can actually do the unthinkable and shove these overrated guppies back into the sharkshit delusion they precociously occupy.
2 Jun 2012, 15:03 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-216: how much you betted already.. come on how much you got riding on this game Stormers lover of ill repute that you are?
2 Jun 2012, 15:04 pm
Will laugh if the great Stormer Holy Cow, Donkey De Villiers, is not named in the Boks squad never mind being named Cappie…
Whooo ha
2 Jun 2012, 15:07 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-218: Hows about a name change riding on the outcome?
I change mine to your choice… should Stormers win
You change yours to my choice… Should Bulls win…
Come, get off that flip flopping fence and show some Shark style Keegan Daniel ballas for a change….
2 Jun 2012, 15:08 pm
Stormers to take bully brekers at home in spite of every negating naysayers wishes and hopeful dreams they bidding and praying for with every ounce of their ungracious love affair with all things W. Cape endowed.
Wanna see the howls of disgruntlement and disappointing denial when that little jacaranda blossom pops in the heilige blue and black and white sky ..
Out for a rukkie.. sien julle na die game.
2 Jun 2012, 15:10 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-220:
OK deal.. you lost last time.. you got everything riding for you now cause bulls got at least a 70/30 chance going for them at home with Stormers plugging leaks like the little boy at the **** of Meyers pond.
Chose your options.. I going out now.. see what your proposition is when I return.
2 Jun 2012, 15:11 pm
Something like:”Skopskiet loves Righteous Black and White Dynamite” will do just fine…
2 Jun 2012, 15:12 pm
TOAD.”Breeding” is not what you are born with.
It is the attribute of common decency that people apply in their
lifestyle . my opinion. You would not understand.
It transcends race,culture and circumstances.
Ag shame man.How does one
convince an amphibian?
2 Jun 2012, 15:14 pm
TOAD.Ag shame man.
2 Jun 2012, 15:14 pm
Even better: “Skopskiet Loves FuckingDynamite Sharks Forever”
2 Jun 2012, 15:20 pm
better you go ask your fake Lordy Lord who the toads are from the highly bred human species you reckon you are. poor deluded ignorant schmuck seeking recognition and ‘regards’ on a rugby blog of all auspiciously civilized places.
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-223:
whatever you decree is OK with me… though you got one huge unfair disadvantage this time.. if it were money I wouldn’t be betting not with Stormers carrying the woeful wounded into the Loftus cauldron of ill repute.. But pride and prestige don’t worry about results.. Stormers gonna still take these heathens up in their heilige high veld fortress. Watch.
2 Jun 2012, 15:22 pm
Out till later
much later
2 Jun 2012, 15:26 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-227: Good man… We shall see snot en trane later…
2 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-214:
Its not the Bulls or Stormers you should be worrying about.
2 Jun 2012, 15:37 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-214: You forget, that in the first week after the internationals, when the sharks have a bye, they will earn 4 points anyway. So, I hate to say, it looks even better for the sharks than you predicted
2 Jun 2012, 15:38 pm
@TooMuchRugby(TooMuchRugby)-231: Sorry, I see you have already included the points. My mistake…..
2 Jun 2012, 15:40 pm
@TooMuchRugby(TooMuchRugby)-231:
Sharks will finish 2nd at best though so will more than likely have to travel to NZ, HG thinks its the Curry cup must be a hangover from the old isolation days
2 Jun 2012, 15:53 pm
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-202: Carel was not given the time. He had one season in which he tried to take the Boks from the Maakgraaf era into a more expansive allround game. The difference between the lions series of 1997 and 2009 was one single successful kick at goal. In 1997 they had it and in 2009 we had it. The fruits of Carel’s labours were there to see. His last game was a record victory against Australia. The stalwarts of Mallets regime were identified and developed by Carel. The impatience shown by the SA hierarchy when he was sacked was the biggest step backwards since readmission.
2 Jun 2012, 15:56 pm
Oh woke up from your drunken stuper did you louis schropnel? Well done – yawn – still no intelligent analysis but more foul mouthed rhetoric that reminds me of a famous playwright who said “It is a tale told by an idiot – full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” Go F*u*c*k yourself you miserable little ponse – maybe your sister is waiting for you in the garage.
2 Jun 2012, 16:00 pm
202 ryecatcher – thank you for your “toadying” lol – what a miserable bore the man is – I will not answer him again.
2 Jun 2012, 16:03 pm
Fact is i am neither a Bulls supporter nor a Heyneke Meyer supporter particularly but do love my rugby and like to read intelligent analyisis from all sides on here. People like schropnel spoil the experience somewhat.
2 Jun 2012, 16:06 pm
If therw were no injuries this would be my bok team:
15 Jaco Taute
14 Gio Aplon
13 Jean De Villiers
12 Francois Steyn
11 Bryan Habana
10 Peter Grant
9 Francois Hougaard
8 Duane Vermeulen
7 Marcell Coetzee
6 Schalk Burger
5 Andries Bekker
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Jannie Du Plessis
2 Bismark Du Plessis
1 Tendai Mtawarira
16 Adriaan Strauss
17 Coenie Oosthuzyen
18 Juandre Kruger
19 Joshua Strauss
20 Jano Vermaak
21 Juan De Jongh
22 Joe Pietersen
….
23 Chillyboy Ralepelle
24 Werner Kruger
25 Willem Alberts
26 Heinrich Brussouw
27 Ruan Pienaar / Piet Van Zyl
28 Morne Steyn
29 Lwazi Mvovo / JP Pietersen
30 Patrick Lambie
2 Jun 2012, 16:25 pm
Rye @201
Yes, it will be very physical… I hope you team is up to it.
Good luck to them…!!
Oooohhhh… You mean the Bulls/Stormers game…!!
Yeah, it will be. Bulls should take it. But I’ll be backing mine…
STOOORmerrrs…!!
PA @ 210…
Have you seen the embargoed Bok list…?
No prob either way…
Trust the flu’s cleared up…!!
2 Jun 2012, 16:30 pm
My Springbok team if there were no injuries:
1. Beast
2. Adrian Strauss
3. Pat Cilliers
4. Etsebeth
5. Bekker
6. Brussouw
7. Duanne Vermeulen
8. Schalk Burger
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Goosen
11. Mvovo
12. Frans Steyn
13. Jean de Villiers
14. Willie le Roux
15. Joe Pietersen
16. Bismarck
17. Jannie du Plessis
18. Coenie Oosthuisen
19. Juandre Kruger
20. Francois Hougaard
21. Peter Grant
22. Brian Habana
2 Jun 2012, 16:42 pm
But as it is with ijuries;
1. Beast
2. Strauss
3. Pat Cilliers
4. Etsebeth
5. Juandre Kruger
6. Brussouw
7. Marcel
8. Spies
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Peter Grant
11. Mvovo
12. Frans Steyn
13. Jean de Villiers
14. Willie le Roux
15. Joe Pietersen
16. Bismarck
17. Coenie
18. Jannie
19. Willem Alberts
20. Francois Hougaard
21. Patrick Lambie
22. Brian Habana
2 Jun 2012, 16:43 pm
UFO @ 2239.
Hi Pal.Hope all games injury free.Go SHARKS
2 Jun 2012, 16:49 pm
Yeah Rye…
injury and ref-controversy free…
good luck to your sharks…
but today i have to back the lions… (as futile as that may be…)
2 Jun 2012, 16:52 pm
Far too many Stormers Rhys.
Grant?
Seriously?
Worst tackler of all our flyhalves?
I’ve also seen Thai chicks shoot pingpong balls further than he can kick the ball.
2 Jun 2012, 16:54 pm
Greybeard @ 236.Like you I love rugby.Particlarly when played by
THE SHARKS & BOKS.
The alliterative ****** has strutted and fretted his hour upon
the stage.Hopefully to be heard no more.
GO SHARKS.
2 Jun 2012, 17:43 pm
how’s THIS for a f’ng TURNUP FOR THE BOOKS
SharkieVarkie getting stuffed like the overrated guppies they Are !!
Whoopie I couldn’t have dreamed this ANY better than this
HG I reckon your overrated nick should read
Black/White SHITE is the rugbybitch of the Rampant Red Tide
Forget Stormers / Bulls Lions just turning the screws and the tables already turned 180 degrees from last week
GO LIONHEARTED LIONS OF MIRACLES OF MITCH
Little Lambiekins and Bossieslemmertjie getting OWNED by none other but LIONEL OF THE LiONS
2 Jun 2012, 18:01 pm
ryecatcher @ 245 – wonderful post!!! LMAO. But wait – I think i heard a yobbo’s voice again. Oh never mind…..enjoying the game but unfortunately cheering for the other team to you – mixed feelings here as I want to see the Sharks in the last 6, but cant help loving it when the Lions triumph (which they havent done yet mind). Cat help but think this puts the Kings debacle into persepctive – these Lions are on the right track and but for some rotten luck could have been so much better this season….
2 Jun 2012, 18:53 pm
Hard luck ryecatcher – and not a great result for SA rugby all round but DAMN I’m glad for the Lions!!!
2 Jun 2012, 18:58 pm
Aplon for Bok fullback, Lambie onto the bench.
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