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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1 Jun 2012, 13:03 pm
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. @Airwell(Airwell)-46: I’m not worried about race, Mark Keohane is
1 Jun 2012, 13:04 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-50: I do not agree I think he is the best allround FB we have
1 Jun 2012, 13:08 pm
@4moreyears(4moreyears)-45: Basson’s defense is nowhere near good enough, imho
1 Jun 2012, 13:09 pm
the days of political selections must end
Lambie has never let the Bok side down. offers more then Zane.
1 Jun 2012, 13:16 pm
@4moreyears(4moreyears)-27: Yip can’t wait, got my test tickets by my bed
Also couldnt recognise any of the players in Sa Barbarians games, thought it would have been a great opportunity for the guys just missing out on the test series to prove themselves and soften up the poms
1 Jun 2012, 13:18 pm
@Airwell(Airwell)-52:
ok
we disagree.
anyway, its his out of hand kicking i think is not the best for a fb (or of the fb’s).
1 Jun 2012, 13:20 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-54: Why MUST place be made for players in the team? You are either the BEST in a position or NOT. If Lambie is not the best 10, nor the best 15 – he should be benched as a utility back covering 10 and 15, or not be on the team sheet at all. If a player has been the best performing dude in a specific position for a period of time (I.e. S15 thus far) that player surely to hell has the inside track for the specific position in which he has excelled? Why on earth would Mvovo, JPP, Habs etc perform all season – only to be jilted for a guy who IS a 9? Or Joe Pietersen and Kirchner do their thing all season at 15, only to be shunted for a player who isn’t the 1st choice Bok 10, but ‘needs’ to be on the field? Nah man – this is such a Graham Henry 2007 approach. I don’t like it.
1 Jun 2012, 13:25 pm
Mallet is so harsh on poor Spies. Has never rated him at all… Strange I haven’t either…
1 Jun 2012, 13:27 pm
If you want people of colour chosen then go for the Kolisis, Ralapheles, Ndunganes, etc…
1 Jun 2012, 13:29 pm
How many players of colour must be in the team? Just asking!
1 Jun 2012, 13:34 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-59: He should choose Adriaan Strauss – he has yellow hair, blue eyes and red cheeks.
1 Jun 2012, 13:34 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-57: However proving yourself at Super 15 level is very different to test level and Lambie is the incumbent Bok 15
1 Jun 2012, 13:48 pm
LAMBIE at fullback!
1 Jun 2012, 13:50 pm
@Bok fan(Bok fan)-62: All I’m saying is, if this game is as professional as we like to believe, Lambie should be the incumbent Bok 10, if he was to be the incumbent Bok ‘anything – because that is where he plays, and where one can measure his progression, AND can compare him to other contenders. If he is the Bok 15 – then he is a 15 – that’s all, and he plays there all season for his franchise, as well as the boks (if he the best). If you can honestly tell me that Lambie (in his what, 2 appearances at 15 this season?) is a better 15 than Joe P (at this stage) – then you also buy into the ‘must have him on the field at all costs’ theory. You can’t even compare Lambie to Joe P at the moment, because Lambie hasn’t played enough at 15. Lambie wouldn’t let the Boks down – but he sure as ticky isn’t the best 15 in SA. And NO, the Super 15 isn’t test level – but how on earth else does a player prove himself, if he doesn’t even get a shot at test level (because his position is being reserved for a chap who plays it ‘part time’.)
1 Jun 2012, 13:58 pm
@Bok Shark(Bok Shark)-60:
Are you a person of coloured?
1 Jun 2012, 13:59 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-64: I agree with you, Lambie should be playing at 15, but Plumtree wanted Michalak at 9 most of the season, that’s way he played at 10. I think Lambie should focus on 15, cause Goosen is the way forward!
1 Jun 2012, 14:00 pm
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-65: I’m as white as they come.
1 Jun 2012, 14:04 pm
@Bok Shark(Bok Shark)-67:
Well done on being white
1 Jun 2012, 14:07 pm
@Bok Shark(Bok Shark)-67:
Just taking the piss Bok Shark, at a flippin terrible aspect of our game, I hate with a passion.
Kirchner is a player I just can’t relate to and cringe when his in the team. Same goes for Wynand Olivier.
Meyer can choose whoever he wants to it’s his neck on the line. And no their no numbers he has to adhere to.
1 Jun 2012, 14:10 pm
Meyer will be under pressure to select black players
If they find that all his 50-50′s go for non-black players the heat will be turned on
My advice to him is to demonstrate the desire and willingness early on
1 Jun 2012, 14:13 pm
wow and the *** creeping begins Mr Keohane!! now your man is in charge a more empathetic approach to the boks has evolved. I wonder for how long? well i hope for the next four years!! although i’m sure you might have something to say about the colour of his t-shirt or his hair cut, cause lets face it you know vok all about rugby!! I mean Juan Smith would walk into the team without having played a game if it was up to you! Seriously i think you should think about commentating on hockey or may pin ball not rugby please!
1 Jun 2012, 14:23 pm
I am a Bulls supporter but it seems like when Zane plays for the Boks he gets stage fright and only runs straight into defenders or makes poor kicks…I think he is good enough and had a couple chances without making an impression. Good luck if you get another chance…but it should be on merit…
Anyhow the Bulls would beat the poms anyway, so the only changes i would make is adding Jdv, Bismarck, Frans and Fdp. Hougie is better at wing anyway…
HM should build a team around the Bulls and surely he will….sorry sharks and stormers….win a trophee first and then try to stake you claim!!!!
1 Jun 2012, 14:28 pm
Nice article keo, but this is a horrendous oversight: “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.”
1 Jun 2012, 14:28 pm
The Poms aren’t exactly the World Beaters, not sure what’s the fuss?
Also what HM might have perceived as the ‘Safe Options’ with FdP, Habana, JdV or Morne Styen may not necessarily be that safe
The Safest option for HM’s job security however would be to pick the Beast, Chiliboi, Kolisi, JP, Habana, JdJ and Aplon in his match 22!
1 Jun 2012, 14:31 pm
@Hondo(Hondo)-74:
Black power hey….
1 Jun 2012, 14:33 pm
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-70: @Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-59:
That will be bad for the wagers taking like myself, the test results will become too predictable
I suspect that there is a pressure mounted on HM lately to include more quotas than he originally undertook to when appointed for the job, you need to read Keo’s between the lines, he is well connected.
1 Jun 2012, 14:35 pm
@Hondo(Hondo)-74:
Calling a “spade a spade”.
In a previous post I said there’s no numbers he has to adhere to but the English tour is his opportunity to show his cards and the numbers will definitely reveal the way forward.
1 Jun 2012, 14:39 pm
What’s all this about people of coloured.
1 Jun 2012, 14:41 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-78:
I dunno some people still seem to classify…
1 Jun 2012, 14:51 pm
Agreed on jp, forgot about him. He is sa best 15 right now. I would wanna c goosen for next 10 jersey…that being said I dont know what pos would b best for lamb, utility?
1 Jun 2012, 14:52 pm
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-70:
” My advice to him is to demonstrate the desire and willingness early on….”
My advice would be the same.
Be your own man from the start.
Take no ****.
Be true unto yourself.
Select on merit.
1 Jun 2012, 14:53 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-78: @ossewa(ossewa)-79:
Lambie or Zane at 15 because of black representation. Mark Keohane started it! Simley face!
1 Jun 2012, 14:57 pm
@cane(cane)-81:
Peter De Villiers has left the building but the more things change the more they stay the same.
1 Jun 2012, 15:10 pm
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-83:
A Coach is appointed to “do a job”.
In the professional era of Rugby …………………………This means win.
Or at least do the best, with what resourses and talent he has available.
If he is hamstrung, then it should be public knowledge.
1 Jun 2012, 15:11 pm
I hope Meyer doesnt play Side Bob Kirtchner. It’s embarrassing for a top rugby nation to have such an average player at fullback. Lambie in for Sideshow, if black representation is a problem take out the quota Spies and put in a real 8th man like Johnson. Not only is he a far a better player but he’ll appease the politicians too.
1 Jun 2012, 15:14 pm
@ossewa(ossewa)-72: He doesn’t do much when he plays for the Bulls either. He’ll kick a bomb or do a funny shuffle and run straight into a defender. Ridiculous to have such an impotent player starting for the Springboks.
1 Jun 2012, 15:20 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-54: Aplon has never let the Boks down, offers WAY more than Lambie.
1 Jun 2012, 15:20 pm
@SpiesIsWorthless(SpiesIsWorthless)-85: 100% Cause Krusty said so!
1 Jun 2012, 15:21 pm
Mallet at it again
Cape Town – Former Springbok and Italy coach Nick Mallett says players plying their trade overseas should not be picked for the Boks.
He told Beeld those players aren’t keen on the hard, physical game here in South Africa and are seeking and easy way out to make money.
He hinted at scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, who is a strong candidate to lead the Boks, when he spoke about the upcoming three-Test series against England.
“The guys that go play overseas, especially Japan, often see it as an easy pay-day and they know they won’t suffer like they would had they played here in South Africa.
“The rugby there is much easier and calmer in comparison to the guys who play Super Rugby week in, week out.
“I feel really sorry for Heyneke (Meyer, Bok coach). To play against England a week after two derby matches (Bulls-Stormers, Lions-Sharks) is no joke,” said Mallett.
The first Test against England starts in Durban next Saturday (June 9), followed by Tests in Johannesburg (June 16) and Port Elizabeth (June 23).
1 Jun 2012, 15:32 pm
@SpiesIsWorthless(SpiesIsWorthless)-86:
Dont really agree, he is a good defender and very fast. Yes he does kick Bombs with a capital B….how long will it take people, moreover how long will it take some South Africans to appreciate that it is the essence of SA rugby and you should cheer when a player does it well….I just watched the Rebels get done with a simple SA game plan. Nothing special but Jakes boys won to a team rhat smashed the crusaders….
F the non believers HM will choke the **** out of opponent with the Bulls (SA) blueprint…
1 Jun 2012, 15:32 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-78: Keo always starts the “colour” debate….it’s the HITS baby
Will PdV stay colour blind?
Monday, May 4th, 2009
In 2008 Peter de Villiers picked his side on merit and he needs to persist with this policy despite injuries to several non-white players, writes Keo in Business Day.
Post-election analysis concluded that 15 years after democracy there was still too much emphasis on race in determining voter allegiance. I fear race will be as contentious an issue when Springbok coach Peter de Villiers names his first match 22 for the British and Irish Lions series.
Just six months ago, De Villiers was wondering what all the fuss about non-white selection was. He confidently picked coloured and black players because they were the best in their positions — consistently selecting six in his national starting XV.
South African rugby, with a non-white coach and good non-white representation entirely merited on ability, was in a racial state of calm. Team selection discussion focused on player ability, not pigmentation. It was bliss.
It won’t be the case in a few weeks. Conrad Jantjes, last season’s first-choice Bok fullback, is out with an injury. Adi Jacobs, the preferred option at outside centre, is in doubt and Ricky Januarie, at scrumhalf, can’t command a start with the sad sack Stormers.
De Villiers, in 2008, could not once be accused of not picking on merit. There were contentious selections, like Jacobs instead of Fourie, but it was based on the coach’s belief in rugby ability.
Can he be as consistent when the non-white numbers are not there because of injury and loss of form? If he isn’t, it will be a regression.
De Villiers has a responsibility to select on merit, but the South African rugby media has as big a responsibility to respect that right of any national coach, and to focus on the rugby merits of those chosen to beat the Lions.
There are many dial-a-quote politicians, retired rugby players and administrators who will give a sensational sound bite based on numbers and the colour of those numbers. They have to be ignored. Too many trees have been lost in giving these guys a platform.
Transformation will have passed a test if the only cross-examination of De Villiers’s selection is confined to rugby.
This entry was posted on Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Lions Tour, Springboks.
1 Jun 2012, 15:33 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-87:
Dude you must be high….
1 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
@Izwe Lethu(Koos van der merwe)-89: he’s right though
1 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-91:
Wow you can copy paste….
1 Jun 2012, 15:36 pm
@Izwe Lethu(Koos van der merwe)-89: cue Tacitus with a b.Itch a.ss moan
1 Jun 2012, 15:41 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-87:
I wouldn’t mind Aplon at 15. But then we have to be very carful who we pick at 11 & 14.
For example, if FDP starts at 9 and Meyor plays FH at 14, then Lambie is your man. Cool, calm and can put the more explosive players away.
Personally, my back 3 would be:
15: Lambie
14: JPP
11: Aplon
I not sure we have the right wingers to compliment Aplon at 15.
1 Jun 2012, 15:45 pm
@Hondo(Hondo)-74: Don’t take this the wrong way, but players like Aplon, Habana and JdJ are not black enough anymore to satisfy the powers that be.
1 Jun 2012, 15:45 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-57:
Because Form is not the only criteria
1 Jun 2012, 15:46 pm
@ossewa(ossewa)-72:
Agree with you on Zane.
But you do realize the only Bulls in the run on 15 are going to be:
Kruger (and only because Bekker is hurt)
FH
Morne
How can you suggest that HM builds his team around a Bulls team that only provides 3-4 players?
I do however believe that the Bulls gameplan from 2010 is the way to go.
1 Jun 2012, 15:47 pm
Marcell Coetzee and Eben could be the only new caps in Meyers squads
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