Bok bulldozers eye axis
5 Jun 2012
Ricardo Loubscher says the Springboks will target England’s 10-12 channel as their primary source of momentum.
The 10-12 combination of Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt started all but two matches of England’s Six Nations campaign and could be the preferred partnership for Saturday’s Test at Kings Park, although Charlie Hogson and Toby Flood are options at pivot.
Injury curtailed Flood’s involvement for the start of the Six Nations and Hodgson and Farrell were then preferred upon his return. However, Flood is the most experienced player in the squad with 47 caps, and in a Test of this magnitude coach Stuart Lancaster may well opt for him to steer the ship. In this case Farrell would shift to inside centre and Barritt to No 13.
However, Loubscher sounded an ominous warning to whoever fronts in the 10-12 channel. Speaking in the context of their attacking game plan, the Springbok backline coach said: ‘We have to earn the right to go wide. We are going to play directly and attack the 10-12 channel. So obviously the wings won’t get the ball in the early phases. If we create overlap opportunities we’ll be in business. We have a philosophy that we believe in. Our job is to get in behind the pack of forwards and to get guys to finish from there.’
Frans Steyn, who’ll start at inside centre, will be used in conjunction with key strike runners to try and generate the momentum the Springboks seek. Loubscher, however, stressed that Steyn offered more and would be used as more than a battering ram.
‘I’m excited to have him there because he has the skills set to play flyhalf as well. You are at an advantage when you have a 10-12 axis that are good decision makers and have the added bonus of a great kicking game.’
Loubscher continued, adding that even though there is a widely held perception that Jean de Villiers is being compromised by being asked to shift to the relatively unfamiliar role of outside centre, he felt it was the position he was best suited to.
‘Considering how we want to play, I would prefer to have Jean at outside centre. We see our 12 as the man to get us over the advantage line, and then when the ball is recycled the idea is to have your best decision maker at outside centre, and that man is Jean,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Monday’s training session shed some light on who would start at fullback. Zane Kirchner ran in the position for the majority of the session and the Bulls man, who has drifted between solid and outstanding in Super Rugby, is expected to oust Pat Lambie.
The pick will be viewed as a conservative one by many, but it would not be unexpected given Meyer’s familiarity with the player and what he offers in the context of their game plan and as a counter to England’s. Speaking of the two, Loubscher expressed the view that Lambie was in fact better suited to flyhalf.
‘They are different players. Zane is strong under the high ball and has strong kicking game. If you look at Lambie at flyhalf he brings an X factor. I think Pat is best suited to playing at flyhalf,’ he said.
‘If you’ve watched him at the Sharks he makes good decisions under pressure and that’s what you would expect from your 10. But it is all about what is needed on the day – if you want your impact at 10 or at fullback.’
By Ryan Vrede, in Durban
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175 Comments
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5 Jun 2012, 17:34 pm
@carol(carol)-147: Damn timeline.
Still don’t see them…..
Will check later again.
5 Jun 2012, 17:35 pm
@carol(carol)-150:
No. There were two names mentioned here and his wasn’t one of them. It came as a bit of a surprise.
5 Jun 2012, 17:43 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-146: Apart from one or two borderline decisions I’m not mortified with the squad. Just wondering from a devil’s advocate point of view really.
5 Jun 2012, 17:46 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-9:
Prefer Lambie at 10.
5 Jun 2012, 17:48 pm
@Nikita(Nikita)-152:
Jean would be my No 1 choice.
5 Jun 2012, 18:31 pm
Joanne.
Here, one learns very quickly to HTFU!
5 Jun 2012, 19:40 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-156: well said Angie…i admit i had a chuckle @ Jojo’s little rant…
if the shoe fits
5 Jun 2012, 19:53 pm
Again — music to the ears of most coaches. SA will rely on a limited game plan, based 100% on achieving complete forward dominance? Shocking. So original and creative. That’s why Meyer earns the big paycheck, huh?
Thank God it will be hard for opposition to know what they’re getting from the Boks. Most be a nightmare for them to figure out where to prepare.
5 Jun 2012, 21:08 pm
No he doe’snt mr loubsher, every time frans steyn has played 10 he has fukedup. do not play him there especially when we need a kick to touch on our own line!!
5 Jun 2012, 21:14 pm
http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/06/06/campo-springboks-go-combinations-youngsters/
for all you stupid phucks that keep on whining and not supporting your coach HM and his selection of boks to face the english – read it and wheep!!!!
5 Jun 2012, 21:24 pm
Wat is jy so moeilik
5 Jun 2012, 21:55 pm
What is this coke scandal that Keo is now in?
5 Jun 2012, 22:32 pm
PDiv’s asked(in a radio interview this am) if he’d invite Oregan H around to his pad for a braai. Replies(spontaneously) that if he was hungry he would. But if he wasn’t why would he? I had to pull over before I caused an accident. I miss this dude plenty. He’s bloody sharp and very bladdie amusing.
5 Jun 2012, 22:57 pm
@TASSIES(TASSIES)-163: classic! Lol
6 Jun 2012, 01:56 am
What are the chances of HM surprising and starting Lambie at 10?
6 Jun 2012, 02:13 am
Seriously…..
We’re going to contemplate what Ricardo Loubser thinks???? This D00S coaches Vodacom Cup…..and we’re going to take his word at an international level?
F#ck him!!
He is so far off being an international coach it’s not funny! It’s like the ANC wanting a say in who the IMF gives money to. This clown is just another political quota joke…..
God help us against the English with our one dimensional BUL coach and a chimp for the backline……..
6 Jun 2012, 02:43 am
WOW the BOK BULLDOZERS are going to win the game for the Boks…boring and no way, the English will put them to the sword. All it will take is the English to score a couple of quick tries and the Boks will fall apart, they have no plan B…ummm..yes they do….KICK IT…come on you guys, what is going to change with the Boks game from 2009, when all they did was kick, wait for the mistake and convert it to points, but ahhh the AB’s sorted that out and come 2010 did the Boks 6 and 0…end of story on that, but then 2011 of course the AB’s won the RWC and just by watching your U-20 Team, looks like the DNA of the Boks game is surely enshrined in this Team also…so I am picking the English to win and win well, even the AB’s would have a tough time dealing with them but then the AB’s would still win that game….Loubser has after all given away your game plan…duhhhh!!! I wonder what the English will do…lets see…keep the ball away from the 10-12 channel oh yes….easy to see and easy to do…bulldozers cant run very fast anyway….for the series…3-0 to the English…easy as mince pie…
6 Jun 2012, 05:32 am
@CT Shark(CT Shark)-166: Actually he now coaches at international level and wouldn’t get there if he didn’t know his stuff.
Jake and Divvy did not even have vodacom cup experience. Get over it.
6 Jun 2012, 07:18 am
Hopefully at least some of this is made up and the Boks are not giving anything away. Reminds me of a few disasters of the past – du Plessis being one. As tot he players – let Heineken have his way the proof is in the eating. I don’t think Barritt and Farrell will be pushovers, even for F Steyn and certainly not M Steyn. Remeber also in the RWC what happened when F Steyn was injured in a game he needn’t have even played in! When a key player is gone, team self belief falters. The AB’s know this; that is why BoD was deliberately targeted in the Lions tour and Smit by Thorne in NZ.
Forget the individual players for a moment – rugby is a team game and HM needs to quickly weld up a team with some self belief otherwise he’ll be on the back foot. One way is to start with players that know each other but Test rugby is a little different to S15. SA teams are notoriously fragile and one dimensional – you could see this in both the Lions vs Sharks & Bulls vs Stormers games. When things didn’t follow the plan; key players didn’t deliver, set pieces went wobbly and in fact wobbles started all over.
Hopefully HM can counter this with solid set pieces and flexible tactics; even in the face of dodgy refs. Ask the Lions in their last visit to SA – they couldn’t beat Brycie; but neither could the Boks in RWC!
6 Jun 2012, 08:01 am
@slow114(slow114)-165:
Zero!
6 Jun 2012, 08:03 am
@CT Shark(CT Shark)-166: Gav??
lol
6 Jun 2012, 08:07 am
All the English have to do is watch last weeks match of the Bulls, they will know how to take care of the kick and bulldoze game,
Eish why do we have to keep being so one dimentionable
6 Jun 2012, 08:45 am
Frans Steyn will take the crash ball time and time again, he will never pass and more often than note will lose the ball in the contact situation.
6 Jun 2012, 09:36 am
This gives nothing away. Frans Steyn automatically attacks the 10-12 channel whether it’s in the gameplan or not. That’s what big inside centres do, and he does it better than most.
6 Jun 2012, 11:32 am
Morning folks,
Boy, did I miss some drama on the weekend I believe
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