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, 14:50 pm
idiot – why not just tell england our strategy before the game – keep quite for **** sakes
5 Jun 2012, 14:53 pm
OK so with sideshow bob @15 and Elton Janties and Ruan in the squad, this now means that Pat Lambie is now 2nd choice fullback…..what a crying shame, he would be my 1st choice @ no 10 if anything
5 Jun 2012, 14:54 pm
Geesus ….. why tell then the strategy?
5 Jun 2012, 14:54 pm
@JackShanghai(JackShanghai)-1:
Not as if there was any secret about HM’s tactics right from the start
5 Jun 2012, 14:55 pm
Nothing the English did not expect anyway
5 Jun 2012, 14:59 pm
@JackShanghai(JackShanghai)-1: It’s QUIET – or just plain “hoekom hou hy nie net sy bek nie!!!!” On the other hand (Darren) it could be mind games?
5 Jun 2012, 15:03 pm
its one thing to know the enemies plans
its another thing to be able to do anything about it.
5 Jun 2012, 15:09 pm
You have to be really daft not to have known that this was going to be the gameplan from the beginning – so its not as though he is letting out state secrets.
I am really amused to read about them taking it wide when the overlap is on. The only team in SA who do not butcher an overlap is the Cheetahs because they understand that you have to draw defenders to each of your backline players in order to utilize an overlap. Frans Steyn does two things with a rugby ball in open play: he either hangs on to it, or he gives a skip pass. Skip passes kill overlaps. Watch the junior Wallabies to see what a team looks like who distributes a rugby ball in the backline. It is awesome.
No chaps, expect forwards bashing it up all day long, followed by slow ball and Hougaard erecting camp behind the ruck only to repeat the whole process again. When the ball does go out to the backline, M Steyn stands deep, throws a long pass to whoever is outside him. He crashes into the opposition and a turnover ensues. That is if one of the Steyns does not kick the ball into oblivion. It is going to be thoroughly boring.
5 Jun 2012, 15:13 pm
Ok Meyer has said he believes Lambie is best at 15, but Loubscher believes he is best at 10. What say the Sharks about this?
5 Jun 2012, 15:17 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-7:
Thats correct, its like clive woodward said,everyone know that england would take the ball up with martin johnston but everyone knew it would take 3 x commited defenders to stop him and that was non-negotiable
5 Jun 2012, 15:17 pm
The human centipede behind the scrum strat does nothing except look retarded!
5 Jun 2012, 15:18 pm
@Couchcoach : So you’ll be watching Footballers’ wives then ? He…he…he…
The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food : Sharks would add in 12….
5 Jun 2012, 15:19 pm
its is my opinion too that kirchener is a better out of hand kicker than lambie at fb, as well is better suited to (and better) under the high ball.
lambie will have to focus his contest at #10 more than at #15 in this hm bok team because he will stick with what he likes for the next four years.
if he’s to force his way in then he is better off doing so at #10.
5 Jun 2012, 15:19 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-9:
that there rugby is packaged as ………… well !!!!!
5 Jun 2012, 15:21 pm
Poor Lambie being shoved out gently…
5 Jun 2012, 15:22 pm
Zane Kirchner our new fullback hero… It doesn’t get better now does it…
5 Jun 2012, 15:23 pm
@FFF(FFF)-14: I am asking them because they have mentioned that Pat is the best 10 in SA, as well as the best 15 in SA. So I’m not sure a bench position is what they had in mind for him?
5 Jun 2012, 15:23 pm
Maybe Lambie is too small for HM style of rugby!
5 Jun 2012, 15:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-9:
I am no Shark, but I believe he is the best 10 we have. He runs straight – thus making him one of the best potential distributors of a rugby ball to the backline. He has to be good if he can make Meyer Bosman look like something. He has pace off the mark as shown by his frequent line breaks and has a good kicking game. Defensively he is sound and very brave. He makes quick decisions and then executes that decision wholeheartedly.
I want my fullback to have gas to burn – ala Aplon. He must be able to run at forwards in the defensive line after the opposition kicked on him and beat them with quick footwork. I don’t think that Lambie has that sustained pace that is needed in that position.
Even with Goosen in mind, I believe that Lambie is our best option at 10 and if we give him JDV at 12, a player with strength and gas at 13 to either break the tackle or take the outside gap, I believe we will have a backline that will rival any team on the planet. There are some good young 13′s out there in the form of De Jongh, Taute and Jordaan. But if we are going to develop these guys’ talenst, the will has to be there among the coaches to play to their strengths. At present all the quick balls are going to the forwards in the 10/12 channel and the slow balls go to the 10 to try and conjure up something. Its pathetic really.
5 Jun 2012, 15:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-17:
Shame the Sharks feeling the wrath of HM! You have to feel for them… At least I rate him…
5 Jun 2012, 15:26 pm
@FFF(FFF)-10:
yip.
there are fools among us.
the boks will play to a telegraphed plan, yes
but with momentum and the space opening up when the english ‘feel the force’ will then look to do all the fancy stuff as and where fit.
5 Jun 2012, 15:26 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-17: Well at least he made the bench which is a whole lot more than Peter Grant, Aplon, De Jongh or Pietersen now isn’t it!
5 Jun 2012, 15:27 pm
Well if the coach doesn’t have faith in Lambie who are we to argue. He is a clever man and obviously knows better than us!
5 Jun 2012, 15:28 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-13:
Houston, we have a problem indeed if talent like his is going to be discarded because of the coach’s petty, nonsensical and farcical preferences.
5 Jun 2012, 15:28 pm
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-22:
yeah it is.. but Lambie that doesn’t change the fact that Lambie should be the Boks 15 if you don’t like those players or not. We are talking about Lambie now…
5 Jun 2012, 15:29 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-24:
We have being saying the same thing, but some people are calling us sour grapes… Lambie should well feel agrieved and rightly so.
5 Jun 2012, 15:29 pm
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-22: Bench should read squad
5 Jun 2012, 15:30 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-15:
you could say the same and more about ratel…
5 Jun 2012, 15:31 pm
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-22: I don’t think I mentioned Grant, Pietersen, Aplon or anyone else in my comment? Only Lambie, and I asked the opinion of Sharks fans, so your little we la kapela answer didn’t quite give me what I was looking for. Any other Sharks fan prepared to give it a go?
5 Jun 2012, 15:32 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-25: Actually Bill it was a knee jerk reaction to nonpedigreed’s comment, Aplon is one of my very favorite players and I don’t even like the Stormers, and I also like Pietersen!
5 Jun 2012, 15:32 pm
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-22:
Hello Sharksgirl. I feel your anguish and agree that Lambie should be starting at 10 if not 15. The new coach has his fav’s and you, like us will have to live with them… Getting angry helps with the healing.
5 Jun 2012, 15:33 pm
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-30:
It’s ok! I like Lambie and I don’t like Kirchner. This coach is irritating a lot of people believe you me…
5 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-26:
Bill, for how long have the rugby loving public waited for talent to emerge at 10? Now there is this predigiously talented youngster and he is being overlooked in favour of the very one-dimensional type of 10 that we have had scores of over the last decade. I cannot understand it.
Moreover, he has test experience already and has proven that he can bark with the big dogs, yet he is not given an opportunity. I am sure that his time will come, but what concerns me is the very conservative approach that Heyneke is taking. It does not look promising for talented players.
5 Jun 2012, 15:37 pm
Toby Flood?
I hope someone shoves him into the cameras like he did to Percy in 2007
5 Jun 2012, 15:37 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-33:
Mate I’m a believer… I cannot tolerate Stain or Kirchner. They were one dimensional against the Stormers and will be so against the Poms as well. There are numerous talented players being discarded by the coach but we will have to grin and bear it. He believes size and brawn is better than skill and gile…
5 Jun 2012, 15:38 pm
Zain gonna cause hearts to pain… ours.
5 Jun 2012, 15:38 pm
Go Ricardo!!!!
mike catt ain’t got s.hit on ricardo on backline/attack play, ask Tacitus!
5 Jun 2012, 15:39 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-37:
Change you nic to Stirrer…
5 Jun 2012, 15:40 pm
This new coach has made a few friends but many enemies…
The Pink Bulls and HG are huge fans…
5 Jun 2012, 15:40 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-8: 2009 all over again
5 Jun 2012, 15:41 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-29: “I am asking them because they have mentioned that Pat is the best 10 in SA, as well as the best 15 in SA. So I’m not sure a bench position is what they had in mind for him?” That sounds like you are trying to send us up, but if not, I apologise and here is my reply no I am not happy that a mediocre player like Krusty will start while Lambie sits on the bench, as to Krusty being good under the high ball so is Lambie and he offers much more,(maybe Loubscher has forgotten that up and under from Morne that Lambie caught with several of Loubscher’s bulls chasing hard which sealed the 2010 CC semi for the Sharks). However, I understand that Lambie is versatile and can play 3 positions well and so may be the best player to have coming off the bench as he covers so many positions, and introducing the unpredictability once the poms have been tired out. And if you whant my honest opinion I don’t understand how Krusty is in and Aplon out!
5 Jun 2012, 15:42 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-24:
come now coach,
i would not call them petty, non sensical or farcical. morne is and has been the incumbent #10 for a while now and is still the top scorerer in super rugby, with clost to the best if not the best stats. he was always going to start at #10.
added to this there has been healthy comp for the position with elton showing form at times, goosen making his mark, butch overstaying his welcome and grant keeping cape hearts in shape.
lambie has to beat all this and some in order to get a look in, no matter what. simply because the coach has a plan, a style and a idea of what he wants in the short term and probably in the medium term.
as good as lambie may have been… so have others….
we can accept he is not naturally a fb more so than he is a flyhalf so why convert him from his better position? especially when that position itself has many contenders? some of whom are much better in the position than lambie.
just to satisfy an emotional hurt for a young talent without a cause..?…
no man
this is the real world
and we are the springboks
its time take back our legacy
expect collateral losses.
5 Jun 2012, 15:42 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-40:
Yeah different coach same game plan…whatever…we are used to it…
5 Jun 2012, 15:42 pm
friendly fire
if you will
5 Jun 2012, 15:42 pm
All this crying over the Bok squad. Ever stop to consider the extent of England’s problems? I’d hate to have to choose between the fabulous mediocrity of Flood, Farrell and Hodgson at flyhalf. And Mouritz Botha, bless him, would not make the Lions squad.
5 Jun 2012, 15:43 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-35:
My only hope is that he is taking this ultra conservative route now because he has not had time to build a team who understands his philosophy. I can understand that he would then include mostly Bulls players, but then he should say so and not make excuses and say silly things such as Kirchner is the best fullback in the country. That is bound to piss people off. Too many things don’t add up for me – and here I was believing that common sense would prevail under him. TSK TSK TSK
5 Jun 2012, 15:45 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-43:
no bill
this time its different
this time its all about winning
5 Jun 2012, 15:46 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-46:
He has been very sly and dishonest in his comments. He says he will select form players and selects Kirchner and Spies… He says he will choose the best captain and the each franchise has good candidates and then pleads for Matfield and Fourie to return. If you believe a word he says you are the most gullable person around…
5 Jun 2012, 15:46 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-8: the poms had no answer for willem alberts though he battered them into submission, they managed to score in the last minute when cj threw an errant pass that foden snatched for an intercepted…
the poms will feel the pain again!
5 Jun 2012, 15:46 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food(The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food)-17:
OK here is how it is, i may be wrong, but i never heard of HM saying that Lambie is better suited for 15 then 10, its was always said by Keo staff, after Morne Steyn said in the SA rugby mag that “I hear they want to use him as a 15″ (something to that effect)
Now how and why would he get first hand info like that from the bok coaching staff (cause that would be worrying) and would it not be convenient for the incumbent bok no 10 tosay something like that to get reporters tails wagging to take pressure of his spot by saying things that would set people off in that direction cause after all he did the “they” and not “him” and in HM
After alll the article did read “This is my jersey come and get it” or something to that effect
agin i stand to be corrected…..but that would make scenes
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