Bok bullies key in close-quarter scrap
6 Jun 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the forward battles as well as the physical clashes in midfield promise to be the most significant in Saturday’s Test at Kings Park.
There’s already been a fair bit said about the high level of physicality we should expect in the series opener. It’s always been decisive in previous bouts between South Africa and England, and in any sporting series, the team that lands the first blow is often the team that sets the tone for that game as well as the matches to follow.
South Africa boast a terrific record against England. There was a time when they struggled against this side, but since Jake White’s Boks broke the Twickenham curse in 2006, the Boks have gone undefeated in seven Tests. Every one of those victories has been built on forward dominance, and across the board the Boks have aimed to win the collisions more than anything else.
We’ve all heard why Heyneke Meyer has selected the squad that he has, and why he is not taking the English lightly. The Boks will go into this series without several key forwards, Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Andries Bekker to be specific, and this makes them a slightly less imposing force at the set pieces and collisions.
Bekker is without peer as a lineout manager in this country while Burger and Vermeulen are among the most abrasive loose forwards on the planet. There are still some quality alternatives, and Juandre Kruger will be expected to play a Bekker-type role at No 5. Similarly, Willem Alberts and Marcell Coetzee will have massive jobs to do on defence and in a ball-carrying capacity.
Winning clean set-piece ball and then dominating the battle at the gainline will be the Boks’ priority on Saturday. Expect the hosts to keep it simple. They haven’t had much time to prepare as a unit, so there won’t be anything flash or fancy. They will aim to subdue the English through a powerful set-piece performance and then an even stronger ball-carrying showing round the fringes and in midfield.
They will also aim to pressure the English back three with a barrage of high kicks. They have the physicality in chasers like Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen to trouble the English in the air. Kicking specialist Morné Steyn is a terrific exponent of this tactic and will cause the visitors problems, and South Africa should benefit from any mistakes. However, I’m concerned that Francois Hougaard, who is being touted to start, is not as accurate with his tactical kicking and may not be as successful in creating that pressure.
If the Boks manage to win the set-piece battles, they have the midfield to take them beyond the gainline. In Frans Steyn and Jean de Villiers they have two men in excess of 100kg, and as was evident at last year’s World Cup, Steyn is difficult to stop whenever he gets the ball on the front foot. England will have some physical midfield players in Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi, but if the England pack is retreating, Barritt and Tuilagi could be in for a difficult time on defence.
While I think that Hougaard has struggled this season with his tactical kicking, he is the type of player suited to such a combative fixture. Again, much will depend on the collective showing of the Bok pack, but if the home side dominates, Hougaard can take advantage with those strong runs from the base. If anything, he will keep the English loose forwards a bit closer to the ruck and create more space for Frans Steyn and De Villiers to run at the defence and thus cross the gainline.
To say physicality will be all-important in a South Africa vs England clash is stating the obvious. However, the selections that Meyer is set to make suggest he is not taking this England side for granted. If you need proof that there are no guarantees in matches like these, then look no further than Scotland’s win against the Wallabies in Australia on Tuesday. A big, physical Bok pack will be selected for Saturday’s match as well as a combative centre pairing.
The Boks will aim to play a game of pressure and use the big boys to full effect. It may not be pretty and in the first game of the season it won’t be polished, but Meyer’s method is the right one considering the mindset of the opposition.
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79 Comments
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6 Jun 2012, 08:38 am
The water appears to be much calmer around here today.
Or is that just the calm before the Storm?
6 Jun 2012, 08:40 am
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-49:
Nope…will we have a good old fashioned “bore-bet” on that (to sensitive people out there – “boere-bet” is a term for a friendly bet: good old fashioned handshake and bet for nothing really… so, over sensitive race conscious poepholle, don’t crucify me now) ?
I will be back here after announcement. You game?
6 Jun 2012, 08:42 am
Britney Spiere needs to focus on his game…and only on that. I really hope (have been hoping for about 5 years now) that he will perform as we all know he should be able to perform…ever-the-optimist.
6 Jun 2012, 08:44 am
@wpstormerbok(wpstormerbok)-50:
ja,
this is a time for heroes, not zeroes
6 Jun 2012, 08:46 am
@OUToftheBOKS(OUToftheBOKS)-52:
Ok! Was hoping for a couple of Mugabe’s oh (Bobs) but OK
6 Jun 2012, 08:47 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-54:
Jy is skerp vanoggend ne!
6 Jun 2012, 08:48 am
Anyone want to discuss the past weekend games?
6 Jun 2012, 08:53 am
Ek het n glas Oros in die kamer gelos vir so week, toe vra die huishulp vir my: “Is dit ou-Oros?”. Ek se toe: “nee, dis ou-ou-ou-ou-Oros!”.
Had to post that!
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-55:
You never know! I will be here after the team announcement – hopefully they confirm the V/C, but it will be Bis 8)
6 Jun 2012, 08:54 am
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-56:
ja, so skerp soos wp se middelveld aanval
6 Jun 2012, 08:55 am
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-57:
If you mean any Bulls or Sharks then no is the answer.
6 Jun 2012, 09:01 am
“Bekker is without peer as a lineout manager in this country..” – what a load of bollocks. Kruger dominates the lineout in every game he has played this season including the Stormers vs Bulls clash at Newlands. With all his potential Bekker should by now have been the #1 lock in world rugby but unless he gets mentally stronger he will always be a ‘Bok Great could have been’. It is time people, regardless of which province you support, realise rugby pedigree does not always ensure greatness, just look at a player like M Coetzee. A no name player with no so called rugby pedigree, but a player with the hunger and mental toughness that has ensured he reaches the top.
6 Jun 2012, 09:14 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-44:
Indeed… and then you have the multi-Gatsby-swallowing whale at the head of WP rugby… not a good look all ’round’…
6 Jun 2012, 09:25 am
How dissapointing was Kitshoff for the Baby boks , I have never rated this guy, Keble was much better when he came on.
6 Jun 2012, 09:26 am
@ddewet(ddewet)-61:
Bollocks you say?
How do you then explain the fact that Bekker took the most lineout balls of all SA locks in superrugby (stats as per last Thursday) despite missing some action previously in the season.?
How do you know that Bekker is not mentally strong? The bloke has been playing a number of matches with an injured back and was clearly pushing himself through the pain barrier.He also had to fight back a number of times after injuries and operations to his back. That speaks a lot for his mental strenght in my opinion.
6 Jun 2012, 09:31 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-64:
he takes so much ball because they only have him and Elizabeth to throw to.
6 Jun 2012, 09:34 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-64:
well said rob…
people should’ve seen him curled up on his knees in pain at newlands… then get up… straighten his back… and carry on playing… and putting in huge hits…
6 Jun 2012, 09:39 am
Applaud Meyer , first he picks 13 Bulls vs 3 Strompies, and all in Strompie land goes crazy ( although they not quite sure who should have been in the team )
Now he picks a Strompies Captain , and now all the Strompie Supporters are happy again ??
6 Jun 2012, 09:41 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-65:
Duanne also took quite a number of bals before his was injured as well as Koster.
Another thing that makes Bekker even better is that he had to deal quite often with the worst lineout thrower in the competition namely Fourie. Any lock who can catch a ball thrown in by that man deserves a medal.It excludes the locks of the oposing team of course.
6 Jun 2012, 09:43 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-64: Eben takes about 20% of the ball on him, Yes I agree it seems to me that Bekker does not really want it, this could be his year , Vic is out , table is set for Bekker , does he want it ?
6 Jun 2012, 09:54 am
@capebull(capebull)-67:
Theres nothing like stupid generalization. Thats similar to saying all bulls supporters are knuckle dragging neanderthals, when actually only some are.
6 Jun 2012, 10:13 am
or captonians are all *** when only some are
6 Jun 2012, 10:52 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-71:
Touche
or
Douche
6 Jun 2012, 11:15 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-62:
yip.
its like kulubuse promoting exercise videos.
does not compute nicely.
6 Jun 2012, 11:42 am
“the team that lands the first blow is often the team that sets the tone”
can you guys stop teasing Keo for one day plz?
geez!
6 Jun 2012, 13:04 pm
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-55:
Bissie for v/c…told….you…so 8)
6 Jun 2012, 13:36 pm
@DAS(DAS)-4:
South Africa do have good runners but none of them have proven that they are “feared” by opposition as Dagg, Guildford, O’Connor etc have. Funniest thing is the players mostly touted for being in that class all come from the Stormers. What irony. If that doesn’t prove that the public buys into hype and not substance then I don’t know what will…
Aplon is good sure but he would mostly play wing for the Boks and there he has three skilled and powerful wings ahead of him; JP, Habana and Mvovo. Which one would you drop? Bad luck for Aplon.
Pietersen and de Jongh are NOT nearly in the same league. No Super 15 team worries about de Jongh more than say Peter Grant. Good, reliable players you can build a successful team on but nothing special at international level. Other than Pietersen’s one solo try what has either of those two done this season that makes them “feared”? Simply nothing.
6 Jun 2012, 14:09 pm
@capebull(capebull)-63: Yeah and what does that say about the so-called toughest competion in the world (superrugby)?
6 Jun 2012, 21:16 pm
This article discusses a match against England purely by reference to South African players. I would like to know more about their opponents. Who are their forwards? Do they have a ‘lineout king’. What sort of game are they expected to play/?What are their strengths and weaknesses? Even the names of some of them would be informative.
They might just as well be a an anonymous team from Mars.
6 Jun 2012, 21:18 pm
Correction-we do get the names of two of their backs,one of whom is from the South Seas and one whose name I seem to have heard before in a South African context…
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