Breakdown turnaround root of success
10 Jun 2012
Heyneke Meyer identified the Springboks’ improvement at the gainline and breakdown as the reason for their better second half performance against England at Kings Park.
The Springboks struggled to find an attacking groove in the first half, with their primary strike runners regularly repelled by accurate and physical defence from the tourists. They looked rudderless at times on attack as a result, but improved markedly in this facet of play in the second half and were able to ask far more probing questions of England.
Asked what his directive to his charges had been at half-time, Meyer said: ‘I’m very emotional, sometimes I lose it. Jean [de Villiers, captain] was brilliant at half-time and I said to the forwards they have to get stuck in better because I wanted to up the tempo. They responded and we got better cleans and our ball carriers got into the game. When that happened I felt there were times we played some brilliant rugby.’
Speaking about the officiating at the breakdown De Villiers explained he felt referee Steve Walsh was ‘quick on the call’ [to penalise the Springboks], but stressed the responsibility rests with them to improve.
Central to their second half showing was the ball-carrying potency of blindside flank Willem Alberts, who earned the Man of the Match award off the back of an outstanding performance. Meyer was lavish in his praise of Alberts, and noted his back row partners’ contribution as well.
‘I was very happy with the loose forwards, I think they were important in us winning the game,’ he said. ‘Willem was brilliant. I spoke to him during Super Rugby and told him he was going to start and I wanted him to be at his best. He was awesome. Marcell Coetzee, starting his first Test, was unbelievable. People criticised that selection but he showed his class. Pierre [Spies] had one of his better Test matches as well. They’ll get better as a combination the more they play together.’
He also spoke highly of Bryan Habana’s showing. The winger has struggled in Tests in the last four years but looked sharp and dangerous throughout the match.
‘Bryan has probably played his best rugby for me. We’ve had long chats and I told him he needs to enjoy the game again, and be that vibrant player he had been at his best. He got to the point where he was just too conservative. He doesn’t have the X factor when he is like that, so I encouraged him to take risks. He was brilliant at times tonight, and he’ll grow from here.’
Meyer was absolutely clear when asked about possible changes for the Johannesburg Test next week.
‘I don’t believe in giving jerseys away, you earn the chance so I’ll stick to the same team. We don’t have a lot of time, two more Tests and then they go back to Super Rugby. They have to get game time together,’ he said.
233 Comments
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9 Jun 2012, 20:59 pm
The more things change, the more they stay the same dragons?
9 Jun 2012, 21:03 pm
Hougaard must go to the bench. Pienaar controlled the game better. Kirchner must make way for Lambie. Otherwise a good performance given that they had four days of working together
9 Jun 2012, 21:03 pm
” The winger has struggled in Tests in the last four years but looked sharp and dangerous throughout the match”.
Really? The last 4 years? FOUR years, he’s been struggling in Tests?
Words fail me.
9 Jun 2012, 21:14 pm
Wasn’t overly impressed with Spies. Did he break any tackles tonight? It seemed as if the first tackler was always able to bring him down.
9 Jun 2012, 21:16 pm
Spies a good game! do me a favour hit the bricks pal
9 Jun 2012, 21:17 pm
@Greenbok(greenbok)-3: Let me rephrase that for you Greenbok so you can better comprehend: “The winger has been absolute hond kuk in the last four years but looked marginally better today despite gifting Foden a try whilst going for his trademark intercept-and-miss move.”
9 Jun 2012, 21:20 pm
@Windhoek.Lager(Windhoek.Lager)-4: Spies was average at best. And do me a favor, send Zane back to Pretoria. Lambie gave us critical momentum the moment he came on.
9 Jun 2012, 21:26 pm
@kwas(kwas)-7:
I don’t think we are allowed to start with Lambie at 15. Not unless we bring another non-white player into the starting 15 elsewhere.
9 Jun 2012, 21:27 pm
Oh please. His move down to the Stormers in 2010 precipitated things, but he was still doing the job brilliantly defensively, in his test capacity. Last year he was off the boil at test level, but then so were large parts of the backline, to be honest. But to conveniently blur provincial and national form in such an off-the-cuff manner, is a bit back-handed to say the least.
9 Jun 2012, 21:30 pm
A lot of people getting very worked up over insignificant issues, I see.
Rather join in the excitement of the birth of a great new Springbok era.
9 Jun 2012, 21:35 pm
@kwas(kwas)-6: not accurate Kwas. Certainly not the player I saw today. One misjudgement does not a bad performance make. He was one step behind Albets to being MOM today IMVHO.
9 Jun 2012, 21:39 pm
I think the Boks were ordinary today. Only two players stood out. Alberts and Habs. And in that order. The rest were average to poor. Sadly, FH fell into the latter category. He needs to speed up the pace of his thinking.
9 Jun 2012, 21:40 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-10: Not worked up Tac. Just venturing an opinion. Some more forceful than others maybe.
9 Jun 2012, 21:43 pm
Hougaard/Frans Steyn look very unhappy playing under instruction.
Spies is not seen as a leader in the team and is possible danger of getting sacked.
Bismarck seriously needs to get back to basics. I don’t want to sit here and praise him for his work as openside flanker. I don’t want to see a disjointed scrum and 3 lineouts gone missing.
Frans Steyn needs to lose another 5 Kgs. He is slow off the mark.
When we get all the injured players back and with a couple of months of cohesiveness we’ll be ready to take on the World Champs (who can only win World Cups in their daddy’s backward) All Blacks.
9 Jun 2012, 21:47 pm
I’d pick the following team:
15.) Joe Pietersen
14.) JP Pietersen
13.) Jean de Villiers
12.) Juan de Jongh
11.) Bryan Habana
10.) Pat Lambie
9.) Francois Hougaard
8.) Willem Alberts
7.) Siya Kolisi
6.) Heinrich Brussouw
5.) Andries Bekker
4.) Eben Etzebeth
3.) Jannie du Plessis
2.) Bismarck du Plessis
1.) Beast Mtwaria
16.) Adriaan Strauss
17.) Coenie Oosthuisen
18.) Juandre Kruger
19.) Marcell Coetzee
20.) Ruan Pienaar
21.) Morne Steyn
22.) Gio Aplon
9 Jun 2012, 21:52 pm
I’m glad that Meyer managed to get the Boks to turn it on in the second half. I also thought we looked pretty good at times though very raw and unpolished in the 2nd half. Hougaard needs to stop trying to be overly tactical and just play instinctively with quick service. Thats his game: he’s no FdP. Quick Hougaard service putting our strike runners into small holes on the front foot is all we need. Retention of possession, accuracy and handling and we can start fighting towards the top again.
The AB’s are going to be a heck of challenge, really concerning now that they have an excellent halfback in Smith to compound their ever present tactical superiority and continued rich player depth.
9 Jun 2012, 21:53 pm
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-15: I can see a fellow Stormers supporter in there somewhere. Don’t ever consider becoming a camoflague consultant.
9 Jun 2012, 21:53 pm
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-15: Really like that backrow, though maybe Coetzee for Kolisi in the starting lineup.
9 Jun 2012, 21:55 pm
15: rugby student:
Anyone who picks a south African rugby team without Frans Steyn is a phucking idiot!
The guy should be the first name on the team sheet! His defence is immense and given the right platform he can break any defense!
He is the ultimate Springbok! Heart, passion, and will do anything for that jersey
9 Jun 2012, 22:13 pm
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-15: thank f uuuuuuuk you arent doing the picking.
because your center combo have created phuckall all season buddy.
i repeat, phuckall.
one more time: phuckall.
9 Jun 2012, 23:26 pm
@fogdog10(fogdog10)-19: I am afraid that I cannot agree with you. At times he plays with passion, like at the last World Cup. But today? Come on!? He looked overweight, pedestrian and selfish (took contact on two or three occasions when he should have passed, one in particular which could have been a try). Frans Steyn has enormous talent, he has everything a modern player should have, but he is a disappointment most of the time, because he seems to LACK heart and passion. If you want to talk about heart and passion, lets talk about Gio Aplon. He has it in heaps. He takles like someone twice his size. He drives massive props back. He goes up for high balls, he finds gaps, he always plays his heart out. That’s why, if Frans and Gio were competing for the fullback position as they did last year, I would always pick Aplon. If Frans had Gio’s passion he would be IRB rugby player of the year 5 years in a row.
10 Jun 2012, 00:54 am
i missed the first few minutes of the second half can anybody tell me why was kirscener subbed was it tactical or was he injured,also with hougaard as it said on the caption on tv that pienaar was on for a blood substitution for hougaard but he never came back on.
10 Jun 2012, 01:05 am
The boks won so it was not pretty but if they had lost it would have been even worse.I thought the two locks done well on their debut,but i think next week flip must start with juandre with etsebeth on the bench.
10 Jun 2012, 01:41 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-20:
You can repeat your phuckall all you want.
Stormers sit top of the log. And the attack, including the centers, has been better than the cynicists suggest.
Or are you saying that the rest of the Stormers side is so much better than the other teams that they are covering for 12 and 13? Are you really? Good to know.
10 Jun 2012, 04:28 am
On a percentage basis: The Stormers players have the best performance per capita today.
10 Jun 2012, 05:29 am
Habana certainly looked hungry and ran around like an energiser bunny but his one good kick and run were nullified by being out of position, drifting infield and gifting the try. For the F Steyn haters; get a life. He was good, breaking the gain line and did you just maybe notice who nearly prevented the try Habana gifted Ashton; the slow F Steyn. I thought M Steyn played with a bit more freedom than at the Bulls. Hougaard similar, sloooow in parts but Bulls-like with the silly worm. I don’t think Kirchner disgraced himself by any means. Aside from a few incorrect knock ons, I thought the ref was good. One thing that has become a feature of NH teams is the attempt to kick the oppositions ball through the ruck. Interesting and potentially dangerous should a head be kicked instead.
10 Jun 2012, 08:06 am
Replace Hougaard and spies, rest did fine
10 Jun 2012, 09:00 am
@Rugbystudent,
Do you live in Stellenbosch, or the centre of Cape Town?
10 Jun 2012, 09:27 am
No one here see just how poor Morne Steyn was? He was terrible. Move Lambie to 10 bring in Pienaar at 9, move Alberts to 8, Coetzee, 7 and Keegan at 6. Yes 6 to fulfill the role of fetcher which our coach thinks is not necessary. We missed a real fetcher. Spies made three tackles missing two of them, yet some say he was good. People said OK just because he has been so bad before this…
10 Jun 2012, 09:31 am
Per capita?
Wtf?
10 Jun 2012, 09:34 am
Morne and Francois both had a poor game. The game was better in the 2nd half for sure, and partly that was due to Ruan being at 9. Hougaard with that whole human centipede thing……No other scrumhalf in the world needs to put 3 extra forwards between him and the ruck. Ridiculous actually.
10 Jun 2012, 09:37 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-31:
For sure! I have no idea what the aim of such is. Gives a scrummie more time, yet he had his kicks charged down a few times. Also enjoyed Coenie second half. He was made for Test rugby. Would start with him too.
10 Jun 2012, 09:39 am
What about
JPP
Mvovo
JdV
FS
Habs
Lambie
Pienaar
Coenie
Bissie
Doc
Eben
Kruger
Coetzee
Keegan
Alberts
An improvement?
10 Jun 2012, 09:50 am
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-32: Ja.It takes forever and tells the opposition exactly what you are going to do allwing them to get some big guys back there to field the kicks. Was a dismal failure each time he tried it.
Also enjoyed Coenie. Thought Strauss played better than Bismark.
10 Jun 2012, 09:54 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-34:
Strauss at 2 also an option… Means dropping the v/c!
10 Jun 2012, 09:55 am
This is the player ratings as per Rugby 365.
15 Zane Kirchner:
Not a great game for the fullback, who had a few aimless kicks and was left for dead by Chris Ashton in one attack. No surprise that the shepherd’s crook came out at half-time to keep Kirchner on the sidelines.
4/10
14 JP Pietersen:
Had a quiet first 40 minutes, but then looked for work later on and made a difference getting involved whenever he could.
7/10
13 Jean de Villiers (captain):
The new skipper was outstanding and with a gash under his eye only a brave man would have suggested he go off. A brilliant try with great determination to get over the line and some genuine speed to burn Chris Ashton down the touchline. He also kept a close watch of the dangerous Manu Tuilagi and didn’t allow him to break the advantage line.
9/10
12 Frans Steyn:
Has the rare ability to straighten the line, which is crucial for a quality inside centre. Carried the ball strongly and is a very clever defender cutting down the space for the opposition in the middle of the park.
7/10
11 Bryan Habana:
A fantastic break early on and he had couple weaving runs past defenders to worry the English defenders. Some brilliant chasing of high kicks to pile the pressure on and a good defensive effort as well.
9/10
10 Morné Steyn:
A solid game at flyhalf, controlling the game pretty well with some accurate kicking out of hand. Not a great goal-kicking effort in tough conditions, but no need to panic for the experienced No.10.
6/10
9 Francois Hougaard:
The feisty scrumhalf was very lively on defence in particular and cleared the ruck quickly when he could. Still things to improve on, but a good game.
7/10
8 Pierre Spies:
Had a decent match making a few good tackles and played fairly tight, but didn’t carry the ball as well as you’d expect from a man with his muscular frame and speed off the mark.
6/10
7 Willem Alberts:
Where has he been all season! Willem Alberts put in a great physical performance and carried the ball strongly building up a head of steam. He could still work on his handling a little, but a top-notch effort from the battering ram.
8/10
6 Marcell Coetzee:
A wonderful debut from the fearless youngster, but gave the side some great momentum with his countless ball carries at first receiver and also chopped down many Englishmen with his tackling.
8/10
5 Juandré Kruger:
A solid start for the new master of the line-out and he showed a lot of promise filling Victor Matfield’s boots.
7/10
4 Eben Etzebeth:
A robust physical clash from the youngster who looked good in green. He has a massive future and never shies away from the hard ugly work up front, earning the hard yards for his team.
8/10
3 Jannie du Plessis:
Some excellent scrumming and a great break in the middle of the field following the play well to be at hand.
7/10
2 Bismarck du Plessis:
A typically tough performance from the star hooker, who made a few turnovers and was cleaning out rucks brilliantly. One or two line-outs went astray, but overall a great match.
8/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira:
Slightly quieter by his standards, but the Beast was always on hand to clean out rucks and he did a great job of protecting the ball.
7/10
Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss: (On for Bismarck du Plessis – 65th minute)
Not long enough to be accurately rated
17 Coenie Oosthuizen: (On for Jannie du Plessis (blood) and then Tendai Mtawarira – 49th minute)
Some good work as a ball carrier, but it was his scrumming at loosehead that caught the eye with a few brilliant shoves.
7/10
18 Flip can der Merwe: (On for Eben Etzebeth – 59th minute)
Got involved in the rucks and did his job without making any errors.
6/10
19 Keegan Daniel: (On for Marcell Coetzee – 72nd minute)
Not long enough to be accurately rated
20 Ruan Pienaar: (On for Francois Hougaard – 56th minute)
Passed the ball pretty well and got the basics right, but didn’t make a massive impact.
6/10
21 Pat Lambie: (On for Zane Kirchner – 40th minute)
Made a big difference after coming on and has the knack for turning up in the right place at the right time.
7/10
22 Wynand Olivier: (On for Bryan Habana (blood) – 31-40 minutes)
Not long enough to be accurately rated
10 Jun 2012, 09:57 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-36:
Spot on I guess… Hougaard 7 out of 10 is flattering
10 Jun 2012, 10:08 am
@Greenbok(greenbok)-3: Yes. Habana’s been marginally good enough to play test rugby in the last FOUR years, his form has been consistently non-existent.
10 Jun 2012, 10:16 am
@Gumboots(Gumboots)-33:
We are going backwards if you are thinking pienaar is a solution.We need to give hougaard a few more goes at it.Pienaar has been around we know what he can do and its nothing electrifying where as with Hougaard he can change a game.
10 Jun 2012, 10:30 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-34: Agree with you, and Gumboots below you. Start Coenie and Adriaan. For all Bissie’s ‘fire’ (and the man is honestly a class act), I still believe he is the type best served to the opposition with 30 minutes left on the clock – a la P Divvy in the World Cup. Strauss is a great scrummager, accurate with his throws and get’s through a sh y te load of work – not as flashy as Bissie granted. Strauss imho is also a leader of men, and is exactly what that forward pack of ours needed in the 1st half.
10 Jun 2012, 10:46 am
@slavedriver(slavedriver)-39: Hougaard needs to regain his confidence mate. His scrumhalf play started going to the dogs once the talk of Fourie du Preez coming back started. Hougaard seemed to focus more and more on playing like a du Preez clone (granted he has always had to be that to a certain extent at the Bulls – but it got worse as the talk of du Preez being Heyneke’s No 1 choice tapped the airwaves). Hougie’s S15 form started dropping and it looked to me as though his confidence took a whack. (and Hougie is a confidence player). Last night he tried desperately to ‘gain favour’ – i.e. the quickly taken penalty etc, but it bombed, where on any other day it would have been vintage Hougaard. It is the coach’s job to believe in this kid – not the fans and I hope Heyneke works with him rather than take the 9 jersey away from him (at least until after the English tests if things don’t get better)
10 Jun 2012, 11:14 am
Imagine vermeulen there instead of spies, hell strauss from the lions would have had a much bigger impact than spies had.
10 Jun 2012, 12:01 pm
21 @ Viking
I couldn’t agree more. FS was plain average yesterday. Straighten the line my foot – he never went over the advantage line to create forward momentum like the sparkly eyed Shark supporters suggest. Nor did he pass or offload when he was supposed to and yes there was an overlap on one of those occasions. People on this site must have watched a different game to us. LOL
10 Jun 2012, 13:02 pm
@Pee Wee(Pee Wee)-43: What was concern is Jean, he was no better than Adi Jacobs yesterday. Frans was by far the best of the centres and all but one thing he did was successful. Frans made 3 offloads, two near the tryline, very good distributor too. His long passes were on display throughout that second half. I suggest you get your head out of your backside.
10 Jun 2012, 13:15 pm
44 @ Alucard
Please dude – its either you don’t know your rugby or you’re just plain ignorant – Frans was selfish yesterday. Take off your blinkers. JDV was easily the best centre on display. Steyn thought he could bash his was through the English. He should get over himnself!
10 Jun 2012, 13:18 pm
@Pee Wee(Pee Wee)-45: Frans distributed well, almost in equal measure to his carries. Either way, everything he did was positive, whether it was ploughing into the English gaining massive ground or slickly passing or giving neat offloads, Frans was the best centre by far.
Jean on the other hand was badly manhandled all game dominated even. He was run over three times by Manu. Could only better him by shoulder charging him in the face. Offered nothing ball in hand.
But I suspect you are a typival WP fan. Always very shortsighted, definitely wrong.
10 Jun 2012, 13:18 pm
lambie is average at best ill pick the clown over him any day
but in the same breath Aplon is way better than them both
10 Jun 2012, 13:19 pm
jean de villiers had his best game in a long time playing
outside centre take note toet
10 Jun 2012, 13:21 pm
few instances when habana broke yesterday if aplon was on the field would have been tries
10 Jun 2012, 13:24 pm
@saru1983(saru1983)-47: @saru1983(saru1983)-48: @saru1983(saru1983)-49:
Keep repeating your Stormers trash and we’ll keep ignoring you.
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