Meyer: We never panicked
16 Jun 2012
Heyneke Meyer says the lessons learned in the Springboks’ inconsistent yet winning performance at Ellis Park will prove valuable in the long run.
Saturday’s result marked the Boks’ second win under Meyer, and ensured South Africa clinched the three-Test series. Meyer was understandably pleased with the fact, but admitted there were aspects of the Bok showing that were disappointing.
A spirited fightback saw England reducing what was at one stage a massive deficit. The game was in the balance until the 74th minute when JP Pietersen scored to restore the Boks’ healthy advantage.
Meyer said that several injuries contributed to the Boks’ loss of momentum in the second half. Willem Alberts (knee), Pat Lambie (ankle) and Juandré Kruger (neck) all left the field in the second stanza and according to Meyer this led to a disruption within the team.
The Bok coach did, however, praise his charges for overcoming the loss of these players and striking back to ultimately win the game and the series.
‘Take nothing away from England, but those injuries did effect us,’ Meyer said. ‘It was important that we went through that, we have to learn from it.
‘Test rugby is not Super Rugby. I think we played Super Rugby in the first half, but we were never going to be able to sustain that for 80 minutes. Sometimes you have to go through patches like that [in the second half], you have to learn to grind it out.
‘What was great to see is that the panic didn’t set in. I felt Jean [de Villiers, Bok captain] did very well, it wasn’t easy.’
The injured players will be assessed in the next 48 hours but Kruger is clearly the biggest concern. The Bok No 5 left the field on a stretcher and was subsequently taken to hospital for further tests.
Meyer said he would consider the availability of certain players, as well as a few other factors, before picking his team for the final Test in Port Elizabeth.
‘We want to win every Test and I will never give the jersey away cheaply,’ he explained. ‘However, there were a lot of fatigued players out there, they have played a lot of rugby this year and we have to take that into account. We want to a give a few other guys in the squad a chance. But at the same time, we want to build some continuity. There is a fine line.
‘We played some excellent rugby in the first half and we need to build on that, we need some continuity going into the Rugby Championship. So the selection [for that third match] isn’t going to be easy for me.’
Meyer added that he always expected England to push the Boks close, and is bracing himself for another tough encounter net week. He intimated that England won’t be easier to beat now that the series is a dead rubber.
‘England are a side that never say die. I had watched them in the Six Nations. They won in France and I knew they had the ability to win big games away from home.
‘It took a lot of guts to fight back tonight. You can’t coach that. They are a side that is always going to be hard to put away.’
By Jon Cardinelli, in Johannesburg
101 Comments
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16 Jun 2012, 21:05 pm
So if Alberts is out who replaces him? Surely not that flyweight Daniel and if Lambie, the ankle tackler hurt his little ankle then what? The giraffe from the FS or the exciting Coetzee.
16 Jun 2012, 21:11 pm
Other lessons – Keegan Daniels doesn’t fit into the type of game HM wants to play. A fully fit & focused Alberts is a certainty & in Coetzee we may have found our own Marty Holah.
This could be KD’s last Test season
Burger, Brussow, Vermeulen still to come into the mix. We might never see Spies & Alberts start together in the same match after this series (barring injury to other contenders). Eben is a legend in the making. Frans is a 4th loose forward; indispensable. Hougaard finally had his breakthrough Test @ 9. Finally iits clear that no team can beat SA if they reproduce the first 35 of the 1st half. HM has a plan for this team
16 Jun 2012, 21:18 pm
*first 35 minutes
16 Jun 2012, 21:32 pm
Beast struggled against the replacement TH; how ironic. Got a working over. JPP picks his moments to go big. Not as busy as BH. Lambie didn’t look assures, even before he got hurt. Jannie showed what he can do when he just puts his head down & plays rugby. Frans & The Biz are SA’s certified game breakers. Bring on the 4N!
16 Jun 2012, 21:39 pm
Wynand Olivier and Keegan Daniel are solid (sometimes even spectacular) Super Rugby players.
But I reckon they should not be test options for the Boks.
Spies had a relatively decent game last week and a very decent game this week.
As one of his many cricics, I simply have to give credit where it is due.
He ran with purpose tonight and crossed over the advantage line often.
Plus he is an invaluable option in the lineout.
Bismark, Etzebeth, Alberts, Habana, Frans Steyn, JDV, Pieterson – all class.
Beast, Jannie, Juandre Kruger, Coetzee, Spies, Hougaard – all solid.
Pity Lambie didn’t get too much opportunity to spread his wings tonight.
What the hell is going on with Morne’s kicking game?
16 Jun 2012, 21:39 pm
@RL 1
IMHO Keegan isn’t a replacement for any of the starting loosies today. Off the bench, it gets worse because you give away some bite @ scrum-time. We saw that today. & under HM there isn’t ever going to be a helter-skelter throw it around game in the final 20 min where you could (at a stretch) accommodate KD
16 Jun 2012, 21:40 pm
@viewer(viewer)-4: what game were you watching??
16 Jun 2012, 21:41 pm
Lambie was solid and did everything asked of him and more
KD i agree i would replace with brussow , i have always said bruoosw should have been there
16 Jun 2012, 21:43 pm
@viewer(viewer)-4:
Beast really got bullied, he is only a 40min player…..
16 Jun 2012, 21:45 pm
Will this be next week’s Bok 22?
1. Greyling 2. Ralepelle 3. Kruger 4. Van Der Merwe 5. Kruger 6. Coetzee 7. Alberts 8. Daniel 9. Houaard 10. Steyn 11. Mvovo 12. Steyn 13. De Villiers 14. Pieterson 15. Lambie
16. Mtawarira 17. Du Plessis 18. Du Plessis 19. Etzebeth 20. Kankowski 21. Pienaar 22. Engelbrecht
16 Jun 2012, 21:45 pm
@ puff
re Morne Perhaps up until now he’s been like a batsman who’s been averaging 65 runs per innings in Test cricket. For the next while he’ll average only 50, and end his career with an avg of 55 runs per innings, which is still in the excellent category. I’m suggesting that he’s over-performed up until recently. One way of looking at it
16 Jun 2012, 21:47 pm
@Meerkatte(phil72)-9:
Beast wasn’t the problem.
A lack of cohesion among the front row (A Sharks loosie, a Cheetahs hooker, a Bulls tighthead – and an average 3 at that), two number 4 locks and an incredibly light loose forward replacing The Bone Collector made the Bok scrum a mess.
16 Jun 2012, 21:50 pm
S_L, I will never go down the “X player is sh.it because he plays for Y province”
Back to rugby I must say Coetsee & Eben really impressed today.
16 Jun 2012, 21:51 pm
@puff(puff)-10:
I hope not. We should pick the strongest available 22, otherwise we will end up with 2-1.
PDV’s 13 changes against the BIL still haunts me.
16 Jun 2012, 21:51 pm
Come Rugby Championship:
Coenie Oosthuizen
Bekker
Brussow
Burger
Vermeulen
Goosen
And possibly:
Danie Rossouw
Fourie Du Preez
Siya Kolisi
Juan De Jongh
Jaco Taute
Will make the Boks pretty formidable.
16 Jun 2012, 21:52 pm
@willievz(willievz)-14:
Ja, was just playing the fool.
I reckon Meyer will select conservatively and keep continuity where he can.
16 Jun 2012, 22:07 pm
@puff(puff)-15: Please explain who you’re going to leave out and why, after today’s performance?
16 Jun 2012, 22:10 pm
RL… Lambie the ankle tackler??? Can you remember his tackle v Aus at RWC ? That and a tackle today stopped certain tries.he’s not built to crash tackle but his tackling technique is the best in the team. His passing was also spot on as was his positional play…I was at the game and he looked good…. He’s an even better FB than Steyn and light years ahead of donkey Kirchner. He needs to be put in a position and left alone. Well done to England but we got cocky and complacent… Scrums are as much about discipline and concentration as they are about power and we forgot the first two. thats the real reason we got hammered in the last 30… Hope Meyer doesn’t try any experimental rubbish next week.
Hope Lancaster doesn’t get slayed by the likes of Stuart Barnes. His team showed big balls in both games and he hasn’t whined once….he doesn’t have great players at his disposal but he must be doing something right looking at the commitment and resolve his team has showed
16 Jun 2012, 23:47 pm
@tuffa(tuffa)-17:
Coenie Oosthuizen in for Werner Kruger or Dean Greyling
Andries Bekker in for Franco Van Der Merwe
Schalk Burger in For Keegan Daniel
Duanne Vermeulen in for Ryan Kankowski
Johann Goosen in for Elton Jantjies
Juan De Jongh in for Wynand Olivier
Jaco Taute in for Zane Kirchner
I’d also have Heinrich Brussow in the Rugby Championship squad but I can’t see Meyer replacing Coetzee, Alberts or Spies (who played well tonight) at this point.
Jaco Taute in for
16 Jun 2012, 23:52 pm
1. Mtawarira, Greyling
2. Du Plessis, Strauss, Ralepelle
3. Du Plessis, Oosthuizen
4. Etzebeth, Van Der Merwe
5. Bekker, Kruger
6. Burger, Brussow
7. Alberts, Coetzee
8. Vermeulen, Spies
9. Hougaard, Du Preez, Pienaar
10. Goosen, Steyn
11. Habana, Basson
12. Steyn, De Jongh
13. De Villiers, Taute
14. Pieterson, Basson
15. Lambie, Aplon
Would be my choices for rugby championship.
Although I really rate Kolisi and would potentially rather see him in the loosie mix ahead of Spies.
But perhaps Spies has done enough to retain his spot and he does have a considerable amount of experience at test level.
Second half tonight showed how valuable and necessary experience is at test level.
16 Jun 2012, 23:54 pm
That should read:
11. Habana, Mvovo
And Juandre Kruger has been great, plus he’s been in better form than Bekker, so it should rather read:
5. Kruger, Bekker
17 Jun 2012, 00:02 am
But I’d really like to see this Bok 22:
1. Mtawarira 2. Du Plessis 3. Du Plessis 4. Etzebeth 5. Bekker 6. Burger 7. Kolisi 8. Vermeulen 9. Du Preez 10. Goosen 11. Habana 12. Steyn 13. De Villiers 14. Pieterson 15. Lambie
16. Strauss 17. Oosthuizen 18. Kruger 19. Coetzee 20. Hougaard 21. De Jongh 22. Aplon
17 Jun 2012, 01:04 am
HOW no Alberts? When he went off the Boks momentum dropped immediately. Must be in match day 22.
17 Jun 2012, 01:27 am
@puff(puff)-22:
Nice. But I’d prefer Kolisi to Burger at 6, and keep Alberts at 7. I also think Hougaard did enough in this match to persist with at 9. And I was one who was slagging him off before, but credit where it’s due: his first half performance was better than anything Fdp has managed in the past 4 years…
17 Jun 2012, 03:20 am
Ugh great. Cheap debut coming up for Franco van der Merwe.
Ideally, but VERY unlikely, they’d bring Brussow in to start if Alberts is out, with Marcell Coetzee going to the blindside.
Assuming 3 injured are out, I’d prefer something like:
1. Beast Mtawarira
2. Bismarck du Plessis
3. Jannie du Plessis
4. Flip van der Merwe
5. Eben Etzebeth
6. Heinrich Brussow
7. Marcell Coetzee
8. Pierre Spies
9. Francois Hougaard
10. Morne Steyn
11. Bryan Habana
12. Francois Steyn
13. Jean de Villiers
14. JP Pietersen
15. Gio Aplon
16. Adriaan Strauss
17. Werner Kruger
18. Ryan Kankowski
19. Keegan Daniel
20. Ruan Pienaar
21. Wynand Olivier
22. Bjorn Basson
17 Jun 2012, 03:21 am
@niknaks(niknaks)-24:
Talking out of your behind.
17 Jun 2012, 04:27 am
@puff(puff):What’s this obsession you seem to have for Fdp. His days are over accept it. The only Springbok jearsey he’ll put on is a Replica like me & you.
17 Jun 2012, 05:39 am
1. Beast 2. Bismarck 3. Jannie 4. Flip 5. Etsebeth 6. Brussow 7. Alberts/Elstadt 8. Kolisi
15. Aplon
16. Greyling 17. Rallapelle/fourie 18. Cilliers 19. Elstadt 20. Coetzee 21. Pienaar 22. JdJ
17 Jun 2012, 06:06 am
Oh ps – brilliant win
not sure either coach has got selections right but both appear to be topdraw motivators – massive intensity allround and a helluva test.
17 Jun 2012, 07:01 am
LAMBIE IS NOT EVEN ON YOUR BENCH GUYS-WHATS UP ???????????
17 Jun 2012, 07:18 am
@broaders(broaders)-30:
Assuming he is injured…
If he’s fit, then of course playing at 15.
17 Jun 2012, 07:47 am
There is a trend in the two bok games maybe due to the two teams having the same playing styles. The tactic just seemed to just line each other up…i know rugby is about collisions but the two games we saw with the boks was all about looking for collisions and belting each other.
17 Jun 2012, 09:13 am
If Alberts is injured I will pick Potgieter. If Kruger is injured I will pick Franco vd Merwe or Bresler. Etzebeth and Flip cannot play in the same team. Frans Steyn is not playing therefore Olivier will start and if Lambie is injured they should bring in Danillier. He has got the perfect skills set to be very effective in this Bok team.
17 Jun 2012, 09:31 am
If Alberts is wonky I would think it more likely that Meyer would replace him with Jacques Potgieter.
Criticism for Olivier is once again way off base. England were gaining their momentum from the scrums, not by steam-rolling him in the midfield. And because we were mostly on the back foot he didn’t get much opportunity to do what Steyn did. This is pretty much the same as the criticism Hougaard received after the 1st Test which was mainly down to his forwards not cleaning the ball properly. I can agree he is not the most amazing Test centre and in the future could lose his spot.
If Kruger is out injured I think we will miss him a lot in the 3rd Test. Him and Spies were immense in the line outs and completely destroyed England’s attacking chances from that set piece. Real shame about the incredibly soft try from Bismarck but I guess that is fair considering the incredibly soft 1st try we got from that ****-upped scrum feed.
17 Jun 2012, 09:32 am
@Horings(Horings)-33:
Agreed about Potgieter.
17 Jun 2012, 10:10 am
We are so on the right path with the Boks, some team selections will change, I hope!
Wynand is absolutely average
17 Jun 2012, 10:18 am
@SexyTime(SexyTime)-23:
Apologies, you are right.
How could I leave him out?
Alberts must be in the mix for sure.
Abundance of talent at loose forward.
Burger, Brussow, Alberts, Vermeulen, Coetzee, Kolisi, Stander would be my frontline choices.
17 Jun 2012, 10:23 am
@SexyTime(SexyTime)-23:
However, I do reckon that Burger, Kolisi and Vermeulen is an unbelievably exciting and incredibly well-balanced loose trio.
If Alberts fills the blindside position and Kolisi drops to the bench, I won’t complain – that would be one heolluva destructive loose trio.
But it may lack a little in pace.
Can’t see that being a problem though with speedy tight forwards like Beast, Coenie, Ysterbeth and Bekker.
Burger, Kolisi and Vermeulen all contest well for ball on the ground.
None of them have Brussow’s abilities there though – few in the world do.
But with Burger, Kolisi, Vermeulen and Bismark (who is exceptionaly at stealing ball) as well as our two frontline centres (both very capable in this department) it is no wonder Brussow’s spot has become less of a certainty.
17 Jun 2012, 10:54 am
I think brussow is more than a fetcher but if coenie is played at 3, then with he and Bismarck at the breakdown, it might that you can play kolisi at 6. If alberts or juandre are injured must be elstadt. If both injured If both are must be elstadt at 7 and flip at 4. Josh Strauss probably 3rd best blinsider after Albers and elstadt. Is vermeulen ready for 3rd test? Get the feeling tho that there is no way they drop spies, especially so with 2 wins.
17 Jun 2012, 11:06 am
You can see how England had the better of the boks when alberts and bismark went off – they actually mauled the boks over the tryline from 25m out – potgieter will not solve this problem since he is too like Coetzee – u need a tightfirward enforcer in there, ESP against England, before u got too much showpony candyfloss rugby pack. There are a few reasons wp pack only lost twice and it’s more than just a v young etsebeth that is for sure. Elstadt knocked bakkies and alberts back – recognize that and use it.
17 Jun 2012, 11:21 am
@cab(cab)-40:
Potgieter not hard enough? Dude, that was his primary contribution all season in the S15. Are you sure you are not thinking of Dewald Potgieter, the blondie? Jacques Potgieter is the new Bulls player with longish, black hair. When he got injured the Bulls lost some serious grunt.
Elstadt is hard for sure but he has a huge discipline issue. He does stupid things that can cost a team dearly. If he sorts that out in the next season or so then yes he is definitely someone to look at.
17 Jun 2012, 11:25 am
The amazing pace and intensity that allowed us to dominate the first half couldn’t be expected to be maintained for 80 minutes, as HM also stated. Whilst the injuries certainly disrupted us the one thing that has been overlooked is that we never attempted to intelligently control the tempo of the game, relying on the aggression of our forwards to continuously provide the momentum.
What I felt was missing was for Morne to take on more responsibilty as a decision maker and for Spies to do the same in the forwards.
This will probably come, whether from the players mentioned or others, as HM develops his approach.
17 Jun 2012, 11:32 am
STBUR
they all tough guys but they have different styles – you can’t just pick 8 explosive guys that look good with ball in hand – u got to have a balance – potgieter and coetzee and spies all v good when got frontfoot ball but you need the type if players that can setup that platform ie tightforwards. There is a reason it is the wp pack dominated the bulls and not tge other way around. It’s not about provincialism but you need to use every players strengths. England outmauled and outplayed us in 2nd half at altitude – wp have the strongest pack and maul in sa – the player who stands out in wp pack in these tight contests are elstadt, vermeulen and etsebeth – the former is key to wp wins over bulls with his mentality.
17 Jun 2012, 11:40 am
I think it is perhaps time to also try lambie at 10 -the bok backline is looking infinitely more dangerous with hougaard at 9 and frans at 12 but it might be worth also giving lambie a go at 10 – I think when goosen is picked and if players like elstadt, kolisi, aplon, brussow are brought in – this could be a v potent squad for 3n ESP if bekker and vermeulen also fit.
17 Jun 2012, 11:40 am
@cab(cab)-43:
Not sure what you mean. Potgieter is a guy that is exactly that. He is a replacement for Juan Smith or Willem Alberts, not Spies. There was nothing wrong with Alberts, Coetzee and Spies because when they were on the English struggled. When Alberts went off we struggled. So replacing Alberts with a similar player like J Potgieter makes complete sense.
Vermeulen is injured and Elstadt while good enough cannot be considered due to his discipline problems. No point in selecting him and then we conceded 3 unnecessary penalties and potentially a yellow card.
I get the feeling you have no idea who J Potgieter is.
17 Jun 2012, 11:41 am
@STBUR(STBUR)-45:
And we are not talking about in several months from now. We are talking about the 3rd Test which is in a week. The only concern regarding Potgieter is match fitness.
17 Jun 2012, 11:44 am
STBUR
not sure I agree that potgieter is a replacement for alberts. I’d group alberts and elstadt far above any others at present and then in the same category probably vermeulen and then Strauss.
Coetzee, spies, potgieter, and kolisi all same type of player – and my vote goes to kolisi.
17 Jun 2012, 11:52 am
I think elstadt is a must in the squad and even too play tge danie rossow role – he can cover lock and flank – when alberts went off the entire dynamic if the game shifted – that size means 60min max but after that we were struggling and England got more and more into it – that maul over epitomised that and had that ocuured in 1st half things could have been v different – if alberts goes off you want someone like elstadt to come on. As for the discipline problems comes with the territory same as bismark, johnson, thorne, flavell all of them
17 Jun 2012, 11:53 am
@STBUR(STBUR)-46:
On the longer term Elstadt is certainly the better prospect of the two. He is younger, bigger, more experienced at the top level and more versatile.
Potgieter only played about 8 super matches, previously he was an average player at the Kings. he is very one dimensional, he hardly ever passes the ball and also appears to be a hothead. Imo he just does not have the class to play for SA.
17 Jun 2012, 11:57 am
Not to happy with this Potgieter situation.It’s a well-known fact that Pottie is a Meyer favorite.He has been out injured for a long time and somehow finds himself with a Bok jersey.I don’t dispute the fact that he is a good player ,but i also sees him as an extremely reckless player that will cost the Boks in the long run.It’s a crying shame for certain bloggers to bracket Spies with Kolisi!Kolas is in a class of his own and should never ever compared as the same to Spies!!!!
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