Boks must make mental shift
25 Jun 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly column for Business Day, writes the anger Heyneke Meyer will feel this morning is that a new group of Springboks mentally couldn’t front for a Test match because a three-Test series against England had already been won.
The Springboks never had the mongrel to beat an opponent that – by rights of a season that has been going since the 2011 World Cup last September – should have been the disinterested and reluctant participant.
England’s players had the appetite for Test rugby in Port Elizabeth. They had the collective will to play for 80 minutes, motivated by a first win against the Boks in 10 starts.
That they didn’t get the win was because they were not good enough to put away a Bok team whose forwards were ordinary in what they produced as a unit and who individually offered very little intent in the collisions.
The Springboks, when dismissed as pretenders, invariably always rise to the occasion and find the extraordinary in ambition, persistence and resistance, but in 20 years of writing about South African rugby’s elite the one consistency is that when the players believe there’s nothing at stake there’s never quite the same urgency.
Springbok midweek teams, so many of them a collection of outstanding players, often played like a bunch of clueless club players and rarely produced performances worthy of their provincial pedigree.
Watching the Boks in Port Elizabeth was like watching a midweek Bok team with individual ambition but not collective hunger or cohesion.
Attitude is everything in Test rugby because with attitude comes intensity, confrontation and refusal to be beaten in the collisions.
We saw it with the All Blacks against Ireland in Christchurch a fortnight ago. Mentally they lacked the urgency because of a disregard of Ireland’s challenge and they nearly lost.
Not so in Hamilton where they apologised with the most emphatic performance in humiliating Ireland 60-0.
It was not the nine tries that spoke of New Zealand’s ambition and desire for sustained excellence. It was the refusal to give Ireland any consolation in the final minutes of the Test – a passage of play that saw All Blacks captain Richie McCaw chase down an Irishman with the urgency of a man whose team was defending a one point lead. Instead the All Blacks, 2-0 up in the three-Test series, were leading by 60 points.
McCaw, who as captain of the All Blacks, has won everything and lost just 12 of 106 Tests, was a man possessed in Hamilton, such was his embarrassment that the All Blacks had let themselves down in Christchurch.
McCaw’s attitude epitomised why the All Blacks are the only team in the world with an 80 percent winning record in the professional era. There is no such thing as a meaningless Test. He defended his tryline in a supposed dead rubber (with his team leading by 60 points) with the same conviction he did in last year’s World Cup final.
Meyer, if you asked him what he covets most as Bok coach, will tell you that every South African player understands the importance of every Test match – not just the ones at the World Cup.
The Bok coach has said he knows his team will lose matches, but he will only accept defeat when he knows his players were not good enough to win; not because it wasn’t important to win.
The mentality in South African rugby for too long has been that it is okay to deliver mediocrity as long as it does not happen at the World Cup or in a series decider.
In Port Elizabeth the Boks showed Meyer that the fight within his own camp to change this mentality will be his greatest challenge.
No Bok player ever wants to lose and there wasn’t a lack of individual commitment in Port Elizabeth. There just wasn’t the bloody mindedness you would have seen had this been the series decider.
The usual clichés of inexperience, human error in decision-making and a failure to adapt to the wind and rain were offered as mitigating factors, if never as an excuse.
Don’t believe any of it and don’t believe the purple prose so willingly offered in respect of England’s performance.
The visitors had determination, desire and enthusiasm, but they didn’t play particularly well. A team with greater attacking pedigree would have embarrassed the Boks and would have won comfortably.
South Africa’s determination and refusal to be beaten at home has historically masked the limitations of many a Bok team, but the greatest positive for Meyer is that nothing was masked in Port Elizabeth.
Some of those who wore green on Saturday are not good enough to wear it with the necessary authority if the Boks are to consistently be among the game’s best and the Boks will never reach the consistent level of winning that Meyer so desires if they can’t reach a consistent level of attitude the players need take to every Test.
It was a poor result for the Boks but it was also a very necessary one because it will force Meyer to acknowledge that he has players who talk about consistently being number one but he doesn’t yet have a group who plays with the belief and conviction every Saturday to be number one.
274 Comments
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25 Jun 2012, 20:18 pm
@louis schropnel(louis shrapnel)-249:
Spies, Olivier and Potgieter were just caretakers.
HM is marking time until Vermeulen, Frans Steyn and Alberts gets back. And he will have to have a rethink about Brussow.
25 Jun 2012, 20:29 pm
And add deysel, konkakski, kolisi, daniels and the youngster from the sharks…….Will be dominating the loose ball and collision for the remainder of time?
25 Jun 2012, 20:35 pm
@IAAS(I am a stormer)-251: HM got it EMPHATICALLY WRONG last Saturday..
so every time one of his first choice operators go down or are absent then he’s basically saying to you and to himself that he’s stuffed.. that he has to pick a caretaker option.. and hope for the best.
Bulldust.. he chose POORLY from the outset and he was itching to showcase all these wonderful balls to the wall enforcer traits that Tarzan from EC Potgieter was supposed to show.. which was abysmally absent when push came to shove.. and he has FOUR identical Spies type clones ALL wanting to be the main ball carrying genius in the midfield standing off the back of the ruck waiting to CARRY the ball as fast as they can INTO the GROUND..!!!!
25 Jun 2012, 23:08 pm
From a kiwi perspective, I think you bok fans are sweating too much over the performance in the third test. It is v hard to lift for all 3 consecutive weekends against the same opposition – just look at how close the AB’s came to their first ever loss to an average Irish side two weekends ago.
It will take time for the new coaching staff to settle on your bet squad, and playing style. You’ve got fantastic depth in the forwards, a goldmine that is the envy of all other international teams. You’ve just got to be a bit patient as it all beds in.
I would liken your current state to the AB’s in 92 then Laurie mains took control. He tried scores of players, many who turned out to be well short of international standard. Yet in the end he put together probably the best AB side of all time, the 95 world cup team that went on to dominate international rugby in 96 and 97.
From 92 to 94 we put up with some of the kak est 9s and 10s the AB jersey has seen, but in 95 we had Merthens and bachop ( the latter back from Japan).
26 Jun 2012, 01:41 am
@corporal punishment(corporal punishment)-254:
Yes BUT…..
You have to pick the right combinations
if you have talent at you disposal you need to use them
HM has gone predominantly Bulls players,
Also he has decided a style of rugby (bulls style) and after Poms had did their homework the boks had no clue and could not change or adapt
There was no Alberts so they keyed in on Spies and Bismark and Potgieter who got nowhere Coetzee . They targeted our forwards who always carried the ball.
Hougaard needed to break more often or try to and Mornes kickes needed to be a lot better
Morne needed to be subbed and at 50 min mark
26 Jun 2012, 01:54 am
Morne is being let off too easily. One more successful goal kick and we would be celebrating an ugly victory, with sage words about work in progress.
Or to put it differently: If Morne had kicked like this in recent years PdV would have an overall win percentage of 0%.
Not good enough.
26 Jun 2012, 01:58 am
@lockforward.com(lockforward.com)-256:
The only reason Morne is in the team is to kick. If he can’t do that consistantly then he must go. Play Pienaar at 9 with Lambie at 10. Taute, if fit, at 15. Steyn and JDV in the centres and JP and Brian on the wings
Backline sorted
26 Jun 2012, 02:48 am
I think the venom leveled at HM is both untoward and telling. Our coach has had a successful start to his tenure, pulling off a series win having hardly had any time to prepare for it. Provincialism seems to have aided the mutation of a breed of armchair puff adder- lazily lying coiled to take down the coach should his selection blow up in his face. In the less than perfect nature of the wins and this draw the asps are seizing their meager chance and much like actual puff adders are proving to be ugly and nastily venomous.
26 Jun 2012, 04:19 am
@ovoidballs(ovoidballs)-258:
I dont think its all Venom
This was not a very good English team and we all know that Boks should have won all 3 comfortably
Its more frustration because many of us can see the weak areas.
The bok team should have improved each game and 1st half of 2nd game they were great .
This last Saturday they were poor and M steyn was horrible
If you have Jaantjies on the bench use him He could not have been any worse
Also Spies and Potgieter were below average
Bismark was marked by 3 poms and Spies never crosses the gain line
Oh and yes these are Bulls players
Sure there have been injuries but adjusting and the basics needed to be there
And kick your chances at goal too
HM does not play or kick at goal but he makes the calls and he needed to tell his team to adjust and take players not performing off
I hope he learnt something from this
26 Jun 2012, 04:27 am
@ovoidballs(ovoidballs)-258:
Good point, ultimately the Meyer has not lost a test yet and in the first two tests we saw glimpses of greatness. That this could not be kept up in the two games probably has more to do with the limited preparation time he had than anything else.
As for the 3rd test, Keo has it spot on and in his words ‘the players individually offered very little intent in the collisions’. So let us forget for the time being that we were but one more successful kick from victory and we had plenty of chances to do that, Steyn on the day had other ideas…
I got the feeling that the majority of Boks played with the intend not to get injured and although wrong you have to keep in mind the majority of them will be running out this weekend in what will be very important Super 15 matches. On the flipside you had the English that gave it their all for that elusive win and a little break coming up. End of the day we still did not lose and neither did they win.
It was disappointing from a supporter’s view (me and a few others) but far from a disaster. The real test for Meyer will be what he is going to do with the team selection for the 4N coming up and there is plenty to chew on. But lets not lynch him before he had a change to show us what he is made of.
26 Jun 2012, 04:31 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-259:
Pete, don’t fall in the trap of underestimating NH rugby. They have improved and unless you at the top of your game they can surprise you, it is not a case of pitching for a comfortable win anymore. Poms showed us this weekend and the Irish did it last weekend. The Wobblies knew they were in for a scrap as they were playing the best NH team whilst their own were littered with injuries.
26 Jun 2012, 04:37 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-261:
Yes you have a point there
Its just frustrating knowing we can do better (IMO)
We keep seeing players like Spies and Steyn been selected over and over again and not really producing what is expected of test players and other players are not getting opportunities
26 Jun 2012, 04:47 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-262:
Pete, Spies is a plonker and should not be there. As for Steyn, he is having a bad run but has saved our bacon often enough in the past to at least understand his selection. The problem now is who would you replace him with? Grant is not the answer with his limited playing ability and short line kicks he is just not international standard.
26 Jun 2012, 04:50 am
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-262:
Another point on doing better, keep in mind he had these guys for a week ebfore the first test and with recovery time limited time between the next two. I say again, we saw glimpses of greatness we hardly ever saw under PDivvie so yes, plenty of room to improve but we have not gone backwards.
26 Jun 2012, 06:47 am
@blueboy(blueboy)-243: ‘the boks need a mongrel like bakkies at No4 ‘
Here’s an idea…why not just pick Bakkies? he didn’t retire and he’s playing good rugby, ditto for Steenkamp.
26 Jun 2012, 08:29 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-265: The issue of pride of picking HOME Springboks …. time nations come to the realisation that rugby is now a world sport the better
26 Jun 2012, 08:47 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-265:
no i disagree on bakkies,
steenkamp is playing some incredible rugby yes, but bakkies is overweight (maybe) and def unfit for 80 minutes in the 4nations.
26 Jun 2012, 09:14 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-260:
The All Blacks and Wallabies also played a third test, and gave their all in order to win / complete the clean sweep.
And they also play important S15 games this weekend.
Forget about Morne’s kicks for a second – the English did not take a few kickable penalties either, therefore casting a different light on the whole Morne-argument. I expect Morne to be dropped for the Rugby Champs but me and you both know the coach will not do that.
British Lions series, 2-1. SA beating Australia in Australia at cricket, 2-1.
Keo is spot on, we are a nation satisfied with mediocrity. We will never be a great sporting nation unless we change our outlook in this regard.
26 Jun 2012, 09:30 am
Here it is… The HG Simple Bok Player assessment for Sat
Forwards:
Passengers:
Beast
Potgieter
Etsebeth
Kruger
Hard Work but Ineffective: Spies, Bismarck
Outstanding: Coetsee (Ran, Tackled but eventually trying to do it all on his own was too much)
Kanko (A beaut of a tackle, high workrate plus excellent link play)
Farken useless: Kruger
Backline:
Passengers:
JDV
Habana
Hard work but ineffective: Aplon, Olivier
Outstanding: JPP, Pienaar
Farken useless: Steyn, Hougaard
26 Jun 2012, 09:46 am
Priorities for the Boks:
A search for a decent 13 with match winning potential
i.e. Not a holding player and just adequate: Possibly JPP fits the bill
Balance in the loose Trio:
Possible combos are 8. Coetzee 7 Alberts 6 Brussouw or 8. Kanko 7. Coetsee 6. Brussouw (with Alberts 4 or Impact)
A tighthead that is an adequate replacement for Doc.
Pienaar has probably played himself into no. 1 spot as 9.
If Lambie is to take over 10 (which is the most sensible, logical choice) then the search is on for a 15. Aplon is not the answer. If Lambie is to be 15, where he has shown to be light years ahead of the next best then another option at 10 is needed. Possibly Jantjies, especially if Frans is at 12 and can play a similar role to Butch to give Elton a fall back option.
Bring back Bakkies for a while, if only to be a bench option in order to school Etsebeth.
26 Jun 2012, 15:48 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-265: Agree on Steenkamp!
26 Jun 2012, 16:10 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-270: Disagree: 6: Burger 7: Alberts 8: Vermeulen. Coetzee will get his time. Headless chook at the moment.
27 Jun 2012, 07:44 am
HM just got an idea of what the games against OZ and NZ will be like, because just as much as Alberts is a way better ball carrier than Potgieter, so are these 2 teams defense compared to ENG. Our big ball carriers are going to struggle to dominate the collisions just like last week. So, the BIG question is…where to from here?
I was dissapointed with his squad selection. Got over that…sort of, waiting to see what they’ll come up with if plan A is not working. I saw nothing new and that fills me with dred. I hope to hell he can come up with a solution before the championship comes round
27 Jun 2012, 08:22 am
So, it’s not just about the mindshift per se, but playing a game that asks more than just the 1 question of the opposition. Can you stop us behind the gainline? If they can, basically our whole game goes to **** from there. Even our kicks looks aimless, bereft of any ideas. Brussow brought something different to our game and was one player the opposition HAD to discuss before the game. Marcel, good player he is, is just more of the same. Everyone knows what the Boks will bring with our gameplan. And at the end of it all, we’re just making their defensive gameplan a lot easier by doing it this way. If we were to keep them guessing every once in a while, every so often they’ll get it wrong giving us a chance to capitalise.
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