Boks more than just kick-chase
13 Aug 2012
Springbok backline coach Ricardo Loubscher says the team showed its true potential in the first half of the second Test against England.
There weremixed reactions after the Springboks’ 2-0 series victory over the Poms in June. There were moments where the Springboks impressed and dominated proceedings, but also moments where plans and tactics were executed poorly because of individual errors and team inconsistencies, especially when it came to the breakdown battle and tactical kicking game.
However, it has to be noted that the Boks only had several days to prepare for the three Tests against England. So the erratic performances were somewhat expected. And the fact that Heyneke Meyer’s charges sealed a series triumph was a commendable achievement.
But it will be interesting to see where this leaves the Boks ahead of the Rugby Championship. With the absence of key players and certain vulnerabilities exposed against England, the Boks will face a tougher challenge against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.
However, Loubscher believed that they have the variety in their arsenal to do the job during the tournament. In the opening 40 of the 36-27 victory over England at Ellis Park, the Boks proved this with their breakdown dominance and their upper hand at the collisions.
‘We definitely showed our true potential during the first of the second Test,’ Loubscher told keo.co.za. ‘We proved how effective our game plan is when we do it right. The trick is to get that momentum going for two halves.
‘I think the biggest lesson we can take out of the series against England was our counter-attacking abilities. We scored a couple of good tries on the counter-attack,’ he continued. ‘That’s something that I’m very excited about and we will take that into account during our preparations.
‘If you think about it, you only have an average of five scrums per match, with two of them being attacking scrums. You’ll have a couple of more lineouts to work from. So you have limited chances from set pieces. So when you have counter-attacking opportunities, you have to use them and turn them into points.
‘That’s the kind of thing that makes the All Blacks such a good team. They use their chances. They have set the benchmark in this regard.’
During the interview, some journalists were stressing about the Boks adapting to the wet weather in Cape Town. Over the weekend, we saw WP struggling in the rainy conditions under the high ball against the Sharks and conceded three soft tries in their 25-23 defeat at Newlands.
The weather forecast predicts a clear day in the Mother City over the weekend, but Loubscher said the Boks will prepared for any scenario.
‘Before any game, you have to consider the weather and conditions. If it rains, we have a “Plan B” to follow,’ said Loubscher. ‘A good tactical kicking game is important at Test level. And it is very effective when it’s executed correctly. We just need to prepare properly, and prepare to defend it too.
‘Our focus right now is on Argentina. We don’t have a lot of information on their players, but some of their guys have played for the Pampas XV in the Vodacom Cup and for their national sevens team. From what I’ve seen, they’re very physical and they will punish you with ball in hand if they get the opportunity to do so.’
By Gareth Duncan, in Cape Town
31 Comments
13 Aug 2012, 11:12 am
Lets hope we dont only have to rely on counter attack…
I’m even concerned about the game against the Argie dragons.
13 Aug 2012, 11:13 am
Ask yourself this, Ricardo.
(a) During which half in the 3-match series did the Boks look most impressive?
(b) And what offensive strategy did the Boks employ during (a)?
13 Aug 2012, 11:17 am
SKOP EN JAG DRAGONS
13 Aug 2012, 11:31 am
i wont say its entirely true
but neither is it entirely untrue
13 Aug 2012, 11:53 am
Oh dear, sounding a bit like AC and the Stormers/WP…
13 Aug 2012, 12:38 pm
@Gambit25-5: when owen asked heyneke if has been working on a plan b or even c for the boks
meyer replied that, for him it is execution over innovation and that he has to work with the players to improve execution which is why in his mind what is wrong with morne is fixable. in his eyes everything that didn’t go well for the boks was down to execution at different points in the series – breakdown in the 1st test, tackling in the 2nd and general intensity @ collisions & tactical kicking in the 3rd – fix those and the boks win according to meyer.
he said, he believes we have to FORCE our game plan on the opposition and not vary because they show resistance at first.
13 Aug 2012, 13:04 pm
@willievz-2: 2nd half of the first test was the most impressive by the Boks.
13 Aug 2012, 13:05 pm
@Transformation-6:
well for that we need to go bigger.
bring back one ton packs
13 Aug 2012, 13:22 pm
Can somebody explain exactly what “dominating the collisions” means? I’ve been pretending (and I suspect many others do, including journalists) for a while now to understand what is meant but I am ready now to be enlightened.
13 Aug 2012, 13:25 pm
@willievz-2: Sê vir hulle Willie! Vir my is dit so eenvoudig!
Sele met Stormers die’ seisoen – toe hulle begin balbesit en hardloop en fase speel, het hulle nogal goed gelyk. Probleem is dis gewoonlik in die laaste 10 min van die game en dis paniekerig gedoen. Dis jammer.
13 Aug 2012, 13:26 pm
@TooMuchRugby-9: I suppose it means when there is a tackle, that the player on your team wins that tackle. So if he is the ball-carrier, then he goes over the advantage line, if he is the defender that he smashes the ball-carrier backwards…?
13 Aug 2012, 13:36 pm
@bokfan1-11:
Is daar dan spanne wat dit nie probeer doen nie?
Besides, why dominate (read: seek out) the collisions when you can run into space and let the ball do the work?
This “bash it on” mindset baffles me.
13 Aug 2012, 13:37 pm
@Transformation-6:
truth be told
what he says is the exactly and only way in which boks and bulls have been succesful against the cheats.
and need i remind you, sa still has a better win record against nz than the rest of the world combined.
13 Aug 2012, 13:41 pm
@TooMuchRugby-12:
i think the point is, collisions are inevitable. i dont think anyone is trully advocating to ONLY seek out collisions and nothing else?
rugby is not just about ‘spaces’ either.
13 Aug 2012, 13:56 pm
@willievz-2: Whats your point ? I ask myself
13 Aug 2012, 13:57 pm
@bokfan1-10: Jy kan enige span as voorbeeld gebruik behalwe die Strompies
13 Aug 2012, 14:11 pm
@TooMuchRugby-12: “Why dominate (read: seek out) the collisions when you can run into space and let the ball do the work?”
That was at the heart of PDV’s philosophy when he started coaching the Boks.
I believe he was ahead of his time.
13 Aug 2012, 14:11 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-13: “truth”? whose truth?
“and need i remind you, sa still has a better win record against nz than the rest of the world combined.” we’re predominantly losing though and why should we measure ourselves with the likes of ireland when our rivalry with the kiwis has NO EQUAL?
they’ve been moering us, no lame excuses.
13 Aug 2012, 14:20 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-8: forget that, we need to be smarter! the bigger they come the harder they fall!
while you’re at it, were you happy with rhule’s try tally after the weekend?
13 Aug 2012, 14:25 pm
@willievz-17:
i believe he fell on his head at the time.
@Transformation-18:
why say ireland? why not say oz or enland?
anyway, the point is forcing our game plan on the opposition and not varying when they show resistance is what has brought us the (recently) limited success we have had.
if we can fix the cheating and refereeing problems additionally, maybe there’s our complete solution right there
13 Aug 2012, 14:31 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-20: oh f.cuk bra, don’t start with your cheating diatribes…
we couldn’t FORCE our gameplan on england in PE and we looked devoid of ideas, that was a frustrating game to watch.
boks can’t play like the stormers man, we have to be dynamic!
13 Aug 2012, 14:33 pm
@Transformation-19:
i watched most of the game.
he was caught out of position very, very badly on two occassions that i saw
but otherwise he did well, he does have the right hunger for tries and can sniff the line nicely.
with continual work he will be one to watch for the future.
13 Aug 2012, 15:01 pm
@Transformation-21:
nobody wants them to play like that. it was an awful game.
13 Aug 2012, 15:41 pm
@Puma-7: Disagree – it was the first half of the second Test, when the Boks looked unstoppable.
13 Aug 2012, 16:12 pm
@TooMuchRugby-9: It means front foot ball. Driving people back and reversing the momentum when on defence as well as ensuring that the opposition come off 2nd best at all of your rucks.
13 Aug 2012, 17:24 pm
@TooMuchRugby-12: It is one of the basics of rugby isnt it? To go forward at tackle point (if attacking) or push the opposition back (if defending).
Wait for it #14 and Willie #17 are both right – rugby is not always about “spaces”, that is touch rugby
But , if I understand what you are saying, its the Boks have become too obsessed with the tackle point and collisions. I sure the view somewhat that it is a shame that the Boks seem to have forgotten how to offload, and create space, or run into space (except for a few players). So it seems to a viewer that all they do is crash and bash. Then we get counter-rucked or turned over and the whole thing seems very static and non-dynamic.
Although we must bear in mind, it is Test rugby and you need to be more patient etc.
13 Aug 2012, 17:33 pm
@capebull-16: Hahahaha, miskien is jy reg, maar al wat ek bedoel is, toe d Stormers begin bietjie hardloop teen d Haaie in die Semi het hulle n paar keer nogal blits op die 5 m of doellyn opgedaag.
Self P0eph0l Fitzpatrick het opgemerk iets soos dis jammer hulle speel nie meer rugby nie (in plaas van skop).
Die Bulle was die sele in hul Semi ook. 2de helfde was baie beter en was gedeeltelik te danke aan meer blbesit en voorentoe dryf.
My ander klagte is how ons skoppers deesdae probeer om te ver te skop. Dan gaan die bal nie uit nie, en skielik is dit opponent se bal. Maar meeste van ons spanne is goed met losmaal rol – so hoekom skop nie 5 meter korter, maar maak seker dit gaan uit, en dan gebruik jou maal om die 5m grond te wen?
14 Aug 2012, 02:08 am
Ricardo Prove it
Put your money where your mouth is
Prove us all wrong
14 Aug 2012, 15:58 pm
kak the only thing that came out of meyers bek on bootsandall was kicking game.
even that fcukhead in the studio darren i think was laughing his *** off even made a brilliant joke abt the boks kicking game and argies rugby advert
14 Aug 2012, 15:59 pm
and Ricardo u know all u do is hold tackle bags so shut the puss up
14 Aug 2012, 16:06 pm
@Yetirat-25:
@bokfan1-27:
Yes, but thats stating the obvious. Every team should aspire to that, but giving it a new name and preaching it as gospel doesn’t change the fact that rugby isn’t just about the spaces….. it also isn’t just about the collisions
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