Nothing to learn
20 Aug 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day column, said the Springboks did what was expected of them at Newlands.
Expected win. Great win. Not a ‘good enough’ win. Just a win?
Why don’t we deal in reality?
Does it scare us? Does it make us think? Does it make us responsible? Does it confuse the escapism of sport because it forces us to be satisfied? And if we are satisfied, does it mean we can’t feel a different sense of satisfaction a week later?
The Springboks don’t lose against Argentina in South Africa. Traditionally they win by 20 points. There was one occasion when they won by a point. There was another when they won by 54. On balance it is 20.
They also don’t lose in Argentina. There was one occasion they nearly did but that was because Springbok coach Harry Viljoen in 2000 did the unthinkable. He challenged a mindset. He told his players they were not allowed to kick the ball and they produced rugby for 40 minutes never played by a Springbok team.
It was a masterstroke, but the point had been made at half-time. And instead of applying logic so the point could be made the next time, he refused to believe in the reality of the situation. The Boks were not conditioned enough to play a match of rugby for 80 minutes without kicking the ball. Mentally no one was conditioned to accept it was possible.
Argentina, who wouldn’t come out of their change room after half-time because of exhaustion in being forced to tackle for 40 minutes, defied the IRB rules and stayed there for 20 minutes instead of 10.
They knew the game could not be called off. They knew they couldn’t play without legs. We forget that. We call it a lucky win. The day the Boks kicked the ball for the first time on 73 minutes and Braam van Straaten kicked a 78th-minute penalty to win the game 37-33. The day it all nearly went so horribly wrong. The day Harry showed he belonged in business and not rugby, apparently. The day Braam’s kick restored sanity, stereotype and allowed our minds to rest.
We won. We should have lost. So South Africans said.
One British newspaper columnist wrote that it was the day the Boks defied the accepted norms about kicking and not keeping the ball; that it was about possession and not field position; and that it was about what we wanted to make it and not what others wanted us to believe it to be.
But he said it would never be remembered for how it all could have changed forever; it would be used as an example of why it should never change. Apparently we nearly lost when the story should have been about a victory of the evolution of the game and the mind of the player.
The Boks, 12 years later, beat Argentina with the tested formula of giving us what we have always had. Now it isn’t good enough. The social networks are a reflection of the comfort in what has always been done and not what can be done. A day before the Test, some feared the Boks could lose. Some said they just had to win. Some said it should be 20 points. And when they won 27-6 some said they failed because they did not score a bonus point.
Argentina said they were happy. They had been competitive. South African coaches were not happy but at kick-off they would have taken a 20-point win. Why not now?
The All Blacks, having beaten the Wallabies 12 out of the past 15 times, won for a 13th time in 16. They apparently had not won; it was the Wallabies that had lost.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said his team were not where they wanted to be but they would be there next week. They will be in Auckland, where they haven’t won since Moses parted the Red Sea, but there will be condemnation in Australia when they lose on Saturday and outrage in New Zealand if the All Blacks don’t score the four-try bonus point.
What can we learn from Sydney and Cape Town? Nothing. What should we have expected to learn? Nothing?
The big guy simply strangled the little guy. Why dissect it? Unlike 2000, nothing was produced that shocked, surprised or made us think. And we remember 2000 for the day the Boks nearly lost, when it was the day rugby came so close to winning forever.
Mendoza and Auckland respectively will provide no new insight because it is still a big guy strangling the little guy and applying a formula that allows for the minds to be comforted and not challenged.
This weekend it will be 10 to the Boks in Mendoza and possibly 20 to the All Blacks in Auckland. It is expected, but it will not be good enough.
Rugby, as we want to know it, isn’t ready for the unexpected although too many are never satisfied with the obvious.
653 Comments
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20 Aug 2012, 16:01 pm
I would love to see a 13 with a bit more pace than Jean. But top class 13′s are really scarce at the moment.
20 Aug 2012, 16:02 pm
@Puma-336: cost of tickets crazy Puma….on top of an expensive superrugby season as well as the semi and finals of junior WC i reckon some people are just saturated….
20 Aug 2012, 16:03 pm
@Heavens Game-344: I think it comes down to choices. You know, 18 years in and the fruits of our labour are clear for all. Freed education, roads paved with gold. If the workers don’t like Lonmin then take up a cooking course, do a Master’s degree or Kontiki a bit. The ANC has brought the standards up so much all this and more is possible.
Oh, wait a sec.
20 Aug 2012, 16:03 pm
@grant10-343: I also rate Goosen. Just would not through him in against the Aussies or Kiwis yet. Bring him in for the eoyt. I think Meyer will do that. He is a truely exciting player.
For now would have Lambie play fh until we have Goosen fit. He still needs to play some games in the CC to get game fit. Anyhow it is all wishful right now looks like Meyer will keep Lambie on the bench covering fb and fh.
20 Aug 2012, 16:04 pm
@Tacitus-351: Centers must come from WP, all other centers are useless
20 Aug 2012, 16:04 pm
@Puma-354: through = throw
20 Aug 2012, 16:06 pm
@sharks_lover-355: You forget Locks, 9′s and the Ptr Gwantie.
20 Aug 2012, 16:06 pm
@Heavens Game-337: Agree …Vermeulen is a month away at least and will need to prove himself….no issues with that at all….I am hugely impressed with Marcelle Coetsee , I think he may be a long term solution at 8…..but Vermeulen does give you a lineout option that Spies provided [ the only damn thing Spies could do well ]….
20 Aug 2012, 16:08 pm
We fallen asleep again in the crici. See Broad has 31 off 31 balls. Damn man, hope they don’t sneak this one. Need to take his wicket soon.
20 Aug 2012, 16:08 pm
Best 13 in the game right now is Conrad Smith. He’s not regarded as being blitz.
Unbelievable rugby brain though.
20 Aug 2012, 16:08 pm
@grant10-358: Gaving Rich:
“Skipper Jean de Villiers and forwards coach Johan van Graan, who doubles as an attack coach under Meyer at the Boks have both spoken about the progress that was shown with the two excellent counter-attacking tries that helped turn the tide in the Springboks’ favour in the Durban game, plus the 30 minutes of spell-binding rugby produced at the start of the second. And they are not wrong.”
our FORWARDS coach is also our attack coach and we expect backline set pieces? :sigh:
“Certainly there were stages in the last test against England in Port Elizabeth that Steyn played really poorly, with his goalkicking failures appearing to impact on his confidence. Based purely on that game, the detractors are right – watching the Boks that day was about as interesting as trainspotting would be on a remote narrow-gauge railway line in the Karoo.”
well Gavin, they gave us a repeat performance at Newlands, now what say you?
20 Aug 2012, 16:10 pm
@nama1-345:
I like the batting depth AB gives us as keeper.
Okay he dropped a vital catch at Headlingly off Tahir and their were a few catches that fell short of Smith that a specialist keeper would have taken but in his 1st series a test keeper that’s not to bad. Don’t also know how his back is holding up.
As for Bouch, you right, his been a great servant for the Protea through really tough times and he deserved a better farewell.
20 Aug 2012, 16:10 pm
@Tacitus-346:
“It got us into numerous attacking positions, so from that perspective it worked exactly as the coach planned.
Where we didn’t perform up to expectations was in capitalizing on these opportunities.”
In other words, our “execution” of the game plan let us down at crucial stages. If we can get that right (our execution), then there will be nothing that can stop this Boks.
Is that about right, Tac?
20 Aug 2012, 16:10 pm
@Puma-359: poms will fight and if they win, we won’t hear the end of it, predictably
20 Aug 2012, 16:10 pm
@goyougoodthing2-353: Viva Farken Ay
20 Aug 2012, 16:10 pm
Smith has no idea how to really attack a game. He never has been able to the way Hansie did.
20 Aug 2012, 16:12 pm
@Transformation-348: Okay. But they always full the stadium for tests. Was just wondering why so many empty seats? Newlands is one stadium that is always full no matter what.
20 Aug 2012, 16:13 pm
@Puma-367: full = fill
20 Aug 2012, 16:13 pm
Let’s make this cricket more interesting, shorten the pitch, have the batters back wrong handed, bowl with an oval ball. Anything.
20 Aug 2012, 16:14 pm
Looks like the second cherry might be vital.
20 Aug 2012, 16:14 pm
@Puma-354: Puma hiyas boet??
this should be the Bok team
1 Oosthuizen
2 Strauss
3 WP Nel
4 Etsebeth
5 Bekker
6 Brussow
7 FLouw
8 Vermeulen
9 Hougaard
10 Goosen
11 Habana
12 JDiv
13 JDJ
14 APlon
15 Kirchner
16 Liebenburg/Fourie
17 Brok
18 Kruger
19 Kolisi
20 Sarel Pretorius
21 JJ Engelbrecht
22 Grant
20 Aug 2012, 16:14 pm
@bluebullcapetown-340: Juandre Kruger is desperately unlucky…..
@Puma-347: Sharks have blueprint for SA Rugby….that is what Boks should try and replicate imho……brilliant offloading and looking to spread the ball…..Michalak was given licence and was the man who made the calls…..M Steyn is not that type of 10….imo we are hamstrung by a 10 that doesent / cant run the backs….@Transformation-348: That sharks loss cut deep mate…..I am still bleeding!@sharks_lover-350: I dont care where the boks play there provinccial rugby….just want us to win…
20 Aug 2012, 16:14 pm
@Transformation-364: If we lose this the all respect to the Poms winning this test. It should be us we were in the driving seats here. Our bowling has been a bit iffy today and also our fielding.
We can still win this but have to bowl smarter and field smarter.
20 Aug 2012, 16:15 pm
@Puma-367: How much were the tickets? The Sharks’ Season ticket includes the Test each year, not so in other provinces. All well and good watching England or Argentina if it’s ‘free’ but if I am spending huge cash I want to see the ALL Blacks.
20 Aug 2012, 16:15 pm
@Puma-354: Elton or Lambie would be a better bet than M Steyn….imo
20 Aug 2012, 16:16 pm
@Tacitus-351: That they are. Cupboard a bit bare on the whole. Its the emergent youngsters that need to stake their claim – JJ, Jordaan and possibly Whitehead (JdJ is farked at Stormers). Also JPP might end up doing a Mossie and ending up at 13 via 15, 14.
Wing stock is good… JPP is an option.
20 Aug 2012, 16:17 pm
@Puma-336: I’ve heard that pressure will be exerted on WP to move to CT stadium by withholding big matches
20 Aug 2012, 16:18 pm
@Heavens Game-344: The directors might get 3 or 4 million less in their bonuses. Like they’d notice.
20 Aug 2012, 16:19 pm
@Atreides-377: They can’t contractually do that. Neither SARU nor government can withold a top tier test match every 2nd year no matter how much they might want to.
The big difference in the WP is that the Presidents’s Council dictates and not the professional arm. With the politics down there watch a move to the new stadium and then a sudden SARU President coming from the WP President… backed by the smaller Unions who all know he voted in favour of their beloved… EC.
20 Aug 2012, 16:20 pm
@grant10-372: I would love for the Boks to play the Sharks off-loading game. It was beautful to watch actually. We really did play some awesome rugby towards the end. Even Jannie was off-loading .. lol.. the whole team were.
Fred did control things and Lambie will too. He is that sort of fh. We will never play like that for the Boks if we have Morne for fh. Then again Meyer’s game plan is so different. Actually it was terrible to watch us play on Saturday. We are better than that. Just look at the first test against England in the 2nd half when Ruan and Lambie came on. We played some superb rugby that day.
20 Aug 2012, 16:20 pm
@grant10-358: A better lineout 8 at the moment is Kanko… Pity he couldn’t be given a few goes against the Argies with Spies on the sidelines… Funny how the AB’s could negotiate with the **** regarding SBW but SARU cant do the same for Kanko….
20 Aug 2012, 16:20 pm
@Tacitus-351: One of the best is in Japan, dammit
20 Aug 2012, 16:20 pm
@grant10-372: @grant10-372: HOw dare you give the Sharks credit??
20 Aug 2012, 16:21 pm
Tac is not going to like this. Jacques Nienaber has just signed a 3 year deal with WP/Stormers
20 Aug 2012, 16:21 pm
@Transformation-361:
Still cn’t wrap my head around the fact that our forward coach is also our attack coach.
Only in South Africa.
@gunther-370:
Why? Did you doubt me when I said it nearly two hours ago now. (p. 225)
20 Aug 2012, 16:22 pm
@Transformation-361: Wayne Smith….my kingdom for a Wayne Smith!
20 Aug 2012, 16:22 pm
@Heavens Game-376: Tacitus says Jordaan is a dwarf so no centre position for him
20 Aug 2012, 16:22 pm
@Sasuke-384: Never, the WP don’t poach players and staff. I mean, it’s only the Sharks who do that.
Joe Pietersen may have been born in Vryheid but in his heart he’s always been from WP… like Bobby, and Joel and AJ.
20 Aug 2012, 16:23 pm
@nama1-385: The mind boggles
Didn’t show at all on Saturday, lol
20 Aug 2012, 16:24 pm
Come on Smiffy, prove me wrong and show us you do you know to arrange an attacking field… go on… for once in your life, do something
20 Aug 2012, 16:24 pm
@Atreides-378: Not even… Chop some ubiquitous “middle mgt” then everyone happy…. Middle mgt also does not tend to bulala or sika with pangas
20 Aug 2012, 16:24 pm
@Atreides-377: Well, Titus was whinging about that last year already (before he entered SARU’s inner circle). The last test Newlands had was in 2010, and it was against a woeful French outfit.
Nothing last year.
And Argentina this year.
It is obvious that some sort of pressure is being applied, and it seems the paying public are also going to be having a say.
Then again, forking out R450-00 (not sure if that is what folk paid for seating?) for an Argie test is not exactly the same as forking out R450-00 to see the AB’s.
20 Aug 2012, 16:25 pm
@Transformation-387: He bounced that chiefs player like a ragdoll, didn’t look like a dwarf then!
Look at how much use the gigantic Spies is, with all his height and muscle….about as much use as t its on a hen
20 Aug 2012, 16:26 pm
@Sasuke-384: really? bwahahahahahahahaha now the bulls are fecked, Ludeke will have to coach defence himself
20 Aug 2012, 16:26 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-392: Exactly. Newlands must have taken a strapping with that poor attendance….that’s where the pressure will come, on the back pocket, always hurts the most
20 Aug 2012, 16:27 pm
@goyougoodthing2-388: what you mean never? Lol
20 Aug 2012, 16:27 pm
@Atreides-395: WP also threw away 20 million (10 profit) by losing to those no hopers from where… oh yes, KZN via Australia… that hurt.
20 Aug 2012, 16:28 pm
@Heavens Game-381: I have said the same here last week. How could the ABs negotiate to have SBW play two games for them and we can’t do the same to get Kanko? Why? Is it all talk with Meyer that he wants Kanko but just can not? I think he could get him for a few games if he really tried.
We just may need him against Oz and Abs. He should try and get him for our away tour there.
20 Aug 2012, 16:28 pm
@Transformation-387: I saw your little dig about Frans Steyn earlier too… Uyaganga, blaadyshit… Voessek man
20 Aug 2012, 16:28 pm
@goyougoodthing2-390: Thats not gonna happen any time soon!!
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