What Bismarck’s loss means
21 Aug 2012
RYAN VREDE writes that Bismarck du Plessis is the most significant of all the Springboks’ injuries to date and further erodes the hope of them winning the Rugby Championship.
I wrote at the time that I didn’t believe the absence of Schalk Burger, Jaque Fourie, Danie Rossouw, Bakkies Botha and Fourie du Preez (who was courted for a Test return) among a clutch of uncapped players (Duane Vermeulen and Johan Goosen for example) would be terminal to the Springboks’ cause against England. There were competent replacements available who subsequently got the job done. Neither did I feel it would hinder them against Argentina last week, even with Pierre Spies and JP Pietersen added to that injury list.
It was their unavailability against Australia and New Zealand that most concerned me, although I still believed the depth was sufficient to beat the former and mount an appreciable challenge against the Blacks. But Du Plessis’ loss is a hammer blow. To understand it’s significance you have to take into account the tangible and non-tangible impact.
Technically he is the most complete hooker in the game. He is a brutal defender who has also grown as a breakdown scavenger in recent years. Indeed Heyneke Meyer highlighted this as amplifying his value, especially in light of the absence of a specialist openside flank. On attack he is a force at the gainline, a constant source of go-forward. His work-rate in both these facets of play is unmatched by any hooker on the planet (I know this because I’ve seen the Springboks’ analysis of all their competitors in this regard). Furthermore, his set piece work is excellent.
Away from the technical competencies, his game intelligence and temperament under pressure has improved markedly, as has his discipline, which was a point of concern early in his career. He has also become an accomplished leader. Meyer’s estimation of him in this regard has grown to the point where he had considered him for the captaincy. Finally, his experience will be sorely missed. Forty six caps into his Test career, Du Plessis’s presence at crunch times would have been a boon for a youthful and largely inexperienced Springbok pack.
Seldom will one player’s absence be decisive to the outcome, and I’m not suggesting Du Plessis holds such sway at this point in his career. He was, however, the heart and soul of the side and embodied every quality Meyer sought in his players. He has the capacity to galvanise those around him through the standard he sets. He is a match winner.
His replacement, Adriaan Strauss, is a fine player but he isn’t in Du Plessis’s class. That said, Strauss faces a decisive phase in his Test career, where his success or failure will have a significant bearing on the Springboks’ fortunes. In the context of their game plan he is an important cog. His lineout feeds will come under the microscope and with the Springboks’ rolling maul being one of their primary weapons, Strauss’s accuracy will be central to their ability to set this in motion. It is also a facet of play where the Springboks have traditionally had the edge over the Wallabies and Blacks.
In addition Strauss will have to rein in his fondness for lurking in the loose. It is a strategy that suits the Cheetahs’ approach but the Springboks will need him to get stuck in at ground zero in the coming Tests.
In Monday’s press conference in Mendoza Meyer described Strauss as world-class. That offering and other examples of his professed faith in him is not lip service. He has an extremely high regard for the player, whom he brought to the Bulls as a youngster and whose loss he deeply lamented when he returned to the Cheetahs. Strauss owes it to himself and Meyer to take the opportunity that now presents itself.
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579 Comments
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22 Aug 2012, 12:14 pm
Great sportsmen know when it’s time to retire.Bradman scored a duck in his last test….but he knew it was time to go.He could have gone on and played another test to have advanced his 99.94 test average to the perfect 100 but he knew it was time to go.Smit knew it was time to go when PdV came calling,but his glory-seeking persona got the better of him.He should,in all essence,really have departed after the Lions series.
22 Aug 2012, 12:16 pm
@cane-545: SA super rugby player of the 2006 left out by White because?
“we have to be SEEN to be transforming rugby” BULLSHIT
22 Aug 2012, 12:18 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-549:
Luke was always good fodder for the Press as well.
A “LUKE” thread, here on Keo would get an minimum 400 posts. And goodness knows how many hits.
He was like Gold to Keo.
24 carrot gold.
22 Aug 2012, 12:19 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-549:
@cane-550:
true cane
and it is a shame really
22 Aug 2012, 12:19 pm
@cane-550: thats a loser mentality cane.
winners rise above adversity and dont blame externals for their performance.
22 Aug 2012, 12:21 pm
@wnbb-541: pdv should’ve stuck to his gy feeling and never picked smitty! hs mistake was that he listened to mark keohane who convinced him to go beg smit in france to come back…
pdv planned to build his team around matfield and fdp but keo was so in cahoots with jake and “Winning Ways” and wanted to pen smit’s autobio that he convinced dippy to go begging.
spineless of dippy to listen.
22 Aug 2012, 12:23 pm
@Transformation-556: keo didnt pen smittys auto did he buddy?
your post is pure k u k.
wake up.
22 Aug 2012, 12:29 pm
@wnbb-551:
John Smit was a Professional Rugby Player.
This is his chosen path in life.
This is how he made his living.
As long as people were willing to select him, and remunerate him (well), he continued to play. And why not.
I assume, he thought he had something to offer. The Selectors most obviously thought he had something to contribute.
Your problem is not with JS, but with your Selectors.
22 Aug 2012, 12:34 pm
@Dangerman-555:
I don’t think Luke was a loser,
only human.
Some of you pricks would have literally crucified the man, given half a chance.
22 Aug 2012, 12:34 pm
really transie,
do you homework and bring your A game.
22 Aug 2012, 12:35 pm
@Transformation-556: That might be the case,but at the end of the day Smit became a blotted copybook for his decision to continue,knowing full-well that he was out of shape(lard arse comes to mind),out of form and, at best ,the fourth or fifth best hooker in the country.
22 Aug 2012, 12:35 pm
@cane-559: i have no personal issues with luke.
old ground.
22 Aug 2012, 12:36 pm
@Transformation-552:
2006…………………………………………seems like yesterday Transie.
22 Aug 2012, 12:38 pm
@rangerman-557: ‘wanted’ is the cue for you.Wake up if you want to run with the big boys.
22 Aug 2012, 12:42 pm
@Rangerman-562:
I was not inferring YOU had issues with Luke.
When I said “you pricks” I meant the hoi polloi of keo.comedy.
Not the aristocracy.
22 Aug 2012, 12:54 pm
@cane-559: Well those who wanted to crucify him were those who probably felt a little twitchy with some of the things he said at the time. I know he was disliked by many (and for no reason, other than his name, and the fact that he broke the rules and was different….)
Even the most stubborn have to admit he got a raw and unfair deal fullstop.
I’m in the minority then I guess, as I really AM keen to see him back in action (and hopefully shutting a few of his haters up once again)
22 Aug 2012, 13:03 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-566:
Not sure how old Luke is now Doggie, but it is unlikely that he is in the full flush of youth.
Leadership might be his best contribution.
22 Aug 2012, 13:08 pm
@cane-558: spot on cane, a player has to believe in himself, whoever takes the field is down to the selectors.
22 Aug 2012, 13:19 pm
@Big Hit-568:
Ah ………………………………..Biggles.
I have a question only you can answer.
(if you are still here of course).
What was that…………………………… very tall squiggly thingy that looked like the roller coaster from hell, next to the Main Olympic Stadium. Twice as tall, and used for fireworks etc.
22 Aug 2012, 13:31 pm
Ok,so,when a player is fat,unfit,out of form and the fifth best player in his position he needs to believe that he can still win another WC?He should have done the right thing by retiring.I admired his leadership in 2007,but now I only will remember him as the ego-driven individual who completely lost the plot at the end of his career.What riles with me,even up to today,is the fact that he relegated a world class player like Bissy to the bench and a bit part player role.To put everything on the selectors is the easy way out and to exonerate him from all blame.If Bissy ever write a book it would be interesting to read his take on the John Smit WC fiasco.
22 Aug 2012, 13:34 pm
One of the bigger tasks is that somebody must take care of this Albacete issue
22 Aug 2012, 13:40 pm
@wnbb-570:
John was ASKED to be a Hooker, a Prop, a Captain, a bench player covering 2 positions, a starter, an after-match speaker, and the fall guy.
And he never shirked his responsibilities once.
I would imagine Bizzy would be quite complimentary regarding Smitty.
22 Aug 2012, 13:55 pm
You sure about that?He certainly wasn’t happy when he got carted off for Smit in a test on South African soil.I felt very bad for him that day knowing that an inferior player was running on to replace him.
22 Aug 2012, 14:02 pm
@cane-572:
well said, caner
add also the whole period in which he was being benched right through super rugby by his coach and not getting game time for his match fitness. even though the bok coach pleaded for him to get game time.
john soldiered on for the boks without match fitness regardless.
plumtree did his thing and where did bissy get them in the end anyway..?..
for that reason alone plumtree can go and fark himself.
22 Aug 2012, 14:07 pm
I really should not entertain this kiwi blogger.At best,mate,you are duplicitous in your assessment of John Smit’s selection for the Bok team.Kiwi supporters I spoke to during the WC and even before were perplexed at the Smit selection in favour of du Plessis.In the media,NZ greats like Fitzpatrick were dumbstruck by that decision.
22 Aug 2012, 14:25 pm
@wnbb-573:
We all have disappointment in life wnbb.
Bizzzy has his.
John has had more than a few, I should imagine.
It’s how we handle these moments that make us better people.
22 Aug 2012, 14:34 pm
@wnbb-575:
Sad that a Kiwi can show more respect to the bok captain than a so called South African.
22 Aug 2012, 14:52 pm
RYAN VREDE yea, i concur with Bissy absence. I would love to have the footage analised in this regard. It is a bit stange how his injury accured.
He was the best player in the team. Looking at the rest of the compo it is going to be about growing our depth with the amount of 1st choice players unavailable.
I disagree about remarks about Smit. The public do not know the “politics” that surround the inclusion of him exactly. We did not perform badly at the world cup because of him. The Ref that twat from NZ probably had a bookies bet waged on the match. Closed thing I ever saw in rugby to match fixing. The NZ public were so overwelmed by his actions that they felt he deserved a nighthood. that says volumes… Was it not Walsh who had a drinking disorder prior? He even has tatoos, looks disgusting on a ref, that also speaks volumes…
My guess about Smit is because of his loyalty and honour to his country, team and coach, he might have been asked or offered something that lead him to remain. Talking about him being fat, well then you cant know to much about rugby. The position he was forced to play requires more weight, very simple realy.
Do we forget the match against Somoa
( an extremely, extremely extremely passionate Allblack supporter as are the Fijians and Tongons.
Having been to Fiji and NZ myself and had many discussions with Mori’s, Fijians, Tongans and Samoans about rugby in genral. These tiny island nations are extremely poor, have very little infestructrer, all want to live in NZ- as NZ has jobs available and being a country with immigant Mori’s – pacific island people too- feel an affiliation to NZ more so than Oz.)
They said they would do the Allblacks proud and do what it takes. Who was the ref that day, Barnes was it? One of the most brutal games if seen where red cards were crying out and none were given let alone yellow. Half that team should have been playing. Dont you find it strange that straight after, again, very very very bad reffing at a point where the sectator can see the injustice.
You then ask who was the Allblacks biggest threat?
You then ask who are the biggest chokers in rugby WCs?
You then ask what would be the worst team that was not the AllBlacks that could win in New Zealand? Imagine the thought after. Remembering the WC will probably never go back to NZ because it is a loss finacially having it staged there(too far away and too small a population to sustain it by themselves)
So you then want to blame Smit, common on, yes Bissy was the better player by a long shot but it was not his fault for such disgusting refering the world has ever seen considering it was a world stage event. We did not loos the world cup because of Smit. We have to take into account racist South Africa. Theres this new word called transformation which is simply another word “installed” to be “politically correct” and prevent them been labled racist. But it is no different to Quota, and all that racist ****, transformation is the same shite. Basically a bunch of people who cant move forward, thats who they are. And if it continues one should wonder what was the point of the white people giving up the reigns in the first place.
A Springbok captain is not a captain like any other rugby nation in the world. He is a politition. Smit goes down in history as one of the best captains not just in SA but in the world. He was able to deal with all that political bullshite other captains have no idea about, zero. He delt with it so well it is admirable.
I believe Smit could have retained the WC, we could have beaten the ABs making Springbok rugby special. The problem was the superpowers of the world did not want that to happen.
Ever watched a movie like “Wag the Dog”.
Why can a dog wag his tail? Because he is smarter than the tail…
22 Aug 2012, 15:17 pm
@Mr Black-577: I supported the 2007 John Smit version but was not too happy with the 2011 one selected before more deserving players.I am glad that he didn’t got his hands on Bill.It would have been a travesty of justice and would only have inflated his ego even more.Cane can play up to the galleries here,but I would rather accept the views of great Kiwi legends like Fitzspatrick that it was a crazy selection to deny a world class player like du Plessis for an over the hill player like Smit.
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