Meltdown in Mendoza
26 Aug 2012
MARK KEOHANE writes South Africa’s lack of leadership in the forwards was exposed in Mendoza, as was the naivety of a pack that is unfortunately a shadow of the beasts who have worn the jersey in the past five years.
Individuals will get blamed and given the South African way it will be provincial specific, but this is not a performance of individual blame but of collective calamity in that the newbies to Test rugby were not equipped to deal with an Argentinean side that scrapped, clawed and fought for a historic first draw against the Springboks.
The lack of a specialist opensider was obvious in that there was no counter to the Pumas love for a group gathering around the ball on the floor. Heyneke Meyer said any player can fail once but there isn’t place for a second failure at Test level. His words will be put to the test because certain players are not up to Test standard and when the occasion called for heroes to emerge all we got were imposters in a green jersey.
Perspective is necessary to appreciate the vulnerability of the Bok pack, in terms of experience, impact and influence. Bismarck du Plessis is colossal and Adriaan Strauss will need grander efforts to offer an impersonation. Andries Bekker, forever the next Victor Matfield, has neither the confidence nor the brilliance to match the Bok legend, Jacques Potgieter is no Schalk Burger, Willem Alberts looked out of sorts in that selected loose-trio and for the days of a back five of Bakkies Botha, Matfield, Burger, Smith and Danie Rossouw.
There was no calmness in a frenetic opening 30 in which the Pumas were going to deliver the passion of a nation’s rugby history, given the occasion. The limitations of the Pumas meant they could only lead by 10 points at half-time despite the majority of the ball, the rub of the green and the home ground advantage.
The Boks did not deserve anything from this match, but they got plenty when it comes to a reality check. I will never understand the nonsense about not selecting foreign based players because they are not playing Super Rugby or in a development Currie Cup competition.
This match cried out for the experience of a Botha, a Joe van Niekerk and a few more who on a weekly basis star in Europe.
The pack were intimidated, they were out of their depth and they were bullied. It was embarrassing.
Still the Boks should have sneaked it when Morne Steyn missed a penalty with a few minutes to go. It was England in Port Elizabeth all over again and Steyn obviously will be the target of abuse. His job is to kick goals and when he doesn’t he stands to be judged.
Young players will be wiser and tougher for the experience but I don’t buy an argument that suggests you go to Argentina for a learning experience. Too many kids were grouped with too many provincial players in the guise of a Bok Test pack – and the results were a humiliation.
Meyer picked the side and he takes the pains, as he does the plaudits when it goes right.
The backs can only ever threaten when the Bok forwards rule and the lack of potency made for an ugly 80 minute viewing experience. Too lateral, too isolated and with no momentum. These backs were not going to find any glory in Mendoza.
Frans Steyn, individually, was strong but he was the exception to a performance that is a reminder of the quality of Springboks that went to the World Cup compared to the mediocrity of what was produced in Argentina.
The hosts have beaten Australia previously, beaten France and in recent years been a minute away from beating the All Blacks. The shorter and narrower pitch did not help, but it did expose a team that failed to adapt to the intensity and mongrel of the hosts.
It was a humbling experience for those of us who watched, but it will forever be a humiliating one for those who played. Not so the boys from Argentina.
987 Comments
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26 Aug 2012, 16:22 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-649: BRING BACK DIVVY!
26 Aug 2012, 16:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-650:
A good synopsis of Meyer in his short stint as Bok coach.
26 Aug 2012, 16:25 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-650:
honestly,
‘one season wonder’ is just a ridiculous thing to say. its so far from the truth.
26 Aug 2012, 16:27 pm
I think meyer is better then that but ppl do wierd **** under intense pressure and he’s selections are poor – it must be a moerse baptism of fire being Bok coach, completely different to any other in world rugby, only AB coach comes close and they don’t have politics, race, and provinicual **** to vaguely rival SA – they also win alot more which is pretty handy – look at pics of White and PdV before and after – they go thru the ringer but tough cookie and titty – it’s a huge honour
26 Aug 2012, 16:27 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-650:
@trupisero-651:
@nama1-652:
you people are like the jews
selling jeezuz
26 Aug 2012, 16:29 pm
But bakkies ***** was a Jew?
26 Aug 2012, 16:30 pm
@cab-654:
yip
thats pretty much it, the worst job you could ever want
but is an honour to get it.
26 Aug 2012, 16:33 pm
@nama1-652: I hope this stint is veryfuckingshort.
There won’t be a player in SA who trusts thefucker by November. (Already happening)
He supposedly prides himself in his ‘psychological’ warfare….but I heard him on tv giving an example of how he has motivated teams in the past……..I laughed out loud.
Dorothy is not in Kansas anymore, and she is travelling the world without a passport
I have never wanted him near the Bok team, not even back in his ‘one season
heyday, but was prepared to believe some of the smack he spoke when he was appointed, and reserve judgement. That lasted about 5 minutes….until he expertly informed us, that Brussow is not in his plans, but that Jaques Potgieter is
26 Aug 2012, 16:33 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-655: hahahaha….at the current rate HM is going to be a no season wonder as international coach.
Wonder how Tac’s 5 step plan holding up with stage 1 reduced to stage 1/2. Whilst HM did achieve great success as a domestic coach, that’s maybe where he should have stayed. Maybe he’s our version of Deans.
26 Aug 2012, 16:33 pm
@cab-656:
but you get my point.
they all seem quick and happy to condemn the guy who is very likely their saviour.
how quickly they forget the hell from whence they came….
26 Aug 2012, 16:34 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-653: I am waiting for someone to come out fighting to defend him
26 Aug 2012, 16:38 pm
@trupisero-659:
perhaps he is, perhaps he is.
but as the stones song goes,
and now’s the time to sing it:
‘time is on my side, yes it is… time is on my side, yes it is…’
26 Aug 2012, 16:39 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-661: Operation Hummingbird is being plotted…..
26 Aug 2012, 16:39 pm
The main problem is the game plan or rather a lack of plan B. Clearly when plan A is not working ie dominate up front physically then subdue and penetrate, they didn’t have a clue what else to do. Its almost like they gave up. At test level there will be times (especially way from home) when stand up physically and you have to have a plan B which the Boks clearly did not have yesterday. What is even more worrying is that im sure the coaching staff will not address this but rather say it a lack f execution of plan A. Surely our rugby team can learn a thing two from the proteas….where they too were all about Execution over Innovation until Kirsten came along and freed them of this fear of failure when backing their individualism. Its a clear metal shift that needs to be made. Im not criticizing HM game plan……I mean its an effective one when executed properly…..what I am criticizing is the lack of plan B or any sort of innovation when plan A is not working…..which by half time was clearly evident. Leaders within the team should stand up and take some responsibility and make decisions on the field which the circumstances dictate.
26 Aug 2012, 16:39 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-661:
heyneke meyer does not need defenders.
besides, your claims are simply untrue.
26 Aug 2012, 16:42 pm
@Mustard-664:
believe me, they will have matured beyond their rugby years from yesterdays experience. that ability will grown inthem as a unit.
26 Aug 2012, 16:42 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-650: Well said.
26 Aug 2012, 16:45 pm
I too do not agree with certain selections HM has made, however, I do understand that that a coach will make selections that will suite his game plan. And that’s why i will give HM the benefit of the doubt. But if something is clearly not working it must surely be addressed. A week is a long time in International rugby and the nice thing is he has a chance to turn things around against Australia (who are themselves in a bit of trouble).
26 Aug 2012, 16:48 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-662:
Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of kick and chase
I’ts been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when Helium Piet
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Smitty played
Washed his hands and sealed the Boks’ fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But why’s the plan puzzling you?
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around Petoorsdorp
and I never saw it was a time for a change
Killed the game and its fetchers
The fans screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a head Coach rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
26 Aug 2012, 16:50 pm
Perhaps the Greatest is available as a consultant if they ask v nicely.
26 Aug 2012, 16:50 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-666: lets hope so. The Sa rugby public is one of the most unforgiving and if a performance like yesterday would repeat itself HM would soon find himself under so much pressure the way Divvy did in his final 2 years. With the Bulls he had time to develop them into a well oiled machine but unfortunately for him he wont have that luxury with the Boks. To me its a matter of how quickly he can adapt and manage to grind wins while at the same time subtly introducing his way of thinking…..im not saying its the correct one….but we have to give him the benefit of doubt at this stage and back him.
26 Aug 2012, 16:53 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-665: You tell me that a fellow like Brussow, or Hougaard for that matter will EVER feel that they are GOOD enough for this man? Hougaard has bent himself like a pretzel TRYING to be what Meyer wants: Fourie du Preez, to the detriment of his all round game and confidence. Hougie was having a fabulous S15 at 9 (playing it his own way..), until Meyer made it public that he wanted Fourie du Preez at 9 for the Boks. BOOM: the kid went wonky as hell, to the point that he is now a wing or nothing.
Go and watch the first games of the S15 this year, check the dates…..then watch the other games…..
Marcell Coetzee: talented kid, being forced to look woeful and lost as a ‘hybrid’ 6. He is notafucking6 and will never be one. What happens? Like last night, he questions his own talent and relevance in the team
Lambie:?????? Why is he there..
Bekker: I am not a fan, and never have been….but I feel for the way both he and Juandre K are constantly being compared to the lock Meyer was desperate to have, and that only an IRB ruling stopped from happening. Confidence? Pffffffffffft.
And I can go on: Daniel, Kolisi, Aplon etc etc.
I don’t like the way he goes about his business (I might not have minded as much about his lack of decency with his players, if he actually managed to justify this with GOOD SHOWINGS on the field…)
26 Aug 2012, 16:57 pm
I warned some here this okie wasn’t going to see out his tenure.. he gonna blow before he even gets past go.
Aussie whack him in Perth and I reckon its tickets
Meyer is not mature enough for this job.. he smacks like a spoiled kid who wanna get his own way and chucks his toys when he don’t.
His frantic antics in the coaches box look like a psycho going through menopause waiting for the jukebox to explode.
If he blew his top at JdV and the players then he’s blown his last hope of salvation. He picked them and set the game plan, and his reactions portray a dude who is way down on self esteem and control.
Hoskins going to have to do a double take on exactly which coach was hired for purely rugby reasons and which one wasn’t…
They all got the appointments the wrong way round.. PdV needed a team which wasn’t set in its ways.. and Meyer needed one which was..
PdV got the 2007 groot bok lucky packet version and Meyer the 2011 model.. should have been the other way around and we might have gotten some results.
As for the little tête-à-tête in the SS studio after the game, was pretty clear what Mallet and Willemse thought, while Naas tried a game show at saving some protocol, while Mallet let rip as the fundi who suddenly wants in on the job.
26 Aug 2012, 16:58 pm
@trupisero-669:
I’m not sure whether to laugh at your ‘ode’ to Meyer, or cry because it’s true…..
26 Aug 2012, 16:58 pm
@trupisero-669:
classic
i’m gonna save that for posterity
26 Aug 2012, 17:01 pm
@Mustard-671:
absolutely, agree.
thankfully we’ve got a weakened australia up next (wiill pocock be back?).
26 Aug 2012, 17:02 pm
I think if SA had the same intelligence in their rugby as NZ and Aus, and if SA did not have the internecine provincial warfare and selfish provincial attitudes, we would be a greater rugby nation than NZ. We shoot ourselves in the foot at every opportunity and the biggest problem is that the provinces are far too self serving to ever allow the Boks to be numero uno.
NZ has it right. Their national team comes first, and because it is successful, the rest filters down throughout the country and follows suit.
26 Aug 2012, 17:03 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-675: I was battling to decide whether to adapt Sympathy for the devil or Satisfaction – the latter is very apt as well
26 Aug 2012, 17:04 pm
@fitz1ella-673: Mate, the minute he announced his pack of assistants, it was clear the man has trust issues. The fact that he only ‘dared’ look further than the parking bays next to his at Loftus, already spoke of a man who needed things HIS way, with a posse of ‘yes men’ who are purely there to make him feel safe.
Ditto for his hysteria in trying to pull Matfield and du Preez back.
He doesn’t do change well full stop it would seem, which is about the WORST illness in the world for a Bok coach…..
Another dodgy character flaw, is his stubborn refusal to even ‘contemplate’ that he is doing anything wrong in terms of his coaching and game plan, or in his treatment of a few players.
This emperor adored by so many, is going to lose his clothes. Kaalgat tussen die daisies in Australia and New Zealand.
26 Aug 2012, 17:05 pm
yoh the knives are out from the Capey Crew for Meyer… didn’t take very long did it?
26 Aug 2012, 17:05 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-672:
look, i dont have all the answers.
but have you perhaps considered that they actually were not anywhere as good as the players thet are replacing? why is this the coaches fault?
the players need to take responsibility for their game and work on it until they are indeed as good if not better than the players they have replaced,
those were exactly that…THE BEST IN THEIR POSITIONS WORLDWIDE..
and dont think fir a moment it came easy for them.
26 Aug 2012, 17:06 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-672: I agree on the whole playing players out of position. Its a curse in SA rugby. We all saw what happened to Russel, Pienaar etc. Hougaard should decide if he wants to be a wing or 9 and stick to it. Same too with Coenie Oostehuizen. I hear they want to move him to tighthead. I remember that bloke from the Lions…..great potential at LH…cant remember his name now….think he scrummed with Mujati at TH…..DIV wanted to move hime to TH and his game just when downhill from there.
Same with the 6 role. look including a fetcher wont speed up your own ball (which was a huge problem yesterday) as the cleanout was very inefficient but i will defintely slow down opposition ball. It is also a specialist position in terms of defense etc. We didn’t see any major problems against the English as Bissy was very effective at the breakdown. However, without Bissy i would look to include a specialist 6. Brussouw is injured so his out of the equation. The only other specialist 6′s we have is Flouw, Stegman, Watson (who probably wont get a look in.
26 Aug 2012, 17:06 pm
The big problem with coaching rugby especially at national level and more especially in SA is that the ego blow up is WAY too big for these fragile [syuches to handle..
White almost collapsed in a heap of self doubt second to non.. Eddy Jones saved not only his rugby legacy he actually saved the man from committing hari kiri I almost saw him prop the dude up physically on his extended arm.. thats how dependent White became when he couldn’t take one step forward without Eddy lending him a hand..
PdV actually had bigger ballas than both these palookas combined, only difference is PdV rated the input of JS and VM and FDP to such extent that he sold his own soul as part of the package… and in the end was left holding the short straw as the others headed off into their respective sunsets..
But bottom line is the ego explosion that this job offers is just a little too big for the shoulders that are trying to support it.. they invariably blow and only one or two get through the cauldron alive to tell the tale.
You need more humility than bravado to lend credence to a job of this nature.. if your arrogance is too big for your capacity to handle failure then you ain’t gonna make it.. and perhaps HM might not.
26 Aug 2012, 17:08 pm
Are frustrated like hell but too ignorant to realise that all those arm-in-the-air movements like your erstwhile super-’ster’(is it ‘sterre’) Furry Du Preez is a waste of energy.
To ensure you do not walk away and think that solving the forward problem ‘is jou myn konyn’ and brings you back on track,please perish the thought as that is only the short term option.
The real problem is to be found in how the game is deceptively administered. To help you understand this quickly and simply just pay attention to the overwhelming majority type surnames that make up the Presidents Council. Are the franchise/union presidents names like De Klerk, Van Zyl, Verster, Van Graan, Hartzenberg, Roux, Mostert, Boshof, Van Wyk etc. not in the majority, by far? Who among you expect stunning,far-reaching and forward-thinking, atom-splitting decisions to be effected by such in the laager ‘werfbobbejane’?
What they will do is appoint follow-the-master-type puppets like Hoskens, Tite-arse, Telo, PDiv. and other non-thinking,lacking-forsight country-bumkins they can dictate to and subvert with dirty pieces of metal or even sexual threats.
You reap what you sow and thus now reap a rugby hurricane spawning many tornadoes for those are the ‘verkrampte’ seeds you have and continue to sow. Now the ‘boere’/farmers of rugby need to deal with that crop of huge failure.
Me? I am off to watch my Man C. whip these Liverpool arsebags.
26 Aug 2012, 17:08 pm
@trupisero-678:
i’m gonna enjoy singing it back to all the ‘jeezuz killers’.
remember when….
26 Aug 2012, 17:09 pm
Extraball!
26 Aug 2012, 17:09 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-676: Pocock is out for a few months if im not mistaken
26 Aug 2012, 17:10 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-676: The so-called ‘weakened’ Australia will murder us, the way they have consistently done in the last few years. They own us already….but after a showing like yesterday, our Bok players will have the Australian flag tattooed on their backsides by the time they leave Perth.
The breakdown area alone will see the words, “Australians all let us rejoice…” tattooed on the bums of Alberts, Coetzee and Potgieter.
Nee man, dit is scary sh y te die.
26 Aug 2012, 17:10 pm
@Mustard-682:
huh?
how does a fetcher speed up your own ball?
26 Aug 2012, 17:11 pm
@trupisero-669:
You will be feathered and tarred for this in Pretoria and Port Elizabeth (Tacitus)
26 Aug 2012, 17:11 pm
@Mustard-682:
oh see what you mean.
26 Aug 2012, 17:12 pm
[syuches - psyches
26 Aug 2012, 17:13 pm
@Mustard-671:
Some people don’t doubt anymore so there is no benefit to be given.
60% win record after 5 matches against England and Arg? 4 of them at home!!!
Even in the matches that were won, the performance of the team (bar for 30 minutes) was poor.
ow the no. 1 & 2 team awaits over the next few weeks.
Snot en trane…dis wat ek voorsien oor die volgende paar weke.
26 Aug 2012, 17:14 pm
@Robzim-690: its easier when the feathers come before the tar
26 Aug 2012, 17:15 pm
@Mostofyou-684:
hi et,
good to see you’re back
and ready to rid the world of evil
(roling eyes smiley)
26 Aug 2012, 17:15 pm
@Robzim-690: Tac in PE? Shame. The only reason its called the Friendly City is because the wind blows so bloody hard it blows a smile on your face.
26 Aug 2012, 17:16 pm
@Mustard-687:
good.
boks should take it then, provided the ref blows his whistle (as he is supposed to).
26 Aug 2012, 17:17 pm
@Humphrey-680: Incorrect. The Capey crew warned all those who were on honeymoon after Meyer announced his first squad. The Capey crew were told off, called bitter and ignored.
Now the Capey crew’s prophecies are falling into place, and players from unions OTHER than the WPRFU are being treated with ‘little’ respect from the prophet.
I expect a tidal wave of anti-Meyer posts from Natal in the next few weeks.
For us in the Capey Crew, it’s as simple as: Told you so.
26 Aug 2012, 17:18 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-688:
this is a weak ozzie team minus the ozzie who plays as filthy as a kiwi.
i think the boks will take them. they will be hurting after this performance.
26 Aug 2012, 17:19 pm
@trupisero-696:
I am not sure whether Tac is in PE or Despatch/Uitenhage but he is in that vicinity.
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