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, 18:29 pm
@748:
I am all for bringing the youngsters through, but they too will need a decent opportunity to shine. I feel that the team on the back of a hiding with inexperienced players around them will not be a great environment to shine.
That said, a dramatic change in attitude & synergy is required.
I think that HM needs to be bold, and bring in a few old Boks. (Brussouw for one, possibly Vermulen for another), and then perhaps look to blood 1 youngster at 10.
If I was him, this would be my team for the next game v the Aussies:
1 – Beast
2 – Strauss
3 – JDUP
4 – Etzbeth
5 – Kruger
6 – Brussouw
7 – Alberts
8 – Vermulen
9 – Pienaar
10 – Goosen (worth a shot)
11 – Habana
12 – Steyn
13 – JDV
14 – Hougard
15 – Lambie / Kirchener
26 Aug 2012, 18:30 pm
@BULLET-746: LOL….Just got tired of the same old same old…..will ignore the non rugby kak from now on
26 Aug 2012, 18:30 pm
@grant10-744:
I’ve been here a wh!le and know about your well documented love affa!r w!th John “Aura” Sm!t.
26 Aug 2012, 18:31 pm
thats the springboks biggest issue right there
there has not been a player big enough to step up as captain since john
say what you want but he was a great cappy
there isn’t a single individual in this squad that comes anywhere near to being called a bok captain
there’s a few so called ‘leaders’ in this team maybe
there aint no captains
26 Aug 2012, 18:35 pm
@I am a stormer-750:
plus he’s playing good rugby actually.
him, bakkies and gurthro and you’ve got the makings of a dream team right there.
26 Aug 2012, 18:35 pm
@pat1-749:
Meyer has an attack coach. He is the forward coach as well: van Graan.
Tells you all you want to know about the “attacking” rugby the Boks are going to play under his reign.
26 Aug 2012, 18:37 pm
@BULLET-751:
That’s a decent side and may reflect some of the hard decisions that HM will have to make.
His next squad announcement could be quite revealing.
26 Aug 2012, 18:38 pm
@BULLET-751:
After his performance yesterday, Jantjies deserves a shot ahead of Goosen.
Goosen only played for 50 minutes and need more game time in the CC before he can be considered.
26 Aug 2012, 18:40 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-755:
The thing is I was only joking about JS.
But you’re right about the captaincy issue. He is taking his time until he knows the players better because JDV won’t be around for much longer on the international scene.
26 Aug 2012, 18:43 pm
We don’t need John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Gurthro steenkamp, Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield, Bob Skinstad, Naas Botha, Francois Pienaar, Frik du Preez, Mannetjies Roux or any of the old has beens.
What we need to do is to select the right team with the current available talent.
They are there. Select them.
26 Aug 2012, 18:45 pm
@I am a stormer-750: John Smit is past it and he is not the solution, besides Bissy is the best Hooker in the world when on form. We have lost a lot of experience of late but we need to start a fresh and move forward from our previous crop of players. When Burger, Bissy and Brussow is fully fit I would have them in the team.
this is what i hope the team would eventually look like
1. beast
2. bismark
3. jannie
4. etsebeth
5. bekker (form permitting)
6. brusow
7. alberts
8. burger
9. hougaard
10. goosen
11. habana
12. frans
13. jdv
14. jpp
15. aplon
16. strauss
17. cilliers
18. flip/elstadt
19. coetzee
20. pienaar
21. lambie
22. jdj
26 Aug 2012, 18:45 pm
Nama – don’t be so fast on gurthro – prob at least 2 seasons left and he’s a worldclass 1 still.
26 Aug 2012, 18:47 pm
@nama1-756:
sound like the makings of a rovolutionary ‘game changing’ adaptation to me.
take the attack away from the backs who are further from the advantage line and give it to the forwards.
this could be genius
26 Aug 2012, 18:48 pm
@grant10-730: ‘A Bekker is not remotely the player he was 2 years back….’
yes he is, he was just never that good at the highest level, Mallett has said as much repeatedly. Decent Super rugby player and that’s just about where it ends.
26 Aug 2012, 18:49 pm
@I am a stormer-759:
was a brain failure by jdv not to kick the penatly instead of a lineout though.
26 Aug 2012, 18:49 pm
@I am a stormer-759:
B!ssy appears to be the only long term opt!on. If Schalk returns maybe h!m but I’d go w!th B!ssy.
I know you a b!g HM fan and there !s def!n!tely more to h!m than these 1st 5 games but at the moment th!ngs aren’t look!ng good.
26 Aug 2012, 18:50 pm
@nama1-760:
HM has stated that he will only go with overseas players if there is no-one else locally in that position. Going overseas is tantamount to kissing your Bok aspirations away.
@Mustard-761:
I cleared that up in #759.
26 Aug 2012, 18:52 pm
@Big Hit-764:
But Victor Matfield has said Bekker is the best lock that he ever played against and has the potential to be better than he(matfield) ever was.
The moral of the story? So many people so many opinions..
26 Aug 2012, 18:53 pm
@cab-762:
absolutely.
guthro has played some monumentally farking awesome games for toulouse.
shitt the way he destroyed toulons th and their scrum in the top14 final was out of this world.
26 Aug 2012, 18:56 pm
@Robzim-768:
let me guess, victor was at a book signing somewhere in the mother city and had to work his audience..right..?..
26 Aug 2012, 18:56 pm
@Jeraldjay-766:
I’m just prepared to give HM the benefit of the doubt right now particularly as it is early in his tenure.
But I’m sure he’s starting to get sleepless nights right now when players he put his faith in aren’t coming through. And he has said that he won’t be afraid to drop players – well he sent Kolisi and JDJ back to CC.
Let’s see if he can do that to the Bulls players as well.
26 Aug 2012, 18:58 pm
@Robzim-768: Bekker is a bit of an enigma. At times he looked world class…..head and shoulders above any other lock. Then at times (like yesterday) looks completely lazy. He has been plagued with injury so the only explanation i can think of is that he must be nursing some kind of niggle and is not fully fit. Or needs some serious attitude adjustment.
26 Aug 2012, 18:58 pm
@cab-762:
Yes, but we have Beast and Coenie right here. They are not too far behind him while Kitshoff is coming through nicely.
26 Aug 2012, 18:59 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-754: I’ll tell you right now, a definited Bok captain in waiting is leaving these shores because of the way he was treated in the S15…having to suck on the hind *** at the Bulls. CJ Stander. That my blue friend, had captain, leader, and ‘follow me’ written all over it. (In the way I always felt Dewald Potgieter had it written all over him……)
But hey, thats just me.
26 Aug 2012, 19:00 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-770:
That is where he said it . But will you call the man who most rugby followers probably include in their list of the 5 all time best springboks a liar?
26 Aug 2012, 19:00 pm
Meyer,with his weird rugby philosophies,will take us back to dark old days of Straeuli.
26 Aug 2012, 19:04 pm
@Mustard-772:
Ja, I agree with you- I have seen him in awesome form where he was untouchable but he is not nearly there at the moment. Can only be as a result of one or a combination of the reasons you mentioned.
26 Aug 2012, 19:04 pm
@Robzim-768: In 2010 most certainly. In 2012 Andries was sublime to the point of the ridiculous. In the tight, in the loose, in fact everywhere.
And then: the back injury, No 1, when he pulled out of that silly Wales test some fool had scheduled just after the Super rugby final between the Bulls and Stormers. At the same time, the marital woes – and bang, man down.
I don’t believe his back has ever, and WILL ever heal in a way that will make him a permanent fixture in any team he plays for. That added to the glaringly obvious fact, that he now plays to conserve himself and his career…..and not to dominate anything. (Maybe it’s because he can’t….)
I am still p#ssed as all hell that Quinn Roux went to Ireland, as an Eben 5, Roux 4 combo was the future for the Stormers at least…with Elstadt pulling a Danie Rossouw.
Now Elstadt should revert back to 4, Eben 5, and Andries can cruise somewhere else. I just think it’s a better long term decision.
26 Aug 2012, 19:05 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-778: Ooops ignore the 2012, it should read 2010.
26 Aug 2012, 19:06 pm
HM first words of distrust came when he said he would choose form players and then picks the players out of form. He is pretender who tries to con genuine supporters. When he decided to choose the Blue Boks for his first squad Stormers supporters were called whingers. Now the whole of SA is singing from the same hymn book. I say get rid of the man now. He has no vision and I for one still don’t know what he is planning to achieve. He wanted has beens and then we should have seen this man has no idea. The sooner Mallet is pulled in the better. The man had a great record and speaks sense. Sorry Tac your Messiah is a con…
26 Aug 2012, 19:06 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-763:
You would hope so, I guess.
———————————-
Boks vs NZ Maori’s in 1981 on again for all the laaities who were too young back then or haven’t been born yet.
Presenter describing the match as a “goodwill gesture,” by the Boks, ie white SA agree to play against the Maori’s in order for the tour to go ahead.
26 Aug 2012, 19:06 pm
@I am a stormer-771:
And some bloggers are asking for HM’s head if he dosen’t win in Perth.
That 1st 40mins of the 2nd test against the Poms is the bench mark. If we can replicate that performance for 80mins we are on the right track.
26 Aug 2012, 19:07 pm
Is HM on a 3 or 6 month probation period like all other jobs? I don’t see why the Bok coach should be virtually guaranteed a 4 year tenure. If they don’t cut the mustard (eg 70 or 80 % win ratio) they must get the sack!
Let’s give HM a chance, but a 60% win ratio (agaist a weak Eng side @ home and RC newbies Argentina) is a VERY poor start, from what I have seen thus far we will really struggle agaist the Wallabies and ABs.
26 Aug 2012, 19:09 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-774:
i think stander will be back and i rate dewald highly too, so agreed.
@Robzim-775:
i’ll take the fifth, your honour.
26 Aug 2012, 19:12 pm
@brains_trust-783:
was jake white or pdv?
26 Aug 2012, 19:12 pm
If Meyer loses all four games against the Australasian teams I will call for his head to roll als French guillotine style.
26 Aug 2012, 19:14 pm
@I am a stormer-767: I would tend to agree with skop in that SA are playing with two No.5 locks at present, a Botha-Etzebeth combination would be hard to better globally.
@Mustard-772: when has he looked world class at test level? I would suggest that if he has looked head and shoulders above other locks it may simply be that he is taller than them
@Jeraldjay-782: just so you’re aware, that was a pretty weak England pack. Lancaster hasn’t got the hang of forward selection at all, but he will learn, unfortunately the hard way.
26 Aug 2012, 19:14 pm
@wnbb-786:
So if we win one it is fine…
The difference between a nation of winners and losers I guess…
26 Aug 2012, 19:17 pm
@wnbb-786:
An appraisal after the year end tour.
26 Aug 2012, 19:17 pm
@Gumboots-780:
Not only did he pick players who were out of form, he also picked players whose form could not be gauged because they did not play for weeks due to injury or their time on the field was very limited because they were reserves.
I’m sure the fact that these players are Bulls, is just coincidental.
26 Aug 2012, 19:18 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-784: Would i be wrong in saying HM is hated in the Cape???
26 Aug 2012, 19:18 pm
@Gumboots-780: Another one on the side of the righteous
I’m glad we have strength in numbers….Taccy won’t like it.
26 Aug 2012, 19:19 pm
@Jeraldjay-782:
HM is definitely feeling the pressure right now and there’s nothing like a Bok victory – a quality victory – to set things on course.
The Boks played their get out jail card just in time last night. And people want to chop off his head and he hasn’t lost a game yet.
I still reckon we can take the Aussies twice even after yesterday’s performance.But the big test is NZ in NZ – that’s where all coaches get measured.
26 Aug 2012, 19:20 pm
@I am a stormer-793: Exactly,
26 Aug 2012, 19:22 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-778:
I cannot disagree with anything you just posted- highly unlikely that he will ever fulfill his undoubtedly huge potential- the fact that AC played him into he ground also did him no favours.
The less i say about the WP management re Quinn Roux the better. I have lost all faith in them and I doubt now whether they will even be able to sign Jantjes for next year. We will most likely end up with Duvenhage and Grant again and the end result will be exacly the same as during the last few years. For my sins I will support the Stormers/WP for ever though.
26 Aug 2012, 19:23 pm
I would prefer him gone Boots due to his lack of vision and biased selection criteria,but I am hoping that he will still see the light at the end of tunnel and exhibit these visionary skills his supporters will die by.If Meyer started a cult movement he would have no problems in membership recruitment seeing how he is feted on here as the real Messiah.
26 Aug 2012, 19:24 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-792:
I am taking this really badly. As a proud SAFFA I find it hard to eat his lies day in and day out. He is the biggest pretender to ever coach the Boks. When someone says there is only one game plan but we need to perfect it, then you know the guy has no idea. I say get rid of the guy before he embarrases us even more. If I say I am mad it is an understatement. What irks me even more is the way some people try and vilify what he is doing. If anyone says he is a good coach then I think they need counseling. What he achieved in the dark age has no bearing on the way the game has evolved now… Man ek is die bliksem in…
26 Aug 2012, 19:27 pm
… and it doesn’t matter who he chooses – it is not necessarily the players but the game plan which outdated and so predictable…
26 Aug 2012, 19:28 pm
@Gumboots-797: Gummybear?? are you the new G10??
26 Aug 2012, 19:29 pm
Ok,as per the korporaaltjie,if he can’t beat Scotland on the eoyt he really should go.
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