Shocking Springboks must break shackles
27 Aug 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day newspaper column, says Heyneke Meyer’s game plan and playing philosophy is simply not good enough.
The All Blacks lacked accuracy in attack against the Wallabies, but that was all that was missing from a New Zealand display that made South Africa’s match against Argentina look like something from the Dark Ages.
If what the All Blacks produced in Auckland was high octane, then in Mendoza there was nothing more than grunt and growl. It was a shocker and the Springboks were the most shocking of the two teams.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has spoken of the need to win every weekend. He has spoken of mental toughness and the search for excellence. He has spoken of the potential greatness of players. Actions have always been more significant than words and the player actions in Mendoza, just like in Port Elizabeth in the third Test against England, were a contradiction on everything being said. The 20 minutes we saw against England in Johannesburg’s second Test was a hint of the potential within our rugby, but even that 20 minutes looks a decade ago when compared to the intensity and pace of the effort from New Zealand, the current world champions and without doubt the team setting the standards.
I thought the Australians were woeful as an attacking unit and there was no threat they’d get five points let alone a victory. They defended bravely and showed a desire for the scrap but they were simply beaten up in the collisions and given a rugby lesson.
This is a very good All Blacks team, stronger now than when they edged France to win the World Cup last October. Richie McCaw and Dan Carter will be managed carefully through to the next World Cup but the succession plan of Sam Cane and Aaron Cruden is already in motion. Very little else will change from now to 2015 so those who talk of the All Blacks being a side in decline in 2015 think again. The back three will be at their peak and so too a midfield that will include Sonny Bill Williams. The All Blacks have integrated as many players new players into the system as the Boks have. Two new locks, a new loose forward, a new scrumhalf and variations on the wing. The only position where there is no definitive answer in relation to 2015 is at hooker. They’re in a healthy position and they’re not making any excuses about World Cup hangovers, lack of desire, retirements, inexperience or players coming to terms with the demands of international rugby. They’ve set standards, especially on defence, and to keep two sides of the standing of Ireland and Australia scoreless this year is the kind of action that accompanies any talk of excellence.
The All Blacks were not precise in their attack in Auckland, but that will always be a possibility with the type of high risk, high tempo and absolutely enthralling game they play. In Auckland they offloaded in the tackle 30 times and most of the offloads were effective in advancing the play, sustaining flow, continuity and ensuring momentum. If you tuned in at 9:35am to Auckland and happened to be watching the same rugby channel 12 hours later you could excused for thinking that what was on offer from Mendoza was part of the ESPN Classic packages. My god it was awful.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, on reflection, spoke of the physicality of South Africa and Argentina, whom the All Blacks play next in Wellington. He said it was like watching two rhinos go at each other all afternoon.
His reference to rhino reminded me of former Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen’s rhino reference to the then Springbok coach Harry Viljoen. Macqueen and Viljoen are good mates and they were on a Safari outing when they saw Rhino. Macqueen said: ‘Look Harry there’s your team … big, strong and f**king dumb’.
The Boks certainly moved on from the dummy tag in 2007 thanks to the approach and thinking of some very special players, but the limited quality of player on display in Mendoza is no excuse for the kind of rugby produced.
Meyer, as coach, picks the side and determines game strategy and playing philosophy. What we saw in Port Elizabeth and Mendoza is simply not good enough, in intent, in ambition and in principle.
No player picks himself and not one Springbok in Mendoza would make a current World XV. That’s a reality but it is no excuse to draw to Argentina because no Pumas player would make a World XV either.
Mendoza should be a watershed moment for Meyer, who doesn’t want for rugby intellect but needs to be challenged to break his own shackles of conservatism.
The obvious reaction is to take fire at the players, but that would be misguided. Meyer is the one in charge and a team is a reflection of a coach. If the coach expected more of his players in Mendoza then I – like every South African rugby supporter – expected more of Meyer at this juncture.
860 Comments
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27 Aug 2012, 09:53 am
Reading stuff over the weekend following the test reminds me of a joke I once heard…
Man sits on the couch and scream: “Liefie, Liefie! Bring my gou ‘n bier voor die kak begin!”
Perplexed the woman goes to the fridge, gets a beer and takes it to her husband…
10 minutes later the same thing: “Liefie, Liefie! Bring my gou ‘n bier voor die kak begin!”
Now slightly irritated the woman goes to the fridge, and gets another beer for her husband…
10 minutes later, he again goes: “Liefie, Liefie! Bring my gou ‘n bier voor die kak begin!”
By this time the woman is fed up and asks: “Watse ****** kak?”
To which the man replied: “Ag bliksem, daar begin dit!”
I said from the moment Meyer was appointed he will be okay until his first loss, and although this was not a loss it seems people view it as such.
Now that it has happened, I reckon ‘Die kak het begin’
27 Aug 2012, 09:54 am
What’s the latest on Juan Smith??????????? Any miraculous comeback sometime soon?
27 Aug 2012, 09:56 am
@PissAnt-1:
Do you reckon cr@p is hitting the fan because of the result, or because of the playing style and some dubious selections?
27 Aug 2012, 09:58 am
@wpstormerbok-3:
His playing style has been the same for the last 4 tests, his selections were ‘shocking’ to many from the word go.
You can always ‘justify’ it while you are winning, but as soon as you hit the first stumbling block, the ‘I told you so’ crowd rears their heads.
27 Aug 2012, 10:00 am
It took the English only 2 goes before they decided to man up and shut Boks down.
It took the Argies only 1 match to figure it out.
27 Aug 2012, 10:00 am
@wpstormerbok-3: The current players seem to have lots of heart and lots of strength but are lacking brains. This combined with the international inexperience of certain players doesn’t help.
27 Aug 2012, 10:02 am
The problem is the rest of the rugby world is moving ahead of us fast. We have already played four tests with this coach and instead of things getting better, they are getting worse.
Flo could have been used as a fetcher, but the breakdown is a problem for all the see yet he is so obsessed with size that he has forgotten the importance of winning the ball first. When we do get hard earned ball it is kicked away aimlessly. I’m worried as our rugby is regressing fast under this man…
27 Aug 2012, 10:03 am
@PissAnt-4:
So, just to be clear, where to you stand in terms of the playing style & selections made by HM so far?
I for one believe many would’ve been much more patient with his team if there was an intent to use the ball more effectively and not just hoist it high after we’ve gained 5 meters after 10 phases simply because we’re never running into space, always going for contact and going to ground with the ball at the slightest hint of being touched.
27 Aug 2012, 10:05 am
@Lions_Soutie-6:
We certainly have the players.
But at the moment it’s like forcing a right handed person to write an essay with left hand.
27 Aug 2012, 10:06 am
@Lions_Soutie-2: More importantly, how’s Brussouw? …..Oh sorry, he won’t get selected even if top fit, might give away a penalty, unlike Flip vdM….Nah, we’re just going to run over the Blacks with brick outhouses like Potgieter, not that the tactic has ever worked before, but you never know, it might this time.
27 Aug 2012, 10:07 am
‘like watching two rhinos go at each other the whole afternoon’
LMAO – v amusing
27 Aug 2012, 10:09 am
I watched till halftime…. then i decided to watch my pc defrag…
27 Aug 2012, 10:15 am
@wpstormerbok-8:
Of course I have my own opinions on player selections and game direction we are taking.
But it is impossible to judge Meyer and I cannot believe people are already calling for him to be sacked.
I am not surprised, hence my first post as I expected it, but its still daft.
My opinion on Meyer is that we can only really make an educated judgment on his reign by this time next year in the Rugby Championship.
27 Aug 2012, 10:17 am
Losing ball at the rucks is a sign of a team in disarray. Argies are known for spoiling, why didn’t Heyneke prepare the team for this. Why can’t the on-field captain make the change to commit more players to the rucks.
JW’s best quality is that his teams were well-drilled in the basics. Is this so hard to achieve?
@Stiff-arm-10: I think the whole country agrees that Potgieter doesn’t offer much but bulk. Rather move Alberts to 7 and have Vermeulan at 8 with a proper fetcher at 6.
27 Aug 2012, 10:18 am
How I dream of a Bok who runs…
at speed
into space
with support players on each shoulder
with an intent and eye for and oppurtunity pop and flick or simply distribute to either his left or right side
27 Aug 2012, 10:19 am
@PissAnt-1:
the kak started before this result. this result was foreseen due to wayward selections and a clear intent to play very simple and uninspiring rugby with limited players.
27 Aug 2012, 10:21 am
Our inability to keep the ball off the ground against a very good fetching side hurt us. It’ll hurt us again when we play the ABs who are the best counter-rucking side in the world. An open-sider is not the answer to this problem (although one would be helpful in slowing the opposition’s ball down). Watching our giant forward go to ground time after time was painful and was in stark contrast to the 30 or so offloads made by the ABs on the weekend.
Our backline should have done more with the quality ball that they had (albeit on a width-reduced pitch). Meyer needs to show a bit of courage and pick ball players like Willie Le Roux, Paul Jordaan and Robert Ebersohn all of whom have genuine pace, vision and distribution skills, though he should start by picking a flyhalf who has the ability to attract defenders (Steyn literally repels them).
Being conservative and STILL not getting a result is simply unacceptable. Surely Meyer has something better to serve us than this drivel.
27 Aug 2012, 10:24 am
i suppose it took meyer 3 years before the bulls delivered. we’re obviously expecting a bit too much too soon. they may be ready by 2015.
27 Aug 2012, 10:24 am
@PissAnt-13:
In a perfect world that would be the fair way to do of course.
I for one am not calling for his head just yet even though I’m not very optimistic about where we’re going.
But Heyneke’s adamant it’s not the system it’s the players not executing in proper.
My opinion is he’s got it wrong but he’s the guy in the Green n Gold blazer who took the Bulls out the doldrums to a champion team.
So ja, we’ll see.
27 Aug 2012, 10:26 am
Meyer is an okay coach, good manager and a kak selector.
His selections are going ti sink him – Potgieter ffs
27 Aug 2012, 10:27 am
@wpstormerbok-8: I don’t necessarily have a problem with the Hoist Gameplan (though it’s not what I would have chosen), my problem is that the game plan is inconsistent with the players chosen…
How can you justify the selection of a specialist ball-carrying loose trio, and then adopt a game plan that relies on anything BUT ball carrying? Why pick a scrumhalf whose strength is with ball in hand and then tell him to kick? If we’re going to persist with this game plan (and by no means do I think we should) then it stands to reason that we HAVE to have Brussouw!
I mean, what exactly is the game plan?
1. get the ball (through luck I suppose)
2. Kick a HUGE up and under that lands just outside their 22.
3. Use specialist ball chasing wings such as Basson to challenge for the ball in the air.
3.1 If he wins the ball, get quick ball out of the rucks to a forward such as Alberts, as their backline is staggered and their forwards are offside.
3.2 If the wing doesnt get the ball, tackle the ball carrier, use a fetcher to turn over while their forwards are offside. He will either win the ball in which case you go back to 3.1, or he will force a penalty which you kick over.
It’s not pretty, but its effective. Ingredients from one we made earlier? Fourie du Preez kicking, Basson/JP Pietersen chasing, Brussouw fetching, Bismarck/Schalk/Beast bashing and Percy Montgomery/Morne Steyn converting.
Am I seeing this right?
27 Aug 2012, 10:28 am
@wpstormerbok-19:
I said it before and I will again.
Meyer is arguably the best coach (going on CV’s of all of them in the last 15 years) to coach the Bok side.
IMO however, he will fail for the exact same reasons all of those before him did.
27 Aug 2012, 10:29 am
@ArtVandelay-17:
Leave those players with the franchises. They would not look any better with the current Bok gameplan. Meyer will just coach all the brilliance out of them.
27 Aug 2012, 10:36 am
Ok at least HM said they werent good enough. Id like to see how he will fix this regarding: Tactics/gameplan and player selection.
Imo there cant be too many excuses. The gameplan didnt work, so change it. The squad can be better so pick the right players and drop those who arent good enough or out of form.
HMs first lesson will be that you have to adapt quickly. Loyalty to players who arent bringing him success wont help him keep his job, neither is the constant belief in an ineffective gameplan.
He said when he was appointed he will make mistakes. He only had a few games as bok coach, but its a perfect time to learn from his mistakes and adapt! SA’s rugby republic is too unforgiving for him to stay on this road.
Imo everybody is freaking out prematurely. If HM doesnt show that he is learning from his mistakes THEN id say its time to get worried. For now its clear HM is making mistakes, lets hope he’s a compitant coach who can fix those mistakes.
27 Aug 2012, 10:38 am
@pokkel-23: Alas, a very fair point. The gameplan is problem #1 here. I want to believe that HM can do better, but almost everything he’s done so far suggests otherwise. Another stark comparison with the ABs is the quality of our assistant coaches. The annoying thing is that South Africa seems littered with under-used rugby brains (Carel du Plessis, Brendan Venter, Nick Mallet, Jimmy Stonehouse etc.) yet HM picked those jokers…
27 Aug 2012, 10:39 am
@PissAnt-22: he’ll fail because he’s a bum coach.. what other excuses you wanna offord him?
If he don’t fail and he succeeds then he’s a good coach, but if he fails he’s a bum coach and no other ulterior excuse is going to condone his so called supreme rugby CV.
White was a mediocre coach who succeeded purely because when push came to shove he realized he did NOT have the wherewithal on his own or within his ranks to pull the thing off, so he enlisted brains and strategies outsaide of his own narrow confines of inadequate thinking to give him the latitude by which to think outside of the box.
PdV had to axe his captain who was weighing his entire team down and move on from the dour dead end street game plan insisted on by his set in their ways pre programmed rugby charges and forge ahead. he couldn’t do so, hence he failed.. White succeeded because he realized he wasn’t big enough on his own to go into battle alone and enlisted professional help which worked ultimately.
Meyer will either fail or succeed on the strength and capacity of both his character and his rugby ingenuity.. if he’s lacking in either or both, then he’s a weak coach, if he can overcome his penchant for rigidity and too much intense structure and desire for his own pre programmed idea of perfection, then he might become a good international coach, otherwise this job is too big for him, and he hit his ceiling at coaching a super franchise to success with a bevy of assistants and professional input from consultant strategists like Tod Louden etc..
27 Aug 2012, 10:39 am
@Tarlo-21: Absolutely correct, I never could understand this obsession of picking thoroughbreds to do donkey work. How you can decide on a kick-chase game and then not select Basson is beyond me, and while you’re at it, get JP Nel in the midfield, no one can bash it up like him. Proper donkeys to do donkey work
27 Aug 2012, 10:40 am
@PissAnt-22:
I’m gonna speculate and say you reckon he’ll bow to public pressure?
He’s between a rock and a hard place at the moment though, and so are we as the supporters.
Even though Meyer and Div are complete opposites in terms of personalities I believe Heyneke has the same weakness when it comes to communicating through the media to the fans on why we’re playing the way we are and getting buy-in from the public to give his side more leeway.
27 Aug 2012, 10:40 am
The problem with the boks at the moment in my opinion asi have said in another blog HM is playing players who just make as test players and they are borderline ie-Kirchener,Jdup,Beast,Coetzee,(at the moment M Steyn,FSteyn)
He also playing players who are not up to test standard ie
Mvovo,Strauss,Bekker,Potgeiter(but as tac says potties is just a stop gap)
Habana and DeVilliers should retire immediately as we are now getting to the same situation Snor was in with smit,playing players who are past their sell by date.
For me only Alberts who is not a No 8 and hougaard who is still the best No9 in SA rugby and Etsebeth who has still a long wat to go to fill Bakkies place done themselves any justice on saturday.
It is so clear HM HAS to bring in brussouw or stegmann to play atNo6 as they are the best fetchers in SA rugby and would bring a balance to the forwards.I never assessed the subs,but i think the only one there who could be a genuine test player is Flip Vd Merwe.
My assessment of the present bok team in my opinion i think is a fair one and if i am right HM has big problems with this squad of players,and he will achieve nothing with this lot.I hope i am wrong and i will gladly eat humble pie if i am proved wrong.
27 Aug 2012, 10:40 am
@PissAnt-22: Yes Morne he will, for being close minded and naive
If you you throw all your eggs into 1 basket ( as per his 1 game plan) then you will always have trouble.
HIs subs when we were in trouble during the match shows no other plans available, thats the big concern
27 Aug 2012, 10:40 am
@PissAnt-22: and what might that be?
27 Aug 2012, 10:40 am
What happenened on Saturday, had to happen, it was a a wake-up call of note for Mr Meyer. We are still unbeaten against ARG, Meyer is still unbeaten after 5 games in charge, and he has woken up this morning surely realizing that we cannnot continue with this kick and chase rugby gameplan, and we cannot outmuscle guys that are just as as big, just as strong and spend just as much time in the gym as what we do.
Now, we have some major injuries, and we are not as well stocked in reserve depth as we let ourselves believe halfway through the Super rugby tournament. Bissie, Burger, Smith, a Fit Bekker, Brussouw, a Fit Goosen, JPP, an availalbe Kankowski and J Fourie would have made things so much easier.
But we can move on from here at least. Mr Meyer has to. He needs to get rid of Steyn. He needs to start with Pienaar and move Hougaard to the wing. Potgieter and Kirchner is not international standard. He needs to get players with X-Factor, pleyers that read the game e.g. Eberson, Lambie, W Le Roux, Daniel, De Jongh, Aplon involved. He needs to balance the back row, he needs to play players that are fit and without niggles and he needs to drop ill-diciplined players e.g. Jannie and Flip to teach them a lesson.
Winning ugly is not something anybody prefers, but it does shut us up for at least a week, losing ugly (lets be honest – Saturdays draw hurts more than any loss in the last 8 years of Int rugby) is unacceptable!!! Man up Meyer, the problem lies with what you want these guys to do!!
27 Aug 2012, 10:43 am
In my opinion the boks will lose with this gameplan every time they do not (or cannot) impose their forward pack on the opposition. This style of rugby that Heyneke is dishing out relies heavily on your forward pack dominating. And guess what, even the Ausies can control (even if illegally) a bok pack these days.
He needs to change tack and get rid of Morne Steyn for once and for all.
27 Aug 2012, 10:46 am
How can anyone in their right mind still insist that the kick-chase gameplan works despite seeing the horrible results week in week out. Heyneke seems to think that fixing the breakdown will solve all out problems. Why? So Hougaard can pass the ball to Morne so he boots it to the opposition? Then we may as well just give it to them at the breakdown if we want to tackle all day!
27 Aug 2012, 10:47 am
Come on guys….3 or 4 more up-and-unders and a few more box-kicks and the argies would have imploded from the sheer brilliance of our execution!!
27 Aug 2012, 10:48 am
@Tarlo-21:
The game plan is just as wrong as a violation of human rights.
How to beat the Boks –
Your back 3 must be well equipped with taking up and unders, as well as show a willingness to counter-attack from these 50/50 balls which gives them a chance to run at a scattered Defense.
When the Boks do decide to run you simply gang tackle their premier ball runners.
This will stop them from getting over the adv line and they can charge the carrier with all their might as the Boks don’t pose any threat of offloading to take advance of the extra space created by more players committing to the tackle erea.
27 Aug 2012, 10:49 am
@logie_Jumpbuck-31:
Pressure of the job, and expectation.
Problem is, we (unlike NZ for instance) expect miracles from our Bok coaches by beating the best in the world consistently, without giving them the tools to do so.
The coach’s names change, the script stays the same.
Before long, SA Rugby will put together an ‘expert panel’ (of teachers and accountants) and call him in to explain himself. Journalists and scribes will latch onto his most obvious ‘perceived’ weakness which is already in full swing if you follow social media about his provincial affiliation.
Somewhere down the line a union supporters forum or union will demand him being sacked and before you know it, his transformation scorecard will be called into question.
I mean I am already reading how he should be sacked for his ignorance and poor selections and he is yet to lose a test match!
Got to love SA Rugby.
27 Aug 2012, 10:49 am
The problem with Springbok rugby does not start with HM, it starts with the structures and player development at the lower echelons. Everybody on here wants the Bokke to dominate at international level when in all honesty the game has moved on and the South African playing culture has remained the same. We instill a fear of losing into players from a young age and a need to dominate by force individually rather than collectively and with speed, skill and guile. What better way to beat your opposition than to outwit them on a rugby but instead we look to use brawn and it starts at the age group level where we celebrate a 65 meter penalty or a 70 meter punt more than off the ball support running and running good lines etc.
27 Aug 2012, 10:49 am
The problem with our gameplan which consists of little more than trying to run over opposition forwards, and kicking the ball in the air and hoping for the best, is that it is considered to be “playing to our traditional strenghts”.
Does no-one in the coaching staff realise this is rather a “traditional weakness”. In two decades of this nonsense we barely reached a 60% wining ratio against all opposition, which is shocking for a country with our resources, and definitely does not constitute a “strength”.
27 Aug 2012, 10:49 am
The fact is rugby has evolved and HM has stayed behind it seems.
Teams that are greata at the moment are teams holding onto the ball, winning the collusions points and spreading the ball yet defensively excellent.
You dont even have to thrash you opponents in the scrums, just atleast have parity, so to the scrums,
Important that the Forwards and backs are on the same page and have the skills to match etc…
CHiefs , Sharks , Saders, Reds thse are the teams playing like this, well prolly all the kiwi teams play like this.
Yes of course where needed to Kiwis etc kick too, BUT IT IS NEVER THEIR ONLY OPTION
27 Aug 2012, 10:52 am
Yep White took everyone – and I mean everybody – and he came out top. He did what every siccesful coach or person does – identify and collate tge best from all around him – but he carried tge can, he stuck to it and ge lifted tge trophy, and he’s doing it all over again at tge brumbies.
27 Aug 2012, 10:53 am
if i may,some of the best players is not even on the field and we dont have a bakkies or jaun smith in that team.i wish someone would start playing that agressor role that we miss dearly.dit was a kak game ,kannie glo ek het dit klaar gekyk nie,kies die regte span meyer,en hou op skop asb.
27 Aug 2012, 10:55 am
Hougaard is not the answer at 9… Worst pass in SA and bad decision making… Play him at wing or off the bench… Give Lambie a go at 10… And tell Bekker and Strauss to stop standing in the backline and get stuck in…
27 Aug 2012, 10:56 am
I do not know if the travelling affected the argies at newlands but their forwards gave ours a lesson and at home as well even thpugh we won.On saturday the argies front row completely stuffed the boks front row and it showed that if our forwards come up against a team who can take them on up front the boks are on the back foot.When i see the likes of roncero i think he is 36 and the rest of his forward pack outmuscling our forwards and our scrum getting stuffed it just shows the rest of the rugby world we have a powder-puff pack that is going nowhere fast.
27 Aug 2012, 10:56 am
They can play the offload game, play into space, get a running flyhalf and even change the gameplan – it might help a little but they will still lose – it’s a granted they will be motivated under meyer – but it will ultimately all come down to selections, get those wrong, even 1 or 2 and you will lose – Boks can win as was done in s15 but have to pick players to do so.
27 Aug 2012, 10:58 am
If Meyer cannot ditch this archaic neanderthal game plan of so called Springbok strength rugby instituted through Streauli and White and then passed on through the 2007 WC team to PdV and now firmly embraced and religiously adopted by Meyer (which as a stupendous fable of mammoth proportions , because it is NOT our traditional strength, running ball in hand rugby is) then he will fail in this job..
If Boks cannot get out of this straight jacket they have firmly shackled themselves hand and foot with called kick and chase rugby, then they are finished.. and Heyneke Meyer will likely lose far more than he will ever win.., and I don’t give him more than one season in this job.. if that?
He will HAVE to chuck this sinking ship of kick chase rugby out the back door and move on entrusting his players to play to their strenths which is NOT play without the ball defense wins games garbage.
That the only way Meyer will succeed, if he is bold and brave enough to realize kick chase rugby is a derelict relic of the past and can NOT offer any proactive progressive way forward, then he might succeed, but he will have to make that decision in his mind, that kick chase rugby is dead, and Boks have to play a more direct proactive game.
27 Aug 2012, 10:59 am
@logie_Jumpbuck-33: agree morne is not good ,sowhat if he played well last week.get goosen in asap.
27 Aug 2012, 11:02 am
I wish we had someone like roncero who is one mean son of a gun as a prop in the bok front row,as he is a genuine test player who takes no **** from anyone.
27 Aug 2012, 11:02 am
@PissAnt-37: Pissant, I’ve always enjoyed your posts (over the last 6years of reading Keo) and your obviously a very insightful rugby supporter, however. I must disagree with you here. Meyer, in all his wisdom, is trying to play a game plan that worked miracles before the rules changed in 2010. The breakdown (read defending team) were favoured under those rules. It’s the other way around now, and yet we still insist n playing THAT game.
Oh, and regarding SA supporters expectations…I think it is exactly the same in NZ, if not more so. How can they manage an 85% winning record, yet we cannot? Explain that and you have fixed all our problems in bok rugby.
27 Aug 2012, 11:04 am
He’s trying to pick players that won’t give away penalties but as a result the Boks are getting owned, and in desperation to win some ball they are having to step out their comfort zone, the exact opposite is happening and they are getting pinged.
Selections, selections, selections.
Boks have now got a real problem tho – brussow and kolisi are down, neither elstadt or fourie are in the squad and vermeulen is not match-sharp.
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