Duane’s day to remember
29 Aug 2012
Duane Vermeulen is finally a Springbok and one of two uncapped players for the Rugby Championship tour to Australia and New Zealand.
Johan Goosen is the other newbie, with recalls for Juan de Jongh and Bath-based Francois Louw.
‘Untimely injuries to Bismarck du Plessis, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Pierre Spies, JP Pietersen and Bjorn Basson have already hit us hard in the past few weeks. This again provides opportunities for other players to put up their hands,’ said Bok coach Heyneke Meyer.
‘We were very keen to give Siya Kolisi an opportunity on this tour, but he is also out injured, alongside a list of other injured or unavailable forwards that include Gurthrö Steenkamp, Heinrich Brüssow, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Ryan Kankowski.’
Meyer confirmed he would have selected Vermeulen and Goosen in his initial Test squad but for injury to both players.
‘I regard both of them as world-class rugby players. If it wasn’t for injuries, Duane would have been a Springbok long ago. I also believe Johan has a long career ahead of him at Test match level and we will expose him when and how we feel it will benefit the player and the team best.
‘Both Juan and Francois played at the Rugby World Cup last year and are experienced players. Juan covers both positions in the midfield and we opted for Francois because he is a specialist openside flanker, in the absence of Schalk, Heinrich and Siya, that can cover blindside and No 8 as well, while he is also a very useful option in the lineout.
‘I’m also very excited with the quality of young talent coming through – Eben, Marcell and Johan are all still U21 and that bodes well for the future of Springbok rugby.’
Springbok squad – Willem Alberts, Andries Bekker, Craig Burden, Pat Cilliers, Marcell Coetzee, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (c), Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Goosen, Dean Greyling, Bryan Habana, Francois Hougaard, Zane Kirchner, Juandré Kruger, Pat Lambie, Tiaan Liebenberg, Francois Louw, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, Jacques Potgieter, Frans Steyn, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Flip van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen.
656 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 [12] 13 14 » Show All
29 Aug 2012, 20:37 pm
@victoriabok-548: Well we looked terrible against them. Kiwis will be better against them, make no mistake about that.
Just have to hope we play well against the Aussies. We could and that could set us up for a good contest against the Blacks. Then for now that is wishful I think.
29 Aug 2012, 20:40 pm
People forget Rassie is the Boks Technical coach/Advisor
29 Aug 2012, 20:44 pm
@Transformation-547: When we played England in the last test. Then thought we could be tired as remember we came straight into those tests with no rest from Super Rugby. So actually was not too concerned then. Though this time thought Meyer will have us better prepared. Well he never and even though we beat them in Cape Town was concerned then. There I felt angry we never go the 4th try….lol. Only to see us really go backward in Mendoza and we should actually have lost there. Damn that was a mess that game.
Look we could get better who knows. Let us see how we go against Oz. We could turn it around. Still support our Boks no matter what. But of course feel disappointed seeing us playing this way.
29 Aug 2012, 20:46 pm
@Transformation-550:
Yes they did plan on dominating them, but I think we might have underestimated their fire at home and they haven’t played as many regular tests against quality opposition per year as we do, so getting video’s you could actually use might have been a problem
Don’t underestimate Henry’s input
My friend asked a good question after Saturday’s game, “Do you think Henry’s going to give them the same quality analysis and advice to counter the All Blacks?”
29 Aug 2012, 20:48 pm
@sharks_lover-552: I know and wonder what he actually does? Also the backline coach surely he is not doing much either. Well none of the coaches.
You think Meyer will last the 4 years? After watching him freaking out with his walkie talkie smashing it to his mouth, crikey not sure. He might pack it in. Looks highly stressed all of the time.
29 Aug 2012, 20:50 pm
@victoriabok-554: Maybe Jake should give them advice about the Blacks…………….hahahaha.
29 Aug 2012, 20:52 pm
I wonder if this guy eventually gets it right.. by default.. same way as most SA coaches eventually cotton onto what works and what don’t.. never by design.. always by circumstance stepping in and forcing their thinking..
Rugby is actually such a simple game to strategize around and to select players that combine and work well but it seems that most fundi’s wanna complicate the hell out of it.. then wonder why it simply don’t work out with all the complicated reasons around the super highly enlightened strategists failing.
All you gotta do is look to see which player got the balls and the character for the job and select them in their best position and voila you got a champion winning team.. Instead they surround themselves with people for all the wrong reasons and fail to see who got the real low down character for the job and who don’t.
29 Aug 2012, 20:56 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-538:
> Most ‘mountain goats’ have been concerned about Meyer’s conservative selection and gameplan tendencies from the getgo.
Why, should he have used the Stormer’s a-try-a-minute approach?
> Meyer cares little about the ACTUAL players, but more about his covering his own @ ss.
Like all Bok coaches he’s not allowed to lose
> He can select as many Lambie’s, Goosen’s, de Jongh’s, Vermeulen’s, Louw’s as he wants, it changes nothing at this stage
Yip, there it is, the Goat response
Now for the last time:
1. Mallet didn’t want the job
2. AC didn’t want the job
3. Divvie couldn’t do the job although he had the most experienced Bok team ever(and don’t come with the kop-se-kak stories about the Tri Nations and BIL tour, any coach would have done it, including Fester that you fired at WP)
As a Bulls fan I would have preferred HM to remain as DoR and rather build us a good Bulls team
with all the young players
29 Aug 2012, 21:00 pm
@Puma-555:
The first test I’ve ever seen was against the Poms at Loftus, after the first fifteen minutes the Poms and Rob Andrew were something like 15-0 ahead
Ian MacInstosh was the coach and it looked if his eyes were going to pop out
He probably smoked a cigarette a minute
29 Aug 2012, 21:03 pm
@victoriabok-516: ja, ek verneem koste van behuising is ‘n teer puntjie in Vancouver. Ek het nou ‘n knapie in ons kantoor in Vancouver ‘n job gegee in die Calgary kantoor en hy het onmiddellik ‘n pragtige huis in die stad opgeraap teen ‘n fraksie van die koste in BC. Maar Calgary is bitter koud en die somers kort – niks wat ons daaraan kan doen. En natuurlik is sukses in Alberta 100% afhanklik van die olie prys. Ek veronderstel solank die Chinese hul biljoene in ons olie reserwes bele kan dinge net goed gaan.
29 Aug 2012, 21:03 pm
@victoriabok-558: Well like Mallett said, Boks are playing Stormer/Bulls rugby. We are, the only difference is that we have not implemented the Stormers defence into the game. Our defence was a shambles on Saturday we were missing many tackles. We can never do that against Oz or Abs.
Anyhow we may just have a blinder next week who knows. That could happen. Hope we do turn it around.
Okay out of here now. Cheers bud.
29 Aug 2012, 21:06 pm
@Puma-515:
What you have to realise is that Flo is a Stormer and will slot in no matter whether he played 10 weeks ago or not!
But seriously HM is questioning his own thinking, which is good. Especially so when people on this site understand that he hasn’t totally ruled out Heinrich Brussow.
29 Aug 2012, 21:06 pm
@victoriabok-559: Mac’s eyes always looked huge….hahaha.
He was a very good coach with the Sharks. Ahead of his time those years. Talking of the 90′s now. He never got much of a chance with the Boks. Not many coaches did then and they were fired. Now days we keep our coaches seem to stay longer.
Okay now really out of here. Cheers. Catch up tomorrow.
29 Aug 2012, 21:09 pm
@I am a stormer-562: I know and I rate Flo. Just wondered if he was fit or not. Someone said earlier he had a injury and then read he had not played for quite sometime. Hope he slots in quick. We got bullied last week at the breakdowns. Brussow should be back when he is over his injury. Well think so.
Cheers bud now really out. Catch up tomorrow.
29 Aug 2012, 21:14 pm
@kwas-560:
Ons het nou die dag op Craigslist gekyk na huise om te huur daar, vir die $1500 wat ons hier betaal kan jy ‘n groot nuwe huis in Calgary kry met 4 slaapkamers, hier kry jy net sulke huise in stratas en hulle sal nie sommer en kan huur vir minder as $3000 p/m nie
Dit is maar moenie die waarde van son en blou lug onderskat nie, ek kom van Pretoria af so ek is gewoond aan winters met blou lug en sonskyn, my vriende hier wat Kapenaars is nie veel gepla oor die grys winters met motreën wat aanhou vir dae nie
Ek moet ‘n email adres by jou kry, dan kan ek vir jou ‘n bier koop as ons in Calgary is, ons dink daaraan om miskien nog in September te gaan kyk, ons wag net dat almal weer terug is by die werk.
Gelukkig is vlugte en akkomodasie goedkoper na Labour Day
29 Aug 2012, 21:17 pm
@I am a stormer-562:
> But seriously HM is questioning his own thinking, which is good. Especially so when people on this site understand that he hasn’t totally ruled out Heinrich Brussow
He gambled without a fetcher against the Poms, but he had Bismarck
Now he needs one as Adriaan is not the same type of player
Now we’ll hold our fingers crossed that Brussouw would have an injury free season for once
29 Aug 2012, 21:19 pm
Willem Alberts, Andries Bekker, Craig Burden, Pat Cilliers, Marcell Coetzee, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (c), Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Goosen, Dean Greyling, Bryan Habana, Francois Hougaard, Zane Kirchner, Juandré Kruger, Pat Lambie, Tiaan Liebenberg, Francois Louw, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, Jacques Potgieter, Frans Steyn, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Flip van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen.
JdV (c)
J de Jongh
F. Steyn
J. Goosen
F. Hougaard
D. Vermeulen
W. Alberts
M. Coetsee
A. Bekker
E. Etzebeth
P. Cilliers
D. Fourie
D. Greyling
B. Mtwarira, C. Burden, J. du Plessis, J. Kruger, F. Louw, R. Pienaar, M. Steyn / P. Lambie
That about his best starting team note the gaps at 15 and 11
because all HM has left available there are Kirchner and Habana unless he going to gamble with Hougaard to wing from kick off which would be a STUPID move.. almost as stupid as switching him to wing at 60 minutes.
Play Burden off bench as extra back line option if we go a back line player down in a 5 / 2 bench.
But we left with a big hole at 15 and wing.. suddenly all we got going in those positions are Mvovo, Habana, Hougaard, Kirchner, Lambie
He should have an A. Coetsee, or a R. Rhule, or a W. Le Roux, or a JJ. Engelbrecht or a J. Serfontein somewhere in his backup to fill the dreary back line proposition facing this team once again.
Goosen won’t spark an entire back line all by himself even if he does hit form straight off the bat and J de Jongh definitely won’t start and likely won’t even get a bench spot.
These guys don’t really know how to build a team, so they keep filling stop gaps till hopefully and miraculously a team develops out of trial and error by default, as is happening here.
29 Aug 2012, 21:28 pm
@victoriabok-566:
I’ve mentioned this before many times thar I was privileged to hear HM speak before his first squad announcement. I wasn’t surprised that he ommitted Brussow as he expected Bisssie to do that job for him. Adriaan Strauss is not a like for like player in the Bissie mould.
That is why HM has had to do a re-think even to the extent of delaying the announcement of this squad by 24 hours.
That is another reason why I’ll give him more time. Unlike other guys on this site who want to push him into the path of a fast moving taxi.
Disclaimer: Potgieter didn”t feature in this analysis.
29 Aug 2012, 21:29 pm
@fitz1ella-557:
> I wonder if this guy eventually gets it right.. by default.. same way as most SA coaches eventually cotton onto what works and what don’t.. never by design.. always by circumstance stepping in and forcing their thinking..
It’s human nature, you believe your opinion is right until someone or something changes it
A rugby team also consists of indviduals which a coach has to forge into a single entity
It’s hard to do over a few seasons with a provincial team, imagine doing it in a short time with players from different unions?
Some players won’t fit in like Luke in White’s team, not because they’re bad players, just because they don’t fit that particular team.
Like Liefling, under coaches Rudi Joubert and Strauli, they couldn’t use him right and ruined his confidence, yet HM could motivate him enough to win CC’s and S14
> Rugby is actually such a simple game to strategize around and to select players that combine and
work well but it seems that most fundi’s wanna complicate the hell out of it..
You can’t always play your first choice players (injuries) and each player is different so the same gameplan might not work with your second or third choice player (Jantjies and Lambie won’t play exactly the same game)
29 Aug 2012, 21:39 pm
@I am a stormer-568:
He has been at a disadvantage from the word go
No preparation time
The injuries to first choice players who would have been the axis of his gameplan (Vermeulen and Goosen)
Losing Bismarck was a biggie
Morne and Hougie being useless, but he could have remedied it by using Lambie or Jantjies and Ruan
Why he brought in Tarzan from Despatch while there are tons of good loosies around we’ll never know
I like Riaan Viljoen a lot, he would also be an option at 10 for the Boks
29 Aug 2012, 21:40 pm
@victoriabok-569:
From the word go its been clear as daylight that Spies and Potgieter and Kirchner are not international caliber players
And then M. Steyn and Olivier very closely following as not international caliber players
Yet from the outset these players were picked and played as first choice players
Can’t go blaming injuries for omitting better players than these as your first choice picks, and then when circumstance forces you to change your thinking use the excuse that its injuries that made you select better .. that’s simply a cover up lie because the first choice selection was poor and now trying to cover up with frantic kamakaze quick fix options is just downright getting desperate, and usually desperation brings about desperate circumstances.
29 Aug 2012, 21:44 pm
@Transformation-540: it is always easy in the cheap seats
29 Aug 2012, 21:44 pm
@fitz1ella-571: easy in the cheap seats
29 Aug 2012, 21:47 pm
@fitz1ella-571:
He had to pick Spies* as Vermeulen was injured, and he needed some experience in the pack, both locks were newbies as well
If Schalk played he would have been captain and you could have blooded two locks and a no 8
*-Don’t ask me how he played 50 tests, you know how I feel about him
Kirchner is more about the quota ratio that anything else I suspect
HM likes Taute, he’ll get his opportunity
To lose JPP playing the best rugby of his life as well as Bismarck also was a big blow, and we can’t compensate for their experience we’ve lost
29 Aug 2012, 21:47 pm
@londonshark-298: SA’s forwards dominated in 2009 until they got injured. In truth, the SA pack would dominate most years were it not for injury to key forwards. The SARU’s player management isn’t good enough to sustain success.
29 Aug 2012, 21:48 pm
@victoriabok-570: Looking for a replacement for Juan Smith?
He is giving Morne a fair chance? If he had a pack that could protect him and give him front foot ball, how would he perform?
Riaan is pretty average if you look at his error rate
29 Aug 2012, 21:48 pm
Tarzan from Uitenhage made the most successful tackles on Saturday
29 Aug 2012, 21:50 pm
its actually easier in the expensive seats than they wanna try and make out.. some these so called professional coaches make the expensive seats look cheap.
How difficult is it to notice Kirchner, Olivier, Spies, Potgieter, will never be international caliber players.., yet apart from this new Tarzan wunderkind that is keeping at least 10 better loose forwards out the bok team the other 3 have around 200 caps between them
Add M. Steyn and a couple other glaring problem children and you start seriously considering that some these so called professional coaches got way more yet to learn than some us bumpkins sitting in the cheap seats.
29 Aug 2012, 21:51 pm
@victoriabok-574: we do underestimate player losses and the impact it has left
from 900 tests to 150 or so
29 Aug 2012, 21:52 pm
@fitz1ella-578: I think everyone hates Kirchner due to his provincial performances because he has been reasonably good in the RC so far. He did a decent cover stint at outside centre v Ireland too.
29 Aug 2012, 21:53 pm
@Big Hit-575: you not even saffa and you making petty excuses for SA glaring weaknesses because we so prone to injury.. how come NZ don’t have half the injury problem concerns and excuses that we do? Even Aussie who should never be anywhere near our ability in rugby union yet smack us by 49-0 and 6 tests in succession and the rest boast far less injury related excuses than we do
29 Aug 2012, 21:55 pm
@JL1-576:
Maybe but Tarzan would never be Juan
Elstadt maybe or even Rhodes?
Morne’s head is not in or at the game, someone commented on the Bulls site that Morne has played something like 134 games in a row missing 4 or so.
No wonder he’s listless
Jantjies and Lambie should each have had 30 minutes against the Poms
29 Aug 2012, 21:55 pm
@fitz1ella-578: How can 3 coaches miss Spies and his quality???
Kirchner…stable, not mistakes, no action but solid… I dont really see many fullbacks knocking on the door over the last 4 years
Olivier, again why could 4 coaches not see through him
Potgieter…… i NEED TO HOLD MY BREATH TO SEE WHAT HE CAN DELIVER
29 Aug 2012, 21:55 pm
@victoriabok-570:
HM is spoilt for choice at SH and FH but is unable to make the big call there. My gut feeling is that he will start with Morne and introduce Goosen for 30 odd minutes. Goodbye Morne. And there is Jantjies waiting as well.
As for the loosies, injuries and lack of form or out of depth have redefined his thinking. Suddenly Flo comes into the picture. HM stated that he’ll only pick an overseas player if no local player is available. So Brussow will still come into the picture at some stage.
29 Aug 2012, 21:56 pm
@JL1-577:
He did didn’t he
Like Meisiekind in the last test against the Poms he performed against all expectations
29 Aug 2012, 21:57 pm
@Big Hit-580: he’s just a mediocre one dimensional provincial level full back.. always will be and will never amount to anything more than that.. yet he’s our best 15 in the country according our national coaches… how many caps this one dimensional donkey have?
and we supposedly pride ourselves at seeking excellence.. well if that’s the level of excellence we are seeking I hate to see what our mediocrity levels are.
29 Aug 2012, 21:58 pm
@victoriabok-565: ek sal jou my email stuur. Het jy ‘n non-descript email adres wat jy my kan gee hier? Wil nie my identiteit op internet publiseer nie.
Kan jy ‘n werks oorplasing na Calgary kry of soek jy nuwe werk hier as jy besluit om te skuif?
29 Aug 2012, 21:59 pm
@victoriabok-582: Elstadt has discipline issues… he will not see 60 minutes internationally
Morne, can be replaced, quite right, he slipped into flyhalf by default because Ruan crumbled under pressure
29 Aug 2012, 22:00 pm
@fitz1ella-586:
You forget the quota requirement?
29 Aug 2012, 22:02 pm
@fitz1ella-581: I have no excuse for any sides weaknesses, SA rugby struggles to embrace running rugby and it has been to their detriment given they haven’t always had the forward advantages. That’s an issue for short-sighted coaches, the coaches in the UK are little better hence all the foreign coaches in our rugby.
However, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say SA produces better forwards than other nations and if they managed to keep them fit, it would go a long way to beating the opposition.
NZ have superior player management and the Australians do have injury problems. This was on the theroar.com (Aussie site):
“But the injured list keeps growing, making life extremely difficult for Deans and his selectors, Tony McGahan and David Nucifora.
Currently injured include David Pocock, James Horwill, Wycliff Palu, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Ben McCalman, Pat McCutcheon, Damien Fitzpatrick, James O’Connor, Pat McCabe, Ben Tapuai, Joe Tomane, and Cooper Vuna.
Which begs the question: why are so many Wallabies injured and so few All Blacks?
The men-in-black have the answer, and the right system.
Prior to the 2012 Super Rugby tournament, the NZRU and the five franchises met and decided the black jersey was the number one priority.
So if All Black coach Steve Hansen decided such-and-such a player was looking jaded, he’d ring up the franchise coach and suggest that player have a two-to-three week rest.
Automatic done deal: no argument, no discussion.
Robbie Deans hasn’t got that luxury. It’s left entirely to the Australian franchise coaches.
And what do they want? Their best players on the paddock every week.
At one stage during the season, there were 26 Australian players on the injured list.
Carnage.
And it’s not much better now.
Australian rugby has a lot to learn on player management and it will get worse among the Wallabies now Argentina is in the Rugby Championship, requiring all that extra travel.”
29 Aug 2012, 22:02 pm
@JL1-583: exactly it may be easy in the cheap seats but it seems way more difficult to have any kind of clarity in those so called expensive seats..
I think the expensive seats have a built in blindness inducer that automatically makes international coaches blind.
29 Aug 2012, 22:03 pm
@kwas-587: ek praat met hom, nou val jy my in die rede, hete mens!
29 Aug 2012, 22:07 pm
@fitz1ella-591: … but any seat we still do not have many fullbacks to really say there are a list of ones to replace the current player
maybe we should look at the way we play at grassroots as the cause, we seldom attack from the back, we tend to join the line from the back… what didi HO do…. please tell me as I never saw him play?
29 Aug 2012, 22:07 pm
@victoriabok-589:
It’s because it running late, minor issue?
@victoriabok-585:
I’ll trade for him 1o JdVs
He does tackle and miss few, he hit the gap hard too
With the kind of ball he has seen from Morne Styen and prior to that from Derrik Hougaard I wouldn’t expect much
He got 3 Super Rugby rings which means something?
29 Aug 2012, 22:08 pm
@kwas-587:
victoria.bok@aol.com
Ons sal nuwe werk moet kry
Ek sien hulle adverteer baie poste daar, as ek ‘n job search doen kry en twee poste in Victoria en 120 in Calgary
29 Aug 2012, 22:09 pm
Just seen HM,s team to come down these ways. Certainly an improvement on paper with the addition of Goosen, DV and Flouw.What HM sees in Potgeiter is anyones guess and the dropping of Keegan is a mistake in my opinion.
The way I look at it, Meyer is not going to move away from his gameplan of execution over innovation, so imo it wont matter an iota who Meyer picks he will still get outwitted on the field because of his outdated strategies of bash….bash….kick….and hope.
29 Aug 2012, 22:09 pm
@JL1-588:
So does Flip, Bismarck
29 Aug 2012, 22:11 pm
@JL1-592:
Jy is ‘n Lions supporter, hoe goed is die slot wat ons nou by julle gekoop het, Paul Willemse?
29 Aug 2012, 22:16 pm
BH is exactly right, but there’s another difference, SA and OZ need their very best to be fully fit to take on the ABs.
In other words the ABs have always had more depth. Not necessarily the best XV, I think the Bok pack could have dominated them the last few years if they’d selected right without injuries, but the ABs do have more wordclass players to select from. For example, there is nothing to choose between Mealamu and Hore – even that Delmonche or whatever would walk into any test side. They got 2-3 worldclass players to pick from in virtually every position, SA can probably only say that about their pack and not even in certain positions. But if SA could select properly they could beat allcomers.
We see this depth every year when the ABs can pick a B side and still win on an EOY tour – if OZ or SA do that, they get punished, but the problem is the A-side are complely buggered by year-end and get bashed anyway, injuries pile up, Our current guys are already buggered and most of the RC has yet to be played, the sharkboks have travelled back and forth to australasia 3 times already.
29 Aug 2012, 22:16 pm
@Big Hit-590:
> At one stage during the season, there were 26 Australian players on the injured list.
Same here, but in Kiwi the players are all contracted to NZRU and they “rent” them out to the unions so they can do it
Our unions contract the young players out of school, or most recently, still in school
Pages: « 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 [12] 13 14 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.