Hougaard to wing it for Boks
4 Sep 2012
Heyneke Meyer is set to pick Ruan Pienaar at scrumhalf and shift Francois Hougaard to the wing for Saturday’s clash against the Wallabies.
Hougaard has failed to improve as both a distributor and a tactical kicker, and it would appear that Meyer has finally decided to move the talented player into a position where his other skills would be better utilised.
Starting Pienaar at No 9 will also give the Boks a stronger kicking option, and alleviate the pressure on struggling flyhalf Morné Steyn.
‘I’ve always said that we will have a horses-for-courses attitude,’ Meyer told the media in Perth. ‘Hougaard gives you something different on the wing while Ruan is a little bit more experienced and he has a brilliant kicking game so he can take some of the pressure off of Morne Steyn. It is not a definite thing but we are looking at that option.’
That being said, a strong showing by Pienaar could force Meyer to consider a permanent change in personnel. The same could be said of Francois Louw, who joined the side on Monday after playing for Bath over the weekend. Louw is likely to feature at openside flank and will be looking to change the mindset of Meyer who initially felt Louw surplus to requirements.
‘I want the option of a specialist openside, maybe on the bench,’ said the Bok coach. ‘Northern hemisphere refs are normally a bit more lenient at the breakdown and I want us to be covered there. But I’ve said before that the whole team needs to be able to compete on the ground and at the breakdown.
‘Our problem against Argentina was not just taking the opposition’s ball at the breakdown, it was protecting our own ball at the breakdown and that is not just the openside’s role that is the whole team’s responsibility. We need to be more effective at the breakdown, our body height should be lower and we should clean out more effectively.’
128 Comments
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4 Sep 2012, 13:41 pm
@grant10-49: man, i completely agree. there was no better time for HM to bring Jantjies on than in PE but he just did nothing… and then Jantjies gets dropped, unbelievable really. and agreed about the rest too.
4 Sep 2012, 13:51 pm
chopping and changing
I would give Jano Vermark a go – straight of leftfeild
Ruand Pienaar and Morne Steyn very similar players.
4 Sep 2012, 14:38 pm
@Stiff-arm-32: Completely agree about Pienaar. His instincts are to slow the game down. Not as bad as he used to be but slow service from the rucks kills your momentum and takes the wind out of your sails on attack.
Have also seen the opposition hit the counter ruck as soon as he starts talking to the ref. On more than one occassion, I’ve seen the ball pop out of the ruck without him even seeing it.
Ruan is not the answer at 9.
4 Sep 2012, 14:45 pm
Am I the only one worried that even though we have had a straight forward game plan the coach and the players tend to tell everybody plan or a part of the plan to early . If it was me I would do a tactical switch on the day so if the ozzies decided like england to put pressure on hougie they will get a big suprise. Or am I over thinking things . I mean by Wednesday Ricardo lobster will probably tell everybody that they plan to no go wide as soon anymore or something like that.
4 Sep 2012, 14:46 pm
@groen-54: sorry Loubsher ?? too lazy to google
4 Sep 2012, 15:00 pm
Until Meyer changes his gameplan, wing is Hougards best option. Hes the second best wing in the country to JPP I would say
Same height as Habana for those saying hes a midget
4 Sep 2012, 15:10 pm
At bloody last………………..said it for two years this kid is a wing!!!!! now hopefully Ruan can hold it together………….please dont go off reservation buddy, you can do it!!!!
4 Sep 2012, 15:37 pm
@Bok fan-56: Pocket battleship http://youtu.be/6I51jBTua5w
4 Sep 2012, 15:44 pm
@Kaizan-53: Not sure about that, everytime Pienaar came on in the England series momentum seemed to pick up and we cleared from the base of breakdowns a lot quicker.
4 Sep 2012, 15:50 pm
@groen-58: Thanks Groen, hes pure class with ball in hand and excellent on defense
4 Sep 2012, 15:56 pm
Anything except drop Hougaard. He has not played wing all season so I’m trying to understand why he’s an automatic starting option. If he does not cut it on the wing is Meyer going to shift him to FB???
4 Sep 2012, 15:59 pm
@Skeppie-59: Also Pienaar has never been given a fair run in the number 9 Bok jersey. Was the obvious choice when Fourie got injured but instead they tried playing January with a kicking gameplan just like they’ve been doing with Hougaard lately
Opening a can of worms but I still believe Pienaar would be wearing the Bok no. 10 jersey had he never been given the kicking duties. Was his only downfall when he played 10
4 Sep 2012, 16:08 pm
@Stormtrooper-61: Watch on Saturday and tell me afterwards if theres a better available wing in SA
4 Sep 2012, 16:22 pm
@Bok fan-62: And even then his kicking wasn’t bad. I agree he could have done a top job for us at 10 but at least now we have 10 options and he can concentrate one scrumhalf. For me his distribution is good, he has a good boot and is a running threat himself. The big worry for me regarding his game is his defence….we is a pretty weak defender.
4 Sep 2012, 16:27 pm
So deurmekaar soos kots in a tuimeldroer…..how did this oke win a single super rugby title ? Is he going to overhaul the team each time a performance doesn’t meet his standards ? So expect no continuity at all.
Heyneke – jy gaan ‘n paar wedstryde verloor ****…..
I think Meyer will end up being a worse coach than Harry Viljoen.
4 Sep 2012, 16:37 pm
@Dusky-65: Yep. He’s playing an outdated style of rugby and if the players can’t regress 15 years then they’re not good enough. Pretty convenient, cos he’ll never have to take the blame for anything, it’ll always be the players who couldn’t execute his master plan
4 Sep 2012, 16:52 pm
@Atreides-66: If he is going to change his team every game, he will end up with an almighty mess. Also, how cheap will the Bok jersey become again ? How many Springboks had he already made ?
I tell you this guy has made such clueless moves, I think he won Super rugby titles because he was hell lucky to have Fourie Du Preez, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw etc. all reach maturity at the same time.
Fluke….absolute fluke.
But notice, he swaps around players from other unions at will but his blue eyed boys like Morne Steyn stay put. The biggest problem on the team keeps his jersey but guys that have done essentially nothing wrong have to move.
Good luck Heyneke. Early prediction – you wont be around for the next world cup. South Africa will take it up the naught from Australia and New Zealand home and away big time.
4 Sep 2012, 16:53 pm
@Stormtrooper-61: the interesting bit is that of all the top try scorers in super rugby shipperley will be the only one starting this week if mvovo gets dropped for hougaard.
the all blacks starting wings are also nowhere to be found
hhmm
Most Tries
1. Andre Taylor (Hurricanes) 10
1. Bjorn Basson (Bulls) 10
3. Julian Savea (Hurricanes) 9
3. Sona Taumalolo (Chiefs) 9
5. Dom Shipperley (Reds) 8
5. Gio Aplon (Stormers) 8
5. Henry Speight (Brumbies) 8
5. Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks) 8
5. Zac Guildford (Crusaders) 8
10. Aseli Tikoirotuma (Chiefs) 7
10. Conrad Smith (Hurricanes) 7
10. Cooper Vuna (Rebels) 7
10. TJ Perenara (Hurricanes) 7
10. Willie Le Roux (Cheetahs) 7
15. Adam Thomson (Highlanders) 6
15. JP Pietersen (Sharks) 6
15. Keegan Daniel (Sharks) 6
15. Lelia Masaga (Chiefs) 6
4 Sep 2012, 16:57 pm
@Transformation-68: I would like to see a back three of Hougaard, Habana and JP Pietersen when they are all fit. With Pietersen at 15.
4 Sep 2012, 16:59 pm
@Transformation-68: Meyer is clearly clueless. Unfortunately because I was a strong punter for him to be Bok coach. But his early moves have shown signs of absolute idiocy. Usually it takes a bit of time for the coach to go mad, but Meyer has lost it just a few games in.
But rugby is very fickle. Louis Fouche gets player of the month. He played a good game against the Sharks, but did you see how shocking he was at Newlands this weekend ? Next thing you know he will be on a plane down under.
Grasping at straws these guys.
4 Sep 2012, 17:02 pm
@Skeppie-64: Ja def not his strength. Think he deserves a decent run and will have to wait and see. Looked good against Eng, should have started in the 3rd test or come on a lot earlier
4 Sep 2012, 17:02 pm
@Skeppie-69: funny how it was said that bryan is back to his best yet he features nowhere in the try-scoring stakes…back to his best what exactly?
his best was scoring the same number of tries as lomu in a world cup, his best was scoring plenty of tries for the blue bulls, so back to what really?
4 Sep 2012, 17:04 pm
@Skeppie-69:Agreed JPP is the answer at 15
4 Sep 2012, 17:05 pm
@Transformation-72: Also going to be interesting to see if he still shoots off his line against Aus and ABs as they will have a try fest there again as per the last 2or 3 tri-nations
4 Sep 2012, 17:05 pm
@Dusky-70: but Fouche knows what Meyer is looking for! Lambie & Jantjies stand flat and run at the gain line – who told then that? that’s why both of then have spent COMPLETE games collecting splinters on the bench!
4 Sep 2012, 17:13 pm
@Transformation-72: For me it is not only about try scoring, it’s his defence, not coming out of the line at the wrong time, lookign for work, making himself avaiable as a runner coming off his wing at the right time Etc. He may not be the force he once was but he is still our best option in terms of what we have available.
4 Sep 2012, 17:18 pm
@Skeppie-59: The best rugby we played during the England series was in the first half of the second test. Hougaard was central to this because he got extremely quick ball from the breakdown. The heavies were allowed to run at an unsettled defense and as a result made meters every time. Watch the game again. As soon as Pienaar came on, our momentum slowed. Not only this, but Hougaard has been fantastic in both games against the Argies (especially the 2nd test where he delivered quick service even with his pack struggling at the breakdown). Pienaar when he came had a poor game and most notably got shrugged off easily by his opposite number.
@Bok fan-62: Completely agree with you. He is a great flyhalf as long as he is not tasked with kicking for posts. I just don’t think he is a great scrumhalf. His distribution is not as quick as other scrumhalves.
4 Sep 2012, 17:19 pm
@Skeppie-76: ok, i wish we were like the kiwis who jettison their has-beens rokocoko, sivivatu and bite the bullet.
4 Sep 2012, 17:26 pm
@Kaizan-77: We must have been watching different games, in my eyes when Pienaar came on against England we started to gain momentum, although in most cases he only came on for 10 mins or so. Against Argentina Hougaard has been terrible at 9….not terrible as a player but terrible at 9. I understand he got kak ball from the forwards but his kicking was very poor and when we did get any kind of decent ball his service was a little slow with that step of his. His best moments against Argentina were during broken play and he got pill with some space as if he was on the wing but in the confines of 9 he wasn’t flash at all. For me he is a kak 9 but a very, very good wing.
4 Sep 2012, 17:26 pm
@Transformation-78: Problem is transie their has beens are better than our current’s….
4 Sep 2012, 17:30 pm
So the workday being done some time to spend a few moments to laugh at these moronic dalmations of rugby(very fragile white dog with a few black spots) again.
Do the conservative experts ever take the historical performances of a player into consideration?
Does ‘maljan’ Meyer not know how the fragile Pienaar under-performs in Australia? I will just remind him of a few short weeks where fraggie Pienie truly collapsed in just 2 games(1 in the sun and the other in the rain) in about 3/4 weeks against the Waratahs(and you all know that Genius Genia is not their scrum-half) one game being a Super14 semi-final?
The Wallabies must be thinking what they have done to be so well rewarded with the match-up of Genius Genia against Fraggie Pienaar.
4 Sep 2012, 17:31 pm
@Neilanate-81: What is your expert opinion then? Who should play nine this weekend?
4 Sep 2012, 17:33 pm
One itchybitchy black spot on a dalmation whispering All Black skills(seemingly) again while shouting Boks like a demented dalmation chasing its tail again?
4 Sep 2012, 17:35 pm
@groen-54:
Well, that’s not much of a problem if the opposition know what we are going to do. As long as we execute it accurately and with speed, they won’t be able to stop us.
So says Heyneke Meyer apparently.
@Stormtrooper-61:
Gunther would like that. Hougaard at FB that is.
True. What did he do to deserve starting at wing?
4 Sep 2012, 17:37 pm
@Skeppie-82:
Should I care when I do not get the bucks to solve that problem?
To indicate my concern how about Sid Going, the one who was denied and thus had his humanity insulted by those with names like Meyer?
4 Sep 2012, 17:38 pm
@Neilanate-85: Eerrr isn’t it the point of a rugby blog to have an opinion? If you do not have one why slate others who do?
4 Sep 2012, 17:41 pm
@Neilanate-83:
So, what do you make of the Proteas beating the Poms so comprehensively in the tests.
Just like I said they would…. while the Poms were still playing the WI.
4 Sep 2012, 17:42 pm
@Skeppie-86:
Are you mentally deficient(now that is a slate)? I expressed a few opinions there and Sid Going is just one of them.
4 Sep 2012, 17:46 pm
@Neilanate-88: No poopy pants (now that is a slate…or I could go with “I know you are but what am I”), you made a point about Ruan Pienaar not being the right choice and when asked what you preference was as opposed to Pienaar used an irrelevant example involving a player from a bye gone era. mentally deficient…pfffft.
4 Sep 2012, 17:47 pm
@Transformation-75: I tell you I didn’t expect Meyer to make a complete hash of things so soon in his tenure. Really.
I dont like the fact that he shouts over the radio like a raving, panic stricken lunatic when things aren’t going his way. That is not the way a coach of a two time world champion team is meant to behave.
Secondly, it is unfortunately already abundantly clear that he will chop and change his team every time something happens that he does not like. If that means bringing in 5 new Springboks – he will do it. Anyone playing 10 good minutes in a Currie Cup match against whichever opposition is good enough to be a Bok and replace someone who had a bad game against the All Blacks……
Even Rudolph Straueli was more concerned about continuity than it seems Meyer is.
Its ok – he wont last until the next world cup. Once South Africa hits Nr 7 in the world rankings, he will be gone.
4 Sep 2012, 17:47 pm
@nama1-87:
You sound much like Riaan Cruywagens news picks.
Did you not read my derisory post about 48 hrs. ODI #1 rank?
Rankings are hard to achieve and worse to hold on to when sons of black Africa are not picked(Raven’s Philander) or do not achieve 100% of the time(Amla)?
Must you wait 2 months, 2 years or dare I say it 20 years for the next #1 ranking in ODIs again?
4 Sep 2012, 17:52 pm
@Neilanate-91: To learn to speak like Yoda, did you to Star Wars school go ?
4 Sep 2012, 17:53 pm
@Skeppie-89:
Why are you so mucky and what are you doing in/with your very limited “poopy pants”(how else would you know that)?
Does the reference to GENIUS Genia not say anything to you? Run off now before your legs are taken off you.
4 Sep 2012, 17:53 pm
@Skeppie-79: Opinions are opinions, but here are the facts. During the first half of the 2nd England test, Hougaard played scrumhalf. During this time, we racked up over 20 points. When Ruan Pienaar came on, England made a come back and the SPringboks failed to score any further tries. Heyneke Meyer and many of the players have described the first half of that 2nd test as the best rugby they have played all year.
During both Argies games Hougaard’s stats have been better than Ruan Pienaar’s in terms of speed to breakdown (significantly so in this aspect) and in terms of missed tackles. (please check rucking good stats). Hougaard’s contribution’s in the 2nd Argentian test included, among other things, a kick from our within own try line which took play to half way. Bob Skinstad who was commentating at the time described this kick as “absolutely fantastic”. He made no kicks out on the full and no kicks which were gathered by opposition before the bounce. These are the facts. Please go and watch the game again to verfiy these facts. The full game is on Youtube. Type “Rugby Championship round 2″
I know that Ryan Vrede writes many articles slating Hougaard, but we must also realise that Ryan Vrede knows close to nothing about rugby, so it is always best practice to take his articles with a pinch of salt.
4 Sep 2012, 17:56 pm
@Dusky-92:
Are you trying to speak kitchen zulu as that makes no sense(school go)?
4 Sep 2012, 18:06 pm
@Neilanate-95: Who makes no sense – is you Yoda….
4 Sep 2012, 18:10 pm
@Neilanate-91:
I did.
I guess the primary objective was to come back home as the no. 1 ranked test team in the world. It was just the other day (before the Eng tour) that we lost an ODI tournament in Zim when the host nation beat us in the final. The heavens did not fall down then and I’m sure it won’t fall down now.
Now tell me about the tests. What do you make of the Proteas beating the Poms so easily and comprehensively in the series?
4 Sep 2012, 18:15 pm
Khakibollocks!
4 Sep 2012, 18:41 pm
@fantasticbarnsmell-51: that was the ideal moment yes.
its not that i dont rate goosen (he is the golden boy of SA rugby now, but i wont believe the hype just yet) but jantjies has abit more all round ability at this point and his less likely to go down injured in contact
even lambie at flyhalf would get my approval
now jantjies isnt even in the side at the moment, not cool
4 Sep 2012, 18:50 pm
Life is too short to have to tolerate extratesticular. **** off, Neilanate. Be gone.
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