Midfield magic needed
4 Sep 2012
RYAN VREDE writes the Springboks’ midfield pair of Frans Steyn and Jean de Villiers are far more creative than what they’ve shown and need to be encouraged to explore that dimension of their play.
I’ve lamented the Springboks’ pack’s impotency extensively, and, in a game of cause and effect, their struggles are at the root of the broader impotency of the backline.
Over the course of the last five Tests there have been encouraging periods where the heavies have dominated and the backline has buzzed, their early blitz against England at Ellis Park the prime example of this. However, they have lacked consistency and it has reflected in a string of unconvincing performances. Notable in that period has been the muted impact of their midfield pair.
The duo seldom see the ball when the Springboks are in their own territory, the directive being to punt and chase for fear of committing errors in their half and gifting the opposition points. This is understandable given the small margins in Test rugby among the elite sides. However, when further upfield, it is deeply frustrating to see Steyn being reduced largely to a battering ram, whose primary function is to generate go-forward at the gainline. He has had limited success in doing so and will struggle to impose himself in the manner the coaching staff hope against the organised and physical All Blacks and (to a lesser extent) Wallabies.
Steyn’s creative ability is well known and was first exhibited as a young buck in the Springboks’ midfield at the 2007 World Cup. His running lines were excellent and his distribution – short and long – was incisive and created opportunities for his outside backs. I’d like to see Steyn encouraged to rediscover this dimension of his play (in the right field positions) because he has the skills set to be more than he is being utilised as at present.
De Villiers has found adapting to the attacking demands of a Test outside centre difficult. His running lines and timing of those runs are fractionally off and in Test rugby those fractions are the difference between breaking the line and being stopped. He certainly possesses the attacking flair to be effective in the position, but I am concerned that age has depleted the turn of pace he used to have to get him through holes in the defensive line.
De Villiers, however, remains a fine player who I believe will settle into the position and be a competent option. Comparisons with Jaque Fourie are unfair and those who peddle those comparisons fail to appreciate that Fourie was among the best in the position in the game. De Villiers is unlikely to retain the captaincy or No 13 shirt if, as expected, Fourie returns to the Test fold in 2013. Until then, he must explore different dimensions – tackle offloads for example – of his attacking game within the framework of the game plan.
The Springboks’ pack are central to their success and against the weakest Wallabies pack in recent years, they must create the platform for Steyn and De Villiers to be the game breakers they have the capacity to be.
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343 Comments
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4 Sep 2012, 15:17 pm
@poppa69-199: oooh, am i talking to a kenner?
a real g e n u i n e expert?
teach me poops, tell me why you are so amazing and i am not.
get phucked fatty lol, you talked sh it e about jannie and the beast and now want to argue about the highlanders?
4 Sep 2012, 15:21 pm
@Transformation-196: where did I say it wasnt taxing, I just said it isnt an excuse because the majority of the saders pack did more and still WON a WC… mealamu and woodcock play for the blues Trans, so right away you prove your ignorance..
I said the majority of the saders pack, but then youre well known for bending peoples words because you cant argue the fact
McCaw, Owen franks, Whitelock, Thorn, Reid , Ben franks 5 (6) of the 8 forwards travelled over 100 000 kms in super rugby in 2011 and were there when NZ won the WC..
how was the sharks more taxing then the Saders forwards of 11? it wasnt, so fck off boy..
@rangerman-198: beast and jannie are kak, and the Aussies will prove it this weekend.. they didnt handle the Chiefs too well, twice in fact… ordinary plonkers, typical saffa windgats!
4 Sep 2012, 15:21 pm
@pompies2-184:
SA players are not known for their supportive running lines as you may well know. They are not good without the ball in hand on attack and sometimes look even worse with ball in hand. So, it might take a while to get them to understand what they are suppose to do.
In the meantime however, we get pummeled by the Argies in the rucks while the Aussies and AB’s have been our nemesis at ruck time for years (before the arrival of Brussow). We need a short term solution while working on a long term solution. More numbers at the ruck is exactly how the Argies deprived us of quick ball. For now, I think we should go that route as well. We will at least slow down the opposition ball which will hamper their attacking play with the back line.
Also, it is not as if we look like having an attacking game even when we have good, quick clean ball. More often than not the FH kick that ball way up into the sky for the rest of the players to chase.
So, committing more players to the ruck to at least secure our own ball and slow the opposition ball down, won’t make any difference imo.
4 Sep 2012, 15:21 pm
@rangerman-201: Ignore him mate. The comments are coming from a “man” berating SA for its people problems while living in a land whose white peoples killed off an entire island (Tasmania), which kept Aboriginal reserves (akin to “homelands”) and which has a government that does less for its original inhabitants than the ANC. He is a walking, talking loony tunes character for Hypocrisy-r-Us.
4 Sep 2012, 15:22 pm
@rangerman-201: youre the one who said the highlanders front row was highly rated, I asked you to prove it… you havent and continue to divert..
says it all
4 Sep 2012, 15:22 pm
@nama1-203:
won’t make any difference imo….to our attacking play.
4 Sep 2012, 15:23 pm
@nama1-203: As pleased as I am about Flo being included, and as good a player as he is, he is a different type of player to Brussouw. Flo was unable to handle Pocock in the quarter finals. If he is to be used, he needs to be utilised correctly as per the Stormers used to.
4 Sep 2012, 15:24 pm
@mikeybrass-204: yep, when 270 co workers get charged with murder that is perpetuated by the SA police force, you know the countries fucked..
4 Sep 2012, 15:25 pm
@poppa69-202: @poppa69-199: Popps, Jannie & Beast played the Reds in Brisbane, The Stormers in Cape Town, The Chiefs in Hamilton and are a week ago battle Roncero and his grizzled Argies in Mendoza and are to face the Wallabies in Perth…all this is an space of less than 2 months!!!
get real!
you brag about a 100 000kms racked up by the crusaders over 6 months please calculate the distances between durban, joburg, brisbane, durban, cape town, durban, sidney, hamilton, joburg, durban, cape town, buenos aries, mendoza, joburg, perth in 2 months
i’ll be waiting
4 Sep 2012, 15:25 pm
Poops wants people to think a front row containing the likes of Jamie Mackintosh and All Black Andrew Hore was not highly regarded. Looney tunes.
4 Sep 2012, 15:26 pm
@poppa69-208: Get out of Australia then.
4 Sep 2012, 15:28 pm
@Transformation-209: Don’t bother. The idiot is spurting again and from the wrong end.
4 Sep 2012, 15:29 pm
@Transformation-209: so if this front row was all conquering, why did the team only just scrape into 6th spot? surely they should have been right up the top of the log if they were so “dominant”?
only themselves to blame for their “travel disadvantage”
saffas looking for excuses, how very ummm strange..
4 Sep 2012, 15:29 pm
@nama1-203: I think we’re going to agree to disagree on this one.
The argies did indeed get the better of the boks at rucktime due to numbers, only because we were too slow to get to the ruck. They were good at assessing the ruck situation and poured numbers in when the boks were slow in their support.
That’s key to all good defensive tactics. Recognize the situation and apply thew correct action, otherwise you’re wasting your energy.
4 Sep 2012, 15:31 pm
@mikeybrass-211: why? I didnt perpetuate the same type of racist bullshit your forefathers are guilty of..
talking about spouting ****, you seem full of it..
hahaha laughing at the audacity of someone whose forefathers have been the very epitome of oppression for 100 years..
do you not even feel some embarassment for the way your forefathers treated fellow humans?
4 Sep 2012, 15:31 pm
Dawn do you think these men are as passionate about their woman as they are about discussing the men in their rugby team? It makes me think.
4 Sep 2012, 15:33 pm
@Blitzbok-197:
You feel good now?
Go watch again how Adi ran good lines in support of JdV. He scored a great try from one such move from memory, rounding the last defender.
T’was during their time as Bok centre pairing that they were both nominated for SA Player of the Year.
JdV won it.
So, go now and go **** yourself, dom kont.
4 Sep 2012, 15:33 pm
@mikeybrass-210: Macintosh is useless, Hore is more renown for his scavenging skills then his scrummaging
I cant help it if you know fckall about anything..
4 Sep 2012, 15:34 pm
@poppa69-213: buddy, relax…you’re the one saying beast and jannie are kak…check the sharks 5 last super rugby and how they won their games…only in your warped mind would they reach the final with 2 kak props f.ucking up the works bwahahahahahaha
4 Sep 2012, 15:34 pm
@poppa69-215: Yet you are willing to live in a land whose forebearers killed off an entire island population, etc etc etc etc etc. Hypocrite. As I have said before, you need conselling, intensive therapy. Run along now, it’s past your bed time and your mommy’s calling.
4 Sep 2012, 15:35 pm
@poppa69-218: Self-reflection and idiocy from the looney tunes hypocrite is so entertaining. Go on, amuse me some more.
4 Sep 2012, 15:36 pm
@poppa69-213: have you tallied up the distances between these cities Poeps? you glibly spout 100 000kms for the saders in SIX MONTHS with byes & home games included…
how much have jannie & beast travelled in 2 months?
4 Sep 2012, 15:36 pm
@Transformation-219: LOL
4 Sep 2012, 15:37 pm
@mikeybrass-210: ja poops calls jannie and beast k u k and refuses to rate ‘tosh and hore.
whattawally.
expect to hear how naughty white saffas are for the rest of the day
4 Sep 2012, 15:40 pm
@Transformation-222: and funnily enough, when the beast came back from injury the sharks started moving up a gear.
its a pointless discussion to have with poopa though, he has granted the crusaders of 2011 mythical status for their travels but will ignore the sharks travels happily.
sillydumbfuck.
4 Sep 2012, 15:41 pm
@poppa69-218: you know nothing.
wake up.
4 Sep 2012, 15:41 pm
@mikeybrass-220: yep, just like your willing to allow 270 innocent people to be accused for government sponsored genocide..
oh wait, you grew up in that culture and probably profited from it..
do you visit the townships and feel good because your parents helped create that? how do you live with yourself knowing so many millions are starving while you and your brethren live off the fat of the land? do you even see the oppressed? do you have to unlock the gates to notice?
@Transformation-222: the distances mean nothing, if they were so dominant they would have got home semis, the fact they didnt disproves your owned everyone theory…
4 Sep 2012, 15:41 pm
you guys are talking about a front row that got owned by the lions
hahahahahahahahaahahahahah
4 Sep 2012, 15:43 pm
@pompies2-214:
:lol
No problem.
Maybe the Argies went onto the field knowing exactly how the Boks would approach the rucks (committing only a few players) and decided beforehand that they will commit as many as possible to counter us.
Watch the Aussies committing up to six players, or even more, at the rucks on Saturday against our 3/4, driving us off the ball or slowing down our ball or forcing our players to hold on and give away a penalty without losing anything in their attacking play.
4 Sep 2012, 15:45 pm
@poppa69-228: ok, you dont rate them.
thanks for your opinion, everyone has one.
but its only an opinion much like my opinion of you.
4 Sep 2012, 15:45 pm
@poppa69-228: Which lions? Gauteng or B&I?
4 Sep 2012, 15:46 pm
anyways, bygones.
have a good day crackers.
poopa you get phucked
4 Sep 2012, 15:46 pm
@rangerman-230: feelings mutual ranger…
so dont sweat it, I hate you as much as you hate me..
but then, I am a “coloured” so you cant help your natural leanings….
4 Sep 2012, 15:46 pm
@rangerman-224: yeah while he lives among the rich whites of Australia whose forefathers killed off an entire island.
4 Sep 2012, 15:47 pm
@mikeybrass-234: an entire island versus 40 million
not too bright are you?
4 Sep 2012, 15:48 pm
@poppa69-233:
i dont hate you poops.
i pity you.
more so for your revulsion at your own skin colour. you have to stop wandering around feeling like its a curse ok?
4 Sep 2012, 15:49 pm
@mikeybrass-234: the fact youve used Australias atrocities against a kiwi really highlights your stupdiity.
lmfao
what a dumbfck..
4 Sep 2012, 15:50 pm
@rangerman-236: I embrace my colour ranger, shame thats all you see though..
but what to expect from one whose been brought up to distinguish by colour, it is indicative of how little SA has changed in the last 30 years..
4 Sep 2012, 15:50 pm
@nama1-229: the argies understood the value of the advantage line and made sure that went in their favor. The Aussies don’t have the bulk, nor the ability to play without a decent amount of possession. I expect them to want to dominate possession and tire the Bok defense. They’d also look and striking off primary phases. Obviously Genia also plays a crucial part in deciding the direction and pace of play.
The Boks will need to start like a house on fire to gain some added belief. They shouldn’t struggle in the primary phases, but don’t expect the Ozzies to wan to scrum too much, so you can expect a high tempo game with few lineouts and scrums.
4 Sep 2012, 15:51 pm
must be those nasty aussies got into poops head about his cullart status.
hectic.
nobody tell him we are all cullarts or he will deflate like an old balloon.
4 Sep 2012, 15:52 pm
@poppa69-238: all i see?
i have never seen you my fragile little cullart flower.
you brought it up as though it was a curse.
shame.
4 Sep 2012, 15:52 pm
@poppa69-227: Most of our police force should be under lock and key themselves. They need heavy reforming.
4 Sep 2012, 15:53 pm
@poppa69-237: You moved there, not me.
4 Sep 2012, 15:55 pm
@rangerman-241: you know Im maori ranger, it is common knowledge here… but continue, only making yourself look the fool… all because I have the opiniojn that beast and jannie are over rated..
you guys arent precious much are you?
when a foreigner has a different opinon to you rown this is what ensues..
so much for SA “hospitality”
@mikeybrass-242: yep, perhaps you should concentrate your scorn on fixing your own countries problems before berating someone who happens to live in a country whose past mirrors your own huh?
talk about glass houses..
4 Sep 2012, 15:55 pm
@pompies2-239: anyways, i must be off for real.
let that hate go poops, it will burn up those around you first.
and be proud of your heritage buddy, who knows who was porking who whilst the lady of the house was having her bath?
4 Sep 2012, 15:55 pm
@poppa69-227: do you know who dale chadwick is poeps? that’s who played prop when beast was injured mate.
what about craig burden and wian herbst?
jannie papsnoek has actually improved (don’t quote me on this, spits! feck the guppys
)
4 Sep 2012, 15:57 pm
@poppa69-228: don’t be stupid, didn’t the crusaders get raped by the rebels? nc nc nc
4 Sep 2012, 15:58 pm
@poppa69-244: a maori?
a real live one?
or part maori?
dont tell me, i dont actually care.
one thing is for sure you are 100% purebred bitterbek.
wake up and keep away from sharp objects i will continue your treatment at a later date
4 Sep 2012, 16:02 pm
@Transformation-246:
again, I think beast is massively over rated and Jannie is useless..
you guys disagree, so be it..
the fact that my opinion gets you all so riled really does do me the greatest honour… to get three or four people so adamant to porve me wrong because i have a different view really does highlight the insecurities you all have..
wonderful..
4 Sep 2012, 16:04 pm
@Transformation-247: dont be stupid, this great front row got owned by the Argentinians
easy to do this isnt it?
the Argentinians OWNED beast and jannie… OWNED them..
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