469 Comments

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• 1.MacToogie:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:31 am

  No Dragons, Bekker should do a Pienaar and go play in Ireland for 2 years, he just doesnt cut it at test level, Pienaar’s stint and growth up north has now made him my first choice SH, maybe the time away from Huisgenoot and YOU will teach Bekker that he isn’t a wing.

• 2.i_love_u_bakkiesbotha:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:33 am

  again, a half hearted effort at alliteration.

  up your game keo.co

• 3.MacToogie:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:36 am

  he also seems to lack the ambition to be the best out there, like Houghaard i think the hype has been detrimental to their own drive in rugby.

• 4.i_love_u_bakkiesbotha:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:37 am

  ‘backing bekker to beat the boos’

• 5.gunther:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:37 am

  Well the stormers made a concerted effort to play him into the ground for the third year in a row.

  Is that what you mean?

• 6.Jeez:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:39 am

  Ppppfff Bekker is overrated and was at his best while Matfield was still playing. Injury prone and it seems has a potential career ending back problem.

  So why bother?

  Time to look at the youngsters. Does Pieter Steph Du Tiot play 4 or 5?

• 7.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:39 am

  NOT test match quality. never has been

  HM OUT!

• 8.i_love_u_bakkiesbotha:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:40 am

  ‘backing bekker to beat the blues’

  wow

  i’m in farking genius mode this morning

• 9.i_love_u_bakkiesbotha:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:41 am

  oh jeezuz

  ‘backing bekker to beat the baneful blues’

  smoking

• 10.i_love_u_bakkiesbotha:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:45 am

  @Jeez-6:
  that was always my opinion of him. good enough to thrive under someone else’s wings and be a good stand in for the guy who everyone looks to, to handle the real pressure but not skilled enough mentally and sporting form wise to ever step out of the shadow and provide his own.

• 11.mshiniwami:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:45 am

  Bekker
  Pienaar
  Spies

  All in same bracket.

• 12.xtremebull:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:47 am

  Bekker never was a bad a player… He just got burned out at his franschise for 3yrs in a row… The best possible way to manage bekker is for him to play 60mins the 1 week… And then play 30mins from the bench the next week… Rotating bekker is the best possible way to prolong his career…

  Bekker,kruger and etzebeth with flippie is the bok locks presently… But we only need 3 matchday…

  So bekker and kruger is the rotatable locks with etzebeth playing 80… If it comes that etzebeth get injured late in the game then we just sift alberts to no4 lock imo… I think a 5/2 split could work… But then we have 2 have lock/forward replacement with flo… A elstadt/potgieter type of player

• 13.i_love_u_bakkiesbotha:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:48 am

  @jacoshark-7:
  what does the coach have to do with a player who plays poorly?
  hm has dropped him for good reason but given the choice would not have. our combinations are short enough on caps and time together as it is already.

• 14.Superbru:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:50 am

  Bekker been very inconsistant of late,Kruger by far the more dependable,I would back him going forward.

• 15.Skeppie:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:53 am

  @xtremebull-12: I agree, Bekker has everything physically he just needs to get the right attitude. Matfield always had this “I am the best and always will be” and he was. Kruger is probably the better bet for now but he simply does not have the physical attributes that Bekker has, the sooner HM sorts Bekker’s mind out the better.

• 16.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:55 am

  @i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-13:
  i just want HM OUT
  nothing particularly to do with bekker at all

  this has been the worst start to a Springbok reign ive seen in all my years
  HM is lost, has too many favourites and keeps telling the opposition what the gameplan will be- i mean really, how stupid can you be??

• 17.Skeppie:
  6 Sep 2012, 08:59 am

  @jacoshark-16: Worst start to a Springbok reign? He hasn’t lost a game yet?

• 18.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:05 am

  @Skeppie-17:
  and how far backwards have Boks moved since rwc2011??
  nothing new has been introduced whilst drawing tests against teams ranked 5 and 8 in the world

  if 60% winning record against weak opposition is good enough for you then theres a BIG problem here

  HM OUT!

• 19.Skeppie:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:09 am

  @jacoshark-18: Huh? We have moved forward. We lost in the QF at the RWC…..how can where we are now be worse than that? And statistically you can say 60% win rate but he has a 0% loss rate. HM is being too conservative for my liking but to say he has had the worst start as a Springbok coach is utter rubbish. All this while taking into account that he has taken over a bok team that has lost Matfield, Botha, Smit, Burger, Smith, Fourie and Du Preez.

• 20.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:19 am

  @Skeppie-19:
  when Jake took over in 2004, the Boks were literally in shambles
  he introduced a whole bunch of new players with a different mindset.
  minimum requirement for a bok coach should be winning every game until facing NZ or Aus, who are the only teams a loss or draw should be excusable against

  if you remember 04, youll recall that jake introduced a running game which led us to winning the tri-nations on the back of bonus points, he took a gamble on young players and it paid off and set him for the next 4 years

  HM has introduced nothing new, the team looks fragile and shaken, from team selection, clear provincial bias and a pathetic, stagnant gameplan..the boks have DEFINITELY moved backwards

• 21.stormersboy:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:27 am

  “Finger up the @rse”……Keo???

  Freudian much??

  

• 22.Horings:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:29 am

  @jacoshark-20: Let us just say DEFINITELY in your opinion, because the Boks played some of their worst rugby in 2010 and 2011, while PDiv had the pleasure to pick some of the best players in the world. Regarding 2004. I remember Joost and some others saying that if we picked the youngsters of 2003 it will be good for the future. The 2003 team consisted out of John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Jean De Villiers (injured just before World Cup), Jaque Fourie, Ashwin Willemse and Jaco vd Westhuizen. How many of these players did Jake White pick in 2004? Is Heyneke in the same position.

  Then lastly, to say Heyneke has the worst start then you must be 10 years old, because Carel du Plessis for instance had a far worse start.

• 23.Horings:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:31 am

  @jacoshark-20: Oh, and Jake lost against Ireland and England in 2004.

• 24.Horings:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:33 am

  @Skeppie-19: Not to mention the injuries to Bismark and JPP and in my opinion the world’s best looshead Steenkamp.

• 25.pompies2:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:33 am

  No doubt Bekker deserved to be dropped, but his omission from the bench is crazy. I suspect the Ozzies and All Blacks will be happier seeing Flip run on at 50\60 minutes that Bekker. Another ill considered selection from Heyneke. He can only replace Flip with a like for like. With Bekker on the Bench, anyone of the Back row or locks can be replaced. That’s what the versatility of Juandre Kruger is worth.

• 26.Skeppie:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:33 am

  @jacoshark-20: I do agree that our gameplan is not what it should be but provincial bias…that’s ****. PDV selected Morne Steyn and Pierre Spies, HM is trying to keep continuity by keeping some experience in the team espeically with all the injuries we have. Personally I would not be playing Morne Steyn but at least I appreciate HM’s logic here. You are simply jumping on the panic bandwagon without thinking reasonably about it. Surely it would be fair to say that he hasn’t lost a game yet, let’s give HM a chance?

• 27.Skeppie:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:36 am

  @Horings-24: True. I am a sharks supporter but have always rated HM as a coach. I think he is being too conservative and our game plan is definitely a problem but too many people are buying into this hype ****. HM is a quality coach, he has proven that, all he needs is a little time and some luck with injuries.

• 28.xtremebull:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:37 am

  The way forward… Experience, class, excellence and individualism

  Props-mtawarira(27) oosthuizen(23) kitshoff(20)
  Cilliers(25) malherbe(22) du plessis(30)

  Hookers-du plessis(28) ralepelle(25) strauss(26)

  Locks-bekker(28) kruger(26) etzebeth(21)
  Van der merwe(27) elstadt(23)

  Forwards- spiess(27) burger(29) alberts(27)
  Vermeulen(25) brussow(26) kolisi(21)
  Coetzee(21) arno botha(21)

  Scrummies- hougaard(24) van zyl(22) groom(21)
  Du preez(30-mentoring role)pienaar(28)

  Flyhalves- goosen(19) jantjies(22) steyn(27)

  Centers- steyn(25) de jong(24) jordaan(20)
  Engelbrecht(22) serfontein(19)
  De villiers(31-mentoring role)

  Wings-pietersen(26) basson(25) mvovo(26)
  Rhule(20) habana(28-mentoring role)

  Fullbacks-lambie(22) taute(20) kirchner(27)

• 29.Robzim:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:37 am

  Mark is 100% right- When at his best there is no lock in South Afrca that even comes close to him- To compare him to Juandre Kruger is like comparing Tim Henmann to John MCEnroe or Craig Mathews to Dale Steyn – good and sold but no x factor.

  This is a good challenge for the kwasi- psychologist Heineken Meyer- get into the mind of the big man and show to us that you can handle and motivate a person who is not your typical “Ja oom, nee oom,jammer oom” type of player .

  The only real excuse for this player not to be he best in the world is his injury problems.. If that cannot be managed in some or other way (I think it can) they should tell him now to get out of the game and stop wasting time and money.

• 30.stew:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:39 am

  @MacToogie-1: Pienaar was mis managed in SA – this is no longer a theory but an obvious fact – i still think Muir was to blame for it.

• 31.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:45 am

  comparing a time when the game wasnt even professional, to today is laughable…things have moved forward from then my friend
  HM too needs to realise that this is not 2007 and he doesnt have the time to build a squad like he did with the bulls- yes he lost 13 from 13 in one season in charge of the bulls, but thats all forgotten now hey?

  youre implying that we dont have the talent by mentioning all the players from whites era?
  i see players in this squad with even more ability than those “legends” but if youre gonna play a stupid gameplan, talents means nothing
  but then there are also players who just arent good enough and HM persists on picking em’ ie kirchner, strauss, bekker, steyn..

  the selection has been the most disappointing part of this Bok reign so far
  yes, there have been injuries but if youre gonna play this one-dimensional gameplan, then picking players like bekker strauss daniel mvovo is useless..
  he needs to employ players who are as one dimensional as the gameplan for it to POSSIBLY work – players like vermuelen, kruger and liebenberg
  KLIP HARD MAAR KLIP DOM

  i dont understand why the Spingbok Coach needs to learn the hard way, he should have known all of these things or he clearly wasnt as ready as everyone presumed

  these past 2 games against the argies have been the worst performances ive seen in a very long time- i even switched over to watch test cricket which was more exciting than the BS this coach and all his buddies have produced

  HM OUT!

• 32.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:48 am

  @Horings-23:
  we lost away from home with a young team willing to play a good brand of rugby
  a brand of rugby which took us to number 1 in the world that year, won us Laureus team of the year and which won the tri-nations

  something which is already out of HMs reach

• 33.Horings:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:49 am

  Total Aus NZ
  Beast 37 7 5
  Strauss 14 3 1
  JdP 35 8 7
  Etzebeth 5 0 0
  Kruger 3 0 0
  Coetzee 5 0 0
  Alberts 13 1 1
  Vermeulen 0 0 0
  112 19 14
  Matfield 110 24 24

• 34.MacToogie:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:49 am

  @stew-30: True regarding Pienaar, i think the Sharks as a union have a history of killing off careers by shifting players, luckily Steyn and Pienaar got out before it was too late, but saying that Pienaar had a huge mental block at test level, whether that was due to him being played out of position or his own mental short comings is up for debate, thankfully he seems to have overcome that with his time away from SA

• 35.Horings:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:51 am

  @Horings-33: Total tests played in first column, vs Aus in 2nd, vs NZ in 3rd. Total tests for pack is 112, 19 against Aus and 14 against NZ. Victor Matfield played 110 tests, 24 against Aus and 24 against NZ.

• 36.gunther:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:53 am

  Bekker has always been an arrogant doos.

  But that’s not the point

  The point is that his back is shatile and until that’s fixed is a waste of time discussing him any further.

• 37.KWAGGA ROBERTSE:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:55 am

  Parkiepiel is kaksleg. Plein en simpel.

• 38.The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:56 am

  @Robzim-29: Must be honest, Andries has always been a bit of a prima donna type fellow IMHO. Touted, hyped and built up in the minds of those desperate to find a successor for Matfield (and this when Victor still had a few years in the tank…)
  2010 Super 14, was Andries Bekker’s BEST season of rugby ever. He added the physicality, upped his workrate and kicked some serious butt. Fact is, regardless of the Bulls winning the title that year, Bekker outplayed Matfield that season. And then it went downhill…..parkbenches, divorces, serious back injuries and the sort.
  Because of all the hype that season, it was expected the man would return to the same form, but I reckon THAT back injury was the beginning of the end (never mind all the emotional sh y te).

  Allistair Coetzee and co must shoulder some of the blame, but not all of it. Certain players have certain clauses in their contracts I reckon…..all to do with playing time, starting games when fit etc.

  Andries has to make a decision re: his future as either his back is up to the rigours of professional rugby, or it isn’t. His union, should have him undergo a series of tests and examinations with 3 independent neuros and orthopaedic surgeons. (Let’s be honest, a man of his height is always going to have spinal issues in any event…)
  Then make a decision, OR manage him better, regardless of what any contracts say.

  At his best, he is a massive asset, and definitely the best 5 we have in SA. The way he is now……the word liability comes to mind.

• 39.Skeppie:
  6 Sep 2012, 09:57 am

  @jacoshark-31: So in your opinion a bok coach who is yet to lose a game should be sacked? Please man, that makes no sense at all….yes HM needs to change the gameplan but to fire a guy who has not yet lost? Typical irrational based on hype rubbish

• 40.KWAGGA ROBERTSE:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:00 am

  @jacoshark-31: Dis nou die grootste klomp kak wat ek in n ruk gelees het.

• 41.jacoshark:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:00 am

  @Skeppie-39:
  when we lose these next two games, the record wont look too flash
  just sayin’

  HM OUT!

• 42.Robzim:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:00 am

  @gunther-36:

  Ja, you have a point, his back is my only concern.

  Whether he is arrogant or not should not be a problem- some of the best sportsmen the world has produced were arrogant- and that includes rugby players like David Campese, Jeff Wilson, and Joost Van der Westhuizen to name a few.

• 43.blank:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:02 am

  Bekker is probably one of the softest locks in the S15, let alone international level. What kind of a lock thats meant to “put the fear of god” into the opposition spends more time sitting outside a wing far faaaaaar away from where he is needed, leaving the rest of an inexperienced pack doing the dirty work.

  He adds very very little to the boks, and HM has finally realized it. I really believe that Etzebeth and Kruger are our best options atm.

  If Bekker is nursing an injury and therefore not giving 100%. WTF is he doing anywhere near the bok squad then? What is the point in having a half fit, half committed passenger that adds nothing except making the rest of the pack work harder to make up for him?

• 44.KWAGGA ROBERTSE:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:04 am

  @Robzim-42: Bekker was the next best thing a couple of years ago but never reached the heights we expected. I think his problem is as much mentally as physically.

• 45.Horings:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:07 am

  Total Aus NZ
  The 2012 Bok pack vs Aus 112 19 14
  Matfield 110 24 24
  Smit 111 24 21
  Botha 76 14 14
  Juan Smith 69 16 12
  Schalk Burger 68 16 13

• 46.Robzim:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:12 am

  @The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-38:

  Fully agree

  @KWAGGA ROBERTSE-44:

  Ja, it’s both I guess. He went through a hard time mentally – I know you just joke about the bankie (we dont know what lead up to that)- an as Sharks rugby Pedigree above mentioned they played him into the ground.- i have seen him producing magnificent performances and am just holding thumbs that he has a few more in reserve because we are going to need it.

• 47.Philou:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:12 am

  Not seeing what we lose in having Kruger there. He’s solid on his own ball in the lineouts, steals more than Bekker (on current form), hits rucks hard, runs well with the ball in hand and defends like a Spartan. And now Keo’s making him out to be a “solid” journeyman – hogwash!

• 48.rangerman:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:19 am

  bekker.

  ja.

  tall.

  very tall.

  doesnt like to jump against argies though.

  no.

  nasty argies. rough argies.

  sore back.

  needs a little lie down.

  bye bye andries, lekker slaap.

• 49.Jeraldjay:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:20 am

  Andries had the potential to become one of the great locks.

  Tall gawky/gangly players seldom have his natural athletic ability.

  If he had the right temperament and didn’t have those back issues things could have been so different.

  But I would not risk him playing in another game until his 100% recovered, for his sake and for his future with the Boks.

• 50.keo:
  6 Sep 2012, 10:30 am

  @i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-2: I will do my best Sir

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