Meyer’s selections have restricted Boks
10 Sep 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day newspaper column, says Heyneke Meyer’s dream of coaching the Springboks has become a nightmare.
The Springboks will lose in New Zealand against the All Blacks. They won’t be smashed but they will be beaten.
Johan Goosen will provide greater variety on attack at flyhalf; Francois Louw, selected primarily to slow the pace at which the All Blacks recycle the ball, will ensure there isn’t guaranteed flow and rhythm to the New Zealanders; and the Boks, fronted by the black jersey, the haka and the belief that this match represents the game’s fiercest rivalry, will produce 60 very passionate minutes that will again give South Africans belief, hope and very little perspective.
The Boks will then beat the Wallabies in Pretoria and possibly sneak a win against the All Blacks in Soweto and the Currie Cup play-offs will be wonderful occasions, in which the rugby will seem new age and the sold-out attendance will seem indicative of what makes rugby such a priority to South Africans, if only a minority.
The Boks will head for the UK with renewed hope in November, our media and public will continue to question just how good the All Blacks really are — because they may have lost or come close to losing one match — and present arguments about just how good the Boks could be because they beat or came close to beating the All Blacks in one match.
And then we’ll be in 2013.
You don’t need a crystal ball to know this; just an hour to go through the Boks’ history will show that since professionalism in 1996, every Bok coach would take a team to New Zealand and Australia every year and host New Zealand and Australia every year.
Bok rugby is not in crisis but in a familiar cycle and I think the vitriol being aimed at Heyneke Meyer is because of a belief that he would be the one to break the cycle and be a leader of change.
Instead he, like every Bok coach who has arrived with pomp and ceremony, has been forced to change because of defeat and selections that were stereotypical in design.
Meyer, in discussing his philosophy on rugby, simplified it to there being only two types of rugby — winning and losing. He’s won three from six and it will be three from seven after the weekend. His way currently, based on his philosophy, is a losing one.
The Bok coach has also said that if his players can’t apply the basics to Plan A then why the need to look for a Plan B? Again, by what he has said, he is currently losing.
That is what I have found dispiriting about the draw in Mendoza in Argentina and the defeat against Australia in Perth. Both could have been avoided with more applicable selections to a more applicable way of playing, which is not a South African or a New Zealand way, but — to quote Meyer — a winning way.
We have players in South Africa who can offload in the tackle. We have 10s who can play close to the gain line, ask questions of the defence and make tackles. We have skilled players. We have mongrel in defence. We have players with an appreciation of how the offload in the tackle takes structured defence out of the game and adds pace to the game because it avoids collisions, which can bring the pace to a standstill.
The All Blacks, in picking a scrumhalf whose strength is the speed at which he can move the ball from breakdown to first receiver, have added a dimension to their play but that does not mean they believe this is the only way to be successful.
The talk is that the more physical Piri Weepu could be a better counter to the physicality of the Boks.
The point here is that there is no right or wrong way, but there is a restricted way — and that’s where Meyer has let himself down and made the South African rugby public feel particularly let down.
The view — and I am among the man’s biggest cheerleaders — was that he had the rugby acumen to identify the right mix of players to produce winning rugby, be it playing percentages or blowing opposition away with dominance at the breakdown and with backs running at pace and into space.
For the first 20 minutes of the second half against England in Durban and the first 30 minutes against England in Johannesburg all the signs were there that this could be a very special era of Bok rugby, in which it was accepted that to attack from your own goal line is not necessarily to risk, and to put boot to ball is not necessarily a no-risk option.
I don’t understand the refusal to try out different things, to select a squad that allows for different approaches and to live the dream of coaching a national team.
Instead Meyer is turning it into a nightmare, for himself and supporters.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
It was never supposed to be this way, even if the history of the cycle told us that it would be this way.
396 Comments
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10 Sep 2012, 23:03 pm
are they actually watching boring f’ng skittle sticks when the country’s rugby heritage is burning down in flames by this Heil Hitler Boer who gonna lead the last vestige of boertjie redinasie to the long lost heilige promised land…
10 Sep 2012, 23:03 pm
@fitz1ella-339: Actually didn’t rate Fourie at first, but have come to respect that there is some definite pound-for-pound mongrel there on a similar but not quite the same level or skill as Daniel in the loosie stakes… As a hooker, absolutely no chance, until he learns to throw into and at the LINEOUT and not the opposing backline where he once embarrassingly did… His all round game at hooker miles better than Liebenburg at least…
10 Sep 2012, 23:08 pm
@GI POT-343: too f’ng bad.. too f’ng sad..
now go preach it to the newly converted like Herr HG and his little boertjie sidekick Katmankunt here who were both Hoping against Hope and Praying against Prayers that the NEW Heilige last white hope Messiah had eventually come to red the flailing heritage from extinction and lead them to their promised land….
10 Sep 2012, 23:08 pm
@fitz1ella-350: Pull the other one, you phoney old git. You read it in an exchange we had. One of those exchanges where I sat you down on your arse and you stayed sat. Might have been last night. And now suddenly you’re all flippety floppety this flippety floppety that.
But you’re the one who can’t stick to one opinion for longer than an afternoon. You are the original flippety floppety phoney.
10 Sep 2012, 23:11 pm
Katman@346.Lets hear it for the wrinklies.Drooling,geriatric
half wits bedamned.I mchallenge you to a Mensa Test.
10 Sep 2012, 23:12 pm
@Heavens Game-352: you SLOWLY coming around.. SLOWLY.. keep going.. you heading in the right direction
Fourie is one of the FEW rugby players here who got MONGREL oozing out his veins.. along same type rugby bosbevokheid as Brussow and Bismark and Juan Smith and a few of that ilk.. Elstadt and Josh Strauss also got it … so the coaches must LEARN to harness that kind of outright vokmavoort donner en bliksem do or die attitude.. if they CANNOT see it when it emerges then its going to Fck OFF and play for France.. or Saracens or some such second rate money grubbing alternative fraternity.
10 Sep 2012, 23:18 pm
channel 230….US open Mens Final….tie break…1 st set….farken insane rallys going on here
10 Sep 2012, 23:19 pm
@katman-354: talk **** you little poepoldoos.. if you said flippity floppety in the last couple days then perhaps you reckon you OWN the patent on such a witty phrase.. and you NEVER sat me on my ARSE.. never AND ever.. where you get this F’NG AGGRANDIZED IDEA that you ever CAPABLE of upstaging me or putting me on my arse…ARE you for f’ng REAL ?? MORON !!!
I’m almost 100% sure I used such a phrase PLENTY times before the past few days.. but if you REALLY think you OWN the patent on such a f’ng HIGHLY extravagantly clever witty phrase such as this.. you are WELCOME to OWN it you little feeble runtcunt cleverdick prick.. be my f’ng Guest…
flippety floppety miserable little fuckface GOON…
10 Sep 2012, 23:20 pm
Ag that’s such a diplomatic way of saying this is all Heyneke’s fault
10 Sep 2012, 23:22 pm
I used to watch the Springboks play and win, now every time I watch, I kak myself, praying that we don’t get pomped or totally owned. I feel like the rest of the world is laughing at us. I have little to no confidence in our team anymore. Hell, how did this happen? There’s like 20 guys on this site alone that could coach better than HM. Why is he such a douche? Can’t the SA public sign a petition or something to drop skop his ***? I reckon SA has the most talented rugby players on the planet, but the worst coaches, and even kakker player management skills. Flip Van Der Freakin Merwe I’m getting over the stress that watching the Springboks brings to my life.
10 Sep 2012, 23:23 pm
@fitz1ella-356: Not second in line to Bismarck though… That would be Chilliboy without a doubt… Especially after seeing Strauss in action over the last few tests…
This should be the hooker ladder:
1. Bismarck
2. Chilliboy
3. Strauss/Fourie/Burden… Maybe (Strauss and Burden better at throwing in, but Fourie maybe a better all round game as he has proven as a loosie for quite a few games now).
But it seems Meyer is rather enamoured with Strauss… and this worries me slightly.
Its this fear thing Grantie has been talking about – a preference for the “safe hands”… and safe hands been nothing more than mediocrity.
To me Strauss is the Kirchner of the forwards… Safe custodian but no match winner at test level.. No fear factor in the opposition.
10 Sep 2012, 23:25 pm
@grant10-357: good stuff, Djoko’s footing has failed him a couple of times but he still looks stronger
10 Sep 2012, 23:26 pm
@fitz1ella-358: I’ve sat you down on your arse more times than you’ve had back waxes. And you know it.
10 Sep 2012, 23:28 pm
Fark, now look what Katman’s done… Skop now well and truly wet his pants…
Just as the old barmy rugger number one Bok fan just got lucid…
But hellsteeth LMAO “you little feeble runtcunt cleverdick prick” is a special one…
Not quite on the same level as the Carry on up the Tugela post but farken funny…
Choking
10 Sep 2012, 23:30 pm
People are always fighting when I come on here… I need to work on my timing…
10 Sep 2012, 23:34 pm
@katman-363: dream on you little runtcunt cleverdick prick fuckwit.. dream on and conclude in your little fuckwit halfwitted halfboer head.. exactly how clever you must be to sit me down and put me in my place.. strange that you think this is actually the case… you seriously gotta have some huge delusions of cleverdick prick grandeur.. because far as I can ever remember you NEVER have..
So WHEN WAS it you sat me down and EDUCATED me about ANYTHING you pathetic little arsewipe pissarse moronic prick.?
10 Sep 2012, 23:36 pm
@fitz1ella-366: Okay, that’s it. I’ve had my fun with you. I’m off to bed. You can the rest of the night off.
10 Sep 2012, 23:38 pm
first set murray’s, surely the best set of tennis this year
10 Sep 2012, 23:38 pm
@fitz1ella-366: whoa, language Popeye!
10 Sep 2012, 23:38 pm
@SpringbokSarah-365: pity isn’t it.. there are some little pathetic miserable overrated self aggrandized moronic idiots who actually think they are clever.. unbeknown to them they are NOT.. but they are STILL convinced they ARE.. so they will extend their overrated cleverdick idiocy to the lengths of trying to PROVE they are CLEVERER than they actually ARE.. and so it goes .. around and around the same old mulberry bush how these STUPID little cleverdick imbecilic pricks THINK that they have been cleverer than the next
and this is the sum total of the interchange in this madhouse.. SOME STUPID little imbecilic cleverdick pathetic PRICK trying to PROVE they are CLEVER.. when it is no secret that they are actually VERY STUPID..
10 Sep 2012, 23:43 pm
@fitz1ella-370: eh, live and let live, to each his own, hakuna matata… there are always going to people who you don’t like and who don’t like you… but it’s ok. There are more pressing issues in the world.
10 Sep 2012, 23:51 pm
And on SpringbokSarah’s wise beyond her years note I bid you Con te Partiro…
10 Sep 2012, 23:51 pm
@SpringbokSarah-371: yep thats true.. you always were far more mature than the majority of the so called adults in this lunatic asylum
so keep it real Sarah .. the real pity about arrogance is that it pretends to be suave and conceited and well educated.. but it is blind.. it has no real honesty and integrity.. it is pure conceit and cocksure delusion of self importance… and that is what arrogance is and what it breeds.
And that is why the rugby coaches in this country struggle so much with getting to terms with reality.. because they operate straight off arrogance and when they find out they were wrong they are not big enough to accept it or back down from their pulpit of aggrandized self importance.. and the same with many so called pundits in rugby circles it seems that rugby opinions are the most outright opinionated opinions on the planet.. strange situation isn’t it.
10 Sep 2012, 23:54 pm
the generalisation, stimgatation and sterotyping// inherent insults in the posts to Afrikaans speaking people on here -from some people is incredible.
if this was directed at any other race group this would probably end in banning or in parliament.
that’s ok though. because why.
10 Sep 2012, 23:54 pm
@Heavens Game-372: call me Confucius
10 Sep 2012, 23:58 pm
@fitz1ella-373: unfortunate situation. I would like to believe that they will see the error of their ways and if not them, their children. Humility finds you eventually
11 Sep 2012, 00:04 am
Completely off topic but don’t buy shares in rainbow chicken
11 Sep 2012, 00:05 am
6 games later.
toys out- out out of the cot. conspiracy.
What you don’t admit is that HM is going through the motions like a bullet train.
HM is about 100 light years ahead of all the fundaai on here.
with the purrrfect teams swopped in every post with every eventuality.
and each blogger’s best [different] 1st 15.
a little different if you have to do it and take responsibility for it.
stoking the fire for distrust of the unions, the players, the supporters blah blah.
free speach. hear hear.
11 Sep 2012, 00:13 am
@shooter-378: really? I thought he was light years behind… oh dear
11 Sep 2012, 00:18 am
@SpringbokSarah-379: think again. don’t believe everything. bye.
11 Sep 2012, 00:20 am
anywho that’s my investment/ life/ disney-flashback lesson. Cheers
11 Sep 2012, 01:16 am
MTCW’s on Bok selection, as a Kiwi supporter….
Bringing back a whole lot of old players like Fourie, Steenkamp, Bakkies, Smit, Matfield etc that have shuffled off to semi-retirement rugby in Japan or Europe is not going to beat the AB’s this year, and it will leave you in the cr#p when they are not available next year. I think you should bite the bullet and invest in the younger players particularly in the fowards, with a view to building to challenging for the RC next year and building to dominate international rugby in 2014/15 (15 being RWC year).
The AB’s have been lucky because they have had Richie, Woodcock, Hore and Mealamu fit and available this year, but their powers are waning and they will be well on the decline next year. At that point, the AB’s have to bring in very green players, who may be the same age as their SA counterparts but much less experienced (assuming you do go down the “youth” route I am advocating.
I know it is painful losing in the short term as new players are blooded, but in the long run you will be much better off for it. I think the AB’s will find this out in 2013 and 2014.
11 Sep 2012, 01:50 am
@corporal punishment-382: The Bok fans calling for the has beens to return from Europe don’t have a clue. Fok man, Guthro Steenkamp can’t even make the run on side for Toulouse. The vetgat prop plays off the wood for his club only when he cuts back on the pies and Castle for long enough. Bakkies has lost so much pace he won’t get anywhere near the rucks at the pace the All Blacks are playing. The big man has even admitted this fact to the entire rugby public. And now Smit and du Preez to return? They were over the hill 2 seasons ago!
Let’s rebuild the team with the talent we have at home today rather than play stop gap with has beens that have already failed us 10 times over against the same All Blacks and Wallabies.
11 Sep 2012, 02:58 am
@383 Kwas: Couldn’t agree more.
Rugby is a game of small margins, and the current game plan will win games if executed well. E.g If the Bok team had been fitter in the game against Ozzie, you would have beaten them pretty comfortably. Instead, you ran out of steam after 60 mins and let Oz back in the game.
If I Meyer, I would forget about the old guys, and concentrate on getting the current players as fit as the AB’s, then add in the “X factor” young players that you undoubtably have in the wings (like Goosen) as you gain momentum as a team.
Unfit puddings like Frans Steyn shouldn’t have a place in a Bok team!!!
11 Sep 2012, 03:21 am
@corporal punishment-382:
Good post CP, I will say it again, the team that ran out on Saturday had only 4 players from the run-on team in the 1/4 last year. It is a massive change compared to the pile of stinking p PDivvie left us with not so long ago. The Meyer has to rebuild and at the same time also try to win because he is damned if he does, damned if he does not…
There is no quick fix and he is not a miracle worker, lets see what happens in the rest of this comp and the EOY tours. Also keep in mind, playing the Wobblies and AB away from home is vastly different from playing them at home…
11 Sep 2012, 04:14 am
• South Africa’s home record in the Castle
Tri-Nations against New Zealand is: Played
17; Won 7; Lost 10; Points for 391; Points
against 474; Tries for 36; Tries against 45.
Average score 23-28
11 Sep 2012, 04:17 am
@Slartibartfast-385:
I agree slarti – I think the AB’s will be aiming to peak for the test in the SA. This will the biggest challenge they will face this year (although based on Saturday night’s game, the Puma’s will be tough at home as well).
I can’t see the Aussies winning in SA. They only just beat you at home, and they have now lost Genia. I reckon their focus will now be on beating the Puma’s twice, and they will have marked the away leg against the Boks as a second priority (because with all the players they have lost, beating you away looks beyond them).
11 Sep 2012, 04:19 am
@Transformation-386:
Trans, so that is just under a 50% success rate against the AB’s at home? Not as good as Bok supporters would like I am sure, but far from out of touch. You only need another season like 2009 to even up the score.
11 Sep 2012, 04:26 am
@grant10-19:
Such a drama queen grantie, so tell us who you would select instead…one proviso though, no injured/otherwise unavailable players can be selected.
11 Sep 2012, 04:47 am
@corporal punishment-388: a season like ’09 where the Boks were playing a full strength team vs the ABs with brendon leonard & stephen donald as a halfback combo & isaac ross at 5 getting raped by matfield…
maybe in 2015
the best thing new zealand has EVER done was to give henry, smith & hansen a 2nd bite @ the cherry in 2008…that ensured continuity in selection, coaching, innovation, ethos etc.
11 Sep 2012, 08:35 am
@390 transie:
Good point re reapointment. Actually, when u think about it, Wayne Barnes probably did us a massive favour. If the abs had been knocked out in the semis with a normal referee, Henry and co probably wouldn’t have been reappointed!
11 Sep 2012, 09:03 am
@corporal punishment-384: X Factor? We have coached the X Factor out of Frans Steyn. Just look at his debut game against WP. Jean, he used to be twice the player he is now because he had it. Habana! Schalk! Why have these guys gone backwards?
11 Sep 2012, 09:54 am
@corporal punishment-382:
well said, and i agree.
11 Sep 2012, 10:02 am
@Slartibartfast-389:
Drama Queen?
Really?
Losses mounting my friend…..so perhaps a little drama is a good thing….unless you happy with the state of affairs?
In terms of my team …..I will start off by saying HM made an arse of himself by not selecting Brussow for a FORTY man squad!
Blunder no 1 !!
More selection blunders…..
JJ ENGELBRECHT OVER j de jongh……..thats blunder 2
KIRCHNER OVER APLON….BLUNDER 3….
J POTGIETER……….ENOUGH SAID
The Kankowski debacle
The Marcelle Coetsee conversion process [ how stupid when you have Brussow ]
The yo yo treatment of F Hougaard
the diabolical and disgusting treatment of Keegan Daniel
The treatment of Lambie
The treatment of Jantjes!
The ongoing love affir with M Steyn despite the terrible form !
Drama Queen?
Se moer my mate!
11 Sep 2012, 10:36 am
@grant10-394:
ha ha ha ha ha
11 Sep 2012, 17:06 pm
@grant10-394: Farken Beyootiful… Grantie at his best…
Your Skop “Carry on up the Tugela” speech…
Classic.
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