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, 14:12 pm
The fact is that backline players, at current, play their best rugby between 19-24.
Use them when they are young.
10 Sep 2012, 14:18 pm
Lambie or Goosen who cares, just not Morne
10 Sep 2012, 14:21 pm
@RL-132: I was once took time to kill the ” Gaffie conspiracy”. It doesn’t not exist!!!!, its a myth!!!!, by the time Gaffie was chucked in against the All Blacks, its was a year later after his Springbok debut against Ireland in the incoming tours, had another CC, toured UK, had Super 12 season, Currie Cup, Italy incoming tour, Wales incoming tour, THEN, the Tri-Nations, clearly it had nothing to do with experience but rather temperament or lack thereof.
@John Galt-124: Argument aside, there is no story on the “Gaffie conspiracy” , Gaffie was just not good enough, in fact Goosen showed better temperament on his few minutes against Australia
10 Sep 2012, 14:25 pm
@willievz-151: Do they Willie? You sure?
How old are:
JPP
SBW
Fred Michalak
Carter
Sweeping statements not completely valid….
10 Sep 2012, 14:29 pm
@Heavens Game-154:
Which current Bok backline player, JPP excluded, is playing better rugby than 3/4 seasons ago?
10 Sep 2012, 14:29 pm
@Skeppie-140: Nonsense, when was Chilliboy ever rushed!!!!, it never happened, the bloke was a classic “bench-warmer” or tackle bag machine, unless you call that rushing.
10 Sep 2012, 14:30 pm
@XhosaKid-153: it is amazing that the only ones here dredging up the Gaffie angle and applying it to the Goose are varkies – why is that I ask. Are they that sick in the head that they must try to drag the Goose down with this Gaffie invention just to justify the Lambs position at 10.
Sickos I tell you.
10 Sep 2012, 14:34 pm
@Heavens Game-154: Also, SBW started playing union in his mid-20s. Maybe he would have been even better if he started earlier?
Carter was at his very best in 2006, when he was 24.
10 Sep 2012, 14:38 pm
@willievz-135:
so true Willie…..
That Goosen is quite simply the best 10 prospect I have seen…playhim…
And I tell you Jantjes farked those Bulle up 6 love at Cathedral Loftus….sung from his own hymn book and showed absolute magician like skills to destroy the Bulls….
Loved it ….why we saddled with M Steyn remains a mystery…@Skeppie-147: DNA ingrained….wired to skop…that will never ever change
10 Sep 2012, 14:39 pm
@RL-149: Because Lambie had a few more S15 and CC games under his belt and we didn;t start him against the AB’s in NZ did we? Very different scenarios. You also seem to be missing my point, I am a huge Goosen fan and want him in the team as soon as possible, I just do not want him rushed in without giving him a chance to settle, why are you making this a petty provincial thing?
10 Sep 2012, 14:40 pm
@willievz-151: That is a whole load of crappola…..Dan Carter for example?
10 Sep 2012, 14:41 pm
@Skeppie-161: I think he was better in 2005/6.
10 Sep 2012, 14:41 pm
@XhosaKid-156: He should have been given 2-3 years of rugby in the S12/14/15 and CC then he would have come into bok rugby ready, we rushed him into the system.
10 Sep 2012, 14:42 pm
@RL-157: Drag the Goose down…jeepers dude I want what’s best for him and bok rugby you are just an ignorant fan who has no idea about the game and want’s to make it into a provincial **** fight
10 Sep 2012, 14:43 pm
@Skeppie-163: And give the opposition 2/3 more years to analyse him?
Give him 2/3 more years to lose speed and to take more knocks on the body?
No man, play him NOW
10 Sep 2012, 14:43 pm
@Skeppie-160: What exactly is your point, is Goosen being “rushed” because he is coming out of an injury or he is being “rushed” because he doesn’t have “experience” ? or both cases.
10 Sep 2012, 14:44 pm
@willievz-165: the goose
10 Sep 2012, 14:46 pm
Goosen at 10 and Lambie at 15, end of story. The Jr Boks have shown that physicality combined with running attacking rugby is devestating, it was proven when they crushed the baby blacks, I know that wasnt test match rugby but the formula is there, why not use it.
10 Sep 2012, 14:47 pm
Nick Mallet made it very clear in the studio on Saturday that Goosen is NO Gaffie du Toit. He said Goosen has flair but can tackle
Oh forfuckssake we must stop with this fear fear fear of young players failing – it is kak. If Goosen fucksup badly in 2/3 games – he would have fuckedup badly and sank when he finally DID get a chance in about 2 years in any event.
Just throw him in and let’s watch him swim shall we? I doubt he will be sinking…..
10 Sep 2012, 14:49 pm
@Skeppie-160: Lambie had his chance starting at 10 year in NZ and Aus last year and offered nothing – with all of his so called experience. Admit it your agenda is Lambie not the Boks. If your agenda was the Boks then you would be calling for Elton to start with the Goose on the bench and Bambie at 15.
10 Sep 2012, 14:50 pm
@Skeppie-163: I believe a player either has the balls for international rugby, or he doesn’t. If he has the balls, he will have them at 19 years old already…..if he doesn’t have them – they certainly won’t miraculously appear just because he has been protected by the bosom of Currie Cup or Superugby for 2 years.
You have what it takes, or you don’t. If you don’t have it at 20, you won’t have it at 25… (unless you’re a front row fattie)
10 Sep 2012, 14:52 pm
@RL-170: I would start Elton in the home games coming up. Goosen this Saturday, and then Elton and Goosen in combo (each get a start and a bench part) on the home leg.
10 Sep 2012, 14:58 pm
@XhosaKid-166: Both essentially. Starting him against the AB’s in NZ is a big gamble! My opinion is to eas him in, maybe off the bench for a few games, give him a couple of starts on tour in the NH, give him the whole S15 next year and by this time next year we will have a guy who is 100% ready.
10 Sep 2012, 14:59 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-171: Experience plays a big part in rugby, just look at Etzebeth’s lack of it on Saturday. I am not saying don’t play him, I am just saying ease him in off the bench for a while and not throw hom to the wolves
10 Sep 2012, 15:00 pm
@RL-170: Offered nothing, he has been very very good at 10, you are clueless
10 Sep 2012, 15:00 pm
@Skeppie-173: What’s your opinion on Coetzee and Etzebeth to date?
10 Sep 2012, 15:02 pm
how old is aaron smith and how “rushed” is he as now he is the starter for the All Blacks?
our coach is a hypocrite, when asked in PE why he didn’t field Jantjies…
Meyer said he opted not to replace Steyn with Jantjies in Port Elizabeth because of inexperience.
“I did not make that move because there was a lack of experience on the field as the match approached the closing stages,” he said of his decision to leave the young Golden Lions fly-half on the bench.
yet johan goosen coming from a 3 month layoff is somehow ready to be thrown against the 2nd ranked team in the world?
10 Sep 2012, 15:06 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-171: i agree, how “rushed” was James o’Bieber? how come Deans didn’t worry about “pulling a Gaffie” when he played him as an 18yr old?
is beauden barritt more experienced that jantjies? nc nc nc
10 Sep 2012, 15:06 pm
@Transformation-177: I’d take competence over experience, any day.
10 Sep 2012, 15:07 pm
@Skeppie-175: then why were the Boks moered with Bambie starting at 10 – have you forgotten.
10 Sep 2012, 15:07 pm
@willievz-176: Both fantastic….but playing 10 in a team that is battling a bit against NZ in NZ as a 19 year old on debut is not fair, that’s my point. For my money he is the future and looks like a brillaint prospect but I am worried that we are heaping too much expectation on his shoulders.
10 Sep 2012, 15:08 pm
@Skeppie-181: There is no expectation, we will lose the test anyway.
10 Sep 2012, 15:12 pm
Its not about inexperience its about BMT, either you have it or you dont, especially noticeable in a key position like flyhalf. Lambie has it and so does Goosen. Morne also has it but unfortunately his game is far too limited for the modern game
10 Sep 2012, 15:13 pm
@Skeppie-181: “not fair”? how about this from stuart lancaster after the 3rd Test in PE?
“When Owen Farrell came on for Toby Flood we had under-21 players wearing the No 10, 12 and 13 shirts. We have young lads making debuts and I thought Alex Goode was outstanding at full-back.”
do you reckon he was being unfair to play 3 rookies against SA in SA?
10 Sep 2012, 15:16 pm
@Bok fan-183: Also think Jantjies has it as he showed in the Currie Cup final last year
10 Sep 2012, 15:17 pm
@Skeppie-181: remember England DREW with us, our coach was too scared to take out a S.HIT morne and replace him with jantjies, yet lancaster replaced flood with farrell and entrusted the youngster with the LAST MINUTE DROPGOAL…he fluffed it but will be bouyed by the experience!
fark “pulling a gaffie”!
10 Sep 2012, 15:17 pm
@Transformation-184: Owen Farrell probably had three premiership seasons under his belt before that so it’s very different. Look all I am saying is let’s have a plan for Goosen and make sure he is the best no 10 in the world for a long time, rushing him into the starting line up this Saturday for me is a risk, he may have a blinder and make me eat my words, I really hope he does.
10 Sep 2012, 15:17 pm
@Transformation-177: start with Groom and the Goose then bang – varkies will say too young and call on Oupa McLeod and old head Lambie.
10 Sep 2012, 15:18 pm
@Transformation-186: We as a rugby playing nation are definitely too conservative so yes I agree with you, I didn’t bring up the Gaffie thing FFS!
10 Sep 2012, 15:21 pm
@Skeppie-189:
10 Sep 2012, 15:22 pm
@Skeppie-174: Not convinced, you have basically offered the exact route Gaffie took to his ill-fated NZ game, 3 incoming tours ( Italy, Ireland and Wales), end of the year tour ( UK & Ireland), Super 12 season, off-course customary CC, yet he got farked against NZ, hardly being thrown in the deep end.
10 Sep 2012, 15:23 pm
1. Guthro / Beast
2. Strauss
3. WP Nel
4. Alberts
5. Juandre
6. Brussow
7. Coetzee
8. Vermeulen
9. Pienaar
10. Elton / Goosen
11. Hougaard
12. F Steyn
13. Jean
14. Habana / du jongh
15. Taute
Fly the guys in, will look much better even if they jet lagged
10 Sep 2012, 15:24 pm
@Skeppie-174: Sure, but experience can’t be bought at Woolies, and neither can it be gained sitting on a bench, and it certainly doesn’t come from the protected bosom of the Currie Cup.
What happened to Eben, should not be seen as a negative, but rather a helluva VAULABLE lesson which ADDS, not subtracts to his international experience column. Thank the gods this happened sooner, rather than later.
Best place to get that so called experience – on the field against the toughest oppo in the world. Naturally gifted players will be ok, even after losses, bad decisions and bad games. They always are, because unlike average players – their talent will always be evident (even in the kakkest, most conservative and uptoshit gameplans)
The truly gifted are not afraid of losing if something positive is taken out of the experience.
The mentally fragile and average will revert to type, whether 20 or 30.
10 Sep 2012, 15:25 pm
@RL-188: do you know that HG went as far as to say Goosen is “hyped up” because he watched him lose a JWC match against England in Italy last year?
what he forgot was that paul jordaan was the player shown up and made to look rubbish by christian wade in THAT match…
petty provincialism.
10 Sep 2012, 15:25 pm
What is interesting about this converastion so far is that we are discussing merits for Goosen, Lambie and Janjties, I would like to hear from Morne Steyn’s camp, what does this bloke bring to the table that is so precious that 6 tests in, he’s been average at best.
10 Sep 2012, 15:26 pm
Play Goosen at Flyhalf and Lambie and Fullback. Gives you two options to attack the gainline when the Boks have possession.
End of Story.
Kirchner and Morne must go.
10 Sep 2012, 15:32 pm
i think Its time to bring in new young players.
Flo was flou, we missed Coetzee,
Eben was just plain stupid with Head butt
Vermeulen useless, 2 knock’s, 2 tackles ( 1 high) , 1 penalty and 6m running with ball and every one complained about Spies…. koncks
10 Sep 2012, 15:44 pm
We’re used to mediocrity in our rugby. Like our football, we’re the world’s best at local Premier and Currie Cup level. (Stormers! Bulle! Sharks! Beeeastt…!)
But against the big boys: All Blacks, Aussies, even Argentina we’re mediocre. And Heyneke will keep it that way.
But it’s an old story. Mark Keohane’s got it right.
But please, in the name of all that once was holy, don’t talk about inexperience. Please!! Cut the BS!! Experience lost to Australia in the World Cup Quarter Final. And experience played the worst at Perth.
10 Sep 2012, 15:44 pm
@XhosaKid-195: I doubt you will get a response. At least not a solid one
10 Sep 2012, 15:46 pm
@capebull-197: vermuelen had hardly played 80 min of rugby after a 6 months layoff!
what excuse do you have for spies?
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