Morné must go
10 Sep 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes that Heyneke Meyer is doing the Springboks, and Morné Steyn himself, a disservice by persisting with the out-of-form flyhalf.
One more point would have given the Boks victory in Port Elizabeth. One more would have made the journey to Mendoza a success in the strictest sense.
Had the Boks converted more drop-goal and penalty opportunities in Perth, they may have built a lead so imposing that the Aussies may have failed to come back.
These are the small margins that have meant the difference between success and failure. It may seem a simplistic view, as the Boks are guilty of inadequacies across the board, but there’s no denying that had they converted more of these shots on goal, they would now be sporting a solid six from six record instead of a mess of statistics that read won three, drawn two, and lost one.
Six from six wouldn’t confirm that all is well with the Bok game plan, but it would indicate that they still have the means to win close games. That they didn’t get the desired and very necessary results in Port Elizabeth and Mendoza confirmed that they no longer had that game-winning edge.
Morné Steyn, South Africa’s Mr Reliable of the past three seasons, has battled with his consistency and confidence. Those erratic showings in South Africa and Argentina boded badly for the all important Tests in Australasia.
Steyn’s problem is a fundamental one. I was in England recently and bumped into a former Bok flyhalf, one of the great goal-kickers of the modern era. Having watched Steyn closely over the last year, he has made some interesting and worrying observations about Steyn’s goal-kicking technique.
Significantly, these flaws were highlighted after the Boks beat Argentina in Cape Town. It was a time when everybody, including Meyer, claimed that Steyn was back to his best. My source shook his head at this assertion. Steyn, he argued, would continue to struggle.
The following Saturday, Steyn missed two goal attempts in Mendoza. Two weeks later, he missed one penalty and two drop-goal attempts.
It wasn’t unexpected, at least not from the former Bok flyhalf, and it once again raised the question that everybody has asked at one time or another: What does Steyn offer the Boks if not a reliable goal-kicking option?
His tactical-kicking game has always been a strength, and to be fair, the Boks were good in this department during the first half of the Test in Perth. But too often his tactical- and goal-kicking strengths have been put forward as the argument for his inclusion, and are the reasons why his limp attacking game and frail defence are so often overlooked.
Teams need a reliable goal-kicker to win tight matches, but the modern game also demands a balance between attack and defence. Steyn cannot offer that balance. He possesses neither the skill set nor the vision to be a force on attack, and is a traditional flyhalf in the sense that he is loathe to put his body on the line in the tackle.
The Bok game plan has been lambasted in recent months. Most have called for a complete overhaul and pointed to the All Blacks as an example of how the Boks should play. I agree that the Boks can learn from the All Blacks, but I don’t think a complete rethink is required.
The All Blacks are the best team on the planet because they boast the best balance between attack and defence. The Chiefs won this year’s Super Rugby tournament because they enjoyed such a balance, and the Sharks were South Africa’s best team because they too embraced a more rounded approach.
This doesn’t mean the Boks should stop kicking for territory; it simply means that they should vary their approach and become a less predictable force. And to do that, they will need to employ a flyhalf who is capable of asking questions of the opposition defence.
Steyn is not that flyhalf, and given his loss of goal-kicking form, he can no longer make a contribution to the Boks.
Persisting with Steyn will do the Boks more harm than good. It would be more prudent to send him back to Pretoria where he can address the problems with his kicking technique.
Let him get to the root of his troubles, let him build some confidence in the Currie Cup. Let him rediscover that trademark accuracy and amass so many points that, as was the case in 2009, he cannot be denied a place in the Bok set-up.
Meyer claims that Steyn is a warrior. They’re cheap words. Let Steyn prove it; let him fight his way back into contention. Don’t reward his mediocrity by picking him week after week. Let him earn his place.
Dropping Steyn will allow the Boks to develop a more balanced approach. It will also force Steyn to address his flagging strengths.
I doubt that installing Pat Lambie or Johan Goosen at flyhalf will bring the Boks immediate success, but it will ensure that they start to move in the right direction.
Goosen earned his first cap in Perth, and in those 10 minutes he offered more on attack than Steyn has in three years. When Lambie has started at 10, he has also posed more of an attacking threat. The Australasian tour in 2011 was a prime example, as Lambie stood out despite the poor effort of his forwards.
There is some value in the current game plan, and it would be foolish to dispense with it completely. What’s needed is variation, an allowance and understanding that attack is an integral part of the modern game, and that no team can defend for 80 minutes.
It’s wrong that Steyn’s loss of goal-kicking form should be the catalyst for change. But change is desperately needed.
Steyn’s inaccuracies have already cost South Africa in three matches. They cannot be ignored whether your game plan is ultra conservative or perfectly balanced. Whichever way you want to look at it, persisting with Steyn would be counterproductive.
That being said, Meyer must avoid the temptation to turn Lambie and Goosen into Steyn clones. Both these players have the potential to become complete flyhalves in the mould of Dan Carter. They must be backed and allowed the necessary room to realise that potential.
Embrace their full skill set and you will embrace a more balanced approach. Only then will the results against New Zealand and Australia come with any great consistency.
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215 Comments
10 Sep 2012, 05:05 am
Will Bokke management have enough walkie talkies after Meyer broke 3 over his forehead?
10 Sep 2012, 05:14 am
@NZINCHINA-1:
You have to admit, that was classic TV. Not often you see that much emotion from a national coach either…
And JC, you are right, it is the predictability of Steyn that is the issue. There may well be a role for him in the future but on current form he should not be there. Form, mind you, that has dropped about 12 months ago and never picked up again…
10 Sep 2012, 05:15 am
@NZINCHINA-1:
lol
Steyn is not to entirely blame here
Pienaar must go..
Callup Vermark at 9, Goosen at 10
I believe Meyer may go with these two
10 Sep 2012, 05:21 am
2/3 blood the Goose nothing to lose as everybody in SA is expecting to lose this game, Steyn has given his all for Bokke rugby but his time is up although he is not the only problem.
10 Sep 2012, 05:21 am
Mind you, I felt tlike breaking something midway through the second half as well…
G13, nah he has been poor for a while now, time to give him a break.
10 Sep 2012, 05:24 am
@NZINCHINA-4:
He should have played at least 30 minutes on Saturday rather than the 9 minute cameo he did get. But yes, play Goosen for 40 minutes and Lambie for 40 or the other way around, Steyn can carry the tog bags…
10 Sep 2012, 05:31 am
Slart perfect conditions guaranteed for the test so running rugby will be on the menu, Cruden will run everytime he’s spots a gap lets hope Goosen or the little Lamb do the same to make it a classic spectacle, too
much defeatism in Bokke circles already
about this test that should never happen.
thistest that
10 Sep 2012, 05:35 am
I don’t think only Steyn is to blame. It’s not a game plan issue either. The execution is not there. Sure some players are not executing as they should and Morne Steyn is one but we have problems in the back line and an unbalance, uncommitted 6, 7 snd 8 combination. Hooper outplayed all of the Boks forwards. But we can’t complain about injuries and retirements and certainly not about the ref in this match. The Aussies have their own share of injury problems. The Boks simply didn’t execute as they should have. They were too slow to get to the ball, they forgot to drive over the ball at rucks and they distribute too slowly. The sad thing is you don’t fix these things in a week. They may be more losses in NZ. HM will have to find able bodies to execute the basic well at test level. And that’s a big ask with the current crop of wannabees.
10 Sep 2012, 05:37 am
Morning All,
I think that were in for a tough ride this year, starting this weekend. More injuries to players (Habs and JDP) means less experienced players. Thanks to Etspeth, Bekker or Fllip is going to start this weekend.
Now, I don’t think HM will drop steyn and make more changes. He already will have a seriously weakened team with those 3 out, and to drop steyn and pienaar means 5 changes.
Not going to happen the week of the AB’s.
I sniff a harsh saturday coming up!
10 Sep 2012, 05:37 am
@greatest13gerber-3:
Agree, Steyn must go but he’s not alone.
Pienaar a perennial underperformer at Test level, time to get the flick.
And why is everyone so quiet about Jean de Villiers? He has offered nothing, is also way off form and needs to seriously step up if he’s not to lose his place and the captaincy.
Then there’s the pack, pushed around by a super-kak Wallabies eight.
Yes, Steyn must go, but let’s not kid ourselves that he’s the only passengerr.
10 Sep 2012, 05:39 am
so there we have it
proof definite that Bok rugby is the very definition of k@K, k@k and more k@k..
wonder what the odds are of SA getting the first Rugby Championship wooden spoon? must be even money surely?
still, you guys have all this magnificent depth, the best in the world we’re told repeatedly…
hahaha this sure is a funny circus
doot doot oodle doodle oot doot do do
10 Sep 2012, 05:54 am
@NZINCHINA-7:
@Amerifikaner-8:
@BULLET-9:
People are very quick to shoot the Meyer down, in the process they also very quick to forget the mess we had under PDivvie. Key to this is the fact that the Boks had only 4 run-on players from the team playing in the 1/4 last year.
It is a massive change and we fooling ourselves if we think it won’t take time to get things right. Sure we have issues with players like Morne and Krusty(who had his best game in a while at 15) but overall there is little wrong with the selected players. And forget about injured and recently back from injury players lurking around, this is not the comp to consider them.
Yes, I was very frustrated on Saturday mostly because I expect so much more but sometimes we need to be realistic as well.
As for the weekend, unlikely as it may sound we have an even chance of beating the AB who is far from the top of their game too…but I won’t hold my breath!
10 Sep 2012, 05:58 am
Don’t know about an even chance but you certainly have a chance.
10 Sep 2012, 06:00 am
Please hey eke get rid of him. he is the problem! Put Lambie, Jantjies, Peter Grant, Butch James or GOOSEN. ANYONE BUT MORNE HE IS KAKKK
10 Sep 2012, 06:01 am
The larger problem is the predictability in the South African game. Going into this week, NZ’s planning will be as follows: “We’ll match the Springbok physicality in the forwards, and we’ll have to deploy a back 3 that is safe under the high ball.”
The ABs will back themselves to do both. Boks must develop a more varied game plan. To beat NZ and Australia, it’s not enough to rely simply on forward aggression and a kick-chase game.
10 Sep 2012, 06:02 am
@Slartibartfast-12: Slabby, I am not shooting HM down. I even mentioned that there is no fundamentals wrong with it. But some players is not at the top of their game and there are others not doing the essensials right. Our defense was an issue this week, that can be fixed, but the backline is slow and uncreative and it stems from a lack of management urgency to the players to do things at top speed. The Boks have become predictable.
10 Sep 2012, 06:05 am
All this talk about dropping players is just crazy. Morne I can understand because he has been off form for almost 2 seasons now but most of this squad are the same players who made the final/semi final of Super rugby this year. Good players don’t suddenly become bad players overnight so the only logical conclusion I come to is in game strategy and poor game plan.
The game against the Aussies was a perfect illustration of Heineken’s inability or refusal to adapt to the game. The Aussies came out in the second half and used Plan B, spreading the ball more and fracturing the defense, and what did our ‘world class coach’ do? He asked for better execution of his one dimensional game plan!!!!
As our cricket team has proven recently: You can have the best players on the planet, but if the coach and game plan is wrong, then no amount of talent will win you the game. As soon as a smart coach (Kirsten) arrived with a good Plan A B C and D, we became the best team on the planet.
The Springboks should have a forward thinking coach who is adding to world rugby with innovative strategy and game plans. We should be writing the blue prints that the rest of the world copies. Instead we are stuck with incompetent amateurs from top to bottom. Every Aussie and his sheep knows that you can’t win a game without the ball with the way the rules are interpreted, but still we insist on kicking the ball away with three or four man overlaps with 5 minutes left to play. (Dumbfoundedsmiley)
10 Sep 2012, 06:06 am
@Amerifikaner-16:
Was a general comment not directed at you
The reality is that if we take our provincial glasses off there is not a lot wrong with the selected team, maybe with the performance as you say but able replacements are not everywhere.
10 Sep 2012, 06:08 am
@Golden Boy-17:
Quick question, is the gameplan limited by the people currently available to play?
10 Sep 2012, 06:20 am
@12 – slab,
I was not shooting meyer down. I was saying that were going to have a helluva tough year with the injuries and the change in coaching philosophy.
I have not yet and will not yet pass judgement on Meyer till he has had more than 12 games in charge.
10 Sep 2012, 06:24 am
@Slartibartfast-12:
Yep, some things usually take time to come together. but Meyer doesn’t have the luxury of having time on his side, in fact some of his decisions have been a waste of time. Yet I still think this weekends Ab v Bok game will be very close.
10 Sep 2012, 06:25 am
@BULLET-20:
Hehehe klomp fyngevoelige manne hier vanoggend!
Again, it was a general comment on the posts Saturday night and Sunday. Check some of the posts on the other articles…
10 Sep 2012, 06:33 am
I don’t think Morne has ever delt well with competing for his position. When Derrick Hoggard was around he seemed happy to play second fiddle.
I was at the game on Saturday and watched the boys warm up. Morne was battling to get them over from inside the 10m line. Goosen was banging them over from half way line directly behind Morne. Intimidating you bet ya.
10 Sep 2012, 06:34 am
@Slartibartfast-19:
No I don’t think so. If you consider that we had a draw at home against a poor England team. We had a draw against Argentina and we lost to an Aussie team that not only has more injuries than us, but they have a smaller player pool as well, then you have to consider that just perhaps the game plan is not as formidable as you (Heineke) thought it was.
And this to me is the fundamental problem with Meyer. Instead of making minor adjustments to the game plan in order to suit counter the oppositions strengths and to prey on their weaknesses, we blindly choose to do the same thing over and over and over ad nauseum hoping for a different result.
Secondly: Meyer is selecting the players that he feels are good enough for his game plan. So perhaps he should realize that these players either do not buy in to it or that they have been taught to play to a different way; so perhaps he should look at the players available to him at present and devise the best strategy that suits them and not the other way around.
You don’t expect Leonel Messi to win you headers in the box, so you devise a game plan that suits his strengths. The same should be done for the Boks.
10 Sep 2012, 06:35 am
It really is pretty simple. Meyer needs to go off and have a good cry about Matfield, Bakkies, Gurthro, Danie, Juan S, Schalk B, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie etc etc etc.
Once he has received therapy for his grief, he must come back and embrace the players he DOES have.
If he can do that, and he is worth anything as a coach, he will be able to formulate some sort of blueprint that WORKS for the players HE DOES HAVE AVAILABLE.
This utter tripe about forcing players to conform to a plan he designed for others is never going to work. If he can admit to that…..(fukkit what are the chances)
10 Sep 2012, 06:36 am
@Golden Boy-24: SNAP!
10 Sep 2012, 06:37 am
@Te Rangatira-21:
I agree my friend. Also, yes, this game be very close. I actually feel the Boks may win this one. Being wounded and desperate!!!.
10 Sep 2012, 06:38 am
If the Boks kick as much ball away to as they did against the Aussies to Dagg, Jane and Savea , the scoreline will be a blowout of epic proportions. I dont know what strategy the Boks can employ. Their forwards are struggling to give the backline any decent ball and when the backs do get ball they look stagnant and ineffective.
10 Sep 2012, 06:46 am
@greatest13gerber-27:
Yep, i too have a feeling of the Boks pulling this one off.
Lets face it, the Bok dont play 4-5 bad games in a roll.
We all know they have their odd bad year but normally dont have a continued run of bad games. And the way the ABs have been playing, consistency wise not up to scratch, the ABs might find a Bok team that will push and beat them on Saturday.
10 Sep 2012, 06:47 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-26:
Hopefully the current Bok coach is more astute than we give him credit for. But dammmn, if he is, he is hiding it bloody well!!
10 Sep 2012, 06:48 am
@Hurricane-29:
Currently they look like they are playing ‘in a roll’
10 Sep 2012, 06:50 am
@Golden Boy-31:
haha
I thought someone would pick that up, of course i meant row.
10 Sep 2012, 06:51 am
The All Blacks will win by 20+ in Dunedin.
10 Sep 2012, 06:52 am
@TheTackler-33:
Yep and that is also on the cards.
10 Sep 2012, 06:53 am
Morne and Britney play even though they are ubber k ak, yet others get dropped at the drop of a hat. Funny how some are the chosen…
10 Sep 2012, 06:55 am
Why don’t we look at Michael Classens at 9? He’s done so well in the UK, great attacking and defending scrummy. I wonder if he would even accept a call up, since he’s been there for quite some time already.
10 Sep 2012, 07:02 am
@Gumboots-35: I said it when Meyer was appointed, and I say it now: we are phucked. Oh yes we are.
Sure we might win a game or 2 on pure passion and desperation, wounded Bok and all that….BUT: that is no long term solution. A win/wins will not be as the result of any technical improvement or decent tweaks to an outdated blueprint – it would result from desperate players who still have some sort of pride in a Bok jersey, and as we all know, that passion can carry a team through a game or 2 – but lack of coaching will always reclaim it’s rightful hold on even the most passionate and desperate of teams.
10 Sep 2012, 07:05 am
one must say, I think 8th at the WC was a good tournament for SA rugby, they certainly exceeded expectations based on current performances..
and we are now seeing what history has been showing us, the Bok winning percentage continues to decline since isolation..
it is now not a blip, but a slippery slope gaining momentum..
perhaps SA should play up north?
10 Sep 2012, 07:15 am
can anyone recommend a really good Steyn remover?
10 Sep 2012, 07:28 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-25:
Pedigree, you,me,we have been going since day on ad nauseam about Meyer’s limited coaching attributes, outdated gameplan, poor selection policies, conformist attitude to myopic strategies etc, but the players need to hardenup and say farkthiscoach we’re going out there to win and we’re the ones who are going to make it happen, viva la revolution, Starting with the Captain, who has nothing to lose as his head is not far away from the guillotine, he needs to lead by example, I want to see him come off the field swathed in blood soaked bandages, otherwise sorry to say…..chop chop.Yes the time has come for the players to take the Bokke destiny into their own hands and go out there and forget about what Meyer wants and worry about the reprecussions later.
10 Sep 2012, 07:29 am
keo clicked on the ‘default’ setting again and now everything is small…like him!
10 Sep 2012, 07:32 am
pops shat his pants again…
10 Sep 2012, 07:33 am
I think we start with the same team againste the all blacks they will put 20 points on us. I dont thing its just morne that is the problem. Too many of our top players have been so rubbish lately. Only forward to play well was Marcel but why did they sub him so early in the second half. Alberts and Vermulan were soo ****. In the back line Morne and Zane are serious problems. Once Goosen and Lambie were on the field we seemed to be playing with more purpose.
10 Sep 2012, 07:35 am
AM I wrong here?
I am a kiwi so not an authority on Bok players.
But my two cents worth is this.
This is a Kiwis thoughts on SA current rugby dilemma.
Feel free to agree disagree.
Depth shouldn’t be a problem you have thousands of rugby players and many world class players.
It seems to me SA rugby is rooted in the past. The argument being when SA rugby was at its zenith a huge pack, and a good tactical kicker had been the key.
My opinion is SA officials have forgotten the rules have changed so much over the last decade or so a huge pack of giants rucking and smashing their opposites is no longer such a major factor.
The game has evolved to a game of speed at the breakdown, quick recycling of the ball and fast service to the wings whenever possible.
Big packs in the process of 80 minutes become slower as they are run sideline to sideline. Players slide of tackles or just don’t get to the breakdown on time.
The secret to the Boks being back to the top of world rugby is in the MIX. The game is no longer a fifteen man game it’s a 22 man game now the reserves can come into play.
A coach can afford to flog a forward because he can always replace him with a fresh player.
His bench must be picked because he intends to play it all during the eighty minutes. The reserves shouldn’t be seen as backup but players waiting their turn.
Your coach waited far too long to replace with fresh men in the Aussie game. Not the players fault.
A coach should never have all his biggest forwards on the field at one time.
He needs some forwards who are there because of their tenacity and their speed not their size.
Reid NZ’s number 8 is a tall rangy player. Not small but hardly a Vermullen or Albetz but he is more effective because he has SPEED and I think fitter because of that fact.
You need to tell some players to strip of some of their bulk and I bet you that will pay dividends.
Anyway that is what I think you want bench players who can be used to change the tactics in a moment when your current tactics aren’t working.
Eg Morne Styen good tactical kicker average attacker.
Possible player who can play a different style Lambie.
What do you Bok fans think of my theory about your current problems.
(Oh and get the best back coach you can find in the world, never heard of your current one.)
10 Sep 2012, 07:35 am
The sooner we lose our fascination with our ‘kicking’ game the better.
The Boks did not lose (or draw) because of a poor kicking game, they lost because we continue to get bullied of our own balls at the ruck, or slowing it down ourselves to form predictable ******* pods.
Forget a superior line out, forget a superior scrum or a guy that can kick 99% of his kicks – those are bonuses.
Become proficient and dominant in an area which occurs well over 200 times in a match (ruck) and you will start beating teams.
10 Sep 2012, 07:36 am
backing the boks to pip the nz’s.
also putting money on the boks to win the championships.
(dooses dont reply)
10 Sep 2012, 07:37 am
@NZINCHINA-1: I want to be awarded the tender to supply walkie talkies to the Boks! Then I’ll be able to retire in comfort! But, given half a chance, I’d smash the walkie talkies on the Bok coaches heads myself! It’s called business development
10 Sep 2012, 07:37 am
congrats to the aussies on a gritty gutsy win.
and those blerrie kwas too!
fokkit, what a weekend
i watched the bok game in a pub and was so far from the action i dont think i can intelligently give any commentary unfortunately as i couldnt really follow individual performances but it seemed as though we bashed it up and kicked it away again?
this call for mornes head is not new and imo he should have been gone a long time ago.
play pat for the first half then move him to 15 and bring the goose on.
and if ruan fecks around at the back of a ruck or scrum again, send him back to ulster the irritating unibrow. cant handle losing ball at the back of a ruck due to a fucken scrummie toeing it around and waving his arms like a tunc ffs!
10 Sep 2012, 07:38 am
@Slartibartfast-42: not at all Slarti, just laughing my guts out that your team is now confirmed as Australia’s Biyatches…
Ive read ad nauseam on this blog how **** Aussie are, yet they have just recorded their fifth straight victory over you guys..
face it, Bok rugby is seriously poor, but the delusion by many of her fans on here is truly heart warming..
10 Sep 2012, 07:39 am
@patch-43:
On the day Krusty actually did ok for once, the other issue is our cappie, he did next to nothing unless you count slipping tackles that is! Oh and Mvovo who gifted the Wobblies the game without breaking a sweat…or sticking out a hand as it is.
10 Sep 2012, 07:40 am
Morne should now be a super sub coming on only in the last 10 minutes to close of games with drop goals. But knowing HM the only way Morne won’t start is if he is injured…I remember how so many rejoiced when Smit was ruled out by injury a year ago.
theres two ways the boks can win this weekend
1) the abs have a seriously bad game and I’m talking seriously bad
2) Brussow plays – for whatever reason the books haven’t lost to the abs with him playing
in short the boks will lose
10 Sep 2012, 07:42 am
Ok here is my 2cents
1. HM needs to wake up. Screaming and shouting will not work like at the Bulls camp where they are used to their mommies shouting them on at bulletjie rugby weekends. That sort of thing only works once or twice and always telling them to play for the jersey is not the answer!
2. Morne and Pienaar must go. And then ask JDV to help them carry their bags home all the way. I am sick of these self proclaimed players who gets chance after chance.
3. Please stop telling me that it is a new team and that we need to be patient. The all blacks never use that excuse WHY SHOULD WE? We have enough S15 caps from these youngsters to make their names in test matches. Always falling back on that excuse is the sam thing the players start to believe.
I watched Toks and tjops and Breyton said don’t feed Goosen for the wolves, ease him in…….NONSENSE! If Bieber from the aussies could step up to the plate why can’t our young talent stand up to the occasion. We over analyse everything where in the end it is just rugby and we need to start playing the game!
10 Sep 2012, 07:44 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-46:
Respect……Houston.
10 Sep 2012, 07:46 am
Krusty the clown must also please pack his f*cking bags and bugger off back to Pretoria, get in his sponsored Tata bakkie with the spinners and CD dangling from the rearview mirror, do us all a favor and stop playing rugby, cause he is KAK. Two good up and unders does not constitute talent.
@Heyneke ‘thick as 2 planks’ Meyer, please stop wasting the time of some of South Africa’s most talented players on the mother f”ing bench you halfwit. If you are going to persist with that useless Kirschner at fullback, please wont you at least send Pat Lambie back home so that he can play some rugby in the Currie Cup.
Morne, sorry my boy, but the time has come to admit that you just dont have what it takes anymore. Phone your mother and tell her you are on your way back. Liesbet can get your Superman bedspread ready so long.
10 Sep 2012, 07:49 am
@Hoops-52: Dude I could not agree more. Toks and Tjops, with ‘Tokka and Breytie’ (just threw up in my own mouth) is probably the worst thing ever captured on film. please get that sh*t off TV.
10 Sep 2012, 07:49 am
@rangerman-48:
no, pienaar was far costlier for the loss than morne was.
i would bench pienaar.
@Slartibartfast-50:
the way he ran away from alexander was the pits.
he’s right out of the squad as far as i’m concerned, back to cc.
10 Sep 2012, 07:49 am
Why is it only now that people are saying Morné Steyn should go? Apart form his goal kicking what strengths did he ever offer? We already have an abundance of goal kickers.
The Springboks must be the most predictable team in world rugby. Everyone knows when a box kick will happen, when an up and under will be kicked etc. The only time they seem to ever keep the ball in hand is when they are within the oppositions 20. The Boks could be on their own goal line, with a 4 man overlap and every time you can bet they would kick regardless of what the current situation is.
While kicking for territory is not such a bad idea, the box kicks and up and unders show just how afraid they are to run with ball in hand. It is like saying to the opposition we have no confidence so we will just kick the ball and hope we get a lucky bounce. Games won’t be won consistently against top opposition with that approach.
10 Sep 2012, 07:51 am
@Te Rangatira-53:
cheers to that tr, and good morning to you.
its just gees, and gees is all i have
10 Sep 2012, 07:52 am
So too J. de Villiers…
Adds no attacking impetus from 13, stemming for at least the past two Stormers seasons. And slips tackles continuously.
And is Jannie really the best SA tighthead going around?
10 Sep 2012, 07:52 am
@poppa69-49:
Kia ora Pops…..I want to see a tough…hard fought game this weekend, hopefully ending in an Ab victory in the last minute, the Bok aren’t right in the head dept at the moment, yet I still believe they will click into gear and heres hoping its this weekend.
10 Sep 2012, 07:53 am
The Bok gameplan with forwards bashing is very intimidating but only in Heyneke’s mind smart opponents lick their fingers with excitement.
The Chief mastered the mordern game while the Sharks had it but the travel undermined their abilities, the Cheetahs had it too but if the tighten their defense, the Lions had a sprinkle of it though they r extremely limited. Stormers and Bulls lost their plots as they have ultra defensive gameplans like Heyneke. In Sharks, Cheetahs and Lions combined, we do have the morden game.
Can’t wait for Naka Droske to be Bok coach with Durandt and Nienaber as his assistance.
10 Sep 2012, 07:57 am
@TajBar 44 you are SO RIGHT The rule changes back in 1992 where mauling forwards lost the ball if it was brought to a halt have STILL not been fully appreciated by the brainstrust of SA rugby.
Worse, you will be amazed because this AIN’T GOING TO CHANGE. SA rugby brainstrust and even most of the fans (but not all) remain absolutely obsessed with having big tall heavy domineering forwards and a no.10 who is mainly focused on kicking. Mallet tried to change this but was regarded with enormous suspicion for doing so.
Little faith is put in smaller but more skillful players and for this reason Bok coaches often scoff at the idea of the smaller and mobile opensider, often not even selecting an opensider.
This is a cultural thing and ain’t going to change. Conservative and dull, call it perhaps “Afrikaans rugby’ it is the way SA rugby will always be. It will win big games and ocassionally maybe even a world cup but the win-loss ratio will be dire.
10 Sep 2012, 07:59 am
I don’t think Morne had such a bad game. Pienaar is a good player but seemed to be struggling with the current Bok tactics. The up and under which resulted in the second Wallabies try was utter nonsense, why not pass to Morne?
Too many passes were made to too many forwards who were at a standing start. You never see New Zealand do this.
Frans Steyn used the skip pass when he shouldn’t have on a number of occasions.
Thank goodness Bryan was there to score the try because if he didn’t intervene it looked like someone would have fluffed it.
The breakdown rules are too inconsistently applied. A team like the Wallabies rarely gives you time to place to ball.
10 Sep 2012, 08:00 am
Can Van Graan also start to earn his keep as Forwards coach? The breakdown is a shambles, and the intro of Louw happened far too late in the piece.
Drop Alberts to the bench, and let Vermeulen run the first 50mins.
It is one thing not to commit too many numbers to the breakdown, but those players attending ruck-&-mall time – put your heads in there, and contest or slow down FFS! Van Graan, please do read this memo and execute…
10 Sep 2012, 08:00 am
@Pot Blou Gevaar-59: Jannie is just there because of the Sharks front combination.
10 Sep 2012, 08:00 am
@Te Rangatira-60:kia ora .. theyve never been right in the head department mate..
hope you are well, I am off to what these blokes call a “braai”, we are cooking springbokke on it tonight, apparently the meat is no longer tough and it has a seemingly very soft underbelly
should be a good game this weekend, always hard to call, but the good guys should do enough to win it…
catch ya..
10 Sep 2012, 08:02 am
stupid moron idiots wanna blame Morne when the decision to play Hougaard on the wing and the SLOWEST most pathetic excuse of a scrum half to play at No.9 is what ACTUALLY did the damage.
Open your goddamn eyes and brains and WAKE the fck UP!!
10 Sep 2012, 08:09 am
@Rixmaadi-55:
Being afrikaans I love the show….a change to the old lets lick victor or naas’s balls approach.
It is funny and upbeat….better than the same ***** over and over from supersport…….no they did not use their chances…it is going to be a war of attrition……we need to win the contact battle…..it starts upfront…….so sick of this…
10 Sep 2012, 08:12 am
@Sasuke-65:
That I can understand. It is however a mute point at the moment with Bismark not there, and Burden not considered for the away Australasian leg.
Seriously though – is Jannie really Saffa’s best tighthead?
10 Sep 2012, 08:13 am
@fitz1ella-67:
Ok….you are the all black 10…..the boks pick Morne……or they pick Goosen/Lambie…which one would you prefer to play against…..I know I would sleep as snug as a bug when morne is playing……predictable dragon!
10 Sep 2012, 08:14 am
@fitz1ella-67: Skop….you can have Genia or Hougaarsd or willie witblits wikkelspies playing at 9 for boks….it wont help with Handbrake M Steyn at 10…..
M Steyn has been the boks biggest backline issue since 2010…..with Plod and Spies the forward problems….
Play D Fourie at 2 and Brussow at 6…..that will assist the breakdown woes….
Play anyone but M Steyn at 10
Another 13 required….
A 15 with more than an up n under ….How Aplon is constantly ignored is a tragedy…..
Make those changes and we at the least back in the game….
10 Sep 2012, 08:15 am
@Pot Blou Gevaar-69:
I have never rated Jannie kannie scrum nie…….why we are so in love with this guy is beyond me. He brings nothing to the team really besides some test experience?
Time to blood some props that is the future while we are not performing anyway!
10 Sep 2012, 08:16 am
@poppa69-39:
Classic! A Bottle of Sunny Bill would have done the trick! But you can only buy it in Japan at the moment! LOL.
10 Sep 2012, 08:22 am
@Pot Blou Gevaar-69: Nope dont think so. We really lack quality tightheads so i dont know who is the best. Pat Cilliers perhaps?
@grant10-71: Yes he stands way to deep in the pocket. We gain no momentum with Morne at 10.
How about moving F.Steyn to 15?
With Goosen at 10.
Goosen will attack the gainline and look for gaps. When Goosen is at the bottom of a ruck F.Steyn can be first receiver up from fullback.
10 Sep 2012, 08:23 am
It’s as if Morne is afraid of the ball. He touches it and wants to kick it away immediately or crash it to ground. One just can’t understand how he didn’t pass when he had an overlap. Boks make the worst decisions on the field, not just Morne. The worst.
10 Sep 2012, 08:27 am
The boks have an even lower chance of winning this coming Saturday then before, why? They will loose Etsebeth to a ban for that stupid headbutt, and with him being the only big boy that played this weekend we have some big problems.
The negatives:
1. Our forwards were bossed by the powderpuff ozzies! Even though we were solid at lineout, we did loose one (Tiaan’s 1st throw.)
2. Our ball carriers are being thrown into brick walls with the predictable attack patterns, they are worn our by the 65th min, then aren’t even effective anymore.
3. There is no leadership either at 9 or 10, De Villiers is not half the leader that Smit was or even Victor. He is truggling to rally the troops.
4. Habana, Hougard, Goosen and Etsebeth are the only players showing passion for the jersey. The rest looked dazed and confused, no energy no commitment, something very wrong in the dressing room at the moment.
5. Our first half runner support is ammature level, the last 10 min we practicaly invited Gill to take our ball every ruck!
6. Probably most important, we are not crossing the gainline with our strike runnersm leaving us with no momentum and eventually leading to a turnover.
7. Defence was pathetic.
Positives:
1. Tactical kicking was great, we dominated this part of the game. Kudos to Kirchner who kicked some great monster kicks.
2. F Steyn has his long boots back, kicked some great long distance kicks!
3. Krugar added more to the lineout but it did seem like our scrum was weaker wit hhim added.
4. Goosen was amazing, in only 10min he made the biggest linebreak of the game (I think) and looked more dangerous than Steyn has in all the bok tests this year.
What you guys think?
2.
10 Sep 2012, 08:28 am
@Sasuke-74: We need someone who can control the whole game. A 10 that will be able to tell the scrum half when to play the forwards and when it is on for the backline to have a run. We must stop with this nonsense that the boks play off 9. Jantjies is very good at controlling a backline. He deserves a shot. It seems like Goosen and Lambie is ahead of him though.
With Lambie covering fullback, Jantjies can cover 10 on the bench.
10 Sep 2012, 08:33 am
@rossoneri-75: We need the vision coach back. Dr Sheryl Calder
10 Sep 2012, 08:34 am
Regrettably, as predicted, RP was useless – running across the field before passing – zero defence (running away from attacking runners) sorry but he’s got to go. Apart fromn fluffing a number of drop attempts and one or two goal kicks, Morne was Morne – he will never be anything else and we shouldn’t be surprised when he plays the way he does and always has…..
Speaking of players that have to go now – JDV just isn’t cutting it as Capt or midfielder – he’s got 70-odd caps and I dont think he should be getting any more. Niknaks also has to go, he can’t see the ball ‘cos his hair gets in his eyes. The “Up and under King” can go play CC for da Bullies – never good enough for the Boks… Replacements (from the limited resources that are there : Lambie for Niknaks, Vermaak for RP, Goosen for Morne, Habs to 13 for JDV with Hougard and Mvovo on the wings).
10 Sep 2012, 08:38 am
@rossoneri-75:
MINDSET Rosi mindset. It is because they are not allowed to express themselves as Nasty Booter always says. They are playing strictly to instruction. Skop en jag or bash it up. Predictable RHINOS!!!
Watch the Blacks this weekend against our BIG AND SLOW lose trio, it’s gonna be like hot knife through butter.
10 Sep 2012, 08:49 am
It is quite obvious why HM must go. It was plain as day that he told the players:
* Don’t commit too many bodies at the breakdown, always make sure the
Aussies have more.
* We need plenty of up-and-unders, but make sure you don’t follow up as I
taught the Bulls a few seasons back. Have a nice draffie up, there is no rush.
* When the Aussies kick far upfield, sommer field the ball with your feet –
we all love to see your mad soccer skillz.
* Defend like a bunch of sissies around the fringes.
* When there is a ruck and the ball is on the Oz side, just wait patiently
for it to come out. Under no circumstances, try to push over the ball – you
may do yourself a mischief.
* Etsebeth, remember you are the next Bakkies. Sommer moer the oke with the head if he pisses you off.
* Frans, here, have some pasta and chocolate cake. We need you big and strong there in the backline.
It is time to go Meyer! Mallet is able to take the u21 boks to the crown
of the rugby championship. We never lost a match under him and he would NEVER need a period of adjustment when taking charge of a new team.
The moment he starts to coach a team, then you know they are the next
world champions! He is truly the bestest there ever was…
10 Sep 2012, 08:53 am
@Sasuke-74: A very god mate of mine, who has played at a high level and is very astute, also says F Steyn at 15 is part of the solution….
I think HM already committed F Steyn to the 12 jersey…..
For me the backline would be far more balanced with it looking something like this
15 Aplon
11 habana
14 jpp
13 JDJ
12 F Steyn
10 Goosen / Jantjes or Lambie
9 Hougaard
With a licence to play…..not a directive to skop
10 Sep 2012, 08:55 am
I think we did very well against Aus, taking into account the number of caps from lock to eigthman. Secondly Beast and Mvovu and a couple of others had amateur moments and you cannot win in Aus against Aus if you make mistakes like these. Beast’s yellow did not cost us points, but it did have an influence in the momentum of the game. How many games did we win in Aus in the last 20 years? Now we expect this very young team to go and win there.
And this talk of Lambie becoming the “complete flyhalf in the mould of Carter”. South Africa need a flyhalf with a big boot to win us test matches. This is why Lambie is a better fullback in my opinion. He has the tactical intinct at fullback to make the right decisions, which will be instrumental in changing to an attacking gameplan. Leon McDonald of the Crusaders was a very similar player in my opinion and one thing that stood out for me from that Crusaders team was their attacking from a poor kick which McDonald orchestrated from the back.
10 Sep 2012, 08:57 am
@Sasuke-78: sheryl calder will be wasteed on morne! the dude a 3 on 2 overlap with jdv and habana on ioane, msteyn sees them, decides to TURN BACK towards the inside where THREE aussie players tackle him and smother the ball…jdv and habana now have to rush there to farken clean rucks instead of waltzing over the goal line…
with ball in hand, the guy is s.hit scared, you can see it.
MORNE IS KAK!
10 Sep 2012, 08:57 am
@Te Rangatira-60: Man you are so correct, the horrible truth for Bok supporters is that the AB’s and NZ players in general seem to be much stronger mentally than us saffa’s….dunno why but it seems to be the case
10 Sep 2012, 08:58 am
Guys, Transformation and I watched this game again on Sunday on PVR. We actually paused areas at the phases to see player positioning and what the Boks ended up doing. Do you realize that Piennaar actually taps players out of the last ruck, tells them to stand and get ready for the next phase with another player behind them, points at them, and then slowing very slowing passes the ball to them just for them to crash down. Polo te Nau,and Hooper were actually looking at Coetzee knowing full well that Coetzee will carry and Jannie is going to come behind him. At one time Coetzee was looking for a forward to warm his bum and stand behind him to be a carrier. They then make three phases max, then Morne or Ruan gets tired and kicks. There is clearly no element of surprize and the carriage of the ball tells the opposition NO OFFLOAD WILL BE FORTHCOMMING, as they tuck it under the arm. It is too predictable and easy to defend againt them. They might as well stand there and tell the Wallabies exactly what they intend doing next with a freaking microphone.
10 Sep 2012, 08:58 am
Best part of the weekend , apart from the Proteas, was watching Jantjes perform a masterclass in the Loftus Cathedral, popping a middle finger to HM in the process….
what a pleasure seeing that young man pull the magician strings….
and Taute looked damn good as well….
10 Sep 2012, 08:59 am
@Transformation-84: And even if he did miraculously get some vision the fact is he rides every tackle he makes, opposition forwards know that if they can get into his channel they have at least 5 metres of gain line sorted and with a quick clean that means immediate momentum.
10 Sep 2012, 09:01 am
@Horings-83: Yeah,Lambie at 15 makes a great deal of sense to me,and a start at 10 from Goosen may be on the cards.Don’t think we’ll win in Dunedin but there is hope for the home games if coaching staff sorts out these selections.
10 Sep 2012, 09:04 am
@rossoneri-86: All too predictable this brand of HM Bok rugby is,I totally agree.
10 Sep 2012, 09:06 am
@Superbru-89: JPP might also be back for the home games as well as Brussouw.
10 Sep 2012, 09:07 am
@rossoneri-86:
Hi Lil.
I said about two weeks ago that every opposition know exactly what we are doing. There is nothing they don’t know. We don’t ever try something new. You may be able to get away with it in Super Rugby but not in Internationals. We are so predictable that even Affies First team are able to read our game…
10 Sep 2012, 09:09 am
@grant10-87: Taute long overdue for a call up to the green and gold imo,no coach has had the balls to do it tho’,instead they stick with the tried(read tired)and trusted Kirschner,probably ’cause he’s a bull
Would very much like to see Jantjies in the mix too.
10 Sep 2012, 09:09 am
It has been very lean years and unfortunately we are going to have to endure a few more, unless true leadership is shown by SA Rugby and the get Mallet in now. It may be too late already…
10 Sep 2012, 09:09 am
@Superbru-90: Is it a poorer brand than the one the 2011 Boks employed. The situation @rossoneri-86: spelled out is a standard play in SA rugby from all teams. The Cheetahs do it constantly.
10 Sep 2012, 09:10 am
Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose Goose
10 Sep 2012, 09:10 am
@Superbru-93:
Taute at 15 will bring some variation to our play but he doesn’t play the game the coach is trying to perfect NOT
10 Sep 2012, 09:10 am
@Horings-83: we only did well because Australia – who by the way also have a string of injuries – were putrid in the 1st half, they were more disorganised on attack than we were! their attacking moves fizzled out to aimless kicks that went nowhere!
deans’ after half-time mini-interview where he was clearly irritated by what he termed “useless dribbling kicks” was indicative of the change in the 2nd half for the aussie!
that’s what meyer doesn’t seem to have, the all blacks were frustrated by the argies as the wanted to push passes in those conditions and they played straight into the hands of the feiry argies, 2nd half they SWITCHED their game up to a more tighter game, taking on the argies around the fringes and building momentum…
our coach is too stubborn or DOM to make such tactical changes, he went in with one plan and that’s what he told the players to stick too!
can you explain why johan goosen kicked our ball away with less than 3 minutes left on the clock? i can venture a guess…someone screamed on a walkie talkie that if side steps and breaks one more time he’ll be dropped!
10 Sep 2012, 09:12 am
@Sasuke-91: Those two are sorely missing at the moment,yes…I have hope for the home games,but as others are saying on the board the Bok’s predictability is costing them.
10 Sep 2012, 09:13 am
Morne must go.
But he is not the only problem. There are a few.
10 Sep 2012, 09:14 am
@Moerig-81:
we never lost a match under mallet?
You are kidding or either to young to remember him in charge.
We got nailed good and proper by the kiwis in 1999 tri nations. In fact, I believe we got nilled in nz that season.
Personally, morne is taking the brunt but we all know goosen will take the jersey not long from now anyway. That was always the plan in the greater scheme of things.
Players that currently appear beyong reproach,,,,,
alberts, does he honestly offer more than Spies? not from what I’ve seen in the past 2 games. Debatable that he even offers more than Potgieter.
Ruan Pienaar….if you honestly think hougaard is too slow? Wow, Pienaar is a snail with that double step before the pass.
Our props are offering us nada around the park.
Everyone is asking for an opensider….but who does he replace? Reading this blog he replaces Coetzee in the starting lineup albeit he has been the busiest/best of our looseforwards and I personally do not see him particularly excelling at anything anyway.
our locks are okay at best.
DeVilliers is pants.
Mvovo can only play in one direction and in general it’s a worry when our best back was Zane Kirchener who we all acknowlege as a limited player in the first place.
Time to wakey wakey boys…..south africa currently does NOT have the players.
But let us all blame the gameplan right? The gameplan was working fine at 13-3, in fact, I think it was the most adept tactical display that I have seen from a bok side for quite some time.
So, to summarize, let’s just get rid of the last player to blame…Morne Steyn.
Because, a couple of months ago it was spies fault, then potgieter, now kirchener and steyn.
Who will be blamed next?
Persoanally.
I’d put hougaard back to 9.
morne to the bench, goosen to start.
alberts to the bench with Flo to start.
And the beest has been superkak for quite some time now, replace him with anyone who isn’t injured. man o man, how we could use guthro right now.
For an even crazier selection option. Move frans back to 15 with lambie into 12 outside of goosen. Defense will be uberdodgy with no combination time together but plenty of running anyway.
10 Sep 2012, 09:14 am
@Gumboots-97: We are seeing some great tries being scored at CC level,much flair that the Bok camp could do with,but yeah,Taute not in HM’s plans,not by a long shot.
10 Sep 2012, 09:15 am
@Superbru-93: Actually Heyneke Meyer said Goosen, Taute and a couple of others were in the mix from the start. The players he brought in this year are Etzebeth, Coetzee, Vermeulen and now Goosen. What makes you believe he is too Bulls biased to bring in Taute?
Jake said the other day “Meyer will ALWAYS pick Kirchner ahead of Lambie”, why then did he pick Louw ahead of Stegmann? Strauss ahead of Ralepele? Steyn ahead of Olivier? Oosthuizen ahead of Greyling? People are making some ridiculous assumptions!
10 Sep 2012, 09:15 am
Looks like our “game plan” is here to stay…
Cape Town – Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says their game plan was executed well for the first 60 minutes against Australia in Perth, before a few “soft” moments cost them dearly.
The Boks lost 26-19, after squandering a 13-3 lead in the first half and the coach also admitted that mentally his players weren’t up to the task.
“It is all about handling pressure, being mentally tough and showing character,” he told the Times Live website.
Meyer though insists that their kick-and-chase game plan was the right method to utilise.
“To win away from home you have to have a great game-plan and execute it. I thought we executed the game-plan well for the first 60 minutes. I thought we put them under pressure but we had two soft moments in the game that cost us and away from home you can’t make those mistakes. There was a little bit of a lack of experience on the field,” he said.
The Boks now travel to New Zealand where a clash against the All Blacks in Dunedin awaits on Saturday.
10 Sep 2012, 09:18 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-101: I think Pienaar controlled our forwards much better than Hougaard. Hougaard is not a good decision maker.
10 Sep 2012, 09:19 am
I agree with this article, but no flyhalf will dominate with forwards who aren’t playing as a pack and who are getting munched at scrum time.
Gurthro Steenkamp
Bismark Du Plessis
Coenie Oosthuizen
Danie Rossouw
Heinrich Brussow
Schalk Burger
Juan Smith
Ryan Kankowski
All will significantly boost Boks chances of success if added to squad.
And if execution of current game time is paramount then Fourie Du Preez must play 9.
10 Sep 2012, 09:21 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-101:
>”Everyone is asking for an opensider….but who does he replace? Reading this blog he replaces Coetzee in the starting lineup albeit he has been the busiest/best of our looseforwards and I personally do not see him particularly excelling at anything anyway.”
Alberts to the bench, he is better as an impact player. Coetzee is not an open side, move him to 7, Vermeulen at 8 and Brussow at 6.
> “DeVilliers is pants.”
Agreed, this is a real worry. He slipped quite a few tackles too.
> “morne to the bench, goosen to start.”
Rather send Morne back home, he will offer NOTHING from the bench.
> “And the beest has been superkak for quite some time now, replace him with anyone who isn’t injured. man o man, how we could use guthro right now.”
I believe this shows some inherent provincial bias, the Beast has actually been pretty good, certainly one of our better players.
10 Sep 2012, 09:21 am
@puff-106: Sjoe, almost thought you picked Brussow at lock.
10 Sep 2012, 09:24 am
Bulls supporters – take your blue blinkers off when it comes to the Boks please. You do not need to feel that you have to stand up for Meyer, he is the Bok coach now, different more important team now. Some objectivity please. If the man is coaching kak then open your eyes please.
10 Sep 2012, 09:25 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-101:
“And the beest has been superkak for quite some time now” nail on the head, said it during last years RWC, varkies got upset – divvy dropped him and Guthro showed him up to be exactly overrated.
Morne is just one problem – Kirchner is a liability, Pienar a sub, Mvovo is kak, JDV is plod v2, Kannie is kak the backrow is unbalanced and the tight 5 usless.
10 Sep 2012, 09:25 am
@Horings-103: I think Tuate’s abilities are overlooked in a mostly struggling team(super rugby level anyway.)HM’s choices at 15 in descending order are probably Kirschner,Lambie,F Steyn,Aplon etc.
10 Sep 2012, 09:25 am
wow I watchede the game regretably, we had good control in 1st half mainly helped by shite oz backline play. second half they all looked flat, as mentioned above the HM hairdryer treatment doesnt work at this level.
Secondly you need a 22 to keep momentum upto 80th minute.
That mvovo should be shot, wrong wing for a deb vs Oz ??????
Vermulet should not have played 80mins, should have been him off with Cotzee and flo combining. Alberts looks done in though …
beast should have been subbed half time as cilliers looked good at first then poor for his first scrum.
Morne morne morne … WTF !!? i just cant see HM dropping him ?? Lambie should have come on half time then gone FB with goose for 25mins.
Is chili fixed /dfourie ready? strauss is not aggressive enough.
Is Coonie ready ? JdP needs time out.
Guthro needs a call back for SA
FFS bring in Brussow immediately
HM should talk to Bekker and get him ready as he will have to play up to AB
JdV looks old and tired, very poor on D .. we must beg JF back to help bring in youngsters
And the tactics … for me it seems hm doesnt trust his players out there, yes we are missing a few world class players but so is everyone
10 Sep 2012, 09:26 am
@Honesty Box Seymour-107: The one huge problem if we replace JdV and Steyn with Habana and JdP maybe injured, then Pienaar will be the most capped player in a team without a captain and a team with half of them playing their first or second test against the All Blacks
10 Sep 2012, 09:27 am
@Horings-105:
I thought he was standing and looking around way to often, so either he is too slow or our forwards are not working hard enough off the ball getting back into shape. Hell, did Alberts even make 1 meter? Getting the ball from a standing start and heading straight into gang tackles?
10 Sep 2012, 09:29 am
1. Gurthro Steenkamp 2. Bismark Du Plessis 3. Jannie Du Plessis 4. Eben Etzebeth 5. Danie Rossouw 6. Heinirch Brussow 7. Schalk Burger 8. Duanne Vermeulen 9. Fourie Du Preez 10. Johan Goosen 11. Bryan Habana 12. Frans Steyn 13. Jacques Fourie 14. JP Pieterson 15. Patrick Lambie
with Oosthuizen and Hougaard the only real certainties on the bench.
10 Sep 2012, 09:29 am
If it’s running rugby you’re after, then pick Elton Jantjes at 10. The way he controlled the game on Saturday was inspirational. I’d start with him and gave Goosen come on half way through the second half.
In fact, there are no less than 4 Lions backs who certainly could do no worse than the current Bok backline. Lionel Mapoe is in the best form of his life – clever running, great option taking and strong in contact. A bit like Conrad Smith, but bigger. Then there’s Andries Coetzee, who is absolutely brimming with confidences, and seems to know when the attack is on and when not. He steps and weaves like a young Cullen. And finally, Jaco Taute is looking big and strong and full of running, with a massive boot. I’d have him there ahead of Zane any day of the week.
10 Sep 2012, 09:30 am
The biggest biggest problem is not having a captain that can lead the pack – Heineken has to bring in Brussow into the match xv as his new captain. Coetzee to 7 and Vermeulen at 8. Then he must drop that divvy and pull in a new 13.
10 Sep 2012, 09:31 am
Brig you must have changed your opinion on Alberts as before the super rugby final you said there wasn’t an Aus or Nzer on the planet who could stop Alberts.You must stop making these ridiculous calls.
10 Sep 2012, 09:32 am
with what we have on tour….and with talk that Habana and J D pLESSIS MAY WELL BE OUT, as well as Etsebeth, we will be hard pressed to put together a team ….
10 Sep 2012, 09:33 am
@ 44.TAJ BAR
Agreed and think most of the Saffers on here agree even Blue Bull fans, but they wont admit it.
Another huger problem is the Coach HM – if he cant see from the Aus game the big basher are not the answer then, we have no hope. Let’s see what he does for the AB game. Against the Aus team Coetzee was better than Albert and Vermulen, but they took him off to put flow on. I would have swapped Coetzee for vermulen and then replace Vermulen with Flow..Vermulen did not have a great game, but he has just come back from injury and was thrown in the deep end. Alberts was poor on the day.
Pienaar not great to slow at the ruck. The Boks looked like a different team with lambie and Goosen on… But guess he will still start with his Boy Steyn and Kotchner this weekend.
10 Sep 2012, 09:34 am
@RL-110:
the problem that heyneke meyer has with the backline is that he can’t make too many changes just yet and introduce too many players. With divilliers,the 2 Steyns, Habana and Pienaar being our most capped players and of those okes outside of Frans being the wrong side of their careers.
This is a particularly troublesome area when you have a forward pack with only 120 odd test caps of which the most capped is probably the Beest if I am guessing correctly and as already mentioned, he’s playing superkak.
With the current mismatch of players well probably take a 20 point beating in nz but put a completely new side on the park with no experience at all,we’ll probably take a 50 point beating in nz.
10 Sep 2012, 09:35 am
Big problems this saturday, Habs injured ? I would shift JdV to wing and start
Lamb, FH, FS, JdJ, JdV and Kirtch
half time bring on Goose and shift lamb to fb.
Forwards start Cilliers, Strauss, Beast, Juandre,Bekker, Flo, Cotzee, Duane
half time replace beast (not sure with whom) and bring Alberts on for Duane and shift cotzee to 8. Also bring on any other 9 at halftime to warm RP up ..
10 Sep 2012, 09:36 am
@NZINCHINA-118: Alberts is looking very ‘pap’ indeed,much like when he lost form at the sharks and they too struggled to make headway.
10 Sep 2012, 09:36 am
@NZINCHINA-118:
that’s true, but he is playing superkak now though isn’t he?
@RL-117:
I can see juandre kruger leading the pack. He has the intelligence.
10 Sep 2012, 09:37 am
I farken am nearly in tears from frustration.
Meyer appointed as Bok coach, 4 years too late, but fair enough – nearly universally acknowledged as the best man for the job…
And then his team of assistants:
Van Graan
Loubsher
WTF? A pair of yes men coaching no name brands if ever you saw. The Bulls circa 2007 had better assistants in place than Boks 2012.
We moan about no coaching expertise in this country but yet we see 2 proven international coaches in the farken SS studio just before and after the game.
SA has Nienaber, one of the best defensive co-ordinators/coaches on the planet sitting at farken Newlands. Plumtree, one of the best forwards/rucking/lineout coaches around, at the Sharks. Hawies Fourie, a damned sight better than Loubsher as backline/attack coach sitting at Free State…
Yet the Bok coaching crew consists of Loubsher and Van Graan…? Tricky Dicky and Gold, you are forgiven – even they seem to have more substance than the farken current assistants…
Meyer could have pulled this team around him instead of raiding the Bulls cookie jar:
Mitchell (forwards, technical – acknowledged as one of the very best. Just dont let him be head honcho – he might swear too much at the players)
Hawies Fourie (Backs, attacking)
Nienaber (Defence)
10 Sep 2012, 09:37 am
@Skeppie-85: No, there’s no such thing…the problem is with our coaches who want to be domineering over players or “remote control” their decision-making all over the park!
you listen to israel dagg mimic graham henry’s pre-game talk and he says “Ted would say ‘go out there, focus and most of all, ENJOY yourself’”
our players are shackled by who fear losing more than they want to win…typical example…the stormers!
as soon as they stumbled over a defensive system that worked they jettisoned any attacking intent.
10 Sep 2012, 09:39 am
@RL-117:
how good was that lionel ccma mapoe on the weekend.
10 Sep 2012, 09:39 am
Tactics are tough considering we are down a one way alley, possible to bring FS to 10 and go for a few drops… cant see us breaching AB D with the lack of incision at back and blunderbust at forwards.
If they keep score to within 10points I will be surprised.
10 Sep 2012, 09:40 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-127: He was class. Haven’t seen a midfielder in SA play like that for a while now.
10 Sep 2012, 09:40 am
Alberts is a good player but he’ll never be brilliant not clever enough, c’mon Meyer blood the Goose and throw in the little Lamb those two could spark something.
10 Sep 2012, 09:42 am
@Heavens Game-125:
The Messiah has proven to be a false one.
And in other news, at the current rate, the Blue Bulls might be facing relegation in the Currie Cup…
10 Sep 2012, 09:42 am
@katman-129:
old coach pine pienaar is going to feel the heat now.
10 Sep 2012, 09:43 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-121: Jake was brave enough to start from scratch – kept his core squad small and stuck with those players for 4 years – divvy inherited that squad and proceeded to fark up.
Heineken has to forget about caps and start from zero. The players are there he just has to identify and pick them.
10 Sep 2012, 09:43 am
Home
Bakkies placed on stand-by for Bok squad
——————————————————————————–
by Jason Humphries 10 September 2012, 09:15
Bakkies Botha has been placed on stand-by by Springbok management in case lock Eben Etzebeth loses his hearing into an alleged headbutt during South Africa’s 26-19 Rugby Championship loss to Australia, coach Heyneke Meyer said on Monday in Auckland.
Etzebeth was cited for an alleged headbutt on Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe and his hearing will be held at 9am (SA Time) and Meyer has opted to place a call to veteran Botha if Etzebeth should fail in his bid to be cleared.
If Etzebeth should lose his case he will miss South Africa’s clash with New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.
However, even if Botha is called up he is unlikely to start the match as the Springboks have locks Flip van der Merwe and Andries Bekker in their squad.
“Bakkies is on stand-by,” Meyer told a news conference.
“We are in contact with Bakkies. We keep in touch with all the overseas-based players. The guys know who is on stand-by and exactly where they stand,” he added.
The 32-year-old Botha, who played the last of his 76 tests at last year’s World Cup, currently plies his trade with French club side Toulon.
Adding to the Boks’ concerns are the three injuries picked up during the loss to Australia. Tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis, who has tweaked his hamstring, prop Pat Cilliers, who has a Grade One strain of the ligament on the inside of his right elbow, and wing Bryan Habana, who has an ankle injury.
Springbok docter Craig Roberts said that he was confident that Habana would be fit for the test against New Zealand but a call would have to be made on Du Plessis and Cilliers on Tuesday as the squad could be short of specialist tighthead props.
Meyer said that he had a few players in mind if a replacement needed to be called up from South Africa.
“We are concerned but we will give the guys until tomorrow before we make a final call. We do have Dean Greyling on the bench but he is a loosehead. It is also difficult now just to call someone in who might not play. We need to make the right call there,” he said
10 Sep 2012, 09:43 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-132: I can’t understand how Pine has held onto that job for as long as he has now. He just doesn’t seem close to the standard of a topflight coach.
10 Sep 2012, 09:45 am
@Brigadier and everyone else…..
I actually to some degree concur with your assertion that we are lacking the players right now but it should also be acknowledged that a chunky part of that problem is due to injury and selection.
In the loose forward department all those Spies bashers must be a little shy right now as the three guys who have had an opportunity since his injury may as well have spent the afternoon on the bench. But by the same token one has to say our biggest problem has been at the breakdown and we have one of the breakdown kings of world rugby not being selected (before and after his recent injury). Brussow should be on a plane to New Zealand. No question.
In the lock department the cupboard looks a little bare. None of the guys trumpeted to replace Matfield and Botha have really played consistently well. Kruger and Etzebeth looked the part in the first English test but have fallen off a little since. Becker is not showing himself to be the player everyont thought he would be at this level. Might be injury / fitness related.
But overall it should be kept in mind that 6 of the current pack would not have made a team selected last year and with Bismarck, Burger, Spies and Smit missing due to injury and Matfield and Botha gone from the equation there is a lot of experience gone missing. Tough ask for any team to come in and dominate in the first year after losing 6 key forwards in one foul swoop!
Backline we are missing the most in form back of the super 15 in the form of JP Pietersen. Morne Steyn is no longer a 90 to 95% kicker and offers little else. Francois Steyn is playing like the much maligned Wynand Olivier (at least Steyn offers something with the boot). Everyone outside of those two is on a hiding to nothing anyway.
The three obvious changes must be made (Goosen, Brussow, Lambie) – the rugby will be more exciting immediately even if it takes time for the results to come.
If there was ever a time where a coach could justifiably say we in a building phase this would be it. But if so – lets dump the dead wood in the backline as well. I can understand some hesitancy to do so as you have to keep some experience but we can tin this tournament any more so lets just get on with it.
10 Sep 2012, 09:46 am
HM always had Goosen in mind for bench roles this season. He unfortunately got injured for the June series, so his development was delayed. HM probably believes that Goosen is 5 international games behind where he wants him to be.
Lambie should be given a start at 15 and Goosen at 10 for the 2nd half against the All Blacks.
And FLouw has to start. Imagine Bissie and Flo in the same side?!!?
10 Sep 2012, 09:46 am
Oh dear not Bakkies don’t bother Meyer
10 Sep 2012, 09:46 am
@Brigadier and everyone else…..
I actually to some degree concur with your assertion that we are lacking the players right now but it should also be acknowledged that a chunky part of that problem is due to injury and selection.
In the loose forward department all those Spies bashers must be a little shy right now as the three guys who have had an opportunity since his injury may as well have spent the afternoon on the bench. But by the same token one has to say our biggest problem has been at the breakdown and we have one of the breakdown kings of world rugby not being selected (before and after his recent injury). Brussow should be on a plane to New Zealand. No question.
In the lock department the cupboard looks a little bare. None of the guys trumpeted to replace Matfield and Botha have really played consistently well. Kruger and Etzebeth looked the part in the first English test but have fallen off a little since. Becker is not showing himself to be the player everyont thought he would be at this level. Might be injury / fitness related.
But overall it should be kept in mind that 6 of the current pack would not have made a team selected last year and with Bismarck, Burger, Spies and Smit missing due to injury and Matfield and Botha gone from the equation there is a lot of experience gone missing. Tough ask for any team to come in and dominate in the first year after losing 6 key forwards in one foul swoop!
Backline we are missing the most in form back of the super 15 in the form of JP Pietersen. Morne Steyn is no longer a 90 to 95% kicker and offers little else. Francois Steyn is playing like the much maligned Wynand Olivier (at least Steyn offers something with the boot). Everyone outside of those two is on a hiding to nothing anyway.
The three obvious changes must be made (Goosen, Brussow, Lambie) – the rugby will be more exciting immediately even if it takes time for the results to come.
If there was ever a time where a coach could justifiably say we in a building phase this would be it. But if so – lets dump the dead wood in the backline as well. I can understand some hesitancy to do so as you have to keep some experience but we cant win this tournament any more so lets just get on with it.
10 Sep 2012, 09:46 am
No point having Morne, if he’s not kicking well. That’s all he offers and hence is there for. let’s not be disillusioned and expect him to attack.
Goosen and Lambie showed their worth.
10 Sep 2012, 09:46 am
@Transformation-126: nail on the head
Fear….
shackles…
best describes Boks…
10 Sep 2012, 09:48 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-114: Alberts made 27(Verusco) / 29 (Rugbystats) – best of the loosies but then he played for 80. Coetzee made 23(Verusco) / 21(Rugbystats) but he played for 57 minutes. Vermeulen made 13(Verusco) / 19(Rugbystats) in 72 minutes.
10 Sep 2012, 09:48 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-127: right now Mapoe is the best 13 in SA – but sadly because he is a Lion Heineken will not pick him.
Hell it seems that for once there is more backline talent than forward talent available these days.
10 Sep 2012, 09:50 am
@Honesty Box Seymour-109: Good Luck with that
10 Sep 2012, 09:50 am
this coach is as THICK as a few bricks stacked one on top of the next.
If this moron CONTINUES to believe that this kick and chase garbage is the way to go then he is going to keep losing. And I for one will be egging the opposition on to fck him up something CHRONIC. Because if this STUPID moronic DUNCE cannot SEE that kick and chase DOES NOT WORK, then he got NO right to be a national coach of a rugby playing and loving nation. Not even a iota of ANY right whatsoever and then he must GO and go NOW, because his dumb f’ng BLIND insatiable insanity is going to keep Boks heading in a retrograde direction.
The worst aspect of this THICK stuck in a RUT regressive thinking is that this MORON DUNCE is going to fck up some very exciting and capable talent. Next this MORON IDIOT is going to insist that Johan Goosen kicks EVERY attack ball he gets into the heavens. I got absolutely ZERO faith in this outright moronic IDIOT SUPREME, the sooner either SARU realize their absolute mistake at pinning their hopes on this fckup moron or this MORON walks as a result of realizing he DON’T have the wherewithal to lead this team to fruition, the better for SA rugby.
Also if Jean de Villiers has any courage of conviction he will stand up and overrule this archaic dead end non realizable suicide of a game plan and read this fckup dunce the riot act, just like Smit and co. did with the predecessor, and take the power of the players OUT of the abyss and dead end delusion of this dumb fck coaches power manic clutches, because otherwise SA rugby don’t have any hope in hell of climbing out of the deepening hole they now find themselves in.
10 Sep 2012, 09:51 am
Bakkies Botha was finished in 2010, how people think he is going to help us going forward is just baffling!
10 Sep 2012, 09:51 am
@RL-143: Excactly;. Chuck in Jantjes at 10, Mapoe at 13 and Taute at 15, and this Bok backline will spark.
You could even put Andries Coetzee on the bench to cover the back three.
10 Sep 2012, 09:54 am
“It is all about handling pressure, being mentally tough and showing character,” Did you see how well HM handle the pressure when screaming into his walkie-talkie like a spoiled toddler. Mentally tough, the ****** spanner can’t even pick a team. 99% of bloggers on the site could pick a better team. he is the weak link and needs to be the first out the door. For now, it’s sad to say that it will be worse for the Boks in the long run if we sneak a few wins. The best thing that could happen to us is to loose all the rest of the games in the RC so HM is fired/quits.
10 Sep 2012, 09:55 am
@katman-116:
Seems you copying everything I already said on Saturday, you a bit behind the times little kenner clone
10 Sep 2012, 09:55 am
@Transformation-126: Well said Trans, PDV was echo’s the very same sentiments in his book. He talks about about teh way players are programmed to play with so much structure and lack freedom of expression. He goe’s on to say that he tried to introduce an expansive game plan but found that it was impossible to transform a squad of players that have all grown playing rugby a set way, so he had to settle of ugly wins. No 180 turn overnight…
PDV was a poor press man, but as a rugby ‘forward-thinker.’ Bring him back I say.
Many will be angry, but we as fan’s should have seen after the England 3rd test, like they are a 3rd rate team. We were slack,
Kind Regard
Thabo
10 Sep 2012, 09:56 am
@Tbozknows-150: Ignore the “Kind Regards” lol
10 Sep 2012, 09:58 am
@GreenFan-139: Sorry mate, I think Vermullet did ok considering his lengthy absence to injury. We are not getting clean ball from scrum, ruck etc .. and spies will not add to those.
Give Vermullet a few games and then judge him, I want to see options played for Spies, Morne and Kirchner as they have regularly dissapointed.
10 Sep 2012, 09:59 am
@Tbozknows-150:
I still remember fondly the whipping we gave Australia at Ellis Park under Peter de Villiers’ coaching, when he was trying to introduce his “total rugby” concept.
But the “senior players” like Matfield, du Preez and Smit did not like it – they preferred “structure”.
10 Sep 2012, 10:00 am
@garth-148:
10 Sep 2012, 10:00 am
@Doughnut-152:
It was also a massive disservice to Vermeulen to have him start so soon after recovering from a long injury lay-off.
10 Sep 2012, 10:00 am
@katman-147: To be fair to HM Taute and Goose were on his list but both injured shoulders in S15 .. I agree Taute could even become the next JFourie at 13 if needed he is a talent ..
Goose we all saw how cool this guy was on Saturday, he will not just K&C the ball away ..
10 Sep 2012, 10:01 am
@RL-133:
not entirely true…
jake was also very concerned about experience.
he called os out of retirement
he got percy back from overseas.
He started off with aj venter at flank.
gerrie britz at lock
dewet barry and paulse who had both been around since ’99.
10 Sep 2012, 10:03 am
@katman-147: I agree with Taute at 15.
He’s is the best attacking 15 we have in SA right now. I’d even have him at 13, with his defence and speed. Only Willie La Roux will have something to say about the 15 spot. He’s a creative player, like he doesn’t play like a South African. He looks for gaps, as opposed to crushing everyone.
10 Sep 2012, 10:03 am
@WP-Forever-155: Yup shows how desperate HM is to introduce the players who fit his “game plan # A ” …. that is indeed worrying. More of a concern was the shite ball forwards delivered. Tight 5 needs work ..
In fact you could say outside of FH, FS and Habs none of the players who played on Sat are guaranteed a place going fwd .. !!
10 Sep 2012, 10:05 am
@Doughnut-159:
Our ball security at the breakdown is shocking. We are also not cleaning the rucks out effectively.
10 Sep 2012, 10:06 am
@katman-147:
hold on all you lions supporters. Just because your side looks the buzniz right now doesn’t mean much.
you okes did just finish last in the superrugby and got beat by the quaws last weekend. So,yes, Mapoe is playing well in the current format but lets not get carried away.
best back on the park was still that 15 from the bulls for my money.
10 Sep 2012, 10:08 am
@TAJ BAR-44: I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Regarding the coach, are you available? Can’t be worse than the dinosaur we have now.
10 Sep 2012, 10:10 am
@fitz1ella-149: Do you seriously think I read any of your Tourettes-ridden garbage? Not that I have any interest in your (unhealthy) rugby knowledge pissing contests, but I’ve been punting Jantjes and Taute for the Boks back when you were still stroking your wittle willy while posting your Grant/Duvenhage punts. And we all know you’ve flip-flopped about six times on your all time bestest bestest most excellently favouritist player ever in the world since then.
So how about you calm the fck down, take your meds, sober up, get straight and stick with one opinion for longer than a morning and we can talk again.
Until then go bother someone else, you crusty old vagrant malkoppie.
10 Sep 2012, 10:14 am
Willie le Roux / Andries Coetsee / Frans Steyn / Pat Lambie
Gio Aplon / Paul Jordaan
Lionel Mapoe / Jacob Taute
Juan de Jongh / Marcel Brache
Raymond Rhule / B. Habana
Johan Goosen / Elton Jantjies
Francoise Hougaard, Sarel Pretorius
Duanne Vermeulen / Marcel Coetsee / Warren Whitely
Reynardt Elstadt, Willem Alberts, Jaundre Kruger, Francoise Louw, Jean Deysel
Heinrich Brussow, Deon Fourie, Francoise Louw, Keegan Daniel
Eben Etsebeth, Andries Bekker
Reynardt Elstadt, Willem Alberts, Jean Deysel
Pat Cilliers, Coenie Oosthuizen, J. Van Rensburg
Bismark du Plessis, Deon Fourie,
Gurthro Steenkamp, J. Van Rensburg, Beast Mtwarira
This mix and match squad will annihilate the one picked by Heyneke Meyer by some almighty distance
10 Sep 2012, 10:15 am
@WP-Forever-153: as strange as it may sound I would take divvy right now and tell him to implement his “total rugby” – can you imagine the chaos and confusion he will sow – not only in his own team but in the enemy change rooms.
He would probably have Groom, Goose, le Roux, F. Steyn, Mapoe, Coetzee and the Lambster as his backline with Brussow as his captain leading a pack which includes Coenie, Bissy, Cilliers. Estebeth, Botha (Ruan not Bakkies) the skipper followed by Coetzee and Spies (just for the sake of having a bullie in the team)
10 Sep 2012, 10:18 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-101: Dig the analysis man, I agree totally. I hate our gameplan, but it isnt why we lost and as kak as morne is, our kicking game was working until half time. I agree, there’s a mentality and personnel problem. I would make the same changes you made but with Lambie at 10, not Goosen. I dont think he’s ready.
10 Sep 2012, 10:19 am
@WP-Forever-153: I agree. Like dont get me wrong, we ended up going back to structure and i dont think we should lose all structure from our game, but we need to move it forward. We play Old-School England Rugby, from the 80′s and 90′s. The only difference is our aggression.
That rugby was effective, but boring as hell.
We should have hammered Australia over the weekend. They were not that good. We were poor.
10 Sep 2012, 10:22 am
@katman-163:
Nope you about 6 light years behind the times, you and most the other ‘kenners’ around here still catching up to what’s cooking around your bragadocio braaivleis byeenkoms, fact remains its as simple as ABC to spot who’s who and what’s what, only for some thick boertjies such as yourself and Herr Heyneke it still takes a little longer than most.
10 Sep 2012, 10:23 am
@katman-163: a most excellent post katters.
snoeky cant decide from one second to the next who to punt next because he is always trying to be “out of the box”.
the reality is that he is the box.
10 Sep 2012, 10:24 am
@fitz1ella-168: yes yes, you told nick mallet too.
you are awesome.
10 Sep 2012, 10:53 am
@WP-Forever-131: “And in other news, at the current rate, the Blue Bulls might be facing relegation in the Currie Cup”
Kings vs Bulls in Currie Cup relegation playoffs?
10 Sep 2012, 10:56 am
@Honesty Box Seymour-104: I think HM just wrote out 3 standard responses after his first game against England, and he just repeats the same thing after every match over and over again. I’m starting to think it is just not worth listening to his post match yadda yadda yadda anymore.
10 Sep 2012, 10:59 am
that’s right Nicky Mallet made one Big Fckupat the 1999 WC and he knows it now, pity he couldn’t see it then where others could have told him CLEARLY who to play in the semi and who not.
Same as Pdv couldn’t see sh’t from reality because he was so bamboozled by that overrated fatfunk lardarse doos hanging round his neck in 2011, similar blind as bat Sa coaching deficiencies as this dumb fck ignoramus doos Heyneke Meyer who listened to all you imbecile morons and played PIENAAR ahead of Hougaard and LOST.
ONE simple little decision to play Hougaard at 9 where he should ALWAYS play and Boks would have won.., how downright THICK can some moronic idiots possibly BE??
10 Sep 2012, 11:12 am
@fitz1ella-164: geez skop….
where are sadie, robert ebersohn, SERFONTEIN etc that you were punting last year, last month, last week?
10 Sep 2012, 11:14 am
@fitz1ella-168: Nee wat, ou poepol, being a compulsive flip-flopper is one thing. But being an exhibitionist flip-flopper is a whole new kettle of fish. With your bipolar selections and schizophrenic rugby opinions on display for the world to see, that kind of kak doesn’t stand up to a whole lot of scrutiny.
You don’t need me to expose you as a big fat wrinkly phoney. You do a super job of it yourself.
10 Sep 2012, 11:15 am
@Transformation-174: Why not, even if they were worse we’d still be making progress by eliminating possible players from the pool.
10 Sep 2012, 11:16 am
Heyneke Meyer moet asb tog nou vir sy volk luister. Jaag al die Bulle in die Bokspan weg en stuur hulle terug Loftus toe. Al is hulle useless, kan die spelers dalk die Bulle help om op te staan in die Currie Beker.
In my opinie het die Bokke goed gespeel en was hulle op koers totdat Beast ‘n sinnelose fout gemaak het. Sy geelkaart het die Bokke ontydig momentum ontneem. Die fout wat Mvovu gemaak het, het ongelukkig direk tot die Ausies se eerste drie gelei.
Vreemd lees ek nêrens van die twee kritieke flaters nie, maar dis net vrot Morne. Morne Steyn was nog nooit ‘n wêreldklas losskakel nie en hy was gelukkig om in ‘n tyd te speel toe hy omring was deur die Bulle se eens magtige pak voorspelers – wat reeds die afgelope twee jaar nie meer bestaan nie. Sy ongelooflike skopwerk teen die Britse Leeus het die reeks gewen vir SA, maar steeds maak dit hom nie ‘n groot losskakel nie.
Heyneke moet verduidelik waarom het hy Louis Koen gekies het as skopafrigter. By die Bokke was dit eers Percy, toe is dit Vlok by die Bulls en nou Louis Koen. Geen wonder Morne is verward nie – met sy skoppe, die res was nog nooit “hot” nie.
Ek sal verseker nie Morne as my no 1 of 2 losskakel kies nie, maar om een speler elke week uit te kak as die rede vir die Bokke se geploeter, kan gerus stop.
10 Sep 2012, 11:23 am
@Transformation-174: Last month? That’s like an entirely separate geological era in the Skoppieverse. You can’t hold him to last week’s selections, let alone last month.
10 Sep 2012, 11:24 am
All Blacks dig deep to beat the Pumas
Article By: Tony, Johnson
Monday, 10 September 2012 10.15 a.m.
The All Blacks are six points clear at the top of the Rugby Championship.
They are unbeaten after six tests this season, only one of which they looked to be in any danger of losing, and they have stretched their winning run to 13.
Any other country would kill to be in that position, and yet there seems to be a growing sense of frustration amongst New Zealanders about the way this team is performing.
New Zealand, it seems, is the one country in world where just winning rugby is not enough to satisfy the masses. We demand perfection in a game that can only rarely, by it’s very nature, be played to perfection. That attitude is one of the reasons New Zealand fans are viewed around the world as being a bit arrogant.
It is true that the All Blacks have not played to their potential, that they are making too many mistakes, and that this could cost them a game somewhere down the line, but the fact is they have still managed to place a firm grip on the Rugby Championship at the halfway stage, and can put it all but beyond reach with a win over the Springboks in Dunedin this weekend.
There were some obvious mitigating factors in their 21-5 struggle against the Pumas. Extremely difficult conditions pervaded the first half in particular, and Argentina came up with a resolute, inspired and extremely forceful effort, especially on defence.
The Pumas are not just “happy to be here”, they don’t just want to prove they deserve to be here, they want to win, and it is commendable to see a side trying hell bent to do that, when others might be satisfied with damage limitation.
The new All Black coaching panel seems determined to put their own stamp on this team, taking things to a new level with a high velocity, quick passing game.
At the moment it is not totally coming off, but it will no doubt be persevered with. When and if it comes together someone will pay a terrible price for it, but on Saturday night the conditions certainly did not suit and a more tempered approach might have produced a better dividend.
Still, it had the effect of running the Pumas all over the place, and they fatigued noticeably later in the game, made a yellow card mistake under heavy pressure and the game was put way beyond doubt.
The All Blacks may get their chance to break out under the roof in Dunedin next week, although the Boks will…or at least should be stung by their failure in Perth.
They threw away a winning position with some poor defence, and some dreadful lapses in judgment, and showed once again that their style of play might be effective when they’re in front, but it is not come from behind rugby.
They are missing some big names, the Boks, but so too were Australia, and it seems to me that they have plumped for a coach who is trying to replicate a style of rugby that was successful in the past for the Bulls, but has been superseded.
The result will have kept the wolves from Robbie Deans door for a while, but more of that from the Boks and they will be howling for Heyneke Meyer.
10 Sep 2012, 11:50 am
Meyer has a 50% winning record.
Enough said.
10 Sep 2012, 11:52 am
@Tjokker-177: Hehehehehe.
10 Sep 2012, 11:58 am
@PissAnt-45: Our kicking game is at the very heart of our problems at the collision / cleanout.
If you know you are going to kick on the next phase, it reduces the urgency to get extra quick ball, because your 10 is deeper and therefore well protected. Hence your cleanout will not be as aggressive as, say, when you want your strike runners to carry on the next phase.
And that is my main gripe with a kicking gameplan. It does curtail a little bit of the physicality.
10 Sep 2012, 12:11 pm
@WP-Forever-153: That was a great game, but the team a year later; 2009, was arguably the best bok team since the 1998 boks of Nick Mallet; Lions triumph, 3-0 against All Blacks and a 5 out of 6 Tri-nations victory, was the best I’ve seen of the boks and a long time.
Legends like Matfield, Bakkies, Habana, J Fourie, JDV, F Steyn, Du Preez, JP, Busmarck, J Smith and Barney himself! That year was also the year of Brussouw. These players played some of the best rugby of their lives on that year.
This bok team just doesn’t have those calibre players yet, even the same players don’t have that edge anymore. Leadership is what is needed; neither Meyer or JDV is doing a good job so far.
10 Sep 2012, 12:14 pm
@Maori_Fulla-28:
This is the sort of comment that makes it obvious the average blogger has no clue. Oz kicked as much as we did from ~22 to ~10m. As dit Argentinia. As do NZ. The only time they don’t is maybe on turnover ball. The Boks don’t kick excessively. They don’t contest some kicks perhaps but the problem is definitely not with us kicking too much.
Soft defence at times, shambles at the breakdown and zero attacking threat from our 10 is the problem.
10 Sep 2012, 12:21 pm
@willievz-182:
Willie what drives me insane his that centipede formation.
I see even the Wallabies did it.
It’s a farce and does a disservice to the game.
10 Sep 2012, 12:22 pm
Morne should have been dropped almost two seasons ago. He is just not up to the standard of test rugby and needs to be axed. Meyer needs to get over his loyalty towards his Bulls players, as it is just moving the boks in the wrong direction. By saying this i am also questioning Zane Kirchners selection. This guy has never, not once been up to Test standard, and frankly to me, he is just plain useless, a waste of space on the field. Ludick, Viljoen, Aplon, Joe Pietersen, Lambie, are just a few guys that deserve the 15 jersey more.
To get back to the No. 10 spot. Morne must be sent on his way. Goosen is a great prospect, but a rushing a 19-20 year old in to that role,could do more harm than good, but i am open to be proven wrong. At this stage, i feel Lambie is the go to man at 10 in the Boks current situation, and even give Jantjies a go, as it seems he is the best goal kicker in SA at the moment, and boasts an exciting attacking game.
The 10 & 15 spots are the boks biggest hurdle at the moment, and need to be addressed urgently. If Meyer sticks with Morne this weekend, and he plays a blinder and wins the game with a drop goal, i fear that the public will be so naive as to suddenly believe Morne is the man and back to his best, so to Meyer. One good game does not make you a great player, and one poor game does not make you a bad player. Need to take his performances of the past seasons and put them in to context.
This is a 22 man squad i would give a go this weekend ( not just picking guys from the current touring squad)
15. Francious Steyn
14. Bryan Habana
13. Juan de Jongh
12. Jean De Villiers
11. Francious Hougaardt
10. Patrick Lambie
9. Ruan Pienaar
8. Duane Vermeulen
7. Willem Alberts
6. Marcell Coetzee
5. Juandre Kruger
4. Eben Etzbeth ( not sure if been cited or not)
3. Jannie Du Plessis
2. Adriaan Struass
1. Tandai Mtwrira
16.Craig Burden
17.Pat Cilliers
18. Andries Bekker
19. Francious Louwe
20. Johan Goosen
21. Lawazi Mvovo
22. Gio Aplon
10 Sep 2012, 12:28 pm
@RL-165: I am having a real kak day, got messed around with some work this morning and have a head cold. But this comment has cheered me up no end. I laughed so hard that I shot snot out my congested right nostril twice. I can just imagine snore marshalling the troops and the panic/fear in the opposing team’s faces with not knowing what the f@#k is coming next.
10 Sep 2012, 12:29 pm
@Jeraldjay-185: Indeed.
Apart from the fact that it gives away the next step, many players are not biding correctly.
And where is the physicality in that kind of formation?
I can see its value as a defensive formation in your own 22, giving the 9 time to kick, but not as an offensive kick-chase mechanism.
10 Sep 2012, 12:38 pm
@willievz-188:
I hear what you saying with regard to the physicality aspect, it is cancelled out with the kick chase.
If you want to dominate physically you have to get over the advantage line with ball in hand.
By kicking the ball away you have to front up physically in the tackle and this will cause player fatigue ’cause you tackling all the time.
So players are pap in the 60th minute already and can’t dominate physically anymore.
10 Sep 2012, 12:38 pm
Rugby is a fluid game, if you are going to restrict yourself to last weeks conclusions and last years selections and last decades strategically inept game plans then you are in for ONE MAMMOTH HIDING.
Some idiots CANNOT read what is unfolding right before their eyes. If you cannot SEE what is transpiring right in front of your nose then you got NO clue what’s happening right before your nonpluss gaze.
There WAS a time that it was APPROPRIATE to play Ruan Pienaar at 10 but NEVER at 9. There WAS a time to play Peter Grant at 10 but that time has LONG PAST GONE by now…
There WAS and Still IS a time to instill Hougaard at scrum half but NOT insist he tries to play a STRUCTURED ROBOTIC FDP CLONED kicking GAME!!
Rugby is a game where reading the SITUATION is a prerequisite NECESSITY and ANY coach who restricts his thinking to archaic dead and buried prehistoric conditioning will NEVER succeed at the top echelons of this game.
If Heyneke Meyer is THAT FIXED in his precondition and false perception of WHAT is actually transpiring before his very eyes then it is better for Saru to do the RIGHT thing and Axe him NOW, before it goes from bad to WORSE !!
Otherwise you are in for a worse infliction of cataclysm than you witnessed under Streauli.. Watch and LEARN!!
10 Sep 2012, 12:51 pm
@fitz1ella-190: Shut up you fool. There was NEVER a time when your opinion mattered.
Fckn flippety floppety herwaarts en derwaarts scattergun rugby phoney.
Call ‘em all and you’ll get it right some time.
10 Sep 2012, 13:06 pm
@fitz1ella-164: Our rugby coaches are seriously identifying and nurturing the wrong talent, Skop.
@Jeraldjay-189: Agree 100%.
10 Sep 2012, 13:38 pm
Great article Jon.
10 Sep 2012, 13:57 pm
@Moerig-81: @rossoneri-86: LOL, you guys making me laugh talking about the Bok’s gameplan and strategy. Too funny.
10 Sep 2012, 14:20 pm
@Tjokker-177: Very good.
10 Sep 2012, 14:22 pm
@fitz1ella-173: Just on Hougaard at scrumhalf, Bad move. he is a winger. Pienaar is the best 9 we have in SA.
10 Sep 2012, 14:51 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-194:
Indeed they are much funnier than you.
Rather than just telling players you don’t like to **** off all the time.
A five year old can do that.
You’re not a five year old are you pal?
10 Sep 2012, 16:13 pm
Ek dink nie ons land se talent is so swak dat spelers met ernstige beperkings op toetsvlak gekies moet word nie.
Dit is wragtag `n hartseer dag indien ons moet erken dat Morne die beste loskakel in Suid-Afrika is.
Die loskakel moet tog die vermoë hê om al die basiese aspekte van sy posisie te bemeester. Dit was hartseer om te sien hoe graag hy die drie wou druk (ten koste van die span) om sy kritici se monde te smoor.
10 Sep 2012, 17:06 pm
@Slartibartfast-12: I agreed with your comments about wanting to break stuff during the game, but your use of stats there is disingenuous. Only 1/4 is playing due to retirement and more due to injuries, nothing to do with PDiv!
Do u think it Fourie, Bakkies & Du Preez were playing, HM wouldnt choose them?
Do you think if Schalla and Juan Smith werent injured they wouldnt’ve played?
I think the results lately show that PDiv was in fact a very good coach! Much better than he was ever given credit for.
Some of the players being called upon he blooded, like Lambie & Flip.
Others like Brussow many Bok fans are begging to be reinstated.
When PDiv tried to get Ruan in the team (admittedly at 10 or 15 – but which coach on Earth would no have picked Du Preez?!) everyone wanted Ruan dropped for Morne.
Moenie laf wees nie man, en ophou om Pdiv te blameer vir alles!
10 Sep 2012, 17:14 pm
@DG-198: Ek moet heeltemal saam stem met jou! Morne het aspris probeer daai 3 allen druk om “almal te wys” ek is oortuig daarvan.
Wat die’ onderhoud ook nie noem nie is 2de drie wat Morne ook opgemors het, toe hy probeer “skip pass” na Habana toe, en al Habana se spasie gemors het. In plass van aangee na Jean, Jean hardloop reguit om d verdediging in te lok en DAN aangee na Habana. Dit was duidelik n drie en het basies rugby agterlyn spel nodig om dit te voltooi. Ek is seker Morne het iets gedink soos hy gaan wys dat hy kan aangee. Maar daai situasie het n normale aangee nodig gehad.
Toe moes Habana “insny” en probeer switch met Jean – Jean verwag dit nie en d bal gaan los. In tussentyd het Morne om gehardloop, hy probeer dit optel, hy kan nie vashou nie en die bal gaan uit.
Haartseer , onnodig en ek het skaam gekry dat die Bokke kan so sleg lyk toe dit eintlik n goeie aanval was!
10 Sep 2012, 17:24 pm
@bokfan1-199: it is all disingenous and designed to take blame off heyneke meyer! how anyone can say pdv never “blooded any players” is just nuts considering that in one game against wales in 2010 he fielded debutants Flo, Dewalt and JdJ…that these player seemingly don’t fit into Heyneke Meyer’s hallowed gameplan is no fault of Divvy!
the other fallacy is that when Heyneke is done “building” his envisioned Bok team we will end up with new du Preez, Matfield, Bakkies, Rossouws etc which is impossible to predict!
10 Sep 2012, 18:04 pm
@katman-191: who asked you dumb little boertjie fuckwit.. you one of those little ja baas nee baas 3 sakkies vol baas Heyneke Meyer arselickers who was SO relieved to see the back of PdV and SO enamored with this dumb bewildered ignoramus who is CLEARLY and absolutely out of his bewildered depth .. and now suddenly you rate yourself as some kind of knowledgeable rugby ‘kenner’..!! you a f’ng moron prick.. except you think you kinda ‘intelligent’ you dumb f’ng moron twat who crawled out your dumb little Florida High hole and thought you somehow got ‘enlightened’ enough to think like n goddamn ‘engelsman’… be yourself and stop with this pretentious garbage of trying to be who you are NOT..
10 Sep 2012, 18:09 pm
@katman-163: if you don’t read my posts how come you the FIRST little punkass fucknosed PRICK to react and jump on them..!! Like you attracted to what I say FIRST in the queue of who says WHAT on here…
if you NOT interested in what I got to say then WHY the Fck are you the very FIRST arsehole to respond and take very pertinent NOTE of what I’m saying and REACT to it?
Stupid little moronic halfwit half boer half engelsman half educated half intelligent doos.
10 Sep 2012, 18:24 pm
@willievz-192: yip that’s 100% right.. Heyneke Meyer is SO far OFF the parabola curve he is having to RE LEARN what rugby principles are about ALL OVER AGAIN
If Moronic idiot DUNCES like this pathetic non rugby enlightened moron FOOL has been given carte blanche to FCK UP Springbok rugby while he LEARNS the trade of coaching at this level then Saru have made one MAMMOTH fckup MISTAKE at even THINKING that this moron was the enlightened messiah that all his bullbevok disciples thought he was.
He is like a pisswilly little kindergarten toddler chucked into university and now he has to LEARN what WORKS and what DON’T at the highest level of rugby relevancy in the game.
That is why ALL these rugby coaches need at LEAST 4 – 5 years of busting their overrated over aggrandized pathetic ego rampant heads against the brick wall of their OWN preconceived pre programmed pathetic ideologies and only THEN are they ready to actually be open and wise enough to coach a national rugby team at the highest level.
10 Sep 2012, 18:49 pm
Meyers problem is simple and fundamental – and it’s a big one, he us selecting wrong and is slightly biased to the bulls – if he just selected brussow, fourie elstadt and jdj with goosen at flyhalf and houggard at 9 – winning the collisions, not to kick away, but to play with the ball – the boks would start winning and he’d go down as one of the best – at present I’ll be surprised if he makes the year out.
If he continues with the same team and squad for tge home games, I believe those too and most of our EOY tour games and tge calls will then become too much. He’s got to make sine changes now, more for himself than anything else, otherwise I reckon it’ll be the worst year since carel du plessis.
10 Sep 2012, 18:53 pm
@cab-205: Elstadt is injured again.
10 Sep 2012, 18:55 pm
What have we got to lose by giving Mitchell a ****? Fk it can’t get any worse – get Mitchell and PdV back together – PdV handles the players and Mitchell the selections and tactics. And of course PdV to handle the media – what a legend, he managed to piss off every country they visited before touching down. Psychological warfare at it’s finest.
10 Sep 2012, 20:02 pm
Really feel bad for the guy, must be dreadful knowing the whole country is baying for your blood. Unfortunately I to think he needs to be replaced until he gets his mojo back.
10 Sep 2012, 20:44 pm
He’s had a good run Hugger – time to give someone else a shot
10 Sep 2012, 21:14 pm
Hi Cab, I know, just hope he doesn’t read what people write, I don’t like nastiness just because people can, he has not played well consistency for a while I agree but the viciousness from some posters is quite revolting and this from some one that is not really into how humans feel, the keo site seems to have lost a few of its interesting dysfunctional bloggers with only a few putting up comments consistently…I miss their input..Stormersboy being 1 of them.
10 Sep 2012, 21:56 pm
@fitz1ella-203: You put my name at the top of it, you stupidcock. That kind of indicates that it’s meant for my attention. Or does your attention span not go back to post 116? As I said, take break and try to pull yourself together. You’re a fcken embarrassment.
10 Sep 2012, 23:06 pm
@katman-211: Raging embittered alcoholic. Someone cr@ps in his breakfast on a daily basis. Geez, I thought I was unpleasant….
10 Sep 2012, 23:11 pm
@Dusky-212: The sad irony is that he’s a sober teetotaller. All that rubbish is 100%, undiluted Skoppie. No preservatives, no additives. Just plain damaged goods.
10 Sep 2012, 23:16 pm
Ok why is it that when I said it I got called a Bok hater and when JC says it everyone’s like “ja he should”?
11 Sep 2012, 06:12 am
I watched the highlights of the game again and it was painful to see how pathetic Morne is at defending. The way he rides / holds on in the tackle is just pathetic! To say the opponents go over the advantage line when running at him is an understatement!
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