Awful attack kills Bok momentum
15 Sep 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Springboks’ poor finishing and option-taking undermined what was a powerful and purposeful showing by the forwards.
Most will lament a shocking goal-kicking performance that saw the Boks miss five penalty attempts in the first half alone. The roof sheltered the Forsyth Barr Stadium from the raging wind and rain and still Morné Steyn and Frans Steyn couldn’t translate the Boks’ forward dominance into points.
The All Blacks went to the break with an undeserved 5-3 lead. Through the wayward kicking of the Steyns, the Boks had left 15 points on the park. The visitors were also guilty of blowing two try-scoring chances. This served to show how dire and in need of attention their attacking game really is.
Morné Steyn has come in for some scathing criticism in recent weeks, and deservedly so. It is not good enough that a goal-kicker of his quality and experience delivers a return of less than 80%, let alone 50% and below. It has cost the Boks in recent matches, and undoubtedly cost them again in Dunedin.
But it is not the only department in which Steyn has under-delivered.
Not much was expected of an inexperienced Bok pack, and in the event that they failed to front in Dunedin, the backs would have been forgiven for a limp attacking showing.
As it transpired, the Boks rocked up in a determined mood, and their heavies out-muscled the All Blacks at the collisions and breakdowns. In this scenario, more would have been expected from the backs. They should have converted those two early opportunities. Steyn and his backline could have done far more considering the platform they enjoyed.
The finishing was atrocious, but so to was the option-taking in that pivotal No 10 position. Steyn took the ball so deep that he allowed the opposition defence time to charge up and negate the Boks’ attacking space. He failed to fix his defender, and crabbed across field, which further cramped and inhibited his team-mates on the outside. It may have a lot to do with his flagging confidence, but Steyn has shown himself to be a shoveller rather than a distributor.
The All Blacks should be thankful that it was Steyn who received the ball early in the first half when the hosts were back-pedalling in their own 22. Steyn picked up a pass on the bounce and barely took a step forward before shovelling the ball on to Zane Kirchner. Kirchner in turn threw a poor pass to Bryan Habana, who then knocked the ball on.
It was a clear example of poor finishing, but you have to look at how Steyn negated the attacking space and allowed the All Blacks defence time to scramble back.
There were too many examples of lateral movement, and the result was often a turnover. Jean de Villiers threw a pass that went straight into touch. Several players received possession in the outside channels and seemed unsure of how to proceed.
Again, these mistakes were made more frustrating by the fact that the Boks were enjoying such tremendous success up front. It was unforgivable that that dominance wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard.
The breakthrough arrived in the 49th minute where Habana produced a piece of individual brilliance. The Bok winger broke the line, chipped the defence, and showed the necessary speed and skill to collect his kick and score.
It was a moment to savour, but again it was an individual snipe rather than an example of collective attacking synergy.
The All Blacks had very few attacking opportunities by comparison. There was an instant in the first half where they produced the most spellbinding display, forwards and backs offloading in the tackle and Israel Dagg rocketing away to score a fantastic try.
Aaron Cruden missed the ensuing conversion, but when he had another opportunity in the 52nd minute, he made it count. That penalty saw the All Blacks draw level with Boks at 8-8.
The Boks continued to dominate at the point of contact, and this continued to force the All Blacks into errors. But the Blacks’ blunders could not compare to those of the Boks.
The visiting pack would smash the New Zealanders back, but then Steyn or Ruan Pienaar would overplay the kick-chase tactic. It was poor option-taking that would cost the Boks another potential try on the hour when Steyn received the ball flat and then changed direction to kick for the corner. The men out to his left, unmarked an in space, went unused and the opportunity went begging.
Steyn was replaced by Johan Goosen shortly after that, and the difference to the Boks’ attack was immediate. Goosen received the ball in almost the exact same position and ran the ball, the result being a Frans Steyn linebreak.
If only Goosen had enjoyed more of an opportunity to run at the All Blacks defence. He was only introduced in the 60th minute, and when Dean Greyling’s brain explosion led to a yellow card in the 63rd minute, Goosen was robbed of the forward platform needed to work his magic.
There can be no more denial, no more defence of Morné Steyn and the Boks’ attacking game. Goosen must be entrusted with the starting responsibilities from hereon in, and the Boks’ attacking option-taking and finishing must be given the attention it so clearly needs.
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102 Comments
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15 Sep 2012, 11:55 am
Poor kicking today.
Poor kicking for posts by Morne.
Poor tactical kicking by Morne and Ruan
Poor kicking a player out when he’s not in form by Heyneke
15 Sep 2012, 11:56 am
@corporal punishment-46: Who’s going to lead the haka once he leaves?
15 Sep 2012, 11:57 am
Sadly if you lookat it again, Meyer did everything in his power to lose this match, right from keeping morne on as long as possible to subbing the beast. Also giving Lambie 5 min to pull a hammie. Subbed bekker on for kruger when flip was giving away his usual 5 wasted penalties and also had a large cut that could have opened anytime. Think about it what more could he have done from the sideline to influence the result
15 Sep 2012, 11:59 am
I feel like I’m losing my F*cking Mind.
Steyn must give good head cause he can’t do F*ck all else at the moment.
Thanks for all you’ve done in the past but its time to pack it in.
Greyling worst than a has been a never was
15 Sep 2012, 12:03 pm
I know it could be a while before we might ever see this, but just imagine for a moment how good this backline unit could be. The running rugby would be a delight to watch.
9. Hougaard (Playing his natural game. No one dimensional stuff)
10. Goosen/Lambie
11. Habana
12. Serfontein
13. Jordaan
14. Pietersen
15. F. Steyn
15 Sep 2012, 12:03 pm
Meyers substitutions today were more questionable than any that PdV ever did.
He takes off Beast who was playing well. He does not replace Msteyn until 61st minute when he was again having a shocker. We left 24 point (excluding F Steyns 58 m attempt) out on the field in the first half and at half time M Steyn runs back onto the file for another 21mins. For a perosn with such supposed rugby intellect, why is it that we arm-chari coaches can see it and this pcrik can’t! Bring back PdV! Seriously, Mallet should be called in to help at least!
15 Sep 2012, 12:04 pm
Steyn doesn’t handle pressure well. Every time there’s a flyhalf replacement on the bench or he is playing away from Loftus, he has nightmares. Today we had both scenarios simultaneously, I am not shocked he had a shocker.
15 Sep 2012, 12:12 pm
THEY SAY JOHAN GOOSEN IS THE FUTURE FLYHALF OF SA RUGBY. I BEG TO DIFFER. HE’S NOT THE F**KING FUTURE.
HE IS THE PRESENT!!!!!!
STRONGER BETTER KICKER BETTER TACKLER WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT PLAY THE KID ALREADY HEINEKE ‘PISGAT’ MEYER!
YOU ARE WASTING HIS TALENT ON THE BENCH!!
SAME GOES WITH LAMBIE AND KIRCHNER ON THE BENCH. LAMBIE IS CRITICISED FOR BEING A WEAK KICKER.HE HALF THE KICKER KIRCHNER WISHES HE IS. PLAY THEM PLAY THEM PLAY THEM PLAY THEM !!!!
*HOUGAARD NOT DOING ANYTHING ON THE WING!
15 Sep 2012, 12:13 pm
Finally we know Moron Steyn is useless. Now Kirchner is next and with that Greyling. 3 Bulls down. I like it. Now put natural game breakers or else Heyneke must just do the right thing and resign. Pdivvy can take over.
15 Sep 2012, 12:14 pm
Everyone is talking about who we’re missing but the one person no one is mentioning is Jaques Fourie.
I like JDV but remember the center partnership of Fourie and Steyn in 2007?
I do think we’re missing FDP too however and with players like Bismark, Brussouw, Schalk and JP Peterson still to come back I am slightly more enthusiastic.
I do think its time for a new 10 and 15 for our home games though!
15 Sep 2012, 12:16 pm
56. Maljan. Don’t make any sense
15 Sep 2012, 12:18 pm
@60 Timbo – JdV should be replaced by Jordaan – he is the future 13.
15 Sep 2012, 12:20 pm
@62 – Agree he (Jordaan) is showing promise but, if Heyneke wants a sure fire solid side, I would still put in J Fourie – some say he is the best rugby player in the world pound for pound and I would agree.
15 Sep 2012, 12:26 pm
61. Bok Fan. What don’t you get? Point I am trying to make is Meyer is doing an injustice to the players through very poor decision making. He, more than anyone else today, was responsible for the Bok loss!
15 Sep 2012, 12:30 pm
@grant10-30:
Bwahaaaa, Spoken like a true one eyed supporter!
Verfoolin – can’t move. Just stands there and says “run at me”.4 runs with 16m LOL!
Flo, Another ‘hanger on’. When he gets involved he gives away penalties – 3 of them nogal! Made 6 runs and gained ‘gasp’ 20 meters total!
Daniels is easily better than either of these jokes. Top SA performer in the S15. When Daniels started, we won. Stransky agrees and so do many international commentators.
If you took off your blinkers it would be no different. I’m sure you have another set underneath.
You comments are laughable.
Guess you think JdV had a great game too (again)? When are you going to say Smit was better? At least he was a captain and could control and motivate the team on the field – and he was playing in his position because he deserved it. They didn’t have to shoe-horn him into the team out of position. And that pass? Forward and useless to the wing (FH?).
Think you and Jon can’t_tell_what’s_happening should go and drink together and you can re-inforce each others stupidity.
15 Sep 2012, 12:31 pm
Dean Greyling’s full name is — and this is the proper spelling– MacGuyver Dean Greyling.
Strewth!
15 Sep 2012, 12:33 pm
@OCO-65: Ok, so all the Stormer players in the Bok team are kak. Got it.
15 Sep 2012, 12:34 pm
64 Maljan, sorry wasn’t clear, I don’t get Meyer. I know hes on a contract. But after doing everything in his power to lose the test, he def needs a disciplinary hearing and final warning
15 Sep 2012, 12:38 pm
Why the furore? We all knew this was going to happen. The onl surprise is that we got so close.
15 Sep 2012, 12:57 pm
@TheTackler-66:
lol yes named after “MacGuyver” – Dean Greyling.
end of Bok career for him, Morne Steyn I feel.
Lambie at 15, Goosen at 10
15 Sep 2012, 13:25 pm
The truth is despite the scoreline this is still a bad loss, the Boks are certainly not as strong as they have been in the past theres no doubt about that but truthfully history wise we are looking at a very average Nz and a poor Aussie team as well.
15 Sep 2012, 13:27 pm
I warned the rugby ignoramus fundie boffins here play Pienaar at 9 at your goddamn peril
The moronic IDIOTS were so convinced dropping Hougaard to wing and installing the slow f’ng nose picking Ulster useless twat to stuff UP all the momentum and kick ALL the good ball AWAY was the way to go.
Now SUCK IT UP.
Meyer got zero clue about HOW to COMBINE and collate a winning Bok culture.
Its CLEAR as goddamn daylight that JdV is absolutely GATVOL that he has to suck up to this outright MORON over his head who got sweet F’ALL clue !!
I’m pretty sure there is a feeling of NO confidence in the coach by some the leading players and one can see JdV has lost nearly all his passion at having to be subject to backing up a PATHETIC USELESS COACH & non dimension STRATEGY.
15 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
@fitz1ella-72: JdV may be gatvol but he hasn’t looked like a player who belongs in the test arena at any stage of this series.
15 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
sh*t imagine when spies is fit again at least we’ve learnt a lesson from this game
1) Morne has lost form and is kak
2) A fetcher brussow / flo must !
3) no more bulls quotas even with a kak game plan we could have sneaked it in if beast was playing as the forwards we’re stepping up to the abs
no current south african player has the kicking game pull off HM one dimensional plan …..the bulls hate to say this have evolved their game plan since hm when (aus)lounden came in to coach the backs for a season and Ludeke came back for his teaching course in new zealand
back then HM had hougard and fdp doing all the one dimensional kicking duties
15 Sep 2012, 14:37 pm
The real culprits SARFU get away with replacing one bad coach with another one and this after endless interviews and conferences in swank locations
15 Sep 2012, 14:40 pm
I dont buy into this ‘picking the right players and everything will be fine’ everyone is ranting on about.
Its how you play the game. HM doesnt have the confidence in creative and skillfull players. He doesnt even believe that we can compete with nz or aus players in that regard….
Before HM changes his belief in how the boks should play and realise what the boks real strength is (vast amount of skillfull talent that can play any gameplan even a more balanced attacking one!), nothing much will change!
15 Sep 2012, 14:44 pm
Awful is perhaps too mild a statement, it was soul destroying to watch the Boks lose this one. The forwards had their wobbles, but really took the game to New Zealand. That the All Blacks had harldy had a sniff by half-time was testament to the work laid down by the Bok heavies. Sadly it was again a case of wasted effort as the backline squandered opportunities and simply hoofed the ball back to the All Blacks. The kicking out of hand today was the worst I have seen in quite some time. It lacked any threat or direction and served only to let an under pressure All Black team off the hook.
The scrums were a good contest on the whole with the Boks slighlty ahead in my books. There were the early engagements that were perhaps the product of a new tight-five combination, but until the substitution of Mtawarira the Boks held the edge. Less impressive was the lineouts where the combination looked unsettled and communication seemed to be lacking. A bit more accuracy in this aspect would really have had the Kiwi pack on the ropes. The breakdown work of the Boks was far better than the last few weeks and went a long way to nullifying the dual threat of Read and Messam. I was particularly impressed with the physicality of our loose-trio and the impact of Louw as a classic openside. It was a great contest and the Bok loosies certainly had their counterparts number.
If the pack did enough to win the game, it was the back division that lost it. The lack of direction from the half-backs was a feature of the game. There was little to show that we even had a plan, let alone a winning one. Pienaar and Steyn kicked poorly and with Steyn playing way too deep in the pocket, our outside backs never stood a chance. There were glimpses with the introduction of Goosen that given some good flat ball Frans Steyn can actually be used to influence the game. Currently he is strait-jacketed by the lack of good ball coming his way. Jean de Villiers looked equally out of sorts and the little he got was often lateral or again too far behind the lines. That said he has also not looked to run threatening lines and does look to be out of place in the outside channel. Sadly the impressive abilities of our wings are reserved for the training ground I assume. With precious little ball or space they are passengers and not even Usain Bolt could have put pressure from some of the poor kicks today. In terms of Kirchner he has not offered any threat from the back and again is simply left to mop up at the back.
Meyer needs to have a hard look at the last few games, his selections and perhaps the ability of his support staff. Is Ricardo Loubser ready to coach at International level? Meyer has to realise that you don’t learn at Test level, delivery is non-negotiable.
15 Sep 2012, 14:55 pm
@fromthecouch-77: Good post.
15 Sep 2012, 15:52 pm
@fromthecouch-77:
It will be hard for HM to deny that the backs let the team down… And he’ll probably never admit that it was due to the gameplan. And team selections can only be the excuse for so long…
I cant understand that a top team in world rugby would appoint someone like Loubscher.I heard he was Todd Louden’s understudy and for some reason i thought, in that case perhaps he’s got more to offer than we think. But why appoint an understudy when there are professionals with great credentials out there and with decades of experience???
I know HM didnt have much options due to SARUs snooze, but surely then they should have given Loubscher a short term contract until a qualified backs specialist could be appointed…Its the boks! Only the best should be good enough.
Backline play should be just as important as forward play shouldnt it? Shouldnt youre backs be coached to be as dangerous as they possibly can be? Kicking should be a tactical tool and not something that distracts you from coaching a balanced team…
Lineouts, scrums, cleaning out rucks etc etc = creating space, offloading, running good lines etc etc
15 Sep 2012, 17:13 pm
@OCO-65:
I concur!
Only once a while someone comes up with such a clinical, accurate observation!
If Louw and Vermeulen did their job, McCaw wouldn’t attempt to disrupt and slow down the Boks’ ball illegally the whole Test, there are several effective ways to stop him but the two choir boys did absolutely nothing.
15 Sep 2012, 17:26 pm
haha ‘blue bull quota’ thats a good one!
Replace the following ‘bb quotas for the these ‘quotas’:
Kolisi in for Potgieter
Johnson in for Spies (Britney always makes her come back),
Steenkamp in for Greyling
Jantjies in for Steyn
and Aplon in for Kirchner…
We have some bloody good ‘quota players’ lol
I remember when Werner Kruger and Wynand Olivier was in the mix too…jeeeez
15 Sep 2012, 17:29 pm
Jantjies and ashley as boks??? Tik running freely in the jeez household
15 Sep 2012, 17:35 pm
@dquinn25-71: Care to explain why this is an “average” AB team. Except for Carter (Cruden playing better) this is pretty much the team they played with last year. How is it that everytime a team plays better than the AB’s the AB’s are suddenly an average team. This was a strong All Black side ,lucky to have won this one.
15 Sep 2012, 17:40 pm
@grant100-82:
IF Morne Steyn is dropped out of the squad and IF lambie plays fullback… Who would you pick as backup 10?
Johnson was a very good impact player and far better than Spies…
15 Sep 2012, 17:49 pm
@optiplay-83: Its an average team compared to previous All Black teams, the All Black team that won the cup was average, the rest of the countries squads were average/poor, certainly the standard of All Blacks were better in 2005 and 2007. They may have won the cup but the standard of rugby on show was akin to 2003
15 Sep 2012, 17:56 pm
81 Jeez. I would be over the moon to see those swaps. Especially jantjes for morne and Johnson for spies
15 Sep 2012, 17:59 pm
85 dqinn. I agree, with SBW gone there’s really only mccaw, carter and dagg that’s worth getting excited about and one wonders how much time mccaw has left
15 Sep 2012, 18:29 pm
hey bok f uck coulda shoulda woulda one wonders when you’ll get back to 3rd in the rankings?
15 Sep 2012, 19:03 pm
@Hondo-80:
i concur.
15 Sep 2012, 19:16 pm
@Bok fan-87: I agree, to a lesser extent as well SBW is the Spies of New Zealand i certainly dont think he is better than Smith and Nonu in the midfield. I agree as well that McCaw surely cant have much time left, im surprised he didnt retire after the WC. Individual talent wise they are no where near as strong as NZs of past generations but as always they do the basics so well and play as a team other than relying on 9-10 individual talents who cant perform the basics together.
15 Sep 2012, 19:22 pm
Absurd to criticize Frans Steyn for missing long distance shots – one that went just under the posts from 58metres – that is a really dumb thing to write Jon – but Morne Steyn was borderline criminally atrocious and lost us that game – or rather Heynecke Meyer did for persevering with him in the first place.
15 Sep 2012, 19:29 pm
@J.B. Cowper-91: I agree shots at goal like that are not really expected to go over if they do great but you dont blame the guy who takes them. Yes M Steyn was a disgrace, yet another test match blown due to silly errors/poor management/poor substitutions and poor selections
15 Sep 2012, 21:32 pm
F U C K Y O U meyer i was the only one with issues in my household now youve gone and turned my son into an ALL BLACK supporter as well.
well played you D O O S
15 Sep 2012, 21:46 pm
@Maljan-56:
True – every word you say: utterly incomprensible – HM lost us that game; worst player on the field along with Morne Steyn – not since Louis Koen lost a sure win for us in House of Pain have I seen such a wretched display; in fact it was worse than Koen and the most miserable fly-half performance I’ve ever seen from a Bok No. 10 – with the possible exception of Jackie Synman in the 3rd Test against the Lions in 1974 in PE.
15 Sep 2012, 22:51 pm
am gutted by the loss. but as a bok fan today I am happier than i expected to be. The forwards played well. The bulls locks were impressive and the loose trio was well balanced. our forwards competed and turned ball over. And we all knew prior to this game Morne had to go. and he has sealed his own fate. Meyer has said he would not throw goosen in the deep end in australiasia and he has introduced him slowly. i thought he’d give him 30.
but goosen must now start in SA. lambie can provide cover for 10/15 from the bench which makes room for both JDJ and aplon on the bench. last week the boks were woeful. yesterday we lost, but we showed enough promise that we’re on the right track.
the goose’s time has come. long live the goose.
15 Sep 2012, 23:02 pm
Better bok performance, but all credit to the blacks, kept their composure & punished us at the end.
15 Sep 2012, 23:23 pm
@nikoli-96:
exactly. the ABs knew they’d win. the boks did not know how to even though they earned the opportunity to.
16 Sep 2012, 01:57 am
@46 A name – Richard Kahui. Remember how well he played 11 at the world cup (out of position). In my opinion he’s the most talented back you have
16 Sep 2012, 04:48 am
Well played Boks. AB’s missing Carter. Cruden has shown the form he showed for 20 minutes against Ireland. Carter on board and I think the scorelines v ARG and SA would have been significantly different. We’ll need him in Jo’Burg and Mendoza.
16 Sep 2012, 04:49 am
@boozer-99: sorry, Cruden has NOT shown the form.
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