Steyn blows Dunedin lifeline
15 Sep 2012
RYAN VREDE reports on a deeply disheartening 21-11 Springboks defeat to the All Blacks in which Morne Steyn surely kicked his way into the Test wilderness.
Heyneke Meyer’s painful education as a Test coach continues. Tonight’s lesson was in accountability for selections and it was a harsh one. Meyer didn’t swing Steyn’s rudderless boot, which pushed four crucial goal kicks wide. But he did put him in a position to take those kicks when there were alternatives, one of which, Johan Goosen, embarrassed the incumbent by landing a 50m penalty and nearly sinking a near on 60m effort. Yet it wasn’t only his goal-kicking which vexed. So far was he in the pocket for most of the match that he may as well have been back in Pretoria.
Then there was the mistimed introduction of Dean Greyling, the prop whose inadequacies at Super Rugby level made his initial selection to the squad perplexing. Greyling would further entrench the widely-held perception of Springboks players as thugs with a cowardly forearm smash on Richie McCaw. Then he coughed the ball up with the tryline beckoning in the dying minutes and conceded a string of penalties. He must be heavily punished for his assault on McCaw and never see a Springboks shirt again.
There were others who failed – his beloved Zane Kirchner didn’t inspire once more, hooker Adriaan Strauss looked like a tanked up darts player, Juandre Kruger had no presence at the lineouts.
Where there positives? Perhaps. The forwards were outstanding in the tight exchanges on attack, setting a platform. But it was one that was never exploited thanks to a now chronic lack of attacking imagination. Defenders are seen as targets for rampaging Springboks carriers. Over and not around seems to be the law. The Blacks attack space so well and consistently free their hands to look for an offload opportunity. These things can be coached. The Springboks have the players with the capacity to play this way. That they are reduced to brainless machines that show no ability or desire to veer from a directive doesn’t bode well for the future.
On review they will primarily lament a butchered 7th minute opportunity and Steyn’s poor goal-kicking. The former was particularly frustrating in light of how few clear scoring chances they create. This one could not have been clearer, with Bryan Habana free on the wing. But passer and recipient lacked composure. Habana would, however, later score a try that was a throwback to his best form – break, chip, collect, brilliant.
Outside of the Blacks’ try that was birthed from a poor box kick, the Springboks were undoubtedly the better side for the first half – dominant in the forwards, competitive at the breakdown, sharp to loose balls and desperate on defence. They rumbled and roared through the heavies, driving into good field positions and forcing a string of penalties.
Here was the much-maligned Steyn’s opportunity to repay and justify the faith Meyer had showed in him in the face of severe criticism. Kicking all the points against the Blacks in Port Elizabeth in 2011, Steyn had saved his Test career. It was ironic that his kicking effort tonight, the primary strength of his game, would almost certainly end it, or, at very least, cease it until he rediscovers his form of 2009. There is no strong argument Meyer can mount for his retention. His time is up.
The Springboks trailed 5-3 at the break, but should have lead comfortably. Yet, for all their endevour, nothing about this game was unexpected. The Springboks were always going live with these Blacks for 60 minutes. The final quarter was always going to be the decisive period of the match.
The Blacks grabbed the initiative through a soft Aaron Smith try. Greyling should have been defending the fringe yet was caught in the backline. He further undermined the Springboks’ cause five minutes later when he stupidly, inexplicably, nailed McCaw, who was not involved in play. Idiocy appeared to have found it’s home in Greyling.
To their credit the Springboks redoubled their efforts, but the Blacks grew in confidence and while they never looked fluid on attack, they certainly had the measure of the predictable Springboks on defence.
There were opportunities to cause an upset, but those were squandered. Oh what could have been. This Blacks side is not the force they have been made out to be. They were there for the taking. Meyer’s education continues, but he cannot keep failing examinations through faults of his own.
345 Comments
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15 Sep 2012, 13:11 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-48:
Agree with all! The forwards won penalty after penalty to no avail. I know Frans is a huge hero, but I still don’t see the hype with the guy. He looks like a prop in the backline. I’m not blaming him though, he is just a poor as JdV at the moment. You can’t blame them directly for losing this game. It was lost at 9, 10 and 17. Oh my fark 17 was an embarassment. I would make him swim home to Pretoria…
15 Sep 2012, 13:12 pm
Try the Argies!
15 Sep 2012, 13:13 pm
Nice try Argies…
15 Sep 2012, 13:13 pm
We still have the following boks that will become available:
Guthro Steenkamp
Bismarck du Plessis
Bakkies Botha
Eben Etzebeth
Schalk Burger
Siya Kolisi
Fourie du Preez
JP Pietersen
Who do the All Blacks and Aussies have to call on? We need to get it right.
15 Sep 2012, 13:14 pm
Oh my word what a try Argies…
15 Sep 2012, 13:14 pm
Respect South African fans will always demand the win, and rightly so. But guys come on. The Boks were AWESOME for much of that test match and have no business being that good in Dunedin. You are two players away from having an amazing side, i.e. drop M Steyn (really, please do) and that meathead prop… and this without half your first choice pack available.
NZ meanwhile rely on McCaw and Dagg and without them would be in real trouble. All is not doom and gloom for SA. This might be a bad season so far but looks to me that the tide is turning in world rugby.
15 Sep 2012, 13:14 pm
@Gumboots-51: The Argies are making my day here
Honestly, I am leaping on my couch like Tom Cruise did on Orprah’s.
15 Sep 2012, 13:15 pm
@RugbyStudent-54:
Mate it doensn’t matter who he selects. The game plan is what is finding us wanting…
15 Sep 2012, 13:15 pm
I’n loving the Argies in the competition. The fans and players are awesome
The spirit is incredible
15 Sep 2012, 13:16 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-57:
Us Capies are accused of many things. How about supporting the Argies…
Oh dear now the backlash…
15 Sep 2012, 13:16 pm
Respect South African fans will always demand the win, and rightly so. But guys come on. The Boks were AWESOME for much of that test match and have no business being that good in Dunedin. You are two players away from having an amazing side, i.e. drop M Steyn (really, please do) and that meathead prop… and this without half your first choice pack available.
NZ meanwhile rely on McCaw and Dagg and without them would be in real trouble. All is not doom and gloom for SA. This might be a bad season so far but looks to me that the tide is turning in world rugby.
15 Sep 2012, 13:16 pm
@RugbyStudent-59:
Yeah they could come second in their first year of top rugby…
15 Sep 2012, 13:17 pm
@BoksSecondBest-61:
The game plan is a train smash mate… How about a new coach to add to the list…
15 Sep 2012, 13:18 pm
Criticising Heyneke Meyer is like criticising Zuma, they are so convinced that they are exceptional but everyone else see the opposite.
Trying to be logical to Meyer is like trying to explain sense to a ******. He won’t get it.
The sad part is that Goosen will single handedly win the Boks the next two games, and Meyer will use the two victories to validate his gameplan as supreme.
15 Sep 2012, 13:18 pm
@Gumboots-58:
hahahaha, where have I heard that before. Exactly what I thought about Heyneke Meyer
has happened. He was always so overdramatic about never getting the coaching job.
But as Robbie Deans showed, sometimes the employers get it right. So all his
moaning over the years, now he has the time to show it and what do we see?
Kicking
Ill time substitutions
No creativity?
At least Pdivvie gave us a laugh.
15 Sep 2012, 13:19 pm
@Gumboots-60: Well it has been spectacular to watch; that backlash you mention
The likes of HG and co have been terribly entertaining in their flip flopping efforts….
15 Sep 2012, 13:19 pm
Oh the Argies are making my day… What a breath of fresh air they are…
15 Sep 2012, 13:20 pm
@Gumboots-62:
I wish they could’ve won the thing. Imagine what that would do for rugby and for the
arrogant rugby world.
15 Sep 2012, 13:20 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-66:
Who is HG? Never heard of her…
15 Sep 2012, 13:20 pm
ratings IMO:
Kirchner 2/10. Offered nothing on attack and butchered a certain try with a terrible pass. Got HORRIBLY stood up in Smith try.
Habana 8/10. Scored an Habana of old try. Turned over ball and looked hungry.
JDV 6/10. Did what he needed to, but he didn’t see much ball. He needs to get in the refs ear more as well.
F.Steyn 7/10. Carried well and tried hard. Tied Nonu up well.
Hougie 6/10. Some good runs and chased well. Immensely strong little guy! Not much for him in the way of quality front foot ball.
M.Steyn 1/10. Really cannot recall a single thing he did right apart from kick one penalty……. out of 4????
Pienaar 4/10. Poor decision making. Poor execution. Not sure he is best suited to the gameplan he’s being asked to play.
Vermeulen 7/10. Showed he is the number 1 eighth man in the country, by a country mile. Carried well. Stole ball. Defended like a trojan.
Alberts 6/10. Defended well and carried well, but seemed to go missing at times. Fitness maybe a prob???
Flo 7/10. Was a constant threat at the breakdown and if Meyer can not see the benefit of a fetcher now, then he is even dumber than I suspected.
Kruger 4/10. Started well and steadily downhill from there. Lost too much ball.
Flip 6/10. Thought the big guy gave everything he had and tried hard. Missed Etzebeth tho.
DuPle 6/10. Scrummed well. Defended well round the fringes.
Strauss 5/10. Adriaan- you cannot run over EVERYONE, but if you are going to try, at least try and keep the ball up for the support runners you had every time on the wing!
Beast 6/10. Seemed solid enough. Inexplicably subbed for South Africa’s for the only guy in SA stupider than Malema.
SUBS:
Greyling -5/10. Yes, that’s minus 5. Offered ABSOLUTELY nothing of any positive value. Nada, zip, zilch. Was however New Zealand’s best impact player.
Goosen 7/10. Kicked a tough penalty. Just missed an even tougher one. Ran well, passed well. Kicked well. Looked at Morne’s game and basically did the exact opposite. PLEEEAAASSEEE for the love of all that is sane, start him!!!!
Bekker 6/10. Not exceptional, but solid and won all his ball which is more than can be said for Kruger.
Coetzee 5/10. Promising future, but not really much he could do by the time he came on. Gives everything though.
Lambie 10/10….. Only because he hasn’t asked to be released from Springbok duty yet. I mean, the oke is bench warming for the worst Springbok fullback in memory.
15 Sep 2012, 13:21 pm
@Gumboots-51:
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-49:
I just saw HM as being as step-up from Pdiv. Heyneke had insufficent time to select his assistants as the ones he wanted were rightfully all under contract. This was thanks to SARU for announcing it in late January on the eve of Super Rugby. So HM was not able to select his first choice assistants.
It is now time for HM to pull in some consultants – even on a short term basis. The more I see of Mallett and Campese the more I feel wasted talent is sitting in a studio instead of assisting the Boks.
This ship can be turned around. A tweek here, a tweek there. No more Steyn or Kirchner to be precise.
Both the Aussie game last week and today’s could have been won.
I don’t think it is all doom and gloom.
15 Sep 2012, 13:22 pm
@RugbyStudent-68:
They will end higher than both the Ozzies and the mighty Boks mate… They have more balls than many a side… They believe in each other and play as a team. Fark the Boks are sucking big times…
15 Sep 2012, 13:23 pm
This love to pick bulls props cost us today. I would rather have brok the rock than this dean idiot!!! Meyer and his tjommies must stand up and admit he hs cost us. Meyer also picked the wrong captian in my opinion!!!
15 Sep 2012, 13:23 pm
@greatest13gerber-43: yup we did. I gave us absolutely squat chance of winning today. Decided upon about 4 weeks back. Why? Well, for a start its against the AB’s. Its in their back yard. Dunedin is not our best playing surface. But most of all, our game plan is clueless. Its execution even worse. M Steyn is way off form. Meyer picks his trusty Bulls players first before accounting for performance(its seems to us Bok supporters).
15 Sep 2012, 13:23 pm
@Vetkoek-70:
Flouw was at least a 9. He was massive…
15 Sep 2012, 13:25 pm
@Hoops-73:
Dean the bellybean… What a waste of a human being…
15 Sep 2012, 13:25 pm
@Hoops-73:
Guys give JDV a hard time here week after week, but I feel for the guy. He’s playing in a relatively unfamiliar jersey with Morne Steyn on his inside.
He’s way better than he’s currently playing. I will lay money down that he will be miles better if Goosen starts.
15 Sep 2012, 13:26 pm
@I am a stormer-71:
There is no medication for stupid mate. I don’t buy it.
15 Sep 2012, 13:26 pm
Just how far have the Bulls players regressed? The current crop are shameful.
Bekker for Kruger
Goosen for Steyn
Etsebeth for Flip
Lambie for Niknaks
Anybody notice the players I replaced are all Bulls? Juandre Kruger is a lineout jumper and a soft **** in every other department. When Bekker came on he fared way better.
15 Sep 2012, 13:26 pm
@Gumboots-75:
Yes he was. I hit 7 in error!!!
Thanks for pointing out. He was my bok MOM.
15 Sep 2012, 13:28 pm
@Vetkoek-80:
No probs…
15 Sep 2012, 13:29 pm
Andre Joubert
Percy Montgomery
Zane Kirchner
Really? From 2 of the games finest to Kirchner?
REally?
15 Sep 2012, 13:30 pm
@Vetkoek-82:
Yeah like I said. No pill for stupidy… I think we as supporters are realising it…
15 Sep 2012, 13:32 pm
@Vetkoek-82: And Lambie gets 5 minutes……That poor kid’s face tells a million stories; none of them pleasant.
15 Sep 2012, 13:33 pm
@Gumboots-78:
Heyneke Meyer can take the blame for making the selections.
But he can’t be blamed for Morne missing a couple of sitters in front of the posts. Goosen to start next test.
HM can’t be blamed for that shocking pass from Kirchner to Habana in the 4th minute.
HM can be blamed for putting Greyling on when Beast wasn’t even panting.
Whether people like it or not, we’re stuck with Meyer for a while.
But I would like to see Mallett involved in some way with the Bok set-up. Even if it is to talk a hole in Heyneke’s head.
15 Sep 2012, 13:33 pm
Eish Argies don’t blow this one…
15 Sep 2012, 13:34 pm
@I am a stormer-85:
Mate it is his gameplan and his choice of players. He takes the blame – ALL OF IT!!!
Eish Argies behind…
15 Sep 2012, 13:41 pm
Heineke is very predictable. He will drop Steyn to the bench now for Goosen, but he’ll still stubbornly cling to his hybrid open-side theory, despite the Boks proving conclusively today with Flouw how stupid it was in the first place. He’ll also retain Kirtchner for a while yet and keep Pienaar at 9. He has to slowly prove to himself the things that don’t work first hand before he can go about changing them. This AB side was there for the taking- Heyneke should have just stayed in bed and let his players get on with it.
15 Sep 2012, 13:41 pm
with regards to Greyling I see no reason why he should not be charged with assault and spend a few months in a New Zealand jail cell. His action was not part of a rugby match. McCaw was not in play. Greyling made no attempt to use his arms. He simly ran from 10 meters away dived across a pile of players to land an elbow in a face. If he gets it right next time he could break a neck or kill someone.
I know he would never be charged but he should be banned for many months. How do parents look to encourage their kids to play rugby with that kind of behaviour on the field. And dont tell me its part of the game. Mistimed and misjudged tackles are part of the game and can look very bad and cause injury. Thats a risk we have to deal with. This was neither. This was a total cheap shot. If he did it in a bar in NZ he would be spending a night in jail. Why should it be different on a rugby field?
Sanzar will no doubt be soft and give him 2 weeks.
15 Sep 2012, 13:42 pm
@Gumboots-69: She reminds me of Dame Edna, a grand old blue haired lady….
15 Sep 2012, 13:43 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-90:
larfing my arse off… Just how I see her…
15 Sep 2012, 13:44 pm
@Gumboots-87:
I am not a fan of this kick and chase kak. Never have been. Clever kicking is one thing, aimless kicking is something totally different which sees you going backward.
But Kirchner’s pass to Habana – inexcusable.
JDV’s pass to Hougaard – inexusable – schoolboyish really.
Greling dropping the ball when the Boks won on an AB lineout – the oke should be made to swim home.
Morne only seems to kick decently in still air on the highveld – inexcusable.
15 Sep 2012, 13:45 pm
@GreenFan-89:
Make the Farker swim home. The only punishment that fits the crime…
15 Sep 2012, 13:45 pm
@GreenFan-89: Greyling is an utter twat. He is unpopular in SA as well (except of course in Pretoria….).
It’s a disgrace that he has even had the chance to wear the Bok jersey, and after what he did today, he made sure he will NEVER wear it again.
It was disgusting. I hope someone elbows him on the plane back home.
15 Sep 2012, 13:45 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-84:
I give him credit for not asking if he can just play Currie Cup…. Just to play some rugby.
15 Sep 2012, 13:45 pm
Fark the criminals steal a win… Pardon the pun…
15 Sep 2012, 13:48 pm
Once again a quality team wins where they should have lost… The quality thing might be a bit of an overstatement though…
Well done Ozzies
15 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
@I am a stormer-92: Those passes are only symptoms mate. The cause is a severely neglected backline (or rather the coaching thereof).
The backline is confused, rudderless and unaware of what they should be doing. It is clear as day.
Then again, when the forwards coach (van Graan) is also the attack coach, not much more can be expected of them. Meyer has no interest in what a backline can and can’t do – and he won’t waste much time on them.
15 Sep 2012, 13:54 pm
Looking good for next year
1 Guthro (best tight forward we have by far)
2 Bismark (Fetcher and good all round forward)
3 Coenie (offers more than just scrumming)
4 Etsebeth (our best prospect at lock)
5 Bekker (we need to win our lineout ball)
6 Burger – Captain (world class well balanced loosie. Fetcher and ball carrier)
7 Alberts (Create go forwards ball and good on defense, only a 40min player)
8 Spies (Our best attacking weapon and a very good lineout option)
9 Hougaard (special player has to play his quick ball game)
10 Goosen (Will be one of the best)
11 JP Pitersen (world class finisher)
12 Lambie (Skill at 12! Have the ball carriers run off him)
13 De Jong (good feet and solid on defence)
14 Habana (getting back to form)
15 Frans Steyn (flyhalves do not enjoy kicking at him)
16 Chilli
17 Beast
18 Bakkies
19 Flo
20 Vermeulen
21 Pienaar
22 Engelbrecht
15 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
It is becoming more and more clear to me that Meyer is only concerned about the Bulls in the Currie Cup.
He removes class players like De Jongh, Lambie, Goosen et al from their respective provinces, but then doesn’t play them? That got my suspicions aroused.
They have however been confirmed by the fact that he is not inflicting Steyn, Kirchner, Greyling et al on the Bulls…..
Conspiracy theories aren’t always just theory.
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