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, 13:55 pm
Aussies look like a poor team…. Yet they beat the boks. Time for a rethink meyer
15 Sep 2012, 13:57 pm
@phil72-99:
Britney the worst ever 8 to play for SA and you choose him…
#Farkenhellimstunnedsmiley
15 Sep 2012, 13:57 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-98:
When you choose Ricardo Loubscher as your backline coach (over Pieter Rossouw even), then you signal to the world that your gameplan doesn’t revolve too much around anyone past 10.
15 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
@phil72-99:
Mate Spies must be huge in an area that us fans can’t see! I suppose it can be called hidden talents. He is the most useless rugby player ever to wear the Bok jersey. Sorry that award goes to Greling. Sorry!
15 Sep 2012, 14:03 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-98:
I know. If the Sharks can use Campo as a consultant backline coach then so can Heyneke. HM needs to broaden his sphere of support. He had to rush to put his assistants together but now that time has passed he must use whoever is available. Just reassess his options. Even if guys are pulled in for the remaining 3 weeks of the comp. I can’t see people turning HM down like they did to Peter de Villiers.
15 Sep 2012, 14:05 pm
the talent in this country should allow us to pick at least two complete teams that can beat any other team, we however always stuff up the coaching appointment which is the critical factor in getting the best from our players. HM has shown his bias towards Bulls players once too often. When players like Greyling and Kirschner get selected then surely he needs to be held accountable, not at the end of the season, but right now. I fear that once Spies is available he will walk right back into the team, even with his poor record at international level.
15 Sep 2012, 14:06 pm
@Gumboots-104:
Have you noticed that since his injury we have not been able to win 1 match?
15 Sep 2012, 14:08 pm
@Banzai-106:
Interesting.
Can you tell me your 2 teams that will beat the world?
15 Sep 2012, 14:08 pm
@phil72-107:
So Spies is the reason we losing? You have lost it mate…
Vermeulen was huge today and in two games has shown just how stupid the coaches have been who have selected Spies…
Sorry mate. He is piss poor
15 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@I am a stormer-105: I wouldn’t be so sure of that.
There are quite a few who won’t work with Heyneke because of his ‘control freak’ nature.
Ask yourself why Rassie isn’t more involved with the Boks?
Heyneke sadly prefers YES men, and not ‘devils advocate’ men.
Yes he asked Allistair to work with him when he was appointed(he would have gone beserk if Allistair had said yes)…..he knew Allistair would say no….
He did not approach ONE other coach outside of Pretoria, and the Bulls.
The excuse that all the people he wanted were already in contracts, doesn’t do it for me. All the Bulls coaches he selected were also tied up in contracts, and SARU bought them out of those contracts. If Meyer wanted coaches like Hawies Fourie, Jaque Nienaber and the sort – no doubt SARU would have paid as well……so nah, the Bulls lots weren’t the only ones available, they were the only ones he wanted.
He likes safety in his own numbers, but, he might be forced to pull in some consultants now.
15 Sep 2012, 14:12 pm
@Banzai-106:
You Okes have this petty Provincialism thing.
Get rid of that,
and you are on your way.
But that is not going to happen, is it, Banzai.
15 Sep 2012, 14:12 pm
@Gumboots-109:
Our odds of winning will greatly improve with him in the picture. Their is a reason why our past 3 Springbok coaches (all people that truly understand the game) have been selecting him on an ongoing basis!
15 Sep 2012, 14:13 pm
@phil72-107: No cure for the pucywhipped is there Phil? Spies: she owns you.
15 Sep 2012, 14:15 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-113:
Phil is right though. There must be hidden talents that attract the coaches to him. We just can’t see them for sure…
15 Sep 2012, 14:16 pm
Is this the wake up call HM needed?
It was clear that this pathetic gameplan lost us the game. You cant even blame, Pienaar (who also kicked pathetically and unnecessarily) MS, Kirchner or Greyling.
The forwards did a great job today. The commentators said it best when they mentioned that the forwards do all the hard work for the backs, but what do they do with good ball? They just kick it away.
It was clearly the game plan and it did not work,HM should take responsibility for that. Its a no brainer that a few selections could make a huge difference, but its clear that the boks will NEVER play to their full potential if they stick to this predictable dinosaur game plan. Will Goosen be asked to kick as much? ?
If there was enough belief that our backs (if the right players are selected) can be effective when the forwards lay the foundation then we wouldnt have this pathetic game plan.
HM dont seem to see the value in backline players with skill and ability. And that should be one of our biggest strengths! If it was MS, Kirchner and even JDV would never make the team.
Players like: Taute, Aplon, Lambie, Jantjies, Jordaan, JdJ, Le Roux, to name a few, are players who can play with ball in hand with great effect.. Why not use this strength?
Why o why do they skip pass alll the time?! It just shows that there’s no real plan at the back.
15 Sep 2012, 14:17 pm
@phil72-112:
Yeah Phil PdV and HM go down as great coaches. Okey! Point made then… I have heard it all…
I respect your opinion mate, just don’t agree with it…
15 Sep 2012, 14:18 pm
@Gumboots-114: Possibly because we have never shared a room or shower with him?
Ok, that was nasty of me. Slapped my own wrist to reprimand myself now.
15 Sep 2012, 14:19 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-117:
Exactly my point!
15 Sep 2012, 14:20 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-110:
Did you know that he approached Mitchell as well? How Mitchell must regret his decision now!
The thing is Mallett referred to him and HM as mates. On TV. Just a few hours ago. And I ve heard Mallett say it before. What I’m saying is if Jake White can get Eddie Jones to say yes and save his arse then Heyneke can do the same. God knows, Heyneke needs some guidance right now. And I notice he is alone in the coaches box. Not like Hansen. Maybe because the air is blue!
15 Sep 2012, 14:22 pm
@I am a stormer-119:
Would you sit with him? He is a lunatic…
15 Sep 2012, 14:23 pm
@Jeez-115: It will take a hell of a lot more to wake Meyer up. He is as thick as they come. The only epiphany that may have hit Meyer like a sledgehammer from this match is maybe, just maybe, Goosen might be a better option than Steyn.
He’ll stick to his game-plan though and his hybrid fetching theory which means Pienaar at 9, Kirtchner at 15, and Coetzee at 6 whenever possible for the foreseeable future.
We need a new coaching team to help this oaf see the light or we’ll be blundering in the dark for longer than some of us can take.
15 Sep 2012, 14:24 pm
Watch Heyneke justify Morne and Zane’s continued selection through the next game being at Loftus and it being their home ground.
You read it here first….
15 Sep 2012, 14:25 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-121:
Your view on Spies then? Oh okey your nic says it all.
15 Sep 2012, 14:26 pm
@Craven-122:
May have Kruger at 3 as well. How about Greyling to start? Odds???
15 Sep 2012, 14:27 pm
@Gumboots-123:
15 Sep 2012, 14:27 pm
Fullbacks. Lambie, Ludik, Taute,
Wings. Habana, JP, Mvovo, Aplon,
Centres. Brachie, Juan de Jong, Frans Steyn, Jean de Villiers, Mapoe, Taute, Jordaan
Flyhalves. Goosen, Jantjes
Scrumhalves. Pretorius, Hougaard, Vermaak
Eighth man. Vermeulen, Strauss, Daniel
Loosies. Flo, Alberts, Daniel, Kolisi, Schalk, Brussow,
Locks. Etsebeth, Alberts, Bekker, Willemse ( from jnr team)
Hookers. Bismarck, Chilliboy, Strauss,
Props. Jannie, Beast, Pat Cilliers, JC Janse v Rensburg, redhead from province for future, Coenie Oosthuizen
Some positions like lock would not be the strongest, but other countries have to make do with their own weak options there.
15 Sep 2012, 14:28 pm
does anyone else find it rather ironic that the team that plays skop an jag lost because of their inability to kick?
15 Sep 2012, 14:28 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-125:
Your view on post #99 then?
15 Sep 2012, 14:30 pm
@poppa69-127:
Yes! Where have you been?
15 Sep 2012, 14:30 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-121:
Luckily he cant place his fingers in his ears and ignore all the criticism. Even professional and coaches HM respects will give him some advice. He’ll have to listen at some point…
15 Sep 2012, 14:30 pm
@I am a stormer-119: John Mitchell would have lasted exactly one week with Heyneke. He doesn’t like being challenged in any way.
I know he and Mallett still have contact, so heres hoping, and I mean REALLY hoping he does seek some assistance from 3rd and 4th parties when they land back here.
He isn’t doing himself any favours alienating those who COULD very well pull him out of this mess.
I just don’t think the Heyneke Meyer BRAND (cos that’s what he is, not a man – a brand) allows for much input from others.
You know what they say about people with huge ego’s? They always sorround themselves with people who know less than them…..never with people who know more
15 Sep 2012, 14:31 pm
@Jeez-130:
Jeez even the Kiwi commentators were giving him advice. He doesn’t hear mate…
Stuborn boy that one.
15 Sep 2012, 14:33 pm
@Gumboots-128: Not such a bad team TBF. Would have Brussouw/Louw at openside and Burger to 8th man, Steyn at inside centre and De Villiers outside him, (looking to develop the likes of Jordaan, Serfontein) and Lambie/ACoetzee/Le Roux or anyone but Zane at fullback.
15 Sep 2012, 14:34 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-133:
I like the team too. Eight boggles my mind though…
15 Sep 2012, 14:37 pm
@Gumboots-134: Yip. Vermuelen was such a breath of fresh air today, hopefully he keeps the door firmly shut on Spies.
15 Sep 2012, 14:39 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-135:
Oh how I hope so…
15 Sep 2012, 14:42 pm
I’m outta here.
Cheers all. Going to drown my sorrows…
15 Sep 2012, 14:43 pm
@Gumboots-132:
It will just be dissapointing when the right players do come into the team and they can close out and win close games. That will overshadow the problems the crappy game plan provides
15 Sep 2012, 14:46 pm
@Gumboots-137: Cheers. Have a good afternoon. Dont forget, the Goose has arrived!
15 Sep 2012, 14:53 pm
For what it’s worth, here goes.
1. Springbok forwards won that test……….don’t think that the NZ public (or anyone else) would not have seen that. There will be some grumblings going on within NZ, esp leading up to the next AB’s Bokke clash.
2. Love or hate Ritchie McCaw…when a player goes out of his way to take an opposition player out in the fashion that Greyling did, the player pushing all the buttons has done his job.
3. NZ has set it’s hat on a fast paced game. Question for Sth Africa is, How do you guys see yourselves playing rugby, and how do you project your rugby philosophy to the world? At the moment, it looks as if there are two schools of philosophy within the Bokke camp. That try that was butchered in the first 7 minutes, and Pienaar’s keeping the ball in the ruck spoke volumes.
4. I don’t like to see good servants of rugby from any country get hammered in the media and sites like this, because the service they have given has put smiles at one time or another on all of our faces……..but, there comes a time when players have to know their time is up. For you guys, it’s Morne, for us it’s Piri.
5. Rugby once again is probably at a cross roads in terms of sporting entertainment. Rugby is growing stale. Take a good look at the game around the world, sure we’ve introduced Argentina to the southern comp, but 5 years too late………The two biggest rugby nations on the planet have to be at the fore front of entertaining the masses, without compromising the essence of the game. Personally I think you guys have the best mix available to produce a perfect game. You guys just have to work on your head space. NZ have started to push the boundaries searching for the perfect game………it’s about time you lot got started as well.
15 Sep 2012, 15:02 pm
@NZRugby-140:
True words, we need to balance our play, not blindly follow one philosophy as we are currently doing. Only SA coach capable of this at the moment is Mallet.
15 Sep 2012, 15:10 pm
The same mallet whose team talk to Italy was : do everything possible to keep the score as low as possible??
15 Sep 2012, 15:23 pm
@phil72-99: Could not take your post seriously once I saw that you had included Spies and omitted Coetzee from
subs.
15 Sep 2012, 15:24 pm
What’s up with the Bulls
15 Sep 2012, 15:26 pm
If Morne steyn Plays in the next test match i swear ill start supporting Argentina !
what a ridiculous game plan
at one point all we did was kick to them
now we going to hear some statistic about how we kicked less then NZ ect
its just total hogwash, why cant people at this level admit when they are wrong and take the nessesary risk.
15 Sep 2012, 15:31 pm
Should Morne Steyn be dropped? We’re running a poll at fantasyrugbyscout.com. Cast your vote! Let’s see what the nation says
15 Sep 2012, 15:32 pm
Argenteeeeeeenaa!!!!!!!!!!!
15 Sep 2012, 15:34 pm
Grieeeekwas!
15 Sep 2012, 15:34 pm
@Hurricane-108: Our 2,nd team effectively played today.
15 Coet zee or Taute
14Habana
13De Jong/Jordaan
12 Franssteyn
111J.Pietersen
10 Goosen
9Hougaardt
1 Coenie Oos thuiz en
2Bismark
3W P Nel
6 Brussouw/louw
5 Bresler
4 Etzebeth
7 A lberts
8 Vermeulen
That is only 4 players who started today.i
15 Sep 2012, 15:41 pm
Beast, Biz, Jannie, Alberts, Etzebeth, Louw, Kolisi, Vermuelen, Hougaard, Goosen/Lambie, Serfontein, Jordaan, Habana, JPP, F. Steyn.
This is one of the strongest teams Meyer could field barring any injuries. I wish he would select a team this strong.
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