Meyer admits Morne mistake
16 Sep 2012
Heyneke Meyer says he may have erred in keeping Morne Steyn on the field against the All Blacks in Dunedin.
Steyn, whose missed penalty kicks cost the Springboks wins against England in PE and Argentina in Mendoza, had a poor first half with the boot at the Otago Stadium and many expected him to be replaced by Johan Goosen at half-time. Meyer, though, kept faith in his No 10 and it proved costly as by the time he was subbed in the 59th minute he had been successful with just one attempt out of five.
‘Sitting here afterwards it is easy to make calls but it is a life and death situation for me and maybe I made the wrong call but Morne usually comes back and kicks well,’ Meyer told a news conference after the match. ‘Frans Steyn is a great goal-kicker and Ruan Pienaar can kick as well. You don’t just take a guy off for his goal-kicking.
‘I’ve always said that I am going to bring Johan Goosen through and give him game time. But Johan had struggled with his goal-kicking in training during the week and he is still only 20-years-old and he hasn’t played for almost three months. I thought he did superbly for the 25 minutes he was on the field.
‘But we could have changed the goal-kicker. We talked about it at half-time. I thought Morne would find his rhythm.’
378 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 8 » Show All
16 Sep 2012, 10:26 am
I disagree with this statement – “You don’t just take a guy off for his goal-kicking.”
Steyn is there primary for his goal kicking , he offers nothing as a general at flyhalf , stands too far back in the pocket and is a defensive liability.
But it was not just Steyn , Greyling should have never reached Bok level , Juandre Kruger was bad in the lineouts , Kirchner was okay at best and its a crime that a player like Lambie sits on the bench for so long.
All 4 these players should not be in the Bok squad plus probably some others as well. The whole country saw that before the internationals started except Meyer and the die hard Bulls. Sorry to say but Meyer has failed miserably so far , a messiah of SA rugby he is not. His selections smacks of provincialism of the highest order , his behavior in the box is even more eccentric as Pdivvy and we becoming the joke of international rugby , he subs are confusion to say the least and his game plan is so outdated they should award 4 points for every try we score.
The only positive I can think if is that Habana remains pure class and our loosies played very well , I do feel Alberts should go to lock and Marcel comes in at 7. Good to see Louw play so well as I always felt he disappointed in the chances he got and as a matter of fact I did not expect him to do this well.
16 Sep 2012, 10:33 am
#50 The Bill I agree with you 100% but i also think morne should have a long good look at himself and admit it to himself and to HM that at the moment he should not be playing test rugby as he is not good enough.
16 Sep 2012, 10:34 am
@grant10-42: They were. Now with our forwards playing well we needed our backs to do the same. Instead they just kicked our ball away the whole time. We really need to start Goosen and Lambie together and hope they don’t get instructed to play the same game as Morne and Zane to kick everything away.
I doubt Meyer will ever play Lambie though. He is purely there to cover injury and what a waste of such a class player. For me a team is 22 not just 15. All the players have a roll to play and they should all come on at some stage. Meyer’s treatment of Lambie is shameful really. If you have a player with that talent on your bench he should be used, similar to what Skinstadt used to be used, coming on in the last 25min. Not 5min he can’t do anything with 5min of play.
16 Sep 2012, 10:36 am
@The Bill-45:
My problem is that he is not the number 1 fullback at his province. If we pick a Springbok team on potential only, then we need to be patient and accept losses more
16 Sep 2012, 10:37 am
@sparticus-51: Very good post as always sparticus. Agree.
16 Sep 2012, 10:39 am
The problem I have with Lambie and players like Hougie, Engelbrecht etc.
If they want a position, they need to put their hands up at their unions and
not mope on the side. I Lambie wants to be fullback, he needs to state it. I won’t
pick Lambie simply because he is looking to fill a position. I’d pick Taute as
he is primarily a Fullback and can do a bit part of centre. The best players
ever were not jack of all trades.
16 Sep 2012, 10:42 am
RIP to Nevin Spence. Many of us watched the young man playing rugby for Ulster. Very shocking news for me to read of his passing yesterday.
16 Sep 2012, 10:45 am
@The Bill-45: Agree Bill. Lambie should be given a start or at least come on in the 2nd half. Such a waste to have a world class player just sitting on the bench for 3 games and only getting 15min of play. Meyer’s treatment of Lambie is shameful. He is such a class player.
Lambie’s crime is that he is a class player in 3 different positions, so Meyer sees him as a brilliant replacement if any get injured. However, he is better than two of the players that he has starting at fh and fb.
Next game Meyer should start with Goosen and Lambie. Let us build now with the younsters now later. We have lost this RC so have nothing to lose. We will beat Oz and Nz on home soil. Give these two outstanding players a chance to start. Or at the very least come on in the 2nd half.
16 Sep 2012, 10:46 am
@Puma-58: should read = Let us build now with the younsters rather now than later.
16 Sep 2012, 10:48 am
@Puma-58:
I disagree, Lambie plays best at flyhalf. He his not better than alot of other
players at fullback. Lambie’s playing style does not suit Heyneke, that’s why he
hasn’t been picked.
16 Sep 2012, 10:53 am
The only hope really is that Morne gets injured and the rest of the players start ignoring Meyer and his ****** game plan.
16 Sep 2012, 10:56 am
#51 Sparticus I may look like a biased bulls fan but i think kirchener is playing good enough tokeep his place in the bok team.He is not a flashy player,but he is solid and dependable at the back, his defence is usually good and he is good at taking the high ball.The only defeciency in his game is he is a bit predictable on attack.
16 Sep 2012, 11:00 am
@blueboy-62: That’s like saying Malema is a bit thick or the Meyer is a bit conservative …
16 Sep 2012, 11:02 am
@RugbyStudent-60: I do agree. Lambie’s best position is at flyhalf, he is actually brillinat fh and a very good fb and inside centre. But he should have come on for Zane. For at least 25min, he would have added something more.
Yes this game plan Meyer is playing does not suit Lambie and nor Jantjies and for that matter Goosen. But he will change Goosen to become more like Morne. I really hope not though.
16 Sep 2012, 11:06 am
@Puma-64:
That’s the problem. Its all conjecture whether Lambie is a good fullback. Nobody knows if Lambie can perform at fullback.
16 Sep 2012, 11:07 am
@RugbyStudent-60: Another thing you need to remember. Lambie played for us at fb during the world cup last year. He was excellent there. He has proved he can play at at this level. Leaving him on the bench for the whole game is a waste having him there. He should have come on yesterday with 25min left to play.
16 Sep 2012, 11:11 am
Players who the fans liked to criticize the most on Keo over the years:
2006: Brian Habana
2007:
2008: JP Pieterson
2009: Adi Jacobs
2010: Ricky January
2011: Brian Habana / John Smit
2012: Zane Kirchner / Morne steyn
Hmmmmm……………………….
16 Sep 2012, 11:11 am
@RugbyStudent-65: He can read, read my post 66. He played for the Boks at the highest level at fb. During a World Cup. He was one of the players that came back from that world cup with his head held high. He was excellent at fb there. He has proved he can do it and he can take plenty pressure.
Right now Meyer is just taking away his confidence by leaving him on the bench for the whole game.
Also remember the Boks BEST game was when Lambie came on in the 2nd half against England and he played fb. Again the next test when he started that first half in the 2nd test against England was again when Boks played their best. He has proved himself mate, so there is no excuse to leave him out on the bench. No excuse at all.
16 Sep 2012, 11:13 am
I think HM should be apologizing to Lambie too. Sending a player on 5 minutes is an absolute disgrace. What could he achieve in this time? Zero. What influence can he have? Zero.
Lambie has become a victim, just like Goosen of HM Blue bias…
Okey I feel better now!
16 Sep 2012, 11:16 am
#63 Kaksioek,You are 100% correct about Malema he is as thick as a bucket of shite,and you could be correct that HM is a bit conservative in his selections i do not know,but as i have posted earlier i think kirchener is playing good enough to keep his place.
16 Sep 2012, 11:17 am
The Boks are proving to be the laughing stock of this new championship,the pumas have arrived with such passion and heart they are making the boks look a bit of a joke with their lumbering, disjointed, clueless rugby.
The wallabies who have a pretty ordinary team are managing to get wins from hopeless positions and that is a very good sign.We look more dangerous against the ABs than we do against the wallabies we definitely have a mental block against them at the moment I mean 1 from 8 wow.
Both the pumas and the boks have 2 home games now,but I fancy pumas to beat wallabies at home cant say the same for boks which means in all probability boks will pick up wooden spoon for this year now that is embarrasing.
16 Sep 2012, 11:18 am
@Gumboots-69: Bill,
Also I have read the kiwis are totally mystified why Meyer just leaves Lambie on the bench. Even they can not understand why he is not used. Meyer’s treatment of Lambie is most definitely a disgrace. I am totally losing all respect for this Coach.
Now I feel better after saying that too….
16 Sep 2012, 11:19 am
@Puma-53:
You’re right – but I don’t think it is mandatory that all 22 play – a player should only come on to make a genuine impact or replace an injury … not because it is the “done thing” – you see players like Bismarck playing a blinder and then they are changed merely because there is a replacement hooker on the bench – indeed, if the starting 15 are all on fire you shouldn’t rock the boat and bring on one sub.
The other thing – Frans Steyn should be taking all the kicks – why keep giving it to someone like Morne who is totally off-form: it’s South African thinking at its most box rigid: if Frans has that sort of accuracy from 58 metres how much easier is for him from, say 30 metres … duh …. plus his temperament is big-match and ice cool killer; we’re still wasting his talents.
16 Sep 2012, 11:22 am
Meyer’s record AWAY from home:
Played: 3
Win: 0
Lose: 2
Draw: 1
Win/lose ratio: 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000%
16 Sep 2012, 11:22 am
@4moreyears-71:
Pumas may do what the Boks could not against the ABs and that finish.
I believe we could lose our first game against the Pumas this year.
16 Sep 2012, 11:23 am
@Puma-72:
I lost my respect the day he chose his first squad. When he picked the whole Bulls team the day they were beaten at home by a very understrength Stormer team. He was hoping the Sharks would side with him, but it has blown up now. He is the master of his own downfall. Steyn has proved that you can’t play a guy in Test rugby and hope he finds form there. He drops Daniel after a good show but keeps Steyn after putrid form. Makes one think…
Now I even feel better!
16 Sep 2012, 11:25 am
I see NOBODY admitting the PIENAAR mistake
The entire fckup fallout is now on Morne Steyn’s lack of goal kicking prowess
Meanwhile I CLEARLY stated already vs Argentina.. DONT PLAY PIENAAR at scrumhalf
How come it ALWAYS takes either a 49-0 hiding or 2 consecutive LOSSES to FIND OUT what is SO GODDAMN SIMPLE a deduction to make??
PIENAAR AT 9 is a DISASTER !!!
ALL the damn FUNDI”S here saying DROP Hougaard to wing and play Pienaar at 9
Are you PEOPLE goddamn INSANE ?? !!
Hougaard at 9 and we would have WON vs Australia.. Hougaard at 9 and we would have WON vs AB’s
Notwithstanding the OTHER outright FCKUPS this MORON Heyneke keeps on making like Morne at 10, Potgieter to 7, Kirchner to FB, Steyn and JdV at center, Greyling to LH
ALL those outright FCKUPS notwithstanding.. ONE simple clear as day correct call by playing Hougaard at his PREFERRED position SCRUM HALF and half the battle is WON.., and KEEP Pienaar on bench – or if you really need to play Pienaar somewhere then rather have him start at 10 and bring Goosen on later.
Pienaar should NEVER have stopped playing fly half .. he is NOT a scrum half’s ARSEHOLE..!!! Just another goddamn HOPELESS FDP wannabe IDIOT .!!!
PdV and John Smit made a HUGE fckup DELUXE when they dropped Pienaar vs BIL’s and INSTILLED Morne Steyn at 10 for EVERMORE.. THAT was the Fckup of ALL fckups.. because SINCE then with Boks playing FdP at 9 and MS at 10 Boks PROUD record vs top 5 competition has been
PLAYED 14 LOST 11 less than 30% success rate. with Morne Steyn at 10 and FdP at 9 playing kick and chase play to our so called STRENGTHS rugby
And ALL these TWATS thinking FdP is now the ANSWER.. You MORONS are THICKER than a bunch of extinct DINOSAURS .. !!!!
16 Sep 2012, 11:25 am
Just managed to watch a replay of the game. The bok forwards bossed the ruck and maul, and won the collisions. Won most of the scrums as well.
However, the Ab forwards were better in some other areas:
- lineouts
- handling skills (which created the dagg try for the AB’s, and bombed opportunities for the boks via grayling)
- attacking gaps rather than smashing into the opposition.
The Ab backs outplayed their opposites, with the exception of savea ( hougard better) and piri (on par with pienar).
Therefore I don’t think the boks dominated us to the extent some on this site think, and whilst it is clear the boks are going to push the all blacks I’m not sure a change in the pecking order is imminent.
16 Sep 2012, 11:25 am
@Hurricane-75:
Kia Ora Hurricane! The AB’s know how to win tight games. They will beat the Argies but yes the Argies have brought something really encouraging to the Southern Hemisphere. They might still be team to start challenges the AB’s…
16 Sep 2012, 11:27 am
@grant10-14: MS will be first choice
flyhalf in our next test.Bet your house on it.
He will be told to hone his kicking skills in next 2 weeks..
Will not improve his all round flyhalf play,I,m afraid.
16 Sep 2012, 11:27 am
@fitz1ella-77:
He was very slow and kicked aimlessly. He was playing to plan Skop. He just couldn’t deliver on the plan. Aimless kicking and very slow service. Also runs sideways…
16 Sep 2012, 11:28 am
@corporal punishment-78:
Ja Kruger was not good yesterday, but he was subbed…
16 Sep 2012, 11:29 am
@Hurricane-75: Howzit Hurricane,
Well if Meyer had pulled Morne off in the first half and brought on Goosen, we would have beaten ABs yesterday.
We have a stubborn coach, who will rather we lose than take off a player he knows that is not playing well. Then again he dropped other players for no reason. So just favours Morne for some reason. Gives some players more chance than others it seems.
16 Sep 2012, 11:30 am
@Gumboots-76: Well I am feeling that way now. Wish that Smal got the job.
16 Sep 2012, 11:32 am
@Puma-84:
Agree!
16 Sep 2012, 11:32 am
Willie Le Roux
JdV (c)
JdJ
F. Steyn
B. Habana
J. Goosen
F. Hougaard
D. Vermeulen
W. Alberts
F. Louw (vc)
E. Etzebeth
F. Vd Merwe
P. Cilliers
D. Fourie
B. Mtwarira
JC Janse van Rensburg. A. Strauss / C. Ralapelle, A. Bekker, M. Coetsee, R. Pienaar, R. Rhule / L. Mapoe,. A. Coetsee
16 Sep 2012, 11:32 am
@Gumboots-81: Remember Ruan in the first test against England? He was superb there. Then I think he was allowed to play a different game. As we picked up the tempo once Lambie and he came on. Now he has him kicking everything, like wanting all the scrummies to be a Fourie du Preez clone I think. He has messed with Hougies game there too.
16 Sep 2012, 11:33 am
@ 75 hurricane: I think it is unlikely the ABs will lose to the Pumas this year. As demonstrated again last night, the pumas aren’t fit enough to play the whole 80mins, the run out of steam at about 60 minutes. The AB’s on the other hand are an 80 minute team.
We need to think hard about who will start at HB tho. Tempting to start with Kerr Barlow with smith to come on at 60 mims to speed the game up.
16 Sep 2012, 11:33 am
Okay I am out of here.
Cheers everyone.
16 Sep 2012, 11:35 am
@Puma-87:
I have said weeks ago! It doesn’t actually matter who he chooses. With his game plan he sets people up. He wants to clone Fourie, you are right.
16 Sep 2012, 11:36 am
#77 Fitz1ella Skop i have to agree with you about pienaar even the kiwi commentators stated that fact that his kicking is very poor and his distributation is slow.Has pienaar ever played at full back,i am asking as i cannot remember him playing there.
16 Sep 2012, 11:37 am
Pumas lost to wallabies because of their kicking,boks to ABs because of theirs(29 pts including 2 clear cut tries)boks also left 19 pts on the field against wallabies not including the difficult chances oh what couldf have been.
I think a coach often gets unfairly criticized because he doesnt make players drop balls or commit penaltys byu in the last 2 games he is cleary at fault as the mistake has been down to selection and that is his resposibility.
16 Sep 2012, 11:37 am
@Puma-89:
Cheers – also outta here…
Well done with the Sharks win! Fully deserved.
Holmes and Jebb must get what they deserve.
16 Sep 2012, 11:38 am
@Gumboots-81: Pienaar was NEVER going to spark ANYTHING into Boks back line.. never or ever..
ALL those crying for Pienaar at 9 and Hougaard at wing
You got your WISH
2 Losses in succession
And if they STILL don’t know YET that Hougaard HAS to Start and play at 9 THROUGHOUT.. then they are NOT rugby thinking boffins WHATSOEVER.. and I doubt ever will be..
This coach has made some HORENDOUS decisiopns and Pienaar to 9 and Hougaard to wing is right up there with the WORST of them.. along with ALL the other KNEE JERK goddamn about face back to front decisions he has made
Like dropping Brussow for Potgieter, like dropping Kolisi to the CC and then LOSING Kolisi to injury, Like dropping Daniel to CC but keeping Potgieter, like playing Pienaar at 9 and Kirchner at 15 and Morne Steyn at 10, like substituting Beast for Greyling..
This coach is an outright MORON deluxe and yet there are STILL some disciples who actually think he KNOWS wtf he is doing..!!!
16 Sep 2012, 11:39 am
I think HM needs to make a big call on JDV, He looks out of sorts at 13 however he cant take frans steyns jersey who imo is not suited to fb. If he is to be selected as a captain then HM is doing exactly what pdivvy did with john smit, Also js was a great captain while jdv does not seem to offer anything in that department for the boks. im a strong believer in your captain being a forward, someone who is constantly getting stuck in and leading the charge inspiring his men, jean is often out on the fringes waiting for ball that never comes so cant really rally the troops through strong clean outs or big hits.
I would actually play jdv off the wood as a center/wing cover. Rather start with jdj, Give Goosen a go at starting dropping morne completely and give Lambie a run at fullback to silence his critics or those claiming Zane deserves his spot because he is ok? i have always been impressed with Lambie when he puts on a bok jersey, also plays with a lot of composure and intelligence. HM better be careful he does not decide to go abroad.
So with that
1 beast
2 Strauss
3 Jannie
4 Eben
5 Bekker
6 Flow
7 Alberts
8 Vermulen
9 Hougart
10 goosen
11 Habs
12 frans
13 jdj
14 is jpp coming back?
15 Lambie
16 connie/pat
17 Burden
18 Flip
19 Coetzee
20 Piennar
21 Tauta
22 Jdv
16 Sep 2012, 11:39 am
Skop i also agree with you on deon fourie he is much better than liebenberg at hooker,as i don`t think strauss is good enough at test level,maybe fourie should be starting as he deffiately has that mongrel in him.
16 Sep 2012, 11:42 am
@82 gumboots: good point. I think we still got a couple of steals/ disrupts after Bekker came on. The bok locks did well cleaning out the ruck tho, a mauling and in defense. Just highlights how rare it is to find a player like matfiled who is good at all elements of forward play.
16 Sep 2012, 11:47 am
@blueboy-91: He played at FB under White and Jones and under PdV I think.. he was NOT a success at FB.. but he would be FAR better at FB than at 9.. He is NOT a 9
Pienaar should NEVER have been dropped from fly half, he was a silky running creative type fly half but didn’t have the BMT to take critical penalties at posts, so he should NOT have been required to take critical penalties at posts, we had Frans Steyn and Montgomery and some others who could take kicks at posts, same as Honiball never took kicks at posts, Pienaar should have STAYED at fly half.. He is NOT a game winning scrum half. he would be FAR better than Morne Steyn at fly half… Francoise Hougaard IS a game winning SCRUM HALF but should NOT be required to play a FDP type box kick and chase game
That is just dumb delusional NUTS..!!!!
we have NOT WON ANY top flight test with or without FdP in the past 3 years and counting playing FdP and Morne Steyn with this ARCHAIC JW / Smit / Heyneke Meyer kick and chase GARBAGE
3 wins from 14 tests under those conditions..
ONE win vs Australia at Loftus 2010
ONE win vs NZ in PE
and ONE win vs Wales in WC 2011
against ELEVEN LOSSES since 3N 2009 playing this ARCHAIC PATHETIC BULLSHIT style of rugby..!!!
and ALL the Boffins want FdP BACK..!!!
Bloody Morons united in absolute delusional IDIOCY..!!
16 Sep 2012, 11:47 am
Ps pienar was terrible. Slow slow clearance and very inaccurate kicking. He did hassle piri to force turnovers a couple of times, but overall I think he hurt the boks almost as much as morne. Nothing new in this, he is a poor halfback.
16 Sep 2012, 11:48 am
@rvanaardt-95:
who will captain the side without jdv ?
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 8 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.