Make us believe in a bold Bok era, Heyneke
17 Sep 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day newspaper column, writes denial is the devil that has to be avoided for the Boks to be winners and the best team in the world.
Once again South Africans will take comfort that the All Blacks are not quite as good and the Boks are not quite as bad. Once again we can reflect on a heroic defeat. Once again we would be deluded.
If the aim is to consistently be the best rugby team in the world then brave 10-point defeats against the old foe can’t be viewed as victories. If the aim is to be the best then the Boks have to set standards that include not playing well and beating the All Blacks by 10 points; not exceeding expectation and still losing by 10 points.
Come on.
There has to be a change of mindset, from within the current management. And there has to be a demand from the rugby public that quality of performance is never secondary.
There has to be some honesty about where it went wrong. Only then can it be corrected.
Meyer, as coach and head strategist, promised more than we saw in Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, and the public rightly expected more of the Springboks.
I don’t get why there is an absolute fear of failure within the management. If ever there was a time where the public would have been accommodating it was in the year post a World Cup when most teams tend to be in transition and when coaches can embrace variation in selection, strategy and approach.
I am not talking about experimentation but variation.
All of the successful Bok teams of the professional era have played good rugby without having to be like the All Blacks and Wallabies and without having to give up the fundamentals associated with the South African game.
Meyer’s Boks are capable of so much more, but it starts with the coach and his support staff.
Passion should be a given and not the exception that gets the Boks close to beating the All Blacks in New Zealand or inspires the one-off win against the Kiwis in South Africa.
The Boks have players capable of producing a game that embraces moving the ball through hands and winning with skill and not relying exclusively on forward dominance and physical superiority.
Every good Bok team has employed an effective kicking game, and there is no crime in Meyer believing in the merits of playing for field position and minimising risk. But it has to be balanced with a trust that those selected are good enough to want to maintain possession and effectively use this possession.
Selections have to offer hope of victory and not limit the margin of the defeat.
I am not dispirited. If Meyer had done everything right and the Boks were three from seven, then we could talk about a catastrophe.
He hasn’t and acknowledging this would signal strength in character.
There is hope for the Boks and there will always be because the quality of player is good enough to beat any team once, but the measure of great Bok teams is that they beat all opponents more than once, home and away.
Meyer’s conservatism in selection cost him a famous win in Dunedin. I championed Meyer’s national appointment, but he’s struggled more than I ever anticipated in getting his selections right. He surely can’t get them wrong for the two home remaining Rugby Championship matches against Australia and New Zealand.
There can no longer be a case made for Morne Steyn’s retention. There can also no longer be the nonsense of Johan Goosen not being good enough, experienced enough or old enough to start. There can’t be an argument to ignore the claims of Elton Jantjies as his understudy and if Meyer does not rate Pat Lambie then he owes it to the player to send him back to Durban and allow him to actually play some rugby.
I never considered Meyer would struggle to break his association with the Bulls, but I underestimated the bond that exists. His loyalty to Morne Steyn was misguided and no newcomer picked at flyhalf would have been afforded seven Test matches in which to get it right. No newcomer would have been excused a goal-kicking success rate in the mid-50s.
Defeat will force change but there would have been greater comfort had innovation determined selection.
The Boks always produce inspired performances at home in the latter stages of what was the Tri Nations and now is the Rugby Championship. What we are seeing in 2012 is no different to what we saw a decade ago.
I refuse to believe Meyer will not get it right. He is a student of the game, a man who instills confidence when talking rugby and a man who appreciates the nuances of the game.
Which makes the last month that much harder to fathom. How the hell did he get it so wrong, in selection and in inspiration?
I can’t recall a coach being more unanimously embraced as a national appointment and Meyer needs to know the public wants him to succeed.
He needs to lose the fear of failure and trust his ability to win as much as the public did when lauding his appointment. If he does that, not only will there be hope for the Boks, there will also be conviction in the belief they can be the best.
778 Comments
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17 Sep 2012, 23:46 pm
@katman-750:
Julle wen nie CC in die finaal teen Griekwas, maar speel nie S15 nie
Ons speel S15 en B divisie CC
Miskien moes ons julel spelers oorgeneem het, hulle kon S15 hier gespeel het en CC by julle ?
17 Sep 2012, 23:48 pm
why was greyling even in the squad? the guy is a penalty machine but he doesn’t have to prove himself like heinrich was told to before the june test series…
17 Sep 2012, 23:48 pm
@I am a stormer-745:
He needs 2 fly halves and 2 scrum halves in the team 22
Pienaar is either the versatile sub or the starting 10 with Goosen off bench
Hougaard MUST start and STAY at 9 throughout.. Pienaar as back up in case of injury.
which leaves Goosen to 10 and Lambie / Jantjies as back up 10 OR if he is too conservative to start a youngster vs Aussie and AB’s then Pienaar should start at 10 and Goosen off bench.
FAR better than Pienaar / M. Steyn 9/10 combo.. Hougaard / Pienaar will still do damage.. with Goosen to wreak havoc getting his chance off bench … Pienaar / Steyn is DEAD end to nowhere.
17 Sep 2012, 23:49 pm
@katman-739:
Peter Grant will be talking japanese talking japanese I really think so. And then we’ll be down the creek without a canoe.
17 Sep 2012, 23:50 pm
@victoriabok-751: Ons spelers sal nie onder Pine speel nie.
En ja, dit sal vreemd wees as ons twee jaar in ‘n ry die CC wen en by Super Rugby moet uitsit. Veral as die Kings met rekord punte pak slae kry.
17 Sep 2012, 23:52 pm
@Transformation-752: Also, he’s a loosehead. I thought the ideal was to have an extra tighthead on the bench. Or at least someone like Coenie or CJ who can cover both. As far as I know Cilliers was fit for the weekend. Why the hell was he not on the bench?
17 Sep 2012, 23:53 pm
Anyway, I’m off.
Go Lions.
17 Sep 2012, 23:54 pm
@katman-755:
Nee, S15 onder julle ou afrigter Frans Ludeke
17 Sep 2012, 23:54 pm
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/7693146/Roof-turns-Dunedin-into-kickers-nightmare
Roof turns Dunedin into kickers’ nightmare
MARK GEENTY
There could be a scientific explanation for the failure of some international pivots to “get their kicks” in Dunedin’s stadium. Mark Geenty reports.
Dunedin’s house of horrors will continue to haunt visiting goalkickers as long as it remains under a roof, a Wellington scientist says.
Brian Wilkins, who has written books on how atmospheric conditions assist a cricket ball to swing, says it’s no coincidence that New Zealand’s only covered rugby stadium causes nightmares for some of the best kickers.
He says the lack of air turbulence under the Forsyth Barr Stadium roof means any ball hit slightly off centre will deviate further than it would outside.
Springbok Morne Steyn was the latest sharpshooter to discover that in Saturday’s test defeat to the All Blacks when he kicked just one from five attempts, some of them skewing wildly.
Wilkins says it relates to the lateral Magnus/Robins force, which makes any spun ball curve when the air flowing around it leaves the surface earlier on one side than on the other.
“In rugby, most kickers don’t strike the ball dead centre and their boot doesn’t come through straight in line with the target; they come around the ball slightly,” Wilkins said.
“They’re almost guaranteed to put a slight sideways spin on the ball. It’s the same sort of thing as table tennis, when you put side spin on the ball it swerves.
“It’s the smooth non-turbulent air [under the roof] which accentuates all these phenomena. It’s only got to be a very slight rotation for it to take off and develop into a big curve.”
After reading yesterday’s story in the Dominion Post on the kicking woes, Wilkins wrote in with his low turbulence theory and offered some free advice for visiting kickers in Dunedin: straighten your approach and if you don’t hit the ball low and dead centre, and follow through straight, you could be in trouble.
Springboks captain Jean de Villiers suggested the switch from the Gilbert ball which is used in South Africa, to the adidas ball used in New Zealand, was a factor.
England’s Jonny Wilkinson also blamed the ball during his struggles during last year’s World Cup, when he kicked seven from 14 in Dunedin.
Wilkins said the atmospheric conditions would play a much bigger part and left far less margin for error, regardless of which ball was used. It was during the World Cup that he took a keen interest in why the kickers struggled in Dunedin and he soon settled on the low turbulence theory.
“Only those who kick straight through to send the ball tumbling straight, under and over, around a horizontal axis, will succeed . . . in low turbulence air.”
The statistics back up the theory. At the World Cup, kickers made 32 of 59 attempts (54 per cent) and in this year’s Super Rugby it was 64 from 97 (65 per cent).
17 Sep 2012, 23:58 pm
@fitz1ella-753:
So you still rate Pienaar at the Boks? The thing is HM won’t throw him onto the scrap heap too soon. As he has Goosen who MUST start at 10 at Loftus. Morne will more than likely be on the bench. He won’t have Jantjes on the bench because that would be far too radical.
Hougaard must start at 9 as you’ve been saying – see, I don’t always disagree. And would like to see Jano Vermaak given a chance from the bench with 20 mins to go. Can still move Hougie to wing then.
18 Sep 2012, 00:03 am
@I am a stormer-760: Nope I wouldn’t have M. Steyn anywhere near the 22 and I would play Hougaard ONLY at 9 .. never on wing.. Pienaar is super versatile sub or starting 10 in my team that is all.
Pienaar can cover 9, 10 and 15 as a full utility player like Lambie which gives them the opportunity to play 5/2 bench or else have 2 fliers / bolters like Le Roux or Mapoe or JdJ or Serfonetin or Rhule or A. Coetsee on bench
I’m not a great Vermaak fan I reckon he’s just mediocrity I prefer Pretorius or Van Zyl of Cheetahs.
18 Sep 2012, 00:04 am
anyway am out now too
so long
18 Sep 2012, 00:10 am
@fitz1ella-762:
@katman-757:
Cheers guys.
Hey skop, skittle sticks starts again tom. Get ready.
18 Sep 2012, 00:18 am
@Horings-722:
Fokof Snor jou dom doos, wie stel belang in jou opinie
Al wat ek wil **** van jou, jou AA puppet, hoe hulle jou beheer, met toutjies van bo?
Of ‘n hand op in jou hol?
Laasgenoemde sal jou fyn stemmetjie verklaar
18 Sep 2012, 00:27 am
@nama1-171: very good post – honesty at its purest.
Once some SA people stop believing the hype in their so called abilities and strength etc, and focus on respect – then perhaps the path forward will be more accurately assessed and acted on.
When you read many of these posts – very few people speak about a team game, you all target individuals as if each one can bring the magic bullet, but the lack of development of complimentary players is most evident when you watch the Boks – are they introducing themselves to each other on the way out of the tunnel? Your forwards for the first time showed a collective effort – no super stars, just 6 or 7 men doing the basics right. Yes your coach has not developed back play that can leverage from the forwards, so where are 4/5 players who comprise the best of the backs of SA that work in time with these forwards, not as an isolated bunch.
Singular thinking will continue to yield fractured results – we (NZ) were horribly guilty of this in 1998-2003
18 Sep 2012, 00:27 am
Hey, I’ve been reading all y’alls comments about this and bloody that but the main culprits in all of this is SARU.! Let me explain… You see Pdiv and Meyer were right to have been considered for the post, but they f’ed up the timing. With Meyers familiarity to the players good ol Jake led to WC, Meyer really should have stepped in for the purpose of continuity if nothing else. Pdiv’s role in development and coaching at youth level meant that it would have been a more insightful and less political move to utilise his developmental skills now while at the same time blurring the color lines.
18 Sep 2012, 03:32 am
Poep is generated in two basic ways. One way is by swallowed air which once it has worked itself through the bowel has absorbed some noxious odours from its environment. These are emitted as loud, voluminous flatuli but often disappoint on the stink value scale.
The other way is through bacterial degradation of intestinal contents resulting in methane gas produced through an exothermic reaction (heat producing reaction). These escape through carefully controlled poephols (for fear of doing a solid) as warm but relatively low volume flattus. These are noxiously potent yet silent and thus surprising. Causing those in the immediate vicinity to either flee the rich stench or lose their lunch. Sometimes people climb into lifts or walk in malls and are blessed by a gift selflessly left by someone else.
On rare occassions you can experience a combo. The combo is the king of baff (koning van skuit) but just like a surfer respects a big wave, the producer of the combo must shut the valve (pouting poephol) before the ‘follow through’ or ‘shart’. When I hear the word ‘stormer’ I think of the combo. The king of the warm beef stew flatuli with a potentially soft and uncomfortable ending. It starts like a royal and ends ****. Herewith is born the definition of the word ‘stormer’
18 Sep 2012, 03:56 am
Pete Helium says the Bok team is “too white”….
18 Sep 2012, 04:44 am
1 bok only in the planet rugby 15 of the week, 6 AB’s (4 forwards 2 backs).
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_8086280,00.html
18 Sep 2012, 07:28 am
#759, one of snot’s more interesting posts and obviously just copied. Please keep it up. #767; this is for poep69 right?
To me Meyer is a bit like Zuma, promise much, deliver fokkol except jobs for pals. The Dunedin factor shows this. Meyer’s kicking coach should surely have known this. Meyer should either have known M Steyn could cope or was slumping (not as though it’s MS’s first failure) and tried to get him out of it. If not, replace him, keeping a slot if he returns to form. Put Lambie or Goosen or Elton at flyhalf, have a backup kicker at fullback (or even scrumhalf).
Let’s try play some organised, well structured rugby. Asseblief.
But at least show SA that you are thinking HM, not a braindead bonehead. Oh, and, whatever you do, don’t let the poison dwarf anywhere near you.
18 Sep 2012, 08:08 am
@Dusky-767: classic
18 Sep 2012, 09:03 am
@Transformation-188:
The point I made last week. Imagine if the Boks won?
I doubt if it will make any difference in team composition though. Watch when it is announced.
18 Sep 2012, 12:47 pm
@gunther-501: @Transformation-505:
Indeed.
Thanks for the correction.
18 Sep 2012, 15:48 pm
PETITION AGAINST MORNE
18 Sep 2012, 20:01 pm
Imagine for a moment that Morne Steyn was still the 90% kicker that he has been virtually his entire career.
Imagine Bryan Habana had not put down a pass with the tryline at his mercy in the fifth minute of Saturday evening’s game.
Imagine Deon Greyling had taken up tiddlywinks instead of rugby.
By my estimation, the Boks left 25+ points on the park on Saturday evening. If 50% of these opportunities had been taken, this weekend past’s clash would have had an entirely different complexion.
Heyneke Meyer has been much maligned on electing to play what is perceived as an anachronistic gameplan. However, can a gameplan that yielded so many opportunities against the number one team in the world trulybe considered out-dated? Or is there a still space for a forward-orientated, kick-and-chase game in the “modern” era?
Place yourself in his shoes for a moment. You realise that the opponents you will play most often are the All Blacks and Wallabies, both teams that play a wide game (the Wallabies at every opportunity, the All Blacks after a few phases and usually off setpiece ball). What’s your plan to engineer a win? Do you follow a gameplan that your opponents devised (i.e. try beat your opponents at their own game)? Or do you develop your own gameplan?
Considering that the wide game is part of the DNA of Union in New Zealand and Australia, I would think it would be obvious that Wallaby and All Black teams are very familiar with defending against opponents putting width on the ball at pace. Understandably, he decided to pursue a different tack.
Against the Wallabies:
-The Wallabies pack (rightly or wrongly) are perceived to be substandard compared to other top tier teams.
-The Wallabies backline in recent year is comprised of relatively small though quick players.
A Bok plan against the Wallabies should be orientated in creating as many attacking setpieces in Wallabies territory as possible and running big ball carriers through the gold backline. A kick and chase game plan would get the Boks into the right areas of the park to look to force a mistake from the Wallabies. However, I would argue that the gameplan should be modified to kicking the ball out and dead against Beale and co. and have Bekker and co. look to disrupt lineouts or Francois Steyn dominate a tackle (forcing a knock-on or penalty).
Against the All Blacks:
- The All Blacks seem vulnerable to rolling mauls, as evidenced on Saturday and against Los Pumas. This argues for kicking close to the touchline, limiting the fielding player’s angle of clearance -which is possible with a quick chase- and setting up attacking lineouts.
- The Boks defence was generally able to contain the All Blacks back three. Consider how much ball was kicked onto the likes of Dagg, Savea and Jane. Then consider that only one try (Dagg’s opening try) was scored from the glut of possession handed to the most potent back three in world rugby. It is also worth noting that around eight shots at goal were manufactured by kicking onto the All Black back three. Had Morne Steyn kicked like an international quality flyhalf, Steve Hansen would have cause for some soul searching come Sunday morning.
I feel that Heyneke Meyer’s thinking in adopting an “outdated” gameplan actually makes sense. As evidenced against the All Blacks on Saturday, it does yield the opportunities to reap dividends on the scoreboard. His failure in my opinion is in his selection:
1. Flyhalf. The gameplan adopted by Heyneke Meyer is orientated on manufacturing shots on goal. For it to succeed, these opportunities need to be converted into points. After seven games to prove his class, I think he can drop Morne with a clear conscience. Selecting a goal-kicker who can’t kick goals makes no sense. If memory serves, Johan Goosen can kick ‘em from 55 metres out, get him off the pine and into the starting line-up. Alternatively, what does Elton Jantjies have to do to gain selection for the Boks? I understand he is an accomplished goal-kicker, and I was very impressed with the way he managed the Lions backline during the Super season. Either of those two would be preferable to a non-performing Morne.
2. Locks and fetchers. The gameplan he is trying to implement centres around creating opportunities from kicks. This means having locks that can steal opposition ball at the lineout (ala Victor Matfield) or a fetcher who can win “holding-on” penalties if the full back gets sacked in possession. Currently, the Boks are playing Bekker who hasn’t delivered a steal for the Boks as yet and Meyer has elected to leave Brussow at home. Francois Louw, in my opinion, made enough of a contribution to warrant a relook at the “no-fetcher” policy. And surely Victor Matfield can be convinced to help out with the technical lineout work?
3. Full back. Zane Kirchener delivers a solid performance at fullback. He’s safe under the high ball and gets fair distance on his clearances. However, he is prone to placing nothing up-and-unders that don’t achieve the goals of the gameplan. I think Kirchener either needs to be coached into adding a line-kick to his repertoire or a new fullback needs to be found. I enjoy Lambie’s running instincts, and I think he could grow into a great fullback for the Republic…but he’s going to need a lot more than 5-10 minutes in a lost game to grow his ability.
I liked Kirchener’s option for a drop-goal in the match. Popping over the odd three points from a failed clearance makes opposing players less adventurous in their approach to clearing, going for a sure out rather than distance. Meyer could think about moving Francois Steyn to 15, Jean de Villiers to 12 and JP Pietersen to 13. This setup would probably compliment the gameplan better than the current setup.
From a southern hemisphere point of view, there can be few arguments that the gameplan Heyneke Meyer is looking to adopt is not particularly attractive. However, the lack of aesthetic appeal should not blinker our appreciation of its effectiveness and feasibility as a counter to the dominance of the All Black style of playing the game.
20 Sep 2012, 00:42 am
One would have to argue the fact that the ref pulled, what the Blacks get away with often, at the ruck possibly more so than what most refs would do and therefore not as many penalties would have been give, ie points for the Springboks.
That to me played a decisive factor, that the ruck was reffed better than usual when the Blacks play.
PS to everybody
Did you all know buying your bok jersey/shirt from abroad it is/nearly half price to that in SA. Just shows how we are been ripped off in our own country, beastards !!!
20 Sep 2012, 10:04 am
Not sure if anyone’s already pointed it out but what HM in this article seems quite promising and fans should have hope?
http://www.sarugby.co.za/article.aspx?category=sarugby/springboks&id=1583201
I also agree with #775. Execution screwed the game up for the Boks.
26 Sep 2012, 21:45 pm
I am a BOK thru and thru, that will never change. But is the title of this article not a bit of an oxymoron? I really think that our rugby is somewhat stale and we are behind Oz, not to mention NZ. Be that as it may, I think we have a good chance of winning the net two games.
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