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, 13:53 pm
@rangerman-244: yeah, fancy sticking to the same opinion I made about them before the Aussie game, where both were shown up quite badly then… I see now thweyve had a goodish game you are braying for blood
I understand though Ranger, the bad kiwi has made light of two of your Sharks players… and as their biggest fanbooi, you cant have that..
continue with your “argument” mate, I see youve taken the adult approach and counteracted my opinions with reasoned points of your own..
well done on that I say..
17 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
100% right – Lambie would not have been given 7 Tests to mess up (either at 10 or 15).
I agree totally that Elton and Goosen should be the 10s, and Lambie 15, with Taute understudy.
Jantjies was amazing with his kicking again on Sautrday (yes yes I know its only Currie Cup, but a field is a field, poles are poles and he got 7 or more of them over!)
Against a team like Argies, Taute and Elton can get more game time and experience.
In fact – Elton is the more senior player and should be given the first chance to play 10 and claim the jersey.
17 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
@nama1-247: and i still think that approach is a bit narrow minded bud.
use it, dont use it.
@Heavens Game-248: it is shameful how he has been treated by meyer.
got to love the constant picks from cc by a lot of posters though.
if that was the case, griquas would comprise the next generation of boks
17 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
@Skeppie-236:
pierre was great in 2009/10, if he can rediscover that form i’d be happy.
going on past performances i’ll also say if meyer was bold i’d even give big joe a look in. he was superb in 2004/5.
17 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
@UptheGuts-245: Nope that’s to simplified. Yes Brussow is better on the deck but think about balance. Brussow is not a good carrier of the ball, does not make big offensive tackes and is not a lineout option. Playing him means you have to play a no 7 as per usual as well as a no8 who is more of a bruiser and less of a link man/roaming no8. It also affects hooker….when Bissie get’s back you have one “fetcher” there, if you played Flo with Bissie in the side we have two great deck players while still having a lineout option and carrying options.
17 Sep 2012, 13:54 pm
@poppa69-251: baying for blood?
shame poopsie, you are so sensitive.
17 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-254: Big Joe would be a great call but I supppose now we have to look to the future, Big Joe should have gotten a look in during PDV’s reign.
17 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
@Boksarenumber1-238: You right, Brussow has never lost to the ABs, quite a statement
17 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
@rangerman-256: yawn… so no counter to my opinion? and you say you dont deflect..
fine, carry on then..
17 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-254: give danie gerber a go at centre.
he was great in 1981.
17 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
Saturdays heartache will be well worth it if it results in HM once and for all seeing the value of an opensider specialist, not this Hybrid inventions….
And if he rids the Boks of M Steyn……
asseblieftog
17 Sep 2012, 13:56 pm
@Boksarenumber1-238: Hard to take isn’t it.
@bokfan1-240: Have you noticed, even in the years that Habana was supposedly out of form, how many times he’s run himself into good positions, only to be used as the decoy or the pass arrive too late he he subsequently over-ran it? His try on Saturday is the direct result of whoever playing scrummie at the time reading it right and actualy executing to perfection. Think it was Louw but not sure. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve screamed at my TV as to why Habana always had to be the fckn dummy runner.
17 Sep 2012, 13:58 pm
see this is why i dont belong here.
when dooses start spouting off about bok props being guilty of boring in…?.. fark me…
that doos franks did only that in the last scrum of that match, together with not binding with his hooker, same for the other one. plust the early detachment.
farken larf
boring in….
17 Sep 2012, 13:58 pm
@bokfan1-252: Imagine a back three of Habana, JPP and Taute being fed by a Goosen say with another S15 year behind him. Just need to find a place for Lambie, he is too good not to be a bok
17 Sep 2012, 13:59 pm
Spies? lol i never even noticed he was missing
17 Sep 2012, 13:59 pm
@rangerman-253: Ja… Griquas seem like world beaters according to the Keo “wise”
Seems to take one try or one 60m punt and then they straight into a Bok “dream” team.
Farken oblivious
17 Sep 2012, 14:00 pm
@rangerman-260:
no, he’s made himself unavailabe… i already checked….
17 Sep 2012, 14:01 pm
@poppa69-259: i dont need to counter it.
we all watched the game pellie
17 Sep 2012, 14:01 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-263: of course, but then, its only us kiwis who cheat huh Bakkies?
I did laugh though when many of your own countryman laughed at you after the game on the weekend, I imagine many still are.
17 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
@Heavens Game-266: its hilarious.
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-263: poopsie is just being his loveable self lol.
17 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
@Skeppie-255: Brussow not a good ball carrier? Does not make big, offensive tackles? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Either you’ve been in a coma these last 4-5 years or been off the planet. I’ll give you just one off the top of my head…3N’s 2009 in Hamilton, tackles the **** out of McCaw, taking him back 3-4 mtrs and steal his ball too boot! Unbelievable! Where have you been?
17 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
@bokfan1-252: Without a doubt, Jantjies should have been the Bok 10 this season. With Goosen and Lambie fighting their way in after injuries. Most people have been saying it all year, only person that has been blind to this is Meyer
17 Sep 2012, 14:03 pm
@Skeppie-257:
toulon is playing dream rugby at the moment and joe is an integral part of that.
i would back him for a swan song.
17 Sep 2012, 14:03 pm
@rangerman-268: I see you havent answered the point about the Aussie game? they were both very ordinary in that game, but I understand.
to you, one good game in many may prove they are just great, to me it is consistent performances that truly count…
anyways, moving on
17 Sep 2012, 14:03 pm
@poppa69-194: No need to “go get ‘em” anymore, we’ve “got ‘em long ago”!!!
And looking at that poll again please allow me to reassess the voting: It’s us three and Bakkies must be responsible for the other six!!!
“-)
17 Sep 2012, 14:04 pm
@rangerman-253: @Heavens Game-266: Hey
Leave the Griquas out of this
17 Sep 2012, 14:05 pm
@Skeppie-264: I think Lambie is a decent 15 but its at 10 and 12 where he shows his class IMO. JPP would be my 15 going fwd
17 Sep 2012, 14:05 pm
@rangerman-242:
Oh boy!!!
“Someone else did it first so I can also do it.”
That makes it soooo OK, I guess.
There’s no need for bringing up the personal lives of people, no matter who brought it up first.
Btw, I saw what you did there with your “you maybe?”
Jah Ranger, it is always tongue in cheek with you.
17 Sep 2012, 14:07 pm
Fark, I cant wait for the best loose trio in the country in next year’s S15 to really confuse the sh.yte out of the fools here when they continue their good work from the tail end of S15 this year…
Yup, best loosie trio is 8 Kanko… 7 Coetzee 6 Daniel… With Alberts off the bench…
Farken a good few times better, more skilful and more ballas than the fatfuck sperwhales we got masquerading as a loose for the Boks…
Laughaminute
17 Sep 2012, 14:08 pm
Brussow is the best out and out opensider in the country….
Flo is almost as good……
Please Meyer just make sure 1 of them plays …..
17 Sep 2012, 14:09 pm
@UptheGuts-271: My man I am not saying Brussow cannot tackle or cannot carry…I am saying that in test rugby he is not good enough at those arts, simple as that. He may have made one, two or three good tackles in a bok jersey but he does not physicaly have the ability to do this consistently. Not the way someone like Flo or Schalk does.
17 Sep 2012, 14:10 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-273: Can’t argue there, it’s just a pity he is 32……I can’t help thinking that we missed many quality years of Big Joe.
17 Sep 2012, 14:10 pm
@grant10-280:
1. Brussow
2. Louw
3. Marnus Schoeman
17 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@Bok fan-277: Ok but with Goosen and Frans where would you then play Lambie in the future?
17 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@poppa69-269:
lets get one thing straight straight poppa,
i am not a gatkruipertjie, full stop.
other people here can make false smiles all they want, its their business.
i gave you the list and it was incomplete to boot, i did not have time to rewatch the game but i will and then revise the list accordingly.
@rangerman-270:
fark, i would show poppa ‘all’ the love after a few beers if we ever met, and buy him a few more after…
lets just say he’s the kinda guy you wouldn’t wanna go drinking in the wrong pubs with. there’s only one way that would turn out.
the love would come thick and fast.
17 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@UptheGuts-271: And if you still have doubts, get on to youtube and searh for “heinrich brussow”. Pay special attention to the clips vs the B&I Lions. You’re a funny man! The only edge Louw has over Brussow is being a lineout option but that comes down to genetics! Not his fault he’s such a kortgat!
17 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@Skeppie-281: Brussow consistently makes more than 15 tackles per test.
17 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@willievz-276: When your Kwas take a deserved 20 point revenge PK at the Shark Tank then we talk again about the sudden stunning virtues of Steamin WeeWillie Le Roux…
17 Sep 2012, 14:12 pm
@rangerman-253:
Well, I won’t use it, that’s for sure.
You the kind of coach who will play a different team every week depending on the performance some player put up in the CC.
Streauli like, I guess.
HM’s pecking order for the loosies when he started his tenure probably looked like this:
6. Schalk, Coetzee, Kolisi
7. Alberts, Potgieter, Deysel
8. Vermeulen, Spies, Keegan
Unfortunately for him, players like Schalk, Deysel, Vermeulen, Spies got injured
17 Sep 2012, 14:13 pm
Quandary is the Marcelle Coetsee omission….that oke has a serious work rate….unbelievable tackler….
I agree with Nama….
Start with Marcelle at 7
Alberts off bench …but for at least 25 to 30 minutes….get him to run at tired legs….
HM going to have to make a tough call with Etsebeth and Flippie VD Merwe…..Flippie had best game I have ever seen him play….
17 Sep 2012, 14:15 pm
@nama1-289:
Forgot about Kanko as one of his preferred no. 8′s.
17 Sep 2012, 14:15 pm
@Skeppie-281: I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree then.Jjust for the record Heinrich wins my vote hands down. There is talk of Pocock upstaging McCaw in the last year or so…Brussow has been doing it for years!!
17 Sep 2012, 14:16 pm
flip did have a great game, true
and spies will be a part of the bok loose trio once recovered.
stop playing make believe.
17 Sep 2012, 14:16 pm
@Skeppie-281: Dont agree with you at all Skeppie….
17 Sep 2012, 14:17 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-285: yawn..
carry on Bakkies, I cant wait to see the complete list from this weekends game..
17 Sep 2012, 14:20 pm
wake up granty, this is not the camps bay loose trill.. sorry, i meant trio…
17 Sep 2012, 14:20 pm
@Skeppie-284: Its a good question and healthy to have that much talent in such key positions. Would be very surprised to see the 3 of them stay injury free for long periods though, all seem injury prone unfortunately
17 Sep 2012, 14:20 pm
@willievz-287: How many does Flo make? And how many of Brussows are offensive? I hate it when people spout stats that can be misleading. Morne Steyn might make 10 tackles a game but 9 of those are jersey tackles that allow the attacker 5-10m of momentum
17 Sep 2012, 14:21 pm
@grant10-294: It’s unanimous then!
17 Sep 2012, 14:21 pm
@grant10-290:
Yeah Grant.
Play Flo and Coetzee in tandem for 50-55 minutes and bring on Alberts either at 8 or 7 depending on the form of the starter.
They’ll wreak havoc, my man.
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