Meyer: We can’t throw Morne away
25 Sep 2012
Heyneke Meyer says dropping Morne Steyn from the Springboks’ squad was not the solution to remedying his struggles.
Steyn has been the central villain in what has been a nightmare Rugby Championship campaign for the Springboks. His ball-in-hand play is widely perceived to be average, while his tactical and goal kicking has lacked its trademark accuracy.
There is a sense that a large portion of the South African rugby fraternity has lost patience with Steyn, the tipping point coming in their most recent Test against the All Blacks in Dunedin, where he missed kicks which were decisive in the final analysis.
Meyer has consistently voiced his view that Steyn’s heavy workload over the last three years has compromised him and reiterated this after the Dunedin defeat once more. He intimated then that he would rest Steyn for the home leg, but said those plans were shelved in light of a ruling that requires Springboks players to compete in the Currie Cup if not in the squad.
‘We need to look at how we manage our players but it was best that he stayed involved,’ Meyer said. ‘There is a lot of criticism [directed] at Morne, but you’re still working with a human being. If you look at when Bryan [Habana] was struggling, as a coach you can’t just throw a guy away and expect him to come back stronger. I’m not the type of coach to just throw a guy away.
‘Obviously if you do stupid things there’s no sympathy [Meyer would later suggest that Dean Greyling wouldn't play Test rugby again because of his cowardly assault Richie McCaw]. But Morne’s general play was good, it was his kicking that was poor and we have to work on that. It is great to have him in the group, especially with Johan Goosen not being 100% fit [bruised heel]. I can already see being back home has helped him.’
Meyer continued to defend his gameplan, which is thought to be too conservative, stressing that his belief in its effectiveness hasn’t diminished. ‘There’s been a lot of talk about the gameplan but I thought we played the All Blacks perfectly,’ he said.
‘We had more scoring chances than them but we finished poorly. We didn’t convert pressure into points. The teams are so close in Test rugby that that is costly. It frustrated me today in training because when we broke the line guys didn’t show an instinct to finish. They almost appeared to stop. We have to finish better. There isn’t a lot to change in the gameplan, we just have to finish better.’
He also suggested that expectations need to be tempered in keeping with his infancy in the role. ‘I’ve checked the stats, Steve Hansen has been with the All Blacks for 100 Tests. Robbie Deans has just surpassed Bob Dwyer’s 65 Tests as coach. The Argentinian coach has been there for four or five years. I’ve been with the team for seven weeks,’ he said.
‘When you take over a new team with new coaching staff and players and take on the top sides in the world there will be a bit of self doubt for everybody. The players know they could have beaten Australia and New Zealand. But I sense the self-belief is growing. That comes with experience and we’re short on that. But we’re home now and the lessons from those defeats must show in our performances.’
By Ryan Vrede, in Pretoria
Follow Ryan on Twitter
Follow SA Rugby magazine on Twitter
432 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] Show All
25 Sep 2012, 13:38 pm
I’ve checked again, Elton Jantjies has the perfect kind of hairstyle that I would like all Bok players to switch to
Even Heyneke
If that happens then Hannon can become the Boks’ preferred hair products supplier
25 Sep 2012, 13:40 pm
I’m sorry Meyer, you’ve lost any respect I had for you, Obviously provincialism in ingrained in your DNA and favouritism even more so.
Take a hike buddy, make way for Mallet or Carel Dup.
25 Sep 2012, 13:40 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-372: LOL nah he’s definitely a keyboard warrior, that one
All p*ss and vinegar online, in real lfe wouldn’t say boo to a mouse. I know the type well.
I wish he would sort out his mommy issues elsewhere, the guy needs serious professional help, he’s crazier than a bag full of ferrets.
25 Sep 2012, 13:40 pm
Keo, Why is ‘none’ not an option on the poll today?
25 Sep 2012, 13:42 pm
@Sheriff-400:
nah, they are probably mates off the field.
25 Sep 2012, 13:43 pm
@logie_Jumpbuck-402: I agree with Dusky, I also thought he would be better than this, thought he had more integrity.
I hear what he says about not discarding a guy like Steyn, but for goodness sakes, what’s wrong with dropping him to a few Currie cup games to get his head right? Especially given how much pressure he will be under if he does start
25 Sep 2012, 13:45 pm
@rangerman-399:
hehe
incidentally, the nifty ‘give your buddy a pk to save us both getting a hiding’ get out of jail card is one i’d like to pull on transie too, someday
25 Sep 2012, 13:48 pm
@Atreides-406:
he’s a special one old pops.
and dont think reading about himself when we discuss him doesn’t get his motor going….
i bet he lives for this, like a junkie
25 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
@rangerman-405:
I’m sure they are
25 Sep 2012, 13:55 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-408: Yea i sometimes wonder if he realizes what a despicable creature he actually is, but then I have to remind myself that trolls don;t think like normal people
Someone should let him in on the secret about the socioeconomic and demographic breakdown of rape occurences in SA too…he’s barking up the wrong tree on an internet blog
25 Sep 2012, 13:57 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-350:
So a south african is now telling us all about the treaty of Waitangi.
You telling us the Maoris have been shafted yet not a whisper about your own country.
Bring up your stats. Bring up the stats for each tribe as they have been given different land settlements etc.
I for one dont think its in anyway a discussion point on a rugby blog.
When a South African talks cr@p about something that has nothing to do with them especially if they think the internet and the stats on there are gospel, i suggest shuting up.
25 Sep 2012, 14:00 pm
@rangerman-396:
lol
So we will miss Carter, McCawsome and Nonu and you think FDP and Fourie evens it out.
lol, those players are not even in the same calibre as the ABs.
25 Sep 2012, 14:02 pm
@Sheriff-401:
i wanna cut that laaities hair so badly every time i see him play
he should go for a mohawk like mastriet’s it would look a lot better than that terible wet whatever he’s got going there.
does he cut his own hair? it really is an unusual style.
25 Sep 2012, 14:03 pm
@Atreides-410:
well, if pissinng in the wind’s your thing then be my guest
25 Sep 2012, 14:04 pm
@Atreides-406: Exactly! He’s acting like a father protecting his sons…..or worse, a Sheppard protecting his sheep. Who does he think he is?
25 Sep 2012, 14:04 pm
@Hurricane-411:
stick around hurri old chum.
i’m putting you back in school here boet.
25 Sep 2012, 14:09 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-416:
I know exactly.I am a Maori. I know what my tribe has got and what is coming.
You go find your stats from the internet. I live here and am into Maoridom.
There is alot going down as we speak. But again you have no place in what NZ does when your own country is not any better.
I wont go down the road of throwing all your bad stats around as i dont really get a kick out of it.
But you seem to love it.
25 Sep 2012, 14:10 pm
@logie_Jumpbuck-415: I don’t disagree with Meyer that players need to feel secure and know that a coach trusts them and won’t boot them at the drop of a hat, but Meyer should have the guts to explain to him that he is being dropped for his own good, play a few cc games to get his form back and his head right, and that he needs to make his claim for the 10 jersey through his playing…not through some sort of right to the jersey as the incumbent
25 Sep 2012, 14:20 pm
@Atreides-418: It’s sport ffs! If you’re not good enough you get dropped. That’s how it works.
25 Sep 2012, 14:21 pm
Pops had another meltdown?
25 Sep 2012, 14:23 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-413:
Be careful now.
We have moved from ‘eendrag maak mag’ to ‘unity in diversity’
It’s a way for him to express himself, in other words: this is me, world. I like that about him. Some guys wear expensive watches and then make sure that they put it on display there for you and me to see (not just juju)
Do you think Heyneke discriminate him because of hi unique hairstyle?
I dont see him doing that with Francois Yoghurt. The only stat of him that has improved is the number of tattoos but that’s ok with Heyneke…
25 Sep 2012, 14:26 pm
By the way, I see Meyer suggested that DeHan Greyling will not play for the Boks again.
1stly – why call him DeHAN when his name is clearly ‘DEEHN’; why create that type of confusion in world rugby?
2ndly – why choose him in the first place? You need not be a rocket scientist to see that this is the type of ‘betrek klap’ Loftus bloke
Why, I ask you: why??
25 Sep 2012, 14:28 pm
@Dawn-420: Where does one end and the next one start?
25 Sep 2012, 14:39 pm
@Sheriff-422: want hy is n buffel….n bakkies botha tipe. we needed one, only not so dom.
25 Sep 2012, 14:53 pm
@Hurricane-417:
no, no kicks hurri.
we dont have to talk about it.
@Sheriff-421:
look, there are a number of ridiculous hairstyles out there, even hair colouring going on. i just think it could be made to look a lot more appealing if it was professionally done. for me it does not suit him at present.
the same or at least similiar look suits mastriet and blommetjies the way they have done it.
and no, its not about his hairstyle its about his style of play and some or other seemingly negative (or at least lesser) perceptions meyer has about him.
its the same for lambie, who meyer does not rate as a flyhalf
or hougaard, who meyer does not think is up to bok scrumhalf ability at present.
or daniel
or potgieter
or brussow
25 Sep 2012, 15:03 pm
So Meyer soek buffels in sy span?
Met ander woorde: hy is ‘n buffel coach
G’n wonder dit gaan so sleg met ons nasionale rugbyspan nie
Wa’ het jy nou al gehoor van ‘n buffel coach?
25 Sep 2012, 15:32 pm
Im probably repeating what has already been said here, but I dont think anyone is talking about “throwing away”.
We ARE talking about giving a tired, struggling player a break.
HM’s reasoning that Morne would play for the Bulls anyway is flawed cos Currie Cup is not Test and Morne would be able to get his groove back.
We ARE also talking about picking players on form and trying to win every Test (both aims that HM himself announced).
If someone like Spies suddenly hits amazing form (I hope it will happen!) then play him at 8 again.
If Morne gets back his metronome for kicking, then bring him back.
Right now, there are better options for the team. That is sport, that is trying to win, and that should be the Springboks.
25 Sep 2012, 15:35 pm
“when we broke the line guys didn’t show an instinct to finish. They almost appeared to stop.” – this is because they are not used to breaking the line! Esp with a kicking fly-half (and usually a kicking scrumhalf!).
Bryan Habana WAS struggling and shouldve been dropped to play Currie Cup. He is still not 100%, but he is better.
If Goosen is injured, then Elton can start (he should be starting IMO). Morne on bench even if must be
25 Sep 2012, 21:48 pm
To be fair to Morne, we should kick him away.
25 Sep 2012, 21:53 pm
@garth-429: If HM soo truely worried abt MS workload and fact that if dropped out he’d still end up starting in Currie Cup…he really could just not have him in match 22 and he’d get the rest he needs!
Win win
25 Sep 2012, 22:21 pm
As an all black fan, I find all the hand wringing about protecting this that or the other no10 extremely perplexing.
NZ rugby lore is that the no10 is the most important player on the field.
Morne steyn singlehandedly lost the bold the game in Dunedin. If he had kicked his kicks you would have won. It would be irrelevant to an AB coach that others also blew try scoring opportunities – morne himself could and should have won the game for you, or on a bad day would have kept you within a single penalty of the win and earned you field position in the AB 22. To fall so short of those requirements would mean only one thing for an AB No10 – immediately dropped.
It would not matter who was coming up behind, or how inexperienced they were, they would be dropped and someone else tried.
Poor form is less clear cut, but without a doubt morne’s extended run of poor form would have seen him dropped from the ab’s before Dunedin.
All of this would happen without consideration of who the alternatives were – the assumption being that trying someone new has to be better than the status quo.
It astounds me that book rugby lacks this ruthless commitment to performance. But what astounds me even more is that you worry about dropping steyn for fear of the pressure this will put on either goosen or janties. This is ridiculous – you have frans steyn to kick the goals if need be, and two good no 10′s in the team already in the form of pienar and lambie their presence can be used to take pressure off the new guy (eg taking kick offs, doing more of the kicking in general play etc).
The all blacks used this system so effectively with weepu and cruden at the wc, until weepu injured his groin in the warm up for the final.
To put it in perspective, the bols have far better cover for no 10 in the match day 22 at Dunedin than the all blacks had available in Te whole of the World Cup. This is even excluding janties who wasn’t at Dunedin.
Honestly, it is beyond bizarre that you don’t drop steyn and start working with he incredible depth you have in the rest if the team.
Change isn’t a guarantee of immediate success, and this strategy has resulted in some terrible 10′s playing for the Ab’s (bachop, Donald),BUT overall this strategy has served the all blacks incredibly well over the last 20 years.
25 Sep 2012, 22:35 pm
@corporal punishment-431: This must be thee most astute comment I’ve seen on this blog in sometime and needs to be framed
We need to summon Transie to archive this along with his other transcripts!
Its beyond me that we feel we can’t drop MS and not back of the other youngsters, his performance singe handedly cost us the game, not Greyling and performance wise he should be dropped…End of story!
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.