‘The hungry dog hunts best’
25 Sep 2012
Jannie du Plessis says the inexperience of the Springboks’ pack should not be viewed as a negative.
Injuries have seriously depleted the stocks in the Springboks’ heavies, forcing coach Heyneke Meyer to entrust a couple of bucks with the responsibility of fronting the world’s elite in the Rugby Championship.
They have responded well, with their excellent effort against the world champion All Blacks in Dunedin a highlight thus far. Certainly there is a greater balance needed between experience and youth (or players like Duane Vermuelen who is in the infancy of his Test career), but Du Plessis said the rookies could in fact aid their cause.
‘I’ve played in Springboks packs since 2006 and my experience has been that it takes time for young players to believe that they are as good others seeing them as being,’ Du Plessis told keo.co.za.
‘This current Springboks pack won’t stand back to any pack in world rugby. We can match them physically and skills wise. The new players are special and have consistently performed at the highest level of the game. Once they start to get more self-belief you’ll see a different side. You can pick a young pack that is hungry and they could play better than a bunch of guys who’ve played hundreds of Tests but who feel like they’ve been there and done that. The hunger of younger plays is a plus. The hungry dog hunts best.’
Nullifying the Wallabies’ pack will demand a good measure of tactical intelligence to go with a brutal physical effort. This is particularly true for the scrum contest, where the Springboks were out-thought in their previous meeting in Perth.
‘I don’t want to imply they are cheaters, but they just scrum differently. The All Blacks view the scrum in a similar light to the Springboks. They see it as an opportunity to exert their physical dominance over their opponents, whereas the Australians are much more tactical. They know what they want from scrums in certain areas and that’s what they will attack. They are a big challenge,’ Du Plessis said.
The Springboks will also want to boss their attacking lineouts as it is the root for setting up a formidable rolling maul. The maul’s success has been one of the stand out features of their campaign and assistant coach Johan van Graan said it would continue to be a big focal point.
‘South African rugby won’t be as strong without the maul. We’ve got a good balance between when we maul and when we move the ball into space just around the maul’s fringe. We got lots of momentum there against the All Blacks and got four penalties from it against the Wallabies. It’s all about winning the lineout ball first. Nathan Sharpe is very good at disrupting the maul so we’ll have to be on top of our game there.’
Van Graan added that their tactical kicking game in exiting their half would be central to any success at Loftus. ‘They pinned us in our territory so we want to ensure we get out of our half quickly and look to exert pressure on them. Also they’ve given us some problems with their innovative running lines, so we’ve addressed that.’
He was confident the Springboks will find the cohesive showing they’ve lacked shortly and said there is an air of optimism in the squad despite their recent struggles.
‘We have progressed across most facets of play. We need an effort that sustains across the 80 minutes. This is the Springboks. We want to make the country proud and some we can compete with the best in the world en route to becoming the best in the world,’ he said.
By Ryan Vrede, in Johannesburg
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42 Comments
25 Sep 2012, 11:28 am
Starving Dragons
25 Sep 2012, 11:33 am
nothing wrong with whats being said here.
agreed.
25 Sep 2012, 11:33 am
‘I don’t want to imply they are cheaters” bwahahahahahahaha
ok eliminated, i love bakkies is not jannie dup
25 Sep 2012, 11:44 am
@Transformation-3:
hehe
they are too gracious for their own good most of the time, transie.
we are too decent and nice and the anzacs exploit this.
25 Sep 2012, 11:56 am
Jeepers, read the headline and my only conclusion was that I’d slipped into a coma, and when I came to they’d fired Meyer and reappointed Div.
25 Sep 2012, 12:02 pm
great line about the hungry dog.
sometimes i feel like that when i go diving early in the morning and i havent had any rusks with coffee as the coffee increases my heart rate thereby decreasing my bottom time.
now take a pot shot funny fkers, i have given you the chance
25 Sep 2012, 12:07 pm
@rangerman-6: Bottom time? Is that like a rent boy hourly rate?
25 Sep 2012, 12:11 pm
@rangerman-6: Bottom time… Shower time at WP?
25 Sep 2012, 12:11 pm
The forward pack is doing a great job (bar Greyling). It’s the Steyn creature and the Kirchner critter, who continue to ruin the momentum the forwards have built.
25 Sep 2012, 12:12 pm
@katman-7:
knew that phrase in particular would attract attention haha.
but i expect more of you katters
25 Sep 2012, 12:14 pm
@rangerman-10: As long as you’re getting all the bottom time you want, who am I to judge?
25 Sep 2012, 12:14 pm
i have to ask myself, would:
“time at the bottom”
have been a better choice of words?
i think not
25 Sep 2012, 12:16 pm
@katman-11: you can never have enough….
disclaimer: i am referring to speafishing and spearfishing alone and any sexual innuendo is inferred only from the polluted minds of others
25 Sep 2012, 12:18 pm
@rangerman-13: Top of the morning lads….anything juicy going on today?
25 Sep 2012, 12:19 pm
@katman-5: That’s immediately what I though too, maybe he is mentoring Jannie.
25 Sep 2012, 12:19 pm
@Skeppie-14: howdy.
not much.
morne is being discussed, disected and disparaged.
other than that, nada.
25 Sep 2012, 12:23 pm
@rangerman-16: I think Transie is gonna have a broekkak if Jantjies is not on the match day 22.
25 Sep 2012, 12:24 pm
@Skeppie-17: jantjies will not be in the 22 if goose is cleared to play.
anyone who doubts this is a fool.
25 Sep 2012, 12:26 pm
@Skeppie-17: you’re think about “broekkaks”?
enough said
25 Sep 2012, 12:32 pm
@Transformation-19: pretty lame transie.
up your game please.
25 Sep 2012, 12:34 pm
@Skeppie-17: skeppie, what position did you play at school?
25 Sep 2012, 12:37 pm
@rangerman-20: like i’m here to impress you…
you and you your pellie can go to the “give elton his chance thread” before creaming yourselves about what transie will do
25 Sep 2012, 12:38 pm
It’s the hypocrisy of HM that riles. He’s not impulsive or inconsistent (maybe that could be condoned coming from a new coach; rather he’s pointedly conniving & calculating in being biased. I believe he’s got a streak of psychopath in him
25 Sep 2012, 12:46 pm
@Transformation-22: sheesh, having a bad day transie?
25 Sep 2012, 13:02 pm
@rangerman-21: Somewhere in the forwards. All intelligent, good looking rugby men play in the forwards.
25 Sep 2012, 13:05 pm
@Skeppie-25: haha, a fatboy eh?
25 Sep 2012, 13:18 pm
@rangerman-26: We prefer big boned!
25 Sep 2012, 13:23 pm
@Skeppie-27:
25 Sep 2012, 13:24 pm
@rangerman-28: Did you see Bradsack for his Birthday?
25 Sep 2012, 13:29 pm
@Skeppie-29: no.
have been so busy with studies i havent had time to breathe.
25 Sep 2012, 13:32 pm
@Skeppie-29: just saw a video of two killer whales apparently mistakenly eating a guy off a beach in s america.
they were going for a seal pup that was just hitting the beach.
if its real then its pretty hectic sheesh.
25 Sep 2012, 13:36 pm
@rangerman-30: Where you ranging now?
25 Sep 2012, 13:43 pm
@Skeppie-32: left guiding 5 years ago sadly.
miss it every day.
the ocean is the new playground now.
25 Sep 2012, 13:44 pm
@Skeppie-32: gotta go bud, keep well!
25 Sep 2012, 17:36 pm
@viewer-23: lol wtf
25 Sep 2012, 21:35 pm
So Jannie says: “They have responded well, with their excellent effort against the world champion All Blacks in Dunedin a highlight thus far.” … they did???? but so did the AB’s against a Team that plays a one-dimensional game – I dont know that I agree the Boks forwards had it over the AB at all, in the end, who won the GAME???? I think SA rugby Players & supporters need to take a deep breath and allow the brain to get into gear before making statements. Sure SA will be tough at Soweto, but the AB’s have won there before and I see no reason they wont repeat it.
25 Sep 2012, 21:37 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-2: I dont know that the Boks can sustain 80minutes of flat out rugby, the AB’s showed them up…
25 Sep 2012, 23:45 pm
I wonder if saru ever thought about converting currie-cup to age group rugby alone? There for our elite players would get a proper rest?
Under 21s(18-21)
Under 23s(21-23)
Under 25s(23-25)
Making the junior players contracts extending to age 23 maybe and still know they will be competitive till the end of their careers? I hope saru will realy look into something like this we are bleeding with great rugby playing youngsters
26 Sep 2012, 02:01 am
players coaches all talking and talking…
So if thats so lets walk the talk
26 Sep 2012, 07:23 am
@JohnPierre-37:
come now janpirewiet, you exaggerate…
26 Sep 2012, 10:50 am
@JohnPierre-36:
Lets not get too cocky, the game in Dunedin was a lot closer than anyone was expecting and that is a worry.
Greyling did more harm to the Bok effort in his cameo appearances than Morne Stein did with all his missed long range kicks.
Everyone bangs on about momentum, but I don’t see that scenario in the AB’s. Yes we are unbeaten, but the on field performances have been declining.
Hopefully Carter piloting the ship will turn the effort around in La Plata.
26 Sep 2012, 10:59 am
@xtremebull-38:
Sorry, but in my opinion that would destroy SA rugby.
Young guys learning their craft all around the world do so by playing alongside near retired stars and flinty old journeymen.
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