Time key in attacking progression
25 Sep 2012
Springbok assistant coach Johan van Graan says there is still a high level of faith in their attacking strategy and adds that time will see it evolve into something more in line with national expectations.
Pressure is mounting on the Springboks after no wins in their last three Tests, with the perceived conservatism of the game plan being pinned as the primary reason for their struggles.
There is a growing sense that the players’ skills aren’t being utilised to their fullest potential and that the Springboks lack the layers in their approach to make them a bigger threat.
Van Graan doesn’t agree, citing the infancy of their tenure as mitigation for their struggles.
‘You can always improve and evolve. Heyneke [Meyer] said from the start that we’ll build from a base and look to grow from there. I believe we’ve evolved considerably from that first Test in Durban. Our ball retention has become a lot better, as has our contesting on the ground. The more the team plays together the better we’ll become,’ he told keo.co.za.
‘There were some tactical changes we tried at Dunedin that worked well and we’re looking at one or two changes for this weekend. But getting the game plan right takes time. It is a step by step process and hopefully Saturday is a step in the right direction.’
Some respected observers have lamented their sterile phase play in particular – Eddie Jones and Os du Randt among them – with greater variation being called for in contrast to the abrasive but predictable bash-it-up assault on the gainline. Van Graan sought to counter that criticism, explaining that much of their forward success against the All Blacks in Dunedin a fortnight ago hinged on changes that had been introduced in that facet of play.
‘I thought our phase play, particularly our second runners, was predictable against Australia in Perth. But if you watched the All Blacks Test closely you would have seen one or two tweaks. Frans Steyn got a lot of momentum in Aaron Cruden’s channel and our cleaners worked well. Then the variations on the second runner helped get us over the advantage line consistently and quickly,’ he explained.
‘That was only one Test, but we can build on that. It is about sharp decision-making. Australia and New Zealand invite you into the 15m and then look to counter-ruck you or create slow ball and then press you in the midfield. So we’ve worked hard with the outside backs in the decision making. Hopefully that reflects in our play.’
The Springboks haven’t lacked for try-scoring opportunities. Indeed statistics reflect a favourable comparison between the time they’ve spent in the opposition’s 22m and what the All Blacks have. Their finishing has, however, been poor. Van Graan acknowledged this and said that dramatic improvements are needed.
‘I don’t think you can pin-point on thing as the cause of that,’ he said. ‘Defensively teams are getting a lot better and are scrambling quite well. We have to improve our conversion rate though. There were quite a few opportunities in Perth and Dunedin that should have been points. We’ve had a good look at it. The key decision makers have to make better decisions as a starting point.’
By Ryan Vrede, in Johannesburg
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89 Comments
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25 Sep 2012, 14:47 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-47: No Bakkies. There are quite a few more who feel the way I do, and many of them higher up on the food chain than what I am. There will be war. Oh yes, a move up north will not be as ’1-2-3′ as what some might be thinking (and hoping)
Nahforfucksakesman – what the hell do you wanna watch kickandfuckingchase provincial style on wet fields week in and out, only for the Boks to be absolutelyfuckingsmashed everytime they meet the Aussies and Kiwis on the international stage? (Oh yes, the only shitthatwillgetrealfuckingfast, is how quick the Boks lose ALL TOUCH with the Kiwis and Aussies…….as if it already ain’t bad enough)
25 Sep 2012, 14:50 pm
@Transformation-50: Yes! Also caught some of it (in between watching Steve Hoff having his manhood ridiculed). Now our skills are woeful at THIS STAGE, dearsaintsandsinners can you imagine how much further back we will fall if we play all of our provincial rugby up north?
25 Sep 2012, 14:50 pm
@Hurricane-49: wait until he gets “cheated” by the english and french hahaha
25 Sep 2012, 14:55 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-52: yeah, i also saw steve getting flogged publicly…i thought he came back swinging though @ the end
25 Sep 2012, 15:10 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-51:
well i think it good news and i welcome it, i honestly do.
i am sick of the farce that is super rugby and if wp want to stick it out they are welcome to. i will support the bulls, lions and kzn moving.
25 Sep 2012, 15:12 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-51:
I certainly don’t want us to desert SANZAR for Europe, but we’d only play half the games away in European conditions if it happened.
The biggest stumbling block would be the different NH/SH seasons. The Heineken Cup, which the English want to either leave or have restructured, is played between October and May.
25 Sep 2012, 15:46 pm
@David-56:
i certainly want this.
at the least a best case scenario would be to remain in both competitions in the way the english are trying to remain in the heineken cup but at the same time operate a parallel competition.
an advantage of this would be to see the relative strengths of the teams in the two seperate comps when they face each other in the cc.
but as a first choice i would ditch the super rugby comp and go north, unless it was radically reorganised to operate a lot more fairly.
25 Sep 2012, 15:47 pm
fark
if this happens i am officailly a lions supporter in all competitions outside of the cc.
25 Sep 2012, 15:56 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-57:
if you went up north and played in a weaker comp how do you think you’d go up there, in super rugby you’re 3 titles from 17 seasons could you better that?
25 Sep 2012, 16:16 pm
@NZINCHINA-59:
well, we would be starting from an equal and fair footing to begin with so i imagine we would do rather well, china. either way, just the fact that the sa teams would be afforded the opportunity to compete fairly would leave me content.
if they won or lost i would know they did so under a fair set of rules against honest opposition.
25 Sep 2012, 16:22 pm
super rugby is a dead competition which has run its course as far as i’m concerned.
without fail there is at least four, five maybe six understrength teams participating in a pointless score-a-thon at great cost and distance travelled.
and all done in bone empty stadiums or disinterested tv viewers.
why bother?
why continue?
25 Sep 2012, 16:22 pm
we dont like them
they dont like us
why pretend?
25 Sep 2012, 16:24 pm
so many other factors which make it illogical
like the travel disadvantage to us…?..
by all means continue with some form of test competition but for gods sakes… get rid of this abberation which is super rugby…
25 Sep 2012, 16:24 pm
i_love_u_bakkiesbotha – I agree. THe S15 has run it’s course. It would be better to bring in a Argentinean team and create 2 groups of 8 teams with the top 4 going through to playoffs
25 Sep 2012, 16:26 pm
i’m off
important emails to circulate
if you build it, they will come….
25 Sep 2012, 16:27 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-57:
I don’t think England are trying to run a parallel competition and remain in the HC. They believe that their clubs should be able to negotiate their own broadast deals (which they’ve done), as they bring in the bulk of the broadcast revenue. A similar situation as SA in SANZAR. They also object to the Celtic countries and Italy having guaranteed places for their clubs, much like Australia has in the S15. If the ERC don’t agree then they’ll try to run a parallel competition. At least that’s how I read it.
25 Sep 2012, 16:30 pm
@race of tan-64:
anything would be better than this farcical show we have been enduring for the last 10 years at least (i’m being kind and giving it a 6 years of interest factor).
and dont get me started on the discretionary application of rules and laws for teams in the kiwi and oz (but mostly kiwi) sphere..?..
25 Sep 2012, 16:34 pm
@race of tan-64:
or four argy teams competing with our six and a top four going through to a playoff against an anzac top four?
25 Sep 2012, 16:44 pm
@Kaizan-25: + Basson
25 Sep 2012, 16:46 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-67: get you started!???
It’s not gonna take much is it?
25 Sep 2012, 16:46 pm
@David-66:
yes, could be the case. i’m just going on these articles on the subject and in some of which the PRL spokesman alludes to wanting a continued form of heineken cup as well as a new anglo-whoever competition. which he claims would be a benefit and bonus over and above the hc.
it could just be them wanting to negotiating from a strong position, without any real intent on going it alone if there demands, or at least most them, were acceded to.
namely more money and fair qualification for all countries.
25 Sep 2012, 16:48 pm
@shooter-70:
well, when there’s so much of it to be seen it wont, will it…
25 Sep 2012, 17:04 pm
Yip you should go then, good luck.
25 Sep 2012, 17:04 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-71:
They’ve already signed a broadcast agreement with the BBC for considerably more than ERCs Skye contract, so that’s a done deal. It’ll be interesting to see if they use that to convince the ERC to change the HC format and also move to the BBC for rights to the games that don’t include the English clubs.
25 Sep 2012, 20:22 pm
Van Graan is a poephol. Heyneke appointed him to pay back his daddy for giving him his job back at the Bulls. Deans has got more between the ears than Heyneke’s whole coaching squad together. Unfortunately the Aussies seriously lack talent and without Quade C. they are dead ducks.
25 Sep 2012, 21:38 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-67:
If the Sa unions and Saru along with the Poms can get a new competition off the ground with all the logistical problems that come with it, good for them I say…..will it work? Only time will tell, but if everyone gets behind it with the same vigour as you Houston, I’m sure it will succeed on a financial level. And on the personal side for yourself, absence may make the heart grow fonder.
25 Sep 2012, 21:46 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-40: hey sour, moaning, whingeing puss…typical jappie response, its everyone elses fault…I think many rugby supports outside of SA are sick and tired of the constant moaning coming out of SA…when will it stop…when you guys go North and play…
25 Sep 2012, 22:32 pm
@ 77 JohnPierre
“when will it stop..” guess it’ll stop for you when you leave a SA rugby blog, d1ckjless. And what’s a “jappie” – someone who yaps like you do? Bye!
25 Sep 2012, 22:57 pm
And when “(us guys) go north & play” – you may as well turn the lights out in NZ & Australia – dwindling crowds in Aus & those useless little 1950s era stadiums in NZ. SA is who keeps you afloat money-wise and I think it would cool to head north & let you slowly implode.
25 Sep 2012, 23:35 pm
@drew-79:
How many indoor rugby stadiums do you have??
Dipstick. The only lights off is in your head.
We all see why a few want to move to Europe. Like Bakkies who seems a bit confused, he thinks the refs will be better for SA and the English and Irish teams etc do not cheat every game to win. Yet he complained the one of the NH refs cheated them out of a win not so long ago. He forgets that teams in Heineken cup
have recently beaten the Boks. Bakkies hopes is going to be an easy run so he can feel the pleasure of winning again. And a bonus he hopes like you have stated that NZ and OZ die and our rugby will become non existent. IF you cant beat em make all the excuses and leave.
Be a shame but if it takes this to make the clueless happy then go for it
25 Sep 2012, 23:42 pm
@Transformation-53:
lol
We all know Bakkies .
Any loss is not fair and he will complain.
Big hit will all of a sudden become an enemy
26 Sep 2012, 00:51 am
I reckon that a better overall structure is required for Super Rugby. The PI’s and three/four teams from Argentina, Canada, Japan and the USA should join the party as spearate conferences. Each of the conferences play against their local teams, and then the top two/three from each conference play finals style rugby (maybe two or three games to decide each final winner).
BUT: The compo should be set up like the sevens style fomat, where unions from other smaller rugby nations (eg USA/Japan and Canada) can join the finals playoffs, and compete for shield and plate trophis. They will get valuable games against better opposition, and whole new audiences will become interested.
26 Sep 2012, 00:52 am
I reckon that a better overall structure is required for Super Rugby. The PI’s and three/four teams from Argentina, Canada, Japan and the USA should join the party as spearate conferences. Each of the conferences play against their local teams, and then the top two/three from each conference play finals style rugby (maybe two or three games to decide each final winner).
BUT: The compo should be set up like the sevens style fomat, where unions from other smaller rugby nations (eg USA/Japan and Canada) can join the finals playoffs, and compete for shield and plate trophis. They will get valuable games against better opposition, and whole new audiences will become interested.
Each conference can choose how many teams that want playing internally.
26 Sep 2012, 03:18 am
Pathetically childish discussion.
Play like a man. Take it on the chin. Have some pride.
Seriously Northern Hemisphere.
Pfft.
26 Sep 2012, 03:21 am
And we will never attack if we have a 2 12′s as a center pairing, both of whom are slow.
And a flyhalf whose sole aim is to get rid of the ball via his foot, preferably deep in the pocket, and as high as can go. And then run backwards and pretend to be fullback.
Stupid one dimensional attack.
Learning what I ask?
26 Sep 2012, 03:21 am
anyway Goosen will be good, I hope great.
26 Sep 2012, 04:14 am
@SodaJoe-84:
lol
26 Sep 2012, 07:32 am
@Te Rangatira-76:
i honestly and sincerely wish it comes about tr, and the least it would open up opportunities for the lions and perhaps one or two more sa sides or could grow even bigger if there desire on the part of power brokers here and in england.
besides, if there’s enough money to round why not have an additional comp which would certainly place above our vc for entertainment.
i dont think money is any obstacle as i would think there’s a lot of it between us and the english, more difficult would be travel, time, viewer interest and that sort of stuff.
personally who knows, maybe i would come round to the super comp again but i cant see it happening anytime soon. and i wouldn’t think i’m alone in this regard, consider the low attedance/crowd numbers at most super rugby games. and a lot of bloggers here have expressed unhappiness with the super format as it stands.
@JohnPierre-77:
listen janpierewiet,
go ***** yourself.
26 Sep 2012, 18:24 pm
@Hurricane-80:
Ooh one indoor stadium must make you a cosmopolitan wonderland. Maybe you can keep the sheep in there in winter to bolster your pathetic spectator numbers. But of course you never did address the fact that SA money keeps Aud & NZ afloat, did you d1ckwad?
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