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, 10:44 am
First
25 Sep 2012, 10:47 am
Variety will make us less predictable. If we vary our play, then the defenders will be in two minds and when we do send our big boys down the direct channel, the opposition will be less committed to the tackle.
More variety from our flyhalf needed.
More variety in our game plan needed.
25 Sep 2012, 10:52 am
I thought the Bok showing in Dunedin was very very good, great forward performance, however the flyhalf was shocking.
I was hoping that Dunedin showed Meyer who the culprit really is, Steyn, but he seems to be oblivious to this or is just too maaitjie maaitjie with Steyn and his Bull buddies.
If Meyer doesn’t address the flyhalf situation now , he hten has to do it on the EOYT, and right now IReland and England could give Mayers team the shock of their lives.
25 Sep 2012, 11:04 am
Does anyone know if this is true or not?
I have just been told that The Springboks have lost every game they have ever played when Ruan Pienaar has started at scrumhalf.
25 Sep 2012, 11:07 am
@Kaizan-4: false, they won all three AI games in 2010 when he started, Hougaard started against Scotland in the game they lost
25 Sep 2012, 11:09 am
Boks score Habana intercept/chip-chase tries and forwards mauled pushover tries. Creative tries (as opposed to opportunist ones) out wide are rare.
25 Sep 2012, 11:17 am
Sure the forwards improved/looked pretty good but that’s never been our weak point. We dont seem to have backline players with any flair nor the coaches to figure out how to make use of the talent we have. And it gets worse when we persist in picking kickers instead of nurturing and giving a chance to the talent and flair players that we DO have…..Lambie, de Jongh, Goosen of the present squad to say nothing of the past players that have been allowed to wither and/or ply their talents elsewhere. And I know its not a perfect example as their talent pool is limited but the Aussies see a good player and pick him regardless of age. If they had players like Jordaan, Taute and Rhule to name a few, they’d already be in their training squad, if not in the run on team – instead of persisting with the MSteyns, out of form de villiers and before them, Olivier.
25 Sep 2012, 11:20 am
And let’s not forget Kirchner !! When we could have a Lambie, FSteyn or even and Aplon giving us X factor for # 15…..
25 Sep 2012, 11:20 am
9-hougaard 10-goosen 11-mvovo 12-de villiers 13-taute 14-habana 15-kirchner. 20-pienaar 21-lambie 22-de jong
Then you will have your attacking game brother!!!!(Frans injured!)
25 Sep 2012, 11:26 am
Ryan, this van Graan oke who is in the Bok coaching team through sheer nepotism, what are his roles? is he the Forwards coach as reported and also the Attack coach as rumoured or insinuated by Gavin Rich?
25 Sep 2012, 11:41 am
Van Graan? Who the hell is he and what qualifications and qualities does he have to be coaching some of the most talented rugby players in the world? Oh, I forgot, he’s the son of the Blue Bulls CEO. Carry on.
25 Sep 2012, 11:49 am
What strategy? Its a serious stretch to tell me after the last 3 games that there is any strategy regarding attack other than “kick badly” when you get the ball
25 Sep 2012, 11:50 am
@xtremebull-9: Not sure how Taute can leap frog Juan into the number 13 jersey, would rather see him at 15
25 Sep 2012, 11:50 am
The Backs in the squad should be.
Hougaard, Vermaak, Pienaar, Goosen, Jantjies, Frans Steyn, Lambie, De Jongh, Taute, Habana, Pietersen, Aplon. Give or take one or two others for personal preferences but out of those 12 backs you can make up to 3 very potent back line combinations.
25 Sep 2012, 11:55 am
@Spiesisworthless1-11: Hahahahahahahaha.
25 Sep 2012, 11:57 am
@scrumfan-14: Na, too much sense in your choices
25 Sep 2012, 12:01 pm
@Bok fan-13: Should not leap frop him, but rather join him.
12. de Jong
13. Taute
25 Sep 2012, 12:13 pm
@Big Hit-5: True – I knew it didn’t sound 100% right… Although it is true that our record has not been great when Pienaar has started at scrumhalf. in 2010 Trinations, we lost every game he started at scrummie and the only one we won was when Hougaard started against Oz.
Plus – In the 2007 world cup, we started Ruan Pienaar against Tonga and very nearly lost. It would have been the biggest upset in World cup history.
25 Sep 2012, 12:15 pm
HM’s miss guided faith in M Steyn will cost him his job, watch this space.
25 Sep 2012, 12:15 pm
@Bok fan-16: True.
25 Sep 2012, 12:17 pm
@Kaizan-18: Tonga can pull the big wins during the WC’s, they beat France in 2011 and only missed out at beating us by a bad bounce of the final ball which went into touch rather than the charging Tongan wing coming down the sideline all on his own.
25 Sep 2012, 12:19 pm
@garth-17: I would prefer Lambie at 12 with Juan at 13 but ja, exciting players. All pointless without a decent 10, holding thumbs
25 Sep 2012, 12:27 pm
@goodstuff-21: True, but France are also a team who can lose to anyone on a bad day.
25 Sep 2012, 12:27 pm
@Transformation-10: LOL you tell Vrede about nepotism – look at where he works, a Keohane here, a Keohane there, a Keohane everywhere. Soon it will be a Vrede here and a Vrede there …
25 Sep 2012, 12:43 pm
One good sign for the Boks – We are starting to get a lot of depth throughout every position.
1: Beast/ Gurthro/ Kitshoff
2. Bissie/ S Brits/ A Strauss/ Burden
3. Jdp/ Coenie/ Marcel V D Merwe
4. Etzebeth/ Flip/ Bakkies
5. Andries/ J Kruger/ Hargreaves/ Steph Du Toit
6. H Brussouw/ Francois Louw
7. Schalk/ Coetzee/ Alberts
8. Vermeulen/ Ashley Johnson/ Spies/ Kankowski
9. F Du Preez/ Hougaard/ Charl Mcleod
10. Goosen/ Jantjies/ Lambie
11. Hougaard/ Mvovo/ Habana
12. Frans Steyn/ JDV/ Serfontein/ Hollenbach
13. J Fourie/ JP Pietersen/ Paul Jordaan
14. Aplon/ Rhule/ JP
15. Jaco Taute/ Lambie/ Aplon/ Kirchner
Players who were not considered due to poor form/ me not really liking them:
- M Steyn (The Boks need a good Steyn-remover)
- R Pienaar
- Liebenberg
- Chiliboy
- J Potgieter
- J De Jongh
Also:
- JDV shold not play 13
- Spies should be on the bench. Could make a good impact player.
- Habana should also be considered for the bench soon… Might be good for him and with 20 to go, he might come on the field with a point to prove.
- S Britz or Craig Burden are better impact options than A Strauss.
- Lastly, I would drop Heyneke as coach and replace him with me.
25 Sep 2012, 13:23 pm
With PRL opting to sell its European television rights to BT Vision, there were some fears that their option to break away from the collective Sky Sports deal sounded a death knell for the competition. And the PRL came under increased scrutiny at the meeting last week with some parties believing that the English clubs are keen on teeing up an Anglo-South African tournament as an alternative to the Heineken Cup.
“It was a straight question: ‘Have you been talking to teams in South Africa?’” a source told the Rugby Paper. “Mark [McCafferty, CEO of PRL] refused to answer. We understand they have been in discussions with South African teams.
“We have been aware over the last month or so that McCafferty and other senior PRL figures were down there for three weeks. We’ve been led to believe that during that time they met more than one of the South African provinces.”
25 Sep 2012, 13:25 pm
Sad thing here is that HM probably does have, considering injuries and players overseas, the best 22 available.
So for that point he gets credit for selecting the best 22. Tick
The biggest problem is choosing the right players out of that 22 to play and for the most part HM has got it right, another point for HM. Tick
However there is one critical position that will affect every team in world rugby, the coveted flyhalf postion. Cross
SO HM stands at 2 out of 3. But he is not Meatloaf singing “2 out of 3 aint bad”, because in rugby it is bad!!!
So for one point HM is failing the Boks and himself!
I just hope HM makes that one new change to the other 2 good points and the Boks could be on their way!!
25 Sep 2012, 13:28 pm
@Big Hit-26: oooh, cue the wailing and gnashing from down under.
i expect:
“go if you want to!”
“your rugby will be k u k in no time as ours will get so much better playing samoa and the j a p s!”
and a few more.
its gonna get real.
25 Sep 2012, 13:34 pm
if the english, french and saffas form a league then aus and nz will be in huge financial trouble.
personally its not what i want but then again i am not interested in this s15 format either.
25 Sep 2012, 13:53 pm
@rangerman-29: snap! I am battling to get excited about S15! wouldn’t be too upset if we had a new format with the NH sides
While I would miss Cane, Hurricane, Brumbies boy and Te Reringata? No Poops would be a boon!
25 Sep 2012, 13:56 pm
@xtremebull-9: Mvovo … wtf ? No thanks he was like a rabbit in the headlights vs Oz and he is no new boy !!
25 Sep 2012, 14:08 pm
@Big Hit-26:
love it
love it
fark
you’ve made my day boet
best news ever
25 Sep 2012, 14:11 pm
@Big Hit-26:
Excellent, that is good news.
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-32:
Yeah,you might win something
25 Sep 2012, 14:13 pm
@rangerman-29:
i want this
i really do
and i will spend money on this product
25 Sep 2012, 14:17 pm
@Hurricane-33:
just the comfort of knowing we have a fair shot at winning is victory enough for me, boet.
25 Sep 2012, 14:18 pm
fark, i hoe the lions and saru are doing their numbers and working the angles on this.
i really, really hope so.
i for one would love to see the lions participating in england.
25 Sep 2012, 14:21 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-35:
Nope,always a loss is not fair when South Africa losses.
I understand majority of the South African bloggers are not like you.
They actually understand that the Boks are not the best team in the world, and believe me thats your own fault….no one elses.I know you understand that.
But you dont blame South Africa at all. Its in fact the oppostions cheating ways, refs or camera angles. Do you ever think when you play the blame game that you sometimes sound a bit foolish?
25 Sep 2012, 14:22 pm
To quote this bright spark we conceded the least amount of turnovers this year against the ABs on Saturday; coincidence it was our first game with a fetcher? Hmmm and still no Brussow, wow you guys are sharp
25 Sep 2012, 14:22 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-36:
I am with you there..
The Lions deserve something like this. SARU ripped them off in front of world rugby community.
Let the Lions play overseas.
25 Sep 2012, 14:29 pm
@Hurricane-37:
no hurri, you people have been ******** us from the get go.
and i’m sick of it.
yes, we are often our own worse enemies but dont fool yourself thinking others here actually fall for your lame smokescreens.
you cheat us in play willfully and intentionally and you get away with it.
you cheat us out of play through manipulations with referees and higher powers.
you screw us through your kissing cousin collusions.
i’m sure i speak for many other when i say we are sick of you and your abominable ways, in regards to rugby.
25 Sep 2012, 14:29 pm
“They opened talks directly with some South African and French clubs. This has hampered the negotiations. It is hard to talk with them. We may have to move on without the English, though I do not want it.”
A PRL spokesman rejected Lux’s claims. “No formal discussions have taken place with the South Africans,” he said. “We have put our proposals to ERC and we look forward to their response.
“We withdrew from the accord in June and ERC has accepted that it cannot include the rights of the English clubs in any other rights deal it does.”
25 Sep 2012, 14:34 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-40:
Yes you are sick.
All you have stated, where is one bit of proof?
Where did we manipulate all refs and IRB ?
We dont get on with the Ozzies, i really dont understand where you get all this cr@p like NZ and OZ are friends.
Fact is the Bledisloe is the most important cup to us. It because its against the Ozzies.
Yep,you sure do speak for many…only the ones in your head.
25 Sep 2012, 14:35 pm
@Hurricane-37:
if you at least had the guts to face us fairly on the rugby field it would be different, but you dont.
always quick to the dirty play (that’s dressed up as ‘gamesmanship’ and other ****) but the minute we give it back you run to the law givers to have the ‘big bad saffa thugs’ punished.
@Hurricane-39:
yes, agreed.
will be good for them on so many levels and might even make them a more competitive outfit come the playoffs for super rugby in 2014. that is if they will even still want to be part of super rugby..?..
25 Sep 2012, 14:38 pm
@Hurricane-42:
you dont get on but you sure do band together to undermine our interests in so far as sanzar is concerned. and you’ve also worked to screw us at the irb a few times.
25 Sep 2012, 14:38 pm
I would be horrified if SA teams went to play up north. Our rugby would go backwards at a speed sofuckingfast it wouldn’t even be able to be recorded.
No man ffs, how can any SA fan be keen on a move?
Fuckinghell I feel sick at the thought.
25 Sep 2012, 14:39 pm
please please saru
please please kdk
do it
just do it
25 Sep 2012, 14:41 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-45:
then you’d better start packing for perth, cupcake
shitt just got real…
25 Sep 2012, 14:42 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-36: Then the Lions mustfuckoff and play in the north. If the Stormers even mention such a totallyscrewedupandludicrous intention in a few years time, I will pour salt and vingear all over the hallowed Newlands turf & flourfuckingbomb the WPRFU HQ (for starters)
NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO. FuckNOwewontgo.
25 Sep 2012, 14:43 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-45:
I see one fan that is keen….post # 46
25 Sep 2012, 14:47 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-45: i watched superrugby on kyknet last night and they had the 1981 Springbok lot there celebrating goodness knows what. then they asked carel, divan, rob louw, the other toppie with round glasses, think his surname is wessels what they think of the current Boks…
their answers were very interesting and entertaining…carel couldn’t hide his contempt, divan tried to find the funny side, rob louw just didnt understand what the hell was going on…all in all they all lamented the current DEARTH of skills in our backs and the lack of creativity – something they knew as innate in their team at the time.
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