Wayward Boks must kick on
1 Oct 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes of all the opportunities the Springboks have spurned in 2012, the missed goal-kicks have proved most costly. It bodes badly for a close contest with the All Blacks.
There is good reason to feel encouraged and inspired following Saturday’s performance at Loftus. The Springboks were at their fearsome best as far as uncompromising physicality and defence was concerned, and they also added another element to their game. With the introduction of Johan Goosen, they now pose a realistic attacking threat.
I’m not sure what point Heyneke Meyer was trying to make after Saturday’s match when he lamented the missed try-scoring opportunities. The Boks converted five of eight try-scoring chances, and that is a good return in Test rugby, especially in a competition as defensively-oriented as the Rugby Championship.
It was also the first time the Boks had managed to put five tries past top-ranked opposition since they thumped the Wallabies in September 2010. Mission accomplished. Right?
I understand that Meyer wants people to realise that these tries are the product of a game plan that has been in place since the first Test of 2012. What’s changed is that the Boks are starting to execute efficiently.
Meyer is right to say it will be tougher to score tries against the All Blacks, but I cannot understand his lack of concern regarding the goal-kicking.
He has always placed an emphasis on goal-kicking, and that hasn’t changed since he became the Bok coach. It was the reason Morné Steyn was backed for as long as we was, as Meyer believed Steyn had the ability to win matches. If Steyn could come through a bad patch of form, he would be an asset to South Africa once more.
But Steyn has struggled consistently this season, and has left Meyer with no choice but to pick someone else. That someone has proved a revelation, unlocking attacking strengths that most South Africans believed non-existent. But as good as Goosen has been for the Bok attack, the problems in front of goal have continued.
Goosen went into the Pretoria Test with an ankle injury, and this affected his goal-kicking. The responsibility was then passed to Ruan Pienaar, who succeeded with three from seven attempts. In total, the Boks were successful with three from nine attempts. It’s just not good enough.
The Boks aren’t going to score five tries against the world champions. The South Africans are capable of beating the All Blacks, and recently showed in Dunedin that they have the forwards and the defensive structures to match the New Zealanders. With Goosen at 10, they will have a flyhalf who can ask attacking questions, but they won’t run riot as they did in Pretoria.
The simple truth is that these clashes are always close contests. One kick can win the game. The Boks didn’t take their chances in Dunedin, leaving 21 points on the park through wayward goal-kicking. They can’t afford to make the same mistake when they host the All Blacks in Soweto this week. They can’t afford to miss one kick, let alone seven.
The All Blacks arrive in South Africa having already won the Rugby Championship. Will that detract from their motivation, will it make them easier to beat?
They arrived in 2010 for the final game of the then Tri-Nations, and still managed to edge the Boks in front of nearly 100 000 fans at Soccer City. The Boks must take nothing for granted. They must take every opportunity.
Their recent goal-kicking form doesn’t inspire confidence, and Meyer must treat this as a matter of urgency.
Frans Steyn injured the same troublesome ankle in training last week and was forced to miss the Pretoria Test. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was ruled out of the Soweto finale, or at least excused from any kicking duties.
Goosen’s own ankle problem stopped him from kicking last Saturday. Will it be that Pienaar is asked to continue this week? If so, he will need to be far more accurate.
Meyer claims that Pienaar ‘stepped up’ at Loftus Versfeld, but the reality is that Pienaar missed four kicks (10 points), while Goosen missed two (six points). That’s a total of 16 points that went begging. That’s more than the total of the three tries that Meyer lamented.
The Boks have been poor in this department over the course of the competition, converting just 19 of their 37 shots on goal (a record of 51.3%). It’s unsurprising that wayward goal-kicking prevented them from edging Argentina in Mendoza, as well as winning the Test in Dunedin.
Morné Steyn has goaled 13 out of 20 (65%), which is a poor return for a first-rate international kicker. Some of the individual penalties that he’s missed have also been crucial ones.
One more goal in Mendoza and the Boks may have avoided an embarrassing draw. More success in Dunedin (Steyn kicked one out of five on that occasion) and the Boks would have recorded a famous victory.
Had Steyn converted these kicks, we may have seen the Boks still competing for the Rugby Championship crown at this late stage, rather than just playing for pride. But then Steyn is not solely to blame for the Boks’ erratic and unreliable goal-kicking, as the other goal-kickers haven’t been any better.
Frans Steyn is viewed as a freak, even in Test rugby circles, due to ability to convert long-range penalty attempts. But his stats in the 2012 Rugby Championship don’t make for impressive reading (two from six) and bring the overall goal-kicking average down.
Goosen has converted one from four attempts, and Pienaar three from seven. Last Saturday was the first time Pienaar kicked in the Rugby Championship. His two from four return in the first half was enough to keep the scoreboard ticking, but in a closer contest perhaps the kicks he missed would have been scrutinised as bad misses.
What sort of form is Pienaar taking into a tight clash with the All Blacks? Meyer claims that kicking coach Louis Koen will address the problems in the build-up to Saturday’s game, but the stats over the course of this tournament, of all four kickers used, don’t inspire any more confidence in Koen than they do in the kickers themselves.
The All Blacks are the benchmark, and history will show that South Africa rarely beats New Zealand by outscoring them in terms of tries. It has so often been the case that goal-kicking edges these massive match-ups, and in that respect Pienaar, or whomever takes on the responsibility, will have a decisive role to play this coming Saturday.
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594 Comments
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1 Oct 2012, 07:56 am
@KeurboomPark-45:
funny fella..
so its 8 am in SA, that means, according to the daily avearge, at least 12 people have already been murdered huh?
1 Oct 2012, 07:57 am
@Te Rangatira-49:
ken oath. got a brother that wants to get down. smoking is bad for the helth. trus me , i have issues. But, a tatoo on a girl looks lekka at Clifton.
1 Oct 2012, 07:57 am
@Te Rangatira-49: save your efforts
this is one dutch1e still firmly entrenched in the whole supremacy angle..
its in his dna, his dumb neanderthal aura..
1 Oct 2012, 07:58 am
@poppa69-51:
who’s cunting. life iis like a boxa chocolates.
1 Oct 2012, 08:01 am
@poppa69-51: You really are bored hey?
Why are you like this man? You behave like you were never loved growing up!
Like the kid who needed a taxi to be called for him@the maternity ward!
1 Oct 2012, 08:04 am
Goodstuff @17
Yup, and even the players like Sitaveni and Luaki klapping their wifes and partners, headbutters like mealamu, eye gougers like Richard Loe, paying off refs to add extra minutes ala Clive Norling (bets on his watch being gold?), bad losers , accusing hosts of poisoning when the final is lost in ’95, plus whinging add nausum in ’07 when the frogs pumped them up the naught, not forgeting putting in a heavey weight boxer to illegally take out opponents ala Skinner, oh yup these keewee muthafukers are squeeky clean arn’t they? Oh yeah and if you want to pull players back like Cowen did , thats cheating too is it not? Deserves a headbutt in my book!
So Delki @6 go troll somewhere else you faaking dropkick doos!
1 Oct 2012, 08:04 am
@papaown-55:
Howzit, chommie. I’m going now. Have to see a man about a snoek.
1 Oct 2012, 08:07 am
@papaown-55: Yup, the man obviously has daddy issues.
1 Oct 2012, 08:08 am
@poppa69-51: Hey poptart, what club team do you support? Or what Super rugby team do you support?
1 Oct 2012, 08:09 am
@KeurboomPark-57: Chomie??
1 Oct 2012, 08:10 am
@goodstuff-58: nah, just sick of those spouting bullsh1t like yourself, when your country is in fact worse… the old “bash your wife” banter really is pathetic… I can quote endless stats about many things wrong with SA, shall we go down that route? your choice, stick to rugby and I will too, but that is hard for you guys because thats one stat you arent very good at..
I support the same team that has won as many super trophies as the whole of SA rugby combined..
1 Oct 2012, 08:14 am
1. chommie 8 up, 2 down
South African term meaning “friend”. Originates from isiXhosa, one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, which also happens to be Mandela’s home language.
A: Howzit my bru? What are you doing this weekend?
B: Howzit! I’ll be drinking with my chommies, wanna join us?
A: Sounds like a lekker plan, but eish I cant…have to catch snoek, b4 the NZ trawlers steal them all.
1 Oct 2012, 08:15 am
Pops they were given false hope in Dunedin and now they think they actually have a better side after beating Aus C at home, we take them and 16 straight tests their winning streak will go back to zero.
1 Oct 2012, 08:16 am
This Poppa charecter sounds like Tacklers lost lover. Kind of boring in his rumblings…
1 Oct 2012, 08:18 am
China why don’t you take your wife out to a restuarant for a hotpot.Always blogging here,don’t be surprised if she leaves you.
1 Oct 2012, 08:18 am
@poppa69-61: One sad little fact (for me and you) is that your sad little country does not even have a sad little rugby website where you can talk kak with your sad little NZ friends. Now please get one so that you can take a walk. Totsiens domste drol!
1 Oct 2012, 08:18 am
@53 Ae e te tuakana.Ka haere tonu ki to mahi pai ki runga o Keo
1 Oct 2012, 08:19 am
Cheers all,have a good day/eve.
1 Oct 2012, 08:19 am
@Fern-65:
Talking from experience cassanova?
1 Oct 2012, 08:22 am
@NZINCHINA-63:
China. When Hansen was plotting his strategies at the beginning of the season and predicting a possible winning streak record, the Soccercity encounter was always going to be the biggest challenge.
After this week-end that challenge has become a little bit tougher.
1 Oct 2012, 08:22 am
@Horings-66: and one very big sad fact is that this blog is a window to SA as a whole..
and its extremely murky, such a pity, I’m sure your country has a lot going for it..
I guess the fact we consistently best you in rugby brings out the very ugly side of many a poster..
it really does ruin the effort made by the few decent ones on here..
vatso katvis..
1 Oct 2012, 08:22 am
Julle silver ferns must jus take you pundi and waai.
1 Oct 2012, 08:23 am
Fern today is China’s birthday a big celebration for my Chinese brothers and sisters.
1 Oct 2012, 08:25 am
@NZINCHINA-73:
OMG that is so special. Do i need a permit to celebrate?
1 Oct 2012, 08:29 am
@blue and white stripes-70: I predict a similar game than a Crusaders Bulls semi final at Loftus/ Soweto. The All Blacks need to travel east and up to altitude. Not an easy task.
1 Oct 2012, 08:29 am
@65 Fernly see your offering marriage guidance.How’s it going?Saw you put up a post a few days ago about the young fella from the Nz u/20s who got off the rape charge,I remember discussing it with you and thought this would be the likely outcome.Anyways you keep well.Abs
1 Oct 2012, 08:30 am
Blue and white you are correct, this will be the toughest game to win, a victory in Argie land despite plenty of Bokke fans picking/praying for an upset was never going to happen. The Ab’s wont be ambushed at the breakdown this time and we are far superior outwide so thats where we’ll win it.
1 Oct 2012, 08:31 am
LOL Aussie C team well by the time the boks were done with them they were more like the D team
If theres a team that can beat the AB’s its the team that played at Loftus …
The kick chase is gone it will be interesting to see the ABs adapt to playing with less ball
1 Oct 2012, 08:35 am
@poppa69-71: Dont even get me started on the fact that your sad little country cannot make their own decisions and need to suck up to your filthy neighbours. You are to Australia what Wales is to England, a sad little province. At least I respect the Scots and the Irish, but countries that does not stand on its own two feet like NZ is terrible. I have more respect for North Korea than for NZ and Wales.
1 Oct 2012, 08:37 am
79 Horings dont be silly mate stick to rugby.
1 Oct 2012, 08:38 am
@78 Boktillzero.Nz & Ab rugby pride themselves on winning when the stats are against them,it’s called having an instinct for the tryline.
1 Oct 2012, 08:39 am
@Horings-79: ummm not very bright are you?
why then are ireland and Scotland part of the Great Britain team in the olympics for example?
are you one of the only 20% of SA’s that have access to the internet?
of course you dont have respect for us, most underlings are like that..
32 wins to 14 since 1992, no wonder you lot are sour… not only do you have to share your rugby team with the majority of the population, youve been getting owned for twenty years now
1 Oct 2012, 08:39 am
@poppa69-61: So let me ask you this, do you spend your time going to Wellington and finding a Hurricans fan club and the proceed to tell them how kak they are? Or do yo ugo down to Hamilton and tune the Chiefs fans what a bunch of losers their team is?
What do yo uthin kwould happen to your pathetic little self? You would get the beating of your life mate. So why do you spend your time on a bok website insulting our rugby, our country and our comments to each other.
Why, because if this was the real world you would be on on arse KO’d in the parking lot while the patrons of the pub went back to enjoying their beer.
So what I am saying is this; sod off!
1 Oct 2012, 08:41 am
@Horings-75:
Travelling east will be a major factor.
They have not experienced this challenge before.
Vermeulen and Flo create lots of penalties and I hope this time around Goosen nerves will be settled.
I also think hopefully with Fransie back we offer even more on attack.
1 Oct 2012, 08:41 am
@Horings-79: yep, lil old NZ didnt decide to ban american warships from their harbours huh? we had someone else make that decision for us..
this is too easy really… I am now officially at the pity stakes for you..
eish..
1 Oct 2012, 08:43 am
@NZINCHINA-80:
#51
“so its 8 am in SA, that means, according to the daily avearge, at least 12 people have already been murdered huh?”
This comment above is firstly not about rugby and is secondly a very sensitive matter. If you live in a country where neigbouring farmers have been killed and where half of your family have been hi-jacked then you will show a little more respect. Farmers in this country have a better chance of being killed than a Iraqi soldier in the war a couple of years ago.
1 Oct 2012, 08:44 am
@goodstuff-83: not at all, because their fans are welcoming, unlike yourself for example..
so do tell me, the wife beating post of yours earlier, would you say that in a kiwi pub? I think not either
so run along internet hard man..
1 Oct 2012, 08:46 am
@Horings-86: again, the wifebeating and things about drugs in NZ society is fair game is it? they are problems everywhere, but many of your countryman seem to think it quite funny..
well if you guys are willing to dish it, Im willing to hand it back with interest..
1 Oct 2012, 08:46 am
@poppa69-85:
Howzit Pops.
You a nice guy when you talk rugby without the unnecessary banter.
What do you think of Goosen first starting game?
1 Oct 2012, 08:50 am
@blue and white stripes-89: I thought he had a good game, did what was required and it was actually good to see how much starting meant to him..
I think nerves were a big part of why he didnt kick well, I knwo he was also injured according to reports, but he directed the bok team around the park very well and from memory didnt take too many wrong options, if any..
easy with that much front foot ball, but he continues to impress.
1 Oct 2012, 08:50 am
Horings your posts re rugby are far more interesting, the travel factor is there this week but wont be a deciding factor in the result.
1 Oct 2012, 08:51 am
@poppa69-88: Ja I am sure wife beating is a comparable subject. Do you think I have not heard the same chirps from Stormers supporters. That is fair game, you on the other hand need to take a hike after your comments. The other Kiwi supporters I respect.
1 Oct 2012, 08:54 am
@Horings-86: Yup these NZ idiots have no clue what they are talking about. These NZ punks come unto our site and come spite their boastfull dribble. They go on about how awsome their rugby is ect., meanwhile never winning a world cup abroad but only at Auckland.
They are bottom feeders when they act like this, I always respected New Zealand and their rugby because their commentators were fair and their fans were respectfull. These bunch of gutter fiends have changed my view somewhat.
Whatever these puke saks say, I still love watching SA play the AB’s, the best of what rugby has to offer. But it seemd these NZ supporters on Keo have lost all respect for the great contest this Saturday will bring.
May the boks clap the AB’s big time, the silence from that skid mark in the pacific will be greatly appreciated.
1 Oct 2012, 08:55 am
@NZINCHINA-91: I think NZ will be entering some unknown territory. Firstly they have never travelled east, except to Argentina, and secondly combining this with altitude is going to be difficult for them. Then they are also travelling for the second week in a row. They have however found form or is it another one off performance like the 2nd test against Ireland.
1 Oct 2012, 08:56 am
Always try your best to ignore hateful attitudes, rude behavior, and gutter-class insults…. trolls are powerless without your response
1 Oct 2012, 08:56 am
@poppa69-87: I can’t give you clap so I might as well piss you off!
1 Oct 2012, 08:57 am
@poppa69-90:
Yes. He impressed me as well. I thought it was great captaincy from Jean De Villiers relieving him of his kicking duties after the 2 misses.
That could’ve affected his overall game.
The AB’s will target his channel this week-end so his defensively he will have to be at the top of his game.
1 Oct 2012, 08:57 am
horings.
so why is one form of banter acceptable yet another isn’t?
if its solely rugby banter, no probs. but the goalposts get shifted when it’s social problems, as you so indignantly prove.
if you’re willing to make light of serious issues in our country, then I’m willing to make light of serious issues in your county
it really is that simple
1 Oct 2012, 09:00 am
@poppa69-98: If you cannot see the difference then I cannot help you.
1 Oct 2012, 09:01 am
Ow, ow and ow, the kwee’s are squealing! What a lovely sound. I’m not saying the Boks WILL beat the AB’s but CAN beat the AB’s. NZ’ders must have obligatory walky talkies in Soweto, washed down with a good vintage Ubejane or iJuba or be disrespectful to their hosts. That should nobble them.
Then if Boks can kick less and more accurately, protect the ball and nobble Carter (a la Mealamu & Umugger nobbling BoD), we’re in business!!
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