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, 09:05 am
Anyway….
The rugby championship was really of a low calibre this year, with poor performances by Australia giving the title to NZ and a poor perfomance by SA away performances against Argintinia, OZ and NZ left the contest as a give away to NZ.
Some rugby fans dismiss the kicking game, but to think that a couple of accurate goal kicks could have made this Saturday an epic conclusion to this years RC, but now it’s just a match with pride as the trophy.
NZ didn’t win the RC, it was given to them by SA and OZ. IMO.
1 Oct 2012, 09:05 am
The only pity is that this game is not actually being played in Soweto or even worse Hillbrow. Soweto is actually quite nice to drive in, but the area around Ellis Park is scary, especially if you take a detour from the Hotel in Sandton.
1 Oct 2012, 09:06 am
@blue and white stripes-97: yeah, I dont think he should have been kicking from the start, but then if he got the first one his confidence may have soared, personally I would have given the duties to Pienaar first…
I agree with the ABs targeting his channel this weekend, they will make him do a lot of tackling to nullify his effectiveness with ball in hand. I still think your problems in the backline are at inside centre, JDV or Frans are not the solution imo..
cant wait for the match though, their is a lot of history between the sides and it is the greatest clash in world rugby bar none..
1 Oct 2012, 09:07 am
94 I just don’t think two tests in two weeks is going to be a decisive factor, they are superbly conditioned and with so much super travel they are used to it. Lets not forget we beat Aus 22 nil at home as well,if the Abs dont win by 30 they are deemed to have lost form we cant destroy all teams all of the time I think you forget the good Bokke side of 09 was winning plentyvof testscby smallish margins or does that logic only apply to NZ?
1 Oct 2012, 09:10 am
Goodstuff stop talking shite, just like 09 with a weak AB side then.
1 Oct 2012, 09:12 am
Goodstuff
look back on this site at the threads post 3Ns 2009 for a sterling example of “respect” for NZ rugby by the majority of SA fans… or after the 2007 WC… is it any wonder some of us arent so quick to hand the “respect” back nowadays?
we know once SA beat us again out it all comes..
1 Oct 2012, 09:14 am
@NZINCHINA-105: Nah, why was it a weak AB side? Because Richie was out? What about the much boasted AB depth? The boks of 2009 were amazing! Same thing in 2005, when the AB’s were also amazing. Even if Richie was there, he would still have eaten a 3-0 drubbing!
1 Oct 2012, 09:15 am
@poppa69-103:
Yes, I’m sure that for any All Black a win on South Africa soil is the ultimate accolade.
I agree with your opinion re. inside centre. We need an unpredictable, creative playmaker at inside centre who can tackle.
Frans Steyn I feel will be in that position till 2015. He needs to loose some bulk for him to fulfill that role effectively.
1 Oct 2012, 09:16 am
@goodstuff-107: Donald Duck was the flyhalf for two of the three tests, we had a rookie lock in Ross, Tialata was one of the props…
but no excuses, the Boks were the better team and deserved their victories..
1 Oct 2012, 09:17 am
@poppa69-106: Again this is a bok website, we boast in our own space, we don’t go to Silver Fern or whatever website and spout boastfull dribble. If some did then they are just as much gutter trash as you.
1 Oct 2012, 09:17 am
101 Goodstuff…Abs won RC….the also rans need to up their game…simple
1 Oct 2012, 09:19 am
@blue and white stripes-108: why do you think many kiwis, myself included, rate 1996 as our best ever year? that was our everest, and what a team to actually achieve it..
Im not sold on Frans ability at inside centre, i think he would make a much better 13 personally.. the extra space would benefit him, the main reason is I am not convinced of his distribution skills
Sheryl calder is sopmeone you guys need to get back into the coaching mix asap imo..
1 Oct 2012, 09:21 am
Goody we just put 50 on the Argies at home in case you’d forgotten, this AB side is 15 straight wins and a very good side, lets talk when the Bokke have actually won something because right now as it stands you’re on a one game winning streak and dont have a single trophy you guys talk a big game backed by nothing but a rse wind.
1 Oct 2012, 09:21 am
@goodstuff-110: on the international world wide web?
exclusivity? is that what you mean? eish, move on boet, time to embrace all peoples
1 Oct 2012, 09:23 am
@poppa69-109: Sure there is that, rugby like all sports work in cicles for each nation. We are currently rebuilding after relying on a team full of great players that have given us some great memories.
What I am ment in my original post is that neither one of the SA/NZ/OZ are at their prime at the moment. The RC 2012 was just not that great of a contest.
1 Oct 2012, 09:23 am
@goodstuff-110: Yup as I keep reminding the kiwis, they are welcome but I have never felt the need to post on silverfern .. You are guests kiwis and will be subjected to one-eyed bok supporters .. that is the price of posting on here.
1 Oct 2012, 09:24 am
@poppa69-114: Not exclusivity, manners!
1 Oct 2012, 09:24 am
@NZINCHINA-105: here’s a “weak AB side”
All Blacks — 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Rodney So’oialo, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Subs: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Cory Jane.
1 Oct 2012, 09:26 am
An observation re kicking for posts, if Bekker is back to full fitness and pinching oppo balls why not kick for touch at 50mts .. we have the rolling maul (apparently)
The kicking is a mess though, out of hand and at posts .. as mentioned Louis Koen is not up to it so if the want K&C tactic they have to invest in an Ozzie Footie coach ..
1 Oct 2012, 09:28 am
Tranny yip weak at 9 10 5 3
1 Oct 2012, 09:29 am
@NZINCHINA-113: Congrats for that .. most of us here have expected 2013 as the big come back year for Boks. It is too early with some limited attitude from Bok coaches to embrace the new game and its laws.
We are getting there and I have a good feeling about this saturday, for the first time in a while IF the Boks play well they will win. No fluke kicks required. That is no disrespect to AB but there is a good thing building with the Boks ..
1 Oct 2012, 09:30 am
@Doughnut-119: They made a mistake taking on Louis Koen, a ecen bigger mistake for keeping him, I don’t we have kicked this poor since the 1997 Lions tour.
1 Oct 2012, 09:33 am
@goodstuff-117: treat people how they treat you you mean? I have been..
@goodstuff-115: yeah I agree, but it seems to be that way after a world cup year now… many players retire, we lost a fair few after 07.. injury played a big part in both SAs and Aus’ campaign, why Im not so sure… we werent affected so bad, is that because of different approaches? luck? too much rugby?
1 Oct 2012, 09:34 am
@goodstuff-122: but louis koen is going nowhere, he ensured the bulls get pollard so his spot is secured
1 Oct 2012, 09:36 am
Doughnut surely the jury is still out on the Bokke, the only thing that counts is test wins coulda shoulda woulda’s dont count, if the Abs were rebuilding I would still consider your season a disaster just not enough wins especially against poor opposition like England and Argentina.
1 Oct 2012, 09:39 am
@NZINCHINA-120: keep telling yourself
1 Oct 2012, 09:45 am
Tranny I dont need to it was a weaker than normal AB side, I know you’re an expert on all things rugby but trust me on this one.
1 Oct 2012, 09:48 am
@Transformation-124:
Trans. That Johan Van Graan has revolutionised our loose forward play overnight. I think his coaching specialty is the role of the “fetcher”.
“Johan gaan haal daai tackle sak” . “Johan gaan haal daai water bottel”.
After 2015 he will be the most wanted coach on the planet.
1 Oct 2012, 09:50 am
the coach should take the brunt of the flak for ******** the cat out the championship. Its him alone who selected poorly and clung to an archaic game plan and now when a few fundamental changes in personnel are forced onto him through sheer weight of overwhelming evidence that his poor recognition of who was required at critical positions provides a complete resurrection of springbok potential they want to come along and bullshit some more that it was never the game plan at fault, only the execution.
1 Oct 2012, 09:52 am
@KeurboomPark-50: We do try mate…some1 has to do it
1 Oct 2012, 09:59 am
@poppa69-85:
so funny how proud kiwi’s are of this little stand of theirs. what exactly does it mean? and what good did it ever do the world exactly?
1 Oct 2012, 10:11 am
@NZINCHINA-125: Sure but AB had an assitant coach who stepped up to head this year, a Capt that continued and a buy in from NZRU .. Compare this with PdV, SARU and the representative politics plus a new capt and team being built. ..It is apples and pears ..
There is a process and 2013 will be the year Boks should get a full run at it .. It will be v interesting as for me if McCaw is not playing you will lose a heap of leadership .. just like the boks did with Vic and FdP .. (their std dropped but carried us through a few difficult times). Read is nowhere near the mark of McCaw ..
1 Oct 2012, 10:13 am
@fitz1ella-129: Come on chap, enjoy a victory. Yes it should have been fixed earlier but as long as MS and Spies earn their way back to the Boks and are not pushed in again I will be ok.
Bear in mind SARU long delay in confirming HM and his lack of decent assistants !
1 Oct 2012, 10:28 am
What will be dangerous for the reinvigorated Bokke is the triple threat of attempting to expand on the open game they displayed against Aus versus a team that has none of that teams weaknesses.
Add to that, this AB’s team has scored an embarrassing number of their tries on first phase ball.
Over the last 10 years the rewards have usually come from pressure and punishing mistakes anywhere on the park.
Scoring tries from set piece play amounts to thumbing your nose at the oppositions defense.
1 Oct 2012, 10:33 am
@Doughnut-132:
Hopeful thinking. There is no evidence you can put up to say that Read couldn’t be an even better leader than McCaw.
That is sheer desperate hoping it couldn’t happen.
1 Oct 2012, 10:39 am
@munkiboi-131:
It is like giving up smoking.
You don’t know what it is like to live without it until you do, and once you do, you become the most rabid anti smoker imaginable.
1 Oct 2012, 10:42 am
@Doughnut-133: It was a very welcome relief from the garbage we have been subjected to since the year 2000, as far as I am concerned we have not evolved in rugby terms since Streauli stuck our conservative head in the sand notwithstanding a fluke WC win in 2007 under the auspices of a far superior Australian tactician who actually changed our game plan then to give us the comfort of expressing our rugby heritage and lifting us from the doldrums we had been experiencing then.
The introduction of key elements and personnel into the framework is what has transformed the one dimensional strategy into a far more exciting pro active one this past game.. Goosen, Louw, Vermeulen being the fundamental new cogs in a wheel that suddenly is turning in forward motion and not retrograde… but the warnings are that if we are still hell bent on maintaining reliance on a scrum half to be our strategy dictator as in the previous case where FdP ran the game plan and the fly half was purely a necessary link in the chain then we could fall into the same regressive trap again.
Goosen should have taken back the primary role of both duties for purposes of gaining confidence at this level last weekend.. if they continue to play Pienaar as the kicking scrum half dictator then the entire resurrected momentum we saw at Loftus could unravel again at Soccer City.
1 Oct 2012, 10:44 am
@poppa69-123: I also think both SA had the wrong balance in the bok back row with 3 ball carriers running the show. Also Ozzie camp is no content with Deans approach, those players were always an entitled lot. Players have too much power in OZ, hence their failure to rise to the hieghts of the class of ’99.
PS. The watching highlights of NZ/ Argies game, the pumas looked totally out of it, their previous stingy defence was completely absent at times, but AB’s look dangerous.
1 Oct 2012, 11:05 am
@Jeraldjay-128: he is the same guy that dropped keegan, moved alberts to 8 and put pottie in at 7!
between him and meyer they fumbled into playing an opensider who plays towards the ball…
1 Oct 2012, 11:35 am
JC….chill. Have you been following Pienaar’s kicking game at Ulster? He’s been kicking almost all of their points! He had the kicking duties dumped on him unexpectedly on Sat and had a bad day.
1 Oct 2012, 11:43 am
Is it me or are there more “New Zealanders” on this SA blog than South Africans?
1 Oct 2012, 11:45 am
@Doughnut-119: Bekker didnt pinch the balls this weekend, it was Etzebeth, but point made
1 Oct 2012, 11:49 am
@STBUR-141:
You make a got a point STBY.
A little known fact is that Keo is actually a Kiwi by proxy. Kiwi Parents or some such thing.
Welcome to Keo.co.NZ
1 Oct 2012, 11:51 am
@poppa69-106: I give you my word that I will only proclaim ANY sort of Bok dominance if we manage to wallop the AB’S regularly. One off wins here and there don’t count. The success and dominance will have to stretch over a few seasons to be valid
1 Oct 2012, 11:53 am
@papaown-142:
Pinching balls…………………………………come on now.
Eye gouging is bad enough.
Have you people no sense of fair play?
1 Oct 2012, 11:53 am
@STBUR-141: Whatthefuckdoesitmatter? Most of the Kiwi’s here speak far more rugga sense than some of the utterlyretarded Bok fans who vomit out their breakfast on here daily, and then call it ‘opinion’.
Wish there were more Aussies, Poms (ok……maybe just 1 or 2 more), Argies etc blogging here as well.
1 Oct 2012, 11:53 am
@papaown-142: I think the reason for that is that they were trying to avoid Bekker and Etzebeth ended up pinching the balls. I have mentioned it yesterday some time that Bekker made a step-up at lineout time. He added some variety: the first lineout he actually took the ball in front and not in the middle; he used Etzebeth more and even Alberts took a ball at 2. At least he is starting to think more – don’t know if it is Van Graan’s influence ?
1 Oct 2012, 11:55 am
@Delki-6: Silly comment mate. Every rugby nation has a record of off-the-ball niggles… It’s part of the game. For every Bakkies Botha infringement you name, I can name a Brad Thorn infringement too.
Also – every rugby nation has fans that complain about the refs or call “conspiracy” when things don’t go their way… I don’t need to remind you about the food poisoning conspiracy as just one clear example.
Lastly, the coach who spoke about eye-gouging as part of the game is a clown who was appointed on skin colour, not merit…. This is an example of the challenges South African rugby has to endure and yet, you seem to think the South African public was in agreement with him.
Come on mate – we respect the All Blacks. Show some for the Boks.
1 Oct 2012, 11:55 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-144:
Your word is good enough for me Dr Doggie.
1 Oct 2012, 11:57 am
@cane-143: Good to know, Caner. Now we can all be a little more forgiving with regards to the quality of both the reporting and the technology here.
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