Nothing soft about Soweto slaughter
8 Oct 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in Business Day newspaper, writes for anyone to claim a few soft moments was the difference for the Boks is to claim insanity.
The only thing that can save the Springboks now, said a mate of mine, is another 20 years of sporting isolation. Having just watched the match tape for a second time, for professional and not sadistic reasons, my mate may just have a point.
Damn, the Boks took a beating.
This was the most brutal of reality checks and to deny the obvious is to ask for more pain.
The Boks were second best – and by some distance. They have been for some time and there should be no comfort in being the best of those competing for numbers two to five.
The referee did not favour the All Blacks. The referee did not cheat the Boks. The All Blacks did not have an extra man on the field. Statistically all the advantage was South Africa’s, before the start and in the first quarter of the match.
The Boks were at home, playing in front of 85 000 at altitude, and against an opponent who had already claimed the tournament championship and had reached Johannesburg from New Zealand via Buenos Aires.
The assumption – at least mine – was the greater hunger for success had to be that of the Boks. Similarly, when judging the enthusiasm of the two teams.
I wrote before the match that one team wanted to win and the other had to win. I got it wrong in writing the team who had to were the South Africans.
Our boys wanted to win, but were never good enough. Richie McCaw’s men had to win to make another telling statement to those who refuse to acknowledge their achievements.
Clearly, there isn’t such a thing as a meaningless Test for these All Blacks. They set their own standards and they were done no favours by the referee who awarded the All Blacks their first penalty in the 57th minute, by which time they had already scored four tries.
I’ve seen some very talented All Black teams stumble in South Africa because of a high risk and all out attack approach. I’ve also seem some very good New Zealand teams run out of puff as altitude proved as decisive as any home team attitude.
Not in Soweto.
The All Blacks were intelligent in their approach, calculated in when to play for field position and when to trust their defensive patterns and they were ruthless on attack.
These guys played with no risk in the first 20 minutes, preferring to kick the ball back to the Boks and ask them to think. They hardly played any rugby, with the Boks making two tackles and forcing the New Zealanders to make 28.
Yet on 30 minutes the Boks trailed 12-10 and all theory about home ground advantage was secondary to the reality of an on-field beating.
I’ve seen All Black teams batter the Boks in the professional era. I’ve never seen one that appeared so easy and so emphatic as in the last 40 minutes in Soweto.
To claim a few soft moments was the difference is to claim insanity.
I don’t put much store in what coaches and players say after the game. It really is only when they see a recording of the 80 minutes that you get some sense out of them, even though Bok coach Heyneke Meyer will know that no scoreboard could do justice to the one-sided beating in Soweto.
For those of who you may challenge my view go and watch the tape again. Those last 50 minutes especially were torture and the final 10 minutes looked like the winding down of a training session.
There can be no masking the situation and there is also no gain from playing the blame game. Whether it was Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjies or Patrick Lambie at flyhalf would not have made a difference. It would not have made a difference whether the early kicks went over or not. The All Blacks would have come back just those few minutes earlier.
Each week I hear a coach, a captain and a player say a few moments cost them. If they acknowledge the problem is more complex then those few moments will hopefully decrease considerably in the next 12 months.
Questions rightfully have been asked of player performance this season. Meyer has said the season already has answered which players selected were good enough and which were not, but he needs to ask the same questions of his support staff.
How good are they? How good are the defensive structures because players don’t seem to trust each other or trust the system? What is going on with the kickers?
Hard questions have to be asked from within.
There is no need to panic because of the defeat, but I’d start to panic as a supporter if there is denial about the nature of the defeat.
288 Comments
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8 Oct 2012, 14:07 pm
@blik-141:
France game?
Didnt they miss the kick to win the game?
What has that got to do with POB?
I really do not get some of you guys. You lost, ABs won.
This always happens, after a loss we get called cheats, we poach and then the Boks supporters bring up RWC 2011 and of course 2007 then comes the money card of 1995.
Same thing everytime.
8 Oct 2012, 14:08 pm
Its going to be like Ernie Else / Tiger Woods for the next few years.
“Ernie world number one”, but for the freaking Tiger.
AB’s number one and the rest of the world competing for number 2 spot.
8 Oct 2012, 14:09 pm
@ blik:
dont be afraid to call a spade a cheat, boet
after all, a cheat by any other name smell just as filthy
8 Oct 2012, 14:10 pm
@cane-148:
What you said does not make sense…
Like Paddy runs the IRB. (he is now in charge of 7?s ref’s). – during RWC 11 he was in charge and selected and alanalysed the refs.
Like there is now a conspiracy for the AB’s to leap frog Lithuania’s record. – just does not make any sense, no one is saying the Lithuania maffia are involved.
As for France in the WC final……….we nailed them. – no you did not as most non NZers would agree
This is a SA Website for rugby fans. Not girls. – I reply with a Betty White quote
“Why do people say “grow some balls”? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a ******. Those things can take a pounding.”
8 Oct 2012, 14:11 pm
@stew-145: Actually, on second thoughts please allow me to rephrase:
Springboks play at Ellis Park…Proteas play at Soccer City.
8 Oct 2012, 14:12 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-150: But pre -isolation we had a better record than the ABs. Putting it in perspective, and how small rugby is, if one tier one team is not around, it makes all other teams records look a lot better. e.g. if SA did not play NZ, we would have a better win/loss ratio overall.
8 Oct 2012, 14:12 pm
Van Graan is the attack coach.
Loubscher is the back line coach.
Who do you blame for the absolute lack of attacking play by our back line?
8 Oct 2012, 14:14 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-153:
How did the Doctors go?
They sort you out?
Anyway good call on the Retallick tackle. I did not even see that.Had to google it.
But i have the game on hard drive.Can you put the times down when you noticed all these penalties that ref missed. Cheers dude.
8 Oct 2012, 14:14 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-153: Agree bakkies… if it smells like ****, it probably is
8 Oct 2012, 14:14 pm
I’ve been wondering about the support staff for some time. None of these guys have any experience at any level outside of the Bulls larger. So how did they get the jobs. Add to that the experience they have with the Bulls is limited. This is not provincialism this is fact. Meyer has nobody to turn to to get a different perspective in terms of game plans etc because all his support staff were trained by himself. We pride ourselves on defence for crying out loud. Lets not even get into back line play suffice to say it is shocking at the moment. Meyer must start looking for international coaching experience now. White did and look at the difference Jones made. This simply because he gave Jake a different perspective.
8 Oct 2012, 14:15 pm
@blik-154:
“……….we nailed them. – no you did not as most non NZers…..etc, etc. etc.”. \
Most non NZers being WHO EXACTLY blik.
Losers like you and big hit?
8 Oct 2012, 14:16 pm
Congrats to the AB’s. Heineken “radio vreter” you better pull yourself towards yourself!! We outplayed ourselves. Look at the two diffrent halves we had. I though 2nd half we going to tear the AB apart, instead HM decided to hit the self destruct button. If we mannaged to play a similair game as against Australia in the second half it would have been a different outcome.
8 Oct 2012, 14:18 pm
@stew-145: Lions den will not host the All Blacks ever again – Newlands and Guppy tank will never ever host the cheats again either. Saturday was a dark day for rugby in SA, a dark day indeed and as you may have picked up I am not talking about the match..
Greedy SARU are pushing to take all the profits from hosting of test matches and keep it in their kitty. Lions got s.crewed big time. Profits from tickets sales +/- R30mil from the match is with that evil Jurie Roux and not with my beautiful Lions.
That is just plain wrong.
8 Oct 2012, 14:20 pm
@blik-156: We lost a lot not playing the international game for so long. We formed provincial laagers, which to this day are the STAIN that ruins our national rugby.
We played the victim whilst in isolation, and we went backwards in mindset instead of forward…….
When the professional era dawned, our mindset remained in the past, along with our administration and provincial laager mentalities.
We sat back for years saying things like, “If only the Boks were playing we would win this and win that blah blah blah”. There were no guarantees we would have won anything. But in our minds we were the best, an untested best, but still the best.
Too late to stave off the fanatical provincialism, it is now in our DNA. Isolation did far more than halt our rugby development……
8 Oct 2012, 14:20 pm
@cane-161: Everyone outside NZ!!!????? I don’t understand your question?
I can give you a specifc example if you like?
When I got into the office on Monday after the game. (I work in a big office with a group of nationalities in London, who are not particually into rugby, but most of them watched the game because it was a Workd Cup final). Scots, English, Chineese, Australian, Indian, etc.
I did not say a word, and they were talking about how they felt the French were cheated.
NZ’s are very good at rugby, yes consistently the best team. But why have a RWC if you just give it to the no1 ranked team.
8 Oct 2012, 14:21 pm
@stew-144:
It is a roundabout way of showing respect to Ritchie.
These same people who call Ritchie a cheat now, also called Sean Fitzpatrick one when he still played. However, the local newspapers were flooded with letters of admiration and respect from the SA supporters when he announced his retirement. Same will happen when Ritchie goes.
Best you ignore them.
8 Oct 2012, 14:22 pm
@Zandberg Jansen-162:
Thank you Joggie.
8 Oct 2012, 14:22 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-150:
Could argue that it also gave us a curious persecution complex. Combine that with a false sense of superiority, and you’ve got a recipe for how to avoid learning from mistakes … cf the weird line of reasoning that, since we are superior, the reason why we keep losing must be cheating by the other side, etc etc.
8 Oct 2012, 14:23 pm
@stew-144: In fairness its only two or three at the very most that call you cheats! in effect ingeneralising about the rest of us Bok supporters you are doing exactly what they are doing! There are plenty here that actually acknowledge that ABs are the best team at the moment. Many have congratulated you.
and just for the record I love McCaw! Met him a few years ago, when the Saders were down playing against the Sharks a real gentleman!
8 Oct 2012, 14:25 pm
@blik-165:
Get the stupid half wits to watch the game again then.
So suddenly Chinese and Indians, are authorities on the game are they.
8 Oct 2012, 14:25 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-164: I agree with you, we are behind NZ, I am not disputing that. That’s what I am saying too.
What I am saying is that they have evolved their game to account for the ref, where we are behind. Also their adminsitration is more professional than ours, so they get treated better by the IRB and officials.
Have you noticed whenever SA has a undiplomatic coad (usually someone who struggles with Englis), the refs are much harder on us? But when we have a likable forward thinking coach, the refs are easier?
Compare there refereeing of: Maakgraaf, Straulie, PDivvy vs Kitch, Nic Mallet, Jake White
English vs Afrikaans, maybe??
8 Oct 2012, 14:28 pm
@cane-170: Nope only NZers know anything about rugby
8 Oct 2012, 14:29 pm
My coach would me Mallet, i think he has grown some since his first stint.
My team would be the following taking into account overseas based players. Be it I have not seen some of them play for some time now and would hope they still have the same form as about a year ago.
15 Ludick/ Willie
14 JPP
13 J fourie
12 F Steyn
11 Habana
10 Lambie
09 Hougaard
08 Kanko
07 Coetzee
06 Brussouw
05 Mostert
04 Etsebeth
03 JDP
02 Bismark
01 Beast
Reserves:
16 Brits
17 Cilliers (covers both sides)
18 Alberts(yes at lock)
19 Daniel
20 Pienaar
21 Basson
22 JDJ
8 Oct 2012, 14:30 pm
@Sharksgirl-169:
Agree,it is only a couple. But these couple who think all of South Africa and now looking at Bliks posts, the indians and chinese as well. There is at least 3 billion people there that are backing Bliks and Bakkies theories……lol
Stand ups both of them….oh and their 3 billion followers.
8 Oct 2012, 14:30 pm
@RL-64:
“The fitness oke is a no-name brand doing what exactly?”
Liam Messam the ABs primary ball carrier was looking for the Beast in the defensive line as the soft spot all evening long.
but managed to find him only twice to get through, the Beast was surely shown high mobility and fitness this Test.
8 Oct 2012, 14:32 pm
@blik-156:
Australia and NZ started to revolutionize their way of playing during the 80′s. The same period that SA was not part of the international fold. When we came back in 1992, they’ve move way ahead of us and we’ve been playing catch up ever since especially wrt NZ.
The problem we are currently facing is that we believe we can haul them in playing the same kind of rugby we did during the time before isolation. Hence we keep hearing kak like, “playing to our traditional strengths” ie big, strong (dumb) forwards and a kicking fly half. (See Meyer’s 1st squad/team for the Eng series)
8 Oct 2012, 14:33 pm
@Sharksgirl-169: guppygirl it is only cheating if you get caught by the ref or the assistant refs or you WAG
8 Oct 2012, 14:33 pm
@Thucydides-168: Spot on
Brilliantly said. There has to be a reason as to why the once mighty Boks lose – it can never be because we just aren’t good enough…..The fables, legends and fairytales that were born in the isolation years, just won’t die (mostly because of a stubborn refusal….)
@blik-171: So instead of us accusing and wailing and the sort, would it not be better to just up our game? In all facets?
8 Oct 2012, 14:34 pm
@Hurricane-174: Why can’t someone outside a major rugby playing nation not understand the game. Actually it shows that someone without any major attachement can spot bias. I don’t know much about football, but I can follow the game.
8 Oct 2012, 14:36 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-178: Good point, we need to adapt. I just don’t like the whole ethos of cheating and manipulating.
8 Oct 2012, 14:38 pm
@sharks_lover-173: Pissy was talkng about ” those” who post team sheets.
8 Oct 2012, 14:39 pm
@blik-179:
” Why can’t someone outside a major rugby playing nation not understand the game. ”
Cos even we struggle with some of the calls.
You cant tell me when a ref blows a penalty, everytime you know exactly what that was for.
Even commentators and explayers still get it wrong.
So sorry if i struggle to believe you when you say the chinese and indians believe we cheated in the RWC.
8 Oct 2012, 14:40 pm
@Hurricane-158:
sorry hurri, i am too busy to note down times with the infringements but can tell you it ranges from the kickoff up until halftime so would more or less mimic the clock countdown.
doing the second half list is more than enough for me inbetween my work commitments so will not list times with the 2nd half infringements either.
importantly, you must remember the list is a cursory glance so the total number of infringements would go up considerably. as well the fact that your most blatant *red card / penalty try* level type of offenses came in the second half.
8 Oct 2012, 14:41 pm
@blik-159:
yip
where a kiwis involved pretty much
8 Oct 2012, 14:43 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-183:
lol
…… oh were you serious?
8 Oct 2012, 14:44 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-183: Bakkies, you should do a few Youtube videos with all your ‘discoveries’ and ‘conspiracies’. I’m guessing……4 million hits from NZ alone within 2 hours of uploading.
8 Oct 2012, 14:45 pm
I congratulated the ABs on their win on Saturday.
I acknowledge that the ABs are the better team, by some distance.
But I still feel the French was cheated in that final. Joubert just couldn’t give any of four, five kickable penalties to the French. And who can blame him.
8 Oct 2012, 14:45 pm
Ok all have fun, better go.
All this laughter (thanks Blik and Bakkies ) is keeping me up
CYA later
8 Oct 2012, 14:45 pm
To be honest, as much as I agree the Boks took a beating on Saturday and as much as I agree that the All Blacks were comprehensively better, I don’t agree that we are that far off…. We have a long way to go, but there are only a few areas that need improvement. There isn’t a fundamental flaw in our rugby team, rather just a few areas which need vast improvement.
Here they are:
1) Our loose trio lacks mobility. Those three monsters look excellent on attack and make bruising runs with ball in hand, but on defense, we were easy to stretch. As much as a I love the big guy, I would replace Willem Alberts with Schalk Burger or Marcel Coetzee.
* Apart from that, Our pack is really good and the introduction of Heinrich to the squad will only make us more of a threat.
The real problem is our backline.
2) We need a complete change in mindset of our backline. We have a scrumhalf who wants to be our game-controller… The problem with this is that he has to take his eyes off the ball when it is in the ruck and look around the field to see where everyone is. This takes time and means the ball sits in the ruck that extra few seconds, which gives the opposition defense a chance to re-organise….. We need a change in mindset. Our flyhalf needs to be the game controller and we need a scrumhalf whose priority focus is on getting quick ball to the flyhalf… If he can snipe occassionally and box kick occassionally, that’s great, but his primary focus should be on quick ball. Let the flyhalf do the game=controlling… This is vitally important.
3) Our coach is afraid to select smaller guys. This is a big problem. If you have too many lumps in the backline, you have no balance. The big guys can smash it up and create the holes in defense, but you need some smaller, steppier players like Gio Aplon to run through the holes… This is called balance…. We need to celebrate the talents of Gio Aplon, Paul Jordaan and numerous others… If they are allowed to play their natural game alongside big enforcers, like Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen etc, then we will have a balanced team with an attacking edge.
4) Flyhalf – we are on the right track with this one, but we should not have thrown Goosen and Elton into the deep end like that. It is no wonder why they are missing kicks etc. They are young and nervous. We should have started with Lambie for 5 or 6 test-matches and brought these guys in gradually.
5) Game plan – We need to add more dimensions to our game plan. One game plan renders us predictable.
6) Offloading in the tackle. The try Habana scored was from brilliant offloading in the tackle… More of that please.
7) Coaches – Ricardo Launscher, Louis Koen and John McFarland all need to go. They are not good enough to be coaching the Springboks.
If we address the above issues, we will improve.
The key to any good rugby team is BALANCE.
8 Oct 2012, 14:47 pm
Rico Gear was swatting those Bokkie forwards off like flies.
8 Oct 2012, 14:47 pm
@blik-171: Wont believe what you are saying.
8 Oct 2012, 14:47 pm
I really don’t understand how the brains trust at the Boks look at things. Last week I posted that the AB always look to shift the ball to the opposite end when they field a missed kick or when they take a quick throw in.
In the 26th minute the Boks kick the ball down field. It is caught close to the touch line on the (AB) right hand side, about 60m from the Bok goal line. Two passes later is is on the left hand side where Read (I think) makes a run, draws to defenders before off loading to Whitelock just outside the Bok 22. Whiteside set of on a run to score a try with only TWO Bok cover defenders (Kirchner and Goosen) trying to stop him before he scored his try.
Now I ask myself these questions:
-Have the Bok coaching staff never seen that the AB always do this when they launch an attack from the back after a missed kick or when they take a quick throw in?
- How could the AB players cover about 60m to score a try yet our players could not cover 50 m across to stop the try?
8 Oct 2012, 14:48 pm
@RL-181:
freedom of speech i say lol
8 Oct 2012, 14:48 pm
@Hurricane-174: Oh okai, 3 billion imaginery friends then?
8 Oct 2012, 14:48 pm
@NZINCHINA-190: It was Hosea who played on Saturday.
8 Oct 2012, 14:49 pm
@RL-177:
8 Oct 2012, 14:49 pm
@Kaizan-189: Good post.
8 Oct 2012, 14:49 pm
The standard Keow – a silly, meaningless little rant from a silly, meaningless little man. Minimal fact, no analysis, plenty made up stuff and a smattering of inaccuracies. Standard keow, snivelling to suck up to the AB’s. The AB’s are a good team, a clever team, an experienced team, a well coached team but supermen they ain’t. If Meyer was half decent he wouldn’t have played an already partly crocked Goosen who has no confidence in his own kicking. That alone would have saved 5 pts and gained 8. Those early points could have made a big difference.
As a few commentators point out (Blik you’re up), a competent ref would have prevented a lot of AB spoiling. 7 points. Don’t beieve me – see the Sunday Tribune ref column.
As Pissant pointed out, the Boks are babies as regards the number of Test caps next to the AB’s experience. The Boks should not have relaxed after beating the Aussies but focussed on the basics of top level rugby. Set pieces, kicking, marking, turnover ball, patience and ball control. BUT, who was going to help them in this? Heyneke and his crew? We wait with bated breath,
8 Oct 2012, 14:50 pm
187 Willie are you really that desperate that you have to bring that up every day?
8 Oct 2012, 14:50 pm
@nama1-166:
listen, lets get something straight here.
maybe you would gatkruip away with the likes of macaw, now and in the future.
that is your right.
dont extrapolate it to mean many others around here would, ok
ek is nie n gatkruipertjie nie, ou pelletjie
reechee macaw is vuilgoed, binne en buite
i would sooner pull my pants down in a cape town nightclub on the greenpoint strip than tell dishonest untruths about his playing ability.
no
i tell it for it is
filthy
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