True test looms for Lambie
16 Oct 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes that Pat Lambie may have to steer the Sharks to Currie Cup glory if he’s going to convince Heyneke Meyer of his value as a match-winning flyhalf.
Did Lambie’s performance against Griquas mean anything? Of course it did. It was massive in the context of the Sharks’ season, as it helped the Durbanites bank a potential home final.
It was important in that it allowed Lambie a rare start, and even more significantly a rare start in his best position of flyhalf. But was it meaningful in the context of Lambie’s bid for the Bok flyhalf jersey? I don’t think so.
Lambie enjoyed a great return to the starting line-up last Friday. He was accurate in front of goal, he gave the Sharks direction both as a distributor and tactical kicker. He was solid on defence and innovative on attack. It was a complete performance, and it would have given him plenty of confidence.
But the pressure will mount this week ahead of a semi-final showdown against the Bulls. For all the bluster about Griquas being giant killers, they are never a threat at the back end of the season. They struggle because of injuries and battle to compete against the big five teams who are boosted by the returning Boks.
Griquas are never going to win the Currie Cup with their current game plan. There is too much emphasis on attack, and not enough on defence. This weakness was exploited all too easily by the Sharks last Friday. And yet, John Plumtree’s men would do well to remember that the defence of the better teams in the play-offs will be tougher to breach.
There will be more pressure on Lambie this Saturday. There will be more pressure from a defensive point of view. There will be more pressure on him to win the territorial battle, and there will also be more pressure on him to maintain his excellent goal-kicking form.
It has to be viewed as a great opportunity. If Lambie can excel under such pressure and steer the Sharks to victory, it would serve as a big statement. If he can go one step further and guide the Sharks to another Currie Cup title, well then it would be difficult for Heyneke Meyer to deny that he is the best flyhalf candidate for that November tour to Europe.
We have been in this situation before. Lambie helped the Sharks win the 2010 Currie Cup final, and one of the most enduring moments of that match was of the young flyhalf handing off WP captain Schalk Burger en route to the tryline. Unfortunately, he was used only as a substitute on the subsequent Bok tour. He did well when he started for the Boks at 10 against the All Blacks in 2011, but wasn’t used there again.
Meyer is still undecided about Lambie, and it isn’t hard to understand why. While it’s clear the kid has all the skills, he hasn’t really settled into one position.
Injury has also played a part in this unfortunate situation if you remember that Lambie was crocked in the 2012 Super Rugby competition just when he was starting to fire as a flyhalf. When he returned to fitness, the Sharks had settled on Freddie Michalak as their pivot and so Lambie filled in at fullback for the remainder of the season.
If the Sharks win this weekend and progress to the final, it will mean that Lambie will have three Currie Cup games in total to show Meyer what he can offer as a flyhalf. As I mentioned earlier, the fixture against Griquas was important for other reasons. The two play-off games will be massive in terms of pressure, with each of the four teams leaning on their Boks. If Lambie thrives in that environment, then it will say much for his mental aptitude as well as his physical ability.
Meyer will, of course, be watching the progress of other potential flyhalves closely.
Morné Steyn was better against the Lions last Saturday, but will also need to show that he can perform in the matches that matter. Just as a title win for the Sharks will underline Lambie’s value, another domestic trophy for the Bulls will show that Steyn is not a spent force as a match-winner.
With Johan Goosen ruled out with injury, Elton Jantjies played much of that Test against the All Blacks at Soccer City. The Lions lost to the Bulls last week, but they will be hoping that the reinstatement of Jantjies at 10 gets them back to winning ways. Again, it’s a high pressure environment that could reveal whether Jantjies is in the right headspace to spearhead the Boks’ coming overseas campaign.
I still believe that in the absence of Goosen, Lambie is the only flyhalf in South Africa who has the necessary all-round skills needed to bring the Boks success in a more balanced game plan. But Lambie has to use this semi-final opportunity, and possibly an opportunity in the final as well, to make a believer out of Meyer.
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482 Comments
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16 Oct 2012, 10:55 am
lambie bekufaneluba uyazingenela nje kweliqela laba qha ingxaki bayathanda xa umntu engemhlophanga ukuhlekisa ngaye , u kirchner andazi ulenza njani ixesha ngoba wayengalibone kwa pha ku ta tiger wahamba keyena ubra waya kwi kings .nangoku wenza ezibukwayo. lantwana u lambie iphole kamandi yinike ibhola qha izokudlalela. abanye aba banengxaki ngeelwimi zethu bayagulula nje ngomlomo ezankqanawa babeze ngazo zibalindile uba abafuni kulawuleka
16 Oct 2012, 10:55 am
@LoanShark-146: Sanity. (However short lived this may be…it is much appreciated)
16 Oct 2012, 10:57 am
@mxhosa-148:
okai I would like to know what you were talking about then 
could it be about Ms Madonsela’s facial attributes? Personally I like the lady, has guts! Could teach a lot of our politicians a few things about convictions!
16 Oct 2012, 10:57 am
@sharks_lover-126: “Transie said something about Jantjes being a better distributer than Lambie and Lambie being a better Passer???? See this is where some dont seem to understand, that is the same thing,”
how can it be the same thing?
passing – shuffling the ball to the next available player
distributing – correctly selecting who to pass to so as to either cut out opposition players and put them into better space, exploit an overlap.
2 different things.
stop screaming like a b.itch everytime someone evaluates lambie’s play…
lambie’s passing is more accurate than jantjies but jantjies makes better passing decisions…it could be lambie hasn’t played with great centre pairings to date – riaan swanepoel, meyer bosman, oupa terblanche – to give him options…
put your panties back on ffs!
16 Oct 2012, 10:59 am
@mxhosa-148: well your posts prove otherwise.
16 Oct 2012, 11:00 am
I see what you’re trying to do here,JC.So,if WP destroy(maybe wishful thinking)the Lions on Saturday and Elton can’t stop it than you suddenly question his ability to play for the Boks based on that one performance?Elton has done brilliantly before in high pressure situations,but you have decided that this Saturday is it.If he has a bad game,you can say,’I told you so’…and that Lambie is the only choice for Bok ten.Well done JC,at least Sl will be excited out of his mind.
16 Oct 2012, 11:01 am
@sharks_lover-124: “You and Transie can jiggle and jaggle all you want in your language, still shows you to be the racist you are.”
look here fatfuck, don’t include me in your wailing!
who are you, the thought police?
we weren’t even talking about lambie in isiXhosa…
insecure fool
16 Oct 2012, 11:02 am
@sharks_lover-155: usile mtanandini yazi , yintoni “in your language”? ..inoba ucimba uthetha nabantu basebenza esityeni pha kokwenu
16 Oct 2012, 11:02 am
@Transformation-154: It stays passing and distribution ffs,
And stop referring to my underpants, you showing bed tendencies!
16 Oct 2012, 11:03 am
Good morning to all the Varkie girls! and all the other respectable bloggers
Once again another bambie cat fight…..
16 Oct 2012, 11:04 am
@Transformation-157: FAt ****?? I told you before Mgodoyi, come tell me to my face you slimey cnutplug@nkqo6-158:
Ya jou moer ook
16 Oct 2012, 11:04 am
@Transformation-154:
And I am the clueless one.
16 Oct 2012, 11:05 am
Lambie’s mind is becoming just as fragile as Ruan Pienaar’s used to be.I blame the Sharks management for this situation.The same thing happened to Fransie as well and both players actually had to leave that toxic environment to breathe again.It might be in Lambie’s best interest to do the same.
16 Oct 2012, 11:05 am
Funny how the many versions of transvestite and co rock up suddenly.
16 Oct 2012, 11:06 am
@sharksgirl-153:
Yes it was about her facial attributes. Transie reckons she ain’t fine enough to be worthy of his friendship. So I told him that I know few guys who would’nt mind Thuli as she is. I happen think she’s not pretty either, hence my saying that these guys are looking her with an artist’s eye (i.e. they see beauty where the is none).
The ploticians are too busy cashing in to care about convictions.
16 Oct 2012, 11:07 am
@RL-162:
just so you can think ur right as you lost the arguement to me you will now typically crawl up transies @ss to get some help
Ya swaer ……
16 Oct 2012, 11:08 am
Come on guys, as a WP fan, I watched Lambie destroy us already, running over Schalk Burger to top it off. Just like Elton won the Lions the CC, they are both good enough to start for the Boks, finish and klaar
16 Oct 2012, 11:09 am
@sharks_lover-161: uyawazi umgodoyi yintoni noba uyagodoyizisa nje , andisebenzeli uyihlo mna .sukhupha uthuvi ngomlomo
16 Oct 2012, 11:09 am
OK work to do, be back laters, dont break the place down while i am gone,
16 Oct 2012, 11:10 am
@sharks_lover-161: you are fat, not so?
16 Oct 2012, 11:10 am
@XhosaKid-167: Amen thank you
They are both very good flyhalves.
16 Oct 2012, 11:12 am
usile lomnqundu walomtana uqhele uthetha kushiyeke yena , tyhini bafondini
16 Oct 2012, 11:12 am
I predicted this at 8.02 am this morning
Meltdowns, blowouts and BOOMS…….In the name of the Lambie.
16 Oct 2012, 11:13 am
@Nkgqo6-158:
Hahaha!!! Myeke lomntu, ingxaki yakhe yinto’ba siyalazi ulwumi lakhe, yena akanamdla wofunda olwethu, kodwa uyafuna ukwazi basithini.
16 Oct 2012, 11:13 am
@sharks_lover-169: go pass that lame one on somewhere else – I will distribute a klap to you later fatguppy.
16 Oct 2012, 11:13 am
I am not saying that’s what Rl is doing,but what you are accusing him off,is exactly what you have been doing for years on this SharksLOVER.As soon as you lose your marbles on here you get invigorated when your guppy gatgabbas Hg,Ranger etc etc appears and you normally hang on to their balls for dear life
16 Oct 2012, 11:15 am
@mxhosa-174: akanabuchopho kugcwele udongwe kwesasityhakala sentloko, mandimyeke nyani mkhuluwa
16 Oct 2012, 11:15 am
@XhosaKid-167: So True!!!! Personally I love Lambie but I am still praying that reports are incorrect and that Jantjies is coming to the Sharks
@wnbb-163: Now you are talking ****! Not so long ago SA Rugby did an article on Steyn where he clearly states he left because of the Boks!!! He couldn’t get along with with PDV, so decided to go for the money. He clearly states that he did not leave because of Sharks, and was very happy to sign back with them!
16 Oct 2012, 11:15 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-173:
16 Oct 2012, 11:16 am
Btw Sharkslover,you have never won any argument on this site!!!What you’ve won though, is the melt down contest with Poppa.
16 Oct 2012, 11:22 am
now now my little poodle poker.
you have more than your fair share of meldowns here.
16 Oct 2012, 11:24 am
@goodstuff-34:
agreed.
its gonna be a helluva game and could go anyway.
16 Oct 2012, 11:25 am
@Transformation-179: Threads on Lambie and the Kings – Oscar winners everytime. Scorsese couldn’t direct this sh y te if he tried.
16 Oct 2012, 11:25 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-173:
And all as a result of SA rugby supporters crying out for a better general in the Bok set up.
Better than M Steyn that is.
Same wailing and gnashing of teeth and Booms and whatever has been seen on Goosen and Jaintjies articles.
And for good reason. We are all desperate for a better 10.
16 Oct 2012, 11:30 am
Silence of the Lambies,starring SLover as the psychotic defender of everything Lambie related
16 Oct 2012, 11:32 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-183: it used to be luke watson and the bulls
16 Oct 2012, 11:33 am
@Transformation-186: Progress then?
16 Oct 2012, 11:34 am
You wish my doggie-s infatuated friend ,gunths.mentioning you,your daddy and pink knickers normally get you over the edge.
16 Oct 2012, 11:34 am
@John Galt-184:
Bambie seem to have all the abilities to become a world class FH. Only problem i have with him, as his stats shows, is his inability to turn possession in to points….
16 Oct 2012, 11:35 am
@wnbb-185: I sure as hell have gotten under your skin, idjutboy as you post about me in every post you make,
And like RL ur an idiot, well actually i have far more respect for RL…
You however is way down the trashlist and not worth jackshit, run alond poodlefekker
16 Oct 2012, 11:36 am
@Transformation-186: Uhm you mean Smitty
16 Oct 2012, 11:37 am
@sharks_lover-139: Oh Lort, I’m soo tired of this shi* about Goosen being a once in a lifetime player!
He’s a good player, MUCH better option than MS but he’s not 100%ready for International rugby and needs to be phased in the way the All Blacks did with Dan Carter!
Why do the All Blacks manage to do things soo simply where we want to over complicate matters?
Lambie or Jantjies should be starting with Goose on bench, MS unfortunately doesn’t allow his backline into the game the way these other 3 flyhalves can, and until he does that should not be number 1 or 2 in pecking order
16 Oct 2012, 11:37 am
@wnbb-180: uhm clown , no meltdown here, infact no anger at all, you dreaming kiddo if you think you and your ilk will get me to have a melt down.
16 Oct 2012, 11:38 am
We call that lacking in big match temperament ,Phil.I don’t believe he will surpass Goosen and Elton as great tens.At 15 he is way to slow and small..as proven against the chiefs.Cost us quite a few points when he replaced the reliable Kirchener.
16 Oct 2012, 11:39 am
@papaown-192: REad everything i said boet, And Goosen is a very special talent, but he does have short commings that should be worked on,
Re Lambie or Jantjes being the Bok 10 now i agree 100%
16 Oct 2012, 11:39 am
All we need is an enthusiastic litany of insults which must include: fckfaceruntarsedcnuts, punkfckfaced pisswillies etc and my day will officially be made.
16 Oct 2012, 11:40 am
I was under the impression you had to run to clean some tables waiter boy or you just could not handle RL??
16 Oct 2012, 11:41 am
Possible Bok 22 to tackle Ireland…
15. Patrick Lambie.
14. J.P. Pietersen.
13. Jaco Taute.
12. Jean De Villiers (c).
11. Francois Hougaard.
10. Morne Steyn.
9. Ruan Pienaar.
8. Joe Van Niekerk.
7. Duane Vermuelen.
6. Francois Louw.
5. Juandre Kruger.
4. Bakkies Botha.
3. C.J. Van Der Linde.
2. Andries Strauss.
1. Gurthro Steenkamp.
16. Heinke Van Der Merwe.
17. Schalk Brits.
18. Frans Malherbe.
19. Flip Van Der Merwe.
20. Marcell Coetzee.
21. Bjorn Basson.
22. Zane Kirschner.
16 Oct 2012, 11:41 am
@papaown-192: Trust me boet, with the way we treat players in this country ??? I would prefer a decent kid like Lambie steers clear of BOK Rugby, and plays either Sharks or goes over seas.
16 Oct 2012, 11:43 am
Correct Pedigree.We’ve already got our moer vloeking guppyboy,SL on board.
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