Rugby fans must move with the times
17 Oct 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes that supporters and reporters pushing for an out-and-out attacking philosophy have zero appreciation for the current laws and trends.
You cannot go to a Stormers or Western Province press conference nowadays without hearing the same questions being asked. ‘When is the ball going to get to the wings? Why aren’t we playing rugby like the great Province team of the 1980s?’
Allister Coetzee had fewer grey hairs when he first started as head coach. Every week since he’s had to listen to ignorant and misinformed reporters whining about running rugby. He’s also had to endure criticism and accusations that the Cape side play a boring brand.
Springbok and WP captain Jean de Villiers looked exhausted when he faced the media last week, and perhaps that’s what caused him to forget protocol when answering this question for the umpteenth time.
De Villiers pointed to the Super Rugby competition as an example, where the Stormers had finished top of the 16-team league. Why, De Villiers asked, would they change a game plan that allowed them to win the South African conference? Indeed, it was just a week or so before De Villiers’s return that an experimental and more attacking approach had cost WP in a Currie Cup match.
The Stormers and WP are not the only teams to be criticised in this manner.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer’s game plan is considered by many to be overly conservative. I’ve watched Meyer closely when he’s been asked about the game plan, I’ve seen him roll his eyes. The reporters have asked him, they’ve begged him, to change tact. Why oh why, they pleaded, couldn’t the Boks play attacking rugby like the All Blacks?
These people haven’t got a clue.
The All Blacks won all six of their Rugby Championship matches, and it was before that final match at Soccer City when Meyer made special mention of the New Zealanders’ defence. Their record in this year’s tournament will show that they’re the best defensive side by some distance, having conceded just six tries. After the game at the Calabash, Meyer again paid tribute to that defence, as well as the game management of flyhalf Dan Carter.
The All Blacks may be the finest attacking team on the planet, but their defence and kicking game has been the bedrock of their success. This has allowed them to win the 2011 World Cup, as well as the 2012 Rugby Championship, and has put them into a position to break the record for the most consecutive Test victories.
The All Blacks conceded one try per game in the Rugby Championship. The tournament average was 1.83. It’s clear the All Blacks were a cut above in this department, but when you compare this stat to the averages of lesser competitions, it confirms that defences are harder to crack at the elite level.
The defence may be weaker as you drop down the tiers of competition, but the common denominator is that the best defensive teams in the respective tournaments either go on to top the log or win a trophy. It wasn’t a surprise to see the best defensive teams finishing in the top six of the Super Rugby league. The round robin phase of the Currie Cup recently concluded, and wouldn’t you know it, the teams with the best defensive records have advanced to the play-offs.
One level down, and it is the Eastern Province Kings who have topped the First Division log, their unbeaten record closely correlated with defensive stats that read 27 tries conceded in 14 matches, 19 tries fewer than the second-placed Pumas.
Coincidence? I think not.
What rugby supporters need to understand is that the current law set prescribes an outstanding defence and kicking game as the key ingredients to any title surge. There may be instances where a team doesn’t execute effectively on the day, as has been the case for a few Cape teams over the past few seasons, but that doesn’t mean that the game plan is at fault.
The fact that teams like the All Blacks and the Sharks have enjoyed such try-scoring success shouldn’t detract from their defensive strengths. The Sharks started to come right towards the end of the Super Rugby competition when they embraced a balanced approach (they altered their previous strategy which had placed too much emphasis on attack). In the 2012 Currie Cup, they have finished the league in first place, having scored the most tries and conceded the fewest.
If you can wrap your head around these trends, you will realise why the Bok game plan is not flawed. I’m not saying the Boks are exempt from criticism, but rather that they should be judged and scrutinised within this framework.
Does Meyer have the right personnel for this game plan? Are the players executing the game plan efficiently? These are the questions the intelligent rugby supporter should be asking, not when the Boks, WP or the Bulls are going to start running the ball from their own tryline.
If you don’t like the way the game is played nowadays, by all means channel your aggression into a strongly worded letter to the IRB. The world’s coaches and players develop their game plans according to the laws. If the rules were tweaked so that the breakdown wasn’t such a lottery, perhaps more teams would take more attacking risks in their own half. There would be less kicking and more running.
For now, that remains a pipe dream. As long as the rules remain as is, teams will continue to place an emphasis on kicking and defence. It’s something that rugby fans must learn to accept: that there are no prizes for losing beautifully.
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270 Comments
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17 Oct 2012, 09:23 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-48:
SCHLEMIEL
17 Oct 2012, 09:24 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-48:
Can you do me a favour, ignore my posts as if they didn’t exist.
I will do the same with yours.
17 Oct 2012, 09:24 am
@poppa69-47: our juniors just gave yours a beating buddy.
17 Oct 2012, 09:24 am
Lawrence: I was hounded out
London – Retired referee Bryce Lawrence has claimed he was hounded out of rugby by Australia and South Africa following his performance in last year’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
Lawrence, 41, has also revealed his performance in that game in Wellington was influenced by behind-the-scenes complaints from Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill.
“I had four really good games at the World Cup and then I had that,” New Zealander Lawrence told the Bay Of Plenty Times.
“There was some pretty nasty political stuff going on about that appointment. I refereed Australia versus Ireland and Ireland had won but behind the scenes guys like John O’Neill were kicking up a massive stink.
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Lawrence-I-was-hounded-out-20121017
17 Oct 2012, 09:25 am
@John Galt-21: is in the same light weight category as Keegan, maybe 1 or 2 kilos heavier – definatley quicker and more skillful than Keegan – in the end not Bok quality.
17 Oct 2012, 09:27 am
Best article you have ever written, JC.
Bravo! I salute you for telling it like it is.
Absolutely accurate argument.
17 Oct 2012, 09:28 am
@Brads-43: @Black Power-40:
2 words – fitness and psychology. We dont believe we can fight them off. Funny thing is often in a Super Rugby match we can yet when it comes to an international all of a sudden the Boks loose faith.
All Blacks play it tight only when they have to – at the slightest sniff they counterattack or attack and take their chances with both hands.
The difference? Support runners, vehement clearing out of rucks, fast ball recycling (not like we do when were like hens over an egg), sharp tactical kicks, an eye for gaps and sublime offloading in the tackle which comes full circle to support runners. Theres always one there when the All Blacks play – how often do we get a break and then when the man wants to pass realises he is on his own.
Another difference is bad decision making on the trot. Habanas botched try vs the All Blacks in their last match is a great example. Instead of going for the corner he ran slap bang into the defender and spilt the ball.
17 Oct 2012, 09:28 am
“The All Blacks may be the finest attacking team on the planet, but their defence and kicking game has been the bedrock of their success.”
You have lost it with this phrase JC, lost it completely. ABs play ball and they attack like very smart demons.
ABs kick when they dont have an option. Infact the ABs dont even have a kicking game plan. ABs seldom use the boot as an attacking weapon, like our Boks and provincial sides.
17 Oct 2012, 09:29 am
@rangerman-53: first time in five years, buddy…
and theyll have it coached out of them at senior level
17 Oct 2012, 09:29 am
@rangerman-53:
You forget one thing, how years did it take you? And some of our best players for the juniors were unavailable.
17 Oct 2012, 09:30 am
@Tacitus-56: You smoking from the same bong as JC?
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-54: Yet the “freezing ref” won NZ ref of the year award? Suppose his daddy had to choose between him, a girl and a sheepdog.
17 Oct 2012, 09:31 am
@Black Power-51:
just to be clear, the so called ‘big 5′ prioties are:
• All aspects of the tackle with particular emphasis to be placed on the tackler releasing the tackled player and rolling away and arriving players staying on their feet.
• Offside at the breakdown.
• Offside from kicks.
• All aspects of the scrum, particularly the engagement process and front-row binding.
• All aspects of the maul, particularly what constitutes legal maul defences.
now consider this and look at the last bok-ab game and you will realise the extent to which these are ignored (i mean they cheat) by the ab’s and further, not appropriately policed by the refs.
p.s. calling each other names is a little pointless, dont you thing?
17 Oct 2012, 09:33 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-62:
You have only one eye
17 Oct 2012, 09:33 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-62: youve just described the things SA cheat at
“p.s. calling each other names is a little pointless, dont you thing (sic)?” hahahahahahahahaha pot kettle etc…
17 Oct 2012, 09:34 am
@Brads-52:
ok, will do. but before i do, one last thing.
lets play a guessing game:
are you tony johnson?
17 Oct 2012, 09:35 am
@poppa69-59: @Black Power-60: ah so unavailable players and first time in blah blah blah
fact remains, our juniors gave yours a whuppin and that was without the goose.
if you guys havent noticed the ever increasing dominance of saffa teams in superrugby thats cool, bury your heads in the sand.
we are catching up guys, quicker than you think.
17 Oct 2012, 09:37 am
@rangerman-66: keep believing it, outscoring you two to one in the last test suggests otherwise..
our juniors lost their first two games in five years, one to Wales and one to SA, and your catching up?
long way to go yet buddy
17 Oct 2012, 09:37 am
@Slumtown-57:
You are right, the ability to pounce on mistakes is ever present with the AB’s.
However, the AB’s make mistakes like every team when under pressure and this seems to be a common element in matches this year in the RC.
Dear I say it, it almost looked like too much effort went in during the early stages and there was not enough left left in the tank to maintain the pressure.
Maybe some of the SA forwards should spend less time in the gym building their strength and spend a few more sessions doing aerobic work
17 Oct 2012, 09:40 am
@rangerman-66:
I think you have your head in the sand. Been reading the same old story for years. You will never catch us, as you still play the same style of rugby as in Dannie Craven coached. Big forwards trying to break the line etc etc
17 Oct 2012, 09:44 am
@trupisero-61:
a perfect play by the dirty kiwis really.
because to question his winning the award or that game just makes ot a perfect environment for the ‘conspiracy theory’ card.
@Black Power-63:
no, no i dont.
@poppa69-64:
dont be ridiculous …
the number of times the tacklers was not realeased properly or the tackler did not roll away or the arriving players staying on their feet by the ab’s in the 2nd half was larfable.
how many times was nonu in particular pinged for offsides?
woodcock dropped his bind went straght to ground how many times?
god, dont even get me started on the mauls and that last one in front of new zealands line in which romano or read literally walked around the side and attempted to rip the ball from the ball carrier still legitimately bound.
please, you’re ajoke
17 Oct 2012, 09:46 am
@poppa69-59: @Black Power-60: I have to agree with both of you. Obviously I’m delighted that the young Boks won the title, but it is no secret that this was not a very good All Black junior side (in comparison with the previous years). While we (SA coaches) keep on concentrating on the “bashing” up front and always prefer the bigger players over the smaller ones (I know that in certain positions you need bigger players) we are not going to progress. If you have a talented player like Paul Jordaan coming through, who is definite Springbok material, we should use his skills and not try and “bulk him up” in order for him to run over opposition.
More time should be spent on skills training from an early age in SA
17 Oct 2012, 09:47 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-70: too long, did not read..
Im sure there will be something about cheating, filthy etc…
17 Oct 2012, 09:48 am
@rangerman-66: Yes we are catching up but as soon as the top players come together their talent is not applied as it should. In that sense we are not making progress
17 Oct 2012, 09:49 am
no point in mentioning the stuff macaw did.
17 Oct 2012, 09:49 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-54: I remember this article, and he’s right, there was a lot of behind the scenes pressure. Notice though that he doesn’t mention any official SA pressure because our administrators are too chickenshit to step up and apply any, warranted or not.
We just roll over an take it.
So I have zero sympathy for Bryce.
And to clarify your Alanys Morrisette insinuation, it’s true. I’m a huge lesbian.
17 Oct 2012, 09:49 am
@poppa69-72:
thats ok, i’ll save the truth for another day.
17 Oct 2012, 09:50 am
The bok coaching team I think should be the following:
Head coach – Nick Mallett
Attack Coach – John Mitchell
Forwards Coach – Heyeneke Meyer
Skills Coach – paul Treu
Defense Coach – Jacque Nienaber
With that coaching team, the boks would have a chance at the ABs.
17 Oct 2012, 09:52 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-70: Yup when watching again i saw that and was now amused, also Richie ono the ground right in front of the ref pushing the ball out of Strauss hand.
17 Oct 2012, 09:53 am
@rangerman-66:
I had noticed SA had improved in the S15 actually.
Did you also notice that the last 2 winners were 1st timers.
17 Oct 2012, 09:54 am
Bakkies we get it you think ABs cheat. Let it go. Our players besides Flo just don’t want to evolve and do the same. Don’t blame the opposition blame our rigid team.
17 Oct 2012, 09:56 am
@mpundulu-77: Too many strong personalities there mate, they would never work together lol
17 Oct 2012, 09:56 am
@stormersboy-75:
yip, we have gone too soft post isolation and do nowhere near enough to deal with the kiwi (especially) and other dirty backroom dealings.
man, what i woulf give to see another luyt rise.
for a while there i thought brian van rooyen might just have had the goods to ‘actually’ deal with these skarminkels. our new breed of rugby execs ar eway, way too soft and limp wristed.
17 Oct 2012, 09:57 am
@mpundulu-77: Probably the best in their fields for sure.
Not convinced that they would work as a unit, but i guess we can hope.
17 Oct 2012, 09:59 am
To be fair, watching bok rugby is much like watching a blue movie – predictable, no plan B and a bunch of sweaty bodies performing manuevres directed by a useless director and a whole bunch of ooing and aaahing from the players whilst the viewers mostly snigger at the kak they are watching
And if it gets ***** ratings then the “execution” wasn’t up to scratch.
17 Oct 2012, 09:59 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-82: Way too many yes men.
17 Oct 2012, 10:00 am
@sharks_lover-81: Yes, Mitchell, Mallett and Meyer will never last as a combination
17 Oct 2012, 10:01 am
@skunk-80: Except Flouw??
MAte the only 2 teams are playing a changed style of play and thats the Lions and Sharks,
Problem is for example Sharks players under HM are having to play the dinosaur age style of moeren soek and skop and jag
17 Oct 2012, 10:01 am
@stormersboy-85: Especially our president !!
17 Oct 2012, 10:02 am
@sharks_lover-78:
the rolling maul? what a joke hey?
ja, reechee’s infringment were a larf. sometimes i think he’s doing it just for kicks so he can see how far he can go before the ref will do anything.
but seriously, its clear their plan was to commit yellow/red card/penalty try offenses in the last 20 when in their red zone withthe idea being that either they get away with it (as usual), or at worst they concede only a 3 point kick and also that the score is still lower, while eating away at scoring opportunities time wise for the boks.
17 Oct 2012, 10:03 am
The other team that does try to play running rugby obviously is the Cheetahs, problem with them is Defense goes awol
17 Oct 2012, 10:05 am
@skunk-80:
why did you have to ruin it by saying i ‘think’ they cheat?
17 Oct 2012, 10:06 am
SharksLover.
We are talking about bending the rules not styles of play.
17 Oct 2012, 10:07 am
@mpundulu-77: If SA had those coaches we would probably have the best coaches in world rugby. We would not only have a chance, we would be the best in the world with them. Though some of them are too hot headed probably to work together.
For now though I would really like to see Paul Treu coaching our backline. I know he wants to carry on as 7′s coach with the 7′s in the Olympics in 4 years time, but think he would be a superb backline coach for our Boks right now.
Without a doubt we should have Nienaber already as our defence coach. Defence cost us huge at Soccer City.
17 Oct 2012, 10:08 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-89: BOet but remember it’s the refs job to sought those things out
17 Oct 2012, 10:08 am
Playing the ref is an art Bakkies. But we just do not want to do that.
17 Oct 2012, 10:09 am
@CharlesM-88: Absolutely, Starts at the top
17 Oct 2012, 10:09 am
@skunk-92: Ah ok my bad, I will follow more closely
17 Oct 2012, 10:11 am
@skunk-95: THe reason our players dobt play the ref is because they get into trouble etc, and are used to having to show dissapline, in NZ they are taught to play the ref, cheat etc, call it what you want.
So a NZ player does not fear being dropped and getting into trouble etc.
17 Oct 2012, 10:12 am
@stormersboy-96: Who keeps Hoskins there ? It seems that he has been there for ages. I remember after the 2007 World Cup that Debra Patta of 3rd Degree grilled him on TV: he could not get away from her soon enough !!
17 Oct 2012, 10:13 am
I see bakkies continually repetition is having its effect.. say something often enough and it will become fact..
still, I understand, the travel disadvantage is no longer feasible because the ABs debunked that theory..
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