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, 12:45 pm
@trupisero-187: @willievz-189:
Thanks lads…
17 Oct 2012, 12:46 pm
@wpstormerbok-197:
Yep, it’s a shame.
I honestly feel we could set these guys out to pasture, and still win all 3 games, if just choose the right team.
I also hope that Meyer doesn’t really believe Taute is a long term 13 for the Boks.
17 Oct 2012, 12:48 pm
@Hurricane-199:
Mmmm, I could argue those ‘binnings’.
But ja, the path is clear, the Boks are coming
Well, maybe not in 2013, Meyer is aiming for a 2018 4N win. He is a bit slow like that. Bless him.
17 Oct 2012, 12:51 pm
@londonshark-194: Not sure if I’d pick him either.
17 Oct 2012, 12:52 pm
So… Marius wanker is the ref against the Lions, So I KNOW now that The Lions will be in the fINAL!!
Done deal, no need to worry anymore… time to make some serious cash out of the bookies…
17 Oct 2012, 12:53 pm
The sharks have Mark Lawrence against the Bulls… Lately feel he is the best ref we have.. although he favours the Bulls a bit..
17 Oct 2012, 12:57 pm
@londonshark-202: Taute is a very overrated player.
He has to play 13 for the Lions though, as Andries Coetzee is a better 15.
17 Oct 2012, 12:57 pm
@londonshark-203:
haha good stuff.
2018 sounds like a good year, better late than never.
17 Oct 2012, 12:58 pm
@willievz-207: He still has to impress me as well.. but I think he is a 15 and not a 13…
17 Oct 2012, 12:59 pm
so much anti-sa hate
all so unjustified
the kiwis on the other hand
17 Oct 2012, 13:00 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-140:
@sharks_lover-144:
17 Oct 2012, 13:00 pm
@Hurricane-208: How long did you wait for a World Cup since 87?
17 Oct 2012, 13:01 pm
me the supporter who pays for it all should just hand over my hard earned cash and except whatever end product is dished up. not only that, i must get lost because i don’t know what i’m talking about. is that about right jc? genius! why hasn’t anyone thought of this before. i think you may have stumbled onto a brilliant customer service strategy here. and of course the cherry on top is that you’re telling journos who don’t share your view that they know nothing
17 Oct 2012, 13:02 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-210:
What are you on about now??
17 Oct 2012, 13:02 pm
@Sharksgirl-192:
dont let these kiwis break you sharksgirl, keep telling the truth.
i would stay to help you clear them out (if they’re not willing to accept the facts) but i’ve been busy.
17 Oct 2012, 13:03 pm
@Provvas-212:
20 years i believe,why is that?
17 Oct 2012, 13:04 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-215:
Bakkies i thought you had missed that post lol
17 Oct 2012, 13:04 pm
@Hurricane-214:
always projecting and trying to turn the debate back on the people who point out your deeds.
there are serious issues and questions left on the table here when considering the state of nz’ers mental health on the whole.
17 Oct 2012, 13:04 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-215:
Only thing you clear out is your own brain cells
17 Oct 2012, 13:06 pm
@grant10-179:
good observation but
you have left you the biggest culprits in world rugby, boet?
why?
i dont understand?
why try to make a point and then only go half through with it?
dont be so camp(s bay)… say it like it is….
17 Oct 2012, 13:06 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-218:
So you told me the other night how us Maoris were in NZ etc etc even though you had no clue,now you going to tell us about our mental health?
Why do you need to be so much of an a$$hole?
Dont post things from websites etc. I have my beliefs and you have your own,lets leave it at that.
17 Oct 2012, 13:08 pm
@sharks_lover-217:
i dont trust it when they make eye contact with our girls :lol;
17 Oct 2012, 13:10 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-215:
Well I guess now I’ll remain strong! just no more excuses that you are too busy though 
17 Oct 2012, 13:12 pm
@Hurricane-219:
in your case its a question of keeping our enemies close.
feel our hatred and understand the justification for what we will do the day our springbok ship comes in.
you will suffer to a man for your teams actions….to a man…
17 Oct 2012, 13:13 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-222: lol
17 Oct 2012, 13:23 pm
@Hurricane-221:
i am considering investing with some guys i know who are looking to expand their business into arstrelasia. maybe open up a subsidiary in nz.
i dont actually know what the fark they do really but the idea of imposing springbok jerseys as the company dress code really apeals to me
@Sharksgirl-223:
you take the rght flank, i’ll take the left.
fire at everything in black
17 Oct 2012, 13:26 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-224:
Your hatred makes me laugh.
Its like the next door neigbours kitten hissing at me…. really not that scary.
Especailly when you hate on the wrong people, thats just as funny. Like the time graham henry cheated you guys out of a win in Argentina in this years RC…lol….
Well that springbok ship better get upgraded to steampower cos its been a while in between dockings.
17 Oct 2012, 13:29 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-226:
You cant do that to us !!!
17 Oct 2012, 13:30 pm
Oh well cya all.
Bakkies keep it real,catch ya dude.
17 Oct 2012, 13:32 pm
You know what I have come to love about fellows like Bakkies?: The consistency they provide in a world that is anything but….
It makes one feel safe.
The rand is up, the rand is down, petrol is up, petrol is down…..
Bakkies: he is always down (on the Kiwis). Very comforting.
17 Oct 2012, 13:40 pm
@Hurricane-227:
oh just you wait
@Hurricane-228:
@Hurricane-229:
cheers hurri
17 Oct 2012, 13:42 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-230:
the battle of good versus evil is eternal
17 Oct 2012, 13:44 pm
Yep SA rugby has moved with the times…
We have very mobile and skillful looseforwardd
We have a very fast and skillful 9
We have an attacking flyhalf who attacks the line
We have centres who break the line with awesome offloading ability
We a very good attacking Fullback
Oh wait… I was thinking about the All Blacks…
17 Oct 2012, 14:29 pm
“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”
No JC, the gameplans are sterile on attack making it easy for sides with good defence to shut them out! The Stormers LOST most, if not all, the games where they were behind at half-time, they couldn’t claw their way back into games because their gameplan lacks the necessary balance between defence and attack! Look at the EVENTUAL winners of Super rugby, the Chiefs.
The stats show they were fourth best attacking team on the table [meaning they're ambitious on attack and can put points past teams] and sixth best defensive team. The top defensive team were the Stormers but they were only the 12th best attacking team in terms of points scored. The best attacking team, the Hurricanes, were only the 10th best defensive team. balance!
noone is looking for “helter skelter” exhibition stuff, both the Boks and Stormers need to be adventurous and incisive on attack!
the aim of the game is still to score more points than the opposition.
17 Oct 2012, 14:31 pm
@Transformation-234:
no transformation, everyone knows why the chiefs won it this season. it was plain as day for even the most one eyed kiwis.
17 Oct 2012, 14:33 pm
nothing to do with being fourth and sixth best attacking and defending team.
17 Oct 2012, 14:37 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-236: they “cheated”?
17 Oct 2012, 14:47 pm
I agree with one key point in this article – namely – defense should be a huge priority and most aspects of the team should revolve around a solid defenseive game. This includes player selection, which is why I don’t agree with people who say the dream backline would be 10: Goosen, 12: Lambie, 13: Jordaan, 14: Aplon, 11: Rhule, 15: Le Roux (for example).
If you don’t balance the team with a core of bigger guys who add physicality and strong defense, then you will get broken when guys like Manu Tuilagi, Jamie Roberts, Sonny Bill, Nonu etc run at you.
I disagree with the article however in the way it implies that the fans are wrong to want a more attacking threat from the Springboks…. It is true that a kicking game and defense are important factors, but to achieve balance, we need an attacking threat as well…. We have won 4 from 9 this year. Surely there’s room for improvement and I think the fans are right for wanting that.
The answer in rugbgy is almost always BALANCE.
The guys who want a backline fully consisting of 7 21 year olds who are all 5ft10 forget the importance of the big enforcers like Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen etc… The team needs these guys to achieve balance.
Likewise, Heyneke Meyer and most of the South African rugby fraternity who are obsessed with only selecting massive enforcers and playing a conservative game plan forget the importance of the attacking edge which guys like Jordaan and Aplon can provide…. The team also needs these guys to achieve balance.
A mix of big guys together with smaller, steppier guys… A mix of experience and youth… A mix of conservative game plan with some attacking plays too… Balance.
Balance, balance, balance!!!
17 Oct 2012, 14:53 pm
@Transformation-234: 100% agree.
17 Oct 2012, 14:57 pm
@Transformation-237:
that is very observant of you, transie
17 Oct 2012, 15:00 pm
Interesting…. The last four world cups have been won by teams knocked out of the qaurter finals in the previous edition.
17 Oct 2012, 20:15 pm
@Provvas-212: touché!
17 Oct 2012, 20:22 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-226: bakkies, this was a very funny post. More of this please, less of the other!
17 Oct 2012, 20:47 pm
So, why is it that all the NZ top tier NPC teams play open, attacking running rugby when the rules are exactly the same? And any of these teams would — in a head-to-head — teach WP the mother of all rugby lessons, for sure.
17 Oct 2012, 21:52 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-235:
Ummm Chiefs were there better team?
What else could it be?
17 Oct 2012, 22:14 pm
@Hurricane-245: When you think about it, Bakkies is like the Springboks. His strategy is to repetitively bash the opposition in the expectation that they will eventually crumble to his (perceived) superior strength. However, it is so predictable it has long since becomes boring and ineffective.
On the odd occassion that he surprises himself and posts with a bit of flair (humour) people listen. However, at the first sign of criticism he retreats back into the old ways which he knows and trusts – bash bash bash the Kiwis/Aussies/Argies/Sharks/Stormes/[anyone who is not from the Bulls] until they agree he is right (which will never happen, other than in pitying sarcasm).
When you think about it, it’s bloody obvious – BAKKIES IS HEYNEKE MEYER!!!!!
17 Oct 2012, 22:19 pm
@TheTackler-244: Tackles, it would be good to see a club competition like this, including some of the European clubs.
I don’t think you are right about the outcome tho. The Curry Cup teams play a lot of the top Springboks, whereas the NPC teams don’t. Also, the leading Curry Cup teams are essentially the same as the leading SA Super 15 teams, whereas NZ’s Super teams are all made up of several NPC teams.
Some of the NZ teams would do OK, particularly Canterbury and Waikato, but I think the others would get a hiding. The open rugby that Wellington have been playing for instance just wouldnt’ cut it against the Sharks, Bulls, Stormers.
Just MTCW.
17 Oct 2012, 22:30 pm
@corporal punishment-246: Mate, you’re on to something here but a pity no one is around to see it because they are probably banging their heads against the wall on the Kings thread (“you’re a racist”, “no you’re a racist!”). Surprised we haven’t seen Meyer furiously smashing a computer during games, ranting on Keo
17 Oct 2012, 23:01 pm
The AB’s have also focussed their backline attack on set pieces when all the players are in positions that are predictable, and where their loosies are set to cover in defnce if their backline makes mistakes. They also have a few loose play set moves that seem to work well.
Most of thier tries come from set moves off set pieces.
17 Oct 2012, 23:15 pm
Typical dribble from WP supporter Cardinelli.
The Sharks can score loads of tries and so can the NZ and Aus teams in Super Rugby.
No-one said run it like a headless chicken like the Lions did in last years Super 15, that is just plain stupid.
If the forwards lay the foundation with forward momentum, the backs can run wild. Too bad WP/Stormers can’t do that or the Boks because of a coach stuck in the past.
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