Pat must play, Morné must rest
22 Oct 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Currie Cup semi-finals showed why Pat Lambie is ready for the Springbok flyhalf responsibility, and why the other contenders are not.
Lambie went into the 2012 Test season with plenty to prove. New Bok coach Heyneke Meyer wasn’t convinced that he had what it took to hold down a starting position. The biggest concern was Lambie’s tactical kicking accuracy and game management. Meyer felt that Bulls fullback Zane Kirchner held the edge in this department.
It was also around this time that Meyer made it clear that Morné Steyn was his preferred flyhalf. According to the Bok coach, the team would need Steyn’s composure, as well his goal- and tactical-kicking precision if they hoped to win Tests consistently.
Over the course of the season, however, Steyn has failed to display the strengths that helped the Boks win the series against the British & Irish Lions as well as the Tri-Nations in 2009. Ironically, it’s been his lack of accuracy that has cost the team matches in 2012.
Following the disappointing draw to England in Port Elizabeth, Meyer admitted that Steyn would need to find form in the subsequent Super Rugby games if the Boks were to improve. They turned out to be prophetic words, as Steyn continued to struggle over the next few months, and this had a negative impact on both the Bulls and the Boks.
When Steyn was eventually axed, Meyer explained that the flyhalf had played virtually non-stop for three years, and so he required a mental break. But only a few weeks later, Steyn was asked to lift the Bulls out of the Currie Cup relegation zone and into the play-offs.
It was a task that Steyn responded to at first. He proved instrumental in the Bulls’ crucial win over the Lions, a result that propelled the Pretorians into a semi-final against the Sharks. However, it was in this latter game where his shortcomings, both physical and mental, were again exposed.
There are many who feel that Steyn will add value on the Boks’ end-of-year tour to Europe. I have to disagree.
It’s a difficult tour where conditions prescribe a tighter and more tactical approach. Steyn’s supporters will say that he fits the bill, but my argument is that Steyn is suited to this role only in theory.
If you look at where Steyn is mentally, and how he has consistently struggled to regain his once prolific kicking accuracy, how can you even consider taking him to Europe and asking him to win three Tests in a row?
Steyn was not solely to blame for Saturday’s loss to the Sharks, but it was because of his poor kicking and game management that the Bulls battled to get out of their own half.
He’s never been known as a dirty or ill-disciplined player, and yet, he finished this game with a swinging arm that connected the face of Sharks fullback Louis Ludik.
The Bulls were about to lose, to exit the Currie Cup, and Steyn reacted badly. It’s not too much of a stretch to judge this action as a response to his seemingly endless struggles of 2012. It’s very clear that he needs a mental break from rugby.
Lambie made a massive statement with his excellent goal-kicking performance at Kings Park, as well as a fine display of game management that played a big role in the Sharks’ overwhelming territorial advantage.
Looking at the performances of both flyhalves in Durban, you’d have to say that things couldn’t have gone better for Lambie in a Bok context. Lambie rose above the pressure, while Steyn succumbed to it. On the basis of that game, it’s clear which player you’d back to win the Boks’ Tests in Europe.
The flyhalf position has been a talking point ever since Johan Goosen went down with a season-ending injury at Soccer City. Goosen is the future at No 10, but it is Lambie who can provide the Boks with another strong option. And in the modern game where the schedule is relentless and serious injuries are a reality, you need two strong options.
The other semi-final in Johannesburg also highlighted why Lambie is the best available choice. Elton Jantjies may have already played for the Boks this season, but I’m not convinced that he has the temperament, nor the skill set at this stage of his career, to handle the ultimate responsibility.
Jantjies missed three early kicks at goal, and these misses were massive in the context of a rain-affected game. Indeed, if you compare Jantjies’ misses in Johannesburg with Lambie’s early penalties in Durban, you could say that Jantjies blew a similar chance to establish early momentum, to build a commanding lead and set up a convincing win.
The sight of Jantjies being flattened by the diminutive Gio Aplon will not inspire confidence. His lack of physicality has long been considered a shortcoming, as has his defence which was exposed in that Test against the All Blacks at Soccer City.
He’s a confidence player, and only takes the ball to the gain line when he receives it on the front foot. When his forwards aren’t enjoying that sort of momentum, he slides back into the pocket.
The obvious response to this statement is: which flyhalf doesn’t?
Of all the players who have played flyhalf in recent seasons, Lambie has stood out as a player who continues to take the initiative despite the failure of his forwards. The game I’m referring to is the 2011 Test against the All Blacks in New Zealand where he played one of his better games in a Bok jersey. He responds well to that sort of pressure.
Goosen is injured. Jantjies’s is a talent that has yet to be fully developed and refined. Steyn has lost confidence and form and can’t be expected to win games for South Africa in his current guise.
And then we have Lambie, who has led the Sharks to back-to-back wins with superb all-round displays. Lambie, who in all likelihood will lead the Sharks to another Currie Cup title in Durban this Saturday. Lambie, a match-winner.
Really, it’s not a difficult call to make.
Follow JC on Twitter
Follow SA Rugby magazine on Twitter
463 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 [10] Show All
22 Oct 2012, 18:06 pm
@Puma-445: Scotland is one of my favourites too, Puma.
Lovely place.
22 Oct 2012, 19:19 pm
as a sharks supporter even im disappointed as to how soon everyone wants to dump jantjies as the bok number one FH
how much time did he have to prove himself, 5min against AUS and a half against the best team in the world when his own team seem to be all over the place having been scared shitless at the thought of being 7 points down with 30min to go
i blame JDV for SA’s poor second half against the AB’s, he should have calmed his charges down when they were clearly all trying to win the game on their own instead of continue to play as a team, like they did in the first half
Morne gets to underperform for a half a dozen games before meyer sees the light
but elton should be drop due to one bad half when he didnt even start, an a under par performance in a currie cup semi when he played decently in all aspect except goal kicking
it seems some players get away with way more than others
i defended meyers selection of steyn as first choose FH at the start of the season as i thought that it would be logical for him to first instal winning momentum into the team as a whole before grooming in a all round FH
the cadidates to take over should have been Lambie or Jantjies
the idea that goosen could start a test this season worried me. i know everyone and their gran loves this kid, and i to think he has great potential. but he looked frail compared to other FH in super rugby
i was all for having him in the greater bok squad so he could get use to his team mates and understand the inviroment. but i thought our coaching staff had the gray matter between their heads to know that the best thing for goosen was to copy what NZ did with Carter, ie: bring him on in the last 5-10
remember how thin dan carter use to look, also when looking at the stats of our probible FHs lambie, elton, morne, grant, goosen.
goosen was listed as the tallest… but also the lightest (thus the thin’st)
you cant start that kid at test level just yet
AB’s must be laughing there ***’s off watching us mess with another promising talent
people called goose’s shoulder injury in SR a freak accident lol. he hurt it smackin against the ground as he was tackled
oh and whats this about elton not being physical enough. you seem to forget siya kolisi’s season ending injury in the currie cup semi last year. and how did he get hurt, oh by attempting a tackle on jantjies, which elton just shrugged off
Jon, aplon caught elton really well yes and it was a good hit, but he was standing on one leg dude (let me spell it out for you: Jantjies and lambie can take a hit and survive. goosen cant right now)
carter had to sit behind spencer and merthens but he was always informed of the greater plan less he get dispondent
so in closing
goosens made of glass at the moment, give the kid a chance to grow
and lets not be so quick to show jantjies the door
and this is written by a life long sharks supporter, who has been championing lambie as our bok FH since the currie cup final of 2010
but even i feel he should not jump jantjies in the pecking order.
22 Oct 2012, 21:50 pm
@numba4lock-452: Careful, you are in danger of losing your Sharks Supporters subscription for uttering such heresy….
22 Oct 2012, 22:40 pm
lol call a spade a spade
case in point: Wp have two really good young props at the moment in Frans malherbe and steven kitshof
and i can say that dispite not being a stormers supporter
im not like my friends who seem to suffer from provincilsm everytime the boks play
just waiting for a rival unions player to make a mistake so they can **** on him
we tend to forget that humans play sport not robots
lambie is turning on the class right now, but jantjies has hardly been given a chance since being installed as number two behind Mr Glass
22 Oct 2012, 23:23 pm
Morne does not need to be rested, he needs to be discarded in total – he is useless, always has been. A talentless rugby player with a good boot
23 Oct 2012, 00:14 am
@willievz-447: after that big emotional outpouring by puma you confirm that lambie did miss a sitter against ireland abd it was NOT “in gale force winds” in f.cuking scotland.
Puma get over your lambie obsession old dog…it is unhealthy boet hahahahaha
you go off on me about scottish conditions & it turns out i was right…go figure!
23 Oct 2012, 07:24 am
@pompies2-375:
ok, thanks for that.
23 Oct 2012, 09:02 am
@Saffex-455: Oh my. I thought you were a Bulls supporter
23 Oct 2012, 09:28 am
They should move the final to Moses Mahbhida if it is going to rain again. Kings Park is a joke of a pitch when it rains. Its actually appaling that they havent fixed the drainage since the debacle in 1995 World Cup.
23 Oct 2012, 09:31 am
its not about dropping jantjes but realising lambie should have been ahead of him in the pecking order all along.
jantjes to warm the bed and lambie to start 2. jantjes can start a 3rd with lambie on bench. treat this tour as building towards next year. heyneke has blooded so many youngsters this year, cut him slack with the results if he chooses this tour to continue with the new faces and rest the old guard.
23 Oct 2012, 09:32 am
@Sasuke-459:
WTF are you taliking about?!
The only reason why that game took place is because the drainage is so good at KP.
Durban has had over half their average rainfall in the last 2 months.
With that amount of rain and contued rain on the day of each and every game, Moses would fare no better. It would still be a mud bath.
23 Oct 2012, 10:37 am
@Puma-444:
Not if the original player returning was meant to be the incumbent anyway as in the case of Kirchner. Aplon was not even in the squad and then was pulled in for the last England Test with injuries to Kirchner,Lambie,Taute.
So its hardly the same context
23 Oct 2012, 10:43 am
http://www.unionsportsmag.co.za/
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 [10] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.