No breathing space for Boks
5 Nov 2012
RYAN VREDE, writing from Dublin, says there needs to be some tempering of expectation around the quality of the Springboks’ performances, but not of the expectation of a clean sweep.
Coach Heyneke Meyer isn’t going anywhere, even if the Springboks are blanked on this tour. This will come as a disappointment to a growing number of critics. But Meyer enjoys strong support from the bulk of the men who determine his longevity in the role of head coach, most of whom are sold on his playing philosophy, his vision regarding selection and are sympathetic to his plight in light of a host of injuries to key players.
Meyer has never been able to field his first-choice side because of injuries, and is currently in a position where he is missing three highly experienced players – Bismarck du Plessis, Bryan Habana and Frans Steyn – who, when on form, would make any elite Test side. There are a clutch of other high quality players unavailable as well, further undermining Meyer’s cause, while his quest to secure the services of Japan-based players, most notably Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie, was met with a refusal by their clubs.
Meyer is particular concerned about the impotency of his backline, feeling Du Preez and Fourie (Jaco Taute would have shifted to fullback) would have added a special dimension that has been lacking throughout his tenure. His tactics have been under constant fire, but their time spent in the opposition’s 22m compares favourably with the All Blacks, the difference being how clinical the world champions have been in those positions. He choice of flyhalf will be critical to any improvements in this regard, but there needs to be observable gains in the decision-making, innovation and execution of their backline play overall.
In three mid-year Tests, the Blacks put 124 points past a better Ireland side that will front the Springboks in Dublin on Saturday, conceding just 29. It would be laughable to compare the current Springbok side to the Blacks – who I’m sure will be remembered as one of the game’s best – but it does offer us some insight into the strength of the Irish, who also lost to Wales at the Aviva Stadium, drew with France and were comprehensively beaten by England in the Six Nations.
Certainly they will be a formidable opponent in front of a capacity crowd (the Springboks have won just one of the last four matches in Dublin). However, Ireland’s quality has been depleted through the recent withdrawals of Brian O’Driscoll, Rob Kearney and Rory Best, while combative openside Sean O’Brien and experienced back rower Stephen Ferris will be sorely missed. Paul O’Connell expected to lose the race to recover from injury (further expanding the leadership void). Consider also that that prop Cian Healy is struggling with his shoulder and Declan Fitzpatrick is still carrying a concussion sustained last weekend, and Ireland are there for the taking.
There will be the usual threatening rhetoric from Scotland, but surely the Springboks won’t replicate the embarrassing defeat in 2010. Scotland lost all their Six Nations matches, and while they beat Australia in torrential rain in Newcastle in June, the result was more a reflection of the Wallabies’ weakness and inconsistency, which persisted into the Rugby Championship, than it was a new dawn for Scottish rugby.
The sternest Test of the Springboks will come at Twickenham against England. They haven’t lost to Stuart Lancaster’s men in 10 Tests, including three wins in their last three outings at Twickenham, but the quality of this side doesn’t match their predecessors and their injury list is likely to be lengthier by then. They will also face a home side desperate to avenge their 2-0 June series defeat.
The Springboks have won by an average of 19 points in the aforementioned matches, but they will settle for a less emphatic margin if it means they win three from three. Despite what Meyer lacks in quality because of injuries, a tour sweep is still a realistic expectation.
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205 Comments
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5 Nov 2012, 12:27 pm
Sorry, should’ve rolled all posts into one.
5 Nov 2012, 12:28 pm
@mshiniwami-95: I have to agree, the Lions players were not happy, so they went to daddy like a bunch of babies. Top of the pile, Strauss ended up leaving to play for the Scots!!!
Mitchell is bloody brilliant coach, stuck with poor unprofessional players.
5 Nov 2012, 12:31 pm
Yo Keo & co, can we have an update on the Mitchell saga ASAP, please.
Thanks
5 Nov 2012, 12:31 pm
@BrumbiesBoy-99: what is your opinion about “PE shenanigans” based on?
pray tell!
5 Nov 2012, 12:43 pm
@Transformation-104: With all the bullsh*te surrounding them that’s gone on this year, don’t you blame me for being just a little bit suspicious about all that emanates from there & SA Rugby?
Cone now, don’t be so naive!
5 Nov 2012, 12:44 pm
I see Graeme Joffe is still having a full go at keo in his columns…
Some rugby journalists may need to “transform” as well as the “Cape Town boys club” are occasionally letting their buddy-buddy relationships get in the way of the facts.
In punting his radio interview with Mark Keohane, Tank Lanning wrote: “Mark Keohane also exposed the infamous Kamp Staaldraad in 2003 and the Geo Cronje/Quinton Davids racism within the Bok squad, which had Rudolf Straeuli fired.“
Tank, not that I want to argue with a former prop but Keohane didn’t expose the Cronje/Davids racism saga. It was in fact Dale Granger at the Cape Argus. Granger even phoned Keohane who vehemently denied it. Hours later SARU put out a press release to pretend that they uncovered racism. SARU and Keohane knew about it all along and therefore condoned it.
The good old spin doctor.
And please Tank, don’t defend a mate who keeps on denying about his “involvement” with the Kings and how his “ex-company, HSM”, are handling the representation of Luke Watson and other players”.
Keohane is still on the payroll at HSM and has represented/managed Watson as an unaccredited SARU agent since the player joined the Kings.
If you were an accredited SARU agent and had been through the entire licensing process, would you be happy with this shady business deal?
5 Nov 2012, 12:46 pm
idiots looking for excuses for this holy white fake messiah
so this twit needs all manner of by clauses to hide behind if he don’t pull off 3 wins overseas
weak Ireland and weak Scotland should be a cake walk.. what the excuses going to be if he fails at those hurdles.. that the players didn’t put their hands up..again?
This messiah supposed to be the ultimate motivational rugby guru on the planet according to some.. so far his record shows he is incompetent in some of the following
1 recognition and identification of talent and form
2. identification and creation of game plan strategy
3. management and coordination of player strengths and combinations
4. directing and addressing new technique and strategy to global game patterns
5. player management – injury prevention
where all this superior rugby acumen gone, under current paradigms this moron makes PdV look like Einstein in rugby comparatives.
5 Nov 2012, 12:47 pm
@mshiniwami-60: @race of tan-77: Agreed gents. The biggest problem for the Boks going forward is Heyneke Meyer himself and his team of clueless sycophants. Nowhere was this more abundantly clear than at Soccer City where the Boks were caught with their pants down against an AB team that would later draw against one of the worst Wallaby sides in history.
Credit Todd Louden for everything the Bulls ever achieved in Super Rugby. Heyneke Meyer has been and will continue to be a failure without quality assistance.
5 Nov 2012, 12:49 pm
@BrumbiesBoy-105: “Cone now, don’t be so naive!” hahahahaha
it is YOUR “opinion”, YOU must back it up with “reasonable” argument and not ascribe “naivety” on my part about something you have NOT even explained!
what in your convoluted mind is the connection between mitchell being suspended and the Kings?
plain, straightforward answer please and don’t ask me to see pies in the sky!
5 Nov 2012, 12:52 pm
Condolences to the Blue Bulls Union, I’ve just learnt that Under-20 forward Nico van Vuuren was killed in a car crash in Komatipoort on Saturday morning.
Seems that a butchery was robbed and after hi-jacking a car the robbers lost control of it and crashed head-on into van Vuuren’s car.
Three of the four robbers also died in the crash and something like R150 000 was recovered.
R.I.P.
5 Nov 2012, 12:54 pm
@skopdiekan-107: Exactly. The guy has been exposed. He’s clearly an awful coach who cant even get one aspect of the job right. He should just quit now if he’s not going to bring in some quality assistant coaching.
5 Nov 2012, 12:56 pm
I’m so bored I could kill something
5 Nov 2012, 12:59 pm
@Superbru-28:
“Backline is impotent because of Jean de Villier’s lack of penetration skills…”
Interesting choice of words.
Does his wife know about his little problem?
5 Nov 2012, 13:00 pm
Yawn
5 Nov 2012, 13:01 pm
Blah
5 Nov 2012, 13:01 pm
Whatever
5 Nov 2012, 13:01 pm
Yeesh
5 Nov 2012, 13:02 pm
Magtag
5 Nov 2012, 13:03 pm
Jinne
5 Nov 2012, 13:06 pm
Zelim Nel on IOL reckons JDJ will start against the Irish.
POSSIBLE TEST TEAM: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (capt), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
5 Nov 2012, 13:11 pm
@BrumbiesBoy-110: My apologies, condolences to his family, friends and the supporters as well.
5 Nov 2012, 13:11 pm
@Dawn-112:
A bottle of Famous Grouse?
5 Nov 2012, 13:13 pm
From Rugby365
The John Mitchell versus Golden Lions Rugby Union saga has taken another intriguing twist, with Mitchell claiming he wants to continue coaching in Johannesburg.
In what appears to be either a dangerous cat and mouse game or a major breakdown in communications, the GLRU and Mitchell’s management company, The Fordham Company, gave contradictory statements about the ‘outcome’ of their long-standing public spat.
Mitchell, who has been under suspension by the GLRU since June, said in a statement – issued by The Fordham Company – that he wants to continue as head coach of the Lions.
This came just days after Mitchell was ‘appointed’ to a rugby strategy management board of the Sale Sharks Premiership club in England.
According the Fordham statement Mitchell was found ‘not guilty of various charges’ levelled against by the GLRU, and that a further six charges have been withdrawn.
The statement also said that Mitchell is committed to continuing in the role of head coach at the Lions, buoyed by news that he has “already been found not guilty of various charges of misconduct” levelled against him by the GLRU.
However, GLRU Chief Executive Ruben Moggee said these are just assumptions made by the Fordham Company.
“I have no idea how they can make a [media] release if they have not even seen the proposal of the [arbitration hearing] chairman [Peter Bam],” Moggee told this website in an exclusive interview.
“It is their prerogative [to make such assumptions],” Moggee added.
The GLRU boss confirmed that they have received the arbitration hearing chairman’s report.
“We can’t comment on that at this stage, we are busy looking at it,” Moggee said, adding: “We will look to issue a media release later in the week.
“They may have made an assumption, because we have it and haven’t forwarded it to them yet, so they may assume he is innocent.
“They can make assumptions if they want.”
John Fordham, the Chief Executive of The Fordham Company, further discombobulated the matter by claiming not to know about Mitchell’s appointment to the Sale Sharks board in England – where the former All Black mentor had been acting in an advisory capacity.
“I am not aware of that,” Fordham told this website in a telephonic interview from Sydney, when asked about the Sale issue.
“What we say in the media release stands, as far as I am concerned, and that is the instruction I have got from John,” he said about the claim that Mitchell did not accept a ‘coaching’ position at the Sharks.
“I am not aware of any of that [the Sale Sharks statement],” the Fordham boss said, adding: “I have not looked at their website and I have no reason to look at their website.
“All I can say is that he was approached by Sale Sharks and our media release makes it very clear he is still employed by the Golden Lions. He [Mitchell] has been under suspension, but he is still employed.
“Since this action [by the GLRU] started, he is still being paid according to his contract.”
Asked what Mitchell was doing in the UK, Fordham said: “I am not aware of that, he could have been over there looking at games or something.
“I think that is irrelevant, because he is employed by the Golden Lions.
“The media release we sent out makes it very clear that he has every intention of continuing there [at the GLRU in Johannesburg.”
The Fordham Company media release in full:
JOHN MITCHELL FOUND NOT GUILTY OF VARIOUS CHARGES; FURTHER
SIX CHARGES WITHDRAWN; NOW ANXIOUS FOR NEWS OF REMAINING FINDINGS
Suspended Golden Lions Rugby Union head coach John Mitchell is committed to continuing in the role, buoyed by news that he has already been found not guilty of various charges of misconduct levelled against him by the GLRU, with a further six charges having been withdrawn by the Johannesburg-based club.
The lengthy enquiry into the charges laid against Mitchell by the GLRU was chaired by an independent legal expert, Mr Peter Bam.
“Even though John has been cleared of these particular allegations, the GLRU, through its lawyers, is not prepared to release details to John or his lawyers,” says Mitchell’s management, The Fordham Company, today.
“That’s pretty amazing considering the damage that this action taken by the GLRU has done to John’s reputation and brand. Furthermore, the GLRU’s lawyers have advised John’s lawyers that they are not prepared to release the findings and recommendations pertaining to the remaining nine charges brought against John unless John agrees to sign a confidentiality undertaking. One would have to question why this information is being withheld”.
Mitchell’s lawyers Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs is continuing to press for full disclosure from the GLRU law firm Erasmus Inc and have threatened an urgent application to Labour Court to secure the findings and recommendations.
In making it clear that he wants to be restored as Golden Lions head coach, Mitchell confirmed today that he has no intention of seeking a coaching position with the UK club Sale Sharks, even though he had been approached by the club regarding the position.
“I want my head coach position back at the Lions,” said Mitchell. “There is some unfinished business to do with the Lions. Furthermore, I am determined that my future will be in South Africa”.
The statement by Brian Kennedy, owner of Sale Sharks, issued last week Wednesday (October 31):
“We are delighted to announce that Bryan Redpath will be taking on the role of Head Coach at Sale Sharks, as from today. His four year contract that commenced this year will stay in force.
“Sale Sharks have formed a rugby strategy management board, which will meet regularly to devise and review the long term rugby strategy. This board will be chaired by Brian Kennedy and consist of the following members: Ian Blackhurst, Steve Diamond, John Mitchell and Bryan Redpath.
“The priority of all the management within Sale Sharks is to get back to winning ways and secure our position in the Premiership. We believe we have the playing and coaching talent and structure to achieve this.
“Beyond this we must plan medium and long term, to compete at the top of the game and this will be the remit of the strategy board.”
By Jan de Koning
5 Nov 2012, 13:16 pm
@katman-120: That’s a well selected side. Hopefully HM goes with it.
5 Nov 2012, 13:17 pm
@Dawn-114: @Dawn-115: @Dawn-116: @Dawn-117: @Dawn-118: @Dawn-119:
From one liners to one word sentences now.
Time a problem?
5 Nov 2012, 13:18 pm
@ufo-123: Props to Rugby365 for squeezing “discombobulated” into an article.
5 Nov 2012, 13:20 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-124: Ja, it’s pretty close to what I’d pick. But I’m not sold on Strauss at hooker.
5 Nov 2012, 13:20 pm
@katman-126:
hehehe…
yeah… must be real journos across there…!!
5 Nov 2012, 13:22 pm
@ufo-128: I suspect Ryan has already made a mental note of that. We should see a number of discombobulations from him in the near future.
5 Nov 2012, 13:24 pm
@ufo-123:
Mitchells lawyers have probably advised him that as he is still under contract to the Lions, any other job he takes would be a breech of contract and open to damages claims. On the other hand, he can claim the balance of his contract as a settlement if the Lions want him to go, which wouldn’t be the case if he’d already taken another job.
5 Nov 2012, 13:24 pm
@katman-129:
i suspect you’re correct and we will…
5 Nov 2012, 13:27 pm
@David-130:
yeah… lots of discomconvolutions to this story still to come…!!
5 Nov 2012, 13:34 pm
@ufo-132:
Yep. Looks like JM believed he’d be found guilty and acted a bit hastily when he took the Sale job. Now he’s trying to do some damage control.
5 Nov 2012, 13:41 pm
@katman-126: That’s my word for the day.
5 Nov 2012, 13:47 pm
Spiesisworthless1 – It is frightenening when a coach doesn’t select a settled midfield combo of JDV/JDJ, plays a scrummie on the wing instead of proper wing, keeps on playing an out of form flyhalf then selects a novice to redeem all!!!
If HM continues with his mad selections on the next few weeks expect some re occuring nightmares from the EOYT from hell under Strauli, although i think this team is too good for that to happen but not the coach!!
5 Nov 2012, 13:48 pm
Discom what?
Isnt that a pharmacy
5 Nov 2012, 13:49 pm
katman #120 – I would be rather happy if that team ran out against Ireland!!
5 Nov 2012, 13:51 pm
Does anyone know how the backs have been running IE who is is what position @ training (usually the indication of the starting XV)
5 Nov 2012, 13:53 pm
what a ridiculous way to say ‘he confused the ***** out of me’
discombobulated
pretty much what the lions franchise is
5 Nov 2012, 13:54 pm
HM has taken four left wings with him.
Maybe he’s having a change of political heart
5 Nov 2012, 13:54 pm
@race of tan-137: Ja, it’s pretty solid. We’re just discussing it over on the All eyes on Bok backs thread.
5 Nov 2012, 13:55 pm
@Rockn Rolla-138:
Internet Explorer..?..
5 Nov 2012, 13:57 pm
A question about Raymond Rhule, Never seen the Kat play, what are his attributes
Pace/Step/Acceleration/ Technicalities ??????
5 Nov 2012, 13:58 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-142:
Nada…….. not even IOL.co.za
5 Nov 2012, 13:58 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-142:
Yep, HM is Googling more possible players.
5 Nov 2012, 13:58 pm
@Dawn-140:
Marxist !!!!!!
5 Nov 2012, 13:59 pm
@Rockn Rolla-138: How the backs are running? Like chickens with no heads is my guess? With ‘attack’ coach van Graan barking off an order every now and again…..
5 Nov 2012, 13:59 pm
@David-145:
And a game plan.
5 Nov 2012, 14:00 pm
@Rockn Rolla-146:
Seriaas!
5 Nov 2012, 14:01 pm
@Rockn Rolla-143: He’s very quick and is not afraid of backing himself on the outside, surprisingly robust in contact (considering he’s not the biggest wing in the world) and he steps like a mothertrucker.
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