Boks banal then brilliant
10 Nov 2012
RYAN VREDE, in Dublin, watched the Springboks deliver one of the great turnarounds in their history to beat Ireland 16-12.
How the Springboks managed this victory after the deep sterility of their first half will go down in folklore. There are probably a myriad reasons for it, some more significant than others. Heyneke Meyer has been heavily criticised by some sectors of the press and public for his pragmatism. Tonight’s performance would have done little to quell that criticism, but he won’t care.
The importance of this victory in the context of his career and sanity cannot be overstated. Had they lost this I fear Meyer, a man already showing the physical strain of his tenure, would have suffered a serious lapse of self-confidence. The spin-offs of that for the team are self-evident.
Meyer needed this win on a personal level as much as the collective did. So intricately entwined is his identity in the result that a win or a loss defines him as a winner or loser. This is not baseless nor romantic and he is not the first coach inflicted with this condition. It is an assertion based on a close professional relationship with the man.
And on this bitterly cold Dublin night, his charges, depleted through injuries and without the consistently good Beast Mtawarira, warmed his heart. There was nothing particularly spectacular about the way the victory was achieved. But there didn’t need to be. Indeed it was awful at times. Their first meaningful foray into Ireland’s 22m came in the 15th minute and they blew that by turning down a mauling opportunity (their standout strength) in favour of an elaborate backline move that would have made a club coach cringe.
The Springboks will never know the extent of what they’ve done for their coach with a come-from-behind win.
The booming pyrotechnics pre-match was the most explosive thing about this event, with the game initially settling into a kick pattern, a battle Ireland undoubtedly won in the early exchanges. As did they the collisions, which gave them the ascendancy at the breakdown, a series of turnovers the consequence.
Ireland’s defence in the first half was excellent, but their examination was a weak one, the Springboks impotency and utter lack of imagination allowing their opponents to pick off strike runners with relative ease.
Predictions were for a duel of the goal-kickers, and Jonathan Sexton, among the most accurate in the world this year, capitalised on Ireland’s territorial advantage and the Springboks’ ill-discipline to open a 12-3 lead going into the last 10 minutes of the half, Pat Lambie’s three pointer all the visitors could muster in response.
The Springboks’ problems were compounded when JP Pietersen was yellow carded in the 31st minute for an early and dangerous hit on Chris Henry. It was a holding job until the break, one they crucially negotiated successfully, to trail 12-3.
Only they will know the nature of Meyer’s message to them. I suspect it was a desperate plea. Moments like that rarely feature considered thought. His team hadn’t inspired. Far from it. They never looked like scoring. Any salvaging of their situation, so deeply dire, looked completely beyond them.
Then something changed. Their luck turned. No that’s only part of it. They got some field position. They tightened up their attacking play, the forwards asserting themselves in a manner they hadn’t until that point.
There was a rolling maul at last. Slow inches. Penalty. Jamie Heaslip gone for cynically collapsing it. Another maul from which Ruan Pienaar exploited a depleted defence to score. Lambie kicked the conversion and shortly after that sent his side ahead with a penalty. An act of defiance from a team reborn.
Test experience is not a commodity the Springboks have in abundance, and the next 20 minutes would have been an invaluable education for them. Their defence improved markedly. Particularly notable was their work-rate which saw them cut off and often smash the inside runners. They denied Ireland for waves of attack, but also spurned a couple of good opportunities in the red zone, which would have eased their plight.
But with 10 minutes to play the Springboks got an immediate return on what was a gamble on Heinke van der Merwe. The loosehead prop shoved like he has spent his time with Leinster doing only that, earning two penalties, the second converted by Lambie for a slender four-point lead. The discipline, physicality, nay brutality, and accuracy of the Springboks’ defensive effort in those dying minutes could only be truly appreciated from the stands of the Aviva Stadium. The Springboks refused to relent, refused to lose. Just refused to.
Ireland’s belief drained with every tackle inflicted on them. South Africa’s soared at the final whistle. It wasn’t pretty. But who cares? It was a small step in a long journey. But how important a step it was.
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176 Comments
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10 Nov 2012, 21:21 pm
‘banal boks bring out the brilliance’
lucky dragons
work to do
10 Nov 2012, 21:21 pm
Brilliant? Put down the crack pipe and step away from the keyboard, Ryan.
10 Nov 2012, 21:22 pm
Bakkies it is the same after match……………Boks disappoint and have ‘work to do’
10 Nov 2012, 21:24 pm
Not the best performance but a win is a win. Replacements had a good impact
10 Nov 2012, 21:25 pm
Brilliant? Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar from!!!
10 Nov 2012, 21:25 pm
@Delki-3:
ja, but at least it’s a dissapointing win rather than a dissapointing loss.
yes, there is much to do.
10 Nov 2012, 21:25 pm
Wth!?!? Brilliant!?!? One of the great turnarounds!?!? Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!! You have to be seriously drunk mate!!!!! You sound like a Jacob Zuma spin doctor. ‘Brilliant’ what a joke!!!
10 Nov 2012, 21:26 pm
NZ whacked the Paddies by 60-0. Boks squeaked in by a hugely lucky 4.
10 Nov 2012, 21:26 pm
What a Test!
Give it to the Paddies, their collective sum was far greater than the integer, what a fight by both sides, I didn’t expected that.
And thanks HM for bringing in Heineke v.d Merwe, the guy who left SA because he saw no hope for his test career with the likes of Steenkamp and the Beast selected ahead in that ‘Merit with Bias’ racial ****.
Give it to the Irish, they made it a giant Test match!
10 Nov 2012, 21:26 pm
Big match by RP. Controlled the game and kicked excellently.
10 Nov 2012, 21:28 pm
Sorry. There was nothing brilliant about the Boks tonight.
One of the worst Bok performances I have seen in many a year.
Meyer better start working any magic he may have…. because the Boks this year look WOEFUL.
10 Nov 2012, 21:28 pm
Boks banal, then just 3% above very average against a weak Irish team.
Team mark, 4/10
10 Nov 2012, 21:28 pm
If Heyneke Meyer takes credit for the turnaround, I am going to beak something, or someone.
10 Nov 2012, 21:28 pm
@TheTackler-8: Erm. What about the 2 or 3 point win NZ squeaked at home against Ireland just the game before?….
10 Nov 2012, 21:28 pm
What? Brilliant is not a word I would use to describe that performance, I’d be more likely to call them lucky.
10 Nov 2012, 21:29 pm
8 Tackler – yip, the same Irish team who lost to the AB’s by 3 the week before in Christchurch. Same team.
10 Nov 2012, 21:29 pm
@TheTackler-8:
Do you remember who was that test referee?
10 Nov 2012, 21:29 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-13: Break…not beak. Fuckinghell I can’t even type thanks to The Meyer of Mayhem.
10 Nov 2012, 21:30 pm
And why are these morons on super sport talking up the ‘kicking game’?!?!?! All they did was not use the backline and rumble it up using the forwards. Nothing special there. But some of these praise singers (read Matfield and Botha) are not helping South African rugby by talking up this bs!!!
10 Nov 2012, 21:30 pm
Boks look very useless.
Before this game a few English scribes were saying Eng should beat these Boks at home. Now they will all be saying it.
10 Nov 2012, 21:31 pm
Verkrampte Seffricans need to lose their domkop obsession with the “kicking game”
10 Nov 2012, 21:32 pm
hahaha jy tik seker.fcukin lucky ******** to beat Ireland c.Heinke won one scrum against a tired prop and when a fresh one came on he got pushed thru his poephol.
10 Nov 2012, 21:33 pm
Get rid of the cancerous Meyer he will eat bok rugby up from the inside
10 Nov 2012, 21:35 pm
Shud have brought gangam style on he would have torn this leprechauns a new shitehole.
10 Nov 2012, 21:36 pm
Come on
This is a tired Boks team, players such as Pienaar and Louw have been playing non stop since Sept 2011, could someone counts how many rugby games has Jannie Dup played last 14 months?
10 Nov 2012, 21:36 pm
Someone’s a bietjie gesuip
10 Nov 2012, 21:37 pm
@Hondo-25: how many points do you think the “tired” NZ players would have ripped past this inexperienced Ire team?
Stop accepting mediocrity.
10 Nov 2012, 21:38 pm
quotas dont get tired
10 Nov 2012, 21:50 pm
@Liewe Luiperd-27: Not sure. A not-tired NZ almost lost to Ireland… At home.
10 Nov 2012, 21:53 pm
Comon boys..the times we did good,it was bloody good.ref(not blaming him)made blunders.and the Irish were negative,bordering on thuggish. Its a young team,playing away from home,against a lot of pressure.and they won.eks gelukkig.
10 Nov 2012, 21:57 pm
Very sterile from the Boks today.
We need to OFFLOAD IN THE TACKLE more.
10 Nov 2012, 21:57 pm
@Soda-2: hahaha hy het die berig seker uit ge TIK.
10 Nov 2012, 22:05 pm
Jinne Ryan.
I usually credit you for your articles but put down the Guinness, please man.
10 Nov 2012, 22:08 pm
@saru1983-24: That 2nd half was ideal for Juan de Jongh. Him sitting on the bench is the reason I have 5 glasses left in my lovely set of 6.
Fumingisnotthefuckingword.
I actually dunno with this Meyerdictator anymore.
10 Nov 2012, 22:08 pm
Greatest turnaround in history? Brilliant Boks?
Surely only a satisfactory performance from South Africa, Pienaar ran the show with Strauss and Etsebeth also impressive.
10 Nov 2012, 22:09 pm
@Hondo-25: kak logic Hondo and you know it. Heinke got nailed by the boy on debut in their first contest. So please when you comment make sense man. Otherwise don’t bother wasting you valuable time because nobody will take you seriously.
10 Nov 2012, 22:10 pm
Im sorry,but i dont rate Taute.de jongh?
10 Nov 2012, 22:13 pm
@willievz-33: ja Willie. I had to read it twice to confirm he was not pulling our chain.
That was one of the worst Springbok performances I’ve ever seen. They were quite simply rubbish. Not an ounce of creativity in the entire match. Clueless. Like the coaching staff in my opinion. Heyneke might be passionate and give his all for the team but frankly he hasn’t a clue what he’s doing. From the get go.
10 Nov 2012, 22:13 pm
@Slumtown-32: poessnaakse comment!
10 Nov 2012, 22:15 pm
Ryan you are delusional, like your joked-up boss. Pathetic display by Boks. Would`ve been 40-0 halftime against anyone but Wales on the day.
10 Nov 2012, 22:16 pm
Brilliant???
Fluk we have become so used to average and then call it brilliant…
10 Nov 2012, 22:19 pm
I’ve said earlier on another thread.
My biggest concern with the kick-chase gameplan is that everything is done at half pace.
If you have an attacking mindset, you do things at full speed.
That is what the Boks did in the second half.
And make no mistake, if it wasn’t for Heaslip’s card, the Boks would have lost this one.
10 Nov 2012, 22:20 pm
what has happened to our backline for crying out aloud. There’s nothing there. A few individuals having an occasional dart at a defensive wall, in-between up-and-unders. Embarassing really. Ryan I seriously couldn’t be bothered reading your garbage again. Scroll down in future.
10 Nov 2012, 22:21 pm
@willievz-42: agree wholeheartedly. Game turned on that yellow for sure.
10 Nov 2012, 22:22 pm
what an insipid performance by the boks and by ryan
10 Nov 2012, 22:22 pm
Ryan
In any case, enjoy the Dublin nightlife tonight.
Go to the original Brazen Head pub – you might see a R10 note against the bar, which I donated.
10 Nov 2012, 22:23 pm
@TASSIES-36:
Not what I saw, he won a penalty against the Irish on his first scrum, or didn’t he?
The Boks actually won it away from home, they haven’t won too many in 2011/12 (don’t count the RWC because the opposite team wasn’t a home team)
Steve Walsh won it for the Boks in Argentina and that about it!
@TheTackler-8:
They also won the RWC by a one point at home with Craig Joubert the hero
10 Nov 2012, 22:23 pm
Brilliant? This illustrates just how low our expectations have become of our team. I can accept that we drastically improved in the 2nd half in comparison to the first, but to say we were brilliant in the 2nd half just goes to show that we have seriously lost confidence in this team.
Unbelievable.
10 Nov 2012, 22:24 pm
The Bokke won…woopy do woooooooooooo!!!!
Hulle is darem verkak…in goeie Afrikaans.
Vokkit…ek moes my vokken heeltyd verdedig omdat ek so ‘n kak span ondersteun.
O ja, het Juan de Jong toe site gekry?
10 Nov 2012, 22:25 pm
This defunct and verkrampte “game plan” will get us nowhere.
Not good enough to beat the other top tier nations (too predictable and easy to beat) and just good enough to scrape desperate wins against 2nd tier NH teams.
We need a new approach.
As for Matfield talking about kicking more….this is all that is wrong with domkop conservative SA rugby.
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