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, 23:53 pm
@skopdiekan-100: yes yes snoeky.
this is not high school you old d oo s and its not my problem if nama is gesuip.
personally i could give a fck how old you or wrinkly nama are, its your wisdom i would respect if you had any, and wisdom has very little to do with age and all to do with knowledge.
now get fcked ok?
10 Nov 2012, 23:55 pm
Shut up Skop, you’re an embarrassment again.
10 Nov 2012, 23:57 pm
@The Rangerman-94:
‘n 30+ jarige laaitie wat nou eers kinders probeer groot maak wil nou met mense praat wat al amper klaar hul kinders groot gemaak het.
Hy moet eintlik jammer gekry word, want daar’s nie eintlik ‘n groot verskil tussen hy en Juju nie.
Hulle dink altwee hulle weet alles, maar eintlik weet hulle altwee vokkol.
O ja, en dan is hulle laaste uitweg “JY IS ‘n RASIS” as hulle meer vokkol het om te se nie.
Die laaste uitweg.
10 Nov 2012, 23:58 pm
@The Rangerman-101: you a little whitearse pathetic little pisswilly baby that needs the hiding of your over aggrandized little snot nosed life.. you pathetic little ignorant stupefied molly coddled ignoramus idiot runt.
10 Nov 2012, 23:58 pm
Jy klink gesuip, Nama.
11 Nov 2012, 00:02 am
@katman-102: you shutup fckface or should I shut you up again fuckwit
neither you nor your little whitey pathetic piece of garbage racist pisswilly punk bumchum know the first thing about what comprises either wisdom or knowledge or respect.. and little fuckface pissarse pricks like you both need the hiding of your over aggrandized little fckface lives.
11 Nov 2012, 00:06 am
@skopdiekan-106: That’s what I’m talking about. Embarrassing.
11 Nov 2012, 00:08 am
@skopdiekan-104: snoeky you are such an angry guy.
you think i should “respect” you or nama because you throw threats and innuendo around on a blog?
you are a d oo s man, live with it.
@nama1-103: yes yes nama, your opinion is better than mine because you are older you wrinkly old apartheid racist ****
wake up pellie, your opinion is as valuable to me as the opinion of mantashe and i think i have made my opinion on him quite clear.
11 Nov 2012, 00:10 am
@katman-107: embarrassing for you perhaps don’t devalue what your over aggrandized little fckface snout needs to get taught the lesson of your over aggrandized little fckface life prissy little irrelevant punk.
11 Nov 2012, 00:10 am
@katman-97:
Ek drink brandewyn meneer. Ek raak nooit babelas as ek brandewyn drink nie.
In short, this sad, little browncock never struggles with a hangover.
Hoe maak julle rooiwyn drinkers.
@skopdiekan-104:
He’s not worth it Skop. Don’t waste your time.
@katman-105:
Natuurlik is ek gesuip. Dis vokken Saterdagaand.
Is jy nie gesuip nie? Watter soort Boertjie is jy dan?
11 Nov 2012, 00:11 am
@katman-107:
ja, i need lessons in respect from snoeky.
whattajoke.
anyways, i am off to bed.
luckily my brain hasnt been pickled tonight like namas as i am diving early tomorrow. hope the fish are around as i am hungry!
11 Nov 2012, 00:13 am
@The Rangerman-111: The two of them, Skop & Nama, two peas in a wrinkly scrotum. They don’t deserve respect. They deserve, at most, a government old age grant and free pills for their conditions.
11 Nov 2012, 00:13 am
@nama1-110: shame man, it was clear all along you are drunk.
you must learn to hold your tongue until your brain catches up in future please, sleep well old wise wonderful child raining father figure of the blog (racist prat).
11 Nov 2012, 00:13 am
@The Rangerman-108: you are a racist through and through .. and yet you wanna call someone old enough to smack you little pissarse runt through the roof one.. you don’t have a goddamn clue who or what a racist is because it is inherent right within your pissarse little racist snout idiot punkie boy
11 Nov 2012, 00:14 am
@The Rangerman-113: Money comes in on the Friday and by the Saturday it’s all gone and the hangover begins.
11 Nov 2012, 00:15 am
@katman-112: agreed.
are there pills for senility or should someone simply prescribe horse tranqs?
somethings got to shut the pair of dinosaurs up surely?
11 Nov 2012, 00:16 am
@skopdiekan-114: As always, I’m going to ask you to point out how you fought the racist oppression for all those years. Apart from voting PFP, that is. Because you’re just another old white toppie who’s trying so hard to use a rugby blog to change his sixty year old stripes.
11 Nov 2012, 00:16 am
@skopdiekan-114: racist.
@katman-115: and the blame game.
11 Nov 2012, 00:17 am
You’re a racist.
No, you’re a racist.
Repeat.
Yawn.
Skop, I gave you credit for being entertaining earlier – don’t let me down.
11 Nov 2012, 00:19 am
@katman-115: @The Rangerman-116: little whitearse fckfaces full of their over aggrandized little selves.. little whitearse cleverdick pricks think they got some grey matter between their ears when its pretty obvious they don’t.. up each others little fckface fannies the pair of them in tandem.
11 Nov 2012, 00:19 am
@The Rangerman-108:
You really think I want respect from you or guys like you, you have to think again, my laaitie.
I have much, much more respect for guys like Hondo and Suffer_Guy than I have for the likes of you.
With them, I know EXACTLY where I stand.
Look in the mirror, my boy.
11 Nov 2012, 00:19 am
@katman-117: he fought the system from within.
within the caprivi.
apparently nama is old enough to mo e r me.
i dont know if its becaue he is old or because i am younger?
the only good thing is that at least snoeky and nama can make me feel young again.
11 Nov 2012, 00:20 am
wisdom and knowledge are two seperate entities.
11 Nov 2012, 00:21 am
Klitschko busy moering that Polish giant.
11 Nov 2012, 00:21 am
Knowledge is knowing tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
11 Nov 2012, 00:22 am
@nama1-121: i told you where you stand with me nama.
lower than mantashe and he is on a par with snake sh i t.
now drink a big glass of water before bed old timer, the boks won and taute tackled everything that moved.
what an inspired selection!
bye now.
11 Nov 2012, 00:22 am
@kaksioek-119: you unable to discern between a little whitearse racist and a pseudo intelligent runt when they are one and the same, joined at the hip in their self endowing pisswilly self aggrandized racist slant.
11 Nov 2012, 00:24 am
@katman-115:
“Money comes in on the Friday and by the Saturday it’s all gone and the hangover begins.”
Jy raak al beter en beter meneer.
Moenie t’rug hou nie. Gooi los.
11 Nov 2012, 00:25 am
setting up structures and a kicking gameplan requires knowledge, realising halfway thru the test that its not working is wisdom ,going out and doing the same thing in 2nd half is insanity
11 Nov 2012, 00:28 am
correct some so called knowledge you can look up or try buy on the internet.. wisdom don’t come naturally to pisswilly little pricks who think the sun shines out their pisswilly little pseudo intelligent fanny face micks
11 Nov 2012, 00:29 am
Wisdom doesn’t come with age though. It comes with being wise. And you, Skoppie, are thick as two bricks in every goddam respect. No wisdom, just dom.
11 Nov 2012, 00:30 am
@skopdiekan-127: It isn’t of much interest to me.
11 Nov 2012, 00:32 am
@The Rangerman-126:
I would not have it any other way, my laaitie.
Oh yes, I’m not in the business of moering laaities, thank you.
Can’t sleep yet. My daughter is in some freakin club, doing what young girls do. But, you would not understand. Still another 12 years to go before you get there, no?
Lekker slaap.
11 Nov 2012, 00:34 am
@katman-131: what little fckface pricks like you and your baby faced dickie bird arsecreep bumchum know about wisdom isn’t even dangerous its downright out of your galaxy of recognition.. dumdum derelict doos.
11 Nov 2012, 00:37 am
@kaksioek-132: fortunately for you you do not see red when little fanny faced laaitjies think they so f’ng suave and sophisticated intelligent.. when the reality of the score is they are the epitome of snot nosed imbecilic pseudo intelligent pissarse self righteous arrogance
11 Nov 2012, 00:40 am
@saru1983-129:
At least we won the test…or that is what Rangertjie will tell you.
11 Nov 2012, 00:41 am
I’m more relieved that although the Boks were desperately poor, they didn’t get raped like the Wallabies did in France.
11 Nov 2012, 00:46 am
@skopdiekan-135:
“when the reality of the score is they are the epitome of snot nosed imbecilic pseudo intelligent pissarse self righteous arrogance”
Another Skop classic.
——————————————————————————————————-
The sad thing is that they don’t even realize it.
Hopefully….one day…one can only hope
11 Nov 2012, 00:48 am
if Boks played in France tonight they might very well have been raped as bad as the Wallabies were.. Boks faced a pretty mediocre Ireland side and almost blew it
France and Argentina showed they mean business and want up on the IRB ranking list, and England might not be too easy a hurdle to negotiate if we pitch up playing the garbage we did today.
11 Nov 2012, 00:50 am
@katman-124:
There will be a mighty ka-booom just now. And the Polski will be seeing stars.
11 Nov 2012, 00:51 am
@nama1-136:
The scoreboard also said so.
11 Nov 2012, 00:52 am
@kaksioek-137:
Jislaaik, when last did we beat France on their home ground?
France A vs Aus C.
Only one winner there, don’t you think?
11 Nov 2012, 00:52 am
@nama1-138: laaijies like this that went to university to learn cleverness and snot nosed self righteous attitude will only learn humility when it is smacked through their snot nosed little self aggrandized fanny faces.. I don’t hold out much hope for either these piffle arsed baby faced pseudo intellignent pricks this lifetime.. perhaps by next time.. if they lucky and the universe takes pity on them
11 Nov 2012, 00:57 am
@skopdiekan-139: Absolutely.@nama1-142: 1997, apparently.
11 Nov 2012, 00:57 am
@I am a stormer-141:
Yeah, at least one thing in our favour.
Other than that, I don’t think any Bok supporter can be satisfied tonight.
I sure as hell hope that the coach, his captain and the rest of the team are not satisfied with their performance.
11 Nov 2012, 01:02 am
103.nama1: Sjoe maar dis warm onder die kraag in hierdie Bar. Wonder wat se jy van my n veertigjarige laaitie wat nou eers probeer kinders grootmaak.( die jol was lank maar lekker
)Maar ek verstaan wat jy se oor wakker bly vir jou dogter, myne is nou eers drie en ek is al klaar die moer in as ek vyftien jaar vorentoe dink.
11 Nov 2012, 01:03 am
@skopdiekan-143:
“perhaps by next time.. if they lucky and the universe takes pity on them”
Don’t know Skop.
Maybe they won’t even realize when they get that “2nd” chance.
11 Nov 2012, 01:08 am
@jet jungle-146:
Sit net jou .22 agter die deur.
En sorg dat jy ‘n bottel het wat jy heelnag kan drink terwyl jy op Keo kak praat.
11 Nov 2012, 01:16 am
@jet jungle-146:
Jy’t ook maar laat begin boer!!!
11 Nov 2012, 01:18 am
149.nama1: dis wat my meneer in my rapport gese het, slow starter but a strong finisher
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