Meyer’s men must enjoy the adventure
12 Nov 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day newspaper column, says a defeat in 2012 should not be seen as a disaster by the Springboks.
What should be an adventure seemingly has the restriction of a chore. The Springboks are playing with fear of failure when they should be playing with the freedom of fantasy.
It starts with an inexperienced management whose passion for the job is being transferred with too much tension and not enough enjoyment.
Somebody within the leadership of South African rugby has to give Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer comfort that it is not life or death each time the Springboks play.
It may feel like we’ve lost someone on those Saturday evenings when the Boks stumble but sport’s cruelty that a team is only as good as its last game is also its kindness, because there is always the next game to win to allow us all to feel life again.
Meyer needs a soundboard. He needs a man of integrity, with the necessary international experience to allow him to talk out loud without a judgement being made that he is inadequate for the job.
He is good enough to guide the Boks to a position of strength in the world order but he must feel he is operating in a vacuum, a lot of it self-inflicted because of a belief that to ask is to show weakness.
I write this as an observation.
The desire to get it right for fear of letting down a nation is causing anxiety. The players deliver on passion but there has been minimal fluidity in the Tests played this season.
I worked within the Bok management a decade ago at a time when the playing talent was not as inspirational as now and when results were poor. No player ever lost deliberately.
They lose because in most cases they aren’t good enough on the day. The Boks won in Dublin because Ireland weren’t good enough, player for player, or as a collective.
The Irish passion lasted for 40 minutes — 20 minutes more than is the norm for any home team with fantastic support. The 12-3 scoreline, however, was not a reflection of any superiority.
The second half was comfortable for the Boks because they were stronger in the collisions and were never threatened in defence.
The Boks were rightfully expected to win but the pressure the coaching staff are feeling was illustrated in Meyer’s post-match admission it would have been a disaster had they lost.
It would have been difficult to accept given the Boks’ superior playing pedigree but it would not have been a disaster.
The coaching staff ideally want to win every weekend, but there has to be realism that the heart of the Bok pack is new to international rugby and that the coaching staff are feeling as vulnerable. If ever a team is given a pardon it is in the first year after a World Cup when most rebuild in the hope of peaking at the next World Cup.
Meyer’s approach that every Test has to be viewed as a World Cup final is not flawed in that he never wants to diminish a Test match but the execution is creating trepidation when there should be expectation.
There have been short bursts against England and Australia in Pretoria to confirm a player’s ability to play with width, keep the ball and be effective on the attack.
But the overriding sense when watching the Boks is of a conservatism that fears mistakes, fears getting it wrong and doesn’t want to contemplate defeat. The All Blacks, as they did in South Africa, would have punished the hesitancy we saw in Dublin. The context is it wasn’t an impressive rugby performance from the Boks, but it isn’t down to a lack of coaching, game plan or limited player pedigree.
The pack selections are a reflection of the best available but playing Jaco Taute at outside centre and Zane Kirchner at fullback is to limit mistakes and not create opportunity.
Taute at fullback in the place of Kirchner, and introduce the flair of Juan de Jongh, and the backline would be transformed.
The rugby isn’t hard to get right, but it’s the mindset from within that isn’t proving as easy.
The Boks will develop into a very good team, but they’ll get there quicker if the management and by extension the players accept that the stumbles are part of the adventure and not the curse of the adventure.
Meyer, in his first meeting with Bryan Habana this year, told him to find his smile again and he would find his international form.
Where others viewed complexity Meyer recognised the simplicity in the equation.
Smile, Heyneke. It could just be what transforms fractured performances into fluid ones.
258 Comments
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12 Nov 2012, 12:46 pm
@pissant 86, good post. My 13yo son is going thru a rough patch with his cricket. Bowling great, batting awful. I must stop tryin to “help” him with technical tips – best advice would be don’t worry so much, go out and enjoy yourself!
12 Nov 2012, 12:47 pm
@ufo-79:
Like telling the kicker to kick at poles until he succeeds with 10 kicks without looking at the reason why he is missing and looking at ways to correct that.
@WP-Forever-82:
Don’t leave out PdV.
@nama1-95:
they on practice. = they ONLY practice.
12 Nov 2012, 12:49 pm
@capebull-96: What was dished up in the second half sure as hell wasn’t Bulls rugby. For one thing, the Boks won.
12 Nov 2012, 12:50 pm
@mikeybrass-92: You go a little far by saying the stormers players went into a mode to win the game cause there was only three of them on the field, but have to agree to the sentiment.
I felt like watching a stormers game from earlier this year… they never seemed to put away teams that were there for the taking.
i almost get the feeling we will always grind out a win rather than completely thrashing a team..
this has to do with the mindset talked about.. .the fear of losing raher the desire of winning… also the gameplan from Meyers mouth is that attacking rugby is a risk thus do not get motivated…
It really was like watching the Stormers play the Force or Lions… always going to win but never gonna score a bonus point win… I see the Scotland game going the same..
12 Nov 2012, 12:50 pm
@capebull-96:
agreed, it was.
12 Nov 2012, 12:52 pm
@poppa69-94:
There is a book you must look to get, don’t know if you will be able to get it in NZ but it is a very good book if you are involved in raising or coaching kids.
It’s called Raising Talent – written by a local guy Tim Goodenough (no jokes, that is his surname).
12 Nov 2012, 12:53 pm
@Dawn-97:
Haha, the joys of parenthood.
12 Nov 2012, 12:54 pm
@Provvas-104: I’m saying the distinct impression I got was that the Stormers players – as a trio – took collective leadership of the team and changed the on-field strategy: JdV overall and backs, Duane & Flow (don’t forget him just ’cause he is at Bath) the loose-trio and Eben the tight 5 engine. And they did it because the previous strategy was failing, so the priority became to grind out the win.
Agree with everything else you said.
12 Nov 2012, 12:55 pm
@PissAnt-106:Im in Sydney PA, but will keep an eye out for it… maybe even an ebook?
12 Nov 2012, 12:56 pm
@PissAnt-86: One only has to attend a few games at the school of ones choice during rugga season to witness the extent of the issues we have.
I know, I have a brother-in-law who is chairman of the “Fanatical Performance driven perfection for kids who can barely wipe their own backsides yet” Paarl Gymnasium Suporters Club.
These parents are the NORM rather than the exception, and they are egged on most happily by coaches and various other interested parties.
Very sad.
12 Nov 2012, 12:56 pm
Hoping for the following team v Scotland:
15. Taute
14. JP
13. de Jong
12. JdV
11. Rhule
10. Lambie
9. Pienaar
8. Vermeelen
7. Coetsee (Alberts rested for Eng)
6. Flouw
5. Etsebeth
4. Flip
3. Cilliers (J duP rested for Eng game)
2. Strauss
1. Steenkamp
CJ, Brits, Heinkie, Kruger, Alberts, Hougard, Jantjies, Mvovo
12 Nov 2012, 12:58 pm
@corporal punishment-101:
I personally hate self-help books and similar ****., this is not one, see the book I mentioned above.
But you are already there imo with what you said in your post. As a parent/coach we actually just want our kids to succeed but sometimes we forget what success is ourselves.
My experience in this came through a lot of error, and believe me when I say a lot! Knowing what will improve any young boy or girl’s game is one thing, but it does not make you a good coach. Having them discover this for themselves through your guidance does.
12 Nov 2012, 13:00 pm
@poppa69-109:
If you struggle let me know, I might even get a copy off to you.
12 Nov 2012, 13:00 pm
@PissAnt-112: thats for all of life though PA, not just the sporting arena..
12 Nov 2012, 13:01 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-105: idiots unite?
12 Nov 2012, 13:02 pm
@poppa69-109: Amazon UK has it as an ebook.
12 Nov 2012, 13:04 pm
@blik-111: Will Gurthro be recovered in time?
Otherwise I like the team and the rationale, a lot.
12 Nov 2012, 13:04 pm
@poppa69-114:
Indeed it is. Sport is just another extension of life. Applies in all spheres.
12 Nov 2012, 13:04 pm
@nama1-102:
yeah…
i think half the problem is that many (if not most) coaches start at school level where simply picking the the biggest boys ensures victory through brute strength… they then get tagged as ‘good coaches’ and so move on up the ranks doing what they know best… picking the biggest players… as PA says… they don’t coach boys how to play the game… they teach boys to rely on their size and natural strength without thinking at all let alone strategically…
also at fault is saru who call for coaching CVs and expect the coaches to tell them what they are gonna do… seems – like the kid kicking at poles – that saru’s only criteria for coaches is their win ratio and as long as that happens and as long as no one has to think then everyone’s happy…
imo… when searching for a coach… coach saru should give a brief of what the coach should achieve it over-terms for sa rugby… which should include goals in terms of style, transformation, public perception and support, the ambassadorial role they play for the sport and the country, and then, yes, win ratios etc…
but i also think saru has failed south africa in that they should build a good rugby field in virtually every community around the country… really what does a rugby field cost… pretty much nothing… they could get local businesses to sponsor the relatively small costs involved…
i aslo think that players should get much smaller basic salaries and bonuses based not on wins but on tries… if a team scores a try they should collectively get 25 percent of their bonus and if so on so that they only get 100 percent of their bonus if they score four tries… if more they score four tries the more games they will win… but they’ll be paid for scoring tries… which will also stop the white-line fever we see from so many players who hang onto the ball and butcher tries instead of passing to the player in the better position… butchers a few tries and subsequent bonuses players will be start playing for the team result over their individual glory..
okay that was a bit of a tangent…!!
12 Nov 2012, 13:05 pm
@PissAnt-113: just searched online, should be able to get a copy.. thanks for the heads up
12 Nov 2012, 13:06 pm
Cilliers showed real energy when he came onto the field on Saturday.Hopefully he will not take too much of Meyer’s negative coaching methods on board.
12 Nov 2012, 13:07 pm
@race of tan-100: why do people equate “WORLD CUP winning team” to “WORLD-DOMINATING team”?
the Boks in 2007 entered the world cup ranked FOURTH having never beaten NZ away in a decade, having scraped a tri-nations in ’04 through losers bonus point, having lost to Ireland & France consecutively.
why the delusion then?
12 Nov 2012, 13:08 pm
@PissAnt-106: Tim Goodenough – The Sharks and Proteas “mental coach”
eish
12 Nov 2012, 13:09 pm
what happened Saturday is the Boks went onto the field under strict HM orders to follow his ‘blue’ print strategy to the wire.. it bombed badly and at 12 -3 down in the change room they realized no way in hell were they going to come out of this dead end cul de sac if they continued following coach Heyneke’s ‘blue’ print
So captain and vice captain and stalwart seniors in Louw and Vermeulen rallied around JdV and decided collectively to chuck everything that HM had tried drilling into them overboard and play the game they knew how to in order to win..
So JdV turned down 3 or 4 kickable penalties and pursued a try early in 2nd half which fortunately resulted in a score under the poles.
Thereafter they simply had to follow their instinct to ensure ireland didn’t sneak one back, which they duly did..
Meyer’s ‘blue’ print was failing bad.. players took over and chucked the coaches philosophy overboard and did what they had to in order to save a situation which had they continued with the HM philosophy they would have been dead and buried and thier collective psyche would have been shot to hell.
JdV, Strauss, Louw and Vermeulen with aid of the 2 reserve props turned the game around.. nothing that Heyneke did, the saving grace was as a result of players uniting to fend off a loss that was staring them in the face otherwise.
12 Nov 2012, 13:11 pm
@blik-111: Well here’s to hope….. casue it will not happen… .though I would also like to see such a team given free reign off course…. maybe hougaard at 9 with pienaar rested for england
12 Nov 2012, 13:11 pm
@Transformation-123:
Hehe, indeed. Hey they managed a home super rugby final when he was still there!
12 Nov 2012, 13:15 pm
15. Taute
14. JP
13. de Jong
12. JdV
11. Mapoe
10. Jantjies
9. Hougaard
8. Vermeelen
7. Coetsee
6. Flouw
5. Etsebeth
4. Alberts
3. Cilliers
2. Brits
1. Heinke
CJ, Chili, Steenkamp, Vd Merwe, Botha, Pienaar, Lambie, Rhule
12 Nov 2012, 13:17 pm
@wnbb-115:
12 Nov 2012, 13:17 pm
@skopdiekan-127:
switch centers around
13. JdV
12. de Jong
and can equally switch Mapoe and Rhule around
12 Nov 2012, 13:18 pm
@Transformation-123:
your skills are amazing.
@skopdiekan-124:
honeslty skop…
where’s your evidence for this..?..
12 Nov 2012, 13:19 pm
@skopdiekan-124:
oh is that what happened?
nothing to do with winning collisions then?
lol, can’t believe you actually write thatsortofshite?
As I said yesterday, post it enough times and some kid reading this blog might actually believe it.
so very sad indeed.
12 Nov 2012, 13:20 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-130: out on the field.. or how blind you trying to remain bewildered by Meyers lack of any coaching acumen?
12 Nov 2012, 13:20 pm
Frans Malherbe will replace Beast on tour.
Don’t ask, I have no idea either.
12 Nov 2012, 13:23 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-130:
come now…Fckupadillydontknowfckall wrote it….so it is so!
everyone knows that!
12 Nov 2012, 13:24 pm
@PissAnt-133:
12 Nov 2012, 13:24 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl-131: That is exactly what happened…, JdV said ENOUGH of this garbage kick when we don’t know wtf else to do.., and take the game to the Irish every which way with ball in hand and pressure for a try early on in second half.. which he did, by turning down consecutive kickable points and pushed for the try.., the captain made the call and his 2IC’s in tandem, Strauss, Louw, Vermeulen rallied to the cause… the two powder puff props went off.. and the 2 better proponents came on.. and viola within the space of 10 minutes Ireland were nullified because HM’s thicker than thick tactics had been chucked out the equation.
12 Nov 2012, 13:27 pm
@PissAnt-106: Would you recommend this boo to a father who is not involved in coaching?
Raising Talent – Tim Goodenough
12 Nov 2012, 13:28 pm
Meyer should have had the following props on tour
JC Janse Van Rensburg, Heinke Vd Merwe, Marcel Vd Merwe
Pat Cilliers, Frans Malherbe, Jannie Dup
12 Nov 2012, 13:30 pm
@blik-137:
Absolutely. Any child’s first ever coach in anything in life are his parents.
12 Nov 2012, 13:33 pm
@ufo-119:
Wrt facilities in your small towns.
Problem starts when it comes to the maintenance of these rugby fields. Municipalities are not willing to pay for the upkeep of the field. In some small towns in my part of the world for example, the provincial Dept of Sport developed rugby fields. Grass, sprinklers the whole works. They linked it with the school. Now it costs the school close to R20k per month to pay for water, security etc. They simply can’t afford it and the condition of the field deteriorates especially in the summer when no rugby is played.
Even if SARU help with the developing of rugby fields, there should also be some buy in from the local government to accept responsibility for the upkeep of the fields, I think.
12 Nov 2012, 13:34 pm
@skopdiekan-132:
ok, so its all an ‘observational assumption’ on your part then, and only that..?..
unless of course you have received some additional 2nd or 3rd hand information from a wholly reliable and independent source which verifies your initial observational assumptions..?..
i.e. someone who was in the changeroom at the time, or perhaps close to to it and overheard this or, dare i say, someone who was on the field, be it a player or any of the support staff..?..
i want ot give you the benefit of the doubt but for me to do that i really need to test the credibilty of your information as such, and not so much you.
i hope you understand.
@Brigadier Van Zyl-134:
the funny thing is when this team under meyer starts to win, and win regularly… i can only wonder what the explanations therefore will be.
i can of course guess a few.
12 Nov 2012, 13:39 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-141: Well Bakkies, if things turnaround, it will be thanks to the players, not the coach.
When things go badly, the coach must be nailed.
When things go well, he must also be nailed – as success has zero to do with him, but everything to do with the players.
This is the way it worked when P de Villiers was coach? I guess it’s only fair things are done the same with Meyer in charge?
12 Nov 2012, 13:41 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-141: I bet if you had to ask JdV and Louw in the quiet solitude of corridors without ears they would tell you what I just did..
Do you really think Meyer turned this thing around when he sent them on the field in first half they were following his orders.. so what changed so abruptly second half?
The players decided enough was enough and they were going to play the game they knew how, led by JdV and his close confidants they chucked everything Meyer had tried drilling into their deer in the headlight heads overboard .. and decided to chuck the Meyer induced blindfolds off and play the game with some heart and direct approach, stopped kicking and carried the ball into the end zone and scored from there. Louw, Vermeulen, Strauss, Coetsee and the 2 reserve props under JdV’s leadership did the reverse switch around.
12 Nov 2012, 13:44 pm
@PissAnt-139: Are you in SA? Anyone know where I can get a copy in the UK? (hard copy, not eBook)
Raising Talent – Tim Goodenough
12 Nov 2012, 13:46 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-142:
by all means go ahead, blame him.
of his qualities and traits i think i can say with confidence that heyneke meyer is a self-effacing, selfless man who would sacrifice himself for his team and country and no matter how succesful they may become will never seek recognition for that success or claim it as his own.
he will give it to the players, because rightly… that is where it belongs..
12 Nov 2012, 13:47 pm
@nama1-140:
development
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-141:
They are suppose to win regularly…and CONVINCINGLY. They’re the Boks after all.
It will only happen once he starts to select the right players and tweak his game plan a bit. The Meyer naysayers will then still be able to say: See, we told you.
12 Nov 2012, 13:48 pm
@blik-144:
kalhari.net is usually a good place to start for books (hard or soft), are often cheaper than amazon and of course ship in the same way that amazon does.
12 Nov 2012, 13:49 pm
@PissAnt-133: It makes sense if Gurthro is recovering from injury (there is Heinke and CJ), and Jannie may turn out to be a walking injury problem.
12 Nov 2012, 13:49 pm
@skopdiekan-143:
like I said…post it enough times and someone is bound to believe you.
go you good thing, keep at it, there is bound to be someone out there that believes you are not a starkranting looney.
12 Nov 2012, 13:51 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-145: Nou praat jy groot k # k
Who took credit for Habana’s form, Etsebeth’s lineout work, Lambie’s improvement in the kicking dept etc? Meyer did.
Who took credit for the Boks turnaround on Saturday? Meyer did, smiling as he talked of a hairdryer speech….
Who blamed the players after the Argie draw? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, you know who?
Meyer’s ego NEEDS recognition, (and it’s a hungry beast that ego….needs to be fed 6 times a day it seems
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