Brutal Boks blunt Scots
17 Nov 2012
RYAN VREDE, in Edinburgh, watched the Springboks deliver an almighty defensive performance in the second half to beat Scotland 21-10 at Murrayfield.
This was not a wholly clinical performance from the Springboks on a number of fronts, but one that will nonetheless please Heyneke Meyer and galvanise his side ahead of the sternest Test of the tour in London next week.
It was undoubtedly a victory built, once again, on brutal, accurate and disciplined defence. This has been the hallmark of all the Springboks’ victories this season, and they will have to sustain this if they are to become the dominant team they envisage being.
At the heart this success has been Francois Louw. Irrepressible and seemingly omnipresent since his installment in the side, Louw is now surely among the world’s pre-eminent opensiders and undoubtedly the most valuable player in the Springboks’ ranks at this stage.
Louw was not alone in his excellence. His back row brothers Willem Alberts and Duane Vermeulen shone on attack and defence. The trio are gradually growing into a triumvirate, formidable in their combination, all possessing power and fearlessness in equal measure. Their form and indeed that of Eben Etzebeth, who surely was created for the sole purpose of playing Test rugby, and others like the industrious Adriaan Strauss and unrelenting Jannie du Plessis, is promising, not only for the showdown with England but beyond that. Meyer has the makings of a truly great Springbok pack, and the addition of Bismarck du Plessis, Andries Bekker and Schalk Burger next year will further amplify their potency.
There was little to excite from an expansive attacking perspective, but this is how it will be until the back division settles and finds cohesion and synergy. Meyer has been criticised for myriad reasons, but today he deserves praise for what was a clear directive to pound Scotland into submission through his heavies. The hosts never looked capable of repelling their surges in the first half, losing the gainline battle which consequently robbed them of contesting the breakdown in a meaningful way. When the momentum swung they looked equally inept at bossing the tackle fight, which undermined their cause.
For the first 40 the Springboks were able to control possession and, more pertinently, territory, from where they relied on the best rolling maul in the game to ravage the Scots. Pat Lambie banked two penalties before converting Strauss’s try after a maul.
So dominant were the Springboks that their hosts’ first entry into their 22m came in the 35th minute and their ambition was duly blunted by the brilliant Louw, who earned a breakdown penalty on his 5m line. It was 14-3 at the break, with the Springboks looking supremely comfortable.
That changed in the second half, with Scotland summoning a spirit that was reminiscent of the one that drove the Springboks to a second-half turnaround at Lansdowne Road last week. Strauss got his brace, anticipating and intercepting a pass, and Lambie added the extras, but that was the sum total of the time the Springboks spent in Scotland’s territory.
The home crowd’s belief was stirred with a well worked try off the lineout, scrumhalf Henry Pyrgos slicing through a hole engineered by intelligent splitting of the Springboks’ lineout formation. Greig Laidlaw converted and Scotland’s siege continued unabated. The composure and unfailingly accuracy the Springboks exhibited under extreme pressure was inspiring. They will take heat for what will be perceived as a struggle. But this Scotland team scored three tries against the world champion All Blacks last week. That is the perspective that should inform any assessment of this match.
The tourists held on, even when Flip van der Merwe was sin binned for cynical play. Are there major improvements needed in the week ahead? Absolutely. England are a far superior side and more capable of exploiting the Springboks’ deficiencies. An attacking edge continues to elude them. They again failed to convert their first-half time in the goal zone into more points, which would have made their passage more comfortable.
But this inexperienced Springbok side has passed another important test, one a superior team failed in 2010. Their education continues. The journey is long.
743 Comments
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17 Nov 2012, 18:38 pm
Ryan does keo pay u enough to take all the abuse from the **** u write
17 Nov 2012, 18:39 pm
Ah well
17 Nov 2012, 18:39 pm
@saru1983-1:
Hey Capo, is that you? You got a year younger dude!!!
17 Nov 2012, 18:39 pm
To think Victor, Bissie etc lost to these fellas a while back….
17 Nov 2012, 18:41 pm
“Flustered Boks survive scrum and possession breakdown”
17 Nov 2012, 18:41 pm
vrede writes as meyer’s buddy.
its the only explanation.
almighty defence? hahahaha what u have to analise is why we play defence rugby the whole 2half and how it’ll ends against a decent team.
17 Nov 2012, 18:41 pm
Tries from a maul and an intercept. Pretty much the Bok pattern now. Where is the creativity and excitement that so many Bok teams of the past have had? It might be semi-effective, but it will eventually loose the hearts of the fans.
17 Nov 2012, 18:42 pm
Now we just need a backline coach
17 Nov 2012, 18:43 pm
keo, next time send a real journalist to boks tour, not a member of meyer’s staff.
17 Nov 2012, 18:43 pm
Lose – to fail to win.
Loose – the opposite of tight.
Sorry, just had to.
17 Nov 2012, 18:45 pm
Can somebody please tell me WTF Ricardo Lobshur did to be qualified for best backline coach available to bok rugby.????
17 Nov 2012, 18:47 pm
Scotland’s rush defence would have made backline play more difficult.
17 Nov 2012, 18:47 pm
THANK YOU guns
17 Nov 2012, 18:47 pm
Just because u played professional rugby does not mean u automatically qualify as an expert to train international professional teams.
Anyways for all I know he’s not half bad and players just too f brain washed by Skop n Jag ****!
17 Nov 2012, 18:48 pm
maybe he’s a forwards coach.
in meyer’s game plan is what he wants.
17 Nov 2012, 18:49 pm
my prediction was for a 28-10 win for SA, they should have had another try in the first half. Still way too many handling errors, the ball is too slow, they are choosing route 1 instead of going wide, JDV still doesnt know how to pass,kicking too much posession away, backline all over the place when the ballis passed out. They will need to up the game for next week, however id say only by 20% to beat this England team. Scotland are the same old team, yet more good wingers but they dont get the ball and seem happy to lose heroically.
17 Nov 2012, 18:50 pm
Folks need to stop bitching about meyer. He will get it right. He will be massive in 12 months.
But we need to start making a ton of noise re our non-existent backline play.
Meyer will stay, we need to up the ante on the lack of a backline coach. But HM is so loyal, he will add a backline consultant, not fire the incumbent
17 Nov 2012, 18:51 pm
@Lions_Soutie-10:
lose – what us Scots do very often
loose – the average womans ****** in Scotland
sorry just had to
17 Nov 2012, 18:51 pm
Ryan did u by any chance happen to do the final edits on Ricardo Lobshur’s C.V / bok application?
Honest question, Yes or No??
17 Nov 2012, 18:52 pm
@Guns-11: he licked the jam between Meyer’s butt cheeks.
17 Nov 2012, 18:52 pm
Mallet is going befok with the Springbok attacking play on supersport!!!
17 Nov 2012, 18:53 pm
Shirt but hope Jennie and Alberts got one more big one in them.. And boy we need to sort our scrumming and hatred of possession out.
17 Nov 2012, 18:55 pm
@Johannes_Lombard-17: there is no such ******* thing as a backline coach in a bok setup.U have a coach who is Meyer who has the first and last say the others just help carry tackle bags
17 Nov 2012, 18:57 pm
well done boks
17 Nov 2012, 18:57 pm
@saru1983-20: faaar to easy! He should have started with Alberts, Guthro, Junnie and Beast just to pass first application phase.
17 Nov 2012, 18:58 pm
Brutal boks? How can “dominating” a minnow team by having a good defence structure be considered to be BRUTAL?
17 Nov 2012, 18:58 pm
That is the cool version of Mallet u get to see on supersport imagine he had free reign to say what the ******* he really wanted to
17 Nov 2012, 19:01 pm
Brutal Boks??You are not for farking real,Ryan.Are you farking smoking Haggis or what??I think you are supposed to eat the damn stuff,Ryan.
17 Nov 2012, 19:01 pm
@saru1983-27:
Yeah I wish he’d let it rip on the bok back line .
17 Nov 2012, 19:02 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-24: Ja well done Boks…
Still young squad. If they can learn from this then great but if kirchner continues to kick possession awaybin opposition half when we desperate to hold onto possession then he must taste that bench and learn, De-toxify skopenjag phase 1.
17 Nov 2012, 19:02 pm
Even without a coach you would expect 7 International ” world class” backs to be able to come up with a set piece move or 2 between themselves.
17 Nov 2012, 19:02 pm
Wish we could see Mallet on tv outside of SA
17 Nov 2012, 19:03 pm
@saru1983-27: Mallett would surely jump at the chance to turn this Bok ship around…
17 Nov 2012, 19:04 pm
@lesiba-26:
exactly! what were they when they took 5 tries off Australia then? turning into a side that acccepts narrow ground out victories over teams that are 20 points poorer at least. The days of 68-10 victories are long gone, can you imagine the team of 1998 claining an 11 point win was brutal, a victory of anything less than 25 points would have been a national disaster back then
17 Nov 2012, 19:05 pm
9, 10, 15 all playing under instruction. Lambie standing deeper and starting to look like a poor morne steyn clone.
For Farks sake let the laaitie play
17 Nov 2012, 19:08 pm
@wnbb-28: Hahahahahaha I don’t know what he is smoking but whatever it is, it has seriously messed his mind up.
17 Nov 2012, 19:09 pm
Watsup Guns who’s Jennie?
17 Nov 2012, 19:10 pm
Brutal Bokkes oh dear
17 Nov 2012, 19:10 pm
anyway im outta here off to take the wifey to see the vampire with a ******. The day just gets better and better
17 Nov 2012, 19:10 pm
v A G I N A
17 Nov 2012, 19:11 pm
@saru1983-35:
Well we don’t have a coach in the springbok setup that knows anything about attack play. For fck sakes van Graan is the forwards and attack coach!!!!
17 Nov 2012, 19:11 pm
@Guns-30:
yip, very happy with where they are heading.
to be fair lambie kicked away as much as kirchener did.
meyer clearly wants a win over all else so will not, but i would have tested taute at fb and morne to start with lambie on the bench.
17 Nov 2012, 19:11 pm
I never saw the game but does not seem you guys agree with Ryan Again ?
17 Nov 2012, 19:13 pm
Surely if the boks were brutal we would have had 40 to 50 points?
17 Nov 2012, 19:14 pm
@dquinn25-34: What is worrying me more and more is that we’re starting to accept mediocrity because of the low expectations we have of this team. Why is it that people are so proud of our defence when we were supposed to be dominating the previous 2 games against minnows with our attacking play? Imagine the ABs celebrating the fact that they defended well against minnows?! That will be a cold day in hell.
17 Nov 2012, 19:14 pm
Seems like same old HM game plan ?
Get possession, kick it away, then defend like crazy
17 Nov 2012, 19:15 pm
@lesiba-45:
Our defense is getting so good because we having a lot of practice at it
17 Nov 2012, 19:16 pm
Jekyll and Hyde Bok team.
unconvincing second half……although defence great…
Backs look sterile and impotent.
17 Nov 2012, 19:17 pm
BorIng Boks the Cancer of World Rugby. Seriously disappointed in this incipate performance. Please for the love of all that is good please tell me how we have improved over the past season.
And this rubbish of not enough experience really undermines our intelligence as rugby followers. Especially when the most experienced players have consistently been the worst performers.
This is honestly the most boring brand of rugby I have ever seen in my life. Dud the ball go past JDV once today? Were our wingers even playing? Did we have one back line move? Our try says it all. A flipping hooker standing in midfield!!!!!!!
This era will serve to turn plenty of neutrals away from rugby and to other sporting codes. Sad but true. My 8 year old got bored and wanted to watch the football. Well done Meyer. Now I’m stuck raising a diving premadonna because of you!!!!
17 Nov 2012, 19:17 pm
@CoachPete-47: Lol, good point.
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