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, 22:20 pm
@Dawn-235: Hello Dawn
17 Nov 2012, 22:22 pm
Great rugby!
Running backs!
End to end!
17 Nov 2012, 22:25 pm
bunch of fuckup saffa supporters that for sure JDJ is head and shoulders our premier center in the country and the dumb dtchmen calling him the problem when its the dumb useless arsehole idiot of a dumb dtchman coach who is the problem.
Check this game of end to end running rugby between Argy and France shown here this what the supporters pay to see not that garbage dished up by these dumb dtchmen neanderthals who still think Springbok rugby is only played by the half of the team, backs are just an inconvenient appendage they don’t know wtf their usefulness is for.
17 Nov 2012, 22:25 pm
@Tacitus-207: ag come now Tac. I credited you with more rugby nous than that. The Boks are playing exceptionally poor rugby and I suspect you know it. England will beat the Boks next week and I’m wondering what excuse you’ve going to conjure up for that aberation.
17 Nov 2012, 22:26 pm
Bakkies your great bok team can only dream of this kind of rugby
They are BORING. You hear me?
B O R I N G
17 Nov 2012, 22:29 pm
@wnbb-220: the amount of times he munched the carpet you could well be forgiven for thinking youre watching some dodgy S&M porn video
17 Nov 2012, 22:29 pm
@suffer_guy-221: stuck record deluxe – go to sleep already
17 Nov 2012, 22:30 pm
Could the current Boks and HM even imagine playing the kind of rugby played by France and Argentina now?
17 Nov 2012, 22:30 pm
Could the current Boks and HM even imagine playing the kind of rugby played by France and Argentina
17 Nov 2012, 22:32 pm
I doubt whether they’re fit enough to play at this pace.
17 Nov 2012, 22:35 pm
I have read on these threads how people have fallen asleep and switched channels during bok games.
That says it all.
I have no inclination to switch channels now and am wide awake
17 Nov 2012, 22:35 pm
There is no way on earth that the Boks are better than either of these two teams.
17 Nov 2012, 22:36 pm
Can anybody see the advantages of a forward with speed?
And Argies… don’t play a running match against the French! You will come off second best…. Did they learn nothing?
17 Nov 2012, 22:37 pm
this french team is cooking
with dusatoir back they will be formidable opponents
definitely have the makings of a team which could challenge sa,nz,oz.
17 Nov 2012, 22:37 pm
Skop ******** owns bok rugby boet…accept it ….
17 Nov 2012, 22:37 pm
Oh btw
Hello rye
17 Nov 2012, 22:39 pm
@Dawn-255:
tsk tsk
it must be the wine/whiskey talking, missy.
i will remind you of this in the morning
17 Nov 2012, 22:41 pm
Be my guest.
The boks are boring.
17 Nov 2012, 22:41 pm
@Dawn-261:
anyone who has fallen asleep to any of the bok games this season surely cannot understand rugby.
they have been engrossing and nerve wracking games.
17 Nov 2012, 22:43 pm
and the French Kolisi scores France got 2 Kolisi’s at flank show these dumb neanderthals how to play the modern game. A new dawn has dawned on the archaic neanderthal heritage Africans taking rugby to the new generation only the dumb moron in charge of the Springboks is still stuck in reverse gear, poor Springbok rugby playing catch up from the Streauli era.
17 Nov 2012, 22:45 pm
@skopdiekan-270: definitely – but no everyone around still arguing about how bad Lambie played today when in fact it was all heyneke no Lambie. Juan de Jongh is k@k (even without the ball) they say. No mention of John Smit v2 aka Jean De Villiers. Oh no. Cant see the writing on the wall.
17 Nov 2012, 22:47 pm
On every site jdv hadva better ranking than de jongh… Hop hop quota style
17 Nov 2012, 22:47 pm
@suffer_guy-221: loosely translated; “I am a complete plonker”"
17 Nov 2012, 22:50 pm
Loubscher, Van Graan OUT!!!
Rockspider 10′s gameplan OUT!!!
17 Nov 2012, 22:52 pm
No, they have been turgid, boring games.
Have you not read the comments.
17 Nov 2012, 22:53 pm
@ufo-210: Plum is good
17 Nov 2012, 22:53 pm
@phil72-186: Well I cannot fault your faith in Meyer, I do not agree with your logic. Who is to say all the players you named in your first post will be available next year. Will Fourie be the same player after a few years in Japa. Andre Snyman was never the same player after some injuries. Will Burger come back? Will be the same? I suppose I need to have faith and hope.
17 Nov 2012, 22:55 pm
if some of you are happy with this afternoon’s performance then I really don’t know. These recent wins are really unconvincing and the style of rugby poor. Our defense is good(as usual) but our attacking play is probably the worst amongst the top 8 test playing nations. The wasn’t a single noteworthy backline move today that I can recall. In 80 minutes. Now that’s a new low.
17 Nov 2012, 22:56 pm
Kirchner is not a world beater, but he certainly is safe at the back, I changed my views on him. He handles the ball with confidence under pressure.
Saw Guthro flying off tackles foday. We all saw Etsebeth brushing Bismarck out the way. BUT the moment Aplon falls back then the knowledgeable bunch are quick to point out his size. (and it goes for all the smaller guys)
Its exiting to see these flashy players creating tries with their skills. and surely, it must lift every player in the team when they burst through the opposition with their brilliance.
Look at the Scots today after that nifty try.
17 Nov 2012, 22:56 pm
@suffer_guy-272: What did you say last night?
.
17 Nov 2012, 22:57 pm
today
17 Nov 2012, 22:57 pm
THANK YOU Tassies
17 Nov 2012, 22:58 pm
But we can only dream…..
1 Tendai Mtawarira
2 Bismarck du Plessis
3 Jannie
4 Bakkies Botha
5 Etsebeth
6 Francois Louw
7 Burger
8 Spies
9 Fourie Du Preez
10 Goosen
11 Habana
12 F Steyn
13 J Fourie
14 J Pietersen
15 Taute
16 Adriaan Strauss
17 Guthro
18 Coenie
19 Bekker
20 Alberts
21 Kankowski
22 Hougaard
23 Lambie
17 Nov 2012, 22:58 pm
@digger-277: Has any body noticed
the fear filled faces of the Boks during anthems?And how Shalk comes
onto the field with a huge smile.?Says something to me
17 Nov 2012, 22:59 pm
The England game will be the real test. Until then I’m off to do other things instead of depressing myself over the national rugby team.
cheers
17 Nov 2012, 23:01 pm
Fuckit… Pat Lambie must get thefuck out of this Bok setup as soon as possible before his rugger gets farked up beyond repair…
Same goes for JdJ and JPP…
Heyneke Meyer is fcking with their minds…
17 Nov 2012, 23:02 pm
both teams look out on their feet after the 1st half performance
17 Nov 2012, 23:03 pm
I can honestly say that I am not enjoying watching the Boks play… Terrible sh.yte dished up…
abysmal
17 Nov 2012, 23:03 pm
@Dawn-266: Hi Dawn.Never been a BTW
afterthought type of person
17 Nov 2012, 23:07 pm
The human being will start at 10 for the Boks next weekend and Taute will be at 13. Meyer doesn’t have a farking clue.
17 Nov 2012, 23:20 pm
@Heavens Game-286: Totally agree with you.For once you talk sense.
17 Nov 2012, 23:24 pm
Did not see the game but wondring by looking at the scoreline, what part was brutal?
Was the defense that good?
Was the attack better?
I dont really read what ryan says as he seems to get it wrong so often.
21-10 does not sound impressive really.
17 Nov 2012, 23:24 pm
Pienaar had a pretty poor game.
- Gave away two penalties
- kicked out on the full
- 3 sloppy passes from the ruck which hit the ground
- one kick charged down
- failed to clear the ball from the scrum on our 5m line when he had the chance. Ref re-sets scrum. Penalty to the Scots.
- generally too slow to recycle the ball from the rucks.
Look at the difference the Scottish replacement scrumhalf made when he came on. Lots of nip and energy and put the Scots on the front foot.
We need to get out of this mindset that we need a scrumhalf who is a game-controller. That is the flyhalfs job. What we need is fast ball from the rucks so that our attack can run at a disorganised defence. A scrumhalf who gets the ball out quickly and snipes every now and then and only kicks occassionally when its needed.
Pienaar is one of the major reasons we dont score more tries.
17 Nov 2012, 23:25 pm
@phil72-283:
Spot on.
Not sure what to make of Lambie’s play the last 2 games? Was average against the Irish and below par against Scotland. Maybe super rugby is his ceiling?
17 Nov 2012, 23:26 pm
@Heavens Game-288: Hi Hg.Cet homme qii vous ennui tellement ne vaut pas la peine detendre
A demain.Bon soir.The first and last time and only in respose to a Blogger
who posts in a language I do not understand
17 Nov 2012, 23:27 pm
@Daddy-293: good post
17 Nov 2012, 23:28 pm
@wnbb-291: Have a good evening
17 Nov 2012, 23:32 pm
@Hurricane-292: It was brutal alright – brutal for Bok fans who weren’t born in Pretoria. Brutal for anyone who thinks the ball should go beyond 12, and brutal for anyone who believes feet can be used for something other than kicking.
17 Nov 2012, 23:34 pm
@ryecatcher-297: Same to you.
17 Nov 2012, 23:36 pm
@ryecatcher-297: Sorry Dawn.Touchy & tired
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