Demanding more from awful Boks
19 Nov 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day column, says this has been a desperate end-of-year tour for the Springboks, and to criticise them does not make one unpatriotic.
From a distance this Springbok tour has only depressed me. Does that mean the Springboks depress me? No. Does this mean there is no hope? No.
Forget what next year could hold. Let’s deal in real time with the considerable disappointment for those of us who appreciate the potential within South African rugby and the quality of player that makes up South African rugby.
Each to his own, be it in acknowledgment or denial, but I find it an insult to South African rugby that so many are so willing to call a win a win and dismiss any dismay as disparagement of the Bok coach, management, players and just anti-South African.
Why is there such irrational and ignorant investment of energy? I can’t explain the conservatism of the Springboks’ approach — and I am referring to the coaching staff.
I expected more and rightly so. I’ll take an ugly win in the World Cup final and I’ll take an ugly win every time if it is against the All Blacks. There are times a team will win ugly, but very good teams with aspirations to be great teams mostly win with a swagger more than a stagger.
I know the Bok players have character and that they take seriously the responsibility of playing for South Africa and excelling as national players. If you have to applaud them for this then they’re in the wrong profession. It’s a given.
I understand that among the goals of the Boks between this year and 2015 is to concede the least points in world rugby and to concede the least tries. Nowhere is there talk of scoring the most points and scoring the most tries.
Christmas can’t come soon enough, and I hope the gift of introspection comes wrapped with whatever else makes its way to the home of Bok coach Heyneke Meyer and his support staff. Nothing has been gained from this tour. The Boks can tackle. The Boks can maul. The Boks have character.
I don’t want South Africa to be New Zealand. I want them to be South Africa. Good Springbok teams have always played rugby. The good ones have had more than just character, a desire to tackle and an effective mauling technique.
The good, very good and great Bok teams have trusted their basic skills and believed that the true expression of their talent is in scoring tries and points — and not in how few are conceded.
I have never understood the flippancy with which the words ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ are used within the Bok context. To condemn the Springboks’ performance in Dublin and Edinburgh is apparently a negative. To applaud the win is to be patriotic, passionate and positive. Again, each to their own.
I prefer ‘accurate’ and ‘inaccurate’ when assessing the Boks. Is it accurate to laud a win fashioned by an intercept try and supposedly brutal defence in the last 20 minutes against a side ranked 10 in the world who a week earlier conceded 50 points against the All Blacks?
To talk of being the best requires more than a PowerPoint presentation and a Vince Lombardi quote.
Heyneke Meyer, my preferred choice as Bok coach, seems convinced 2012 was always going to be a struggle and survival was a more appropriate ‘go to’ than sensation. I haven’t been floored by this defeatist attitude but I have been dazed and deflated.
Apparently to tackle is to care if you are a Bok. Apparently to attack is to risk despair.
Where’s the cheer been in this tour? Where’s the evolution?
A week ago I wrote of the fear of failure within the Boks and the restrictive approach that rewards no risk and the possibility of a mistake.
The Boks, regardless of who coaches them, should have beaten Ireland and Scotland. Both teams are inferior in every aspect. Both teams currently don’t have the pedigree of player to threaten a side with the player resource of South Africa.
I will always have an expectation of a nation with two World Cup titles. To demand anything less is to not care; alternatively not to know.
The players know it has been an awful tour in performance and quality. Perhaps more applicably it has been a desperate tour.
I won’t apologise for demanding more from the coach and the players.
A week ago I said the players should embrace the adventure. Some pounced on this as results not meaning anything. Of course they mean everything, otherwise there wouldn’t be a score and there wouldn’t be a winner. But to accept the post-match virtues of character and player pride for the Bok jersey is to accept being second best.
I won’t, and the optimist in me thinks neither will those who assess the Bok performance instead of excusing the lack of performance.
427 Comments
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19 Nov 2012, 14:43 pm
Jantjes should be given an opportunity.
Goosen has the inside track once fit…..Jantjes should be second in charge.
Lambie has had 2 full games …..
Give Jantjes the last 1 and compare apples with apples….
19 Nov 2012, 14:44 pm
@nama1-192: Agreed. May as well have taken Kitshof on tour. Much better player on current form.
19 Nov 2012, 14:45 pm
@nama1-183: True.No need to expose the boy to the cancerous HM..AC already needs to rid him of the loser lions culture.HM on top of that would really be stretching it a bit.Let him enjoy his last week in England …and report to the Stormers nice and mentally refresh .
19 Nov 2012, 14:46 pm
@Brendope-191: our backs wont click if they are starved of ball! meyer’s gameplan is unambitious with ball-in-hand…on offence it is all about forwards in pods bashing it or jdv/frans also ramming it & then a kick from ruan or the 10.
this is why hougaard has been dropped from 9…he wants to take other options when he is supposed to read the script…
19 Nov 2012, 14:47 pm
@kaksioek-197:
Very irritating indeed.
At one point CJ and Gurthro were missing tackles at every attempt. Theyre both bald and I couldnt tell which was which at times because they were missing tackles at such regular intervals.
@Transformation-122:
Serial turf muncher…ha. Thats exactly what he has become.
Havent seen a prop flop to the turf like that ever.
19 Nov 2012, 14:51 pm
And all this points to how vital Jannie Du Plessis has become to the Boks.
That oke is going to deserve every minute of his down time at the end of the season.
Jeez he’s played a lot of rugby this year.
19 Nov 2012, 14:51 pm
@grant10-201:
Grant you should better prepare yourself for either Lambie or Steyn starting at 10 against the Poms. Jantjies selection at flyhalf is not gonna happen.
The Jantjies/JDJ combo will only start reaping rewards in February.
19 Nov 2012, 14:53 pm
Boks will lift it against Poms…..they like Bulls to a red flag against them….Poms will be hard pressed to beat Boks…
19 Nov 2012, 14:53 pm
@John Galt-205: It was astonishing how rapidly the Boks deteriorated after CJ came on. And this is part of the problem with Meyer’s game “plan”: when the forwards inevitably get tired, it doesn’t work – not even against Scotland!
Honestly, as I said yesterday and others are saying again today, Meyer would give himself the best chance of success by simply picking a “backline” full of loose forwards – retaining only a kicking 9 and 10.
Preferably, though, he should just fark off.
19 Nov 2012, 14:55 pm
@Nikita-200: No that’s just something that sounds vaguely cool but means nothing really. To seriously suggest that only an idiot can spot another idiot… well, that’s like believing only Kurt Darren can recognise a fellow **** musician.
19 Nov 2012, 14:55 pm
Boks and Govt should sort out the Mujati issue once and for all….we need that oke bad!
JDV last test this weekend I reckon.
19 Nov 2012, 14:59 pm
@katman-210:
Oh dear. Name and shame them. I pass this round. Next round is on me.
19 Nov 2012, 14:59 pm
@grant10-211: Probably. He’s played well the last few, and led well too.
19 Nov 2012, 15:00 pm
Boks are very lucky they aren’t playing France on this tour.
19 Nov 2012, 15:08 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl-178:
Meyer likes to take the credit when players do well. Think Habana (regaining his form), Lambie (better tactical kicking) and Etzebeth (his improved line out work).
It’s just fair that he should take the blame if players fail, don’t you think?
19 Nov 2012, 15:11 pm
JdV should go on his own before he is pushed.
Should call it quits after Saturday.
19 Nov 2012, 15:15 pm
@John Galt-205: Kitshoff would have been awsome fo the boks, Guthro was obviously no yet fit, he started limping and missing tackles. CJ was below par, Malherbe would have even been a better option.
19 Nov 2012, 15:15 pm
@mpundulu-214: Yup, France would have woken up HM BIG time, think even more than Soweto.
19 Nov 2012, 15:21 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl-195: Uh huh. HOW they kick, i.e. the kicking strategy. Welcome to the world outside of Loftus.
go take a look at Naas Botha re-runs.
19 Nov 2012, 15:22 pm
@nama1-215: Don’t be sensible or you’ll find yourself in the Brig.
19 Nov 2012, 15:23 pm
@Nikita-212:
19 Nov 2012, 15:49 pm
No more CJ … where the hell is PCilliers ? Also Guthro missed at least 10tackles .. is he fit enough to start ?
What a crock of sh*t that game was, as another poster pointed out had Scotland not kicked into Bok try area they would have won the game .. Now maybe that would have been for the best in the big scheme of things .. !!
HM you must come clean and accept you are out of your depth and your assistants are even worse. I cannot accept that Louis Koen is even on the team .. how poor is SARU that they cant afford decent coaches ??
Time for a boycott of Bok tickets … and that ABSA advert makes me puke .. on my jersey !!
19 Nov 2012, 15:51 pm
We need to be careful on Saturday… England (for the first time in a while) have a very decent side. If they get parity up front, they could very well beat us.
Expect England to absolutely throw the kitchen sink at us… They are aware of their recent poor record against us and will looking to make amends…. They have become very firm believers in the old “Match the Boks physically and the don’t have a plan B” approach.
England will be a step up… If we play the way we played against Ireland and Argentina, they will beat us.
19 Nov 2012, 15:52 pm
Scotland game was won by .. Flo, EE, DV, WA (first half) AStrauss sort of ok, HvM great for the short time on .. that was it.
The rest just sitting back and making tackles.. Poor JPP and JdJ just moping up wide moves from Scotland.
We need a new coach and a new board at SARU ..
19 Nov 2012, 16:35 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-136: Thank you for that
19 Nov 2012, 16:38 pm
@mikeybrass-145: Hi.What is a chalet when not a place in the Alps?
19 Nov 2012, 16:43 pm
@katman-177: Classy post
19 Nov 2012, 16:44 pm
@ryecatcher-226: A chalet can be anywhere. Right now it is inhabited by a one dimensional gameplan frozen for the last thousand years under Antarctica ice.
19 Nov 2012, 16:48 pm
@Brendope-191: Gee,that is 2 good posts now
19 Nov 2012, 16:49 pm
@ryecatcher-227: whats so f’ng classy about it.. it looks a whole lot like self opinionated arsewipe supremacy talking looking to show its snot nosed opinion as classy when the reality of it is clearly that its garbage dressed up in self opinionated attitude of self righteous snobbery…
dumb bloody imbeciles sucking this garbage up as pseudo arsed class.
19 Nov 2012, 16:55 pm
@skopdiekan-230: C,mon Skop.Lighten up.It,s only Monday.
19 Nov 2012, 16:56 pm
Seriously! Keohane you are the typical small man with a platform. In terms of November tours this has been a good one irrespective of Saturdays result. Obviously your desire to suck up to your paymasters/ favour grantors supersedes your professional integrity. Shoulda let Corne Krige sort you out back in 2000. If Cornes busy I wouldn’t mind a crack at you but I wouldnt want &@?) on my hands. Do another line
19 Nov 2012, 16:59 pm
@ryecatcher-231: why don’t you have a good look at the snot nosed attitudes of these self endowed superiority bred arsewipe idiots who reckon they are the custodians of ‘breeding’ and ‘class’ and dumb morons like you and some others suck that garbage up as if it is exactly what its not…. shows how goddamn gullible some self righteous opinionated classic bred morons are.
19 Nov 2012, 17:03 pm
@skopdiekan-230: Hey old man, for the benefit of the class, explain how you get “supremacy” from my post. Maybe do it in such a way that proves that you actually know what the word means. And try doing so without your regular fuckadilly runtcunt arsewipe brainpoep. That should keep you busy till at least Thursday.
19 Nov 2012, 17:05 pm
@katman-234: it oozes out you self righteous little snot nosed fanny like the garbage self opinionated supremacy garbage it is.. dumb bloody imbecile that thinks its so full of self righteous ‘class’..
19 Nov 2012, 17:06 pm
@skopdiekan-235: No, that’s an incorrect answer. You may try again.
19 Nov 2012, 18:08 pm
@skopdiekan-235: Hy naguil. Moet nie vir Katman aanvat nie. Hy is ‘n rugby kenner en jy is ‘n regte WP ondersteuner. Dit definieer twee disjunkte versamelings.
19 Nov 2012, 18:22 pm
@katman-236: get phucked punk.. that is the best answer for dumb little self opinionated self righteous snot nosed little pompous pisswilly idiot dweebs the likes of you
@Horings-237: wat die fok weet jy eintlik.. heeltemaal niks.. net so veel van fokol as die klein aasjaap wat dink dis slim .. dis net hoeveel van egte rugby wyse of lewens wyse of enige wyse wat julle onnoselike egte oerwoud boertjies weet van rugby of die lewe of sogenaamde klas of enige iets uiteindelik
19 Nov 2012, 18:24 pm
Meyer has only one goal for 2012 and that is to secure the Boks as the nr. 2 on the rankings. This will hugely affect our Pool selection for the 2015 RWC. Win is everything now – even if it has to be ugly.
19 Nov 2012, 18:34 pm
@Horings-237: miskien skep jy ietsie hier uit jou rugby ryke snot volle tong tussen die wang.. alhoewel die mening van wat jy probeer saai miskien n misverstand is.. maak dit taamlik niks eintlik saak want die waarheid is wat dit is.. al mis jy die verskil tussen die wat waar of fals is.
19 Nov 2012, 19:04 pm
I have a very good friend,who is a Bok supporter to the core.We have had some very “robust” descusions on the merits of All blacks/Boks rugby.But this season,he just tells me (before i have said any thing)that he just dosnt want to talk about it.He says its like watching someone slowly dying of cancer,in denial,but you can see them slowly fading away.
19 Nov 2012, 19:06 pm
@skopdiekan-233: Let,s hear it for the dumb morons
19 Nov 2012, 19:11 pm
@ryecatcher-242: yeah lets.. hip hip hooray for all the dumb morons of the snot nosed self righteous back slappers of this dumb moron snooty ‘class’ endowed establishment.
19 Nov 2012, 19:15 pm
@skopdiekan-233: Hi Skop.Insulting people is ridiculously easy. You must surely know that about me. Now I am not a holy roller.Never have been,never
will be.But if I have to insult people to achieve respect,then I am diminished
as a person.When you are in Gods optional extra time you might understand.
19 Nov 2012, 19:25 pm
@ryecatcher-244: yeah I understand .. there is no benefit to anyone from blatant meaningless ridicule or insult..
but there is just as little benefit derived from sucking up to some self infatuated pompous snobbery and self conceited righteousness.. so when somebody wants to try and take that stance as the self endowed obnoxious custodian and self appointed glorification of so called superior ‘class’ on a face less sports blog, that is when those self righteous little snot nosed punks deserve to get what they think they are so snobbishly aloof from.. which is a kick of reality through their snobbish little self righteous obnoxious pompous teeth.
19 Nov 2012, 19:30 pm
@skopdiekan-245: Good Night Skop.I suck up to nobody,never have,never will.If a post is good,I will say well done,classy etc.If it is bad I will refrain from comment.Every post and comment is a matter of opinion,which after all is what a blog is all about.
I am entitled to my opinion being diatribe free.Sleep well
19 Nov 2012, 19:34 pm
@skopdiekan-245: faceless is one word.
Overall I agree with Keo. I think winning is better than losing but there is very little to be inspired about from the last two Springbok performances. At least this tour is a little better than Rudolph Straueli’s famous disgrace of Twickenham tour in 2002.
He better hope the Boks dont take 50 points against England though, or he can call ahead to his wife to start clearing out his desk.
So he better maar listen to some of the criticism which I know is very hard for hard head to do, and get a few things right against England. He has one week…..
19 Nov 2012, 19:39 pm
@ryecatcher-246: why don’t you take a very good look at the intent behind that post and where the actual attitude of ‘superior intellect’ or breeding comes into play.. and what that snot nosed little pompous punk eyed prat of a poster was trying to achieve sucking up to one of the management of the enterprise to weed out the so called riff raff according to WHO exactly?..
if you are that blind to what outright self righteous opinionated snobbishness is then I won’t retract from going at any resemblance of its self righteous attitude with full flat out reaction one little bit… till they ban me again.
19 Nov 2012, 19:40 pm
@skopdiekan-248: Go have a masala and calm yourself. You know your kind are genetically prone to heart disease ? I would chill a bit if I was you. Have some tea and sweet meats.
19 Nov 2012, 19:44 pm
@Dusky-249: which ‘kind’ is that .. you another one with all this self endowed opinionated knowledgeable intellect from the wrong side of the cyber culture…. what kind of dumb f’ng morons are you self opinionated self righteous idiots who think your pompous back sides smell like cream puff cheese whirls.
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