Bok game plan needs more balance
26 Nov 2012
MARK KEOHANE, in his weekly Business Day newspaper column, says the Springboks have no attack and that has to be the focus next year if they are to take on a New Zealand side playing at a pace never seen before.
The aim within the Springbok squad was to win three matches on tour and show the defensive qualities that win World Cup finals. On the surface then, the tour will be viewed as a major success.
The Boks won all three Tests and conceded just one try. Once again they looked impotent with the ball in hand, but this seemed a secondary concern for the coach, captain and squad. They left London as winners.
Only, to win the World Cup in 2015 and win the Rugby Championship in between, the Boks will need greater innovation on attack and a shift in mindset that recognises the need for more balance between attack and defence, and the need for some home truths.
Ireland, Scotland and England are not the measurement of world rugby, and to be the best South Africa have to usurp New Zealand, who currently are playing the game at a pace never seen before, and with a balance in attack and defence that is the envy of every other international team.
The All Blacks leak more tries than the Boks, but they also score more. The All Blacks on their most recent tour have exposed more youngsters to Test rugby, evolved their depth in most positions and still won convincingly. The Boks, in three Tests, picked the best available every time, and some in the squad never got a minute’s game time. Each to their own, but to deny the flaws in Bok rugby at present would be to deny the obvious.
Defence has always been a strength of good Bok teams, but then so has attack. This team currently has no attack and that has to be the focus next year. If not, the Boks will again be a tenacious opponent applauded for character. They will not be the kind of opponent feared because of enterprise.
The Boks never looked like losing at Twickenham against a home side even more inept when it comes to attack. England will always be physical, always be determined and always be a difficult opponent at Twickenham.
The margin of victory was only a point but it may well have been 20. England, with 60% territory and 60% possession, never had the capacity to unlock the Bok defence. Again, they are not the measurement.
The more accurate match to reflect on has to be the All Blacks dismantling of the Boks at Soccer City a few months ago. The All Blacks scored four tries within 50 minutes and asked questions of the Bok defence to which South Africa had no answer.
If the aim is to be a top-three team with the occasional win against the best, then you can’t fault Heyneke Meyer and his Boks this year. If this crop of Boks do have greater ambition, then there has to be greater introspection about an inability to turn dominant periods of play into tries.
If you want to attack the limitations of the Boks in 2012, there is enough to make a convincing argument. If you want to make a case for bravery, commitment and a season that was reasonably successful, you would also find enough for a winning argument.
It all comes down to the interpretation of ambition.
As I write every week, there will always be hope in and for South African rugby, because of good playing numbers. But to set a standard is to take a risk, and in Meyer’s first season there have been few risks taken.
That has to change if the Boks are to be seeded second, with the capacity of being first, or to be second among a group with no prize of toppling the All Blacks.
Meyer will have an easier summer break because of the three tour wins, but I sincerely hope he also has an introspective one. There has to be honesty about the season, which was acceptable without being exceptional.
This squad are being characterised on their ability to defend, but there is just too much defensive in everything about this team, be it in performance or when questioned on performance. Injury to players is presented as a defence to any question that is interpreted as criticism, but only 15 players get to start, and in many positions those currently playing would again be selected — ahead of unavailable players of more experience.
Naturally, the Bok team at Twickenham would be strengthened when Frans Steyn, Bryan Habana and Johan Goosen are again available, and there would be more depth to the forwards when Bismarck du Plessis, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies and Juan Smith are fully fit.
But the core of what constitutes the best team was at Twickenham, and for this best team to mature into a team capable of being the best in the world, there has to be greater cross-examination and less defensiveness about the obvious shortcomings of the year.
117 Comments
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26 Nov 2012, 20:34 pm
To think that faf had to sit on the side for quota duminy…. Same way quota zane and jdj are keeping better players out…. Quotas se moer
26 Nov 2012, 20:34 pm
Talking of defense against Northern Hemisphere teams, who aren’t renowned for sophisticated attacking approaches, I’m not convinced that the boks can definitively state that their defensive strategy is entirely unyielding. It needs to be tested against the ABs stretch and counter attack, and then we will all know what the boks defense is about. Then there’s a question of the Boks feeble attack, an aggregate inability to construct a try that evidences ball in hand know-how. Watching England vs the boks was an utter snore fest, it was actually deplorable, PDV had better attacking strategies.
26 Nov 2012, 20:46 pm
@nama1-87: Nama.Hi.That was the name.SybilWoman with multiple identities like our cyber associate.
26 Nov 2012, 20:57 pm
Boks never looked like losing? Really keo, must have watched a different game to me!
26 Nov 2012, 22:47 pm
@87 nama1 – you actually talking to the nick thief, notice the capital I in his nickname.
26 Nov 2012, 22:59 pm
More balance. Correct. Well done keo.
We also need more points than the opposition at the end of every game.
27 Nov 2012, 01:17 am
In case anyone still thinks the Alberts try against England was illegal (nama that means you) – have a read:
http://www.rugby365.com/article/50865-law-discussion-alberts-s-try
27 Nov 2012, 04:49 am
We need a fast passing halfback
27 Nov 2012, 07:22 am
I believe that, Piet van Zyl and Goosen (both from the Cheetahs) will go a long way at solving this problem. For me, van Zyl is the fastest and cleaning passing scrummie in the country and has a very good boot to go aswell. They have grown up together and know each others play inside and out.
They are both young and inexperienced but I believe they have what it takes at Test level.
Also with so many experienced players returning next year we will only get better.
They way we manage your players leading up to the next World Cup is the most important thing. Key players need proper rest periods.
27 Nov 2012, 07:30 am
@iceman-108:
Hopefully Naka don’t pick Tewis ahead of Piet then…
27 Nov 2012, 09:48 am
@SIumtown-86: You sir are being a real twat by constantly using my nickname. Again people not me.
27 Nov 2012, 09:49 am
@nama1-87: yeah him again – it amazes me how much time people have on their hands to impersonate other people on top of commenting here. Someone has a very veyr big psychological problem. Well spotted Nama.
27 Nov 2012, 10:24 am
@John1976-104:
I see that now.
Thanks
27 Nov 2012, 10:35 am
Let us just accept the fact that the successful Bok sides have won games with stingy defence, one needs only to look at our WC winning teams in 95 and 07. To think that the Boks could play the attacking style of the AB’s is laughable. Their frontrowers have better ball skills than our back’s and their decision making from broken play is streets ahead. Not to blame the coach or the system here, this is evident in all levels of our rugby. We can still be successful, but it isn’t ever gonna be pretty.
27 Nov 2012, 11:07 am
@DumpsterDiver-113:
Explain the successful Bok side under Mallet then. They ran with the ball if I’m not mistaken.
This was not a tournament. This was 12 regular test matches. Sure, one can accept that your tactics will change slightly when you play in a tournament like the RWC.
Even the AB did not play their regular brand of rugby in the RWC last year especially in the knock out stages.
27 Nov 2012, 13:00 pm
@suffer_guy-100:
“To think that faf had to sit on the side for quota duminy”
Seriously? JP was in great form this year, you must mean quota Jacques Rudolph kept Faf out of the team.
11 Dec 2012, 19:33 pm
i belive Heyneke Meyer needs 2 get Nick Mallet as an advisor on a fulltime basis,maybe bradon Venter baby boks backline coach gets promoted to the springboks with ricardo redeployed to the baby boks venter is very very exprienced with saracens,western province..or todd frm nz….i also belive that john mitchell should be the specialist attack coach….jaco van graan can jst focus on the forwards s…trictly…scrum coach is fine the bok scrumminging has been soild and almost as dominant as the world cup winning pack….kicking coach needs to be changed i would bring
braam van straten back frm the wallabies as our kicking coach or another choice could be naas botha his very exprienced played for the dallas cowboys..lol anyway his been with the boks before and knows the culture…..with this changes and generals of intellectual thought when it comes to rugby the boks would not be stopped..i also belive we should get a skill consultant from aussie rugby league or overseas to help with our offloading which if you guys remember improved when we ropped in eddie jones who would actually be my first choice before brandon venter but knw is coach of japan…..I also belive siya kolisi should move back to playing number 8 this is role his played through out his school carreer at grey high and age group rugby this will increase his chances of playing more for the boks his got the pace,power,skill,brilliant defence,good on the ground…i belive he could be the greatest number 8 in bok history if give a chance like a jerry collins type player…..i would also like to plead with heyneke to give luke watson a look in next year class is forever and his still a brilliant player and will be playing super rugby and has matured….(comments by Mojo)
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