Old and new a sign of good times
4 Feb 2013
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day column, writes that veteran Juan Smith’s performance was a reminder of a good Bok past and Jan Serfontein’s qualities are about a good future. Both are an asset to our rugby.
There is no such thing as a pre-season friendly in South African rugby. What was a supposed first hit out for the Stormers could easily have been a Super Rugby match played at the most critical juncture of the season. It was full on.
It was unrelenting and both teams were playing to win. Both teams kicked for goal at vital times and neither bought into the 10-try feasts usually associated with warm-up matches. Tries were at a minimum and both sides tackled.
The quality of the math was remarkable given it was the first week of February. The Cheetahs won with an injury-time penalty but the biggest winner was surely the sight of Juan Smith back on a rugby field and as imposing as ever.
Smith is one of the great loose forwards of the last decade. He is also one of the least spoken and written about, but every South African supporter would have kept an eye on his comeback in Bloemfontein.
Schalk Burger’s return is a week or two away and if Smith and Burger can make it to July with knees, hands, feet and head intact the Bok pack will again be the envy of the rugby world.
Smith was darn good given he has been out for 18 months with an Achilles injury that threatened closure on his career. What a wonderful view to see him rampant and playing as fearlessly as is his norm.
In Smith South Africa has a legend but watch centre Jan Serfontein of the Bulls. He will play for the Boks before the year is over. He was the world U20 player in the Baby Boks tournament-winning effort in Cape Town last year and he has been nurtured into senior rugby without haste and with plenty conviction.
Some players simply make the transition from juniors to seniors and Serfontein is one of those. He is a also a beast, physically the most imposing centre in South Africa and one of the biggest in the game. He’s just 20 years old but it’s his skill and natural feel for the game that is even more impressive than his physical presence.
Not since Danie Gerber weaved destruction has a player looked as capable of doing as he pleases from broken player. If Bok coach Heyneke Meyer battled with some positions in 2012 it won’t be the case this season.
There is so much new talent in the South African game and there is also massive changes to what paraded as Super Rugby in New Zealand and Australia.
It is heartening to see how the Lions have embraced their year out of Super Rugby. Johann Ackermann is bringing through another generation of player and the Lions have been committed in everything they have done on the field this year.
The year regrouping could be the best thing that has ever happened.. The core of the Super Rugby team is on loan to other South African franchises and there’s a very promising group being played in the season’s first month of matches.
Rugby in South Africa is strong and globally it is healthy.
The sevens in New Zealand was the best tournament I’ve watched and Kenya were 10 seconds away from a miracle win. The Africans had beaten the Boks, beaten hosts New Zealand and were leading England 19-12 with 10 seconds to go. They turned over the ball, England scored and in the sudden death scored again to win the tournament.
But what a display from the Keyans who have benefited from the structure and intelligence of English coach Mike Friday. Kenya now play the game like they understand it and not just on natural feel. They understand defence, thrive on it and they were the most physical of teams at the tournament. A coach does make a difference.
The Boks have opted for more agility and players blessed with a step but not with size. There is no substitute for physicality in rugby. When the Bok Sevens have had more bulk than balanced runners they have been effective.
Paul Treu is currently trading on goodwill as coach as the Sevens has been in free fall for some time now. It can’t be a fait accompli that he is the best there is. Result don’t make a convincing argument.
Finally the Six Nations delivered on the promise with Wales diabolical against Ireland and England ruthless against Scotland.
The global game needs seven to 10 teams to be a factor in between World Cups and England and France most definitely are the equal of South Africa and Australia with New Zealand still out in front, but not by a lot.
The rugby season will run until December but the break over the last two months has been too long. Just like Juan Smith’s performance on Saturday it is full on from hereon in and be confident that South Africa’s Super Rugby challenge can deliver a winner this year.
1,605 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 16 17 18 19 20 [21] 22 23 24 25 26 … 33 » Show All
5 Feb 2013, 19:57 pm
Time for the real rugby to start !!
5 Feb 2013, 19:57 pm
@CharlesM-994: Agreed. There’s always the lunatic fringe. It’s just given free reign here.
5 Feb 2013, 19:58 pm
The recruitment of former All Black flyhalf Carlos Spencer could be a masterstroke by Sharks coach John Plumtree.
It was revealed last week that the ex-Lions assistant coach has linked up with the Durban side for this year’s Super Rugby tournament. “King” Carlos at Kings Park? It certainly sounds like a perfect match.
Spencer has been roped in to impart his unique pivotal prowess and share his in-depth knowledge of flyhalf play, primarily with Pat Lambie but also the Springbok prodigy’s provincial understudies.
Considering his astute mentorship of Elton Jantjies during his time at the Lions, the Spencer-Lambie partnership could be the catalyst for the Sharks to capture their maiden Super Rugby title this year.
Perhaps even more exciting is the possible impact the collaboration could have on Springbok rugby. Spencer’s tutelage could well lead to Lambie’s transformation from multitalented playmaker to polished pivot and finally put to bed the ongoing debate over where Lambie’s long-term future lies.
A full, injury free season at flyhalf with Spencer as mentor could elevate the 22-year-old from a good flyhalf to a great flyhalf.
Granted, Spencer as a player lacked the tactical and goal-kicking nous of a Jonny Wilkinson and a Dan Carter, but the four seasons he spent with Northampton Saints significantly improved his ability and understanding of tactical flyhalf play.
Propelling the struggling side back into the Premiership and being acknowledged as the Saints Player of the Year in 2005-06 is a testament to his tactical progression during his 102-match spell in Europe, and his experience of wet, slippery northern hemisphere fields as well as fast, dry southern hemisphere pitches will further benefit Lambie.
However, it’s the prospect of Lambie being equipped with Spencer’s trademark flair, inventiveness and vision with ball in hand that will most concern opposition coaches.
While Lambie will be Spencer’s pet project, the Sharks backline as a whole – already a handful for the most resolute of defences – will also bear fruit from the New Zealander’s presence.
There’s no-one an attack-orientated coach would rather have to bolster his backline’s bag of tricks than one of the greatest attacking flyhalves the game has ever seen.
Deft handling, intelligent running lines, cross-kicking and counter-attacking, Spencer has it down pat. The 35-Test All Black was equally adept at fullback and will also be sure to play a positive role in the careers of Louis Ludik and Riaan Viljoen.
If the pack can emulate their strong 2012 campaign, the potent Sharks backline – with Lambie pulling the strings – could be untameable this year.
5 Feb 2013, 19:59 pm
hey charles… cool thanks bud and you…?
been really busy so not sure exactly what’s going on… guess we’ll have to wait and see…
of course we can all just hang out on the hore thread and head towards 100k…?
the 10k posts will become very sought after…
as long as this site is live we could all ‘manage’ it ourselves… there are great posters like you and others who have personal contacts in the sport that can keep us informed… others are great at clipping stories from other sources too…
I like the people on keo… the mix is great IMO and keeps things vibrant (to put mildly)… and it always been the posters who make this site anyway… and keo’s tolerance of freedom of speech…
so we could do that while Keo get his ducks in s row and hires a few writers…
I would suggest pissant, stormersboy and sharkslover for starters… with you and willievz contributing your expertise too…
not to put anyone down… but some of the finest rugby minds hang out here so if these guys could get involved we would not need too many more people… some guys like horings, vasteses are also really clever and knowledgable…
and even out kiwi buds can contribute…
keo should make the obvious step and use some of his ‘muppets’ and this site would really rock…
IMO of course…!!
5 Feb 2013, 20:00 pm
@Heavens Game-1003: He did an amazing job with the Lions. Really tightened up their defense.
Oh wait……
5 Feb 2013, 20:03 pm
5 Feb 2013, 20:04 pm
hehehe… iaastormer…
yes it is about the posters…
yeah… but gave this one a miss… to me the chilis without john frusciante just aren’t the same,..
5 Feb 2013, 20:04 pm
@stormersboy-1005: And the Lions D has got what to do with the Sharks and King Carlos being skills coach there?
Oh wait….
5 Feb 2013, 20:06 pm
More
5 Feb 2013, 20:07 pm
Redro…
5 Feb 2013, 20:09 pm
Shame man you dont have much in your arsenal huh
5 Feb 2013, 20:10 pm
sorry for the slow responses guys… 3g’s slow tonight…
5 Feb 2013, 20:11 pm
While it is clear that fit and well-conditioned rugby players are vital to a team, their level of mental development is just as important to how a team performs in various scenarios and at differing times of a campaign.
Bogey sides are really better than the teams they upset, often the biggest hurdle to overcome is ‘getting up’ for the so-called smaller games. On paper there might be no question who should win, but what happens on the day is not always about what’s on paper.
The loss to the Lions while The Sharks were on a winning run hurt them in last year’s Super Rugby tournament and placed the team under enormous pressure – pressure which they embraced and which seemed to feed them – but which didn’t help their log position.
Avoiding potential banana peel slip-ups is going to be vital this year, agrees assistant coach Grant Bashford.
“That Lions game came the week before our bye, we’d had a long run without a break and it was a huge game because we’d get four points for the bye which made it a potential nine point game and unfortunately we let it slip.
“Those are the kinds of things where we’ve been vulnerable in the past – where we’ve had a gun to our head, we’ve performed but other games where everyone is writing us up to win, we haven’t. Those are issues we’ve been addressing.”
Aside from mental sharpness, The Sharks plan to hit the road running this year.
“This is my eighth year with The Sharks and in the past we’ve started the competition really well and finished slowly, or started slowly and finished strong,” Bashford explains. “I guess the ideal is consistency; I think in a tournament like this, you will pick up losses – very few sides go unbeaten due to the length of it – but it’s about being able to back up wins with more wins and improve each week. We need to be consistent so we don’t lose twice in a row and I think that’s where we let ourselves down last year, we got on a losing roll and then had to get onto a really big winning roll to get there.”
Examining the start of the competition, he explains that, “We have a local derby to start the competition off with in Bloemfontein and then it’s back to Durban and the humidity which is always tough. For us, it’s all about improving our consistency: it’s no good starting well and finishing badly or the other way around, but that you’re in the race the whole way through, performing week in and week out.”
So just how confident are The Sharks? They are being written up as one of the top sides this year due to their squad depth, experience and recent form which has seen them finishing near the top, ready to make the final step.
“If you speak to all the franchises, they will all say they’re confident and they’ll all have positive things to say. It’s a new year, everyone is fresh and they’ve been working hard.
“But it’s a long, hard tournament, we’ve been to the business end before and to get there, you need luck, you can’t afford injuries and lots of injuries in the same position, you need the bounce of the ball to go your way and you need to play well.
“You need to be able to freshen people up.”
5 Feb 2013, 20:12 pm
Charles gets first 1k of the new hore
5 Feb 2013, 20:13 pm
Leading into the 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby tournament, the first priority for The Sharks is getting game time under the belts for all the players, with two pre-season matches scheduled before the competition gets under way.
“We’ll look at giving most guys an opportunity in those two warm-up games, that’s important,” John Plumtree admits. “It’s the first hit-out really and it’s about getting that first contact in.”
With the team all together now for some time, they are waiting on just one last inclusion, Springbok Ryan Kankowski, who spent the second half of last year turning out for Japanese club side, Toyota Verblitz. The Sharks coach confirmed that the big number 8 was expected to return next week.
Taking a look at the depth in the midfield, The Sharks are now well-covered at centre, with Francois Steyn joining the team last year to add to their stocks, sharing duties with Meyer Bosman, Paul Jordaan and Tim Whitehead.
“It’s taken a bit of time to get our midfield to where it is, losing Frans but now with him coming back,” says Plumtree. “To have a big, physical player in the midfield is going to be great, he still has a little work to do on his fitness because he was out for three or four months with an ankle injury, but he’s getting there.
“We have some good options in the midfield.”
Last year, with Fred Michalak playing so well at flyhalf, Pat Lambie played a number of games at fullback in a plan to accommodate two world class players, but this year his focus will be on the flyhalf position.
“It was good to see him play those Test matches at flyhalf, but I think it’s also important to understand that the Boks play a different style of rugby to us. I think the Boks play more off the scrumhalf and we generally play more off 10 so he’ll have more responsibility with The Sharks.
“But he started playing really well at flyhalf in last year’s Super Rugby competition before he got injured, and then obviously Fred came into that role. I think people forget that Pat picked up quite a few injuries last year, so he didn’t have a great season in Super Rugby from an injury perspective. But hopefully the injuries will stay away this season and he’ll be able to get a good run of games in that position.”
5 Feb 2013, 20:13 pm
@Heavens Game-1003:
“If the pack can emulate their strong 2012 campaign, the potent Sharks backline – with Lambie pulling the strings – could be untameable this year.”
As I’ve said to you before, the Sharks are the team to follow this year from a saffa point of view. They will definitely be the pace setters and have an abundance of depth in their squad. They have everything. There will be no stopping them this year.
But the 2nd March will be war. Better believe it.
5 Feb 2013, 20:14 pm
@Dawn-1011: Mwah luvvy
5 Feb 2013, 20:15 pm
Oh wait ………
5 Feb 2013, 20:17 pm
@I am a stormer-1016: War… One side coming to Kings Parks with Muskets – a defensive shitscared mindset – to meet the homeside brandishing dynamite…
BOOM!
Only one team in it…
The Black and White.
5 Feb 2013, 20:17 pm
@Dawn-1018: Waiting…
5 Feb 2013, 20:18 pm
@Heavens Game-1003:
@Heavens Game-1013:
@Heavens Game-1015:
Copying and pasting doesn’t constitute writing rugby related articles and replacing Cardinelli.
Or is this off the Sharksbite website?
We both know the answer to that one.
5 Feb 2013, 20:18 pm
Stop posting the guppy bible here
I dont have the time to scroll past polluting tripe
5 Feb 2013, 20:21 pm
@I am a stormer-1021: Yes. Some Sharks news – rare on this Stormfront propaganda site…
With the same journos, the SARugby online site gonna be a scream…
Maybe they need to rebrand it to serve their true market – StormerRugby… or BrokebackRugby online for short…
More honest I reckon.
5 Feb 2013, 20:22 pm
@Dawn-1022: Why dont you fuckrightoff to Hore then…?
5 Feb 2013, 20:24 pm
@Heavens Game-1003:Hi HG I know we support different teams but you’re spot with Carlos and Lambie !!
2 seasons ago Balie Swart presented a coaching course at the school where I’m coaching. Balie said that we (SAFFAS) are so selfish and never want to share knowledge. If we share the know how between the teams we should be good. Ever since then I’ve tried to share even if it’s a little thing or 2 from / with the opposition.
Little things like: “why did you go to the back of the lineout on your tryline etc ?”
Carlos did some good work with Elton and I trust that he’ll do the same with Patrick! In the end it will benefit Bok rugby and isn’t that what we all want ?
5 Feb 2013, 20:25 pm
Why dont you
5 Feb 2013, 20:26 pm
@Heavens Game-1023:
> StormerRugby… or BrokebackRugby online for short…
And hire Transie and ET to write for them
Transie could write about all the Queens victories and ET about playing Badminton in Taiwan in 1982
5 Feb 2013, 20:27 pm
@stormersboy-1002: wnnb – one of the lunatics IMO who just can’t help himself degrading others with a different point of view, springs to mind
5 Feb 2013, 20:27 pm
@Heavens Game-1003:
Carlos will transform Lambie into the Bok no 10, he did wonders with Jantjies
5 Feb 2013, 20:28 pm
Will be interesting to see who will play at scrum half for the Sharks…
I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a make or break coming of age year for McLeod…
5 Feb 2013, 20:28 pm
No Dusky to leg hump, now Victoria humping Herr Gwathole
5 Feb 2013, 20:29 pm
@Heavens Game-1023:
The articles here are all about generating a conversation. And then it all goes pear shaped. That is what makes keo unique rather than the sterile stuff you will see elsewhere. I don’t see too many alternative blogs going 24 hrs or even to 28,000 posts.
This place is like being in a pub without having to buy a round.
5 Feb 2013, 20:31 pm
@CharlesM-1025: Of course we want it to benefit the Boks…
But Mid year tests a millenium away….
Until then Sharks first with Super Rugby… King Carlos coaching General Lambie…
And to blazes with the rest
5 Feb 2013, 20:31 pm
@Dawn-1026: I aint a Hore…
5 Feb 2013, 20:31 pm
@I am a stormer-1032:
“This place is like being in a pub without having to buy a round.”
very true…
give that man a bells…!!
5 Feb 2013, 20:31 pm
@Dawn-1031: Dawn….
5 Feb 2013, 20:32 pm
@CharlesM-1028:
You’re right they’ve been given a free reign
The wnnb’s, ET and poppas run the asylum here and Keo’s not banning them
It’s going to cost him in the end
Real rugby supporters don’t want to read their drivel
5 Feb 2013, 20:32 pm
@Dawn-1031: Why do you
5 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@ 1004: Ufo I’m well thanks – quite busy as well. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see: can’t think of keo not being there !
I’m not that well connected but I have a few sources
5 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@Dawn-1031: speak in such
5 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@Dawn-1031:
Bite me fishpaste
5 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@Dawn-1031: short worded posts
5 Feb 2013, 20:34 pm
@Dawn-1031: Does it add to your
5 Feb 2013, 20:34 pm
@victoriabok-1027: With some soppyfuck like Stormerboy or UFO as editor…
No lines of white powder here…
Just poetry, poppers and PC…
All so appropriately Stormerish…
5 Feb 2013, 20:34 pm
@Dawn-1031: mystique ? or are you dronk again ?
5 Feb 2013, 20:34 pm
@Heavens Game-1013: is this the fabled BMT we heard so much about before 2011, when it was this aspect of rugby the ABs seemed/it was opined/our Saffa brethren assured they lacked?
dont hear about it here anymore, quelle surprise, but thats understandable I guess because it seems to have jumped from the good ship AB to the evil pirate rogue catamaran of the Southern Republic of Africa.
good to see that the Shorks are working on this very aspect though, seriously, because, as the history of many, many, many Super rugby final losses has taught us, they do seem to lack this vital ingredient..
5 Feb 2013, 20:35 pm
@Heavens Game-1030:
Reinach, start him and Lambie, coached by Carlos, and you could add the four try bonus points for all your games right now
5 Feb 2013, 20:35 pm
@victoriabok-1037: Hasn’t wnnb been banned perhaps ? I haven’t heard or seen any of his verbal attacks launched at the Afrikaners for a while now!
5 Feb 2013, 20:36 pm
Kiwis – helping the world over to play “beautiful” rugby..
dont thank us though, the reward is in having teams who can compete against our own..
maybe that will happen this year
5 Feb 2013, 20:37 pm
@Heavens Game-1044: Jissus…there is nobody softer – melts like an ice cream shoved up the devils poephol – than Gwanty.
If you looking for a soft natured little girl – Gwanty is your one stop shop.
I wonder if Gwanty isn’t Jean De Villiers ? I mean Jean has had a few cry sessions lately. Seems he has stopped denying his softer, feminine side.
Pages: « 1 … 16 17 18 19 20 [21] 22 23 24 25 26 … 33 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.