Butch to add some chutzpah
17 Jul 2006
Sharks flyhalf Butch James leaves for New Zealand tonight to beef up the Bok’s options at No 10.
James was a favourite of White’s during the Super 12 of 2004, and only missed out on Springbok selection through a serious knee injury he obtained in the final game of that competition. James has nine national caps and last represented South Africa against England at Twickenham in 2002, the infamous 53-3 drubbing. He was asked to train with the squad ahead of the June Tests but did not feature in any of the three games.
At this stage, Meyer Bosman seems likely to replace Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen, but James can’t wait to get back on the park. Some players may irk at the thought of returning to a failing squad, but James remains optimistic.
“I admit that I was disappointed to see the Springboks doing so badly last Saturday,” he told keo.co.za. “But all I can do is go out there and give it my best shot.
“You can never turn down the oppotunity to play for your country, and so I look forward to playing against the All Blacks.”
Whether his team-mates look forward to facing New Zealand is another matter entirely, but James points out that Brisbane saw an off-day for the South Africans.
“They just didn’t click,” he said.
Another big topic of conversation has been the overuse of the rush defence, which was exploited well by the Wallabies.
“I think that when it was first introduced it worked well. But I’m not sure if everyone’s bought into it, and it’s the type of defence that everybody has to get right for it to work.
“The changes to the side may have also effected this structure, and perhaps a few of the players need to get to know each other better. Who knows, it may come right this week.”
The Aussies bounced back from the hammering they took against the All Blacks in Christchurch to beat the Boks 49-0. It is perhaps too great a leap of faith to believe that South Africa can do the same.
“The All Blacks are just as good defensively as they are on attack, but if we didn’t believe that we could beat them, then we wouldn’t play,” stresses James.
When he arrives at the Springbok camp in Wellington on Tuesday, hopefully he will find a group of players who believe the same thing.
By Jon Cardinelli
105 Comments
17 Jul 2006, 10:04 am
Ok, now if he can just stay on the park for long enough… Play Butch at Flyhalf and Meyer at inside.
17 Jul 2006, 10:04 am
number 1
17 Jul 2006, 10:06 am
anythings better than Jaco….
“it was a dropkick ref…i was going to use this here bionic leg to kick it from my 22 over the post over there i tell you…” LOL
17 Jul 2006, 10:11 am
Butch, the didn’t click, they didn’t tackle, they didn’t catch the ball, they didn’t do a lot of things.
They didn’t pitch up.
17 Jul 2006, 10:11 am
When you call up Butch James you must be f&*%$ing Desperate. Sack Jake White!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
17 Jul 2006, 10:12 am
Grrr…
By staying on the park do you mean by means or avoiding injury or a yellow card?
17 Jul 2006, 10:13 am
what do you guys think went wrong there?
we need a fetcher – our loosies were outplayed
Piiere spies thinks he is a flyhalf kicking everything he got – average!
White needs to swallow his pride and get watson involved as well as schalk britz – lets be honest they definately cant be worse.
we couldnt catch a cold there either let alone a rugby ball.
if habanna had have held on to that ball we would have been 7-0 up which i reckon would have given us more confidence too and we could have even made a game of it.
they should ban jaco from all forms of the game
17 Jul 2006, 10:13 am
At least he is a flyhalf being picked to play at …wait for it flyhalf. What a revelation
17 Jul 2006, 10:15 am
The same thing happened last year. The current Bok team got very complacent and the wallabies hammered them. There is no need to panic, the Boks will bounce back from this very well. Jaco has been out of sorts for along time now, but he needs to stay in as backup fullback. Am glad butch is finally in , he was originally in White’s plans. I would bring in Julies at 12 or send out an SOS to Halstead. Halstead is doing
well up here.
17 Jul 2006, 10:16 am
Good old “Armless”, hey? Red Card Walking.
17 Jul 2006, 10:17 am
bigg – who would you bring in? Another vaak ******** like Strauli, Viljoen or Du Plessis?
17 Jul 2006, 10:18 am
TheTackler – Next year when ur ****** AB team gets kicked out of RWC 2007 and the entire nationis in rehab, u won’t be such a smart mouth then
17 Jul 2006, 10:20 am
Fantastic. He should of been there from the start.
Rest Percy, Butch can kick.
15 Pietersen
14 Ndungane
13 Jaque F
12 Bosman
11 Habana
10 Butch
9 FdPreez
8 Big Joe
7 Juan
6 Solly
5 Muller
4 Vic
3 CJ
2 Smit
1 Os
This is the best we can do with the players available there. And although, I agree Luke should be there. We need a competent flyhalf even more, and we could only call one replacement.
17 Jul 2006, 10:26 am
Totally agree with that team Mistral.
17 Jul 2006, 10:29 am
butch on the park will give their players more to think about…
but please keep your arms up and tackles down…
17 Jul 2006, 10:34 am
Bosman kan also do the kicking.
17 Jul 2006, 10:38 am
Hou op om in julle broeke te kak oor Pierre geskop het. Vir wie moes hy pass? Of wie dink julle sou kom skoonmaak as hy die bal grond toe geneem het? Daar was FOKOL support, hy het gedoen wat enige heelagter of vleuel (sy oorspronklike posisie) sou doen. Hy was 100% in die kol met die opsie, al was die uitvoering nie noodwendig 100% nie.
17 Jul 2006, 10:39 am
Good team Mistral. A pity Jake can’t see the error in his ways and admit when he is wrong. Although Butch has his flaws he is still the best fly half we have. What has happened to Ruan Pienaar?
17 Jul 2006, 10:39 am
Larkham wont run that channel again with Butchie there
17 Jul 2006, 10:40 am
Mistral (13). Span lyk goed, stem saam met comment…
17 Jul 2006, 10:41 am
Mistral,
Nice team. I personally would make 1 or 2 changers:
Russel for Butch, (play Butch off the bench no need to rush him back)
Pieterson for Ndungani (INMHO Pieterson is Percies successor, but they need the stability of Percy at the back).
Ricky for Fdp, (its a tough call, but I still feel that Ricky plays the situation better than Fdp who is to used to a winning pack.)
17 Jul 2006, 10:41 am
Mistral – Great team. These kind of performances happen from time to time. Oz got hammered in the first ever Tri-nations game in 96, 46-3, and bounce back well. The ABs didn’t allow them to get into the game, same happened to the Boks. But i am very glad Butch is back and the Boks will have a natural flyhalf now. I wish Pienaar was with him, Du Preez probably needs a break.
17 Jul 2006, 10:47 am
A fit James is the best option we have at no.10 he distributes well is solid on defence and has a high workrate. Plus he has got rid of the junk in his game this call up is long over due albeit injuries have played a large part.
17 Jul 2006, 10:49 am
hardcore – agree. Russel needs to be way more involved. Russel at flyhalf and Btuch at 12 could definitely work. I’m glad White isn’t panicking, there is no need to.
17 Jul 2006, 10:50 am
As Wynand Olivier weer Saterdag speel gaan ek in my kerkpak kak.
Wat te donner het hy gedoen om die Springbok trui te kry?
Hy’s net vokken lucky as jy my vra.
17 Jul 2006, 10:51 am
hardcore – Jaco should be Monty’s backup, this whole flyhalf facade has interuppted his career.
17 Jul 2006, 10:57 am
I think it is a good call to fly out Butch. Our backline lacks spark, vision and creativity without JDV and I think Butch has the talent to introduce all 3 factors. I still believe he needs to prove to himself and fans that he has the temperament to play in the test arena but on the other elements, i have no doubt. One must understand that although game plans are very important, it often takes glimpses of individual brilliance to change games and results. I think Butch has more of that to offer than any other fit 10 at present. He has silky hands, kicks well out of hand, has improved his goal kicking and most importantly, i feel he has the attributes to start our backline moving again. A flyhalf’s greatest strength is his ability to read the game and secondly to distribute with confidence, flair and success. 20 mins in Wellington followed by starts for the remainder of the tour will show that we may have a stable 10 provided he stays cool between the ears. Lets give him a chance……
17 Jul 2006, 10:57 am
Sorry, why is Butch coming to NZ?
White stated quite bluntly that he couldn’t call in Luke Watson because he had to show support for the guys he had already selected. In the case of Watson he offered up Solly as his first choice.
He justified this by also claiming the moral high ground that he was supporting AA and it would be all kinds of face slaps to back track.
So in other words, selecting Luke Watson would be denying a previously deprived person an opportunity he wouldn’t otherwise get.
You guys are doomed!
17 Jul 2006, 10:59 am
mistral
agree 100% with your team.
17 Jul 2006, 11:00 am
Hardcore, what stability did Percy provide at fullback?
Hasn’t been good under the high ball ever.
Provide’s no variation on attack.
We have a string of kickers that can place kick.
Nice team Mistral but Matfield and Smit also needs a wake-up.
17 Jul 2006, 11:01 am
leeanthonyw,
Jaco has always been a termperamental player. He either blows hot or cold, now he just sucks. Its plagued his career, like Spencer, all the talent in the world, but his head just cant handle it.
Pieterson, for a 19 year old debutant in the Super 14 was awsome. He is a player who has really shown ability and maturaty in his style of play. A little bit hot headed but so was Schalk when he started.
Basically, Jaco made a choice of playing in Japan, SA needs to invest its time and money into the real players of the future, ie Pieterson not the has never beens.
17 Jul 2006, 11:04 am
Spot on Mistral, I agree with your team but would have Russell in 14 ahead of Ndungane and would have Bosman kicking.
17 Jul 2006, 11:06 am
Karibu,
The stability of experiance. They playing an awsome AB side. For all his flaws, his experiance has to hold some weight.
17 Jul 2006, 11:06 am
Butch there is a good move!!
Exactly what I wanted.
17 Jul 2006, 11:11 am
Jaco is the most priviliged player of all time. He has been given every chance to succeed at this level and he blew it. Now he must go to the NEC in Japan and count his yen. A wasted talent.
Play the good young guy’s like Pietersen, Ndungane ( and his brother Odwa) sooner rather than later. No Breyten, Percy, de Wet Barry, Marius Joubert or other heroes from yester year.
17 Jul 2006, 11:17 am
the players who need to be dropped and the reasons…
jaco…benched…FB backup.for Monty.
rickie januarie, dropped.
Spies, dropped.- becnhed for wing backup.
habana – beched- too rusty.
my team from the players of the squad.
forwards
os
smith
cj
muller
vic
solly – better a fetcher thats crappy than none at all.
juan
joe
bench forwards
eddie…no one else
chilliboy….id give him a shot….
Albert…he can cover flanker as emergency
backs
du preez
bosman
butch
fourie
russel on wing
ndugane on other wing
Monty…..only because we need someone who can kick for position from the fullback….rusel and ndgane on wing are not good kickers of the ball.
bench…
habana, last 15minutes
Spies – last 15 minutes as a wing.
JP as fullback last 20….give him some game time to eventually find his feet and get used to international rugby.
SH is a problem….we only have porky as backup…
17 Jul 2006, 11:20 am
AM I the only person that rates
Derick Hougaard as our best nr 10 in the country ?
17 Jul 2006, 11:23 am
1 Iron
Agree with you about butch…. How is the golf going???
17 Jul 2006, 11:23 am
King
Yep, you definately are one of the few.
He is slow and likes to kick the **** out of the ball from 20 meters behind a dominant pack.
17 Jul 2006, 11:23 am
37. The King…..hahahahahahahaha….(wiping tears from my eyes…)
thanks man i needed a good laugh after Saturday….
17 Jul 2006, 11:25 am
The King…
Hougaard… is an old school flyhalf… u cannot wins games by just kicking anymore!
17 Jul 2006, 11:26 am
Snoop – agreed, he’s another gaffie, maybe if the Boks wore brown shorts he’d get a chance…..
17 Jul 2006, 11:26 am
All Heyneke’s fault. He played Jaco at full back. Should have sent him to WP then already…if only Roets was OK
17 Jul 2006, 11:28 am
Imagine Luke and Jaco in one team……the WP Currie Cu team. Would have been much better for the Boks
17 Jul 2006, 11:30 am
41. seriously tho, he’s lacks on defence, as well as he seldom attacks the line, and barely swings the ball wide.
if he can brush up on his defence and attacking game he might actually be suited for the heavy NH French fields come to think about it……but then Andre offers you all that, albeit average….
17 Jul 2006, 11:32 am
Does anyone drive a blue car?
17 Jul 2006, 11:35 am
Hougaard lacks everything but a kicking game, he might go alright as a punter in the NFL but international rugby? no thanks!
17 Jul 2006, 11:41 am
and…
17 Jul 2006, 11:42 am
49 YEAH!!!! How slow????
17 Jul 2006, 11:43 am
Please select Luke Jake !!!
We cant have the goats in any hope of the CC final!!!
17 Jul 2006, 11:51 am
If Jacoba vd Westhuysen is serious about being an international flyhalf he should think twice about plying his trade in Japan… They are not rated the 20th best team for nothing & the league is clearly not improving him as a player. I should imagine it is not too difficult to look handy there either. In fact, it seems to be more like a retirement paddock for ex-Aussie & Kiwi internationals……..
Maybe Jake should mention this fact during the”heart-to-heart” he is planning to have with Jacoba?
17 Jul 2006, 12:09 pm
11.
Vaak ******** jou ****** moer.
17 Jul 2006, 12:13 pm
Butch “yellow card” James??? Couldnt even stay out of trouble and on the field against WP.
Also, with his reputation, whats going to happen when they Australasian press (and worse – the referees) get hold of him??
He’s not the solution – then again, anything is better than Jaco was.
17 Jul 2006, 12:22 pm
The King – u made my day. Hougaardt is a carthorse!!!!
Good one.
17 Jul 2006, 12:23 pm
Jaco is the worst fly half I have EVER seen play in the green and gold.
17 Jul 2006, 12:23 pm
Stan #52
Ditto!!!
17 Jul 2006, 12:26 pm
Jaco is only the 3rd best flyhalf or fullback at bulls. He sucks.
17 Jul 2006, 12:28 pm
Maybe Jaco should skip the sushi & yen in Japan for the benefit of his career. Now that Hough is going to France, I think the Griffons may be looking for a new flyhalf…
17 Jul 2006, 12:28 pm
Sampioenman
Liefling sal Jacomina weer laat goed lyk as hy nou gekies word
17 Jul 2006, 12:29 pm
I have said it before and i will say it again
we need thePointmachine.
17 Jul 2006, 12:30 pm
Drunkmonkey, do you have posters of Hougaard on your bedroom wall? Cause it’s a little disturbing…
17 Jul 2006, 12:33 pm
Stick him straight in the run on side! Welcome back Butch
17 Jul 2006, 12:35 pm
Drunkmonkey = Hougaard
17 Jul 2006, 12:35 pm
Has everybody lost the plot, Jaco should go but that should have happened a while back but to put Butch James in his place is rediculous, has he ever played a game and not get a yellow card!! I’ll put money on it, if he plays on sat SA will get a yellow card against us. Where is Pienaar, Watson, Visagie and the likes? Plus we should learn not to kick away all the posession, the little we have, these guys doesn’t have an ounce of confidence on attack ’cause they are told the forwards will win the game!!!
17 Jul 2006, 12:36 pm
Butch James is a rugby coward and a head case. And Jake wants him to dictate our game??
Cowards bash into oppos with their shoulders and head pulled back out of the way. And even better when the player isn’t watching where the crude attack is coming from.
Truth is, we don’t have a world class flyhalf at the moment.
17 Jul 2006, 12:41 pm
Eish, this is no good. Butch is no good – a walking yellow/red card as mentioned. But also, i agree anything is better than Jaco
17 Jul 2006, 12:43 pm
LMAO at (3)ALL BOKS!!!
17 Jul 2006, 12:43 pm
i say drunkmonkey does his name or her names justice lol
17 Jul 2006, 12:53 pm
wild-africa, none of them plays 10, whats your point?
17 Jul 2006, 12:54 pm
ahahha
kyk na paar games sal almal vra hoekom speel thepointmachine nie in springbok span nie.
17 Jul 2006, 12:56 pm
play butch and habana at centre. that is where all the problems are.then bosman can play 10.
17 Jul 2006, 12:59 pm
Jaco = man van staal, “but i are dropkicking it ref, wiff my bionic leg, and i are using my bionic pentium 286 brain to direct our backline.”….
17 Jul 2006, 12:59 pm
ruffle
We only have a problem at inside centre.
17 Jul 2006, 13:02 pm
then why haven’t we been breaking the line in all the other games???
17 Jul 2006, 13:03 pm
Catfish, no we dont our best inside centre is playing for th sharks, as is the best sh, lock.
maak al die bulle bokke…..goetchie vir jou Jake as jy soveel bulle in jou span will sit kies dan darem die beste’s .
17 Jul 2006, 13:05 pm
49-0 only a problem at inside centre.
17 Jul 2006, 13:09 pm
Ruffle
Like I said, nothing has been happening from 9 to 12. No oppertunities for the outside backs. We need a playmaker at 12 – like a Micheal du Plessis.
All boks – Im refering to the plonker whose been playing at 12 so far.
17 Jul 2006, 13:10 pm
Koos, my point is Jake is not picking the best players we have, he’s plaing players with contracts, fair enough not to dish out springbok colours to anyone but 49-0 scoreline tells a different story. Players are not there on merit they are there of previous contracts and colour, sorry to say
17 Jul 2006, 13:12 pm
Ruffle
I was refering to ur comment about both the centres.
We know that the problem is MUCH bigger than that!!
17 Jul 2006, 13:16 pm
just teasing catfish. still think though that fourie is part oif the midfield problem.
17 Jul 2006, 13:16 pm
you know who i feel sorry for…
i mean really feel sorry for…
PIERE SPIES. LOL he thought our FH was playing so k@k that he started playing FH….LOL
17 Jul 2006, 13:19 pm
all boks
Bwahahaha…..good one.
17 Jul 2006, 13:24 pm
Ruffle
If JF only had the opp to play in a proper backline he’ll become one of the all time greats….
17 Jul 2006, 13:34 pm
Ja tipical suid-afrikaans.Speel n speler swak en n span veerloor dan is hulle almal k@k, afrigter en spelers. ek het nie gesien of gehoor dat iemand gekla het oor jw toe ons die tri nations gewen het nie in 2004 nie. Niemand het ooit gekla oor n inform jaco nie maar nou dat hy n paar af games gehad het almal iets te se.
Wat die f@k kan jaco anyways doen as hy silke k’k balle kry van januarie af.
Ja die verloor het seer gemaak maar ek dink n land en sy spelers soek ondersteuning in sulke tye eerder as n kruisiging.
En dit van mense wat nie vir n moer beter sal kan doen nie
17 Jul 2006, 13:40 pm
This is my problem!!!!!!!!!
JW keeps on picking out-of-form players. Butch is just another out of form player!!!
17 Jul 2006, 13:51 pm
LOL #3!!!!!!!!!!!
geeze i nearly wet my stringie… ha ha ha!!!!
im so happy that butch is going, hesommer looks like and especially talks like a real rugby player!
17 Jul 2006, 14:13 pm
Butch the untrainable…
Stop blaming everything on Jaco. Start with Januarie and have a careful look at Suster Montgomery.
17 Jul 2006, 14:42 pm
All that Butch will add is yellow cards
17 Jul 2006, 15:14 pm
87. Stan “….look ma no arms….” will still be better than Jaco “ek het tette vir hande…”
17 Jul 2006, 15:23 pm
arme Piere Spies, die beste FH op die veld wat nooit een was nie….
lyk my Jaco se stem is so dun en moffie agtig omdat hulle sy bal hare uit trek en in sy kop in plant…..”…..is was a drop kick mr ref….”in n meisie stemmetjie ook nog….
fo***it maar jy’s snaaks. Ek sou my stukkend gelag het was ek nie so de-moerin met hoe ons tot toe gespeel het nie.
Ek hoop vragtig dis sy laaste wedstryd in n no .10 trui vir die Bokke, die een en nie nul beteken nie jy speel soos jy n een op jou nul het nie!!!!
17 Jul 2006, 15:38 pm
Butch James is a positive addition to squad, but please don’t let me down and make me eat by words by getting sent off for reckless behaviour. Control your freaking temper and use your arms in the tackle, otherwise you are a good player
Luke Watson should also be on the same plan as you…
17 Jul 2006, 15:39 pm
And the reason that the rush defense is not working is because it was formulated around De Wet when he used to be a decent player. Now that he is gone the other guys don’t have a clue.
17 Jul 2006, 15:42 pm
I think the “dropkick” situation was one of the most embarrasing Springbok moments ever!! – & there have been many from Krige punching his teammate at twickenham to Kobus Wiese’s “Lomu is a ****!” rant in lockerroom celebrations in ’95.
Get “pomped” guys but dont start being F**££en clowns!!
So yes, Butch James is a step in the right direction.
But just how much rugby has he played of late?? & when was he ever a matchwinner? – I think we need to compare him to Dan Carter, Larkham, Spencer, Wilkonson, & just about every other flyhalf in rugby to realise what we are selecting…
What about Ruan Pienaar?
Yes, it might not be his position of choice but the kid has more flair and smarts than Butch…
17 Jul 2006, 15:44 pm
plan = plane
17 Jul 2006, 16:10 pm
jaco suck
17 Jul 2006, 16:11 pm
his boyfriend likes it…
17 Jul 2006, 16:11 pm
and now jake is in kakkas (not the same as jaco’s boyfriend no…)
17 Jul 2006, 16:12 pm
cause he picked jaco against better judgement… of everyone else…
17 Jul 2006, 16:13 pm
and as the time draws near, with my butch i do not fear…
17 Jul 2006, 16:14 pm
cause 100 is all for big g…
thank you
17 Jul 2006, 16:25 pm
allboks,
2wrongs does not make right.
Jaco is swak, maar Butch is nie die antwoord. Bosman, Hougaard, Steyn ens is beter.
17 Jul 2006, 16:42 pm
101. Stan, Bosman is te onervare, na Pretorius natuurlik is hierde twee die better opsie…….
Steyn en Houghard???….
hoe kan jy nou iets sense se dan bogger jy dit op me n Houghard en n Steyn….
17 Jul 2006, 17:24 pm
We, hulle het nog nie hul provinsie in die steek gelaat nie.
17 Jul 2006, 20:44 pm
BAHAHAHA! Naas Hougaard en Steyn?! Come now really . . .
17 Jul 2006, 22:12 pm
Few hours late keo, should have contacted me early this morning re Butch……. and a few other stories. Pieter de villiers will be the new coach…. Markies is besig om Jake te boek, af te boek, siek te boek in die siekeboeg van TWICKENHAM. Welgedaan Markies, jou plan werk goed sover. Keo a few more surprises are coming…. Maybe , maybe , just maybe 5 boks might hold their own news conference……. either on this tour or just after…. and a few more revealing facts……
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