There is no Bok World Cup plan
16 Aug 2006
Everything about the Springboks at the moment is hit and miss. It will be no different at next year’s World Cup.
Events in the last two months have shown up the lack of World Cup planning, starting with the warm-up match against the World XV, the debacle at Newlands against the French and the embarrassment overseas during the Vodacom Tri Nations.
Each time the Boks stumble, the management ducks in behind a World Cup excuse. There’s no crime in that if there was a World Cup excuse. If the Boks were losing and struggling because of World Cup preparation, you could still stomach recent events. But there has been nothing to suggest any sort of plan with any player.
Let’s go through the list, starting with Meyer Bosman last year. Bosman was the controversial selection for the end of year tour and White waxed lyrical about the natural talents of a 20 year-old he said could play anywhere in the backline. White told the media he had been following Bosman’s career since the player was a 16 year-old and that the kid had it all. He picked him against Wales and started him against France. And that’s been Bosman’s exposure to the big time, other than warming international benches and carrying tackles bags.
White could have played him against the World XV or in two Scottish tests if he had a plan with the player. He never did and despite Bosman not making the initial playing squad for this test season injury to Andre Pretorius prompted White to pick Bosman again. He took him on a Tri Nations tour and never played him again. Instead he flew Butch James to New Zealand and played him against the All Blacks. There has been no plan with Bosman whatsoever, other than to stuff him around.
White introduced 32 year-old veteran Andre Snyman from Leeds and told the media Akona Ndungane lacked pace. Two months later and Ndungane is the test winger and Snyman is trying to get a release from a World Cup contract to play in France. Danie Coetzee, another veteran playing in England, was flown in from London Irish and paid to travel with the Boks. He is 32 years-old and played eight out of 22 matches for London Irish in the last year. We saw nothing of him in the test arena in the last two months. He’s on his way back to England. When Jaco van der Westhuyzen signed to play in Japan White said it was the best thing for him. White (YAWN) quoted his good mate Eddie Jones on the pros of Van der Westhuyzen playing in Japan and how the player could improve his skills because of the lack of pressure. Now White says he needs to get Van der Westhuyzen out of his Japanese contract because it is killing his international rugby. Van der Westhuyzen’s also gone back to Japan. Three players on Bok salaries not currently involved in the Tri Nations.
White at the start of the year said this was the season that he needed to find out if he had capable back-up to Percy Montgomery. In seven matches, six of them being tests, he has tried no other fullback and in four of the tests Monty has been appalling. When asked in Australia who Monty’s back-up was, White mentioned the likes of Johan Roets and Willem de Waal. He did this while Pietersen was lugging tackle bags around. Pietersen will get a game this weekend, but it will be for the Sharks. White wants him back with the Boks on Monday. Why? To carry more tackle bags. After 79 tests with Montgomery, he knows what he has. Why doesn’t he expose Pietersen to test rugby and see what he may have in the 20 year-old? If there was any planning around the likes of Pietersen, we would have seen a game schedule mapped out for him.
White and his selectors continue to clutch at straws. The majority of players who cocked up in Australia continue to be rewarded, while domestic form has proved meaningless.
Breyton Paulse has been lured back to South Africa and is now on holiday. White has axed him from the Tri Nations squad.
Brent Russell was not in the mix before the French test in Cape Town. He got picked because of injury to Paulse and was one of the Boks better players. He got taken to Australia and New Zealand and never made a match 22. Now he is out of national mix again. Where was the planning around Russell? There wasn’t any.
Pierre Spies was overlooked for the initial season’s training group and the excuse was used that he would be available for the under 21 World Championship. He excelled as a flanker in the tournament and White picked him to tour Australia. He then capped him as a No 8 in a one-dimensional ball-carrying loose-trio to play Australia in Brisbane. Spies was poor and the hapless Joe van Niekerk was even worse playing out of position as an opensider. A few weeks earlier Van Niekerk had looked good as a No 8 against the World XV and Scotland. Now he can’t make the starting XV.
White had the opportunity to introduce new midfield talent against France, if there was indeed a plan. He didn’t. He phoned De Wet Barry, asked him to play 80 minutes of test rugby after a month’s break and then dropped the player because he lacked penetration in the test match. White then told the media that he was keen to pick Marius Joubert on the Boks return to South Africa. Joubert had not been on a rugby field in two months and when he eventually got back on a week ago he hurt his ankle.
White in May flew Anthony Eddie, an Australian consultant, into Bloemfontein to work with the Bok backs. He waxed lyrical. Now Eddie’s out of the mix and White has turned to Alan Zondagh to work with the backs. Zondagh has been in Cape Town for the last few years and has been running his own academy in Cape Town. Where was the planning around that one? Where was Zondagh in May?
Gary Gold was White’s ‘rush defence’ expert and go to man in 2004 and 2005. Gold is now working in South Africa, but his expertise has not been asked for again with the Boks? Planning?
Gert Smal went to Toulouse to find out a bit more about scrumming techniques, but no call was made to Heyneke Meyer, the best forwards specialist in South Africa. White ended up with Balie Swart, whose role at the Sharks was reduced to a cameo post Kevin Putt.
Andy Marinos, National Teams general manager, lambastes his players for lacking professionalism in a rugby magazine in an article that reads desperation and not inspiration.
All World Cup planning as far as selections go were put on hold when France beat the Boks. At least that’s the excuse at SARU.
But if there was a World Cup selection plan and it was founded on solid principles then a win or a defeat against France should not have altered these selections.
New Zealand’s coaching staff declared that Dan Carter would play only two matches on the Grand Slam tour and that only a few players would play more than two matches. They were true to their word. When the All Blacks beat England to set up only the second Grand Slam for New Zealand the following week against Scotland coach Graham Henry made 13 changes. He said that playing the new guys meant more in terms of the World Cup planning than playing his best team to win a Grand Slam. He said the same when he juggled for the two test series against Ireland and the one-off against Argentina. In all three tests New Zealand struggled and were in a position to lose all three. Henry stuck to the plan because he had a plan and it was a plan he and his team believe in.
Henry had picked both Irish and Argentinean test line-ups three weeks before the tests. Results did not change this.
Take young Isaia Toeava as an example of World Cup planning. He was taken on tour with a coaching staff intent on playing him only in the last test. This done, he was drafted to the Canes to play regularly at fullback. This done, he was picked to play Argentina at outside centre. This done, he was picked in the match 22 for the Australian test. This done he was released to play for Auckland at inside centre one week and a request was made that he play outside centre last week. Now, nearly nine months after first touring with the All Blacks, the management are comfortable to give him a start at outside centre against Australia. It is part of the World Cup plan.
The All Blacks have even pencilled in the team to play the Boks in a fortnight. It is called planning. Now compare Toeava to Pietersen, Russell, Spies, Ralapele, Sephaka, Gary Botha, Pienaar and Bosman and talk about a World Cup plan.
This week White will again talk about his axed international coaching mates Eddie Jones and Clive Woodward and the need to explore every avenue. Unfortunately there is no conviction about any World Cup plan. There is a lot of talk about it, more as an excuse when things go wrong, but the examples I just listed illustrate how little thought has gone into who the 30 World Cup players should be and just what each player’s role will be.
Again I ask. What happens when Monty goes down? Who replaces him? Still Jake plays him into the ground, as he does with John Smit. For what? To gain some redemption at winning home test matches?
It is all hit and miss as are the excuses about Luke Watson’s continued omission.
The latest one is that the senior players don’t want Watson. Yep, those brave souls who turned their backs and threw in the towel 49-0 in Brisbane. Those senior players.
As I said, all in the name of World Cup planning.
Yeah. Right.
821 Comments
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16 Aug 2006, 10:25 am
Wooden apparently if he has a sibling with citizenship he becomes eligible…look at rattlebones & I think Pat Barnard of Province is in the Poms squad (not sure if that’s his name)
16 Aug 2006, 10:25 am
Nirvana who wants to leave SA?
16 Aug 2006, 10:25 am
Nirvana… AFTER he signed with WP and the Sharks sulked like school boys and didn’t want to play with him anymore…
Shows a complete lack of maturity and management skills by the Sharks…
16 Aug 2006, 10:26 am
Howzit supa my chomma
16 Aug 2006, 10:26 am
more supa
16 Aug 2006, 10:27 am
ufo
Praat sagter, quinnyshark gaan jou ****!! Dan is daar groot marakkas!
16 Aug 2006, 10:28 am
the sharks are going to get there asses kicked this weekend.
16 Aug 2006, 10:29 am
more martin en my best buddy in the world Eloise!
How’s things? oh, i know, we are discussing Luke…
Flippen cold here in the east rand this morning!
16 Aug 2006, 10:30 am
141- watson made a big media spectacle about why he decided to leave the sharks etc etc,the management said sorry buddy we got to plan ahead and blood other players,luke was trying to grab newspaper headlines and it backfired when he wasnt in
16 Aug 2006, 10:30 am
ufo..
Dont get me wrong… I think Watson is an awesome player..he should be in the Bok side right now..no questions asked.. You would think they would put their differences aside for the sake of Springbok rugby… if indeed it is the reason he is not playing i am only speculating. You will have to ask Jake.
Rugby is a team sport!
16 Aug 2006, 10:30 am
Supa… howzit…?
jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa boet…
Waking up the sleeping Quinnyshark… that’s like going for a swim in Flase Bay…!
16 Aug 2006, 10:30 am
With regards to Luke the divisive influence: Is it possible that he actually was a divisive influence but has since matured?
It’s been known to happen…
16 Aug 2006, 10:31 am
Well If anything old Keo is an observant one !
Well said really !
This could be seen as a long winded way to turn attention to Watson , but the only fault i can find in it is could have said more on the merits of Russell.
Keo
Any insight into why the senior players dont want Wattie ?
Could this be an extention of his move from The Sharks ???
as in there was an bietjie tentsion there that Senior Sharks boks have steered White away fromn him ????
16 Aug 2006, 10:31 am
echo??
16 Aug 2006, 10:31 am
what i said in 159 was so deep they even printed it again
16 Aug 2006, 10:32 am
supa – we’re discussing the man with a plan jake.
16 Aug 2006, 10:33 am
Jake’s last ten tests
Won 4 (Pumas , Wales , Scotland X2)
Lost 6 ( NZ x2 , France X2 , Aus X2)
Does he have a plan ?, I dont think so
16 Aug 2006, 10:33 am
Dis ons stutte wat oor Watson gekla het, blykbaar kan hulle nie so laag buk om hom op te tel in die lynstane nie…hulle rue kry effens seer…:lol:
16 Aug 2006, 10:34 am
In spite of everything Keo said being true, the Boks will still beat the AB`s anytime they set their minds to it. Nothing to do with JW, so dont give him credit when it happens.
16 Aug 2006, 10:34 am
sorry… False Bay…
Nirvana… Agree with you there. But isn’t that what coaching in rugby is all about… especially in SA… getting a bunch of strong-minded characters and getting them to put aside their differences, languages, colour, politics, religion and getting them all to play rugby…?
It’s gotta start from the top though…
16 Aug 2006, 10:34 am
Martin
The man with no plan…Joke white?
16 Aug 2006, 10:35 am
Slightly off the topic. Jake is obsessed with caps and experience. He also likes statistics. So here are some stats:
The 25 most capped Springbok teams (from 512 to 381 caps) have this record:
W 9 L 15 D 1
This includes the Aussie 49er and 11 other games from this and last year.
The 25 teams with cap totals between 380 and 312:
W 20 L 4 D 1
Most of these tests were against the big rugby nations.
The next 25 teams with caps between 308 and 261
W 15 L 10 D 0.
Of course there are many factors at play. But the difference between the 25 most capped teams and the next 25 teams is remarkable. A better balance between youth and experience seems to garner better results. ###################
16 Aug 2006, 10:36 am
Jake is gefok punt
16 Aug 2006, 10:36 am
I think Ruan Pienaar is going to get poached if we dont get him uin the mix soon!
16 Aug 2006, 10:37 am
Ditto 173
16 Aug 2006, 10:37 am
lance sherrel the ex player?
16 Aug 2006, 10:38 am
oh this is more rubbish.
the article goes on to list all these young players that white is supposedly not playing, yet it is the self-same coach that has picked all of these guys in the first place.
As for Bosman and Spies cant even get a regular start with their respective S14 franchises yet White sees something.
Also, anyone with a modicom of rugby know-how realises that the boks are an adult team (not an u19 or u21 team). These are men not boys and as such experience is invaluable. How old are Larkham, Gregan, Mortlock, etc and they’re not being rotated. no sane coach would.
Hopefully at some stage you will be able to get a decent, more balanced, rugby scribe on this site.
16 Aug 2006, 10:42 am
a kenner would be nice, where’s Naas?
16 Aug 2006, 10:42 am
CAb
In fairness though he picked those after a barage of pressure about picking some youngsters when his regulars were all crocked and he had no replacements that had been groomed in ,
it should have happened sooner
And the Bosman argument isa perhaps the strongest
why stuff the ou around and bring in Butch , at least put Butch on the Bench.
16 Aug 2006, 10:42 am
Jake came in and selected players he could trust he formed a group of players that played for each other and hence the success.. He has tried to stick with the formula but has failed..
16 Aug 2006, 10:42 am
kir#166
From that comment you should consider changing your nick. LOL!
16 Aug 2006, 10:43 am
Suparugby
If only I was as pretty. Just using his name.
16 Aug 2006, 10:44 am
I think it was a reaction not a plan , and for once i must agree with keo.
16 Aug 2006, 10:46 am
lance
Hope you are a girl, thinking some bloke is pretty scares me a bit…or do you support WP?
16 Aug 2006, 10:50 am
Nah Supa. I’m a Lions man.
But I did go to St. Stithians (just like Lance as a matter of fact).
16 Aug 2006, 10:50 am
Murph … I think you are being too kind. That’s a few times you’ve now agreed with me.
Re the senior player issue. I don’t buy it. I think it is a convenient cop out. As I said, what senior players, those who lost 49-0?
16 Aug 2006, 10:51 am
Murph,
no i disagree, White is obviouslyt very keen on Bosman, he picked him from obliviion. To even raise this is ridiculous. he was picked on the EOY tour and did not perform. white rightfully realised he cant rush him in and has kept him in the squad as an understudy and involved.
Even your man, rastafarian erasmus, has the more experienced De Waal as his first pick.
Besides, you cant always plan, you sometimes need to react. Aus showed us we have a problem in defending the inside channel where Larkham and Giteua ran riot. there is no De Wet Barry, so White shored it up with Butch, who not only kept the aussies honest with some thumpting tackles, but we should have won the game. It was a good move. White has always liked Butch, but the guy has been injured.
16 Aug 2006, 10:56 am
How’s this for a theory.
Who are the current senior players in the pack, other than Baby Jane Smit?
Bakkies, Matfield, Cronje, Rossouw plus FdP at 9.
Who has been brought in recently?
Spies, WO, Ndugane and Chiliboy.
Who might be added according to Jake? Roets.
Am I missing something here?
16 Aug 2006, 10:56 am
i mean what do you want white to do, he wants to play a running attacking game and hence has picked a running flyhalf in Jaco, who else in SA is more attacking?
Bosman? De Waal? Hougaardt? dont be ridiculous.
we are kak at the moment, period. the loss of schalk and bakkies is huge. he is doing his best with limited talent.
give the oke a break. Its a non-stop barrage.
16 Aug 2006, 10:57 am
do you honestly believe Barrit is as good as Carter or Larkham, or that Watson is as good as Smith or McCaw.
you okes are insane and you wonder why our S12 teams get drilled every year. this has nothing to do with White.
16 Aug 2006, 10:57 am
Keo with Nick coaching the babbas does that mean he can go into full blown coaching? So SARU can then pick him to be head coach?
16 Aug 2006, 10:58 am
everything David…
16 Aug 2006, 11:01 am
KEO are you going to wait for another 100 posts before you answer? oops make that 200 with this question
16 Aug 2006, 11:02 am
white is a genius! he wants the teams that play sa in the world cup to be arrogant and underestimate us then bang,we thump them,don’t be surprised if he lets samoa beat us in the pool stage to increase this tactic
16 Aug 2006, 11:04 am
In spite of all this krap the Boks will still beat the AB`s the moment they put their minds to it
16 Aug 2006, 11:06 am
supa
Pissoff, LOL! I’ve got a great conspiracy theory going here.
16 Aug 2006, 11:07 am
Jake HAS a plan for the World Cup. It’s just that it’s a long way off. Planning will start around June 2007
16 Aug 2006, 11:08 am
Cab
Is McCaw a parrot?
16 Aug 2006, 11:11 am
david if u want conspiracy check out sherry shiner like someone else posted,that in some hectic stuff
16 Aug 2006, 11:11 am
yo google that
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