Steyn poised for national selection
8 Oct 2006
Luke Watson still won’t make the Springbok squad for the Ireland and English tests, but the national selectors will blood several in-form Currie Cup players.
The form of Pierre Spies gives White an escape not to pick Watson, although Spies has been devastating as a No 8 in the Absa Currie Cup and not as an open-side option. Watson, consistently, has been the best open-side flanker in the country, through the Super 14 and the Currie Cup. He was very good playing in a beaten pack in Western Province’s semi-final defeat and newspaper reports that played off his performance against that of Spies were outrageous. One played openside flank in a pack whose tight five got murdered. The other played No 8 in a pack that marched relentlessly to a final.
Most independent observers would laud the possibility of Watson playing as open-sider, Spies playing at No 8 and Juan Smith completing the loose-trio. For those who still argue that Watson misses out because there are better, don’t kid yourself. Watson misses out because White does not rate him and never will.
White this weekend told the Sunday newspapers, English and Afrikaans, that for the first time his focus was on winning the World Cup and not the next test. Let’s hope the national coach can maintain this supposed belief on tour. He mentioned a similar thing prior to the Tri Nations. Then the Boks got hammered by France and White feared for his job. His reaction was to stick with the same players who failed him the year before.
Injuries forced him to introduce younger players and Spies was one of those to benefit with two outstanding home tests against New Zealand and Australia. But before we get too carried away, look at the impact of Spies at No 8 in his test debut. Yeah, there was no impact because there was nothing happening among the tight five.
To beat Ireland and to get at least one win out of two against England will require a tight five that is dominant and not just competitive. The loosies in the northern hemisphere will only ever be as good as their tight five. And White and his selectors will have to think carefully about who goes and stays in that department.
Rudolf Straeuli also opted for a young tight five in 2002 to play France, Scotland and England. Deon Carstens, Bakkies Botha and Wessel Roux were all the stars of the domestic competition. They got smashed by teams, whose tight five were well versed in technique.
It will require a mix and match in selection if White is to succeed where all Bok teams have failed since 1997.
Taking younger loose-forwards and backs is to be applauded, but the wiser and more battle-hardened souls are the non negotiables among the pack.
Speculation, based on White having a banter with the Sunday newspapers, include the selection of Francois Steyn as a utility back, potentially Brad Barritt and Jaco Pretorius as a second string midfield combination and the injection of youth in Hilton Lobberts and Kabamba Floors. Chiliboy Ralepelle will again tour, despite the Bulls selectors rating him third, at best, in their current senior set-up – a rating I fully agree with when you consider the quality of Botha and replacement hooker Strauss.
White will not select overseas-based players like Cobus Visagie, although there is a very strong case to be made for Visagie, given he has given all the English props a torrid time in the last two seasons, while French-based Shaun Sowerby would be a ‘horses for courses’ selection.
White will continue to pick John Smit as his first choice hooker and captain, but Os du Randt and Percy Montgomery will be rested. There is also talk that White will ‘rest’ his best outside back in the last two tests in Breyton Paulse. Just why only the selectors would know because Paulse has played very few matches this year and has ended his overseas commitments with Clermont two months ago.
With Montgomery out, White can choose between Bevin Fortuin, JP Pietersen and Steyn, but it seems Johan Roets is very much in the Watson mould. Regardless of what he does, he won’t make the team.
Of the contracted Boks who SARU will be paying until the end of 2007, Hanyani Shimange, Eddie Andrews, Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Marius Joubert and De Wet Barry are unlikely to tour, while a decision has to be made on Jacques Cronje and Victor Matfield.
Joe van Niekerk, who has not had any rugby since the away leg of the Tri Nations, is also unclear about his tour involvement. Van Niekerk hurt his neck in August and it would be wiser to give him an additional month to make a complete recovery.
White’s biggest selection headache comes at lock. Matfield is the best contesting lineout in the world and Bakkies Botha is the best foil in a partnership to Matfield. Without Botha and Matfield, the likes of Johann Muller, Albert van den Berg and Danie Rossouw aren’t as imposing a prospect.
If you look at the two teams that will contest the Currie Cup final, the majority of the players are unlikely to feature in the touring squad. Of the Free Staters, Fortuin is the only probable backline inclusion, with Floors and Jannie du Plessis candidates among the pack. Among the Bulls, Ndungane and Wynand Olivier will probably tour, while Spies, Lobberts, Rossouw and Gary Botha should be in the national squad of 30. That’s less that 10 players out of the 30 coming from the two teams who have dominated the domestic competition.
652 Comments
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9 Oct 2006, 09:40 am
Supa Die blu bul…wahahahahah shees really now….in awe of your archiving skills where do you get the time?
9 Oct 2006, 09:41 am
KIR, same old, same old. Flying back to SA tomorrow specially for the final in Bloem – must admit, I booked the ticket 3 weeks ago in a bet with my mate over here…
9 Oct 2006, 09:42 am
side_show_bob, great nic!!!
9 Oct 2006, 09:42 am
Hehehe Classic Supa.
9 Oct 2006, 09:43 am
i am so over luke watson move him to the spears or ler go play with jaco in japan peice of **** he is the most overrated rugby player in the country dunno what keo is on about . . . he is **** !!! floors, botes, diack, melck, Ryno vdm, brits, AJ ,rather these guys before watson
Watson will play with a new number on his back # cause he plays everywhere and no number could suit his play . . . HE IS **** !!! ******* Turkey
9 Oct 2006, 09:44 am
valjean,
weet jy met wie praat jy ou bees?
9 Oct 2006, 09:44 am
#396 So haal mense se grootbek-postings mens in ne….!
9 Oct 2006, 09:44 am
The hef
Gewone Blou Maandag, sukkel om aan die gang te kom na die naweek se hype.
saterdag gaan moers interessant wees, ek sien amper meer daarna uit as die WP/Bulle game!
Tony
Ek het jou ook gemail, Saterdag voor die game al. Sal later weer stuur, bietjie besig hier, dis mos nou weer vraestelle tyd, so ek boer met my neus tussen die boeke. Vervelige werk.
9 Oct 2006, 09:45 am
402- no wonder u were so nervous before the semi on sat. lets hope all our teams can carry this sort of form into the super 14 next year! we really need to win that trophy
9 Oct 2006, 09:45 am
bluebrab..
Met wie ?
9 Oct 2006, 09:46 am
Hello Pieterman, ja, ek het jou email gekry. Sterkte met die werk!!!
9 Oct 2006, 09:46 am
hehhe classic supa – arse licker to IG… Really funny post
9 Oct 2006, 09:47 am
Supa hierdie een hoort ook op jou top 10
Jam blikke, vis blikke 3 by 3. Ons is ons is weet julle wie? Ons gaan, ons gaan, kan julle raai? Ons gaan, ons gaan, die bulle op naai!
Comment by DieMikester : October 6, 2006 @ 2:46 pm
9 Oct 2006, 09:47 am
The hef
Jou gelukkige bokker! Ek wil ook nou ontsnap hier.
9 Oct 2006, 09:47 am
KIR, one problem in the S14 next year – the Sharks probably the only good travelling SA team, but then will probably lose against other SA teams over here… Our other teams struggle over there and win here. If we can be more consistent, we might have a fighting chance.
9 Oct 2006, 09:47 am
Why thank you Tony
9 Oct 2006, 09:48 am
405-rutherfoord- congrats boet u are the 10 000 person to post a comment this month and you win a fishing trip for the day in mozambique with luke watson!!
9 Oct 2006, 09:48 am
Helllllo Buddies,
See VERRRRRRY FEW WP supporters on the blog….we predicted that though!
To the galant WP supporters like Tony, Sremmie, pieterman….even Martin, thanks for the congrats!
Aan al my mede Bulle, dis foooookin lekker om ‘n bul te wees!!
Ek dink nie Watson het ‘n kak game gehad Saterdag nie…..maar Spies, Kuun, Lobberts, Rossouw was beter…omdat hulle vaste 5 die REAL WORK gedoen het! Gary Botha is ‘n farking awesome kaptein!
9 Oct 2006, 09:48 am
pieterman, gaan jy darem die finaal kan sien erens?
9 Oct 2006, 09:50 am
415- its goin to be interesting to see what players the sa teams sign for next year. we will probably see the sides picking a couple interesting overseas choices
9 Oct 2006, 09:51 am
Any names spring to mind KIR?
9 Oct 2006, 09:53 am
thehef,
What do you think about taking quite a few players with 7′s experience on tour.
Those guys play most of their rugby away from home and thus know the pressures of being away from home and getting on with the job?
9 Oct 2006, 09:54 am
watson is the msot over rated player in south african rugby history
he is a good player, a very good player midn you. however he is not great. south africa is blessed with the amount of loose forwards we posses.
Floors is a far better option at 6. far better. watson thinks he is a distributing midfielder half the time…slotting into inside centre and trying to throw long passes or put people into gaps. he makes far less tackles, turns over far less ball, and covers far less metres around the paddock that kabamba.
6. floors 7. smith 8. Spies
With burger to return to 6 when he is fully fit.
The best thing for south african rugby at the present time is to get over luke watson!! if jake picks him, great im sure he will do well…but i fully believe that their are much better flankers in the country!
9 Oct 2006, 09:54 am
watson het in my oppinie ‘n baie goeie game gehad. Jy kan hom nie met spies vergelyk, watson is ‘n fetcher en spies is ‘n ball carrier.
gepraat van fetchers, het julle vir kuun gesien? ek sê lankal hou die mannetjie dop, ‘n trio saterdag van kuun, lobberts en spies gaan die oranje manne besig hou.
hoekom kla julle wp manne so oor marius delport? is dit omdat hy die fidji-aan se naam gat gemaak het, of omdat hy bo-oor die hoogaangeskrewe corne uys gehardloop het?
9 Oct 2006, 09:54 am
RedC, that’s a very good point. The squads should be big enough to accommodate those guys…
9 Oct 2006, 09:55 am
421- i think the sharks will look for some depth at lock, flyhalf and centre. but i’d be making wild guesses if i were to try pick names. rassie had that samoan last year, the sharks had tony brown and wp have that fiji bloke. i’m sure the sides will again pick one or two overseas guys
9 Oct 2006, 09:56 am
thx grootblou, julle het dit verdien buddy…
9 Oct 2006, 09:57 am
I find it strange how no mention is made of Ryno vd Merwe. Week in week out the guy performs. He comes across as a hard grafter, doing the basics right and putting his body on the line every game. I’m not from the Free State, have always supported the Sharks (coz EP no longer feature!), but this guy does impress. He seems to actually play rugby with his head and has clearly learnt a lot under the guidance of Rassie.
Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t have much to say in the media, doesn’t highlight his hair, or doesn’t stick his tongue out to TV camera’s that he doesn’t make the grade and get more of a mention on rugby sites, but I do think he’d do extremely well in the bok mix. Imagine Spies, Burger, Smit etc being able to run wild, having a player like Ryno vd Merwe providing some control and rugby savvy from the base of the scrum.
9 Oct 2006, 09:58 am
Waar is Skimmie??
Julle moet sy oulike nuwe nick sien!!!!!!
Heheheheheheheh
9 Oct 2006, 09:58 am
I just don’t know where they’ll be from KIR. English players won’t because of the money, Aussies and Kiwis will rather play in their own country, Samoans play for NZ sides – who’s left? Fiji, Tonga, France maybe?
9 Oct 2006, 09:58 am
agree zorro. i’d pick him at 8 ahead of van nieker ect
9 Oct 2006, 09:59 am
#428 Zorro, I agree 100%. Hy is ‘n yster.
9 Oct 2006, 10:00 am
Bolla is ‘n opperste dooie drol…..het julle gesien hoe mock hy die skare, na sy drie!
Wat ‘n tospot!
9 Oct 2006, 10:01 am
Hey skiesi ek wil net gou **** waar is Madeleinki nou?! en ook dai klomp wat gesê het die bulle is moffies dis sad dit julle julle gatte teen i klomp “moffies” gesien het!
9 Oct 2006, 10:03 am
430- not to sure maybe also a couple argi forwards, anyway we can always live in hope that out sides could acquire a few really brilliant players
9 Oct 2006, 10:03 am
Well done GBs , die Bulle het dit verdien , en ek glo die twee sterkste spanne is in die finaal.
9 Oct 2006, 10:04 am
Hmm ekt respek vi jo Sremrots!
9 Oct 2006, 10:04 am
Perhaps if he moved to WP he’d get loads more articles written about him…
9 Oct 2006, 10:04 am
433,
en net daarna hardloop lobberts bo-oor hom
praat van “maak jou naam gat”
9 Oct 2006, 10:05 am
Hello Spermkots mater!
Dankie, julle span het hoop vir die toekoms!
Come on you other WP “kermgatte”, own up, eat humble pie!
9 Oct 2006, 10:05 am
Ja dit was ‘n gr8 try dai
9 Oct 2006, 10:06 am
gbs- are u a betting man? why not challenge a cheetah to change their nick after the final. imagine evecheetah having ‘spies se *****’ after his name
9 Oct 2006, 10:06 am
valjean,
jy is op n stadium gevang toe julle heeltemal te vinnig in n subaru gery het, en jy het n staaadige golf gery.
9 Oct 2006, 10:06 am
KIR, I forgot about the Argies. They have some quality players. With all the talent we have in SA, I just sometimes wonder why for example WP uses a Fijian winger? Don’t we have better SA nr 14′s somewhere?
9 Oct 2006, 10:08 am
KIR en gbs, ek is ‘n Cheetah fan…
9 Oct 2006, 10:08 am
KIR,
I am a betting man, but the final is a 50/50 game!!!!!
What the f…c happened to your Tjarkies, friend??
9 Oct 2006, 10:09 am
444- yeah u gotta feel for a guy like seconds. sometimes having overseas players helps and sometimes it doesnt, the sharks would not have finished as high as 5th without tony brown last year
9 Oct 2006, 10:09 am
Tony today is a good day for Povince bashing………naa our team does it on the field.
But I will be worried if I am a WP supporter with what Kobus is saying.
” Our training and training facilities is way behind that of the Bulls”
” We will have to look at our primary phases”
” Primary we get balls from turnovers and kicks from”
9 Oct 2006, 10:10 am
Steyn is a much better fullback than JP…..
Reads the play better, faster, bigger, stronger, kicks much much better and has a better step….
The Sharks should really keep Steyn there…..and then Russell and Ndungane should complete the back 3…..
Sharks look 10 times better when Russell comes on to the field…..and that was evident in every game……however….**** seems to see him as only an impact player….
9 Oct 2006, 10:10 am
Ja wie is daai ou wat die hele tyd die Bulle wou RAM , hy moet biekie askies kom se
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