Smith absent but Boks look slick
12 Aug 2008
Juan Smith was a notable absentee from a training session on Tuesday afternoon where the Springboks continued to hone their attacking play.
Springbok communications manager Rayaan Adriaanse said Smith had returned to Bloemfontein “for personal reasons” but was unwilling to elaborate on that. He said that the flanker would rejoin the squad later in the week.
Meanwhile Frans Steyn spent the entire session on the sideline with an ice pack strapped to a thigh he injured playing for the Sharks against Western Province last Friday. There was no clear indication of when he would be able to resume training and he still looks in considerable pain when running.
Danie Rossouw, who was admitted to hospital on Saturday evening with an irregular heart rate, was a bit-part participant in the session. He’ll resume full training tomorrow.
The Springboks were welcomed to Florida Park in Ravesmead by close to 500 spectators, most of who were school kids from the community and its surrounds.
They started by focusing on set and phase plays before ending the session running through their patterns of play. The backline was particularly impressive in their execution of a number of elaborate set pieces, with scrumhalf Fourie du Preez a prominent distributor and wings JP Pietersen and Bryan Habana often moving off their flanks and receiving short off flyhalf Butch James.
While there was certainly still work to be done, the early signs are encouraging. They’ll get even more accurate in the coming days but whether they’ll translate their superb training ground form to performance in the heat of battle remains to be seen.
By Ryan Vrede
166 Comments
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13 Aug 2008, 04:49 am
#148 SAussie/QldRed: Ah well, there you go, the Rugby God has spoken. We can all go home now.
Here is my prediction: Ab;s to get a lesson in running rugby from the traditionally 10 man rugby playing Boks. Richie’s influence to be nullified by teh fact that there will be very few rucks.
13 Aug 2008, 04:54 am
#149 SAussie/QldRed: Right, and we’ll take this advice from a queensland red..hahaha….and didnt australia recently leave NZ witht their tails between their legs, let the big boys show u how its done this weekend son
13 Aug 2008, 05:05 am
#149 SjamBok: very few rucks ?? in a SA vs AB’s game ?? hahahaha thats the funniest comment I have ever read on this site…seriously
13 Aug 2008, 05:11 am
150. We certaintly did flanka, we got whipped, out played and destroyed the traditional AB style, Lol, and it all went wrong at the break down, maybe i should have elaborate my reasons, if you don’t win the battle of the break down everything else goes to sh**t, your backs get no time, their rushed and theirs no continuity, so when Sjambok talks about very few rucks I guess you have to win the tight contests and hold the majority of possession to employ such a game plan. Look as a neutral I hope you guys can match them but as I said without Bakkis I can’t see happening. The AB’s It would have been fair to say have lifted another gear.
13 Aug 2008, 05:42 am
Alot of these guys forget the best player in the world wasnt playing last time they beat us! McCaw is the best player on the planet. Take him out of the team and look what happens! Take Burger out of the team and the same thing will happen to you blokes. They are probably in the top 3 players on this earth.
Juan Smith better sort his **** out. He’s been a weak link for you guys and now with the All Blacks backrow clicking, he really has to be on the ball or it will be a long day for the boks
13 Aug 2008, 06:06 am
I see Luke has lost his No.8 place in WP as well. The whole Spies vs Kanko argument is futile. Nick Koster is the best No. 8 in SA. The sooner he gets into the boks, the better.
13 Aug 2008, 06:19 am
#154 garth:
Slowly, slowly, he’ll be there, don’t worry, as captain as well!
13 Aug 2008, 06:25 am
Why wait? Schalk was there at his age or thereabouts.
13 Aug 2008, 06:27 am
SAus,
Quite a lot will depend on the ref’s view or Mr McCaw’s shenanigans and hopefully PdV will whisper in his ear (the ref’s that is). Also important is that PdeV and his fellow coaches select, and the players implement, a solid game plan. How about Nokwe at flyhalf on defence so he can rocket up and practice his tackling on Diving Dan (he he).
One of PdV’s problems (and all coaches) is to have replacements that know the team’s plans and moves. I’m guessing that is why it’s difficult to bring in a Morne Steyn, Brussouw, Vermeulen or whoever cold. Is that why he’s fallen back on Danie?
13 Aug 2008, 06:35 am
#153 Maori_Fulla:
The best openside in the world. I don’t think he’d show up at 1,2,3,4 or5.
13 Aug 2008, 07:02 am
Boks should, if I guess right, just squeakily fade past the All Blacks at Newlands.
Won’t be by much. The winning margin will be inside a single score (i.e. five and under)
If so, I’m one step closer to winning the keo.co.za prediction competition of a weekend on a super luxury Zululand private game lodge with Smittie and Percy! And, bet your bottom dollar, I’ll be there to take FULL advantage of it!
And Percy will hear how he’s a woosie under the Garry Owen, and Smitty will know that Bismarck is better!
Well, maybe not… TheTackler can be a bit more tactful than when revving up the rank-and-file braggart yarps.
If, and it’s a big if, the TheTackler wins, we won’t make Percy and Smitties hosting weekend anything less than majorly pleasant.
But, there you go, hey?
13 Aug 2008, 07:23 am
#159 TheTackler:
Are you allowede back in SA?
13 Aug 2008, 07:57 am
#159 TheTackler: a weekend away with tackler. what competition did monty and smitty get the booby prize for?
13 Aug 2008, 11:35 am
Congrats to Juan Smith who has just become a proud Dad for the first time – I hope this inspres him to a MoM game on Saturday!!!!
13 Aug 2008, 12:47 pm
TELL ME WHAT WOULD YOU MUPPITS SAY IF THIS HAPPENED:(likely)
come 2011 SA has to choose between :
van Niekerk
Koster
Kankwoski
Spies
Vermuelen
Alberts
Johnson
For Bok No.8????
Any of those guys can sign overseas in the interim/leading up to WC….
WILL WE BLAME SA RUGBY STRUCTURES FOR MISMANAGEMENT AS WELL??(ala:Barritt,Rathbone,Abbott,Liebenberg,Cooke,Joubert etc)
Too much talent,few spots
13 Aug 2008, 14:14 pm
#165 mshiniwami: when i last checked there was only one number eight available per team of 15. are you asking that we try and change the rules or what?
it’s a professional game now and this is someone’s job. if they don’t feel they are going to get the top job in a particular firm (team) then why not go to another one?
it confuses me that these conversation still go on. there’s a very simple economic and self actualisation equation at work.
if anyone has a problem with people going abroad it should be because of the change in status from amateur to professional.
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