Bok heavies ruled out
17 Nov 2008
Bismarck du Plessis and Gurthro Steenkamp have failed to recover from their respective injuries and will miss Saturday’s Test at Twickenham.
The news was confirmed on Monday by Springbok coach Peter de Villiers. Du Plessis sustained a grade two hamstring tear early in Saturday’s game against Scotland while Steenkamp limped off with a sprained ankle in the second half. Both players will head back to South Africa prompting a reworking of South Africa’s front row dynamics.
Captain John Smit will revert to hooker and at this stage it looks like Jannie du Plessis is the prime candidate for the starting tighthead position. The Sharks No 3 is already in London and looks set to leapfrog Brian Mujati who is nursing a bruised shoulder. Chiliboy Ralepelle will cover Smit off the wood, and De Villiers is confident Mujati will be ready to wrestle the Poms, if not in a starting capacity, then as an impact player from the bench.
England produced a shaky showing against the Wallabies at Twickenham, but De Villiers is adamant the home pack will provide a challenge this Saturday.
“I thought England dominated the collisions against Australia and I was not surprised to see the Aussie scrum doing so well,” said the Bok coach. “England didn’t bind well at the scrum initially, but after that, they were good.
“On the game this week, every team becomes more motivated because they want to beat the No 1.”
Fourie du Preez was a late withdrawal from last week’s match in Edinburgh, but De Villiers confirmed he is responding to treatment and will be reassessed later in the week. Du Preez has been doing some light cycling to rehabilitate his injured quad, and the Boks are hopeful that their star scrumhalf will be fit to face England.
136 Comments
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17 Nov 2008, 16:17 pm
#48 foxpox: lol, check you, me and Zulushark have the same fantasy. Check posts 36 and 42. I am really liking the idea. OR play Spies 8th man for 40 minutes, then @ half time bring on Kanko. And then move Spies to left wing.
17 Nov 2008, 16:18 pm
#50 capebull: Brussouw. Will shine. Like the great Wikus once did.
17 Nov 2008, 16:19 pm
#50 capebull: Very true. Its such a simple formula. Just get your tight 5 to dominate and get a decent fetcher. Then the game is half won.
17 Nov 2008, 16:20 pm
#50 capebull: Agree with those two fetchers and Wickus van Heerden when he was still in the country.
17 Nov 2008, 16:21 pm
Spies should be converted to a 7 to make space for Duanne Vermeulen or Nick Koster at 8.
17 Nov 2008, 16:21 pm
#49 tight head: Juan should have made the move to 8th man LONG TIME ago. I really liked Danie @ 8th in the world cup. Excellent for the direct approach. THE WAY RUGBY WAS MEANT TO PLAY IN SA. I watch a lot of Schoolboy rugby. South African boys are HARD. Its the way we were born. PLS Mr. Rugby Guru Tight Head. TELL this to Snor.
17 Nov 2008, 16:24 pm
#49 tight head: Tighthead are you against the idea of Juan Smith moving to lock?
17 Nov 2008, 16:24 pm
#55 iori Yagami: If SPIES plays 7 you DEFINITELY need Brussouw as a fetcher. Can work. If you were coach.
17 Nov 2008, 16:24 pm
#50 capebull:
Exactly Capebull.
Well put across.
A simple game stuffed up by coaches who complicate things.
17 Nov 2008, 16:25 pm
Deysel and Brussouw should be brought in to add some good, healthy competition in the Bok loose trio setup.
17 Nov 2008, 16:25 pm
#57 iori Yagami: Good to cover there, but to start him there is a waste.
17 Nov 2008, 16:27 pm
#58 SexyTime: Ja it wont work with Burger over there. My plan at the Stormers was 6. Luke Watson 7. Burger 8. Vermeulen.
That was before Luke’s recent antics!
Now I am worried about the loose trio of 6. Burger 7. F. Louw and 8. Vermeulen.
17 Nov 2008, 16:27 pm
#57 iori Yagami:
Very much so.
He is a world class loose forward.
If we played the loosie combination as I have suggested and gave them game time to build up their understanding and confidence nobody would beat us.
He is too good a loose forward to think about him becoming a lock.
17 Nov 2008, 16:28 pm
#61 SexyTime: Ja you probably right.
17 Nov 2008, 16:31 pm
Now if we could only get the clever journows at Keo to understand rugby as well……
17 Nov 2008, 16:32 pm
nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
17 Nov 2008, 16:33 pm
Burger at the moment plays lik a 7 , with very bad handlng skills , it seems a mission for him to pass the ball.
17 Nov 2008, 16:34 pm
#49 tight head: I totally agree with your loosies, with Kanko on the bench.
17 Nov 2008, 16:34 pm
#9 charo: LOL. Thats what I said earlier. I hope so too. Just hope the FdP will play but he has to be injury free and not come in with any injury at all. Otherwise he will be out of the game for too long after. We really missed him this past weekend.
17 Nov 2008, 16:36 pm
#62 iori Yagami: Ha! And you have crazy chicken Lobberts to deal with too. Hahaha, thank you for taking him.
#64 iori Yagami: What a player. And sure, his form isn’t 100%, but better than Schalk in his own way any day. You need a little Vrystaat in the Andre Venter mould in your Springbok team.
17 Nov 2008, 16:36 pm
#49 tight head: I usually read your post because they make sense, but this time I have to disagree.
Schalk may not be a ‘fetcher’ in the mould of Brussouw or Grobler, but neither is Richie. The one season Schalk played at 7 (2006, I think) for the Stormers with Luke at 6 he was nowhere. I don’t know if was due to a lack of form, but as far as I can remember he has never had a good game at 7.
As for moving Juan to 8, I think that is an equally bad idea.
8 is a highly specialised position and unless Juan plays there for Freestate a season or two, he can’t play a test there. IMO he is not inclined to play the link role – but I will concede that he is a great runner with ball in hand (best hand-off in the game!)
I also think we are rich enough in the no 8 stakes at this stage to refrain from retreading players, no matter how good they are.
IMO the reasoning with Brussouw should be the same as it was with Luke all along – if you think he is better than Schalk, he should play. If you think they are better ‘fetchers’ and you game plan requires one, then Schalk should either be dropped totally or go back to the Stormers and become a better 8 than Kanko and co, or a better 7 than Juan/Dysel etc.
Personally, I would stick with our loose trio of Saturday and give the tight 5 a tongue lashing for not clearing the rucks (admittedly it was difficult with the ref’s interpretation) and possibly play Kanko on a dryer field. But that is just me.
Fir interest sake – how would a loose trio of Brussouw, Deysel and Vermeulen fare on test level. I wonder….
17 Nov 2008, 16:37 pm
#49 tight head: Sounds good to me too tight head. Where would you play Spies then? Spies could be a great wing. Kanko for the bench then?
17 Nov 2008, 16:37 pm
#68 Boerboel:
That’s it.
Let Kanko crack open the pace in the last 20 minutes of the game.
17 Nov 2008, 16:37 pm
#68 Boerboel: Keo, give Tight Head a job. Draw little cartoon face and add to home page. Thank you.
17 Nov 2008, 16:39 pm
#72 Puma: Read earlier POSTS. You are the 4th person suggesting that on this blog.
17 Nov 2008, 16:40 pm
#70 SexyTime: Dont worry Rassie will sort him out!! And Lobberts parents will also sort him out!! I wonder if he is going to stay with his momma! He will be a better player just watch.
17 Nov 2008, 16:40 pm
#67 capebull: He is trying to add to his skill set. Burger is known for his biff, bash an barge not his footwork or slipping of a deft pass. Not a bad accoutrement to any loose forwards repertoire.
17 Nov 2008, 16:41 pm
#70 SexyTime: Yip if we want to win the world cup again then we need a born and bred vrystater at 7!! Good day people enjoy the rest of your day!
17 Nov 2008, 16:41 pm
ANyone for tickets tp Twickenham
I have and can get some at £60-71 per ticket
Lower east around the 22m
17 Nov 2008, 16:43 pm
#76 iori Yagami: To be honost. I love the guy. VERY entertaining. Hahaha. But no Bok.
17 Nov 2008, 16:43 pm
#71 Kerneels:
Juan has experience and the skills for number 8.
As far as Schalk goes, you need to look at his assets.
They are, very hard direct runner, hard to stop and devastating tackler.
That is what he brings to a rugby game.
Perfect for the modern number 7 role.
Lastly, do not judge this based on what you saw previously at WP.
Loose forwards need to be built together and the dynamics of what was going on at WP have no bearing on what a good coach can get out of playing these 3 correctly under the correct instruction as a combination.
The combination is very important.
17 Nov 2008, 16:43 pm
#50 capebull: I would add Wikus to that list. He was my fetcher of the CC tournament – consistently good and at times outstanding in his effecting of turnovers at the tackle point.
17 Nov 2008, 16:44 pm
#75 SexyTime:
spies played wing his whole junior life until junior bok level. Only shifted to the scrum once the ral stuff started at the bulls.
I could also picture spies at inside centre with JDV on the wing….hohohoho
17 Nov 2008, 16:44 pm
Eagerly awaiting Tight Head’s response. Along with 10 other guys. =D
17 Nov 2008, 16:45 pm
Gracious dudes. Never play people out of position – one out of two of Ignatius’s pearls. This is test rugby not super 14 or provincial.
Reckon it’s good for J Smit to be at preferred position. Not good for the captain to be shifted for better payers. Think you could see that in the Wales test. Lost a bit of his sheen. Reckon he’ll play much better this weekend.
17 Nov 2008, 16:45 pm
#79 JL1: Go to the Unpacking the Poms thread and you can get some from Train…. looks like he is giving them away.
17 Nov 2008, 16:48 pm
#83 Zulushark: Know guys who played @ school with him. Devastating on the wing. Really. I once recommended this on another post but got beaten with sticks by some oldschool keo guys. Glad to see someone agreeing with me.
17 Nov 2008, 16:49 pm
#83 Zulushark: Think I prefer him in the 8 jumper. God knows how many tries he would bomb on the wing…. needs supa glue on his hand
17 Nov 2008, 16:51 pm
#83 Zulushark: Steyn inside? WOW. Does sound great. =D But Think thats pushing it. =D
17 Nov 2008, 16:51 pm
#88 RugbyRulz: School ball isn’t MAN ball. Some kids can intimidate (size) but when they get to run with the real mean their size counts for $hit….. Steyne comes to mind as well.
17 Nov 2008, 16:51 pm
#87 SexyTime:
don’t worry about the old farts. There are many on this site that would like to see spies at wing. I think he would be awesome. Got a glimpse of him chasing down the welsh winger (i think) last week after a breakout and he easily hauled him in. In fact, he is a ideal bench player cos you could use him anywhere on the field except t5
17 Nov 2008, 16:51 pm
#81 tight head: i agree that it may be a little harsh to judge SB on one season at 7 – and that under Fester! I do however not see him as either a classic 6 or 7. He has never been either.
That is my whole point, under JW he played a different role than he does now and IMO he was perfectly suited to the former. I am sorry to say that PdV’s game plan requires a more classic 6 and that is the reason why SB comes up short (no pun intended).
Moving him over to 7 may be an option, but it was not too long ago when Juan was the first name penned in when a Bok team was assembled and I’m not sure that Sb will make a better 7 than Juan…
As for Smith’s move to 8 – I still do no agree. He used to be a lock and as far as I know he has never played at 8. I do not doubt for a second that he has teh skills, it is the experience at 8 that he lacks. I also feel the time could rather be invested in Spies, Kanko, Vermeulen and Koster.
17 Nov 2008, 16:52 pm
#88 RugbyRulz: Was waiting for the “hy het pap in sy hande” post. =D
17 Nov 2008, 16:52 pm
Spies and Styne are classic examples of kids that need to adjust to real rugby.
17 Nov 2008, 16:52 pm
#88 RugbyRulz:
Cant be any worse than he is know. I wonder if he has spent any time with Sheryll Calder to improve his handeye coords
17 Nov 2008, 16:52 pm
#91 Zulushark: You don’t chuck a flank, who hasn’t played wing for a long time, into a starting position at Twickenham. That’s a terrible quick fix. You try it out at lower leagues so a choice like that doesn’t lose you a test match when he is found out positionally or under a cross kick. At worst you take a wing to centre or a lock to 8th man but not back row to wing. That is pure madness.
17 Nov 2008, 16:53 pm
#93 SexyTime: Sorry sexy I don’t do Afrikaans
please translate. 
17 Nov 2008, 16:54 pm
#77 RugbyRulz: I would like my numder 6 to make turnovers as his primary job, something , Baywatch gets done with far less spoeg en donner as Schalk
17 Nov 2008, 16:54 pm
#96 Desertfaffa: Agree with you faffa… But hey! When he is loafing (seagulling we call it) then he may as well be out there.
17 Nov 2008, 16:55 pm
#91 Zulushark: Yip, same thing happened against the Scotts. Go watch game again. He is fast. Saw him @ tuks few months ago. I rate myself as big. But he is REALLY a monster. What a talent.
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