Bittersweet blow for Boks
8 Nov 2009
Chiliboy Ralepelle and Gurthro Steenkamp have been ruled out for the rest of the European tour due to injury.
Ralepelle, the South Africans’ midweek captain, left the field in the 20th minute of Friday’s game against Leicester. It’s yet to be confirmed whether the foot injury is the same that sidelined him for the back end of the Currie Cup, and he will see a specialist on his return to South Africa.
On the back of a poor performance against the Tigers at scrum time, Steenkamp also returns from England having suffered a knee injury. Jannie du Plessis is also reported to have a hand injury, but at this stage will remain with the touring party.
Cheetahs duo Wian du Preez and Adriaan Strauss, who should have been included on this tour ahead of Steenkamp and Ralepelle by weight of performance in the Currie Cup, will now join the Boks.
The addition of Du Preez and Strauss should bolster the South Africa XV scrum significantly, but it will be interesting to see whether the coaching staff persists with the Heinke van der Merwe tighthead move if Du Plessis’ injury is serious.
The call up should also see the Free State pair warm the bench in the upcoming Test against France. Strauss played for the Boks last season while Du Preez has trained with them before. They’d be the natural selections given their experience, but it will be interesting to see whether Peter de Villiers picks them ahead of Bandise Maku and Van der Merwe.
Maku has battled for game time at the Bulls in 2009 while Van der Merwe is coming off a serious injury and did not play for the Lions in the Currie Cup.
It makes sense to pick Strauss and Du Preez, but it also raises the question of why they weren’t selected in the first place.
213 Comments
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8 Nov 2009, 12:29 pm
Our Back Up Boks, these dudes can play:
1. Gurhtro Steenkamp
2. Tiaan Liebenberg
3. WP Nel
4. Anton van Zyl
5. Andries Bekker
6. Francois Louw
7. Willem Alberts
8. Ashley Johnson
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Earl Rose
11. Jongi Nokwe
12. Peter Grant
13. Juan de Jongh
14. Lionel Mapoe
15. Joe Pietersen
23. The Dude
8 Nov 2009, 12:30 pm
#142 grant10: The game has changed and i accept that TH is now absolutely vital… UNder ELV’s, as it was played last season or before, mobility was important and scrums had lesser impact on the game… The game today is about holding the ball rather than quick release to a dynamic backline.. I am still mystified by Jannie Dup’s capitulation… seems more planned than accidental
8 Nov 2009, 12:32 pm
#71 rugbywriter: Rugbywriter do you think JW would have picked Brussouw?? What was his words? A fetcher is someone that brings me beer…..
Say what you want about PDV but he knows when he is wrong and quickly rectifies it, where as JW was very stubborn.
8 Nov 2009, 12:32 pm
I still wonder how the Boks will cope without The boot of Francois steyn and The influence Jean has on The backline.
8 Nov 2009, 12:34 pm
#143 puff: He meant to say Ashley Johnson like Earl Rose are both not white and will therefore not amount to much
#128 rugbywriter: You’r an obvious twat mate
8 Nov 2009, 12:36 pm
#94 skopskiet: great post boet
8 Nov 2009, 12:37 pm
Although
Beast
Bismark
Heinke
Could well be the trio to take the Boks forward at some point.
I would not disregard John Smit now and would like nothing more than for him to take the Boks to NZ in 2010.
He could play flyhalf for all I care, but I would have him in my team.
8 Nov 2009, 12:38 pm
Thank god that Guthro is heading home. He wasn’t injured, the only thing about him that’s injured is his reputation.
Go work on your scrumming, fat *******.
8 Nov 2009, 12:39 pm
Chiliboy’s inclusion still baffles me. Maku was fantastic, They should bring in Kuun..
8 Nov 2009, 12:39 pm
And it seems people are too quick to pounce on Daniesaurus.
He toiled hard on Friday and was clearly frustrated with the state of play.
Bakkies’ endurance come 2010 rests as much on Danie’s shoulders as his.
There is no-one more effective than Rossouw to come on for Bakkies round about the 50 minute mark.
The problem is PDV and co are replacing Bakkies with Bekker at the mo, which makes little sense.
8 Nov 2009, 12:39 pm
#153 Wezwp: Not well. We have players to replace them although there are questions about Adi at 12 given that he has always played at 13. Who knows maybe JF will play 12.
Kirchner OK although later on this year he did not set the world alight as at the start of the year. What puzzles me is our scrum. Why donlt we get a decent scrum coach (Gold is terrible in this department where is Os?)
Midweek team was pathetic and I stil wonder why we play Rose who is out of his depth at CC level let alone at international level. Johnson and Potgieter had a respectable game although they did not do much at scrum time. The whole of our backline was pathetic just as bad as out tight five. But then what do you expect from a team that is picked not on merit.
Where is Mapoe? Why was he left behind as the most effective wing in the CC?
8 Nov 2009, 12:40 pm
forget CJ and BJ, They’re the past. CJ can come back and play LH only if W. Du Preez or W. Blaauw don’t cut it at international level. Future is H. Vd Merwe, (and I agree turn him into a TH because his strength and not his mobility is his asset), W. Du Preez, K. Buys, WP Nel, and maybe C. Oosterhuizen.
We have the players just need to blood them and mold them in time.
2nd row is next worry. Thats why blooding Hargreaves nothing wrong in that thinking. But we need another enforcer lock and Danie Roussouw or J. Muller is not him. D. De Villiers or N. Breedt or A. Van Zyl or perhaps even W. Alberts ala Brad Thorn to fill that role. Not convinced about Sykes will have to see. Bekker the successor to Matfield, who to succeed Bakkies?
8 Nov 2009, 12:40 pm
Sorry
2011
8 Nov 2009, 12:41 pm
#147 puff: that wouldnt be a bad move at all…..
I have absolutely nothing but respect for J Smit….and would never have asked him to convert to 3 in the first place…..
It was the poor selections that have put us in this mess…and people not wanting to make the hard calls….Bissy from the bench after 50….maybe move smitty to loosehead last 30….but never to 3…
8 Nov 2009, 12:43 pm
#149 puff: i could live with that….lets first see hoe Heinkes conversion goes?
8 Nov 2009, 12:43 pm
#153 Wezwp: I always believed that Frans Steyn was useless and probably still do… but the new game is designed around guys like him and he should prospur… Dynamic backline is not essential to the game any longer.. Your pivot is now set at TH..
Never heard about Frans for a while… any news anybody??
8 Nov 2009, 13:00 pm
#160 Objective 101: Rose and Johnson were the 2 stand out players along with Deysel when he came on and Nokwe and Adams did nothing wrong either in the time they were on. Players that were rubbish were front row and Odwa and Pienaar who froze. D. Roussouw got turned over and isolated time and again trying to muscle it up alone, same with Potgieter and Deysel also trying to muscle up and take on the whole Tigers defense single handed without linking.
The cherry on top was when we were actually dominating last 5 minutes and pressurizing their line we did not have the confidence once in a 22 phase play to swing the ball out to the backs to try break the defense, instead we picked and drove without winning an inch as we are always prone to do due to our lack of back play ability or confidence.
Forwards are supposed to win the set piece, drive forward in the loose, create the probing gaps and then let the backs loose against a stretched defense, we did not do that once, and that is where our weakness lies, we need proper attack minded strategists in the coaching dept., we haven’t had that since our team of 98 and we only saw glimpses of it occasionally last year against Aus in Jhb and England at Twickenham, rest of the time it has been same staid old bust it up biff bash crash rugby that is the bane of SA rugby lack of progressive strategy thinking. Thinking that our brawn and lack of brains will do the trick but it never will.
8 Nov 2009, 13:09 pm
#166 skopskiet: Skop,you should have watched the Hayes v Valuev Fight last night… Huge lesson in Brains over Brawn
8 Nov 2009, 13:45 pm
Nothing bitter about this! Just a sweet, sweet result!
It’s amazing how snor de villiers NEVER picks the best players first time. Brussow, M Steyn, then Deysel and now these two. Wow when will he learn.
8 Nov 2009, 14:00 pm
Breaking news
PDV will use a 5 ….2 split on bench for test….
Pieter de villiers….ex French tighthead now back home in Stellenbosch…has joined the bok camp in joburg to assist with the Bok scrum training…great move PDV….he knows all the french players well…great move by PDV…
AND…HEYNEKE MEYER WILL BE BACK WITH BULLS FROM NEXT WEEK….D O R TYPE ROLE!!
Bloody Lions so stupid to have let him slip the noose…
8 Nov 2009, 14:15 pm
#167,
That said, Valuev isn’t much of a boxer. Real, classy boxers have not been around in decades. Marciano against Jersey Joe Walcott is my favourite fight of all time.
Marciano had a brilliant technique, that’s why he’s the only truly undefeated heavyweight champion in history. Something our scrummagers could learn. Technique in any sport can easily overcome pure strength or talent.
The only thing that can make us lose against France is if we are constantly on the backfoot due to our scrum, and injuries to key players.
It will be a miracle if Bakkies, du Preez, Matfield and the other core members of our first-team are not injured.
Perhaps Pdv, in spite of his Tri-Nations victory, still feels enough pressure to think success on this tour is critical. Hence these selections. I do not like the circumstances that surrounded his appointment, neither his selection policies or his personality and his frailty and yet I can’t help but feel sorry for him. He is obviously not equipped to deal with the press, and the pressure that this country puts on him is immense and not completely fair.
I will never be a fan of his, as there are better coaches around, but a part of me still wants the man to do well.
8 Nov 2009, 14:21 pm
great news about Pieter de Villiers been a long time coming to get a front row specialist in. I was also thinking a 5-2 split may be the way to go up there but I would have preferred a real hard line no.8/no. 4 back up like Vermeulen and / or Alberts. Guess Pdv covering his back with a weak Kanko to start so he’ll probably have a prop a hooker a lock and 2 loosie with one that can cover 6 and another to cover 7, 8 and 4. Or else he’s going with 2 back up props on bench. Most likely play both Potgieter or Deysel and Roussouw with Bekker, Strauss and W. Du Preez.
Probably start Kirchner at back with Pienaar, Rose or Viljoen off bench.
8 Nov 2009, 14:22 pm
#169 grant10: Mate you have me laughing here. Our Breaking News Man…..
I know it is good to have some French TH here helping with our scrums especially since we going to play there. BUT we don’t really need him. Why has PdV not employed Os until the wc 2011? Think about it, the Cheetahs scrums was no where near affective as it is until Os came on board there. He MUST be doing something VERY right there cause they have the best scrum in the country. Boks need a specialist scrum coach and not just for a week but all the time. Bring in Os I say.
I think it is good that HM finally will be used in SA rugby and probably the Bulls for that matter. He has HUGE respect there. Yes, I think Lions missed out on having him coach them next year. Muir I hope can do the business there. He never done it with the Dirt Trackers, then rubbish selections and not enough time to train together never helped. He did well with the E. Boks so do hope for the Lions he can turn it around there.
8 Nov 2009, 14:25 pm
#169,
Interesting. The Bulls keep on doing the right things.
Pieter de Villiers is a great player, but, as the saying goes, you can’t put in what God’s left out. With our captain and ‘Beast’ at the opposite ends of our front row, our scrum against France will not, and can not succeed.
I’ve always been an admirer of the French. Great tradition in their rugby. And the beautiful flair of the french…
Those tries in the early nineties, beautiful.
The best try of all time, in my view, was on the french’s victorious tour of New Zealand in 1992. The one against England in 1991 also comes close.
8 Nov 2009, 14:26 pm
#171 skopskiet: Bench will be….imo….Wiaan du preez….A Strauss….Jannie dup…[ save our souls]….Dewalt…A Bejkker…R Pienaar…E Rose
8 Nov 2009, 14:27 pm
#172,
My view exactly. Your one of the few that speaks sense.
8 Nov 2009, 14:28 pm
#172 Puma: Perhaps becuse he knows the French team so well…remember he was playing for them up to a few months ago!!
Heyneke will really be a wonderful acquisition for Bulls…with there favorable draw in next years super 14 they a tighthead away from real superstardom…
8 Nov 2009, 14:31 pm
Puma,
Lyk my jou Superbru vaar goed, maar ek’s darem kort op jou hakke. Blerrie Portugal
8 Nov 2009, 14:34 pm
#177 Die_Valk: hehehe. Portugal. I had to have a huge think about that. Don’t know any of the players have never seen them play either.
My first time playing SuperBru in the rugby too. Feel great to be on top of 3 pools there. Not for long though I am really quite useless at predictions it has all been bit of guess work. I fell flat with the Dirt Trackers. You done well to go with the Tigers there.
8 Nov 2009, 14:38 pm
#176 grant10: Bulls have a great draw for S14 next year and with HM back and with their star players I expect them to maybe keep that title.
Ja, look it is good to have someone from France here and know the conditions, well okay it is fine for playing against France. BUT we need a specialist scrum coach all the time and not just for a week. Boks must get one soon and I think Os is our man. Everyone respects the greatest LH we ever had too. PdV should bring him on board like he done with Percy. Bring back that eye coach too. Getting closer to wc he must bring in the best now.
8 Nov 2009, 14:40 pm
Die Valk I doubt you need to feel sorry for anyone apart from those really needing you sympathy. Pdv’s problem has been largely in his selection of his assistants. Both Muir and Gold are simply not up to the real task of formulating proper back line or forward strategy or dominance.
The ability of Pdv to recognize weakness and then go about trying to rectify it has been his saving grace so far, unlike coaches before him who simply dug their heels in when their true shortcomings were exposed and then got done by 49-0 or got beaten by France every single time or by Ireland everytime they played them away.
Pdv should get shot of Muir to start and perhaps with prop Pieter de Villiers coming in now he stands a chance of rectifying the front row catastrophe. A true leader selects the best support staff to surround him he can and delegates his trust in them. If they can’t produce the results then he has to make some tough calls just like JW had to call in E. Jones when he realized between himself, Coetsee and Smal he didn’t have a clue wtf was cutting anywhere around him whatsoever.
8 Nov 2009, 14:41 pm
#175 Die_Valk: Dankie Valk.
8 Nov 2009, 14:42 pm
#179 Puma: Os had a full dig at the Bok management for not taking Wiaan du preez on tour….he was scathing and blunt….hope there is no bad blood….
Agree…Os should be brought in to the fold.
8 Nov 2009, 14:43 pm
#178,
Ja, I think many people will now be backing the Saracens in a knee-jerk reaction. I get sick reading some of the comments from our (not so) esteemed bloggers. Sports fans can be tremendously fickle and blinded by prejudice.
I think that with our scrum sorted and Castro not there we’ll pull trough.
I will be backing France though.
Good luck with your predictions and you never know, maybe this is your breakthrough year.
8 Nov 2009, 14:46 pm
France game will be a helleva tough ask for Boks….really going to be a tough game….
Like they say in the classics….
Ek sal bid…maar ek belowe Niks!!!
8 Nov 2009, 14:54 pm
#182 grant10: I don’t think there will be bad blood for Os saying that. Everyone respects him, and yes he must be brought on board as the Boks scrum coach.
#183 Die_Valk: I will wait and see who we play against Saracens. Think we will win there. Lots of saffa players in that team.
Phew!! France think we have to play really well to beat them and they have a great scrum. Then with France they are either brilliant or not very good on the day. Will have to think about that one. Probably go with my heart and say Boks.
#184 grant10: Grant it is going to be tough but let us see how it goes. I know I have said this many times but us staying here and training at altitude will give us extra power. Lungs and leg wise. Even if their conditions are different to our hard fields pleased we stayed here to train. Just hope not major injury to any of our top players. Looking forward to the Ireland game big time. Just wish PdV could still have selected JdV and Frans Steyn. Huge loss those two.
8 Nov 2009, 14:57 pm
#185 Puma: More breaking news for you Puma….seems Maku and W Murray are on way to Lions after all…
Sharks better find some backs!!
8 Nov 2009, 15:01 pm
#186 grant10: Pleased for Maku to be going to the Lions. Will get to start or play far more rugby there and that is what he needs. Murray was superb in 2007 but without Barritt next to him he does not seem the player he was. Then maybe he too was injured for a long time and not enough game time to get back to where he was.
Yes Sharks need some backs for sure. Not sure where we going to find them this late. Should have been looking to some saffas overseas. See that M. Joubert is playing some brilliant rugby. Well not seen but heard he is.
8 Nov 2009, 15:07 pm
#186 grant10: Grant, Sharks have such a rubbish draw for the S14 next year, similar to WP bad draw they had this year. Not sure how well we will do with a draw like that. Will just hope we travel well we did win most of our game over there this year.
We play Chiefs first up at the Tank. Going to very tough in Feb in the humid weather and Chiefs are a very good team. Then our bogey team Cheetahs who always seem to have our number we play them next at the Tank. Off to NZ next to play Saders then to Oz to play two games then back to NZ to play another two games. Crazy why not play all the games when a team is in a country. It makes sense money wise with the travel and also brings down the weary travel thing.
8 Nov 2009, 15:08 pm
Out of here now. Cheers Grant and all.
8 Nov 2009, 15:11 pm
Maku is a fine prospect unlike Chili who can’t see out a half let alone a whole game. Chili is a done cause they should simply shelve that idea.
Os is a Jw sing along disciple and most likely anti Pdv so how you expect a coach to work with someone going to contradict your reasoning all way through. Problem with Sa rugby is that its so intertwined with preconceived ideological prejudice you first got to get through the mine field of personal prejudice before you start addressing the proper rugby issues.
Pity Pdv picked Muir as his confidant thats his first problem right there, not too sure about Gold whether he has what it takes either.
8 Nov 2009, 15:13 pm
#187 Puma: Ja…M Joubert…B Russell….all seem to be excelling.
8 Nov 2009, 15:15 pm
#188 Puma: Ja…Sharks will struggle…and a weak front row only the start of there problems…R Pienaar not sure whats going to happen with him…F Steyn gone…W Murray outta there….
But they will buy…
8 Nov 2009, 15:27 pm
Not bittersweet, just sweet!
8 Nov 2009, 15:35 pm
The golden Lions is the graveyard of black rugby talent… Any black player going there without the tenacity of Earl Rose will die there…Useless management to start with and then they employ DM to worsen the situation… If waylon is going to the LIOns then he must remember it was DM who plotted is downfall… and Whats more ..JW is the consultant… Golden Lions raid on the best black talent is a sham designed to destroy black talent.
8 Nov 2009, 15:36 pm
2 things I have been thinking of lately is :
1. If we are going to play mid week games on the eoyt and we are not going to play a full strength sides why don’t the dirt trackers play under the guise of the emeging Boks ??
This way if we do lose it is not the Bok brand that is tarnished as it was on Friday night, and clubs like Leicester don’t walk around with “hard ons” for a week because they beat the world Champions.
If however, before a tour we decide that we want to win all games on tour and that we will field a side that can be considered a test side or as close to a test side as possible and we then lose ,then fair game and the “hard ons” are deserved.
But if experimentation is the name of the game then it should be under the guise of emerging Boks.
2. Why after the hooter has gone is play allowed to continue till an infringement or a mistake occurs ?? Surely the game is played over 80 min plus injury time ???/IMO once the hooter has sounded that is it, game over, ref should blow time immediately !!
8 Nov 2009, 15:37 pm
#190,
I don’t usually respond to anything, but Os is one of the most respected and greatest players in the game that we love. Talking about him like that says nothing about him, who is a decorated player and a successful man-manager and coach, but a lot about you.
His views are his own, as he is an intelligent individual.
One’s opinion is exactly that, and if some people here are to be believed there are a million ways to succeed and they would make better coaches than anyone out there. Laughable.
#193,
Indeed.
8 Nov 2009, 15:38 pm
‘the tenacity of Earl Rose’
8 Nov 2009, 15:40 pm
#183 Die_Valk: I AM esteemed… so you cannot be talking about me… I like your delusions of grandeur… feeling sorry for PDV as if you are able to sit as his table or show him the door.. The man is currently the best coach in the world.. Even if I don’t like him… So who might you be..
8 Nov 2009, 15:44 pm
#198,
Even if you don’t know it you have a fantastic sense of humour.
Who am I? A student.
And who are you to measure success in such a shallow manner?
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