Invest in the best
9 Nov 2009
The midweek Boks paid the price for Peter de Villiers’s selection policy, writes Keo in his weekly Business Day column.
Why the shock that a Leicester mix and match XV should so embarrass a South African Vodacom Cup XV parading as the Springboks?
The selections were terrible, as they were when the Springbok selectors looked to the future in the third and final Test against the British & Irish Lions and were similarly embarrassed.
At times too much is made of the future, and this is one of those times. Let’s focus on what happens in 2009 before wondering how our rugby will be in 2012, let alone the 2011 World Cup year.
The best players in the Currie Cup were not selected for the midweek side’s two matches in England. Coach Peter de Villiers wanted to make a statement about transformation and also about the fact that the provincial coaches are getting it wrong and he is getting it right. On both counts he failed, although to blame him for the defeat is wrong, as he had nothing to do with the coaching of the team, if you can call three sessions coaching the team.
Touring teams always struggle in the first fortnight of a tour and that is why so many of the success stories on end of year tours relate to national coaches investing in those who have succeeded as a unit in the domestic season. That way a national coach does not have to reinvent the wheel and does not have to try and teach players a specific approach in two or three training runs. The national coach trusts that he can tweak a provincial formula that has been successful and invests in the familiarity players get when they have functioned in a unit for the last six months.
De Villiers and his selectors did neither and paid the price for holding a trial game to assess how good the reserve depth is, which in itself was ridiculous because Leicester, by way of England commitments, another league match on Sunday and injuries, played without 12 first team regulars. For these imposter Boks to have lost to the best Leicester has on contract would not be a surprise, but to have been bullied and outthought by a couple of former All Blacks, a few other imports and mostly an Academy team is humiliating.
The Bok scrum disintegrated and hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle’s reputation took as big a beating. Ralepelle was supposed to be one of the new generation of South African player who would only be judged on ability because he was that good as a 19 year-old, but political agendas have again turned a quality talent into a professional quota. It is sickening.
Ralepelle should not have been on tour and belatedly Adriaan Strauss and Wian du Preez of the Cheetahs have been summoned to England to replace Ralepelle and Gurthro Steenkamp.
What does the Leicester defeat say about the depth of player outside the marvelous Bok Test XV that has dominated world rugby for the past few years? It says nothing because what we saw was not the next best on show. You could have picked any one of the Currie Cup semi-finalists as a unit and they would have thumped what Leicester put out as a team. Why is it that so often the Springbok midweek team does not reflect the best fringe players? It is not just something unique to the current coach and his selectors. We’ve seen this horror movie so many times.
If a national coach wants to take an Emerging team abroad then do so, but don’t call them the Springboks because Leicester, as an example, now have the famous Springbok head as a scalp in the clubhouse. It should never have been so.
The defeat does not influence anything in relation to Friday evening’s Test against France because the real Springboks will be playing in Toulouse, although the depth test here is more accurate because what will be answered is if the Boks have the same fluidity, stability and direction without Frans Steyn’s boot at the back, Jean de Villiers’s organization in the midfield and the power of Juan Smith and Pierre Spies in the back row.
This will be the Springboks’ toughest test of the year and to win they will have to play as well or better than at any stage this season. France are the best of the northern hemisphere teams and playing in Toulouse on a Friday night certainly gives the a greater advantage than the neutrality so often experienced at the Stade de France in St Denis, just outside Paris.
The Boks love that ground, but they’ve never played in Toulouse, which makes the decision to arrive in Toulouse 36 hours before kick-off even more of a risk.
170 Comments
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9 Nov 2009, 14:30 pm
Of course.
Stupid team was picked. Stupid decisions from snor face. What’s new – he didnt have his experienced brians trust of senior players to dig him out of the **** hole he got himself into.
9 Nov 2009, 14:30 pm
#46 John1976: You are a racist ****-jockey. How can you even write this cr@p. Go bury your head in the sand and pray to Verwoerd
9 Nov 2009, 14:30 pm
#45 Sheriff: Well I reckon he consumes enough of SAB’s products before he can pluck the courage to wirte the **** that he has been dishing up.
9 Nov 2009, 14:31 pm
#33 Sharksgirl: If I was interested in the opinion of a teenage girl I’d watch Hannah Montana.
9 Nov 2009, 14:32 pm
#37 ruffle: Rallepelle, Maku, Nokwe, Raubenheimer, Steenkamp and Rose.
9 Nov 2009, 14:33 pm
well iam sure joost will have good tales of playing for the boks he did win a world cup medal and tri nations right ?
so it will be a good rugby book
i agree with keo france r a great side they did beat the abs this year in nz and only team to beat them this year besides the boks
9 Nov 2009, 14:33 pm
I think I should come write for keo.co.za
The above article sentiments exactly what i posted on one of the articles last week.Predicted a loss, because of the very reasons pointed out by in this very article.I still had arguments from everybody at the time.
Why, oh why is it that PDV seems to only make the correct call when its forced upon him or he has learnt his lesson the hard way???the public seem to know whats best before he does
Eg…..
2008- bad year, because he tried to re-invent the wheel
2009- great year, played to the strengths that we all
said should not be tampered with.
Pienaar is not a #10- almost cost us a lions series and did cost us the liecester game.
Morne IS the best #10-reluctantly PDV is being persuaded that perhaps he was wrong about this guy.
“Adi jacobs is the best #13″- No he is not.Would he have pulled off that “try of the year”(as awarded to JF recently) that Jacques Fourie scored in the lions series?I doubt very much.
Now picking a bunch of out-of-formers, nobodies,shouldn’t-be’s with no with no provincial combinations and real back-up on the bench in case of a tonga tells me he is over confident and is trying to show off and pull a ,”I told you I could win with anybody” type of mentality.No Gambling just logic and wins please.
This isnt an attack on PdV.I do rate him as a coach.I just think he shouldn’t try be irrational for the sake of being sensational.
9 Nov 2009, 14:33 pm
#48 John1976:
John, this is not about me.
You will not achieve anything by trying to turn the attention to me.
The point Im making here is that we seem to have an inability to instal a Govt that can pursue what is right.
First is was fraud to benefit whites and now the same but for African Blacks. Not only for them but mostly, I think if we check the stats then we’ll see that is correct.
ANC building diligently on the racist and greedy platform laid by Nats.
9 Nov 2009, 14:38 pm
These sort of teams are selected year after year only to appease the politicians.
This is exactly where we are loosing out. Instead of selecting the next best player in every position we make political selections which altermately denies the future stars development on the internal stage and hence when they eventually arrive on the big stage the lack valuable experience.
I am very worried about the time when the likes of Victor Matfield, John Smit, Bakkies Botha and Fourie Du Preez decide to call it a day.
We should learn from teams like England and not make the same mistakes.
Building a teams takes years and we should start now not after the World Cup.
Please someone wake up we are running out of time!
9 Nov 2009, 14:40 pm
#54 pierre: Listen here lad I am the mother of a teenage boy, and I assure you I did not have him in infancy. But with your post you have shown your own infantile nature if not age!
9 Nov 2009, 14:42 pm
#51 WP_: I think we must replace PdV asap. If he stays we must form coaching committee, similar in structure to the President’s Council, to make decision with regard to selection policy, team selection and style of play. I think the coaches of the S14 teams would be the best canidates for such a committee.
9 Nov 2009, 14:45 pm
#61 John1976: just so i don’t start using my boarding school language before properly understanding you, are you saying that Adi, JPP, Habana and Beast are all ANC, non-merit selections?
9 Nov 2009, 14:46 pm
#58 Sheriff: You sound more and more like Pieter Marais, I remember a while back you were accussed of being a high profile politician from the “3 kamer parliament” era when you were still Pietman’s wingman. It seems as though they were right. No?
9 Nov 2009, 14:47 pm
#61 John1976: Lions and Tri-Nations victory? sorry PdV, i’m afraid that’s just not good enough, please show yourself the door…
9 Nov 2009, 14:48 pm
#61 John1976: I think most people know more about rugby than him,. so it wouldnt be a bad idea.
9 Nov 2009, 14:49 pm
#61 John1976: Wouldn’t work. Each Super coach would favour their own players and agendas (funny that). Each would therefore have a different idea about gameplan and it would go around in circels. There is no way a coach can coach a team of players he didn’t select to a style he doesn’t believe in.
9 Nov 2009, 14:50 pm
#64 AndrewBK: #62 toughnrumble: Is this John oke for real?
9 Nov 2009, 14:51 pm
those ppl that live in south africa have every right to question the teams being selected.
also, the definition of a racist is someone who discriminates based on skin colour. it may be that there are whites with unreformed attiutudes which are racist and keep black players out, but selecting or reserving players in the national team based on race is racism – that is the exact definition.
now you might argue it is racism intended to overturn the more subtle opposite racism supposedly ingrained in the S14 coaches that do not pick black player – however it remains racism to select players like Raubenheimer and Ralapelle when they are not the best or second-best in their positions.
9 Nov 2009, 14:52 pm
#64 AndrewBK:
Jake got shown the door 1 month after a world cup win.
In SA, winning doesn’t always save you.
Transformation…..that’s the real winner.
9 Nov 2009, 14:54 pm
#68 cab:
.that is pretty deep.
I prefer to keep calling a spade a shovel.
9 Nov 2009, 14:55 pm
#62 toughnrumble: It is common knowledge, I have heard this at a braai and most of the posters concur, that these guys are selected in order to aid the transformation process as advocated by the ANC government.
9 Nov 2009, 14:58 pm
#67 Mutant: You are right I was only kidding, I had you guys going there for a while.
9 Nov 2009, 15:00 pm
As we all know, the braai is the Holy Grail of credible information.
9 Nov 2009, 15:00 pm
KEO, I am sorry but you are wrong.
And the truth is even more frightening.
The front five who played on Friday night plus the flyhalf, left wing and inside centre combo should have fired.
Gurthro, Chilli, Jannie, Danie, Andries, Ruan, Jongi and Meisiekind – these guys have been in the Springbok set-up for a good long while now.
Yes, they have had to sit on the bench or in the stands while the first-choice players have taken the field.
But surely they should all know each other’s games by now.
Surely the tight five should have worked effectively as a unit?
Surely they practice as a unit when they face up against the first-choice team?
9 Nov 2009, 15:00 pm
#69 Brigadier Van Zyl: if i recall correctly Jake White wasn’t axed, his contract expired.
9 Nov 2009, 15:01 pm
#70 Brigadier Van Zyl:
#71 John1976:
You two.
There is a very lekker site for your type.
rugby talk dot coza
Please pack your loads and go there, they are awaiting your arrival.
9 Nov 2009, 15:01 pm
#63 John1976:
John, right now you’re playing the man and not the ball.
You’re clearly an impulsive character. For your own benefit I would request that we stick to the debate.
You have an advantage as I would also like to take aim at you, but there’s not much to aim it.
This is a friendly request.
9 Nov 2009, 15:03 pm
#69 Brigadier Van Zyl: I also prefer to keep calling a spade a shovel….Jake left on his own accord – he didn’t get shown the door, he just didn’t renew his contract.
9 Nov 2009, 15:03 pm
Bottom line:
Gurthro and Jannie – not good enough scrummagers.
Chilli – should never have been there because of injury.
Pienaar – on current form, not the second best flyhalf option for the Boks.
9 Nov 2009, 15:05 pm
#73 Dawn: I could not use the term “open secret”, it has been worned out by the writers on this blog. So I reckon that refering to the braaitalk would lend some weight to my argument.
9 Nov 2009, 15:06 pm
#60 Sharksgirl – couldn’t agree more!
Att Pierre – your comments are tired and your arguement for Earl Rose is weak. Log out, have a think about the c*ap you are writing then log back in and cancel your account.
9 Nov 2009, 15:12 pm
Maroga in, Godsell out.
That’s one in the bag; now they just need to get Chuene sorted.
Nats taught them well: always ignore principle – focus only and only on race.
9 Nov 2009, 15:14 pm
Cheers Vawn Stemmett and others.
Later.
9 Nov 2009, 15:16 pm
#76 Dawn:
why?
who put you in charge?
9 Nov 2009, 15:18 pm
#76 Dawn: I’m afraid they won’t accept me. Once they know my real name they would try and find an excuse to ban me.
9 Nov 2009, 15:19 pm
#80 John1976: in that case i’m glad i held my fire and did not spew out a phrase or two that would shame my poor old mum. you should know that there are two many single-cell organisms involved in rugby in this country, and frequenting this site, for you to employ either sarcasm or irony in your posting and not cause mass confusion.
9 Nov 2009, 15:19 pm
#84 Brigadier Van Zyl: Dawn is the mother of this site.
9 Nov 2009, 15:21 pm
#73 Dawn:
agg no man don’t be like that …
I say live and let braai…
9 Nov 2009, 15:22 pm
#85 John1976:
if they have “quality control” on that site, I imagine this Dawn girl also has no chance of joining them?
9 Nov 2009, 15:28 pm
#74 puff:
Absolutely correct.
There is a lot of players that has all been around the springbok team for years and that has shown time after time that they are not up to it. If you are goin to experiment do a decent job of it. The team that played the B&I Lions was much better.
9 Nov 2009, 15:30 pm
#33 Sharksgirl: And your point is? Everybody is raving about Deysel but forget that he only had about 30 minutes of playing time, while the starters had by then had to endure some of the most physical play I have seen this year, irrespective of what everybody would liked to believe their credentials were, and quite frankly, he probably made of total of 10 meters in carries if not less, and if he made more than two tackles in that time it was a lot. Like everybody he got stuck in in the end, but could, like everybody else who tried, not breach the defence. And his side of the scrum went back at the same rate as when Raubenheimer went on. So where is the brilliant play and physical impact everybody else claims he produced to the extent that he is a shoe in for the reserves against France.
As an impact player, what impact did he have? I just wish you guys would at least attempt to be objective. You and some other black and white dynamite dudes make it sound as if this guy singlehandedly picked up the entire Leicester scrum and carried it back.
9 Nov 2009, 15:31 pm
Please can someone answer this question for me?
Why is rugby the only professional sport where the referee/official/umpire has to continuely remind the “professional” players of the rules. Telling them when 1)it’s a ruck or not 2)when the line out is over or not 3) take your hands of off the ball 4) take a step back you offsides.
Surely as professional sportsman they should all know the rules and abide by them, if not then get penalised. The ref’s commentary during the game is becoming way too much.
9 Nov 2009, 15:34 pm
#22 pierre: It wasn’t so much being played out of position as having walked into the eye of a tornado, and be honest, nobody could really play their natural game. And as to whether an out and out fetcher would’ve been effective against their breakdown technique is debatable.
9 Nov 2009, 15:38 pm
#92 Bobcat10: The ref is trying to keep the game flowing and his interpretation is crucial.By communicating with the players he is preventing unnecessary infringements which would slow the game down further. I like the commentary. It keeps the players and viewers informed on how the ref is seeing things unfold. This can be quite useful in a game as complex as rugby.
9 Nov 2009, 15:39 pm
#92 Bobcat10: This relates to my earlier posts – all refs interpret the rules differently, which is why they have to commentate during the game – so that players know when that particular ref thinks it’s a ruck and they therefore have to get their hands out etc.
Scrum time is one of the worst because no ref seems to know exactly what’s going on, and penalties seem random at best.
9 Nov 2009, 15:43 pm
#94 & #95 Thanks Gents,
Surely though the laws should be set so that each game does not rely on the ref’s interpretation? Isn’t this the reason that we are seeing so many penalties, because a player does it one weekend and it’s fine then the next he gets a penalised for it?
9 Nov 2009, 15:44 pm
Al the talk of quotas etc is totally of the mark. Sure the vision of Chilliboy being the first black Springbok captain has been a misserable failure, but think of all the loosers in the team.
- Heinke was just back injury played out of position.
- Guthro was shown up the previous week.
- Jannie has never been any good…..
- Chilliboy, when has he ever played a full game?
- Maku, must be a quota….how do you select the 3 player in waiting at a province???
- Bekker, worst scrumming lock in South Africa
- Rossouw…..expected more from him.
- Potgieter….tried but again played out of position.
- Raubenheimer….was he on field??
- Ashley Johnson…best sa player on the field.
- Adams…really a quota.
- Pienaar…feel sorry for him played out of position was terrible.
- Nokwe…is there anybody that rates this guy above Mapoe??
- Olivier…just not international, doesn’t have it. Sorry there is just some things you have or don’t have and he doesn’t.
- De Jongh…there is a lot better guys around that deserved an oppurtunity.
- Odwa…has been tried, and tried…like Olivier not up to it.
- Earl the pearl…didn’t have a bad game…stil don’t think he deserved the oppurtunity thou.
9 Nov 2009, 15:45 pm
#91 catleya: As you see I have not mentioned one thing in praise or otherwise of Deysel. The only point I was trying to make was, that Pierre is calling everyone out for using double standards, while he too is using the same double standards. Potgieter tried hard but did not have a good game, which Pierre excuses as him being played out of position. Good point, but it is my opinion then that the same lee way should be used for Ruan who is consistently being played out of position. Ruan is a talented No. 9, in my opinion he should be FDP’s cover, don’t play him out of position and we will have a very talented player!
9 Nov 2009, 15:47 pm
#91 catleya: Sorry reread your post and would like you please to point me in the direction of just one of my posts where I praised Deysel? Please! I think you and I are talking at cross purposes here.
9 Nov 2009, 15:49 pm
#96 Bobcat10: That is true. A lot of penalties are a result of different interpretations. After the Boks monstered the ABs in Bloem Paddy O’Furniture sent out a message that the Bok mauling was illegal and shouldn;t be tolerated in the next test. Then we had the ref deciding to penalise a srumhalf for not putting the ball in straight. I hadn’t seen a straight scrumfeed in years.If the top refs can’t agree, what chance do the rest of us have.
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