Weary but up for war
Fourie du Preez admits that he and the Bulls’ Springbok contingent are in need of rest but insists they are determined to break their drought against France and Ireland.
It has been a taxing year for the scrumhalf and his team-mates, the likes of Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha and Morne Steyn – the players around who those teams’ success has been built in 2009 – with the Super 14, followed by a physically demanding Lions series and a six-Test Tri-Nations campaign.
Du Preez has played 1853 minutes of rugby this season -the equivalent of 23 matches – and the aforementioned men have either clocked up more or are just below that collective mark. It is undoubted that they need rest, something Du Preez readily admits, but he stressed that fatigue hasn’t quenched their desire for success.
‘I’m not going to lie to you, I’m exhausted physically and it’s been a mentally challenging year as well,’ Du Preez told keo.co.za.
‘We played in two finals for the Bulls, a Lions series and the Tri-Nations. All those matches demand that you are at your physical and mental peak. Eventually that type of pressure takes it out of you, and speaking to some of the other guys from the Bulls, they feel the same way. It’s difficult to stay motivated.
‘That said, we don’t need a bigger incentive than to beat France and Ireland on their home ground,’ he continued. ‘We haven’t won in France since ‘97 and in Ireland since 2001, so the guys are determined to finish the year on a high.’
Du Preez’s comments suggest that despite a momentous season in which the Bulls’ players won every trophy on offer and continued their success with the Springboks, they have not become complacent.
‘Victor Matfield was right when he said that the more you succeed the more you want to succeed,’ Du Preez said referring to Matfield’s comments after the Currie Cup final.
‘This past season was even more sweet because both the Bulls and Boks had such bad seasons in ‘08. It makes you appreciate success more, and also makes you want to ensure that you never feel the lows of defeat. I mean, losing is a reality, and we will at some point, but you become addicted to success and I think that’s what will be our driving force on this end of year tour.
‘That, and the fact that there’s an expectation of excellence from the guy next to you. You don’t want to let your team-mates down because you know they’re giving their all for you. That’s the culture within the Springboks at the moment.’
Du Preez’s superb form and his telling contribution to the Bulls and Springboks’ success was recognised last Monday when he was named SA Rugby’s Player of the Year. He is widely considered the favourite to claim the world title at the International Rugby Board’s ceremony in late November, but says he hasn’t paid any attention to the growing calls for his sustained excellence to be recognised by the game’s governing body.
‘People have been speaking about me as a possible winner, but I haven’t even given a thought to the award,’ he said.
‘Whatever happens happens in that regard. I’m just blessed to have played in two special teams this year. It’s the players there who help make me look good.’
By Ryan Vrede
November 10th, 2009 at 6:54 am
Rest these Dragons now… or pay for it later!
November 10th, 2009 at 7:00 am
23 games only???
Wow I was under the impression it was much more.
As far as I remember, the benchmark for a season is 28 games…
Isn’t that what Noakes believes is the max they should play?
November 10th, 2009 at 7:03 am
#1 Staal: I agree, rest them, but get the appropriate replacements. Heini and Francois aren’t the next best scrummies in SA. Danie isn’t the next best lock. (OK, the backup front row crocked themselves fortunately, ’cause they’re not the next best either!)
November 10th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Why is it that the Bulls/NTransvaal always (or nearly always) had a good 9 and good locks?
The worst 9 the Bulls had in the last 20 years – imo…. must have been a toss – up between Sonnekus en Williamson…….
Best … Joost.
(Maar ek moet sê daar is seker n klomp name wat ek mis.)
Same question can be asked…. why have SA always had a good 9!
November 10th, 2009 at 7:04 am
#2 PissAnt: I think it is play in – not complete…
November 10th, 2009 at 7:07 am
#3 King Shark: Yip – i also rate Hougaard.
I differ a bit with the opinion that Bekker is totally useless….. imo…. he is getting better and he will be a major force in the bok team in the future…
November 10th, 2009 at 7:08 am
OK – bloggers. Cheers.
Gonna have a Wimpy Mega coffee.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:12 am
#5 King Shark:
No doesn’t seem like it.
If you divide the minutes played it also works out to 23 games only.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:14 am
#4 Staal:
The answer must be in the long tenure of their scrum halves
Tommy du Plessis- 7 years
Robert DuPreez – 5 years
Joost/Roux – 10 year
FdP – 5 years and count
November 10th, 2009 at 7:18 am
#4 Staal:
You know my theory.
The Bulls most recently produced 9’s which I reckon is actually perfect flyhalfs.
SA it seems picks our ‘backline generals’ at 9, not 10.
It is the way we play.
Which might answer the question on why we have not been able to produce dominant 10’s in the last decade or so.
Hell even ‘Lem’ was not dominant…
November 10th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Danie Rossouw IS the 2nd best no 4 lock in the country.
Francois Hougaard is already among the top 4 scrumhalves in the country, and given his age, potential and general rugby skills should be Du Preez’s backup for Bok games. By 2011 he will be a star, and can already have two seasons worth of Bok experience behind him.
Of course, the poor Bulls will suffer again, and the peanut gallery will moan about us contracting 3 or 4 scrumhalves and denying Griquas or the Kings a chance to contract a decent scrumhalf. But that’s the price of having so many Boks in your team. You need players to fill the gap while they’re off winning tests for SA.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:34 am
peter de villiers said he spoke to some of the players about resting and they refused, one would assume the blue bulls players were the primary candidates. So to me the talk of fatigue is just crazy when you have been offered a rest.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:52 am
#11 Tacitus:
Hougaard looks like a real talent. Unfortunately no one can realy say. He hasn’t had enough game time at 9. Same as Chilliboy. Don’t think players should be selected on assumptions. What about Jano Vermaak who has proven himself?
November 10th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I don’t buy this fatigue stuff at all… they get paid millions to play rugby… The players chose to add an extra game… was it last year… to make even more money… so they can hardly turn around and say they play too much rugby…
I also agree with PdViva that (if players need to be rested) they should be rested for Provincial and franchise games NOT international games… Provinces have got to accept that the National team has dibs on the players and not picking them for three games is not going to make a huge difference in the context of 23 to 28 games in a year. With (poss) 15 S14 games and (poss) 16 CC games… that’s where any contemplated resting should occur… (if players really do need to rest…)
November 10th, 2009 at 8:21 am
#14 ufo:
Ai caramba.
I need a rest.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:21 am
#14 ufo:
You are farting against thunder mate.
Unions control SA Rugby
November 10th, 2009 at 8:23 am
France gonna wack these WC winners silly.
Tha’s my take.
Could be wrong tho. Is up to 4 and 5, 9 and 10 to take the game away from them. Everywhere else France is stronger. Maybe not 11.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:24 am
#15 Dawn:
farking smilies…!!
#16 PissAnt:
that may be…
but I’m still aloowed to ****…!!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:27 am
#18 ufo:
#^&*(#%^@
allowed…
or possibly
aloud…
November 10th, 2009 at 8:27 am
#18 ufo:
I’m weary, but up for war!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Why are we playing all our games on a Friday.
It’s a conspiracy of the highest demonic order.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:30 am
#20 Dawn:
you old battle-axe you…
November 10th, 2009 at 8:31 am
#17 skopskiet:
If you predict a Bok loss before EVERY game, then it doesn’t make you a soothsayer when you eventually get one right.
Come on Skop. Two years ago you were a knowledgeable rugby fan, posting comments worth reading.
Since then, you have slid into a pit of radicalism, racially driven commentary and suffer from a negative fixation on the Jake White era.
Let me tell you something. It’s not Jake White that made this current team, it is Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Fourie du Preez, Bryan Habana, John Smit, Juan Smith and a few other senior players.
And it was probably Heyneke Meyer and **** Muir, during the 2007 S14, that built the success of everything that has followed since then, if you get right down to it.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:31 am
#22 ufo:
Rude!!!!!!!!!!!
After seeing all those poppy uniforms over the weekend, I’m ready to sign up.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:33 am
#23 Tacitus: Well said!!!!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:39 am
#4 Staal: Joost was not the best scrummie , FDP is the best. Joost was a more physical scrummie with a great break and eye for the gap , I would say better athlete but not the best scrummie. He could not control a game the way FDP does. Also Joost could not pass both ways and does not have the tactical skills either.
He was more versatile yes but not the better of the two.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:39 am
#23 Tacitus:
you sound like you really care…!!
#24 Dawn:
you want to wear the poppies or smoke them…??
November 10th, 2009 at 8:40 am
#10 PissAnt:
I disagree,’Lem’ is the best flyhalf s.a has had in recent years!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:41 am
#26 sparticus:
And I just like Fourie du Preez more as a person as well.
For me, the off-field antics of rugby players are just as important as what they do on the park. To the chagrin of some bloggers here.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:43 am
#23 Tacitus:
Well Said!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:44 am
well most people knew it was Smit that carried White and not the other way round. But if we wanted to win this test we should have been picking on current form and not old hat reputation which suggests the following
Du Preez for Beast
Nel for Smit
Vermeulen for Kanko
De Jongh for Jacobs
Mapoe for JPP
Viljoen for Kirchner
Bench to go
CJ or Buys
Liebenberg
Blaauw
Bekker
Pienaar
JPP
Then I’d be more confident about a win on Friday.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:44 am
#29 Tacitus:
100% with you on this one…
November 10th, 2009 at 8:49 am
#17 skopskiet: combined team imo:
1. Beast
2. Du Plessis
3. Smit
4. Botha
5. Matfield
6. Brussow
7. Burger
8. Picamoles
9. Du Preez
10. Steyn
11. Habana
12. Mermoz (on club form)
13. David (on club form)
14. Clerc
15. Traille
if the French backs click they can work magic but I expect a Bok win.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Joost and Honibal still way ahead of Fdp and Steyn who still have some catching up to do to surpass them as best half back pairing in bok history. Wright and Botha, De Villiers and Visagie, could have come close but not enough game time together in comparison.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:50 am
#27 ufo:
I’m just trying to save myself from having to read more 300 word, paragraphless blocks of text in language so convoluted that it makes your eyes water.
And all of it basically saying that our rugby stars are fairies, that Snor critics are reactionaries and that Victor Matfield is able to jump so high thanks to a vast conspiracy by the establishment, involving a secret particle generator on the moon, pointed at Loftus Versfeld, which when activated at the right moment creates a reduced gravity field on the exact spot where Victor is jumping for the ball at a particular moment.
The vast power requirements of this anti-gravity device is also the reason behind Eskom’s rolling blackouts, the War for Oil in Iraq, and Global Warming.
Although, when the data gets re-interpreted by scientists, that last consequence may actually change to Global Cooling, unless they cannot agree which direction its going in, in which case they’l just call it Climate Change, to cover all bases.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:50 am
#31 skopskiet: skop most of those are untried at test level, how can you be so confident they’d make the step up?
November 10th, 2009 at 8:54 am
#14 ufo: All well but who pays for their salaries ? What if the Boks demand that Victor , Bakkies and FDP must be rested ? The Blue Bulls might have been out of a home finals and would have lost quite a bit of money. That wont go down well in Pretoria and to be honest it would have been unfair.
Provinces would then think twice of contarcting Sprinbok players as they wont be available for them the whole year or pay them less because they only play the S14 for them. This will have a effect on players staying in the country then as they can earn a lot of more money in Europe especially if they dont have a CC salary as well. No , the players needs to be rested yes but not just by their provinces. Do we really need Matfield to start the test against the French for example ? What if he get injured tomorrow ? Same for Bakkies , we have Danie and a host of other players in SA. Ruan Pienaar has not played much rugby at Scrummie , give him the reigns.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:58 am
so BH you suggesting that at 1-3 we are stronger, also at 6 and 7, and 9, 10, 11
I say we only stronger at 4, 5 and 9 perhaps 11. Not too sure about 10 yet maybe in a kicking game.
6 through 8 will be a close call. Kanko and or Roussouw will get done by their 8. Deysel would be a better bet to start with Burger to 8.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:02 am
If physical dominance is the aim, we should pick a loose trio of Jean Deysel, Schalk Burger and Danie Rossouw, and a centr pairing of Wynand Olivier and Jacque Fourie.
That would certainly be a more physical unit than a trio including Brussouw and Kankowski, and a centre pairing with Adi Jacobs in it.
Personally, I’d pick Brussouw, but bring Rossouw in at no.8.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:03 am
#23 Tacitus:
If you had your misguided way, we would be the only rugby team in the world which doesn’t need a coach.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:05 am
When we play the French, its always nice to think about all the French surnames in our team.
For this weekend, the French contingent could potentially be quite high.
Jacque Fourie
Wynand Olivier
Fourie du Preez
Danie Rossouw
Heinrich Brussouw
Wian du Preez
Bismark du Plessis
Ruan Pienaar
All French based surnames. And I’m sure there are a few more if I spent some time thinking about it.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:05 am
#35 Tacitus: LOL , I am glad to see you have a sense of humour
November 10th, 2009 at 9:12 am
#38 skopskiet: well we’ll see on Friday night, the French are prepared for war and their bench looks strong. There will be a few sore men on both sides after it.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:18 am
#41 Tacitus: Are you sure Pienaar and Olivier are of French origin? There is no double vowls in French or Latin languages as well as the V read as F is of Dutch/Belgian origin.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:24 am
With Fourie Du Preez making comments like this, I fear we will lose. Harden the f@k up Fourie.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:30 am
#44 Sharksgirl:
The pronunciation and spelling of many French Huegonot surnames gradually changed due to the Dutch influence during the 1700’s.
Many of the original French surnames therefore have a Dutch twist to them now. That doesn’t change the fact that they originated from France.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:33 am
#46 Tacitus: ah thank you Tacitus, I really find this subject very interesting! Something I wish I had taken up at ‘varsity.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am
#41 Tacitus: #44 Sharksgirl:
Tac is right here SH, i was actually reading up on this the other day. Its from wiki.
Examples of the more common names are Blignaut, Cronje (Cronier), de Klerk (Le Clercq), Visagie (Visage), de Villiers, du Plessis, du Toit, Fourie, Fouche, Giliomee (Guilliaume), Hugo, Joubert, Labuschagne (la Buscagne), Lange, le Roux, Lombard, Malan, Malherbe, Marais, Nel, Pienaar, Roux[2], Terreblanche, Taljard, Theron and Viljoen (Villion).[3][4]
November 10th, 2009 at 9:40 am
#48 John Galt: Thank you John Galt, its a subject that has really interested me for a time, The ones in your list that I had got wrong were: Visagie, Pienaar and Viljoen! Really thought Pienaar was more germanic then Latin, but yes as Tacitus has mentioned obviously these names were influenced by the Dutch and changed over the years! Very interesting. Will go read up more on the subject.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:45 am
First time here, great site and the posts makes interesting reading.
I really look forward to Friday nights game, i think its going to be a cracker.
Frogs to throw the kitchen sink at us in the first 15 min and the game will be won or lost up front at scrum time, protecting the ball in the rucks and the number turn overs conceded.
My prediction, my heart says Bokka but my head tells me we in for a long bruising evening.