Steyn backs a marked man
12 Nov 2009
Morné Steyn has scoffed at the widely held perception that Adi Jacobs is a defensive liability.
Jacobs has an opportunity to establish himself in the starting line-up in light of Jean de Villiers’s decision to join Munster, effectively ruling himself out of contention for selection.
However, while the 29-year-old’s prowess on attack is well known, it’s his defensive capabilities that continue to be questioned. Those concerns are now amplified with him starting in the defensively demanding position of inside centre.
The French coaching staff and players have made not-so-veiled suggestions that they plan to target Jacobs, who they seem to perceive as defensively vulnerable.
The British & Irish Lions’ midfield pair of Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll consciously attacked the diminutive (by international standards) Jacobs during the Test series in mid year, and while it would be unfair to say they profited greatly from that avenue of attack, Jacobs was hardly imposing at the tackle point, which allowed them to offload in contact and in so doing ensure continuity on attack.
France’s primary strike-runners, including the 105kg outside centre Yann David, will surely have implicit instructions to test Jacobs, but Springbok flyhalf Steyn has no concerns about his ability to front the challenge.
‘I don’t think Adi is vulnerable at all,’ Steyn told keo.co.za. ‘He knows what to expect, we all do, and that’s a physical onslaught from some big boys in their side. Adi is ready.’
Steyn did, however, temper those assertions by stressing that it would take a collective effort to blunt the attacking ambitions of Les Tricolores.
‘It’s important that we work as a unit in defence and help Adi out because we’re aware that they will look to target him,’ Steyn explained.
‘Our defensive pattern helps create opportunities for the double hit and if we can execute a couple of those on their big ball-carriers we’ll have the opportunity to turn over possession and counter-attack.
‘Adi has a senior player in Jaque Fourie on his outside and I’ll be doing my best to help him as well. It’s a team effort, we won’t allow them to isolate one of our players.’
Steyn said that after playing a full season with De Villiers on his outside, playing with Jacobs would require some adjusting. He also predicted that it would take ‘a couple of games’ for Jacobs to become accustomed to the demands of playing 12 at Test level.
‘He’s played most of his rugby at outside centre in recent years, so naturally he’ll have to adjust because the roles are very different. That doesn’t happen overnight, and like any player must be given the opportunity to settle in a new position, so must Adi.’
France’s attack is expected to centre primarily on forward play – manifested through the pursuit of set piece and breakdown domination – as well as tactical kicking. Steyn, however, noted that their penchant for the expansive in the back division should made them tricky to prepare for.
‘I don’t really know what to expect from them,’ he said. ‘They are equally capable of playing a direct, percentage-based style, which I think they will do, as they are throwing it wide. It’s a case of wait and see, but we’re prepared either way.
‘I suspect it’ll be a battle of the kickers, where they’ll look to pin us in our half and play from there,’ he continued. ‘They’ve got very good players to execute their kicking pattern, and if they do play a tactical game we’ll have to give support to our back three.’
By Ryan Vrede
103 Comments
Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All
12 Nov 2009, 10:26 am
I like the way Morne handles himself in the press……comes across as very mature and sensible !
12 Nov 2009, 10:26 am
I’ve seen Jean de Villiers and Jacque Fourie regulalrly fall off tackles yet their defensive prowess is never questioned. Give Adi a chance before bringing him down. Lets start supporting our dragons.
12 Nov 2009, 10:29 am
Defend as a unit….key.
12 Nov 2009, 10:30 am
go adi -your country got ure back my friend
12 Nov 2009, 10:32 am
#2 Cyborg: Defending and tackling are different. No one here seems to appreciate that.
12 Nov 2009, 10:35 am
Go Adi! These French centres may be big but arent they still quite young? Use that journeyman experience my man!
Everyone makes defensive mistakes, remember Tait running through Mossie, Frans and Butch in the RWC Final. Only to be finally tackled by a conditioned Vic!
12 Nov 2009, 10:43 am
This is rich coming from Morne Steyn, the biggest nancy-boy when is comes to tackling.
I think Adi’s defensive lines aren’t as good as De Villiers’ but he can certainly tackle as well if not better. Our loose forwards are going to be kept busy I think, so it will really depend on those defensive lines, herding players across to the wings and getting Bryan and JP to hit them with handbags.
12 Nov 2009, 10:49 am
i wonder how fast this Jan david is, nonu is over 100kg and is not great on defense, once turned hes quite poor actualy, so who knows, maybe adi can outsmart this greenhorn
12 Nov 2009, 10:52 am
Easy this…..
Why are Schalla’s defende never questioned?…..
Then ask yourdelf … why is Adi’s questioned?…..
12 Nov 2009, 10:53 am
eish – sorry spelling
12 Nov 2009, 10:58 am
I am not worried at all about Adi’s defence. We need to do more attacking imo. We cant let them dictate how we play, we need to impose our style of play on them.
We need to get them on the back foot early so that FDP and MS can kick them back into their own half. This is the remedy so that we do not have to make too many tackles.
Adi to run rings around these overgrown greenhorns!!!
Go Bokke!!!
12 Nov 2009, 10:59 am
You never see smoke without fire.
12 Nov 2009, 11:04 am
Like that, our team are like a band of brothers. Going to look out for each other. Good. They will have a plan to sort out that huge French centre. Just like we had a plan to bring down Lomu who never scored a try against us. Defend like a pack.
12 Nov 2009, 11:09 am
#12 dr dre:
Or you never see smoke without chronic hey Dre?
12 Nov 2009, 11:13 am
#12 dr dre: dry ice
12 Nov 2009, 11:28 am
#14 usualsuspect: The Dre has spoken.
Lie down on the floor now, your all gonna die.
12 Nov 2009, 11:29 am
The French approach will be predictable: a frenzied approach in the first 15 mins, both physical and through running rugby, trying to unsettle one of the most experienced teams ever! FdP and Vic are going to be critical in the facets of play they are unmatched in, namely, the lineout and the back of the scrum (box kicks, sniping runs etc). Any centre combination that involves Jaque Fourie is kind of stable, in my honest opinion. Jacobs really will have to defend like mad, though. The Boks must make it a point that the French crowd never influences the match in any way.
12 Nov 2009, 11:36 am
#14 usualsuspect: Or …You never see Adi Jacobs without a missed tackle?
12 Nov 2009, 11:38 am
Oh please, lets hope they run at Adi. Easiest thing to defend when a guy runs at you.
French sound like they are going to be adopting the dumbest strategy on earth.
All media hype = ZERO SUBSTANCE !!
Boks by 12.
12 Nov 2009, 11:41 am
#7 Vundu:
go look at steyn’s stats and then have a little think about your post…. by the way the boks don’t play the drift defence as a rule….
12 Nov 2009, 11:43 am
Muppits are chilled these times. Its the only game i know i wont miss this year. There is optimism and my guess is that its 50/50 game.
Whoever wins wont do so by more than 6 points. 22-18 either side.
It represents a different challenge and i think Adi should do well.
JdV chose not to play the French, dont know if this was out of superstition. First time he played for the Boks was against Le Bleus and he crocked his knee, second time was in WC 07 and there he did his bicep or something.
Twice bitten.
12 Nov 2009, 11:49 am
YES!! another Adi article! keep ‘em coming boys!
12 Nov 2009, 11:51 am
#21 Nguni Stud: Negative, bicep injury was against Samoa. He didn’t not choose to play France, he chose not to play for the Boks full stop by going overseas.
12 Nov 2009, 11:52 am
Jean cant defend either. So I am sure adi will do fine, Schalk will be close by with an airial attack to cover any one that dare to break the line.
12 Nov 2009, 11:54 am
#21 Nguni Stud: He also played in the series win in 2005 and overseas loss end of 2005. Four times bitten, twice lost, once won and once drawn.
12 Nov 2009, 11:58 am
#18 dr dre: or butchered drop goal attempt
12 Nov 2009, 12:03 pm
Adi’s defense will always be questioned unless he grows another 15cm. He an awesome player who’s been underrated his entire career.
In my mind his defense has always been sound except when hes played with an injured shoulder.
12 Nov 2009, 12:04 pm
Like it or not, he’s the guy. Lets back him. The way morne carries himself in the press is very encouraging. He’s on his way to becoming a great. Classy. Looks a bit like Simon Cowell though. That’s the only negative thing I can think of….
12 Nov 2009, 12:05 pm
I’m starting to appreciate Steyn more and more now. He’s a real team player with a calm and mature head on his shoulders.
Adi had one bad defensive game against the Lions (whilst carrying a shoulder injury). He’s fronted against the likes of Nonu and others just fine. But he is small and considered a quota selection by many so makes for an easy target for the Press. I’ve seen Jaque Fourie fall off plenty tackles including games in the British Lions tour.
Let’s give Adi a chance and see how he goes because he has plenty to offer on attack, and we’re a lot weaker there than on defence….
12 Nov 2009, 12:06 pm
Adi played for quite some time with an injury and that affected his play.
Hopefully he has recovered fully by now and look forward to this one.
I think he enjoys attacking more than the defense, but has shown in the past that he has the exp to defend effectively.
It is unlikely that he will dominate in the collisions but that’s not his primary role.
It will be interesting to see if the Frogs can contain him in midfield.
French really talking up this game, so it will be a fantastic game to watch tomorrow night. Trying to isolate a player before the game merely serves as motivation.
12 Nov 2009, 12:09 pm
eish – how was adi’s effeort in the CC semi when Pottie said to him ….THANKS for coming… game over!
12 Nov 2009, 12:14 pm
Ok mense – cheers. Sien later. Gou gou n lekker pepper fillet aanval!
12 Nov 2009, 12:21 pm
#2 Cyborg: u took the words right out of my mouth!!!
12 Nov 2009, 12:23 pm
Adi will be fine, he had one bad game now he becomes the target of piss poor defence.
We should focus and comment on the area where we will come short tom night. The scrums. We are not scrumming correctly and this is going to cost us a game soon. The frogs have some huge fire power on the bench and the bokka are going to stuggle after 60 minutes.
I really hope that this gets sorted out soon though. Beast is a problem area, he is not binding properly and seems to drift inwards after contact and this makes his shoulder drop.
Anyway, lets trust that attention has been given to this area.
Go Butcher Boys – That name is kinda growing on me.
12 Nov 2009, 12:24 pm
#29 Yetirat: Well said
12 Nov 2009, 12:32 pm
All jokes aside!
Go Adi – flatten those Frogs! France in France – mmmmmmm!
12 Nov 2009, 12:38 pm
#36 dr dre: Adi is a huge talent, he will be fine and he has the teams backing.
The scrum boys, the scum.
12 Nov 2009, 12:46 pm
I was thiking, when last did we play France? Was a long time ago. They have not “felt the wrath” of this new bok side yet so they dont really know what to expect.
There has also been very little talk about the fetchers and stealing the ball. Brussow must have a blinder, Morne must slot evey penalty within 60 meters. Bakkis must clear the ruck like he did against England in the world cup and for gods sake, Beast must scrum properly like the first game against the Lions.
Go my Butcher boys.
12 Nov 2009, 12:46 pm
Not so much about Jacobs who IS a liability if you ever bothered to watch rugby, then I recommend the 2nd Test against the Lions where he was breached 6 times over 15 minutes
It’s the combo of FdP, Styen, Jacobs and Kirshner that will invite any test team to reap it apart.
Has anybody seen M Styen ever tackling somebody?
12 Nov 2009, 12:49 pm
Best form of defense is attack. Retain ball, starve them of ball, and you don’t need to worry about who falls off tackles. Run them ragged first half and let your bench finish them off the last 15 minutes. 105kg centers do not like to tackle all night, and after their fair share of tackles their attack becomes blunted because you have tired backs
12 Nov 2009, 12:50 pm
#28 stormersboy:
“Rugby players should do their talking on the field” ~ old French Wisdom
Seriously, a player who has no record of defending his line should not come to the defence of a confirmed tackles’ faker such as Jacob!
Full srop
12 Nov 2009, 12:50 pm
#38 Fidget: Brussouw can be nulled; proven in CC final when he made plenty tackles, attended plenty rucks, but didn’t have a single steal
12 Nov 2009, 12:54 pm
steyn will help ad!what a joker.very rich coming from a guy that excecuted a few gayish-looking tackles against the british and irish lions backline players.
12 Nov 2009, 12:54 pm
#40 Richie_7:
Nonsense
I remember centres such as Daniel Herbert, Matt Burke (when played there)our own Pieter Muller and Jappie Mulder and France’s Juajion to name few centres from the past who tackled anything moving non stop through out
Jamie Roberts still does it all game long!
12 Nov 2009, 12:57 pm
#42 Richie_7:
Easy Richie
that was under Jonathan Kaplan’s watchful eyes
With Barens as the test referee Brussouw will have a field day
12 Nov 2009, 12:59 pm
#43 Valkyrie:
at least he made the tackles…
12 Nov 2009, 13:01 pm
#13 Puma:
tis true, Puma, that the Boks kept Jonah out. But that wasnt all his game, he also drew defenders like bees to the honeypot.
Lomus ABs vs Boks
Played 12
Won 7.
12 Nov 2009, 13:02 pm
#43 Valkyrie: What’s a gayish looking tackle?
12 Nov 2009, 13:02 pm
#44 Hondo: Sorry, don’t remember of the centers you mentioned being 21, 105kg’s, and tackling for 80 mins in their first tests. You trying to tell me if Mossie runs at him all night he won’t start slipping tackles?
12 Nov 2009, 13:04 pm
#45 Hondo: Actually, with Barnes officiating Brussouw will need to ensure he says within the laws. Barnes tends to get yellow card fever
Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.