Brüssow best of sorry Boks
13 Nov 2009
Keo.co.za rates the Springboks in their Test against France in Toulouse.
Zane Kirchner (5) - Showed a willingness to join the line when the opportunities did present themselves, and was largely effective when doing so. His biggest contribution was to put through the grubber that rolled 5m short of line from which the Springboks’ try was scored. His positional play needs some attention as the France kickers often found space where he should have been covering.
JP Pietersen (5) - It was a quiet night for the Springboks’ outside backs and Pietersen saw precious little ball. Struggled under high ball in blustery conditions but was defensively solid when asked to be.
Jaque Fourie (5) - His attacking prowess was curtailed by the Springboks’ inability to play through enough phases to deplete the French defence and allow him the space he thrives in. Struggled at times against his direct opponent, Yann David, but also diffused a number of French attacks by pushing off the line hard and cutting down their space.
Adi Jacobs (5) - While he never dominated at the tackle point on defence he certainly wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, he defended better than some of his bigger and more experienced team-mates. However, on attack he was poor. The French defenders often double hit him and stole possession in good field positions.
Bryan Habana (5) - Typically workmanlike on attack and defence, but like Kirchner and Pietersen, simply never had the opportunities to hurt the hosts.
Morne Steyn (4) - His worst ever performance in Test rugby, which was compounded by his sin binning just before half-time – the resultant penalty cost his side three points and France scored three more in his absence. He started with two misjudged tactical kicks, and a couple of poor passes and it just went downhill from there. In his defence, his forwards hardly set a decent platform for attack and he was consistently under pressure.
Fourie du Preez (5) - Wasn’t able to dictate the flow and tempo of the match because of the Springboks’ struggles at the breakdown, and as a result his threat was largely blunted. In addition, his tactical kicking lacked it’s usual accuracy. Another play who looked a shadow of his magnificent self after a long and taxing season.
Ryan Kankowski (4) - Effective when allowed space to operate, but struggled when asked to play tight. Knocked on in lead up to France’s first try and was sin binned in the 69th minute. It didn’t cost the team immediately, but it did in the 77th minute when France destroyed a seven-man Bok scrum and gained the decisive penalty.
Schalk Burger (4) - For a man who has built his reputation on his physicality he was desperately disappointing from a defensive perspective. He missed his first tackle of the game, slipped a crucial hit in the build up to France’s first try, and was found wanting on a number of other occasions. His work rate never dropped off, but high stats in that regard means nothing if you aren’t consistently making telling contributions.
Heinrich Brüssow (8) - Immense yet again. Proved, conclusively, that he has the aptitude for the biggest Tests against opponents who tower over him physically. They never ever overshadowed him for pure ability, though. He excelled on the ground, stealing the ball in 9th minute, 14th, 28th , 63rd, 68th minutes, and made his most vital snatch in the 55th in his 22m when France seemed destined to score.
Victor Matfield (5) - Solid at the lineout as usual, ensuring that the Springboks bossed that facet of play, but posed little threat in the loose.
Bakkies Botha (4) - Misguided physicality. He is better when he doesn’t get dragged into personal duels and tonight he was, to the disadvantage of his side, who rely on him to make his presence felt at rucks and mauls around the track.
John Smit (6) - Tried valiantly to lead by example, and to rouse his charges to a level of performance that seemed beyond them. That started with a good performance at scrum time in the first half and a work rate that was only surpassed by Brussow. Sadly he wasn’t able to sustain that effort for 80 minutes, mostly because he shouldered so much responsibility. Showed great awareness to pounce on the overcooked lineout feed to score the Springboks‘ only try, but spent the latter stages of the match trying to galvanise a beaten bunch.
Bismarck du Plessis (4) - Typically robust, and scrummed well early in the game, but hardly the force he has been for the majority of the season. That’s not surprising given the amount of matches his played. Crucially failed to find his jumper 5m short of the France tryline with his team trailing 14-13 in 56th minute. A score there could have changed the complexion of the Test.
Beast Mtawarira (4) - Anonymous in the loose, and impotent in the tight. His worst Test of 2009, but like Du Plessis, looks in need of a rest.
Subs
Adriaan Strauss (on in the 69th minute) (5) - His first contribution was to make a turnover in his 22m, but he then failed to find his jumper in the next passage of play, allowing France to surge back into the red zone.
Wian du Preez - Unused sub.
CJ van der Linde (4) (on in 54th minute) - Manhandled at scrum time and was reminded of the difference between club and Test rugby. Like the front rankers who came before him, never made a difference in general play.
Andries Bekker (7) - On at various stages and excelled at the lineout when he was on the park with three steals. Also looked up for the battle in the tight and loose.
Danie Rossouw (On in 47th minute) (5) - Never had an opportunity to carry the ball and never made his mark in the tight.
Ruan Pienaar - Unused sub
Wynand Olivier (on in 69th minute) (6) - Looked hungry and enthusiastic when he came on, but he was fighting a lone battle at that stage.
82 Comments
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14 Nov 2009, 01:33 am
#39 Robzim: Rob, I have to break it to you gently…..that guy really could not sing!! Did you see Hab’s creasing up!!
Victor looked livid!
Sack him……..
14 Nov 2009, 01:33 am
#49 rugbygenius: an old military joke – if the enemy is the bullet’s distance from you, that also means, it’s you who are bullet’s distance from him.
In other words, things do not depend on just you team’s killer instinct. For some strange reason, the opponent might have it, too.
14 Nov 2009, 01:35 am
#52 Nils: You sir are a genius too. A very excellent quote.
But we bokke have a machine gun – those other teams are trying with pistols.
14 Nov 2009, 01:38 am
#51 carol:
Hi Carol,
What in the world would Victor and Bryan know about singing and music?
Some people that I know and like even think Bob cannot sing
This French guy only sang about half a tone off beat, some famous singers are even further off.
Have u ever listened to Neil Diamond?
14 Nov 2009, 01:48 am
well there you have it, all the loudmouths katman etc. grant 10 you get a 0 out of 10 for your van der linde theory, bring on os du randt and the cheetahs now, this one dimensional game is going nowhere, poor old flying dutchhman,did his best,but is now officialy a has-been! boy o boy we got some dom-kops in charge, soon all we going to have left is our own arrogance, its going to be all down-hill now, we have peaked.
14 Nov 2009, 01:54 am
it seems to be only Robzim who thinks that the rasta did a good job.Do yourself a favour and watch italy’s anthem tomorrow. it is going to be sung by denis dallan-an ex-rugby player-then afterwards you tell me if rastaman did a good job.
14 Nov 2009, 02:01 am
#56 dante8:
I did not say he did a good job but only that it was different and that it was his own interpretation and that we must not knock it because of that.
14 Nov 2009, 02:08 am
#56 dante8:
When Hendrix did the american anthem at woodstock many people thought it was the worst interpretation they ever heard. Today, it is seen as one of the defining moments in popular music’s history.
I do not compare this guy to the great genius Jimmy, but I am prepared to give him a break – at least he tried something else.
People are carrying on as if this is the reason we lost.
14 Nov 2009, 02:12 am
yes we MUST knock it off. He surely wasnt invited to give his interpretation of the anthem. We are talking about a national anthem here.Try imagine Rastaman singing God save the queen in his own interpretation at a Sa-Eng test match. you must be joking!
14 Nov 2009, 02:16 am
Its not the reason why we lost.that is theonly thing i can say in rastaman’s defence.but he surely put us on the right track!
14 Nov 2009, 02:20 am
#60 dante8:
If you were in the music business it would probably be safe to say the guy would not get a recording contract?
See u later, I am going to listen to Jack Johnson for a while and then I am off to bed.
14 Nov 2009, 02:36 am
I’m gutted by the way we lost but honestly, I can’t say I’m surprised. Everyone knew the smart money was on France for this one.
It was one of those rare games where knowledgeable supporters were actually ahead of the bookies for once.
14 Nov 2009, 03:57 am
Sadly the consequences of this unnecessary tour will linger long after the end of the tour – into 2010 and 2011. Of the WP Springboks who toured last year and who had no chance to rest before commencing their Super 14 training for 2009, Conrad Jantjies played essentially no rugby in 2009 compared to 2176 minutes in 2008; Andries Bekker completed 667 minutes compared to 1770 minutes in 2008; Schalk Burger managed 992 minutes compared to 1650 in 2008; only Jean de Villiers was able to play nearly the same amount in 2009 as in 2008. Currently there are 7 Blue Bull Springboks who achieved very high playing times in 2009 and already 2 are injured – Steenkamp and Spies. Bismark du Plessis set an all-time record for minutes played in 2009 and John Smit is not far behind. Heinrich Brussouw has also played very many minutes in two consecutive seasons. The consequences will be felt in 2010 and 2011.
14 Nov 2009, 04:12 am
What seemed like the perfect strategy with the anthem butchery, the boks were without their usual swagger and intensity. the french knew all along they needed to get dominance in that first 20min and they would take the game away from the boks.
barnes had an indifferent game. called us for entering ruck from the side but seemed to miss the french doing it. we werent helping ourselves with very poor ruck ball security. i blame burger and kankowski for this.
kirchner – 5. not even a shadow of F.Steyn
jp – 5. first game back. struggled to assert himself as he usually does. didnt chase kicks 100%
habana – 6. didnt chase kicks as hard as usual.looked to get involved but couldnt risk coming of his wing because the pack was not securing ball enough.
fourie – 5. missed tackles. game didnt go his way.
adi – 4. with the better ball he did get, he never put the guys outside him away. lost couple turnovers at crucial times.
morne – 5. unlucky with yellow. bad timing to block the grubber. was rattled with some shoddy kicks. didnt help that fdp wasnt on his game. tackled well again, often better than kanko and burger.
fdp – 5. pack gave him untidy ball from set piece. at ruck time wasnt protected at all. never looked composed.
kanko – 2. lost the ball in contact over and over again. never contributed positively imo. his work at ruck time is substandard. i was big fan of this guy, but feel he just wore the green jersey for the last time.
burger – 4. missed many tackles. not even close on ability as juan smith in what is achieved and contributed on the field. ruck work has lost tenacity.
brussow – 8. the only bok to not be outplayed by his opposite. imo the form openside flank in world rugby right now. in a world XV mccaw would be moved to 8 to accomodate brussow.
vic – 4. average. think the knock to his eye effected his concentration. was dominated in the tight and at ruck time.
bakkies – 4. lost focus. the french know the key to unlock the boks is to take bakkies out of the equation. they singled him out at ruck time and he just couldnt help but get sidetracked. he tried to get back into the game, but with the pack hunting around as individuals it was not going to happen.
smit – 6. solid workrate. improvement at scrum time. barnes was not a fan though. loved the hit up to get through french scrummie for the try.
bismark – 4. never managed to get over the intimidation the french hooker brought to the game. bizzie was sucked into off the ball stuff like usual but it didnt go his way today. also lacked impact at ruck time.
beast – 3. poor effort. this guy needs to go home to sort out his citizenship mess. too much distraction for him to cope. he has lost a lot at scrum time somehow. whats happened to the guy who used to just power through people at scrum time and mow ball carriers down in open play.
bekker – 7. standout reserve. should get starting jeresy ahead of vic next week.
danie – not sure why he went on at blinside. sending on a slower loosie when we are already getting beat to the tackle ball was not a clever move. bad bench selection here.
olivier – 6. should get a start for rest of tour. is without doubt next best after jdv. heck did we miss jdv today!
i agree that the anthem was a disrespect to the boks and SA. quite easily the worst i’ve ever heard.
if the french can lift for another game this year, they will take the ABs to the cleaners. their tight 5 was a real treat to watch. very destructive and ready to fight for every inch. the ABs just dont have that mettle to contend with that ferocity. will be interesting to see which french team pitch in a couple weeks time.
14 Nov 2009, 05:56 am
well france had some mind games going with the anthem and it might had worked , i agree the boks looked tired couldnt rise to the occasion looks like we need some viagra for the boys
14 Nov 2009, 06:53 am
Forget the anthem. It was a rugby test, not an arts festival. Our scrums were aweful with “Fat Boy” Smith the main culprit. He has become a luxury that we can do without. Make him a member of the coaching squad or give him a Maroga and replace him with somebody who can scrum.
14 Nov 2009, 06:58 am
#63 Tim Noakes:
We are in great company here.
I said the other night that the amount of matches/minutes the Boks play are not the biggest problem, but that lack of rest for the body to fully recuperate is. Do you concur?
14 Nov 2009, 09:04 am
My player ratings after watching the game at 3am in the morning on the sunny paradise island of Koh Samui, Thailand. Please note that scores are given in comparison to other Boks only and certain prejudices may exist.
15. Zane Kirchner: 5/10 – Did much better than i expected him to do. Tried hard and put in a few good tackles. Positional play was average. Could’ve done better, but then again, could’ve done much worse. Not as influential a player as Frans Steyn.
14. JP Pietersen: 4/10 – Should be a 5 or maybe even a 6 had it not been for that moment of sheer idiocy. Quick lineout with 5 Froggies right in front of him. Other than that, did what was expected, good defense and good kick chase, but nothing spectacular. Also showed he has a pretty damn good boot.
13. Jacque Fourie: 5/10 – Aggressive on defence, although he did slip a few tackles. Not enough chances on attack to to **** running by inside backs.
12. Adi Jacobs: 4/10 – Does not deserve to be there. Lost so many balls, got in to one great gap and then chose to break inside instead of outside to the support, end result, turnover. Just not strong enough to be a strike runner. A decent 13 in the last 30 minutes is all he can ever be for the Boks. Defence was not as bad as expected, or was it? So many Boks were slipping tackles left right and centre, difficult to tell.
11. Bryan Habana: 6/10 – Tried his best, did get us in trouble once or twice with chasing up to quickly and creating the overlap, but put it some good hits, and good chases. Showed some good pace also.
10. Morne Steyn: 3/10 – The find of the season’s worst game of the season. **** kicking, always kicking the ball to long. Missed a average kick at goal(by his high standards.) STUPID error in judgement. Found wanting on attack when asked to open it up. In his defence, forwards never provide good solid ball.
9. Fourie Du Preez: 4/10 – Just as in the CC semi, was found out to be human after all. When the pack got dominated he basically came apart, a few wayward passes(very unlike him) terrible tactical kicking. He needs a rest, that much is clear.
8. Ryan Kankowski: 2/10 – Could just as well have put on a blue jersey. The worst player on the park without a doubt. Bad hands, bad judgement and poor tackling, based on that display, Duane Vermeulen and Willem Alberts can be feeling pretty pissed right about now.
7. Schalk Burger: 3/10 – Strength and lack of care for one’s own well being only gets you so far. At some stage some technique is required. Somebody should please just show him that it’s ok to tackle someone below shoulder high. Terrible defence and lack of presence at breakdown. Poor tackling technique is what lead to injury, you can’t tackle someone with your chest.
6. Heinrich Brussouw: 9/10 – Absolutely awesome. Stole so many balls and slowed down many more. Great on defence and a strong ball carrier for his relatively diminutive size. Shows that technique and strength work well together. MOTM IMHO
5. Victor Matfield: 6/10 – Not bad, not great. Good in lineouts, anonymous in rucks and open play. Made a poor call at the lineout on the Frogs 5m line, and the Boks suddenly went 50m backwards.
4. Bakkies Botha: 4/10 – Piss poor by his standards. Too slow to get to the breakdowns to make an impact. Got involved in all the scuffles. Not focused on the game. Not good at all.
3. John Smit: 6/10 – Tried valiantly to lead a team that did not want to play. Was not dominated in the scrum as much as expected. Actually forced a tighthead. Was immense in loose play, but looks tired.
2. Bismark Dup: 4/10 – Not good, not bad. Pretty average. Didn’t look to interested in playing and didn’t compete hard enough in rucks. Scrumming was not too bad.
1. Tendai Mtawarira: 2/10 – Got absolutely annihilated time and time again. Useless in open play, even more useless in tight play. Piss poor performance.
Subs.
*Adriaan Strauss*: 6/10 – Looked hungry when he came on, but didn’t have much time to do anything. Good at rucks and strong in tackles.
*Wian Du Preez*: Not used, even thought we desperately needed him.
*CJ van der Linde*: 2/10 – Unfit and slow. **** at scrum, **** at everything regarding rugby. Kills me to say it, but time to look at other options.
*Andries Bekker*: 5/10 – Did well when he was on. Good at lineouts and in open play. But jsut not strong or big enough to impose himself.
*Danie Russouw*: 5/10 – Not too bad, a solid performance but not winning any medals. Nothing special when that is all we needed.
*Wynand Olivier*: 6/10 – Should have gone on at halftime. Better pace than Adi. Not enough time to really make an impact.
*Ruan Pienaar*: Should maybe have come on in the last 15 to try and make some magic.
14 Nov 2009, 09:40 am
ThaiCheetah – The best evaluation yet. You obviously watched the same game that I did.
Just a couple of comments:-
This was a very unsatisfactory loss. I hate seeing the Boks come off second best in the loose. Ref helped by not blowing numerous off side entries by the French at ruck time. That said though the French were better and deserved their win. Congratulations to them. Their quick short and accurate passing never allowed us to hold up ball and man and made sure we were always scrambling to defend. Also their gang tackle timing was superior on the day.
Best Saffa players:
Brusow-Fast becoming a legend.
John Smit- Had a big game, his best yet. Just a pity others did not follow his lead in the tight loose play. Scrums 50/50 but we lost some at crucial moments.
Fourie dP: I thougt he played really well. Excellent relieving kicks but ultimately battled going backwards.
Andries Bekker: Impressed me again. Good allround the park.
What is becomming more and more obvious is that PdV must stop playing people out of position. It is costing us dearly.
14 Nov 2009, 10:19 am
#68 ThaiCheetah:
Spot on!!!
Kanko was with out a doubt the worst player on the field.
Adi is not a 12, but if you read the latest SA rugby PDV rates him as the best center in SA (above JDV).
Steyn’s defense was aweful.
Beast was murdered.
Burger can’t tackle for toffee, his technique is AWEFUL!!!
WE MISSED JUAN SMITH & JDV BIG TIME.
Brussow is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14 Nov 2009, 11:03 am
#2 Tacitus: Adi was very good tac, defended well and filled in at 10 well. He was penalised 3 times after making a break, where was the support?
14 Nov 2009, 11:14 am
#71 Big Hit: Agree, but most bloggers will still not
14 Nov 2009, 11:30 am
#71 Big Hit:
Adi to me is a super sub player who bring on IF you need something happen.
And then its at 13.
14 Nov 2009, 11:31 am
#72 Charlie:
Look he defs held his own,but let him hold his own at 13.
14 Nov 2009, 12:09 pm
No one was agreeing with me when I said I wanted Danie Roussouw at 8. Looking back now I still stick with my opinion , he would have been better than Kankowski. This is not Super 14. This is not running rugby , but no hey we all call for the flashy guy to play. For F*cks sake.
Wynand Olivier deserves to START
Beast and John Smit got f*cked up by the French and the Cheetahs. Back to the drawing board.
How about we use Jean Deysel off the bench in the next game. His physicality could be usefull in the last 20.
The players are tired. Its been a long year.
14 Nov 2009, 13:38 pm
I think John Smit’s rating was spot on, he was right there with Brussouw in terms of trying to stem the French tide. Bakkies was also there, but seemed a tad confused, likewise Bismark. Kankowski? Probably a score of 1 for pitching up would be fair.
Schalk Burger worries me – missing tackles, being bounced off or driven back. Not the Schalk of old but, quite frankly, how many years can you play giving the 150% that we were used to from him.
Adi Jacobs? Heh, he was the only one to put that big French No8 Picamole on this butt. And it was a head one tackle. Regarding being dispossed in the tackle, the support was rather slow in getting to him. The guys a class act, but should be at outside centre.
14 Nov 2009, 13:49 pm
I would drop Beast.
14 Nov 2009, 15:02 pm
#72 Charlie: Pre-conceptions I guess. If I thought Jacobs was poor I’d say, but he was the one back looking to create, getting over the gainline and defending well. He was very good at 10 too, Boks actually looked more of a threat with him there and he put a couple of nice kicks in.
14 Nov 2009, 19:00 pm
Something tells me we should be asking where the hunger has gone.
France had far less skillful and experienced players, but beat us because they wanted it more.
14 Nov 2009, 22:00 pm
Big Hit, that surely comes with experience
15 Nov 2009, 11:23 am
JP Pietersen (5)?? His bloody stupid quick throw in directly led to us losing the freaking game!! You would expect a veteran of howm any test caps to NOT panis and do stupid things, and instead believe in his teams abilities at the lineouts (the “best one in the world” incidentally FFS). He deserves a 3 for that one alone.
That was a brain explosion of note – not that we could see a lot of it because the idiot French TV cameramen were more interested in the chicks in the crowd than the rugby…
15 Nov 2009, 11:37 am
I feel that the Boks really need to focus on their techniwue going into tackles, and setting up rucks. Their upright body position and no pumping of legs and no attitude just gave the collision to the frogs. Its like they expected the French to fall back because of their reputation….
Frankly I am not happy abou this tour and how it has been magnaged at all – everything about it seesm to be an afterthought – we are not rying new potential stars, and we are not winning with the experienced ones. We should be touring the NH with an SA A team to build up depth instead of playing our current players nto the ground.
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