Big guns fail to fire
Keo.co.za rates the Springbok players from their Test against Ireland at Croke Park, with the Bok leaders poor.
Zane Kirchner (6)
Had a good all-round game but lacked the necessary physicality in contact, and also made some poor kicks that allowed Irish fullback Rob Kearney to make many counter-attacks or ping the Boks back. Peter de Villiers would have also realised they need Frans Steyn’s massive boot as Morne Steyn missed three long range penalties either side of the break that would’ve been in Frans Steyn’s range.
JP Pietersen (6)
More involved in attack than he has been in the past but was one of many Boks who regularly opted to kick. Lucky to get away with a high tackle in the second half, but later made a scathing break.
Jaque Fourie (7)
Nice touches on attack and a brilliant offload that drew the defender for Schalk Burger’s try. Largely had a defensive role in the second half with little possession as the Bok pack didn’t pitch later in the game.
Wynand Olivier (6)
Missed a couple of tackles but otherwise was very good on defence in standing up to the Irish runners. Took one bad option on attack, but proved that he’s a better option than Adi Jacobs in the way he got over the advantage line on the attack.
Bryan Habana (7)
Solid under high ball and also looked dangerous with ball in hand.
Morne Steyn (5)
Missed three long range penalties and also missed touch with a penalty. Put over a drop, but took many wrong options and his tactical kicking was poor as he was badly out-kicked by rookie opponent Jonathan Sexton. The Boks looked devoid of ideas behind the scrum and they lacked a creative spark with Steyn.
Fourie du Preez (6)
Took a wrong option that led to the turnover that handed the Irish their first three points. Made a brave decision to take a quick tap for the first try, but otherwise didn’t have his usual effect.
Danie Rossouw (7)
Brilliant defence around the fringes and benefited from a strong Bok scrum with some powerful runs in the opening half.
Schalk Burger (6)
Gave away a penalty for first three points from Sexton, but ran a brilliant angle for the first try. Other than that was very quiet.
Heinrich Brussow (7)
One turnover early on and won a crucial penalty under the Bok poles with Ireland pressuring. The Boks again struggled at the breakdown as they didn’t commit numbers, but this is no fault of Brussow.
Victor Matfield (3)
Looked very tired. The Bok lineout struggled early on and Matfield only took one kick-off, while he’ll be the only player who knows why the Boks didn’t compete on Irish ball. Missed Bakkies Botha and was ineffectual without his enforcing partner as Paul O’Connell embarrassed Matfield. Also missed a poor tackle on Brian O’Driscoll in the first half and had the ball ripped out of his hands with his side under pressure.
Andries Bekker (5)
Didn’t offload when players outside him on two occasions. Had to play a tighter role as he was in Botha’s place, but had little impact. Gave away a stupid penalty for ill-discipline when he kneed a player in the back.
BJ Botha (8)
Started his first Test since last year June and led the Bok assault on the Irish scrum in the first half. Also worked hard around the fringes in defence, but came off after 50 minutes, and only the Boks’ ‘brains trust’ will know why.
John Smit (4)
Missed his jumpers many times that meant the Boks didn’t have a decent attacking platform from the lineout. Moved to tighthead with half an hour remaining and not surprisingly the Bok scrum looked much weaker.
Beast Mtawarira (6)
Also part of a strong Bok effort at scrum-time in the opening 50 minutes and made one surging run out wide. However, is another player who looks very tired and will enjoy the rest after next week’s Barbarians game.
Bismarck du Plessis (6)
On after 48 minutes and also struggled at the lineout. Didn’t have his usual impact around the field.
CJ van der Linde
Not enough time to be judged.
Jean Deysel
Not used.
Dewald Potgieter
Not on long enough to be rated on his debut.
Ruan Pienaar (5)
On with 20 minutes to go and had his second kick charged down that allowed Jonathan Sexton to extend the lead to 15-10. Also missed a penalty.
Jean de Villiers (7)
On for the final 16 minutes for Olivier and looked dangerous every time he had it.
Francios Hougaard
Not used.
By Grant Ball
November 28th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
What a kak article.
Scrum started struggling on the loosehead side when Bismark came on. Quite plain to see.
Steyn was poor. He is there cause all he can do is kick. Today, he got 1 from 5. Hence his best rating is a 2 /10.
When Ruaan came on, our backs tried to run.
Bekker is a poor ball carrier, often gets knocked backwards and turns ball over. Ineffective in the tight phases and was shown up today again. Great work dropping a knee onto the Irish player – hope you get banned for 2 years.
Matfield was poor. Funny how the longer the season gets, guys like Matfield, Smit, FDP get worse. Could it be that they are so overplayed its appalling.
Once again, out poor coaching decisions and tactics cost us a game.
Did we not learn from the Lions tour that Kearney is a rock under the high ball, and a great counter-attacker? Why did we kick everything on him?
November 28th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
ja i think the okes are tired been a long year but we lost cause all we do is kick and nothing else no brains no gains
we should have used the bench more Jean Deysel
should have come on
November 28th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
KILPPIES101,
Deysel should have started with Rossouw at 4.
Poor coaching and selections, been like this all damn tour/year!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Nigel Owens – ‘n groot ****** ronde NIL!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
WO did nothing in this game, the guy is one dimensional and offers nothing on attack. You guys are really hellbent on destroying Adi. Dont know why I freakin bother!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
WO…Hehehehe !
November 28th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Juaque Fourie can be happy with a 6 after only doing 2 things in the match.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
oh well back to the drawing board
November 28th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
@Kritik: I agree with you there, notice how little is mentioned of the fact that BOD seemed to coast through the centres whenever he got the ball. Imagine if Adi had been playing.
I think this is a silly article, we have never had a strong scrum yet we won all those other matches. If you guys were analysts you would realise we lost because we did not have the physical presence of Bakkies and Bismark. When Bismark came on later in the game we started getting more turnovers.
Scrum my ***!
November 28th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Start again or suffer
New captain NOW
New half backs the pair of them, useless. FdP stands around moaning at the base of the scrum all f’ng game long instead of FEEDING the damn ball to FH. FH gets it and kicks it in the F’ng air.. AGAIN!!
Loosies not gelling.. Schalk and Roussouw, not a combo. Get new players in now!! Doubt Spies much better of Kanko. get proper 8th man operators on the field.
BIG KAK coming… no ideas, and no realities.. Muir go and DOR the Lions giver up your Bok backline coach job,, you don’t have a clue.
FdP go have a rest and M.Steyn ditto, you two cost us today’s game, similar to France which you cost us too.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I will admit that our game is a bit one dimensional but I don’t think there is a need to panic. We need someone who can replace Bakkies when he is injured. Not sure what the solution the front row problem. I don’t see any problem with the incumbents, Beast, JS and Bismark. Our strength has never been the scrum but it has been winning the physical battles at the rucks. This often forced our opponents to make mistakes and Morne would step up. The other part of the game we did well in was the kick and chase. Unfortunately when your kickers have an off day then you need a plan B, which we haven’t really needed this year.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Poor showing boys.
How can Steyn be rated a 5 after a sub-par performance like that?
Our backline looked devoid of attacking ideas, surely after half an hour of up and unders with no success it was time to try something different.
BJ pleeeeze come back to the Sharks, we need you for S14 and WC 2011.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
@skopskiet: And what role does Div have to play in the lack of game plan?
November 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Morne & Ruan did what the coaching staff asked them to do, nothing more & nothing less. The Springbok coaching staff used this Blue Bull ploy all year. They just forgot that they did not have the players on the field to enforce such tactics.
The Springboks where poor!
Morne will shine again for the Bulls as I believe that the two top S14 franchises are better coached than the Springboks.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Strange article by clearly a one-eyed supporter. I actually thought Burger had one of his better games. He put in some huge hits around the fringes, smothering several probably breakaways. Great try as well.
Morné Steyn was useless and Wynand Olivier proved once again how one dimensional he really is. We’re going to miss JDVilliers bigtime in future.
Ireland played quite well and their fullback, who shone for the British Lions, again had a great game. Why the Boks even considered kicking the ball in his direction will always be a mystery.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
@Kryger: I suspect the coach said kick the ball so we can play in their half. I doubt he said kick straight to the full back. The kicks were poor giving the full back ample time to either kick the ball back or run it out.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Zane 6 JPP 5 Mossie 6 WO 5 Habs 6 Morne 1 FdP 5 Pakslei 7 Burger 7 Ratel 7 Bekker 5 Victor 4 BJ 9 Smit 7 Beast 6
JdV 8 Ruan 7 CJ 6
November 28th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
U kno what f@c# this article and to a large extent the reporting on this site.I now only read the comments with credibility of writers on here bloody piss poor.
There are agendas on this site with regards to certain players.it seems that specific players have their PR done on their behalf by the writers and some completely lambasted and dare I say predijuced.
One just has to look at how phrases are used/story is written for some ex:Wynand missed a ” few tackles” BUT was defensively sound blah blah etc then name drop Adi’s name in there.its like there is a campaign to completely discredit the guy.earlier in the week it was written it was “godsend” that Adi got injured..WTF?!!!!
I see Schalk falling off tackles every game but the reporting towards his performances is always written in a positive/advocative/apologetic manner.
Its distasteful and downright offensive to the very essence of objectivity.
Layman term:Bulls#it
November 28th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
@mshiniwami: how big is the chip on ur shoulder sheesh. meiskined played wayya better than adi jacobs get over it.
i thought schalla played one of his best games this year and he made more than enough tackles ,should have been a 7 at the very least .
pdv think its time to call back fransie steyn ,kirchners good but steyns better.
bring back frans !!
November 28th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Bismark 0.5/10
Atrocious
November 28th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
mbaxmanetc
Chip on my shoulder or not,still doesn’t explain the juandiced reporting.that’s fact
Secondly- the chip on shoulder comment is played out/largely ineffective.there are better ways to discredit a point/view than that.
I think u can do better than that.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
eish my feed is all kak now. just at the wrong time.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
WO had a decent game. Good defense. Missed 2 tackles thats it. And everybody was missing tackles!
Adi Jacobs is useless, get over it. His international career is over.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
These are far more accurate:
Zane 6, JPP 6, Jaque Fourie 7, WO 6, Habana 5, Steyn 3, FdP 6, Danie 6, Schalk 6, Brussow 7, Andries 5, Victor 3, BJ 8, Smit 7, Beast 7
Bismark 1, CJ 4, Ruan 3, Jean 7
November 28th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Hehehe. Adi will be back. Tata Meisiekind
November 28th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
@WP_: Just how many tackles is one allowed to miss to make it acceptable. What else did he do? I thought there were big gaps on the outside but for some reason we did not get the ball out. I wonder if that had something to do with the lets bash it up mentality and not loo for the gaps.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
look
November 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
At least WO can take meaningful crash ball when he has to, Adi simply loses the ball the weakling.
No ways, Adi’s international career is over
November 28th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Olivier hang on for his dear life in most of the attempted tackles and being dragged along by the ball carrier
November 28th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Adi Jacobs no worse than WO.
The problem is not Jacobs or WO or Fourie or Jdv
The problem is Fdp and M. Steyn get it into your unbelieving heads and see exactly where the big f’ak up starts and ends. Starts with Fdp overrated useless scrum half and M. Steyn the most one dimensional fly half on the planet. Young Sexton have him a lesson in fly half play today both in the kicking and distributing and running dept’s.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Hahaha. With no support any player will lose the ball on ground, we saw it again in today’s game and that was actually the only way Jacobs lost the ball
November 28th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
You’re in denial Charlie. That’s exactly what Adi does. Selective viewing there.
WO is a class or two about Adi is terms of ability. Its blatantly obvious.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Ruan is no flyhalf that is for sure.
Steyn was poor on this tour but is there a better option? No…
November 28th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
WP go watch the replay again, the selective seems to come from your, thanx for mentioning it
November 28th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
@WP_: Peter Peter he’s the guy! Come on come on give Peter a try!
November 28th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Gert Smal’s influence surely had more to do with the poor lineouts that Matfield being tired!
November 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Sarah
Well yes he is a good option. When he can work out whether he wants to be a 10 or a 12
Charlie
Are you saying Jacobs is a good defender? You just lost all your credibility on anything you say
November 28th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
@WP_: he wants to be a 10 however as we had Willem he was forced to play 12… 12 is better than the bench
November 28th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Sarah
Indeed, I know, But willem will be back next year. Peter is a good player even if he didnt have a great year this year.
I think he would be a better option at 12 for the Boks than both Adi or Wynand.
BUT Jean’s contract with Munster ends at the end of Feb! Hopefully he comes back soon
November 28th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
WP if you say so then it’s so, the argument of Jacobs being a good defender changes after every game, if he stand his ground @ defence then suddenly there’s a problem with his overall ball play.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
WP. Honestly Meisiekind proved it again that he can’t make the step-up at test level, and I mean he played 27 of them
November 28th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
@WP_: And the “meaningful” crash balls resulted in some tries? Today we needed to spread the ball, the Irish were totally focused on the ruck and there were huge gaps out wide. But if crash ball is all you know then so be it.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
its clear the boks rely too heavily on the form and fitness of the bulls players. after they won the s14, the lions tour tri nations and then the currie cup the guys are dead on their feet.
good to learn this 2 years out from the world cup. but what can de villiers do to ensure they are fit and on form in 2011?
November 28th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Digger, Jdv & Adi would have been the better midfield combo with all the ball the Bok backline had to their disposal
November 28th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
France vs All Blacks hope this game delivers according to all the hype
November 28th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
41 digger
Stop talking kak. All i’m saying is when he does talk crash ball, which he did plenty of times, he doesnt lose the call like a wet like Adi does.
WO had a good game. If you ignorantly chose to believe otherwise then go ahead and do it.
Bash WO all you like but deal with this Adi’s test career is over.
There are better players around like WO, Juan de Jongh, Peter Grant and Doppies le Grange.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Hehehehe !!!
November 28th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
@WP_: Willem misses the eary stages of the Currie Cup… and Matt has gone home… so if Peter get’s injured we’re in trouble… there is Joe cos Connie would be back
November 28th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
@WP_: Okay so he can make a decent crash ball which we have established from the result of the match that the crash ball didn’t have the desired effect. Secondly he just happened to miss a couple of tackles which you say is fine.
Truth be told I have nothing against WO, I think he is a good player to have on the bench or when playing against England. The Bok game plan is always thus, kick, force a turnover by steam rolling the person who catches the ball. From this turnover the ball is quickly sent out to the wings. This is were the value of players like JDV and Adi comes in. They are able to quickly capitalise on this possession and get the ball to the wings or take the gap. Crash ball is not needed.
We lost today because we didn’t have Juan Smit, Bakkies and Bismark. These to me are the most physical guys who force the opposition into making the errors. If you watch the game again you will see the acres of space that seemed to be always available on the outside. What did we do, we crash balled.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Do I have to say more
November 28th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
@digger:
SA lost cos they did not know what to do with the ball other than to kick it to the best catcher of a ball in World rugby.
When that didn’t work, they tried again.
SA tried not to lose the match rather than try to win it.
No creativity, no clever play, no plan B.
SA have speed on their wings…. how often did they get the ball?
PdeV has a great squad but is a very limited coach
November 28th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
#45
I meant to say which adi did too plenty of times. take crash ball that is.
Not that I think crash ball is in any way an effective use of ball, all i’m saying is at least WO doesnt lose the ball everytime he carries it.
Sarah
Hopefully Grant stays injury free, or else Conrad Hoffman could step into the 10 berth if needed. Also we’ve bought Lionel Cronje, a promising flyhalf
November 28th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
The reason we lost today is largely because of Steyn and du Preez. In normal circumstances, they are outstanding. But today, the running game was deffinitely the game we should have played. Everytime we moved the ball out wide we looked so dangerous. But du Preez, Steyn and Kirchner kicked away far too much posession. Then Pienaar came on and proved that he is the worst flyhalf in the world by costing us 3 points with his first touch. Kankowski would have been better suited to the game style that needed to be played. Our tactical kicking game that won us the tri nations doesn’t always work so well in those conditions up north. We also need to work on our defence. Smit is a shocker. When O’Driscoll made his break, it was Smit who made such a dismal effort that it just looked like he wanted to go home. I’d hate to be the one to say it, but Smit has to. Everyone knows this in their heart. Captain or not, he is an utter liability on the field and has consistently been one of the worst performers throughout the year for the Sharks and the Springboks. We need to use our awesome runners like Habana and Fourie more. They are both some of the worlds best players when they have ball-in-hand, but it doesn’t help much when Morne kicks it straight to the opposition fulback to launch a counter-attack. No, Pienaar is not the answer. He is not a good running flyhalf. Just because he sucks at kicking doesn’t make him a good runner and playmaker. He really is not.
TEAM SHOULD HAVE BEEN:
1. Beast
2. Strauss (On recent form – yes)
3. BJ Botha
4. Rossouw (Bakkies was injured)
5. Matfield
6. Brussow
7. Burger
8. Kanko
9. du Preez
10. Steyn (but he should’ve been told to cut the kicking)
11. Habana
12. JDV
13. Fourie
14. Pietersen
15. Terblanche (I don’t mean to harp on, but he’s the best damned fullback in the world!)
16. John Smit
17. CJ
18. Bekker
19. Potgieter
20. Jano Vermaak
21. Olivier
22. F. Steyn (I say f@#k the over-seas policy!)
November 28th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
The coaching staff is prepared to sacrifice SA rugby for the sake of the captain. JS is and never will be a tight head! BJ is answered this very emphatically. The line outs went south because he could not find his jumpers.
Schalk Burger is on a mission of his own, the way he reacted after he scored the try was very strange, me thinks he actually believes that he is a great rugby player.
Bakkies would never stand on the wing waiting for the ball to come to him like Bekker does. SA coaching staff must catch a wake up and start looking for the follow-up to Bakkies. The Bulls have!
The SA loose trio does not hunt as a unit, each one on his own mission.
There is no creativity in the back line! Funny how these same players run better lines in the Blue Bull setup. Says something of Dicky’s abilities. Not much going on in the forwards either, Gary Gold could not get the WP going until Rassie came along.
We have the players, we have the talent & we have the skills, but we do not have the coaching staff. The coaching staff does not have the skill sets to manage a team to perform week in & week out. If they cannot put a team together out of all the players that is available in South Africa that can smash other teams consistently then they have a problem. It is sad to watch!
November 28th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Can’t blame PDV, the Boks midfield was rather limited in forgetting that they wings but opt for the crash ball
November 28th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
WP, Adi Jacobs did not play today why try to side step the problem of Wynand Olivier that did not deliver after all the hype this week that Adi Jacobs injury was a blessing indisguise, IMO it was rather a eye opener that WO aint that good
November 28th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
@Charlie: Olivier is kak as is Kirchner. Jdv should’ve started.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
November 28th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Charlie
Ah, a sidestep, something that Adi has never had. WO on the other hand, has a brilliant one.
Rugby writer
Stop sprouting drivel, John Smit is the best hooker in the country, closely followed by A Strauss, and contributes well all over the field putting in hits and carrying ball. He was screwed around by div’s stupid plan to accommodate the overrated Bismark by shifting Smit to tighthead.
Bismark is the 4th best hooker in the country, at a push, on recent form and gives away WAY too many penalties
November 29th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Sorry boet but that’s a cheap shot, Adi’s born with side step. How good do you know your rugby ?
November 29th, 2009 at 12:23 am
59
I do know my rugby. And do you know what? I cant wait for neither Adi or WO to be picked at 12 for the Boks.
Bring back JdV to end this stupid debate!
November 29th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Mmm, getting grumpy, ja with adi @ 12 jdv 13 & jaque @
14/15
November 29th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Not matter how many times you say it, Adi is still not a 12. He doesnt have the defense for that position.
Process it. Deal with it. Move on. Cheers.
November 29th, 2009 at 12:49 am
So you still think WO has it, Jdv defence are also not great for 12 but he played a lot of times there before he got reckoned as a test 12 so be fair Jacobs played 2 test there and you are already counting your chickens before they are hedge
November 29th, 2009 at 12:51 am
The word is hatch mate. Can you speak English?
November 29th, 2009 at 12:52 am
WP, a process takes time, I can deal with that, remember the Boks are still on their way from the pit to the palace
November 29th, 2009 at 12:55 am
Well spotted, know I am Afrikaans proudly if I may ad
November 29th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Dont blasphym! The boks were at the palace in 2007 anyway until div starting messing it up with his we’ll everything, play whats in front of you nonsense that caused us to come stone freaking last in the 08 tri nations
November 29th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Change of season boet you have to lose some to win some
November 29th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Not much to add to the existing comments other than taking out the bull$hit and summing up.
1. Players are tired
2. Boks gameplan is one dimensional
3. Combine 1. and 2. and you get a failing gameplan
4. This being last game of season and the majority of Ireland having played the boks about 3 times before this year makes it easy for them to counter number 2.(Even if you forget their outstanding fullback)
5. The Boks coaching staff being the idiots they are, are unable to create a plan B and C or even a plan A of their own, instead relying on the top Super 14 teams’ gameplan, which worked when the players were still fresh and could execute it properly.
6. Mismanagement of players(see 1. and 5.)
Lastly I would like to add an opinion: None of these players are bad, they all have their strengths that make them eligible for Bok selection, we can have up to 3 squads of world beating teams, BUT we don’t have the coaching staff that can see winning combinations and gameplans and actually coach the players. With proper coaching and management we can have a different team for each game, each with their own gameplan according to the strengths of the players and still beat every team in the world, but I don’t see it ever happening.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Pdv could not help it,he had to re-programme the robotic thinking of the
core players and knew that he would not achieve that in one season.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I am out of here, need to get some sleep now, thanx WP for your time
November 29th, 2009 at 1:12 am
Matfield’s missing his Klip-en-Kouk and his lime green Cortina three-litre with Weber carbs and Monza pipes back in his beloved Snor City. Take him and his sidekick Batterproof Bakkies out of their comfort zone and they instantly turn to soft runny fromage even before their plane has landed at the other end. They’re just “hometown heroes”.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:33 am
How much do you know about Matfield? He’s the sports car type who loves the cafes. The difference here between him and Bakkies is legend.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:43 am
And when last have you been in Pretoria? Driving through Waterkloof, Brooklyn, and so forth, hardly gives the impression of a “snor city”. Gauteng has also become one big city region.
November 29th, 2009 at 6:12 am
@Kryger: #53
“The coaching staff is prepared to sacrifice SA rugby for the sake of the captain. JS is and never will be a tight head! BJ is answered this very emphatically. The line outs went south because he could not find his jumpers.”
Demmit! What am I suppose to make of this?
@Crouching Tiger Hidden Bokke: #56
OK. ADI is not in the team. Now Zane is your next “target”
Why not just say, Olivier is/was kak. I thought Zane was one of the better players last night.
Zane, Habana, JPP, Beast, Danie, Brussow, BJ in my view were the stand out players. You may disagree if you want.
November 29th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Clearly JPP will be cited and banned for longer than Carter was, it was higher and more dangerous.
Even the blind and insane would have to admit that, surely.
November 29th, 2009 at 6:48 am
@WakaNathan: #76
Personally. I would have no problem with it.
I would also love to see the following citings:
1. Player diving onto Habana in the in goal area.
2. Player diving onto F. du Preez in the in goal area.
3. Player lifting Habana of the ground, releasing him in the air and letting him fall on his back AFTER he kicked the ball.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:21 am
when
john smit
was playing
hooker
our scrums
were
good
and our
line-outs
bad
when he
moved
to prop
our scrums
were average
and
our line-outs
better
he actually
carries
a soft
wobbly
stomach
on him
and there was
no sign
of a
captain
on the field
yesterday
let him
go
November 29th, 2009 at 7:26 am
@Nanashi: 3 squads of world beating teams? you guys might want to beat NH club sides first before spouting off…
like I said earlier, guess we can add Ireland to the “lucky SA didnt play them in the WC” category…
November 29th, 2009 at 7:58 am
The same Ireland that nearly lost to Georgia and couldnt get past argentina?
November 29th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Exhausted sad boks need a good long rest. Can’t agree with Pietersen rating. He’s the saddest bok of all. No fire in him, jumps for the high ball like a girl, tackles with his face out the way, grabs with his hands or sticks out a stiff arm. Never seen blood on him, never seen him put in a big hit or take one.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:11 am
@Porra the Fat Speedster: There is a time to say goodbye. I agree…its that time.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:41 am
It’s clear that we all see the games differently…
I thought Danie Rossouw was non-existent.
Wynand Oliviers defence better than Adi’s by a mile – he cover tackled for a few other players at critical times as did Fourie du Preez.
Not John Smits throwing but little effort by the jumpers.
Frans Steyn’s boot is required – Sorry Kirchner.
Morne Steyn kicks away every bit of attacking momentum we get. Got away with it for a while but becoming limitin and friggin boring to watch.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Oh get over it Grant, you’ve been saying that all year!
He will play on to 2011. Deal with it!
November 29th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Matfield is lucky to get the 3 points he scored. Steyn is a limited flyhalf that is good when the field is hard and the ball travels a long way. He does not have the brainpower to sum situations up and take opportunities. This lack of ability is hidden when FdP plays at 9, but the latter had an off day and this brought Steyn’s shortcomings to the fore. Having said that, he is by far the best we have at the moment. I was impressed with JL Potgieter in the CC but don’t think he is test quality, P Grant had his opportunity and did not take it and is limited, as is De Waal. I reckon one to watch is Boshoff of the Lions – he runs straight, is quick off the mark and distributes well. Maybe Naas Olivier needs to move to a bigger union to realize his potential. All I know is that we must keep looking for a solution at flyhalf. Pienaar’s confidence is in shreds – no fault of his own. All of this is prompted by Dan Carter’s performance vs France last night. It was a revelation and highlights how far we have to go in that position and how unbeatable we will be if we have a flyhalf who is not moulded into a gameplan, but plays the situation.
It is true that the Boks do not have plans B, C etc, but that is not only the fault of the Bok coach. The problem lies at provincial and franchise level too because of the one dimensionality of the thinking in our rugby. That is why I thought that PDV’s philosophy would bring a fresh approach to the Boks. I would like to think that we will see more of his influence in the next two years. Holding my breath…
November 29th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
@GI POT: Yeah, discard the greats that are already there, in time-honored SA tradition. Like Pienaar, Teichmann, Christie (Coach).
Dont replace guys who have shown and proven their decision making and abilities at the highest level.
For gosh sakes, the current Boks are out on their feet. I guarantee you that the Irish players that played in the BI Lions tests would have noticed a distinct difference in intensity in the Springboks yesterday.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:44 am
crikey, was Roussow even on the field ?
November 30th, 2009 at 9:26 am
HEAVENS GAME: I am not for one moment suggesting that we discard anybody. I am saying that Morne Steyn, although limited, is the best that we have; therefore he must play. My point is that we need a collective effort from the whole of the professional side of rugby in SA to groom flyhalves that are able to read games and do brilliant things on instinct, ala Carter. I see scores of flyhalves like that play in our school teams, but by the time they make it into the professional arena, they all look as though they are playing inhibited rugby.
This team has the ability to become better and to defend the WC in 2011 – with the current game plan and personnel. I am just tired of having to watch the Gitaus and Carters of this world play the game as I believe we can
November 30th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Other site says this:
15 Zane Kirchner:
He was solid under high ball in testing conditions, a few good great kick-chase runs, but his option taking not up to par.
6/10
14 JP Pietersen:
Took a quick restart, but then kicked the ball away and also produced a high tackle. Still well below his best.
5/10
13 Jaque Fourie:
Good chasing, with a great break and brilliant offload for Schalk Burger’s try. Solid on defence and SA’s best back.
7/10
12 Wynand Olivier:
Dispelled the myth that he is not up to this level. Was solid on defence, few chances on attack.
6/10
11 Bryan Habana:
Great collect in the air from high kick and some really good chasing. His workrate is still exceptional.
6/10
10 Morné Steyn:
His kicking at goal not nearly as good as earlier this year, and as a result the rest of his game suffers. His defence is okay, but a poor [performance by his standards.
3/10
9 Fourie du Preez:
Simply the best scrumhalf in the world – a tactical genius and giant on defence. Good cover.
8/10
8 Danie Rossouw:
Lost a line-out, but working hard at breakdown. Also gave away crucial penalty in 60th minute and generally better … but not good enough on the day.
5/10
7 Schalk Burger:
Very busy as usual and a good supportive running line for his try. But did not have the expected impact.
5/10
6 Heinrich Brüssow:
Brilliant steals at the breakdown – winning crucial penalties. Best South African forward yet again.
8/10
5 Victor Matfield:
Had early line-out stolen from him, then a couple of good tackles – but gave away silly penalty. Well below his best.
4/10
4 Andries Bekker:
Good early carry and good line-outs, along with some good tackles and hitting a few more rucks. But also gave away silly penalty.
6/10
3 BJ Botha:
Very strong scrumming and a real impact in the first half. The difference when he left the field soon after half-time was very obvious.
6/10
2 John Smit (captain – moved tighthead on 48th min):
Early free kick for delayed throw, which was hardly his fault though. He worked hard, but it remains a mystery why he was moved to tighthead again when the Boks had a clear edge in the scrums with him at hooker.
6/10
1 Tendai Mtawarira:
Showing better form, very strong in scrums and a good carry.
6/10
November 30th, 2009 at 9:53 am
@grant10: Aah and there it is! Your koo is finally coming to fruition. And I suppose Pottie or even better Luke should take over the reigns? Don’t ruin another world cup for us Province. I’m warning you. The Gary Teichman incident was a disaster.