Boks lack Plan B
The European tour has underlined an old concern pertaining to South Africa’s inability to think outside the box.
The Boks only know how to play one way, but when it doesn’t work for them, they don’t have an alternate plan or means of breaking down the opposition. Brutal physicality will always be the bedrock of South African rugby, but the attacking play is in dire need of a revamp.
They were exposed in Toulouse and again at Croke Park. The French had them under pressure up front early in the fixture, and by half-time it was clear they couldn’t be beaten using typical tactics. In Dublin, the Boks employed the right tactics but their inaccuracy at flyhalf and in the set-pieces let them down badly. What was worrying about that match is that no one decided to change tack.
Marc Lievremont was wise to the bully boy tactics, and the talk in the week preceding that Test was about the Boks’ physicality. It seemed obvious what the Boks would do even before they left South Africa, and surely the Bok coaching staff should have expected this kind of response.
When asked about preparation in the aftermath, however, several Bok players said the French caught them by surprise. Come on. You come to France as the world champions and you have a reputation as the bullies of world rugby. What did you think France were going to do? Give you their lunch money?
Naivety aside, the senior Boks should have realised things weren’t going to work early on in the game and made a decision to change to Plan B. That’s what they should have done if there was a Plan B to change to.
Morne Steyn has had a fantastic year and I’m sure the IRB got it wrong – it wouldn’t be the first time (cough-Richie McCaw-cough) when they nominated Frans Steyn as a Player of the Year nominee. But Morne Steyn has been uncharacteristically shaky on this tour, and one wonders how bad his decision-making would have been had Fourie du Preez not been around to guide him.
Steyn was striking the ball horribly in Udine, but saved his worst performance with the boot for Dublin. He missed a few penalty punts and his tactical kicking left a lot to be desired especially since the Boks were playing with the wind in the first half. John Smit said it best when he pointed to two missed penalty kicks at the end of the half as potentially game-costing. Steyn, who sinks them from 50m on the highveld and at sea-level (ask Western Province) knows he should have done better.
Kicking is Steyn’s strength, but it worried to see him utilising so few of his other talents. By neglecting these, he underused his dangerous runners out wide. Jaque Fourie has been a force since returning to the starting line-up but has not received enough chances. Bryan Habana is living off scraps while JP Pietersen had a very quiet tour.
The Adi Jacobs experiment – what else would you call it – well and truly failed. Jacobs doesn’t have the build or skill set to be the kind of No 12 the Boks need and is more suited to the No 13 position. Jean de Villiers will be back in South Africa in time for the World Cup, but in the interim, the Boks should go with Wynand Olivier who had an outstanding game at Croke Park.
The future of Ruan Pienaar remains a mystery. He was Peter de Villiers’ first-choice flyhalf in June, but seems to have lost all confidence. He’ll undergo corrective surgery to his knee when he gets home, and one hopes he’ll be adequately prepared for the 2010 Super 14.
If he is to be the alternative to Steyn, he has to play flyhalf in the Super 14 and build some confidence. At present, he’s an erratic goal-kicker and perhaps something needs to be done to increase his mental strength. He’s also a fine attacking player who could provide the Boks with variety they need to truly evolve (and perhaps even develop a Plan B). Pienaar’s important, and it’s high time the powers that be stop treating him like a bit player.
One player who impressed during his short stint on tour was BJ Botha. So that’s what the Bok scrum looks like going forward. You could almost forgive the Bok inside backs for giving away possession given they’re so unaccustomed to go-forward ball from the scrum.
Botha’s another who wants to come back to South Africa and could be an important player if the Boks are going to defend their world title. Smit is fine player when he’s scrumming between Beast Mtawarira and Botha, but battled when he went back to tighthead in the dying stages of the Ireland game. Since it’s clear the Boks cant do without his leadership, maybe it’s time they pick a decent tighthead, pick Smit at hooker and leave Bismarck du Plessis on the bench. It’s the obvious sacrifice that needs to be made if the Boks are to retain leadership and scrumming strength.
The sad truth is the Bok management have no intention of moving Smit back to No 2 permanently. It’s truly a shame, as this South African side could explore their attacking capabilities if they were afforded a decent platform from the scrum.
By Jon Cardinelli, in Dublin
November 29th, 2009 at 9:51 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl: Man … you called it …. hot air and insults.
Cracks me up – The oke is madder than a nest of pit vipers in a roller coaster.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Morne Steyn has been kicking away all of the Boks momentum all year … but it has been masked by his succesful drop kicks and great penalty kicks. When that fails do we only see how limited he really is. Div needs to stick to his original plan of Pienaar and stick with him. Bring back Frans as the backup and the monster boot.
If i had to pick a player of the year … wouldn’t be McCaw or Fourie du Preez. The Irish fullback has been outstanding all year. For the Irish and the British & Irish Lions – those awards go to the big names, not the best players.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:54 am
pdv seems to be k@k bang of doing what robbie deans is doing in australia. Where he recognised the “senior player cabal” of waugh, smith, mortlock, giteau and decided to dismantle it & start anew with young leaders like berrick barnes who are more receptive to new ideas. Eddie moans highlighted the probable cause when he suggested that deans is making australia play like a typical new zealand team & is stifling their innate aussie instinct which would explain why some players are not buying into the new way of doing things…
But deans is working from a different platform from pdv and the player power dynamics seem far more complex & entrenched in the springbok camp. Pdv has to bite the bullet and risk the kind of mutiny that deans had to deal with this year if he is to introduce a Plan B!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Thats right the smoke screen of M. Steyn place kicking has masked his mediocrity as a fly half. He’s actually useless as a play maker and Fdp hardly much better. Lose them both.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:59 am
@skopskiet: Skopskiet.
If you think that PDV has the capability to “drop the entire team” and “start over” like you mention in a prev post you are seriously, and i mean seriously, more messed up and madder than a Weskoppies cane rat.
Also, who taught you to insult and talk like you do?
What you need to go is go and volunteer at Eskom to solve the power crisis we have here in SA.
Stick a high voltage cable up your arse and harness that turmoil and anger you have milling around inside that little Skoppie head of yours.
Man …. you could solve Earths power needs. Sjoe, you are a special one hey ….
November 29th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Pdv gotta shake those viper’s from out their nests and call the shots. If Smit Matfield Fdp etc don’t like it too bad ta ta. Time to dictate terms and strategy and stop pandering to a bunch of overrated prima donna’s the entire overrated bunch of them.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:05 am
@kevin w: i totaly agree ,if ruan pienaar plays flyhalf in the super 14(unlikely seeing as they’ve got el mago) then pdv calls back fransie steyn then we;d have a proper backline woth kirchner or morne at the back
ruan and frans showed what they’re capale of playing as a 10 12 combination in the super 14 .and seeing as frans is already playing 12 for racing metro it should be a no brainer really
backline for 2010 whilst resting a few senior players for 2011
FDP /kockott/vermaak
ruan pienaar/ the pearl
habana
frans steyn/meisikind/JDV
jaque fourie/adi
jpp/mapoe
kirchner/joe pietersen/morne
the ruan frans fourie combo could be pretty devasting if allowed to run and with habana and jpp finaly getting some ball we could finally see some tries
November 29th, 2009 at 10:06 am
ruk that bunch of overrated prima donna senior contingent reg thats whats required here, the entire bunch of them. Starting with captain Smit. Start again fix this shambles from the roots up. Drop Smit and Matfield must not get captain because then it goes from bad to worse. Drop the vanguard big bok breker’s and start again from the bottom you got less than two years to ruk it reg its not impossible.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Line outs have been horrible in spite of Matfield and Bekker….this tour should have been an oportunity to breed 1 or 2 more secound row. Why taking Hargræves ?? we need secound rowers in the Brad Thorn mould as well…..
November 29th, 2009 at 10:08 am
53. Quite right. PDV would have to risk a mutiny. However the impatience of the SA Rugby public would probably not tolerate a few losses – as Australia has had this year – to allow the system to change to reap the benefits later. One factor is that the Aussies are more patient and realize this. The other is that Deans had already proved himself at the Crusaders so that presumably what he said was taken seriously because of this. In SA as soon as the team lost a few games, the public would be baying for change. They would rather ignore the fact that the wins were tenuous and papered over the problems that were evident to all. The 3N wins were not all convincing and neither were the BIL wins. Similarly when SA had the run of 17 consecutive wins – the writing was on the wall even before the last game at Twickenham where the Boks who had been very average – although successful- were finally exposed by a tenacious England team. A bit like this years autumn tour.
Perhaps SA need a coach like John Mitchell to ring the changes. However who can imagine anyone having the humility to acknowledge that SA might actually learn a lot from having an outsider come in and make the long-overdue necessary changes. SA have a history of faffing around with creative backline players – viz; Brent Russell. And we may yet see this with mismanagement of talents like Joe Petersen. Frustrating. And you don’t have to be a rugby expert to see it. Just watch a game where the Boks do nothing but kick the ball away.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Reality is this:
1. Boks did BIL in game 1, were lucky to sneak game 2 underdeservedy after the whistle and after that who cares about game 3.
2. ABs started the season without Carter, McCaw (IRB Man of the year yes really get over it) and 5-7 other first liners. Played badly against France first up but got them in the 2nd. Beat Aus in Auck then travelled to Bloem to play a rested Bok then Durban one week later again without Carter etc (but had McCaw by then) and lost deservedly.
3. Bok had Aus at altitude after ABs and got them, got them agin in Perth which is like a home game, lost in Brissy and then put in their best performance of the year in Hamilton which still needed 3 60m penalties.
4. Won 3N deservedly but then went away to NH where dirt trackers proved there is little depth in SA rugby by losing not one but two games. Poor, tired seniors lost to France and Ireland, lost no. 1 ranking and ended the year with most recognising what I have said all year – that this team is peaking right now with Bakies, as brilliant as he is filthy, and Victor, John etc in their 30s and not likely to be 2011 forces.
All in all a great year till after Hamilton now undone by the reality of the rugby cycle.
Congrats on the achievements of 2009 but please don’t argue about the end of year rankings lest any credibility remaining disappears.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Brad Thorn 34 years old, 195 cm and 114 kgs is worth Bekker and Matfield together from yesterday´s game….
Bekker and Matfield are useless if they don´t dominate line outs….why we didn´t take Van Zyl who play like Thorn ??
November 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am
the AB’s were fantastic last night, Carter is miles ahead as the best fly half – even the Ozzies were much better, with Giteau leading – both good performances proved the value of a flyhalf who can do more than jut kick – we have a great backline, we need to use it more
November 29th, 2009 at 10:19 am
I have to agree with Kevin W and Mbaxman… with Ruan, Frans/JdV, Jaque, JP and Habana we can play running rugby, with quick ball from scrums and rucks.
We had good ball from scrums yesterday but Morne and Fourie kicked for territory whole game.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:21 am
The way I see it, it’s simple: More proactive, less reactive. That’s it, simple change in mindset. It might prove too much for PdV but ja…
November 29th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Bekker and Matfield have been very poor yesterday….maybe we should displace Juan Smith secound row…
November 29th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Man, what a dissapointing game. This article has summed it up nicely. The Boks very simply were caught off guard [Yeah the World Champions] in France and Ireland. I dont pretent to have the answers but will put across what I think our problem is. Firstly as mentioned, we didnt have a plan B yesterday. Some people say we were fatigued. John Smit rubbished this as you dont miss opportunities and kicks at goals if you are fatigued. If we are fatigued, why did the AB’s thunped the same French team that convincenly beat us ? Lets face it, we have some good established players in our team, but shouldnt we have been grooming other guys slowly but surely to take over. Lets face it Victor and Bakkies, Jaque and Jean, Fourie, Habana etc are brilliant, but they arent going to be around forever. We need to [or should have been already] grooming players to take over from these guys.
All I can say is man I was so looking forward to yesterdays game, and really thought we had an excellent run on 15 and bench to convincenly beat the French, but was [And am] bitterly dissapointed.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:25 am
@skopskiet:
Could you be any more ridiculous? The Springboks dominated the tri-nations this year.
There is no such thing as “getting lucky” to win five games out of six against the 2nd and 3rd (at the time) rated teams in the world. And what does it mean to “fluke” the British and Irish Lions tour?
Yeah, we had a bad end of year tour, but the point is to NOT panic when things go badly. There needs to be an objective evaluation of this tour, not a mass culling of the current team.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:33 am
@grant10: hi grant…dude you have made this point a countless number of times and hopefully you’ve been vindicated but please tell me how did we use the advantage of front foot ball that we suddenly found ourselves to have? Did our backline run in moves like a team working from a great platform, i don’t think so…the all blacks in contrast displayed backline skills & creativity that the bok backline can’t even dream of.
and grant please answer this for me again, as you say in the first 50 minutes when BJ was there and our scrums were “the greatest you’ve ever seen” how come we ended the first half with only plus/minus 35% possession? How did our great scrum help us in that department? Scrums are important but they are not be-all & end-all of a rugby game if that was the case you’d only need to show up with 8 men on the field and you’d win matches!
November 29th, 2009 at 10:34 am
There is nothing wrong with our halfbacks. Its the gameplan. We don’t have any alternative to kick and chase. The gameplan is the coach’s department.
I don’t advocate removing PdV. He must be given the chance to take the Boks to the world cup. But he had better start earning his money soon. The current Boks have less dimensions to them than the 2007 variety. That is a step backwards.
Woodward and White both risked poor results and unpopularity to build a RWC team. PDV, if he has a strategy, had better start putting it into practice.
At the moment all we seem to have is diminishing returns from our old gameplan. No gameplan lasts forever in rugby. Someone will always find a counter to a successful strategy.
Those who always claimed the senior players were running the show when we won and those who credited the coach seem to have changed sides this tour.
Whatever the true position it is very hard to see any sense of direction being exhibited by those responsible. Over to you PdV. The buck stops with you.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:38 am
brokenhats read 61 Qrest above. That about sums up the reality of the situation. Also Kevin w is quite correct they should never have dropped Pienaar even if he wasn’t getting the long range penalties over should have persisted with his running game and not shot his confidence to ribbons now they have to build it all up again.
Some go forward in the back line is in dire need and Fdp and M. Steyn simply can’t provide it.
For 2010 I try S. Pretorius and Pienaar at half back with De Jongh into mid field and Mapoe out at wing. Viljoen to full back cos F. Steyn not available.
S. Pretorius
Pienaar
Habana
De Jongh
Fourie
Mapoe
Viljoen
Start kicking some running *** again. Drop the one dimensional prima donna individualists from this team.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I share your sentiments, Craig. Disappointing, disappointing, disappointing. With the territory and possession we had, to lose like that and take the options we did was thoroughly deflating.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:49 am
And while I’m having my end of year rant I’d just like to thank the Boks for the **** kicking game they forced the world to endure this year, to the point where many rugby supporters began to wonder whether the game had disintegrated to rabble.
Fear not, friends, for last night proved that if teams want to come out with a positive attitude it’s still the game played in heaven.
Next year referees are going to enforce the offside rule much more strictly – if a team wants to kick incessantly then EVERY player in front of the kick will be forced top retreat whilst offside. So if you’re in front of the the flyhalf when he kicks, or halfback when the ridiculous box kick goes up, or fullback when he returns a kick, then start running back to your own goaline untill onside – that’s the rules.
This year the Boks were nothing but kicking, and it was pathetic.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:51 am
@skopskiet: you are the worst kind of a psringbok supporter. those prima donnas aka morne fdp won us the tri nations , lions and super 14 try and remember that for a second.
thers nothing wrong with fdp ,he’s just following the gameplan,he shown he can run the ball when he needs to . our problme lies with morne steyn once his kicks dont land.then he’s out of ideas
November 29th, 2009 at 10:51 am
The all blacks showed how to smash NH sides yesterday, just run the ball at them, they are too slow to keep up with that sort of game. SA played into their hands by kicking all the time.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Can any of you knowledgeable bloggers help me understand why we got pumped by France and Ireland and some hick rugby clubs, seeing as how we got most of the Best in the World, namely:
Best Captain in the Whole World: John Smit
Best Hooker in the Whole World: Bissie dP
Best Lineout Lock in the Whole World: Victor M
Best “Enforcer” Lock in the Whole World: Bakkies B
Best Headless-Chicken Flank in the Whole World: Schalk
Best Scrumhalf in the Whole World: Fourie dP
Best Centre in the Whole World: Mossie Fourie
Best Crash-Ball Centre in the Whole World: Wynand Olivier
Best Wing in the Whole World: Bryan Habana
Best Energy-Efficient Wing in the World (does nothing) JPP
Best Physicality in the Whole World (I read it on the Internet so it must be true)
Best Rugby Gene Pool in the Whole World (I read this also)
Best Coach in the World (I made this up)
So why did we lose four out of five games?
If you say the players are tired because they didn’t get their mug of hot milk and a good night’s sleep – then don’t apply for a job at my company becasue I don’t hire apologists and losers who make excuses and settle for second best. I can take a loss, but at least go down fighting!
I watched the Boks then the Wallabies then the All Blacks yesterday.
The wallas and AB’s were streets ahead of us – no, make that continents ahead of us – in all aspects of play. Especially ball in hand attacking play.
Are there really people out there who believe that the Boks looked dull, slow and emasculated because they played a few more games during the year than the wallas and AB’s?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Just seen the result now, must say I’m extremely DISAPPOINTED.
I grew up in an era when the Boks wouldn’t have broken into a sweat in despatching the French or Irish home or away. Now we are on a record number of losses to the Irish and French away from home, can’t help thinking the recent Boks have let their great records tumble when a team like NZ continues to trounce NH opposition home and away. Now we have to live with windgat Irish players saying the Boks are overrated (maybe they are, but should they be?), the Lions should have won, blah blah blah.
What a bunch of plonkers the Boks are, to have such an outstanding year, only to take so much away from it right at the end. Pathetic, really.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:07 am
@skopskiet: @grant10:
You guys need three coaches- a Frenchie for passion,a Kiwi for gameplan and a SA for toughness…f’n unbeatable ;_D …and some hot chicks for the massage tables!!
November 29th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Skopdrol.
Please list your Rugby achievements on Keo for the world to see???
You`ve got so much to say.
So when did you represent your country on the world stage and how successful were you?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I don’t take to windgat prima donna’s Mbaxis no matter which country they play for. Never have n never will. Rugby is a team sport and if overrated one dimensional individualists can’t do the simple thing like getting their back line moving then I don’t care who thinks the sun shines out their ****’s they just a bunch palooka’s far as I can see. And Fdp and M.steyn fit that bill. The both of them largely instrumental in losing both against Ireland and France. Overrated isn’t even the word. Hopeless more like it. Don’t for a minute detract from my patriotism but it might just detract from yours.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Saffas, let not your hearts be troubled.
Any team, that has Victor, Bakkies, Bismark, Brussoux (spelling), Brian Habanna, JP Pieterson, and Morne in it, will soon rise up.
Next year is exactly that. Next year……….no worries.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:15 am
@TD: It`s easy old chap.
Our HEAD coach is like Ray Charles in the Louvre, doesn`t have a f@#king clue!
Lucky packet coach who fell with his quota *** in the butter.
Some on here, notably Skopdrol, will crucify Jake White for us losing a few games, although he won us a RWC, but not a word on their token black coach.
Go figure.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:17 am
@Transformation: Transie….would you rather have a dominant scrum or a retreating scrum?
Imagine we were on the back foot yesterday…like against Italy….we would have been done by 20!
I have never said a scrum wins you matches….what it does is allows toy to be competetive and play off the front foot….the scrum was amazing yesterday…are you denying that?
And the\fact that we were beaten maybe linked to the fact that last 30min we lost our scrum dominance…in such a close game a crucial management error!
Are you advocating a Smit return at 3?
I say the scrum is fixed now….may the good angels never allow boks to revert back to the dark ages of a back pedalling scrum ever again!
This issue is a no brainer…it wont by itself win you games…..but good heavens it is preferable to being humiliated.
The loose forward combo and lack of flair did us yesterday….the scrum at least kept us in the game…the only highlight was the scrum!!
Do you dispute this?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:18 am
When last did we win in France?
When last did we win in Ireland?
When last did NZ lose in France (other than in a RWC…)?
When last did NZ lose in Ireland?
To me, the disappointment of losing to these 2 NH teams is greater than the joy of winning the 3N’s this year. Pity it had to end on such a sour note.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:21 am
@aliboy:
The kick and chase is not exciting rugby!! it was effective against two teams building and that is why the boks won the trinations this year.
It is unusual to have aus and NZ building at the same time but they are.
NZ have it right this time round leading into the next RWC. RSA are looking in trouble for 2010 nevermind 2011.
Matfield is only good for lineouts and even now he is struggling for breath just to get to them. smit, bakkies are gone.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:21 am
@cane: The day a Springbok fan is not troubled by losing to the relative lightweight NH teams is a sad day for South African rugby. This recent trend of losses in the NH to Ire and Fra is very alarming, and disappointing, and must not be accepted!
November 29th, 2009 at 11:23 am
@wallabie.:
Good win by Dingo’s Boys Mr Walla.
Nice way to finish the year.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:28 am
@wooden spoon:
Very True Spooner.
But I for one …..think SA will be as tough in the 3N next year, as they were this year.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:29 am
@wooden spoon:
Hi WS, long time no see.
Our performance was bad, we had nothing more to offer than to kick, chase and defend the whole day.
We also have to give the Irish credit though – they played very well and also have some outstanding players.
Players such as Kearny, Bowe, O’Driscoll, Flannery and Heaslip would walk into the Springbok team.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:30 am
i do hope some ’senior’ boks do some serious introspection as well….if they dont 100% believe that jhave another 2 years left in the tank best they do the honarable thing and spare PDV the kak job of doing it for them.
Some look out on there feet….these 2 losses have taken the gloss off the season for me…amnd left me with doubts for 2010 and 2011….big doubts!
And if Smit reverts to 3 i will have a heart attack!!
November 29th, 2009 at 11:30 am
and you Makwawanajan how many times you represent your country?
Don’t preclude me from seeing what is palpably obvious to the naked eye that Fdp and M. Steyn is an exercise in futility. From one poor performance to the next. Week after week showing they got sweet bug all clue when it comes to getting any kind of momentum through the backline. Yeah I could probably fix this shambles of a bokkie boy non existant game plan and strategy if it were left to me but they probably wouldn’t like it much. Non of the high profile untouchables would have too many ardent laurels to rest their overrated heads on.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:32 am
@Robzim: Hi Rob…what did you think of the boks improved scrumming effort?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:33 am
We need a backline coach that can teach our players to break the line and put teammates in space.
Our running in open play suck balls.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:36 am
@cane: The Boks don’t seem to be able to sustain success as well as the AB’s do.
Maybe it goes to their heads.
Earlier this year there was talk of a ‘golden era’ for the Boks. How premature that talk was… If it was indeed the case the Boks would have trounced the French just like the AB’s did.
When last did the Boks truly dominate world rugby for a sustained period? We might fluke a 3N every 6 or 7 years but we still lose to Wales, Ireland, England and France consistently enough when NZder’s would never dream of it.
Is it a fragile, dumb, mommy’s boy, verkrampte SA rugby mentality or what that allows you to win the 3N convincingly against the world’s best but then be humbled in the NH?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:37 am
@The_Green_Machine_is_a_Mean_Machine:
well said, there’s talent there to be harnessed.
I’m free at the moment and I’ll need to be base in Stellenbosch, near Kanonkop (The hills are good for training!)
November 29th, 2009 at 11:37 am
@grant10:
Morning,
Well, it was there for all to see – quite impressive until they made the changes.
Unfortunately it did not help us on the scoreboard.
For me the two losses also took the gloss off the season.
8/12 for the so called ” best springbok team of all time” does not sound so good?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:40 am
@cane: exactly!it looks like some bloggers are losing their heads here this morning.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:43 am
@Robzim: Hey Rob, yeah it’s been a while, I’ve been too busy snorkelling and kayaking in SE Asia
You’re right about the quality of the Irish players of course, but you know what gets me? These players (and the French) play out of their skins against SA because they know they have a more than good chance of winning, yet show hardly any resistance against NZ. This attitude is shameful to the once proud record of the Boks.
Oh well, the world keeps turning… Bring on the S14!
November 29th, 2009 at 11:44 am
@Robzim: Ja…a pity the backs looked so sterile….WO with a big 3 to 2 overlap on the outside had me pulling my hair out….and MS seems to suffer with the confidence if his boot takes a turn for the worse.
Big difference when kicking at sea level in the cold than at Loftus….
Anyway….2010 will be an exciting challenge….just hope we all got seat belts….the ride gonna be a bumpy one.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:45 am
@The_Green_Machine_is_a_Mean_Machine: #93
Apparently running rugby don’t win test matches, according to some well informed rugby experts on this site. It also is not the SA way. We play a forward dominant game. Just a pity we could not dominate the Irish “lightweight forwards” yesterday.
Proteas 78/5. Jimmy Anderson on fire.