Battered Boks need rest
Peter de Villiers has called for the careful management of Springboks over the next two seasons.
The Springbok coach, responding to questions of why he didn’t rest his top players, was quoted prior to the year-end tour saying that the onus for that lies with the provincial unions.
He has again intimated that that must be the case in the lead up to the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
‘It is imperative that we monitor the players training and playing load with their longer term well being in mind,’ said De Villiers.
‘This [2009] has been a very long season and it is evident that many players are mentally and physically fatigued. The biggest concern, however, is the cumulative effect of the amount of rugby that Springbok players have played over the past three years, as we know that this puts them at risk to injury in the following year.
‘In order to get best out of our players for 2011 we will have to manage their training and playing times during 2010.’
The reality is that responsibility for resting players who feature prominently at provincial and Test level should be a collaborative effort between the two parties. This hasn’t happened to date, with the one insistent that it is the other’s task.
SA Rugby will soon hold a workshop with the medical and conditioning staff at the provincial unions to discuss how both parties can extract maximum value from their elite players without compromising their performance because of fatigue.
‘A number of players have played over 2000 minutes of rugby this year encompassing the Super 14, 2009 Lions Series, Tri-Nations and Currie Cup. We need a unified approach to address this and a host of other matters relevant to the welfare of our top players.’
The senior Springboks were clearly fatigued on the year-end tour, which contributed significantly to their sub-standard performances. De Villiers lamented a disappointing return of one win from three Test matches, but refused to allow it to take the gloss off a memorable season.
‘It is never nice to lose but we have learnt a lot from this tour. Regardless of the disappointing end to the year you cannot take away the successes that made this team the best in the world in 2009,’ he said.
‘We have been able to identify our key focus areas for next year and we have been able to identify some of the players who will take the Springboks forward after 2011.’
November 30th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Sleepy Dragons…
November 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Well then learn to use your bench properly! That would go a far way to reducing the number of minutes played.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Next year’s EOY squad:
1. Du Preez
2. Strauss
3. Nel
4. Muller
5. Hargreaves
6. Potgieter
7. Deysel
8. Johnson
9. Vermaak
10. Francis
11. Nokwe
12. Olivier
13. De Jongh
14. Mapoe
15. Jantjes
16. Steenkamp
17. Ralepelle
18. Du Plessis
19. Sykes
20. Mostert
21. Mbiyoso
22. Louw
23. Vermeulen
24. Hougaard
25. Rose
26. Ludik
27. Bosman
28. Ebershon
29. Murray
30. Kirchner
November 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Reserves:
1. Van Der Merwe
2. Maku
3. Van Zyl
4. Alberts
5. Adams
6. Grant
7. Basson
November 30th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
If Tim Noakes suggests that pro players can only play between 23 and 28 games per year… The contracted elite Bok players must above all else be available for the elite or Test matches…
therefore… if we play 10 Tests a year… those must be ‘block-booked’ on the Bok calendar. That leaves between 13 and 18 games in which the Provincial coaches can mix and match their Bok players and provincial players as they see fit for Super and Currie Cup rugby…
It is bizarre to think you select and pay elite players and then choose to replace them with second-string players in half the elite games of the year…?
I know there are hassles between SARU and the Provinces as regards who ‘owns’ the players… but these are the hassles that need to be sorted out if we are ever going to solve this problem…
my other question is always… why don’t the ABs and Aussies burn out…???
because with the Boks… fatigue is not really the problem…
November 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Rested:
1. Mtawarira
2. Smit
3. Botha
4. Botha
5. Matfield
6. Brussow
7. Smith
8. Spies
9. Du Preez
10. Steyn
11. Habana
12. De Villiers
13. Fourie
14. Pieterson
15. Steyn
16. Van Der Linde
17. Du Plessis
18. Bekker
19. Rossouw
20. Burger
21. Kankowski
22. Januarie
23. Pienaar
24. Jacobs
November 30th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
@puff: Kankowski won’t even make the Sharks starting 15 let alone the Boks team. Sorry mate, Alberts will be the number one player.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
@Blindspot:
you quite sure of yourself!
We will wait and see,8 is Kanko’s jersey at the sharks!
Mark my words
November 30th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
@usualsuspect: I thought Plumtree had said its all up for grabs next year, no guarantees !
November 30th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Sharks:
Who will play 2?
Who will play 3?
Who will play 8?
Who will play 9?
Who will play 10?
Who will play 12?
Who will play 13?
Who will play 15?
Up for grabs indeed.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Well, the Boks should have been rested during the weeks running up to the tour. But no they had to be played in the stupid Currie Cup competition. Classic case of putting province before country. Very few of the ABs (none of the 1st team) played in the Air NZ cup. That’s why the Boks was tired and the ABs weren’t. That’s why the ABs is #1 on the list and Boks #2.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
@puff: My selection:
Beast
Bissie
Smit
Mostert
Muller
Deysel
Alberts
Kanko
McCleod
Pienaar
JPP
Ludick
Murray
Mvovu
Terreblanche
Bench:
Jannie
Carstens
Sykes
Daniel
Kockott
Swanepoel
Ndugane
Is the Argie still around, if so I’d select him at 12. the above selections are best for the boks too.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
@Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): Totally agree with your selections! Juan Martin is with the SHarks for S14 but is currently battling with a back injury and its not sure whether he will make the start of S14.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Who cares about the sharks?
November 30th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
@ossewa: Us Sharks fans. Its almost time for S14 again, and the outgoing tours are now over, debated to death and getting boring, its time to switch to S14 and provincial rivalries again Ossewa, don’t you think?
November 30th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I think then focus on the teams that stand a chance of winning it! Stormers looking good and the Bulls are always up there!!
November 30th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
@ossewa: Yawn, Matfield did not look that “up there” on Saturday, Bakkies is croked, Steyn and FDP were not “up there” either, are you sure the Bulls will be up there this year
November 30th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
“and the outgoing tours are now over, debated to death and getting boring”
November 30th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
@ossewa:
just jerking your chain Ossewa!
November 30th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
i see sharks are in talks with Marius Joubert for super 14….damn, good player that!
November 30th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
But they have outside centres:
Jacobs
Murray
Vulindlu
They need more inside centres.
They only have Swanepoel.
Strauss isn’t good enough.
November 30th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
NONSENSE
NONSENSE
NONSENSE
WE HAD MANY FRESH PLAYERS WAITING FOR THE CHANCE TO SHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Francois Hougaard, Meyer Bosman, Earl Rose, Davon Raubenheimer, Ash Johnson.
Had these young hungry men been given their time they would have swept away the Irish like a Karoo thunderstorm in November.
And get off Oom PDV’s back. He is the best coach our country has ever had. The players cost us the game and nobody else.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
@rugbygenius: agree,but for davon,he did nothing during the curry cup to justify he’s inclusion for the tour.he looked like a school boy playing his first provincial game,imo,
pdv has the best record for coaches in recent years,but is he the best coach we’ve had?no skoppie,i dont wanna start a fight
its time teams be selected on merrit alone,nothing else,you are either the best in your position or your not,simple as that.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
@puff: a little early selecting an eoy squad dont you think. or is a whole super 14 tournament not worth watching before you come to that sort of conclusion?
November 30th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
@toe-jam: Yes sir, but Davon provides that unknown factor that every team needs. Wallace knew what to expect with Oom Schalk etc. He would never been ready for Davon’s strength and fury at the breakdown.Davon needs big games like that to grow.
Oom PDv is in MY opinion the best because not only is he a rugby genius, he also has WISDOM. If you hear that man speak it is like listening to a prophet. His voice is like a cool breeze on a hot day. It is soothing because he says things which are just perfect beyond words. Also he has guts ! He takes no nonsense. Mallet, Straulei etc were weak in that regard.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
@rugbygenius: LOL,perfect,a prophet he is indeed.maybe he gets he’s wisdom from gammat julies up the road,the one that’s known as mister bergie.
i’ve heard the man talk kak like it’s his last day on earth
November 30th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
With out any doubt next season is the critical one. This is the year to rest our top players and ensure that they are in prime condition leading up to the W.C. in 2011.
I would only start playing the top 15 players at least halfway through the Super 14 Competition next year and let them play only in preselected Currie Cup games ie. the most important fixtures.
However, I do believe that the best Boks should play in the test matches.
We have got to also satrting identifing the next best players in every position ensuring that if there are injuries we can still put a competitive team on the field unlike what happened on this very disappointing tour.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
@toe-jam: No sir you see that is where Oom PDv is misunderstood. His knowledge is not always easy to understand for example the Tiger Woods analogy. But you check, when he does speak it is wise things that we as ordinary people may not be able to appreciate. PDv has a gift. We are so lucky to have him because he is the envy of the world. My Cousin in London said even there the people are crying for PDv to come there.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
@iceman: i would let the top players not play currie cup at all,use the curry cup the breed young blood,since the vodacom cup was supposed to do just that,but that failed big time.
use the varsity cup to breed players for currie cup,currie cup for super 14,and super 14 for boks,there is no point in a player missing any steps in order to get to bok level@rugbygenius: lol,ur funny
November 30th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Rugbygenius, Now’s there’s a contradiction in terms. LOL. Anyhow you have brought a smile to my face at least thanks.
Back to the subject- Agree fully that PDV should have first pick at the players. Thereafter depending on medical advice the franchises can use the quota of hours as they choose. SA rugby have to contract first and then loan out to unions. They should contract the top 30 players (on merit) and only with injuries buy in thereafter. needs to be done!!!
November 30th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I think that the ‘fatigue’ issue is a mental one as much as a physical one. The AB’s and the Wallabies both played 2 of their best games of the year (for the AB’s the absolute best game) at the end of seasons just as long as the Boks have had. The AB’s have just played 5 tests in a row on the road, at the end of a 14 test season, with Italy the only ‘easy’ game. They certainly didn’t look to be running on empty last weekend.
I think that the coaching team need to not only look at managing the physical demands, but possibly even more at the team environment and how they keep the players mentally fresh. I think Mils M of the AB’s is classic example. During the trinations he looked a bit like some of the Boks do now. Tired and uninterested. Somehow, the AB coaches have ‘mentally refreshed’ him and he played possibly his best game of the year in his last game of the year, with the improvments starting to show in the previous few games. He was peaking at the end of the year, so it is obviously more a mental issue than a physical one for some players.
November 30th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
@Amerifikaner:
Wrong.
NZ players did play in the Air NZ cup,not all games but they did when avalible to.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:30 am
PDV selects the team. So, if they’ve been over-played to the point of exhaustion, it’s PDV who is to blame.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:45 am
Think all agree that Australia dont play so much? Do they have a provincial competition.
Well they have the worst test record this year
AUS
December 1st, 2009 at 4:48 am
34
AUS PLAYED 14 WON 6 LOST 7 DRAWN 1
SAF PLAYED 12 WON 8 LOST 4
NZL PLAYED 14 WON 10 LOST 4
Clearly the AUS was under prepared , under cooked….
Bullshit this tired story
2000 minutes divided by 80 minutes give you 25 games.
December 1st, 2009 at 5:21 am
@toe-jam:
Disagree Boet. For me the best game of the season was the Currie Cup Final. Beats even the Boks v AB’s. If you want to cut down on games, get rid of these useless end of season games, or send over the Junior Boks if you want to blood younger players. Let the senior player go tan their plumbs on Clifton or Umhlanga or The Vaal Dam. Or is this all about bucks???
December 1st, 2009 at 6:13 am
Conditioning is key (for all). SA has enough NH-based players to field an entire starting XV. Send 15 youngsters up next year–link them with a few senior guys, and blend them with JdV, Frans Steyn, Joe van N, BJ, CJ, etc.
3N and home tests: keep the squad that’s been good.
December 1st, 2009 at 6:23 am
It was clear the boois were overplayed. If they did not take their wives with them, we would have seen them rested. There are certainly enough players who could be developed.
I still dont know why Alberts, Deysel, Eberhom, Sarel Pretoruis, Joe Pietersen, Mbiyoso, Vermeulen did not get run.
I think we will need to break the old boois club and maybe ditch Smittie.
December 1st, 2009 at 6:37 am
ABs weren’t overplayed. Look at how they thumped France, running in five tries.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:23 am
@TheTackler: I think both the AB’s and Springboks are tired, but that’s not the reason why SA lost. SA lost because they didn’t have a game plan, if they did it was the wrong one. Every game they played it was kick, kick, kick. Against the AB’s (because they are just as physical) that tactic works great if the kicks are pin point and we have the players chasing. Whats the use of us having these huge physical players and when we get possesion we kick the ball up into the air, even I was exhausted after the season just from bending my neck, it’s like watching the French open. When we play in the Northern Hemisphere keep possesion of the ball. Let this tour be a lesson to the Boks, although next year the same thing is going to occur.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:43 am
All Blacks rotate their players alot more, I reckon. Its leaves them much more rested. Also had key injuries to McCaw and Carter, which means they weren’t overplayed this year.
Problem with the AB’s philosophy of changing the team every week is that its been 22 years since …… you know what.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:09 am
2000 minutes of rugby is just 25 games. Surely that is in the acceptable range for the top players?? How can we blame fatigue then??
December 1st, 2009 at 11:23 am
@BOFH: Yeah tired my behind, the boks used to tour 25 – 30+ games with no sound of fatigue.
They lost becuase they are mentally battered, they stand and cry like little girls each time the ref penalize them, and in the mean time they cant figure out plan b, becuase there is no plan b.
What happened to we dont lose against ireland or wales or scotland, for more than a century they were batting practise for the real games France/England. I dont care how good they are or how much respect they deserve what happen to respect for yourself and jersey and its history. Imagine what would Danie Craven had said if his side lost against ireland three times out of the last three meetings? This is nonsense and put a sour taste on the entire year. And due to the lack of respect from the SB, the AB is and always will be the only dominant team in this sport
December 1st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
@Hurricane:
No McCaw, Carter and most other top players played in Air New Zealand Cup Semi-Finals or Finals or most other games for that matter.
New Zealand played 15 tests in 2009 and lost 4 games
(played England and Italy twice)
South Africa played 12 tests in 2009 and lost 4 games
(played Italy once)
Do not fool yourself dude; It is not about how many games the two countries played. It is how many game star individuals played. Please show me how many games the top 7 New Zealand players played versus the top 7 Boks which will include
S14 Final 21 May
Matfield, Habana, Botha, du Preez, Steyn, Rossouw, Spies
Currie Cup Semi Final, 17 October
Matfield, Habana, Botha, du Preez, Steyn, Rossouw, Spies
Currie Cup Final, 31 October
Matfield, Habana, Botha, du Preez, Steyn, Rossouw, Spies
December 1st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Not saying Rossouw is a top Springbok but he was used a lot at end of year tour. And I have not even mentioned the Sharks players that also had their top Boks gunning for the Currie Cup in the late stages of the competition.