Boks badly exposed
30 Nov 2009
South Africa played like world chumps in Europe, writes Keo in his weekly Business Day column.
Let’s skip all the emotional claptrap, the political correctness and new found South African way of justifying that our teams don’t lose, the other teams just score more points. Let’s get real and call Saturday’s Springbok Test defeat and the five-match tour of Europe exactly what it was: an absolute disaster and a disgrace.
I love John Robbie on talkback radio. He is the best because he calls it like it is, but when he is explaining losses to France and Ireland as nothing more than fatigue I get worried about those ultra positive contracts one has to sign to be allowed onto SuperSport.
The Boks lost to a half decent French team, a Leicester team missing 12 of their regulars, a Saracens SA XV that would not end in the top six of the Currie Cup, made Italy look like Six Nations contenders and should have been put away by 20 points by Ireland, who in the last year have been the most consistent international team of the year. That the Boks were named IRB Team of the Year after taking a beating from the Irish was as close as it comes to an Irish joke, and it wasn’t a particularly funny one.
Australia losing to Scotland put some perspective to the Tri-Nations campaign. New Zealand’s changing of coaching roles and reversal to a more conservative approach orchestrated by the world’s best flyhalf Dan Carter, who incidentally did not play in the two defeats against the Boks in South Africa, adds more reality to the quality of the Tri-Nations win and the All Blacks fitness in Marseilles ended any arguments that the Boks lost because they were simply too tired. The All Blacks, in club and provincial games, played just as much rugby as the Boks and the Test side have played even more matches this year than the Springboks.
The Boks lost because a French team physically roughed them up and exposed the fragile Bok front row with John Smit as a tighthead. The Bok scrum only resembled a quality unit when BJ Botha was at tighthead against Ireland and Smit was at hooker. The moment Smit moved to tighthead the only area of dominance that belonged to the Boks disappeared.
The lineout, the strength of the Boks since the 2007 World Cup, was a shambles and the fact that the man who coached the lineout between 2004 and 2007 was not even mentioned in the post-match TV analysis was as diabolical as the justification for the defeats.
Gert Smal’s true value to the Boks was illustrated in Dublin on Saturday. The Bok lineout did not struggle because Smit’s lineout throwing was poor. Smit is the best lineout thrower in world rugby. The Bok lineout was reduced to rubble because the new coaching staff have not changed anything since 2007. The calls are still the same and this was a case of the master (Smal, now with Ireland) upstaging the student (Victor Matfield). I have never seen a Test where Matfield has been so innocuous and lacked such presence. Smal, more than anything else, beat the Boks and it showed how little this team has actually advanced.
The senior players have run the team since Peter de Villiers took over, but there comes a point when a team needs a coach who coaches and not a coach who takes them to the ground in the comfort also known as a team bus.
Should De Villiers get fired? No. But he needs help and the most qualified person to help him, in the role of national director of coaching, is the man who masterminded South Africa’s 2007 World Cup win. Jake White is the soundboard that could turn De Villiers into a coach and not the players’ mate who allows them to do as they please.
The fatigued South African players are hanging around for a match against the All Blacks. Could someone at the South African Rugby Union explain that one to me? No because there isn’t anyone there with the rugby acumen to give me that answer.
Think of this tour and the chaos and lies. Let’s start with the lie about transformation. Black players selected in the squad were sent home and white players not in the original squad ended up playing in the Tests when De Villiers hit the first of many panic buttons.
De Villiers said Smit’s future was at tighthead, so why did he draft in BJ Botha? Why was Bandise Maku not put on the bench against Italy instead of Adriaan Strausss, who was not even in the original tour squad? Window dressing at its most crass. The same applies to the selection of Davon Raubenheimer and Ashley Johnson when Jean Deysel also went straight from the beach to the Test squad. I believe the selections of Deysel and Strauss should have been made originally, but the squad chosen was a transformation con that insulted any decent black rugby player in this country.
If Smit is going to the World Cup at tighthead then they had to persist with him through all the struggles. If Morne Steyn is going to kick South Africa that World Cup-winning penalty then you play him through the shocker he had in Dublin and write it off to an experience that will make him stronger. When Juan de Jongh is the find of the midweek side and Adi Jacobs gets injured you don’t draft a 50-Test cap Springbok based in Munster into the Test squad and get him to sit on the bench for 63 minutes. You either start with Jean de Villiers, who is the best inside centre in the game, or you say to the newcomer De Jongh this is your chance to take that step up. If South Africa had lost with the next generation of player there would be no issue, but to have got beaten so convincingly with the best team available, outside of Bakkies Botha and Frans Steyn, then the selectors need to ask themselves why they haven’t resigned.
The tour objective was to develop players and win. Neither objective was achieved. More careers were broken than made and the denial within the team simply intensified.
The rugby the Boks played was poor. The substitutions were not tactical they were terrible, and they have been all year. The All Blacks played stupid rugby against South Africa in South Africa and paid the price. The Boks fed off their mistakes and never had to play risk rugby.
In Hamilton, the Boks were a cross kick from defeat, in Pretoria they were saved by a last minute 53m penalty and in Johannesburg they were pulverized by the British & Irish Lions. In Toulouse, Leicester, Wembley and Croke Park they looked like world chumps and not world champs.
Whoever let Smal go should be fired, yet that won’t happen because no one will remember him ever asking to make a further contribution to the Springboks. There is no explanation why a guy who won South Africa the World Cup won’t be used to improve the chances of them retaining the Cup.
Excellence is punished; mediocrity gets the equivalent of a knighthood.
This tour did not ask questions, it provided every answer and someone at South African rugby has to have he balls to bring together the best rugby brains, facilitate the uber egos and clean the wound instead of adding an elastoplasts by claiming the Boks are the IRB Team of the Year.
Now is the time for honesty because the best team in the world does not get smashed in Brisbane, Leicester, Wembley, Toulouse, Dublin, Johannesburg and sneak two three-point wins in Pretoria and Hamilton.
The Boks are not as tired as we think and they are not as good as we think. But they could be the best if every agenda was put to one side and decisions were made that benefit the Springboks and confront issues instead of blaming referees, fatigue and glorifying five-point losses.
402 Comments
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30 Nov 2009, 14:01 pm
@Karoolander:
Is it his gameplan? When the gameplan worked so well during the Tri-Nations we were either told that it was Jake White’s gameplan or the senior players’ gameplan…
30 Nov 2009, 14:01 pm
Good question though: how many times do you try the up-and-under tactic before you realise it isn’t working? Problem is the Bulls won the S14 and CC with those tactics, so why would Fourie and Steyn change it?
It’s all they know
30 Nov 2009, 14:03 pm
@Shakes: And i ask again, if Pieta is not responsible, why is he even there?
If nobody listens to him or trying to sabotage him, why doesn`t he do something about it?
30 Nov 2009, 14:04 pm
Agree 100% the EOYT was always going to a disaster. There were too many players on the tour who simply shouldn’t have been there. Alistair Hargreaves comes to mind. We should have had Johann Muller over there and he would have been a better replacement for Bakkies. Bekker and Matfield are too similar. Hargreaves will develop into a good player but physically he is found wanting, he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag at the moment. Surely either of the Cheetahs locks were more deserving of a spot?
Fatigue is no doubt a factor but if it was such a big factor why didn’t we leave key personnel behind and truly blood the second stringers. Instead we took some tired first stringers and introduced some 4th, 5th and even 6th stringers. What did we expect to happen? More importantly wht were we trying to achieve?
30 Nov 2009, 14:05 pm
@WP Till I Die: He is ultimately responsible not????
Isn`t he in charge?????
O ja, this is South Efrica where the issue of responsibility NEVER lies with those in charge?????
WAKE THE F…. UP
30 Nov 2009, 14:05 pm
@Shakes: What I want an answer to, is the following: If transformation is real in SA rugby how did Hougaard and Potgieter make the bok bench? Quota Afrikaaners? Also explain to me why in a squad full of colour, Mapoe, probably the wing of the CC, was not picked. Also Mokuena is twice the player Raubenheimer is.
30 Nov 2009, 14:05 pm
@skopskiet: Oh dear skop! If you think that way then the Scots caning the Aussies was a quite the ‘Sting’…. No I don’t think so, both games were won by the team playing their best game on the day.
You know I didn’t watch the Brave Scots kick our ar$ses, it was on at 4am; I still have not watched the game… some things are best left alone. Well done Scotland.
30 Nov 2009, 14:05 pm
**** man, the biggest problem is that the SA team started to believe their own press about this stupid up and under **** which they currently playing, when they were at their peack they were bashing teams off their feet and attackignt eh **** into them, where you see up and unders at perth?
2 things need to happen, the halfbacks do need to start attacking more, but more imoprtanbtly the breakdown intensity has been piusspoor on this tour – we were turned at will by the irish – you not goung to get any go-fofrward to work with.
and the scrums mean nought in this regard either, as was clearly shown.
30 Nov 2009, 14:07 pm
@Karoolander: End of year tour 2004. The glory days under White? 2 out of 4 in 3N and then:
45-10 Scotland
16-32 England
12-17 Ireland
30 Nov 2009, 14:07 pm
@DEE DAH:
Johann Muller? Please tell me you are joking, that carthorse is unfortunately over the hill.
Agree with you on the Cheetahs locks, however.
30 Nov 2009, 14:08 pm
@Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): Mapoe is probably a better singer than Habana too. When the camera panned past Habana during the anthem I thought we had a 12 year old boy singing who’s balls were dropping.
30 Nov 2009, 14:09 pm
@cab: All good things come to an end. The up’n'under bombs all over the shop worked for a while, but sooner or later teams find a way to counter… evolution.
30 Nov 2009, 14:09 pm
John Oneill said internationals should be played midweek because he did not rate them at all.
Yet everyone said he should shut it but now most people are saying EOYT are rubbish.
Oneill said lets keep S14 going and keep our strong players in the right tournament and if NH want to send 2nd rate teams then we should give them the same.
It seems Oneill is on to something here.
30 Nov 2009, 14:09 pm
@Richie_7: And it works. Also not true that it is all they know.
S14 Semi and Final. Did you watch it??
30 Nov 2009, 14:09 pm
@Karoolander: Knowing the type PDV is he will take the responsibility as he never shy’s away from it. I believe his problem is he is too loyal to his players at times. He must now have the balls to make the necessary changes (personnel, gameplan). If not the slide will continue.
30 Nov 2009, 14:09 pm
@Karoolander:
Yes, he is ultimately responsible for defeats. Conversely, then, will you conceed that he is ultimately responsible for the victories we had this year, too?
It cuts both ways.
30 Nov 2009, 14:10 pm
bugger the cheetahs locls, why in gods name was hargreaves selected over Sykes, who is the no 4 lock for the sharks with several years S14 exp and played for the emerging Boks who drew against the BIL?
i mean this is a Bok side, not an u21 selection, its crazy, what did they expect, they playing men, not boys.
30 Nov 2009, 14:11 pm
@RugbyRulz: Bombz work, sometimes. Lets keep using them on occasion. Certainly not against the best fullback in the world, maybe against James O’connor.
30 Nov 2009, 14:11 pm
@wallabie.: Playing internationals midweek is great if the test players are excused from weekend games. Some players will backup and play again but others should be given a rest option.
30 Nov 2009, 14:12 pm
@RugbyRulz:
i dont actually believe that was ever the boks gameplan, its just something that ppl have cottoned onto and the boks have played into it more and more…the original successful gameplan was to beat your blokes upfront and in the luneout ad maul, and that was what was mussing.
30 Nov 2009, 14:12 pm
I have to say Keo, you have pulled a complete 180 on us. Was it not your writers that gave the boks the edge to win in every test they played? Anyway, a bit of a negative article but I guess you need to make waves big if anybody is going to see them.
PDV, GG and DM have been hiding behind the bok success of this year. And the weaknesses of the coaching staff have been exploited at many avenues where apposing teams played smart rugby. PDV and co have not improved the boks as a whole and many a times played stupid rugby, like this weekend against Ireland. Why were they kicking the ball away the whole time? Ron Kearney is the best highball FB in the world, the pathetic and predictable “Gary Owen” tactics were flawed from the start.
The bok coaching setup needs to be reworked and turned into profesional setup like it was under JW and not the shambles it is now which is similair to the Rudolf Strauli days.
30 Nov 2009, 14:12 pm
@Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): I agree, target weakness. Not smart kicking down Kearney’ throat.
30 Nov 2009, 14:14 pm
@Richie_7: Slightly unfair given we scored more tries than the A/B in tri-nations. An A/B side that looked dumb struck and toothless until Carter came back. Maybe the A/B’S have become a one horse pony.
I agree the bomb / gary owen tactic is boring the life out of me now, however I would suggest it had its roots with either the A/B or Argentina in the last world cup. Therefore more a case of the boks nicking your idea and making it a success.
A bad tour it was indeed but give credit for the other rugby played this year and the first time the A/B’s have not won a game against the boks in a series of ganes home and away for a very long time.
30 Nov 2009, 14:14 pm
Pietman – karoolander.
No Pdv is not out his depth, his problem is allowing these senior twats to rule the f.ng roost and call the shots. He’s basically coughed up his power base for the sake of senior player consensus instead of going for broke like Robbie Deans and Henry is doing by busting molds and introducing fresh talents. He rode on Smits prestige, much the same as White did, White was putty in Smits hands the 49-0 debacle proving it, and rather than ruffle a Wc winning teams tail feathers he backed down and accepted their so called expertise as gospel and valid. Now the sh’t hits the fan with this JW ou doos play without the ball **** and who gets it in the teeth? Well yeah you guessed it, not these hallowed overrated overdone darling glory fakers, but head coach catches it in the mug. As he should. And he should now call the g.damn shots his way and f’ak these two timing capitulators who kick every g.dam good ball away into opposition hands.
Smit must retire. Matfield better up his game or write some overrated memoirs himself too, and Fdp better catch a gdam wake up behind the scrum and start feeding his back line properly or take a sabbatical and get someone like S. Pretorius or Hougaard or Adams or Pienaar or any one who can.
Drop these prima donna’s its the best thing we can do. I.m telling you drop the overrated doose and move the f’ak on. You’ll be suprised as punch at the result.
30 Nov 2009, 14:14 pm
@WP Till I Die: Sure.
I will give him that.
Would you then give Jake White is dues?
30 Nov 2009, 14:14 pm
@cab: Yes I think forward domination was originally the plan… but we all know the scrum went pearshaped long ago. We have worked on our scrum and earned the rewards, let us hope Deans will now work on our lineout.
30 Nov 2009, 14:15 pm
@cab:
What are the chances of the Ab’s having two bad Tri Nations in a row, we own the thing. We have you twice at home next year and from what I’ve just seen it will be business as usual next year. If the Ab’s had played the Bokke last Sat we would have put 30 past you. The Bokke have peaked the rankings and recent results reflect this.
30 Nov 2009, 14:16 pm
@Karoolander: So tell me; when exactly on this tour did it “work”? Big difference between CC/S14 and International rugby. I just wish they’d figure it out sooner than later.
In the trinations SA kept possession, were patient in their build ups, were able to protect and recycle the ball? How do you do that when your scrumhalf/flyhalf keep kicking it away? It might work in the CC/S14 where teams have poor fullbakcs or wings under the high ball, but at international level you can expect opposition to pick wings/fullbacks who are good under the high ball and able to run it back at you. And the coaches know they have to pick those guys when playing against SA because we have a fetish for kicking ball and letting Habana chase.
30 Nov 2009, 14:16 pm
Baby steps… we learn to crawl before we walk.
30 Nov 2009, 14:16 pm
this is probably the best year of sa rugby in the last decade – if you think it was based on teh up*under, its probably best to change to another sport u understand.
30 Nov 2009, 14:16 pm
@RugbyRulz:
True but it depends on how each nation will want to play these internationals.
NH treat the spring tours as a blooding excercise and Oneill had enough because it was not making money.
So he said I will do the same or charge NH teams for lost earnings.
I still think internationals are a good idea to blood new talent and to use them as warm up games to find your starting combinations.
30 Nov 2009, 14:17 pm
@Ratel Brussow (MSIUR): Ratel, yes FH is an out and out quota (imho) and HA should have been there instead. I actually rate DP and he could be a future skipper. The rest I suppose only the selectors can answer that.
30 Nov 2009, 14:18 pm
I think it is fair to say that Morne Steyn had avery bad day in the office. I believe though that once again the loss had its roots in the forwards. We were walking the Irish back at scrum time in the first half. Where was the rolling maul or punching it close up?
Matfield became the invisible man. Our line outs were really really bad. If we raisd those up a few levels I would have suggested a different result.
In the first 30 minutes there was only 1 team. Problem is in the second half there was also only one team.
Well done the Irish.
30 Nov 2009, 14:19 pm
@skopskiet: Prima donnas that made Div look good.
In all honesty wouldn`t you say that Div got lucky against the BIL? Morne Prima Steyn kicked that long range penalty that sealed the result.
With that gameplan we wiped the floor in the 3N.
Now we lose 2 tests after a long year and the players are overrated?
Div and his sidekicks should have implemented a totally different gameplan up North. Agree on that?
30 Nov 2009, 14:19 pm
@pedspin: The gameplan this tour versus the Bok gameplan in the trinations is completely different. I maintain if SA had retained more ball on tour and showed greater patience, not kicked possesion away, they would have won a lot more games
30 Nov 2009, 14:19 pm
@NZINCHINA:
we shall see, thats a big csll to make, after this year’s cleansweep, and thoroughly deserved too. if the boks are committed, i believe we have your numnber, and there;s no-one new coming through to change that. in fact, the one area you might have looked to attack us at teh scrum appears to be reinforced, with Pdiv looking to get BJ back into the fold.
we shall see, i think the Boks are going to beat you all the way to 2011 provided no silly changes are made.
30 Nov 2009, 14:20 pm
Fourie du Preez:
“This Bok management is really some of the best ever and in that aspect I enjoy being part of the Springboks. They made it easier to make the decision (not to retire from rugby in 2008).”
30 Nov 2009, 14:21 pm
@Richie_7: Fair point.
30 Nov 2009, 14:22 pm
@Karoolander:
I will indeed.
30 Nov 2009, 14:22 pm
@Richie_7: What i am saying is that the gameplan worked very effectively and they should have changed it for NH conditions.
That is the coaches responsibility.
30 Nov 2009, 14:25 pm
@wallabie.: Yes it has at times been a tad patronising and JON has come out swinging
I am of the opinion to put your best team on the pitch whenever possible. That does not necessarily mean playing Giteau every game; he may need to come off the bench to indeed blood new players. The opportunity to bring on players is imperative in development.
30 Nov 2009, 14:25 pm
@Karoolander: Agreed. But lets admit it, as a player on the field you should be able to vary your tactics if they’re not working for you. You don’t keep plugging away at something because its worked in the past or because your coach told you to do it.
A little less predictability from the halfback pair and a little more creativity would have other countries guessing their way through games against the Boks. I for one was interested between the match up of BOD and Jacque Fourie. Sadly, Jacque hardly saw the ball.
30 Nov 2009, 14:26 pm
@cab:
C’mon Cab NZ were weak and underprepared this year, no Carter in SA and no 2nd row, free ride for the Bokke, from what i’ve just seen in recent weeks it is the men in Black who are playing all the rugby. The big man will be back next year and Williams in the second row, when the Ab’s get 50% of the ball against the Bokke we beat you becaue our backs are far more creative. Watch the French game no other team in the world would have scored those tries.
30 Nov 2009, 14:27 pm
@PissAnt: Well what else would he have said?
He will enjoy the management team, because apparently they doesn`t give him any grief.
Ja jy is Fourie so jy kan ma maak wat jy wil.
30 Nov 2009, 14:28 pm
More drivel from Keo. Surprise surprise.
Boks dominated world rugby in 2009. We beat the best (on rankings) the All Blacks 3-0 and defeated the best of the Northern Hemisphere 2-1.
Took the Aussies out 2-1 as well for good measure.
Only lost to the Lions with an understrength side at home.
IRB Rugby team of the year.
I do agree with what he says about De Jongh. He should have been on the bench rather than JDV.
30 Nov 2009, 14:28 pm
@PissAnt: How old is FDP?
30 Nov 2009, 14:29 pm
@NZINCHINA:
in recent weeks, you have no debate from me, nz are the best team, but in peak condition, and in the heart of our season – i think we got you. Does not happen often, but i think we have you up uuntil 2011 if players managed carefully. we shall see.
30 Nov 2009, 14:30 pm
Expect more of this from a coach out of his depth.
30 Nov 2009, 14:30 pm
@Richie_7: Yes. I guess they suffer from winners expectations or some obscure disease.
Like somebody who won big at the casino and then start losing. Not changing tactics, but chasing the losses hoping you will strike it big again.
30 Nov 2009, 14:31 pm
@NZINCHINA: Let’s hope its not the usual “between WC’s” peaking. That said NZ are normally blowing other teams away between WC’s – they seem a little more subdued since 2007
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