Du Preez: ‘I almost quit’
1 Dec 2009
Fourie du Preez has decided to stay with the Springboks after admitting he had thoughts of retirement earlier this year.
Like Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana and John Smit, Du Preez is one of many stalwarts in the team that remains from the Boks’ victorious campaign at the 2007 World Cup and has been a star player for the world champions in 2009.
The Bok No 9 does, however, admit that he almost considered retiring at the end of this season because of personal reasons, but after a successful year, he now wants to be part of the Boks’ title defence at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
‘At the moment I’m really enjoying my rugby, and the atmosphere that has been created has brought out the best in my game,’ Du Preez told SuperRugby. ‘It was a difficult few months for me earlier this year, and a lot hinged on how things went. But the way I feel now I have a few good years in my. It wasn’t as if things weren’t good at the Boks in the past, but rather a case of whether I can reach my own goals and do better in my game.
‘A lot of us who were in the team that won the 2007 World Cup said we would make decisions after the Lions tour and take it from there,’ Du Preez said. ‘But the success we have had this year makes 2011 the next goal. If the year didn’t go so well, then my international career would be over right now.’
Du Preez has enjoyed a triumphant season with the Boks and Bulls, which has seen him win Tri-Nations, British and Irish Lions, Super 14 and Currie Cup titles in 2009. Many believe he should have received the IRB Player of the Year award, but he lost out to All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.
These achievements have influenced Du Preez’s decision to stay.
‘I’ve really been happy with this season – it was definitely my best yet,’ said Du Preez. ‘I really gave a lot of thought to retiring at the end of this season. I was planning for a season or two overseas and wanted to get out of Pretoria, out of my comfort zone.
‘But the way things have gone made it difficult to contemplate quitting. The atmosphere that was set by the Springbok management was really wonderful. 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.’
Du Preez’s contract at the Bulls expires in October 2010, but it looks certain that the scrumhalf will sign an extension to fulfill his 2011 World Cup ambitions.
433 Comments
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1 Dec 2009, 11:19 am
To make any assumptions on what would have happened if Frans Steyn played is very dangerous.
He is one of the most erratic performers in SA rugby – depending on his mood or mindset he can be either sublime or terrible.
Zane was good and solid on Saturday. Conrad Jantjes will also be back next year so I guess Fransie will have to play his rugby in France for a while.
1 Dec 2009, 11:21 am
@Puma: You are avoiding answering my question. Are you saying keep Morne who played **** and get Frans to help Morne, and drop Zane who did his job? = Punish Zane for Morne’s failings.
1 Dec 2009, 11:21 am
Oubaas and JL1
You may think I know little. Well let me tell you I watched Jake White F.up so bad in 2006 and 2007 before Eddy Jones ruk’d him reg. I watched Mallet f.up with De Beer instead of Honibal and Skinstadt instead of Teichmann. And I been watching Pdv sell his principles down the river to John Smit and the senior bloekombome and get done a treat by Ireland and France simply because in this country we just don’t know the meaning of the word ADAPT.
Now I say a lot of things on here to get some of you thinking outside of the narrow confines of your preconceived ideas about what works and what don’t.
Fdp is talented and skillful in certain dimensions and not others. His service to his fly half and back line is pretty dismal and poor. He’s an opportunist individualist but not a composite team player. And much of the poor decision making behind the scrum is down to his narrow set of vision. The game plan that Smit and Matfield and Fdp are working to has been found out long ago already. Kick and chase is passe worked against Bil’s and a burgeoning building Ab team finding its feet.
Our running game has been left in the back shed collecting dust since Pa fell off the bus. Fdp don’t know how to unlock the backline and neither does M. Steyn. And I can tell you categorically for free that Jake White and his Winning Ways don’t have even half a g.dam clue else he would have gotten it right the 4 years he was in charge.
1 Dec 2009, 11:22 am
@rossoneri: Pardon?
What are you reffering to?
1 Dec 2009, 11:23 am
@Karoolander: #129
Did you expect them to throw in the towel after the losses?
A win on Saturday would have salvage the tour. It would have given the Boks and PdV an win record of 66% in tests. After a 100% record on the EOYT last year, even you would have then had to admit that it was a good record. Unfortunately he was let down by the players who could not think for themselves.
You keep on blaming the coaching staff without any reference to the players. Is it because it was mostly BB players that stuffed up on Saturday? Don’t you want to be seen as blaming your own?
It seems to me that you are just like Julius Malema.
1 Dec 2009, 11:29 am
@Robzim: Rob Zane was good but if we had Fransie we could have used him for those long range kicks. He got all of them over in cold NZ remember?
On All Out Rugby they too said Fransie should still have been playing at FB. Select your best always.
Zane is good and never let the team down. Just don’t have that huge boot Fransie has. We missed it on Saturday HUGE.
1 Dec 2009, 11:30 am
@Karoolander: Hahahahahahahaha!
1 Dec 2009, 11:33 am
@rossoneri: 152 – Hater/Litith/Optimus now Rossoneri. I can hardly keep up with all your nic changes.
Morne had a off day he won us just about everything this year. So no I would not get rid of him rather have a extra kicker in the team. Especially one that can kick 60m THAT now is something (Like McCaw said after we beat them in NZ)any team in the world would want in their team.
Not dissing Zane he is a good player but does not have the strength or kicking abilities of Fransie.
1 Dec 2009, 11:34 am
@nama1: You are reaching.
I bet my house that if it was Jake White at the Helm, you and others would sing a different tune.
Let my explain. Let take good old SA as an example. Who would you blame for the lawless behaviour of it`s citizens? That would be the police right? Ja i know it`s not just the one side of the coin, but this is just a quick example in the interest of time.
Do you blame the lowly constables that does`nt give a F… or do you blame their superiors? The guys in charge who drive multi million Masipa Benzes.
I still believe that to get satisfactory results you need to start at the top.
Remember that the players doesn`t select themselves.If the coaches feel intimidated by the players, then maybe they are not the right guys for the job.
We can argue over Div, but surely not over Gary Glitter and ****?
No wait, who appointed them?
1 Dec 2009, 11:34 am
” Many believe he should have received the IRB Player of the Year award, but he lost out to All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw”.
That should read……….”Many in SA believe…..”
Come on Garth.
1 Dec 2009, 11:37 am
@skopskiet: #153
It is all about winning
Jake took soem guys and stuck with them and in 2006 his team had many injured players
PDV has not unearthed any talent yet
1 Dec 2009, 11:38 am
@rossoneri: Did i tell a joke?
1 Dec 2009, 11:39 am
Come now everyone. Boks won just about everything this year. We lost to France, Oz, and Ireland (Don’t count the lost test against the Lions as we had 10 changes there) Now we all getting angry with our team.
All Blacks lost 4 games this year. 3 times to us and once to France. Their public does not diss them. Remember they lost in the 1/4 final of the wc and their supporters were there at the airport with big banners saying “We still love you” Now we can learn from that. Support your team win or lose. We won far more than we lost this year. This was a great year for Bok rugby. If we had lost when we were fit and ready in the middle of the season then there would have been need to worry not now. The players are tired and many injured. They will all be back next year. Look after them rest them proper and we will have them for another two years still.
1 Dec 2009, 11:41 am
@Puma: So your answer is yes then. Punish Zane for Morne’s ****-ups.
1 Dec 2009, 11:41 am
@skopskiet:
So the prodigal sons are returning to Keo?
1 Dec 2009, 11:43 am
@skopskiet: FdP is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. He is either on song or totally off the mark. He frustrated me many a time.
What you say does have some merit. I believe he still needs to develop his allround game.
He did however reach incredible heights in his career.But i will not write him off just yet.
1 Dec 2009, 11:45 am
@Puma: So your answer is yes then. Zane must be punished for Morne’s failings and Frans who is suspect and inconsistent at best, must be tried at FB, to cover for Morne.
You have faith in Frans to replace an in form Zane, but not enough faith in his “great kicking”, for him to replace an out of form Morne at Flyhalf.
1 Dec 2009, 11:45 am
@Puma: you are arguably the most biased blogger on this site, closely followed by Tacitus and your posts are mind numbing to say the least. What is Francois Steyn’s kicking average beyond halfway line? What is Francois Steyn’s touch finding average over the whole year?
I can tell you now that Zane’s far much more accurate than Francois. I am not knocking Francois, he is an incredible player and a mean tackler but your unrelenting and blind bias is ridiculous, the kid had one good game in. Last week it was Jean Deysel, the week before it was Ryan Kankowski, it seems like every Sharks player to you is the BEST in the world, well sir you are wrong.
1 Dec 2009, 11:46 am
@cane: It would seem so. Buckle up.
1 Dec 2009, 11:46 am
bizarre debate this…. morne was anything but one-dimensionsal at the bulls this year… the bulls backline coach is an advocate of attacking rugby…also when came to the bulls steyn was not really a kicking fly-half in fact it was identified as a weakness in his game… same with liefling, I watched that guy play craven week and he was an outstanding attacking prospect…
the problem at the moment is not that a player sare one dimensional it is that they are slow to adapt… look at the match vs australia at perth we carved them to pieces… but that is because we went into the match with that objective…the players need to learn to be more flexible in their approach…
the problem on saturday was not so much the gameplan as the execution of it…
1 Dec 2009, 11:47 am
@Karoolander: You are it. Pay attention.
1 Dec 2009, 11:52 am
@Fudge Mabeta:
Good day Fudge.
1 Dec 2009, 11:52 am
@rossoneri:
I think Skoppies assertion that Karoolander is Pietman, is incorrect.
Piet would never denigrate WP.
1 Dec 2009, 11:54 am
@cane:
That’s what you think.
He spent most of the final days of the CC denigrating WP.
1 Dec 2009, 11:56 am
@cane: Hahahahahahha. Ofcourse he would. Ask Dawn. You’re a funny guy Cane.
1 Dec 2009, 11:56 am
@JL1: #161
“PDV has not unearthed any talent yet”
Heinrich Brussow?
Beast?
Morne Steyn?
Zane?
They all started playing international rugby the past two years. Under his watch. you don’t regard them as talents?
1 Dec 2009, 11:57 am
@cane: Correct Sir.
There is no Pietman or Piet or anything close in my ID book.
Guess the egg is on their faces AGAIN. Sigh….
1 Dec 2009, 11:58 am
frans steyn was pretty consistent at full back the entire season actually…I wonder what stats there are that give credence to the notion that kirchener is “more accurate” than steyn… more accurate at what I wonder…
1 Dec 2009, 11:59 am
@skopskiet:
I don’t understand how you can talk about FDP’s “narrow set of vision and poor decision making”?
The man has created so many tries for us using exactly those attributes. His countless tries and the tries he’s setup through blindside breaks, it was his vision that allowed him to spot those gaps? His quick decision on penalities where’s he’s spotted a gap and kicked the ball straight into space for Habana to pick up and score before the oppostion even had time to blink?
His try count alone and that of tries he has personally setup would surely put an end to any speculation on his vision or decision making?
I agree he is going way overboard with these box kicks, but as you said PDV sold his soul long ago and FDP although capable of playing in many different ways, is playing to a gameplan he’s been instructed to play to.
1 Dec 2009, 11:59 am
@Fudge Mabeta: No never ever said that Kanko had a good game on this eoyt. Deysel came on after half time in the Italy game and he had a great game. I am thinking about South Africa now not Sharks. Some play for Sharks but I also like many of the Bulls players. Brussow too brilliant and he is a Cheetah. Stop talking silly now. I am talking about South African players not which franchise they come from. I want the best playing.
Fransie was great in the wc playing inside centre and then after messed about. Yes messed about by the Sharks too. Then the Boks. Playing from the bench different postions. Finally playing FB where he should have played all along. He played very well there for the Boks.
Zane has not let the team down. Zane played well. He just does not have that huge boot of Fransie. It was a great weapon for us to have. If you cant see that well so be it.
Fransie no longer a Shark mate. He plays for Metro so wont be a Bok either. Zane will the the Bok FB next year too. He will get better but will never be able to kick for goal. We had that something extra there with Fransie.
If Fransie played Saturday we may have won. Some of those penalties were just too far for Morne. Fransie has the boot for those. Remember 60m in NZ? Brilliant. I would have wanted him in the team the Bok team even if he played for WP/Bulls/Cheetahs/Lions or Metro. Select the best always.
1 Dec 2009, 12:00 pm
@skopskiet: Cheer up sport.
1 Dec 2009, 12:00 pm
@Karoolander: nice try, but this post exposed you.
159. Karoolander :
December 1st, 2009 at 11:34 am
@nama1: You are reaching.
I bet my house that if it was Jake White at the Helm, you and others would sing a different tune.
Let my explain. Let take good old SA as an example. Who would you blame for the lawless behaviour of it`s citizens? That would be the police right? Ja i know it`s not just the one side of the coin, but this is just a quick example in the interest of time.
Do you blame the lowly constables that does`nt give a F… or do you blame their superiors? The guys in charge who drive multi million Masipa Benzes.
I still believe that to get satisfactory results you need to start at the top.
Remember that the players doesn`t select themselves.If the coaches feel intimidated by the players, then maybe they are not the right guys for the job.
We can argue over Div, but surely not over Gary Glitter and ****?
No wait, who appointed them?
1 Dec 2009, 12:02 pm
@Puma: I bet you were one of those guys in 2008 who were crying for Fransie to be a Flyhalf.
1 Dec 2009, 12:02 pm
It seems that Pietman is quite the Legend around these part of the woods….
1 Dec 2009, 12:03 pm
@cane: He swapped allegiance to the winning Bulls, I wonder who he will support if the Bulls start losing
1 Dec 2009, 12:03 pm
@cane: Howzit Cane, You are very right my friend. Piet is now where near internet this week. In a tiny little place in the wilderness this week with no phones or internet. He told us on his post on the otherside he wont be able to post for a while now as that is where he will be for this week maybe next.
So you spot on that is not Piet.
1 Dec 2009, 12:03 pm
@skopskiet: 5 for a try, 3 for a conversion, 2 for a droppie or a penalty.
1 Dec 2009, 12:03 pm
@rossoneri: Huh?
What, are you Piet Byleveld?
What the f… are you on about?
1 Dec 2009, 12:04 pm
now = no
1 Dec 2009, 12:06 pm
@gunther: Passing the ball. Fransie ball hogger par excellance. In just that skill alone, Zane beats him.
1 Dec 2009, 12:08 pm
@Dawn: hello dawn
1 Dec 2009, 12:08 pm
@Karoolander: Another exposing post. Praat maar afrikaans and se maar al die vuilbek goed wat jy vrek om the se.
1 Dec 2009, 12:08 pm
Sorry Keonites if i got your hopes up for nothing today.
I say again, i am not PIETMAN.
That desperation i was talkig about earlier seems to surface.
1 Dec 2009, 12:09 pm
@TheTackler: no. 6 for a try, 3 for a conversion and penalty, and 1 for a drop.
1 Dec 2009, 12:10 pm
@rossoneri: So what , you got a hard on for this Pietman character?
1 Dec 2009, 12:10 pm
People, people, people!!
They were just TOO COLD!
I got cold just WATCHING!!
@Fudge Mabeta:
Fudge … don’t you agree it was just too cold at Croke.
1 Dec 2009, 12:11 pm
Here;s what i cant understand from the Blou Bul patroon detractors.
When they were winning the 3N this year, they were praised for total rugby with FdP and Steyn at flyhalf and coached by Pieter Rossouw, that was heralded as the best thing since slaptjips.
Now apparently the blou buls play a dom doos patroon, with these selfsame halfbacks.
well which is it?
The only way to decrease teh kicking is to reduce penalties both in value (1 point) and in frequency (let anything go at scrum and breakdown removing the subjectivity)
1 Dec 2009, 12:12 pm
@Sharksgirl:184
He apparently left WP because of Luke’s presence there. I guess next year he’ll be a WP supporter again.
Don’t think Karoolander is him though. Isn’t he from the Westcoast?
1 Dec 2009, 12:12 pm
3N = S14
1 Dec 2009, 12:13 pm
See it is easy to spot a keonite that got owned on this blog.
Example, Namakwalander disappear and later surfaces as Nama1.
You guys leave very good evidence for tracking and exposing.
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