And the winners are …
2 Dec 2009
Keo.co.za picks the real winners and losers of 2009.
THE HEROES
Test Player of the Year – How the IRB overlooked Fourie du Preez for their Player of the Year award in favour of Richie McCaw is perplexing. He was the fulcrum around which the Springboks rotated in the British & Irish Lions series and in the Tri-Nations. Seven of the nine judges are from the northern hemisphere, where the All Blacks are revered, while selection convenor John Eales is known to be anti-Bok. Testament to this is that he wanted Juan Martin Hernandez named World Player of the Year in 2007 ahead of the irrepressible Bryan Habana. Thankfully sanity prevailed that time, but it seems he has had his revenge. Despite the unbelievable call, Du Preez should be content in the knowledge that we think he’s the business. That’s all that matters. Victor Matfield was phenomenal and Heinrich Brüssow established himself as the finest openside flank on the planet in 2009, but Du Preez’s consistent brilliance earns him the prize.
Test Rookie of the Year – Who else but the prolific Morné Steyn. One should never underestimate the mental strength it took for him to come off the bench in the second Lions Test, have a short while to settle, then kick a 50m series-winning penalty to banish 12 years of heartache. He then carried his form into the Tri-Nations and showed that he had the aptitude to not only survive, but excel, against the world’s best players.
Test Young Gun of the Year – Since his rise to prominence in 2008, Dewald Potgieter had Springbok written all over him. He resembles a rookie Schalk Burger – bustling, powerful and fearless – and looks the natural successor to the Springbok treasure. His debut against Ireland was too brief to establish his capacity to play at Test level, but he’ll get more opportunities in future, and will develop into one of the great Springboks. Francois Hougaard didn’t show the full range of his ability on tour, but be assured, he is a quality scrumhalf, one who Fourie du Preez has tipped to succeed him.
Mighty Mouse Award – The physique of a juiced-up dwarf but the heart the size of South Africa and wonderful skills to boot – Heinrich Brüssow turned in some sensational performances in 2009. When he was burning white hot he was unstoppable, and even when he was ordinary he still made his presence felt, particularly at the breakdown. By the end of the season, the France and Ireland players couldn’t stop talking about him as the primary threat, which bears testament to the telling impact he’s made in 2009. Schalk who? Nah, kidding, but if Brüssow is anywhere near as good as he was this season in 2010, there may not be so much jest to that statement when you read this awards piece next year.
Test Try of the Year – Jaque Fourie’s two-fingered salute to the Springbok coaching staff for omitting him from the starting line-up against the Lions. He came on, as a wing, and negotiated a number of defenders en route to the try that dragged the Springboks back into the contest, and ultimately saw them go on to win the series. Brilliant.
Coach of the Year – John Smit held the Springboks together and even made the substitution calls during the second Test after the coaching staff’s ‘mare at King’s Park. Read between the lines of his book and you’ll reach the same conclusion: without Smitty, the Boks are on auto-pilot.
With special mentions to: The Springbok Sevens side for winning their first ever title.
THE VILLAINS
The Foot in Mouth Award – He’s toned it down over the last six months, but the king retains his crown purely for the madcap utterances during the Lions series. From allusions to ballet to eye-gouging lions on the highveld, Peter de Villiers entertained as much as he embarrassed.
The Sultans of Spin – The British and Irish media for dubbing the Lions tour a resounding success despite a 2-1 scoreline in favour of the Boks. Those who are interested should visit their local newsagent for a look at tour books written by respected journalists that unequivocally claim the Lions so nearly won the series 3-0. Laughable.
The Wet Nappy Whinge Award – This accolade goes to a player referred to by some Boks as ‘The Wanker of the Tour’. Mike Phillips niggled on the field and was the sorest of losers off it after the Lions went down in Pretoria.
The Brain Explosion Award – Sireli Naqelevuki for his high-tackle in the dying seconds of the Currie Cup semi-final. When will he prove worth the money and effort Province produced to extract him from Fiji?
With special mention to: The IRB Awards panel – Honestly, what were you drinking when you named Richie McCaw the Player of the Year? He missed half the Tri-Nations through injury and was captain of a Crusaders side that bowed out in the Super 14 semi-finals. Fourie du Preez and Brian O’Driscoll were the only players in this race.
Worst boots-to-performance ratio - The most impressive thing about Lote Tuqiri’s rugby these days is his flashy boots.
Dirtiest attempt at a moustache – Matt Giteau’s was pretty gross and Drew Mitchell won’t keep any photos of his, but the dirtiest Movember effort goes to Corey Jane.
By Jon Cardinelli and Ryan Vrede
326 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 7 » Show All
2 Dec 2009, 09:26 am
@Papoose: #90
Thing is Keo and Co are viewing their opinions… Bought or otherwise… Just like all of us with all our own biases, hidden agendas and commercial interests… So who are we to really complain about them… sure… disagree with what they say…
But no other rugby site is as true to the principle of freedom of expression by the people who post on it…
and for that I genuinely admire Keo and his writers…
seriously..
2 Dec 2009, 09:26 am
@WP_:
The Sydney Morning Herald, the Auckland Herald and the London’s Daily Telegraphs repeated it some 4 months ago with details, they all stated it came from reliable sources
inside the Boks camp!
Have fun
2 Dec 2009, 09:27 am
My scenario: Boks vs All Blacks. Boks lead by one point. Stuart Dickenson is the ref! He awards AB’s a very dubious penalty in the last minute.
A) DC scores. AB win. Do we blame PdV?
B) DC misses. Boks win. Do we praise John Smit, Morne Steyn, FdP etc etc or give credit to PdV. What do you think Keo?
2 Dec 2009, 09:28 am
@Dawn: @Dawn: Black Quota Player Of The Year: Davon Raubenheimer
Happy now?
White Quota Player Of The Year it’s toss up between Herkie Kruger & Andries Strauss
2 Dec 2009, 09:31 am
@katman:
OK.
I give.
Thugs we are.
2 Dec 2009, 09:33 am
@RaynoG:
Blame P de V, of course.
@Pearl Rose:
Cool your jets.
Don’t mess with me.
2 Dec 2009, 09:34 am
It really looks like JC threw this together in two minutes after too many beers.
2 Dec 2009, 09:41 am
Coach of the year : John Smit.
And then there’s this:
“but the dirtiest Movember effort goes to Corey Jane.
By Jon Cardinelli and Ryan Vrede”
It’s November.
2 Dec 2009, 09:45 am
Congrats Jon and Ryan , you just took over from Simon and the worst jouro’s of the year LOL , read between the line ??? One up from “open Secrets” I guess !!
Did FDp not just say a few days ago state that he a large part of his decision to stay on is because of the bok management ???
You guys are a joke , this site is a joke nowadays with your **** 2 minute noodle reporting
2 Dec 2009, 09:45 am
What a kak article. Just agenda driven digs at Pdv. Pathetic.@Dawn: JC is working for his Xmas bonus. There is a minimum of Pdv hatred driven articles that must be written in a week and he was falling behind.
2 Dec 2009, 09:46 am
@poppa69: Nice….
2 Dec 2009, 09:50 am
@Dawn: the ‘mo’ in Movember stands for moustache – mo is short for moustache.
use it – don’t use it.
2 Dec 2009, 09:51 am
@Transformation: What I don’t understand is why the Boks got crucified here yesterday for doing the same thing as Woodcock?? In neither instances is there any evidence either way, but no-ones flaying Woodcock in the media about “sullying a player’s good name ” bla bla…I’ve only seen Brussow react that way once before, ironically when Woodcock attacked his face in Durban – and that I DID see
2 Dec 2009, 09:55 am
@Atreides: But did the Bok support staff jump into the fight with Brussouw when they say foul play? You cannot say that Tony is lying, when clearly there were witnesses.
2 Dec 2009, 09:56 am
Apologies : say = saw.
2 Dec 2009, 09:57 am
@DonutDunning: Pocock looks monstrously strong….he’s gonna cause us big headaches in years to come
2 Dec 2009, 10:06 am
@the peanut gallery:
Whatever
The article is ****.
Die SON could do better.
2 Dec 2009, 10:08 am
@rossoneri: You misunderstood me. I said it yesterday too, if a player alleges something like that, it’s the duty of the management to take it up with the authorities…it MUST be taken seriously. I’m not saying Woodcock is lying at all, in fact I believe more likely than not he wasn’t. Just don’t like the fact that immediately the Boks are accused of making up stories and fabricating charges (in itself a serious allegation), yet TW has no such accusations levelled against him? Why? See my point? The reaction to Woodcock by the media and authorities is as it should be.
2 Dec 2009, 10:08 am
@Dawn: They call it Movember where every one grows a mustache to support prostate cancer. Do you live under a rock?
2 Dec 2009, 10:09 am
@PissAnt: What about Ludeke. S14 and CC winner.
Wouldn’t that be shock to some people?
Suppose he is also plaughing (sp.) with his predecessor’s kallers.
2 Dec 2009, 10:09 am
@Breakdown Boy:
What if I do.
2 Dec 2009, 10:09 am
@sparticus: I think FDV wanted to leave because of the poor season last year, both the Bulls and the boks.
2 Dec 2009, 10:10 am
@skopskiet#2: OMG skoppie, these days an article doesn’t even have to make the merest mention of JW (this one doesn’t even come close) for you to unleash your hatred and bitterness for the poor fellow. Lol, get a grip on reality mate, there are bigger issues out there
2 Dec 2009, 10:11 am
@Dawn: It is silly…however I do agree Mccaw was not the most deserving….but neither was FdP. BoD was robbed I believe.
2 Dec 2009, 10:15 am
BWAHAHAHA!
Read what this poor demented kiwi blogger wrote a little earlier in this thread:
16. Waster :
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:01 am
@whatever: I just guessed, some of us actually come here to get unbiased opinions, like from Skopskiet
Poor guy, guess it’s just because he’s new, he’ll soon learn the words skopskiet and unbiased are like oil and water around these parts.
2 Dec 2009, 10:16 am
Nothing really going on in the world of rugby. Now you guys have to come up with something to generate hits.
Congratulations. It looks as if you will end up around 300.
2 Dec 2009, 10:17 am
@Atreides: Are you saying there is truth to this IRB and the world of rugby treats the Boks less than fair?
2 Dec 2009, 10:22 am
Maybe the heading should have read: And the Whiners are…
My no.1 would be: Keo
2 Dec 2009, 10:26 am
Fatigue,
Bad Anthem,
Terrible refereeing,
Lack of match preperation,
Bad weather,
Fatigue,
False eye-gouging accusations,
Paul O’Connell learning Afrikaans,
Did I mention fatigue…?…. (Well Keo did about 475 times in the last month)
Oh but wait it was the B&I Lions who whinged and made excuses……
The delusion on this site knows no bounds……..
2 Dec 2009, 10:30 am
@rossoneri: I don’t believe that for a second, no…I am not one of the Saffas who buys into conspiracy theories, never have. But I do question why on one hand a player is immediately accused of lying, but another player in the same situation doesn’t.
2 Dec 2009, 10:30 am
Come on guys, could you be more professional. I know you had one to many drinks at the xmas part. There’s alot of hard work ahead. Just step your game up ahead of 2010.n
2 Dec 2009, 10:31 am
@rossoneri: Dude did you read my post? I thought I was being quite clear
2 Dec 2009, 10:32 am
@Atreides:doesn’t = isn’t
2 Dec 2009, 10:33 am
Let’s face it… EVERYONE whinges. It’s just that the B&I Lions whinged more than most.
2 Dec 2009, 10:41 am
I’ve never seen a juiced up dwarf.
2 Dec 2009, 10:48 am
I would also like to take this opportunity to register my disgust at FdP not being named player of the year.
Had he been playing in a black jersey the NH would have line up to kiss his arse or suck on his…..
2 Dec 2009, 10:50 am
I pretty much agree with all of these awards.
McCaw’s player of the year award was the most laughable of the lot. I can’t even remember a game where he had an impact. He seems a decent bloke he is probably embarrassed by the whole thing.
The BIL’s whinging was the most enjoyable part of the season though. They really did let themselves down on this tour. When they lost games they were unbearable and when they won they were even worse. They should have been drowned at birth.
I think Bobby Skinstadt deserved special mention in the hairy lip section, he looked like a *** porn star.
2 Dec 2009, 10:51 am
@wooden spoon:
You are the silly dude here…it was said with tongue in cheek!
get the humour!
2 Dec 2009, 10:59 am
Schalk Burger should definitely have taken out the ‘Dirtiest Mo’ award. He’s currently sporting something only previously seen in the ’70′s Porn movie industry.
2 Dec 2009, 11:01 am
@DEE DAH:
cant remember a game where McCaw had any impact ?
You clearly stopped watching in July…..word up – on the 5 Test tour of the ABs in NH, he’s collected 3 x MoM awards.
They usually award MoM’s for…..um…….IMPACT !
2 Dec 2009, 11:08 am
@DEE DAH:
Probably you were watching with your eyes closed.
2 Dec 2009, 11:11 am
so happens wooden spoon, yeah I am unbiased, its mostly one eyed JW *** kissing saffa’s and ex saffa’s like yourself who don’t really understand the meaning of the concept or the word ‘biased’ or ‘unbiased’. You see it takes an unmitigated view from an outsider, a Kiwi like Waster, to recognize what ‘unbiased’ actually means. Its pretty much wasted on fool idiot delinquents like yourself.
Oh . . and if you’re still unable to see the uninhibited JW propaganda spin working behind the sentences in this ‘and the winners are’. . report, then I’m afraid to have to inform you that you are actually far more blinded by your own bias than even I previously thought, . . even if you are a practicing barrister of Her Majesty’s Court.
Coach of the year . . John Smit . . Ha, how more pig headed deluded can any JWWW spin doctor scribe go and get?
2 Dec 2009, 11:16 am
“Coach of the Year – John Smit”
Poor effort, why denigrate the coach?
The boks have just been voted team of the year and the plaudits need to be given to the coaches too. The players have done so with Smit, Matfield and FdP all praising the fantastic environment facilited by the management.
The Greatest will have to stick another wortel up your gatte next year.
2 Dec 2009, 11:17 am
this article was either tongue in cheek or written under the influence of a narcotic – i suspect the latter.
eg brain explosion given based on a cc game?
surely ronan o gara should walk away with this one – unless the writer views weepee’s progress in the cc as more important than a bil tour result.
2 Dec 2009, 11:21 am
i see ou doos has beaten me to it, but am not quite sure how JW is too blame, i presume its a ***-for-tat lesson of some kind.
2 Dec 2009, 11:36 am
you not familiar with the fact that Mark Keohane gets all his inside *** bit propaganda fed to him directly these days by his current broeder in arms Herr Wiederzuin Himself. How behind the times can we be? Everything, yes absolutely everything spilling off the keyboards in this JWWW spin prop office machine is ratified and condoned, in fact propagated by chief whip officer MK and indirectly by Mr. Whoopsie himself, the one and only. . . yeah you guessed it. .
2 Dec 2009, 11:45 am
mr. whoopsie?
2 Dec 2009, 11:47 am
seems no one is proficient at reading between any lines no more, just like in the good old days when propaganda was rife and normal people like you and I were being fed bullsh!t in bucket loads about how kosher everything is up on the lily White surface, so the gullible dooby do’s of denial get hoodwinked into believing its all just innocent poor reporting we swallowing, and not some orchestrated attempt at a little bit of poison pen journalism aimed solely at overthrowing or denegrating the current coaching setup purely as a ploy to get His Highness enshrined as a DOR Dooby Do Nothing above the poor fella’s head.
2 Dec 2009, 11:50 am
yeah but somehow i dont think mr whoopsie compares to the national party in either intention or influence, however many anti-kris rabbits we see behind corners, i also dont think their are any betting sybdicates involved.
2 Dec 2009, 11:52 am
c.mon surely I don’t have to be getting any more insinuating or intuitive than I already have, read between the lines, it ain’t too difficult, all these dude’s are on the payroll of who exactly, who’s pulling which strings and which puppets are dancing to who’s or which tune?
Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 7 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.