Pure genius
10 Dec 2009
Fourie du Preez has established himself as the finest player on the planet.
Rugby genius. The concept is not easily defined, and should you arrive at a suitable definition, finding players who meet all the criteria is rare. It’s a relative concept, certainly, but there are attributes which are absolute. Fourie du Preez lists some of those when I ask him what he would define as genius.
‘It’s a player who reads the game and makes the right tactical decision 99% of the time after assessing the situation,’ he begins. ‘That said, you get some sharp decision-makers who don’t have the skills to execute what they see in their mind. Geniuses are able to do both, and their ability is amplified by the fact that they’ve studied their opponents.
‘Then there’s the issue of consistency. To be considered a genius you have to be able to deliver high-quality performances week in and week out against high-quality opposition.’
Du Preez has inadvertently described himself. To fully appreciate his genius you have to consider that he’s played at the height of his powers for most of what has been the most taxing season of his career.
Going into the end-of-year Tests, he had played 1 853 minutes of rugby in 2009 – the equivalent of around 23 matches – against the majority of the world’s elite players and teams. Not once has he looked like an impostor in such illustrious company. In fact, seldom have big-name players looked as ordinary as they have when pitted against the irrepressible Du Preez.
He has, however, omitted a couple of absolutes in search of a proper definition.
Geniuses have an aura about them that penetrates the opposition’s psyche, galvanises their team-mates and drives those men to a level of performance they may not have known possible. They also have the ability to change the course of a game, as Du Preez exhibited in the Super 14 and Currie Cup finals.
There were six decisive moments over the course of those 160 minutes. Du Preez was involved in all of them.
It was his try, birthed from a quick tap, against the Chiefs that signalled the start of the most emphatic performance by a team in a final in recent history. He then followed that up with another five-pointer to take his side into the lead, before threading through the most perfectly weighted grubber for Bryan Habana to score and seal the result.
To underline his aptitude for high-pressure matches, he mesmerised the Cheetahs at Loftus, directing the Bulls’ classic symphony with the skill of a master conductor – the build-up featuring an expertly executed cross-kick which sailed to the unmarked Francois Hougaard, a divine piece of handling to scoop the ball off his boot laces and send Habana away for a try, and the crescendo – a deft, looping kick into vacant space which Habana chased down to virtually assure victory.
‘I’ve seen enough talented players fold in finals or high-pressure games to know the difference between the genuine article and a pretender to genius,’ says former Wallabies, Brumbies and Reds coach Eddie Jones, who worked closely with Du Preez during their preparation for the 2007 World Cup and at the tournament itself.
‘Fourie has no equal as a scrumhalf in world rugby. No one is even remotely close. And although it’s hard to say who the best player on the planet is, because roles differ so greatly from position to position, I think if you were to consider a couple of candidates, you’d have to provide some pretty conclusive and strong arguments if you chose anyone but him.
‘The very best players in the world are those who give you an eight out of 10 performance for 80% of your matches in a season. I’d suggest Fourie is probably higher than that percentage-wise. George Gregan had some sensational seasons in the time I coached him, but he never came close to what Fourie has offered the Bulls and Boks in 2009, especially considering the amount of rugby he’s played and the intensity and pressure of those games. Just unbelievable, mate.’
Du Preez has, at times, looked like he was reading the game in a Matrix-type code, not dissimilar to the manner in which Keanu Reeves’s character in the sci-fi blockbuster did, and he seemed to have the ability to supernaturally elevate his spirit and make tactical decisions based on information attained via an aerial view of the action.
‘It’s definitely been my best season ever,’ says Du Preez, confirming what many astute commentators have acknowledged. ‘The 2007 season was a great one for me personally, but this season I’ve felt like my game has shifted to a different level.
‘I’m more mature now, with none of the insecurities I had in the past, and I know my game, my strengths and weaknesses, inside out. It helps that I’ve been playing in winning teams and with great, experienced players around me.
‘Last year wasn’t particularly memorable for me,’ Du Preez continues, lamenting a season where the Bulls and Springboks were infuriatingly mediocre. ‘I struggled for form at some stages, so I appreciate what it’s like to be back in the groove now.
‘Those things that weren’t going for you when you were struggling, suddenly do. You try things that were failing and they come off. You start reading the game better, seeing spaces in the opponents’ defensive line or areas you can kick in to that aren’t marked. It just all fell into place for me this season.’
Du Preez is less analytical than team-mate Victor Matfield, who studies lineouts with religious devotion. He relies more on experience and instinct. In preparing for matches, he spends the bulk of his time looking at how his opposing scrumhalf defends around the scrum and ruck fringe. The rest, he says, comes naturally.
Jones once told the media that former Wallabies flyhalf Stephen Larkham had the ability to read how a passage of play would unfold two phases ahead, and would be prepared when it did. Du Preez humbly denies that he has such foresight, an assertion some would disagree with, but concedes that his positional sense is the facet of play that he has made the biggest strides in.
‘I play more on feel than I do relying on pre-match analysis,’ Du Preez explains. ‘When I’m out on the field I get a sense of what my opponents are likely to do and try to position myself accordingly.
‘It’s not that hard, we play against the same guys every year,’ he adds, again displaying the now familiar trait of self-deprecation. ‘So I wouldn’t make too much of it. I’m just like any other player, really.’
However, with every touch kick fielded and accurate counter-kick launched, every box kick that is suspended in the air just long enough for the chasers to contest and every punt that rolls into touch in an attacking position, every snipe around the blindside that leaves the opposition bewildered and every zinging or popped pass that finds its intended target, Du Preez’s claim to mere mortality is rejected.
‘He’ll never admit to it, but those of us who work with him know that he is a once-in-a- generation player,’ says Bulls backline coach and former Springbok wing, Pieter Rossouw.
‘There’s nothing you can teach him technically because he’s the complete player, and he’s also so strong mentally. When he isn’t around, the Bulls and Springboks don’t have the same threat. That’s not a criticism of the second-choice players in that position, it’s just that Fourie is a special, special player.’
A special player the Bulls and Springboks have to start contemplating life without. Having won all he can with those teams, Du Preez admits that he is thinking about challenging himself afresh.
There is, of course, no shortage of European suitors wanting to ensure that the next phase of his career plays out in their club’s colours. His contract with the Bulls ends in October 2010, and he hasn’t yet made a decision about whether or not he will continue playing in South Africa. Losing a player of his quality would be the equivalent of losing an organ in the human body. Functioning would be adequate for survival, but you wouldn’t be firing at optimal potency.
‘I have a big decision to make in the next couple of months,’ Du Preez says, driving home the possibility that South African rugby could lose one of the jewels in its crown.
‘I have to weigh up whether I want to have a chance of defending the World Cup in 2011 or whether I should move on. I’ve spent my whole life in Pretoria, next year will be my 10th at the Bulls, and I feel like I have to get out of my comfort zone. I don’t want to be stuck in the same routine for the rest of my career.’
Du Preez, however, rejects the suggestion that his departure would see a dramatic capitulation of his teams.
‘If the succession planning is right I don’t think that would be an issue,’ he argues. ‘Sure, there’ll be a rebuilding period for the Bulls and Boks because I don’t think many of the senior players in those sides will continue to play beyond 2011, at least not in South Africa. But we have some special young players in this country.
‘Francois Hougaard [Du Preez’s understudy at the Bulls] is one of those, and I think he’ll be the Springbok scrumhalf for a long time. There are others like him in different positions. So if we plan well, there’s no reason to think it will all fall apart because we have an abundance of class youngsters.’
Class is a widely available commodity in South Africa. The genius that is Du Preez is a scarce one. Let’s appreciate and celebrate that we’ve seen genius in our generation.
By Ryan Vrede
– This article first appeared in the December issue of SA Rugby magazine. The January-February issue goes on sale next week.
411 Comments
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10 Dec 2009, 12:06 pm
@gunther: the embassy bmw’s aircon was playing up so they had to get back to their compound before someone saw them sweating and thought hard work was endemic in our diplomatic corps.
10 Dec 2009, 12:07 pm
i am very dissapointed that roy has decided to ignore all pleas for the numbered relies to return.
maybe he has applied for a diplomatic posting in a land far away.
10 Dec 2009, 12:07 pm
@rangerman:
He had a fantastic year this year up until the NH tour, pre 09′ I thought he was good but nothing speical, I supposed I am too one eyed and compare him to a guy like McCaw who very very rarely when fully FIT has an off game, I’ve seen FDP have plenty of off days at the office and look very ordinary but sure he makes the list this year, I’m no expert though Ranger just my thoughts.
10 Dec 2009, 12:10 pm
@gunther:
Nah mate Kevey around the park runs rings around him,in any case his bum is too big to get into the tight AB shorts.
10 Dec 2009, 12:11 pm
as soon as someone mentions anything about “auras” and “presence” i know i’m being bullsh!tted!!!!!!!!!!!!
Morné Steyn believes Francois Hougaard can develop into a scrumhalf in Fourie du Preez’s class.
It seems a bold prediction to make of a 21-year-old who is yet to reach a stage in his career where he commands a regular place in the match 22 of a full strength Bulls side. However, Hougaard has displayed an aptitude and attitude that belies his age and has undoubtedly made a strong impression in his first full season in the Bulls’ senior side.
He deputised well in Du Preez’s injury-enforced absence in the Super 14, then embraced the challenge of playing wing and then centre in the Bulls’ Currie Cup campaign.
That coach Frans Ludeke would include him in his run-on side out of position says everything about his estimation of the player. He has already communicated to Hougaard that he sees him as Du Preez’s successor, and Steyn, who has played numerous matches with the world’s pre-eminent No 9 at the Bulls and more recently with the Springboks, believes he can be every bit as good.
‘He’s so unbelievably talented,’ Steyn gushed to keo.co.za. ‘You saw that by how well he did playing at scrumhalf in the Super 14 against some of the world’s best players. I’m not sure how many 21-year-olds would have made the step up that easily.
‘Now in the Currie Cup he’s played centre and wing. You could probably pop him in at fullback as well and he would do really well. You get some freakishly talented players like that once or twice in a generation. Frans Steyn is one and I think Francois is another.
Hougaard is, understandably, yet to develop the all-round excellence and aura that Du Preez possesses and Steyn lamented his absence, enforced as a result of a haematoma in his thigh, for their crucial match against the Cheetahs at Loftus on Saturday.
‘Fourie is a big loss,’ he said. ‘He is world-class and he makes it so much easier for a flyhalf because he has a superb kicking game that takes pressure off you, he can snipe around the ruck fringe, and has a crisp pass that gives you the extra split second to make a decision to kick, run or pass.
By Ryan Vrede
10 Dec 2009, 12:12 pm
@NZINCHINA: no expert either mate.
you didnt think he was sensational at the 2007 wc?
i did i must be honest. he almost singlehandedly destroyed the poms and the argies.
that was the same year he sparked the bulls to a 96-3 victory over the reds and then was an important part of….gnash gnash…fk! fk! fk!…..the bulls s14 victory.
my point is he is no flash in the pan.
10 Dec 2009, 12:14 pm
fourie is good if he can kick the leather of the ball but for pure rugby genius and being the finest rugby player the last five years that accolade belongs only to one man and that is the great brian o’driscoll.bod was always a great attacker but he has added great defensive abilities to his game in the last few years to make him the most complte rugby player of this era.
10 Dec 2009, 12:17 pm
@NZINCHINA: haha, kevey mealamu?
does he still play for the ab’s?
10 Dec 2009, 12:19 pm
@Valkyrie: hmmm……again, i think victor matfield is just as amazing a player, albeit in a different position.
and carter or mccaw would challenge for that title (last five years) as would george smith, gregan or larkham.
10 Dec 2009, 12:26 pm
@Hurricane:
He faced Genia for the first time in brisbane and he was shown how to play real rugby.
10 Dec 2009, 12:26 pm
@rangerman: you are probably right mentioning those players but the wonderful thing about this blog is that it’s just my opinion and one hundred others might have different opinions,which is great and which i respect,in a democratic society as long as we don’t kill one another for having different opinions.
10 Dec 2009, 12:26 pm
@rangerman: ok, ok, maybe not gregan
10 Dec 2009, 12:28 pm
@Valkyrie: hundred percent.
its a discussion man, as long as it doesnt get personal, alls good.
10 Dec 2009, 12:28 pm
@NZINCHINA:
that guy couldn’t find his lineout jumpers with a map and a compass…
10 Dec 2009, 12:30 pm
@wallabie.: haha, walla, genia is a serious talent no doubt.
in fact, the wallas may just get their house in order at just the right time for 2011.
obviously i hope they do as i want to see the best possible rugby.
who will be the long term replacement for stirling walla?
10 Dec 2009, 12:34 pm
Good nickname for FdP – “Neo” as in the Matrix.
Arise, “Neo” du Preez, the One.
10 Dec 2009, 12:37 pm
Whether FDP is a genius, we’ll see next year or so. For now, he just a very good player who enjoyed overall very good season.
To be a genius one has to play exceptionally well at least some consecutive years. Just my opinion.
10 Dec 2009, 12:42 pm
@Nils: Have you watched any SA rugby these past few years?
10 Dec 2009, 12:48 pm
@Heavens Game: Yes. That’s why I am sceptical.
He was very good in 2007 in S14 and in the WC. Meanwhile was poor in 3N.
He was poor in the whole 2008 except November tour.
And he was very good in 2009 S14 and 3N. +/- average vs Lions and poor in November.
I did not see him enough in CC, I admit. He hardly featured there before 08 anyway. Must have been good this year.
10 Dec 2009, 12:50 pm
FDP was brilliant in 2007 …. think the ELV’s & captaincy & a injury or 2 made him have a avg 2008
10 Dec 2009, 12:53 pm
@Nils: Okay, fair enough.
10 Dec 2009, 12:55 pm
@Sonito:
Joost?
Marshall?
Gregan?
In their prime were better than FDP. All the above players had better all round skills.
Then you dont mention any of the NH players.
You go into a dribble when Ryan writes his usual fantasy stories.
10 Dec 2009, 12:56 pm
Thing is … if you had to choose a all time bok team from 1992 – 2009, most ppl would choose FDP … that means, he’ll get picked above Joost & Garth Wright …. that says a moer of alot!
10 Dec 2009, 12:58 pm
@rangerman:
Matt Dunning.
He has speed and can kick for posts.
10 Dec 2009, 13:00 pm
@wallabie.: Looks like young man Genia is the next big thing.
10 Dec 2009, 13:06 pm
@SABC: Maybe because many people do not remember that well past legends in their prime.
Like choosing Radiohead over Pink Floyd.
10 Dec 2009, 13:08 pm
@Nils: no contest Nils, floyd all the way…
10 Dec 2009, 13:12 pm
@poppa69: Which does not mean in any way Radiohead are bad, of course.
They are very good. Just lose when compared to proper legends.
10 Dec 2009, 13:13 pm
Fdp was nowhere near that Bulls demolition of Red’s 96 – 3 in 07 or against Crusaders in semi, he was out nursing some bruised hip joint or other, it was the little general genius Adams behind the scrum in both those 2 crucial games otherwise if Fdp hadn’t got injured Bulls wouldn’t have sufficed or made the play offs let alone final.
In the final Fdp was busy stuffing it up letting Sharks get the upper hand throughout until Habana stole it at the death for Bulls, and Butch and F. Steyn coughed it up to them on a plate, else Fdp would never have raised that trophy that day.
Thank Adams for getting them to the final and Sharks for choking it up to them on a plate, but it had sweet f.all to do with Fdp winning it whatsoever.
10 Dec 2009, 13:21 pm
@wallabie.:
Please boet none of those players had a better all round game than FDP. They all had weakness.
Joost had no kicking game, Marshall had a **** pass, and gregan also had a weak kicking game.
So if you comaparing a all round game then FDP is the closest to a complete scrumhalf with no obvious weakness.
So your comment is actually pretty stupid!!
10 Dec 2009, 13:30 pm
Fdp is no scrum half he’d make a decent fly half though.
10 Dec 2009, 13:34 pm
skopskiet you are enlightened, definately at least someone sees fourie for what he really is: one dimensional.. ( to say the least)
10 Dec 2009, 13:41 pm
pity enlightenment only comes in small doses and is rarely found amongst the ravaged deluded multitude pack. To see one has to open ones eyes beyond the delusion of fictional grandeur. Poor fools still can’t realize just who it was lost us 2008 tri nations or Eoyt 2009 vs Ireland and France. None other than his holiness Fdp himself, none other.
10 Dec 2009, 13:47 pm
@graeme1:
Usebenzani? Uhlalapi?
10 Dec 2009, 13:50 pm
Eish Bra Skopskiet, I agree with you but with all due respect the way you keep repeating yourself; you’re starting to sound like Hondo with his incessant ramblings about certain players in the bok squad.
10 Dec 2009, 13:51 pm
Adi jacobs cost us the EOY games … i know he didn’t play, but he is so k@k ..his k@kness rubbed off on the other players … Quota!!!!!!!!!
10 Dec 2009, 14:04 pm
Rugby genius??? thats why he dominated his Irish and french opposite on the recent tour ???? sorry i dont think he did. A very good player but come on…
Look if it makes this Keo site happy maybe we need to contact these rugby no names Will Greenwood, Gavin Hastings, Raphaël Ibanez, Francois Pienaar, Agustin Pichot, Scott Quinnell, Tana Umaga, Paul Wallace and convenor John Eales, I have heard of a few of there names but they obviuosly dont no a lot about rugby and tell them huge mistake they have made, they have left out a GENIUS
10 Dec 2009, 14:13 pm
How do you think the voting went ?
Will Greenw = BoD
Gavin H = BoD
Ibanez = FDP
FP = FDP
Pichot = McCaw (probably didn’t watch any rugby)
Scott Q = BoD
Umaga = McCaw
Wallace = McCaw
Eales = McCaw
10 Dec 2009, 14:24 pm
One of my favourite players. Like him plenty.
10 Dec 2009, 14:29 pm
NZNCHINA…
About the Goldie rumours… you’re sowing confusion here saying he married a netball player…
In SA men play netball too…
@Nils:
for sure…
They called Ok Computer The Dark Side of the Moon for the 1990s…
never heard anyone call Dark Side of the Moon the Ok Computer of the 70s…!!
10 Dec 2009, 14:35 pm
Skoppie sometimes you can make me laugh on this site that is even in in spite of the absolute drivel that you continually post,Transvaal were the first sa team to win a super rugby cup but the bulls are the first sa team to win 2super rugby cups and the FIRST sa team to win a super rugby cup and the currie cup in the same season it was a pity we got beat in the vodacom cup final or that would have been some hat-trick,now laugh at that.
10 Dec 2009, 14:52 pm
@Sonito: To play cricket
10 Dec 2009, 14:53 pm
@graeme1: @skopskiet: once again we are back to skops greatest argument , fourie is one dimensional? i think i now know your entire rant
first you’re gonna say all he does is kick
then you’re gonna blast someone for replying to your post then then you’re gonna attack morne steyn (at least you have a point here) then you’re gonna attack the Bok senior “ballerinas ” and you’ll want them to be replaced by worthier players
correct so far?
10 Dec 2009, 14:54 pm
@WP Till I Die: Wheres John Allan, a bit more recent
10 Dec 2009, 14:56 pm
Skoppie is Back! Skop have you spotted Habana prancing around in your town?
10 Dec 2009, 15:00 pm
@west: dont be stupid man , we all know there would have been trouble if BOD was chosen especially after the Senior Irish player thing and besides BOD was AWol during the EOYT .
FDP on the otherhand deserved the trophy becuase he’s the best player on the panet period!!! BUT with that Saffa hating D*ck Eales in the judges panel FDP had no chance .in the end they thought why not pick Mccaw who to be honest sort of deserved it if you really think about it .
10 Dec 2009, 15:00 pm
I heared that the Sharks are negotiating with Madiba to coach them in 2010.
10 Dec 2009, 16:01 pm
@skopskiet: With such wonderful command of the English language you must be the Sunday Times crossword puzzle champ.
10 Dec 2009, 17:12 pm
@skopskiet: I wondered if this article would bring you out of retirement.
10 Dec 2009, 17:18 pm
@SodaJoe: i knew for sure he was nevergoing to last in banishment….You Soda drove him away with your biltong recipes!!!!
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