Jo’burg jol wasn’t rugby
22 Feb 2010
The Lions’ desire to entertain their fans will only end up torturing them, writes Keo in his weekly Business Day column.
The Stormers were aggressive in defence against the Waratahs and disciplined at the breakdown in a match that resembled rugby and not the basketball farce produced in Johannesburg on Friday night.
Everyone wants to see tries scored, but 18 of them in one match, with five coming from one team in the last 12 minutes is not a rugby match, let alone a contest.
The Lions and Chiefs may boast the highest aggregate score in Super Rugby history and the most number of tries in a match, but the most telling statistic of Friday’s night’s Chiefs 72-65 win was the 47 missed tackles. The Lions made just 38 tackles against a team who scored 72 points, while the Chiefs’ 75 tackles was boosted by having to make a good 30 in the five minutes of extra time as the Chiefs attempted to stop the Lions scoring the try that would take them within seven points of the Chiefs. That they failed to keep the Lions out was no surprise.
Compare this with the contest in Cape Town. The Stormers, victorious 27-6, made 80-plus tackles, the Waratahs 50-plus tackles and between the two teams they missed nine tackles. That is rugby. Players were committed to making tackles, keeping their shape on defence and not giving an inch. There was intensity in defence and when you have that you generally have a rugby match. There was nothing of the sort in Johannesburg.
The new breakdown law does not mean Super Rugby is now basketball. When players are disciplined and respect the rights of the ball carrier in the tackle you get a game played at a fast pace and one still played with structure and shape.
The Lions farce was unfortunately an example of how it can go wrong when there is little discipline and a total disregard for the breakdown law. The game never had shape, defence was non-existent on both sides and it was embarrassing the manner in which tries were scored from kick-offs without a hand being laid on players.
Anyone who tries to find the positive in this match is deluded. The Lions, desperate to play an expansive game, have forsaken a defensive structure that was stingy in the Currie Cup when no team scored more than three tries in a match against them and overall they had the second best defensive record in the Currie Cup.
Jake White, who consulted with the Lions during the Currie Cup, is a believer of structure first and extravagance second. Teams who can defend tend to deliver more than teams who can just attack. The ideal is to find players who can provide balance in attack and defence, and it is in this aspect that the Lions failed themselves.
It is not that these players can’t tackle because they proved otherwise in the Currie Cup. It is more a case of embracing Dick Muir’s carefree approach of expression first and expression second. But what of the consequence? Muir last week said winning wasn’t important. It was about entertainment and enjoyment. No doubt his charitable employees may have a different approach should the Lions entertain their way to 13th or 14th in the league.
Muir in his first season in charge with the Sharks a few years ago also adopted this approach and results were similar. I recall 70 plays 45 against the Crusaders in Christchurch and some other ridiculous defensive efforts as the Sharks laboured near the bottom of the table.
The next season Muir introduced John Plumtree as his assistant and forwards coach, the Sharks played with far more structure and defence determined as much in their approach as did attack, and the Sharks made the final.
For the Lions to fashion a win they need structure and Muir should remember what worked for him in his second season at the Sharks and be reminded of the scant reward for playing entertaining rugby in that first year.
The Lions, if they continue to ignore defence, are going to torture – more than entertain – their supporters.
The Stormers, with Bryan Habana inspirational, scored before and after halftime and that is the mark of a good side. Their problem in the past few seasons has been the second 40 minutes, but against the Waratahs they produced their best second 40 for some time.
The Bulls predictably crushed the Brumbies in Pretoria and the Cheetahs win in Durban was equally predictable given the history of matches between the two sides.
The Sharks have problems. I wrote it last week and it is something that will probably be written every week of this campaign.
90 Comments
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22 Feb 2010, 13:28 pm
There was nothing wrong with rules in the first place. The defensive side now has no rights to contest at the breakdown and it makes it no contest really. Brusouw, mcaw making a tackle and geting to their feet steeling the ball in one movement was fantastic to watch but now the more ‘bulkier’ no.6 like Burger would be prefered to a real fetcher
22 Feb 2010, 13:28 pm
wasn’t kevin putt was coach when the saders pumped the sharks so badly and they wooden spooned?
22 Feb 2010, 13:28 pm
@PissAnt:
fair enough.
22 Feb 2010, 13:30 pm
@mshiniwami:
Then it is also vital that exuberance is balanced and kept in check with experience otherwise you will sit with a situation of 65 points scored but also 72 conceded.
22 Feb 2010, 13:35 pm
The lions would do well imo if they gave that youngster Burton Francis ithink, a start. Hes been far more impressive than Mr Spencer who looks over the hill at this stage. It could be that hes taking time to adjust to super rugby again and could get better, but time is somethig the lions dont have on their side. Burton looks like a reliable kicker as well and given enough opportunity and experience, he could be another morne steyn.
22 Feb 2010, 13:38 pm
Funny nothing being said about Jake White influence on the Lions, was he just employed as adviser during the currie cup? Dont know much of whats happening at the lions
22 Feb 2010, 13:47 pm
@Mustard: You are 100% right, there was never anything wrong with the Laws… It was misinterpretation that stymied the game. Problem for a number of years is the pilfering was not legal, as per the Laws of Rugby. It was let go to the detriment of the game and now the players and fans need to RELEARN the was it was, is and was meant to be… IRB has the Laws of Rugby on its website… free, absolutely no charge.
22 Feb 2010, 13:48 pm
We finished 5th in ****’s first season. What’s this about us and the bottom of the table?
22 Feb 2010, 13:50 pm
@Mustard:
It seems like he was only used during the Currie Cup.
That all being said, call me stupid, but how do rugby players forget how to defend in the space of the Currie Cup up to now? Surely if Jake introduced great defensive patterns the players should at least remember the fundamentals of them.
22 Feb 2010, 13:51 pm
thank you thank you… but you’re too old to say jol
22 Feb 2010, 13:53 pm
@Cyborg:
It is not so much a case of forgetting, it is a case of changing the structures under which you operate, train and play.
A good defense takes a damn long time to nail down.
Communication, repetition and most importantly, consistency in selection (where players form an understanding with the guy next to them).
The last one mentioned is probably the biggest difference where **** has played a different team almost every week.
You get the feeling it is a case of; ‘here is the ball guys, just play the game’
22 Feb 2010, 14:11 pm
“The Lions, if they continue to ignore defence, are going to torture – more than entertain – their supporters.”
Muir will patch up the Lions defence, again the “first” team has been together for only three weeks, you (Keo) surely out of all people didnt expect the Lions to win against the Chiefs, infact most people didn’t expect the Lions to lose by a converted try. One good thing about this weekend’s game is that the Lions cannot get worse than they were this weekend (at their worst they scored 65 points against a good team).
@59. Cyborg :
Jake is a rugby messiah who knows all and brings life to dead rugby teams,heals defenses,perfects scrums etc… Guess the Lions players are just a dumb and forgetful bunch.
22 Feb 2010, 14:15 pm
@SpringbokSarah: Jol has been part of the SA lingo for centuries. You can never be too old to say it or pursue it.
22 Feb 2010, 14:24 pm
@stormer in a teacup:
“Jol” used to be slang in some parts for kissing…similar to “snog”, “lash”, “druk”, vry”…
22 Feb 2010, 14:27 pm
Keo’s logic is very sound and shows why he writes about rugby and doesn’t coach or play it. He knows very little and writes to create hype and hysteria.
I suppose the Lions should have sat back at 72-28 or whatever it was and concentrated on defence.
Where the Chiefs not playing in this game? Or was it the Lion’s ‘fault’ that there were so many points scored?
Come on Keo write some real stories or have your transformation and quota stories run dry?
22 Feb 2010, 14:37 pm
stooooooooooooooormers!
22 Feb 2010, 14:47 pm
@Oubaas2009: my previous comment should read ‘not very sound’.
22 Feb 2010, 15:19 pm
Good article Keo…
gotta keep things in perspective…
The Stormers defence was really impressive… great to see such heart and commitment from 1 to 22 for the full 80… haven’t seen that at Newlands in years…
it’s all most of us fans ask for… if the players give that, the results are gonna take care of themselves…
well done to the players and coaching staff…
also I love the gees that is so evident in the team… goosebump stuff… even in a boiling hot Cape Town…
22 Feb 2010, 15:38 pm
Its obvious things arent well at the Sharks , but it seems so many have adopted the “kick a dog when he’s down” approach. eish man wheres the love
22 Feb 2010, 16:10 pm
Keo is a tool. He does not mention that his fantastic Stormers team could not score a try in 40 mins of second half rugby against us and Judas Fourie only scored from a stupid mistake. Our defence was not that bad then.
22 Feb 2010, 16:11 pm
65 points against last year’s losing finalist? I’d say we’re still in the running.
>^..^<
22 Feb 2010, 16:12 pm
@WP Till I Die: Well almost – the etmology of the word jol (of Scandinavian origins) means yule, or yule-tide, as in Christmas. If refers to the Christmas party, the sharing of gifts… so I suppose people could share STIs?!?
22 Feb 2010, 17:07 pm
This may all be true Keo, but they will surely outscore the Sharks on a bad day.
This then goes to show, “doesn’t matter how bad things are, they can still get much worse”….
22 Feb 2010, 17:43 pm
we got two points from the game. thats more than in most matches last year. and to be honest i’ve been a lions fan for a while and I enjoyed seeing them running in a few tries. and its not the lions RU that keep on changing the laws “to make the game flow more” or “make it more exciting” or “attract more spectators because we are losing them to other sports disciplines in AUS” etc etc etc
22 Feb 2010, 17:53 pm
i apologise i should not have said “changed the laws” but rather “reinterpret them”, which is actually one and the same thing. As an interpretation is an explanation of how something works i.e a law, so if you change the interpretation you change the meaning or what that law means!
22 Feb 2010, 18:14 pm
@Captain1: No, Muir replaced Putt mid way through the 2005 Super 12 (late March), he was on a temp contract just for that super 12 then. The Sharks did achieve their one win that season (against the Brumbies, who can forget Ruan’s try in that match), the first game Muir was in charge of. He was in charge when the team lost by a big score to the ‘Saders, that was close to the end of the season. But had an impossible mission that year.
Mark Keohane, does however, get it completely wrong (unsurprisingly), but not for that reason. This segment, is a load of k@k:
”
Muir in his first season in charge with the Sharks a few years ago also adopted this approach and results were similar. I recall 70 plays 45 against the Crusaders in Christchurch and some other ridiculous defensive efforts as the Sharks laboured near the bottom of the table.
The next season Muir introduced John Plumtree as his assistant and forwards coach, the Sharks played with far more structure and defence determined as much in their approach as did attack, and the Sharks made the final.
For the Lions to fashion a win they need structure and Muir should remember what worked for him in his second season at the Sharks and be reminded of the scant reward for playing entertaining rugby in that first year.
”
1. Muir’s first season was 2005, or rather half of it. The ‘saders score Mark Keohane mentions was in this season.
2. Plumtree joined the Sharks in late July 2006, for the Currie Cup season that year.
3. In Muir’s first full season 2006, when Plumtree was not involved. Campo was however, hardly defence minded. The Sharks finished 5th, and missed out on a semifinal spot on a points difference of 1, the Bulls pipping them to 4th. Not “laboured near the bottom of the table”, as Mark Keohane erroneously states.
4. It was Muir’s foresight in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, including hiring his friend Plumtree, who was out of a job, that enabled the 2007 season. Not Plumtree. Cause and effect.
Muir is an excellent coach. Truely brilliant imo. Excellent motivator, astute tactician and talent spotter. He built the current Sharks team from nothing. Most of the players that have done the business for the Sharks over the past 4 seasons, he plucked from club rugby and below. When he started there were a handful of Springboks playing for the Sharks, mostly old and past it.
When he had finished, almost the entire XV were Boks, capped within the last few seasons. The RWC winning XV was a 3rd Sharks players, with the Sharks making up the biggest component of the RWC squad.
He did this from a position of Super 12 wooden spooners and threats of relegation in 2005.
It’s almost laughable that Mark Keohane thinks Muir is the failure and Plumtree the success. Plumtree since he has had complete control of the Sharks, has presided over a slow collapse the more Muir’s memory fades. The side has not ‘clicked’ properly in over a season now, they can’t pass and attack longer than a few phases. Can’t even defend now, against a poor Cheetahs side.
Keohane lauds Rassie Erasmus and to a lesser degree Allister Coetzee. It would be wrong to say the performance on the weekend was due to the players, just look at the Sharks. Clearly the coach/es, have a significant effect on team performance, much as the deniers of the current Bok coaching team don’t want you to believe this. But Rassie imo is an average coach, okay but not on **** Muir’s level.
I fully expect **** Muir, like he did at the Sharks, to take a side of unknowns to the top over a few seasons. They will become a very good side. The first half on the weekend reminded me very much of **** Muir’s Sharks sides.
Mark Keohane, as always is full of tendious inaccuracies, laboured points and outright lies. My question to him is, if **** Muir is useless, Peter de Villiers is useless, who is coaching the Springboks to all this success? John Smit? The same man, who along with the other 12 Boks in the XV on the weekend, produced the worst display I’ve ever seen from a Sharks team? Must be Gary Gold then, well done to him. Also the only one involved with the Stormers and the only one that never gets kak on here.
We’ve seen this all before from Mark Keohane – just look at his views on Jake White and how they changed depending on how the wind blew.
22 Feb 2010, 18:15 pm
Ag fnok hier gaan ons al weer … As I said in another thread on a similar topic today the writers on this site will not have anything good to say about the Lions now that Winning Ways are no more at the Lions. We will have to endure all the stories about what Jake would have done (WWJD?) as if Muir’s an idiot that cannot see the need for a better defence. The Lions will come right under Muir. It’s going to take time and much experimentation. The players desperately needed a coach that’s got the guts to take risks, giving players space to show what they can do. In the past it was all donkey rugby and some players – like Rose – couldn’t play their natural game. By opening things up Muir can see who’s got what it takes. It’s a learning exercise. Things will evetually gel … and then this team’s going to play the brand of rugby most want to see. RIP dinorugby.
22 Feb 2010, 18:22 pm
@Pot Blou Gevaar: ‘this may all be true’? :s
What’s true? The ‘facts’ Mark Keohane pulled out of his behind?
His version of events during the 2005/2006/2007 Super rugby seasons. Is not what happened. He will be proved completely and utterly wrong in his dislike of **** Muir and attributing the Sharks performances in their better seasons to Plumtree.
Plumtree could well be out of a job by the end of the season. Maybe even before the end.
**** Muir will have his ‘no brand’ Super rugby team midtable and be contenders for a Currie Cup title.
22 Feb 2010, 18:47 pm
@Archbishop Jeremiah Jeffery Jonnas:
We make too much out of that match
Jonker as expected happened to be a truly S African patriot, with a neutral referee the margins would have been different.
I haven’t noticed any new Sharks player lately that hasn’t played under Muir, as a backline specialist, Muir must have taken a lot of satisfaction with the combined performance of Ndungane, Murray, Jacobs and Pietersen last Friday, I would imagine?
22 Feb 2010, 18:49 pm
When **** Muir ended up at the Sharks the question was asked how the Lions could have missed the opportunity to pull Muir in at the Lions (especially after his successes with Pirates). Now that Muir is at the Lions (eventually!) we’re again criticised for pulling him in (and not stick with JWWW and its chosen one … Allister Coetzee). When Muir was appointed everyone should have known what rugby to expect. Also consider that Muir started with a new squad of players not familiar to him … very few Springboks in the Lions team. After all the rubbish dished-up by the Lions in recent years is it not appropriate to demolish what was constructed before and start building something new? Completely new? That’s what Muir’s doing and I will support him in this effort. A whole new mindset is needed at the Lions. Gerricke will greatly assist in bringing this about. Whatch this team grow in leap and bounds in the next 18 months.
22 Feb 2010, 19:32 pm
@Hondo: I don’t really know what your point is tbh. :s
The Lions showed alot of heart to come back from the deficit they had. They never gave up, their heads didn’t drop. They are a ‘no brand’ side populated by club players, the over the hill and those unwanted elsewhere. Yet they have some of the hardest elements to instill in a team, just two matches into **** Muirs tenure. Discipline, belief in the team and eachother, good attacking skills, good interlinking between backs and forwards. Mark Keohane and most of the “journalists” on this site, talk endlessly about ‘structure’, can they even define it? Can you? I see alot of solid foundations in this Lions team.
Three of the players you mention **** Muir brought through. JP was playing age grade for the Pumas. Odwa was a Border player and Bulls squad player. Murray was playing club rugby for Jaguars and age grade for KZN. All these, like the current Lions team, were ‘no brand’ they had little pedigree back in 2005/2006 and few knew of them.
I very much doubt **** Muir would enjoy seeing how they are playing, two seasons into Plumtree coaching them. Compared to how they played under him. He tried to sign Murray and rates them all highly I would say. I would further note, that in the areas Plumtree is supposed to be good at, the forwards and breakdown, the decline has been even more alarming than the back play.
Plumtree is a highly conservative coach, who not only does not trust his players to play what is in front of them. Worse than that, with many of them he just doesn’t trust them full stop – hence hiring an over the hill pom that should be going to the knackers yard and steadfastly refusing to alter a selection policy, which has no room for rookies to stake a claim. Even the likes of Adi, Ruan, Murray, Springbok capped and hishly capable players. All get passed over for players of less ability (Dumond, Strauss, Swanepoel) that don’t make as many errors because they don’t try anything. This isn’t the type of player and management that takes you to the top.
22 Feb 2010, 21:10 pm
@stormer in a teacup: no no no, I can jol… and people in their 20s can jol… however a man of Mr keo’s… maturity level, can not jol
22 Feb 2010, 21:32 pm
@Archbishop Jeremiah Jeffery Jonnas:
Best post I have ever read on this site.
23 Feb 2010, 02:17 am
For those who applaud the strictest possible application of every law — and, remember, rugby doesn’t have rules; it has LAWS — you’d surely be campaigning to have every scrum blown up for “foot up” or “not in straight”?
23 Feb 2010, 05:40 am
@Archbishop Jeremiah Jeffery Jonnas:
Interesting observation, I tend to agree with most.
Btw: how many tries did the combined Shark’s backline scored since Mentz, Barritt and Styen packed their bags?
23 Feb 2010, 15:39 pm
@TheTackler:
Tackles,
it seems everyone is SO desperate to ‘speed up the game’ these days that we are diluting alot of its complexity and, therefore, its attraction.
Im fairly sick of hearing referees ‘coaching’ the game with general “hands off” suggestions so that we see more flow. But I can put up with it. Im also damn tired of seeing obstruction in the backlines with dummy runners but, heck, with so little space these days I can put up with that too.
Forward-passes ? well there are far too many masquerading as ‘line balls’. Theyre not, but so many tricky angles run these days at pace and mistakes are forgivable. But anyone can see a clear obvious fwd-pass, so lets wehistle them !
BUT
1. straight feeds to scrums ! why do we call the no2 ‘hookers’ after all ? Theyre not hooking at the moment, thats fer sure.
2. straight throws to lineouts !
3. clear offside lines, whistled by the linesman.
These are non-negotiable.
23 Feb 2010, 15:43 pm
@Archbishop Jeremiah Jeffery Jonnas:
Goode is hardly ‘over the hill…..knackered’ at 29yrs.
He’s a **** player, yes, but hardly an OAP. The Lions signed King Carlos at 36yrs and noone made too many remarks about his age then.
The Sharks start the season with 2 losses. Im sure Plums has more spine than some of the Sharks fans are showing. Get in behind your team, the Chiefs got all the way to the Final’09 and their start was similar.
23 Feb 2010, 15:54 pm
@Black Panther: @87 Exactly BP , no point in driving the nails into the coffin when the legs have not given in yet.
23 Feb 2010, 20:23 pm
People, remember, these new interpretation is only for Watson & Co S14 Circus (I don’t know about the TN). But all other Test and World Cup will be a totally different story all together! The Northern purest will not stand for this one way rugby spectacle.
I don’t know where in the rule book the word “DAYLIGHT” are mentioned. If you remain on your feet, you have all rights! And If you get back to your feet, after releasing the ball, you have all rights before a ruck is formed.
And for Punk Sake, with night games, these clowns will NEVA EVA see any daylight!!!!
23 Feb 2010, 21:05 pm
@Black Panther: Carlos is 34, not 36. And just about everyone here had something to say about his age – most of it not flattering. You might have been on the loo at the time, but I assure you it was debated.
But I don’t think this is the point Jeremiah is making. He’s comparing Goode to the talent a team like the Sharks had, and should currently have playing at flyhalf. Goode is simply not nearly good enough.
@Archbishop Jeremiah Jeffery Jonnas: Well said. I have a feeling **** has already started to turn this big old tanker around. Maybe my dreams of a home semi this year were a little ambitious but, in the words of Phil Collins…
tru-dum tru-dum tru-dum… I can feel it coming in the air…
>^..^<
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