Spencer must make way for Francis
1 Mar 2010
Carlos Spencer is causing confusion and panic in a Lions team that requires calm.
The New Zealand media were excited to see Spencer back home, but six years’ absence has done that to them. Spencer is also enthused to be back playing Super Rugby, but from the Lions’ perspective, he’s failed to add anything meaningful to their results in three matches.
That’s not entirely his fault, as the Lions’ structureless approach is doing none of their players any good.
Coach Dick Muir believes Spencer’s time in England has meant he’s picked up bad habits, and the longer he plays with his Lions team-mates the better he’ll get. The facts are the opposite. At 35, he’s in the twilight of his career [proved by him not starting at Gloucester behind Welshman Nicky Robinson and England U20 flyhalf Freddie Burns], and Spencer admitted as much last week.
‘I’m just trying to keep up really,’ he said. ‘I’m not getting any younger, I’m getting slower. For me it’s just trying to do the best I can to help this side succeed.’
Spencer should have much to offer the Lions’ camp, but with the current care-free mindset, it’s hampering their progress. As a senior player who’s admitted he’s struggling to keep up, his frantic actions also contradict that.
Ten minutes into the second half against the Hurricanes, as the Lions won a penalty 5m from their line, Spencer prompted JP Joubert to take the quick-tap. As soon as the scrumhalf encountered a wall of defenders, he kicked the ball straight down field, allowing the Canes an opportunity to counter-attack. That just shows how much of a plan the Lions have: there is none.
As an influential international – the only one in the side – Spencer should have a calming effect. Instead, he has the opposite, and the above is just one example.
Spencer’s trickery may look impressive, but it’s largely unproductive, while his tactical kicking is also poor.
For the second week in a row, the Lions couldn’t dominate the opposition when they were a man short with players sin-binned. Against the Hurricanes with Ma’a Nonu off, the Lions couldn’t take full advantage with Spencer aimlessly flinging the pill out wide with no plan to expose the gap in midfield. Last week against the Chiefs, when they had 14 and then 13 men on the pitch, a similar scenario ensued.
Muir’s big goal is to score tries, and in the 45 minutes Francis has been on the park, the Lions have scored seven. In the 163 minutes Spencer has been on, they’ve scored five. Admittedly, they’ve been very different situations, but it’s clear to see how Francis’s game suits the Lions’ strengths.
Francis – even at age 23 and with minimal Super 14 experience – has provided more composure, a trait that this Lions side requires. Francis was the only player dropped from the 22 for last week’s match against the Canes, but against the Brumbies this weekend, he must be the man in the 10 jersey.
That’s not to say there’s no room for Spencer, but from the evidence of the first three matches, it’s not in the starting XV.
Muir’s goal is to win the Super 14 in three years. In 2012, that’s not going to be with Spencer playing pivot. From a short-term and long-term perspective, Francis is the better option to start.
By Grant Ball
57 Comments
Pages: [1] 2 » Show All
1 Mar 2010, 04:36 am
Its a good thing that I don’t support losers, because I’m a winner.
1 Mar 2010, 04:36 am
Pick on the easy target time, pathetic. And exactly how has Vatrlosade the already dire Lions worse ? Give him time, his teammates need to adjust before they can possibly prosper.
1 Mar 2010, 04:38 am
You are many things, KKK, but a winner is not 1 of them.
1 Mar 2010, 04:39 am
@Black Panther:
Yeah, you stick up for your cousin like a good bro should, aye bro
1 Mar 2010, 04:40 am
@Black Panther:
I support the World Champions, you do not. That makes me the winner, you the loser.
1 Mar 2010, 04:43 am
Perhaps,KKK, but most certainly not in life
1 Mar 2010, 04:48 am
@Black Panther:
Really? I own a very successful farm and am certainly more well off than you.
1 Mar 2010, 05:25 am
funny Kobus, youve told us plenty of times that you only support a team when they win… once they lose you have a new team… keep hanging yourself
you own a successful farm, whoop de dooo… do you feel like a big man now??
1 Mar 2010, 05:57 am
@poppa69:
Give it a break poppa…………..you guys do exactly what you are critisizing.
1 Mar 2010, 06:40 am
@poppa69:
Life is only too short, Poppa. Why should it be spent in anguish supporting losers?
1 Mar 2010, 06:50 am
Spencer’s signing is embezzlement and fraud, nothing to do with rugby and Muir knows it
Not sure of all the superlatived showered on Francis, he hasn’t played a Super14 match yet, either way, the Lions have been a write off well before their first match of the season.
1 Mar 2010, 06:58 am
Muir was called ‘Tricky Dicky’ in his heydays at Natal, let’s see what the next trick he’ll pull off?
1 Mar 2010, 07:08 am
The Lions need a better goalkicker than Earl Rose. Burton Francis can be it, but he needs to be in the starting XV first.
1 Mar 2010, 07:30 am
yeah, give Burton a starting spot … game time for our 2nd best flyhalf is a must.
1 Mar 2010, 07:34 am
@dWeePer:
Yes, I agree, Grant has this article wrong, Rose should make room for Francis, he is better than him in all aspects of play, and there cant be questions raised about quotas.
1 Mar 2010, 07:49 am
Francis at 15 till half-time. Then moves into 10 to replace Spencer.
1 Mar 2010, 07:50 am
Rose should be sent to Mars.
1 Mar 2010, 07:54 am
Doppies (12) and Venter (13) at centre. Killian on wing. Mjekevu on after half-time. Killian moves to 15 as Francis moves into 10. Coetzee at 9.
1 Mar 2010, 07:55 am
NOW WHY DIDNT THE SHARKS TRY GET HIM AT LEAST HE IS A FLYHALF,
SORRY BOUT CAPSLOCK ONLY NOTICED NOW
1 Mar 2010, 08:01 am
sorry to poppa and bp…but i never understood the spencer acquisition from the get go. 35 and now keeps Francis…a 23 year old prospect, warming the bench or even worse sitting in the stands….doesent work for me. MUIR and his headless chicken non tackling romantic play whats in front of you candy floss no meat n potato rugby is exactly what the lions didnt need.
Ek sal bid….maar belowe Fok kall
1 Mar 2010, 08:08 am
Spencer is not the problem… **** Muir is… If he put structures in place Spencer would at least have something to play to… ****’s run from anywhere and anything approach is like giving a ild horse its head… you’re just not gonna control it… but at least put the bit in its mouth so that it knows someone else is in control and will do what it is told… most of the time anyway…
Burton Francis should be on the bench to sub for and learn from Spencer… as he get more experience then start him with Spencer on the bench
Earl Rose is fullback… why make this a choice between him and Francis… there’s room for both in the team.
1 Mar 2010, 08:22 am
Doppies would be so good in a proper team. I’m surprised he’s not more sought after.
1 Mar 2010, 08:32 am
earl rose is kak. he could also be blamed for lack of composure….how long now, 4-5 years of superrugby?
Burton needs to slot in somewhere, he’s a bladdy good player.
Derrick Minnie and Todd Clever looked pretty good.
1 Mar 2010, 09:45 am
I say give Francis a go at fullback, Spencer at 12 and Rose at 10.
1 Mar 2010, 09:50 am
@Cyborg: The only way one can play Earl @ 10 is with a very good defender @ 12… maybe Walla @ 12…
1 Mar 2010, 09:54 am
any thoughts of playing him at 15?
1 Mar 2010, 09:55 am
you can even send spencer to the sharks, im sure we will win the contact dispute
1 Mar 2010, 10:02 am
Carlos is ok @ 10, the backs just need to gel around him, but, Francis must be in the mix…
Anyway, that’s not the biggest problem @ my Lions…
The real question is… can we get Pearly to tackle… now, that would be a spectacular improvement…
1 Mar 2010, 10:50 am
Carlos Spenser brain failures have nothing to do with his age
1 Mar 2010, 10:52 am
Burton Francis is the most talented – up and coming – flyhalf I have seen in SA for a long time. Mark my words he will be a Bok and Soon
1 Mar 2010, 10:55 am
O and Coetzee at 9 is a must
1 Mar 2010, 10:56 am
@ratel: Yes hes definitely one of the most talented 12s in SA
1 Mar 2010, 11:06 am
Spencer’s philosophy on Rugby. “Lets enjoy this thing”.
He has never been conventional. And never will be.
With Carlos, the Lions got exactly what they paid for.
1 Mar 2010, 11:17 am
I said it I’ll say it again, let the boy play, then judge whether he is good enough or not, Carlos is not the answer
1 Mar 2010, 11:21 am
Can’t Francis slot in 12 initially with doppies moving 1 wider? I think at the minute, this could be the best of a number of crappy options. I am ironically never keen on playing players out of position but it looks as if the lions need to get their most talented players onto the park one way or another.
1 Mar 2010, 11:31 am
Francis will get loads of game time when the Lions come back from tour. Carlos was better Saturday than the last two games. He is getting there.
1 Mar 2010, 11:43 am
@Kobus Kitty: “I support the World Champions, you do not. That makes me the winner, you the loser.”
For whole 8 years supporting Poms and Aussies is no easy task, champion. Did you shout for Crusaders, too?
1 Mar 2010, 11:49 am
@Nils:
Kobe is a farmer…………he should be supporting grass roots.
1 Mar 2010, 11:54 am
@cane: Good on him, honourable profession.
It must be hard to support different team almost every year though, especially the hated ones.
1 Mar 2010, 12:09 pm
The problem is **** and his game plan .. or more to the point, no game plan.
There is surely a problem if a player like rose is always in the starting line-up .. hell, him being a professional rugby player is concerning.
I think at this stage, Franceis sould be getting atleast 30min a game at 10, and as the s14 progresses, it sould become more.
What has happened to Hollenbach? Good player, if not playing at centre he sould be at 15.
Killian is also a good player that need more game time.
Doppies is very underated at 12 .. he has done well. Van Rensburg has been dissapointing from what I have seen so far this year compared to last.
More structure is needed.
I did not see Sats game, did **** put all his subs on again?
1 Mar 2010, 12:42 pm
@Paws: Yip, all of them…
1 Mar 2010, 13:03 pm
My thoughts…
1) Baywatch is not doing the team any good as captain. Everyone was a bit surprised when he took over from Ernest halfway through the S14 season a couple of years back. Now, everyone is used to him and not asking the right questions anymore.
His decision making on the field is lacking. On Saterday Earl was missing easy penalty kicks from right in front. Then the Lions scored a great try from a line out where 10 through to 13 joined the maul. A couple of minutes later, with the Lions’ tails up, another penalty and I thought, great, set up the line out again and go for the try again. They have the momentum on their side. What does Cobus do, signal for Earl to kick for goal. Earl miss and from there on the rest of the half it was all Hurricanes, all that momentum lost! A great captain must be able to realise things are going your way and make the right decisions to keep it going.
2)Earl Rose is a liability on defence and attack, but everyone except the coaching staff knows that. I stopped counting how many times the Canes ran right through him. He must be a great practise player. How else does he keep cracking the starting 15?
3) As excited as I was when I learnt that King Carlos is on his way to the Lions, so dissapointed I am now seeing his form during the last 3 matches. No vision, no direction and certainly no gameplan.
A loyal but very gatvol Lions fan
1 Mar 2010, 14:17 pm
I was impressed with the way earl rose ran onto the ball in the lions chiefs match – got the line going well.
1 Mar 2010, 15:23 pm
I’ve enjoyed watching Spencer almost as much as the players are probably enjoying playing with him. Picking on the easy target definetely this article.
1 Mar 2010, 15:38 pm
Clever needs to be signed by a better Super 14 team.
1 Mar 2010, 15:42 pm
@Eminem: My first comment was pro Spencer in case anyone is wondering.
1 Mar 2010, 16:38 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl:
#35
Interesting
I thought Burton Francis is a Bulls’ discard, how talented that may be?
1 Mar 2010, 18:43 pm
A simple case of trying to shut the gate after the horse has bolted. Rugby purist in NZ could have told Muir, that Spencers career was effectively over when he moved to the NH to play twiddlywinks.
If Spencers team mates are confused, so is Carlos. He must be thinking “how could this guy have been so dumb?” Cool, I’ve got a pocket full of rand, sweet.
1 Mar 2010, 21:00 pm
@Cyborg: Nooooo DO NOT scre up more flyhalf talent by playing him at fullback. They are not the same!
A flyhalf mus learn flyhalf play at flyhalf -nwhere elese. The flyhalf high speed gut-feel inutitive decison making you cannot learn from another position, and playing a 10 in those positions will just screw their decision making up.
Francis is agood layer with good instincts. But those instincts need experience. Put him at 10 and leave him there. Let him learn from the master- use Spencer as a coach, and a bench backup.
1 Mar 2010, 21:02 pm
**** cannot be blamed at this stage. No other coach can turn the players the Lions have (compared to other S14 teams) into winners in 3 games, not even 10.
Carlos will get better, but I agree that Burton should be the Lions no1, thats why he went to the Lions in the first place.
Rose? Well, lets see; he is too slow, not strong enough, have little skill, and worst of all he is scared. He should be dropped, Burton move to 10, Carlos 15. Burton to do the kicking.
Pages: [1] 2 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.