‘Not just clowns, dangerous clowns’
27 Jul 2010
Sydney Morning Herald columnist Spiro Zavos has launched a vicious tirade against the Springboks.
Making reference to Fox Sports commentator Brendan Cannon’s ‘clown’ comment last week, Zavos writes: ‘Peter de Villiers and the Springboks are not just clowns, they are dangerous clowns.’
He also slams the Springboks for a range of issues from their ill-discipline to their apparent desire to return to a negative brand of rugby. He continues, accusing the Springboks of deliberately cheating at breakdowns.
Zavos writes: ‘The loose cannon of world rugby is not the gregarious Brendan Cannon, but the Springboks and their coach, Peter de Villiers.
‘It is now an infamous rugby incident that Cannon was required by the Springboks to apologise for calling De Villiers a ”clown”. Fox Sports was wrong to force Cannon to grovel.
‘De Villiers and the Springboks are not just clowns, they are dangerous clowns. Their attacks on referees, their refusal to accept the laws of the game or the just punishments handed their thuggish players, their abuse of other coaches and the absurd claim of a conspiracy against the Springboks are part of a sinister attempt to undermine the best elements of modern rugby.
‘This sinister attack is inflaming Springboks supporters to unacceptable levels of paranoia. Even more importantly, the attack is a direct challenge to changes in the way the tackled ball is refereed. These changes represent the best reform since the introduction of the ”use-it-or-lose-it” principle.
‘The Springboks want a return to the negative game that rewarded kicking sides and punished sides trying to run the ball.
‘From being the dominant side in world rugby, the Springboks have become [out of South Africa, at least] an ordinary side. On Saturday night they were decisively beaten on points (literally and metaphorically) by a Wallabies side that smashed them at the breakdown and refused to kick away the ball. The Wallabies kicked 11 times [which must be something of a record in minimalist kicking] and the Springboks 16 times. This high-octane, ball-in-play style was too fast for the monster pack and the ”might is right” system of the Springboks.
‘After the thrashing they complained about being unfairly penalised at the rucks. They have a policy of illegally diving across the ball at rucks. At Brisbane, it was noticeable how many times Springboks tacklers ended up at the back of the Wallaby ruck where they interfered with Will Genia’s clearances.
‘The yellow card given to BJ Botha was offered by the Springboks as proof the conspiracy exists. This is nonsense. Slow-motion vision shows Botha deliberately plonking his body over the ball to kill it before cynically raising his arms as if to suggest he had got there by accident.
‘The Springboks just don’t get it. They insist they won’t change their game to take into account the realities of rugby in 2010. So they are deliberately trying to undermine the new interpretations. The hope is, presumably, that the IRB might restore the kick/pressure/penalty game that was so favourable to them. The IRB must stand firm against this recalcitrance. In my view, if the Springboks get away with their Justice4Boks campaign, the cause of entertaining, skilful, running rugby will be put back years.
‘This brings us to the Wallabies-All Blacks matches in Melbourne and Christchurch in the next two weeks, to be refereed by South Africans. During the Super 14 tournament, South African referees sometimes were, in a word offered by a New Zealand rugby writer, ”generous” in their decisions in favour of South African sides. For these Tri Nations Tests, though, and the others in South Africa, we want the IRB standard that encourages open rugby, not the Springboks standard that thwarts it.’
353 Comments
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30 Jul 2010, 10:06 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-350: Hmm I hear what you say (as i always have)and yes, y attitude on McCaw has shifted radically. You have always been appalled at certain things that have happened here (Justice 4 etc) and I feel the same way about your captain. You cannot understand how we would support something like that (which, as an outsider, seems crass and unreasonable) and I in turn cannot understand the national adulation of someone who revels in his ability to gain an on-field advantage beyond the laws. You call him smart, I call him a cheat.
And regardng animosity, I’ve seen it from both sides on here in the last 18 months…someone like Poppa’s incessant bleating about how much abuse he cops, but he’s never been shy to disdh it out
Like I said in another post, we all contradict ourselves from time to time, it’s a very normal part of debate, which is what this blog is. And I didn’t brandish your team as cheats. Never have. I (and many many bloggers on here) have been at pains to praise the AB;s for their dominant performances.I also never accused the ref of cheating either. I think he was well below par, yes. And last year, I was pretty vocal in my own personal condemnation of the Bakkies campaign and Schalk in particular, and this year of Div and his clownish antics and ridiculous accusations.
I’m rambling now, i prefer to chat about rugby….you? A bit of banter is good but it all gets a bit much
30 Jul 2010, 23:34 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-351:
Now you put that cheatin’-finger down, y’hear.
Bloemfotein, 2009. A convincing victory for the Boks. ABs in disarray tactically and physically. Boks awarded LOADS of penalties for AB indiscretions. Boks dominance seemed to be reflected in fewer Pens awarded to ABs. Kiwis later, um, ‘learned’ that the multitude of penalties that were awarded against ABs was specifically because “ABs cheated constantly at the breakdown because they were being dominated in the tight phases”. To my eyes, the hometown ref – Alain Rolland – let Boks away with murder too, hands in the ruck, crooked feeds, slowing ball down. It mattered not, it didnt alter the result, no complaints in that respect.
Durban, 1 week later, 2009. Another victory for the Boks, less convincing. ABs still tactically naive but had moments of getting back in the game that werent there in Bloem. Brussow repeatedly pinged for slowing ball, hands in ruck. FdP pinged for crooked feeds. Bismarck the worst poker-face at ruck time, also pinged. Different ref, same result, but a much different match.
Watch the 2 games again. Brussow, FdP and Bismarck did exactly the SAME technique in offenses in both Tests and yet only got penalised in 1 of them. The most hilarious being Cowan being penalised for a crooked feed in Bloem minutes before FdP gets away with it. Only to get caught in Durban. Does this mean that they only ‘cheated’ in that 1 Test ? Are you saying that a player only cheats if he gets caught ? Are you saying that when SA gets caught its ‘unintentional’ and yet when NZ gets caught its ‘cheating’ ?
You can call him a cheat. But, then, Sth Africans always have. It must be exhausting keeping up appearances of such purity.
31 Jul 2010, 00:09 am
@Atreides(Atreides)-351:
PAH ! what would those ex-players know anyway……
“Does this man get away with murder?
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw.
PHIL WAUGH and Rod Kafer have weighed into the debate surrounding Richie McCaw’s activities at the breakdown, but far from branding the All Blacks skipper a repeat transgressor have urged the Wallabies to follow his ”smart” style of play.
As Robbie Deans’s men prepare to face the seemingly unstoppable All Blacks at Etihad Stadium next Saturday, Waugh said the Wallabies shouldn’t read much into comments by Springboks coach Pieter de Villiers that referees are turning a blind eye to McCaw’s foul play.
”It’s about responding to how the referees interpret the breakdown during the game – and obviously all referees are different,” Waugh said. ”And the quicker you get the interpretations right for the game the better you’re going to perform in the game.
”Richie’s a very astute and smart rugby player who picks that up very early in the game, which allows him to push the limits. And that’s what he’s out there to do.
”He’s obviously been a real leader in the game ever since he came on to the scene in 2001 and he’s very good at it. He’s probably had times and moments during the past few years where he hasn’t got away with it as much as he would have liked. But in any circumstance, people in our position push the limits and he’s obviously one of the best at getting on the right side of that fine line.
”It’s about being influential in the game and he’s getting back to where he was three or four years ago of being a real influence on the game and good luck to him. You’ve got to push the game to the limit.”
Expert commentator Kafer agreed with Waugh and said the Wallabies could do worse than try to imitate aspects of the All Blacks’ game. ”It’s pretty obvious the Springboks are playing last year’s rugby and the All Blacks are playing next year’s rugby – I think Australia’s stuck somewhere in between,” he said. ”That’s probably the difference for the All Blacks.”
Kafer urged Australia to play an expansive game next Saturday or risk the same fate as the Springboks, who suffered consecutive losses to New Zealand in the first two matches of the 2010 Tri Nations series.
”Richie has changed his game quite significantly. The way he plays he’s become much more of a link player,” he said. ”But for a variety of reasons against the Springboks it suited him to go back to the old-school Richie McCaw of being a real factor at the breakdown. The Springboks played it very tight and that played into Richie’s hands.
”If you play it tight then he’s always somewhere in and around the breakdown. If you play anything close you’re going to run into him. And that’s dangerous.”
While Kafer has no issue with McCaw’s tactics at the breakdown he did suggest his stature in the game has some effect on how McCaw is treated by referees.
”Every player tries to make the most of the breakdown and Richie McCaw’s got the slight advantage of being captain – he commands a little bit more respect from the referees from time to time, I think,” he said. ”But I’m happy for him to do the same thing against Australia. I don’t think it’s illegal whatsoever.”.
What was that again, Rod ?
“I don’t think it’s illegal whatsoever.”.
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