Appels lends WP some bite
JON CARDINELLI reports on WP’s 54-13 thrashing of the pathetic Pumas at Newlands.
Province scored their first four tries in the space of 12 minutes, with Springboks Gio Aplon and Juan de Jongh showcasing their attacking value. The hosts took 28 minutes to register their first try, but thereafter a combination of brilliant WP running and amateurish Pumas defending allowed them to claim the bonus point before the break.
Willem de Waal’s accurate tactical kicking placed the visitors under pressure, and the Pumas did themselves no favours by repeatedly spilling the high ball. WP’s kick chase was effective, and had the forwards delivered a more clinical display at the breakdown in the first quarter, the scoreboard would have read 50 before half-time.
But after Pieter Louw crossed for the opening try, WP began to grow in confidence. De Jongh’s incisive running fractured the Pumas defensive line, and out wide, Aplon shone as a top finisher. After a patient yet pedestrian WP build up, it was Aplon’s elusive stepping that embarrassed the opposition. The Springbok snatched his second two minutes later with De Jongh featuring with a beautiful floating pass.
The Pumas continued to make mistakes on defence, gifting Anton van Zyl a score before the break. But WP were not without error, and although the scoresheet suggests that they defended well, Monday’s video session will confirm too many missed first time tackles. This wasn’t the polished performance you’d expect from the log leaders, who boasted six players who started the Super 14 final.
The home lineout was inconsistent, and the forwards battled to retain possession again at the start of the second half. Allister Coetzee rested Dewaldt Duvenage for this match, a ploy that allowed Conrad Hoffmann some game time, but the latter delivered a mix bag from the base, his tactical kicking lacking the precision required to implement WP’s territory-based strategy.
Seventeen minutes passed in the second stanza before WP scored through a well-executed forward drive. More substitutions disrupted WP’s momentum and they conceded two late tries. Their defence aside, they shouldn’t kid themselves into believing this win was significant, as the Pumas were truly awful.
In the other fixture played on Friday, Griquas scored a 41-27 bonus-point win over the Leopards in Potch.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
5 points. That is what matters
July 30th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
And in other 5 pointer news:
Leopards 27 – 41 Griquas
July 30th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
The scrummie hoffman impressed in what was a rare start , I am not convinced that scrumhalf is his best position. Like last week he impressed me more running from the back and I reckon it wont be too bad a idea to give him a proper run from there.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
@sparticus(sparticus)-3: conrad is a brilliant scrummie and A.C. should stop ******** around with him and start him above the very average Duvenhage how did cronje play?(another youngster short on game time)
July 30th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Hey! Cementing number one. And with no Bulls’ Bok heavyweights to spoil things at the business end… Maybe Die Currie Cup kom weer! Just playing.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Hoffmann’s anticipation in passing is just amazing. He’s a scrumhalf, should be played there and could become the best in the country.
He does overcook his kicks quite a bit which needs to be worked on. He’d do a lot better without one-dimensional de Waal next to him though and a more expansive game-plan from WP. I’d love to see more of Hoffmann-Cronje together. Also happy to see Engelbrecht get a run-out. I think he should ideally be a starter in place of Juries. And Schreuder again didn’t impress me.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
had never seen hoffman in a full game before.
had read a lot of good reports on this kid.
must say, didn’t seem the goods at scrummie, but when he moved to fullback you could see the skills and awareness come through.
problem is, there are so many good kids like him in this country
July 30th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Post 2011 would like to a see a Cronje, Newman and De Jongh combo develop
July 30th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
damn – just saw Vermeulen’s tackle on a charging Ronnie 200kg Uys – put him 3 meters back at a rate of knots – Spies wishes he could tackle like that!
July 30th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
1. The space created by Bosch was interesting. He’s got talent written all over him. It’s so nice to see a nr. 12 in action who doesn’t look for someone to run into.
2. Hoffman also shows good promise.
3. Peter Louw was pretty good.
4. Jantjes didn’t look on song.
5. And finally, Habana can only dream of hands like Aplon: a complete natural.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
man of the match…
was pro legota
seriously
had a great game
July 30th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
If bok’s are looking for a go to man at No.6 look no further than Pieter Louw
far more mobile and effective than both Schalk Burger or Frans Louw
So if they need a tough nut grafter then Pieter Louw is the man for all occasions, big enough to carry ball and effective enough in the loose and on the deck, far better option than anyone else in the mix apart from perhaps Brussow on form.
Bok’s back row should comprise the following players
Vermeulen
Potgieter
Deysel
Pieter Louw
and we on the road and on the mend
Next stop the kicking and play M. Steyn at 15, Pienaar at 10, Pretorius at 9
I see Coetsee is copying his mentor with this dumb schmuck kick and chase antic strategy all over again. Hoffman kicking 50% ball up in the air and about 70% of those were totally ineffective if they didn’t go out on the full instead.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
My Bok team for home leg
Viljoen / M. Steyn
Aplon / JPP
Fourie
De Jongh
Habana / Mvovo
Pienaar
Pretorius
Vermeulen
Potgieter / Deysel
P. Louw
Sykes / Alberts
Vd Merwe
Kruger / BJ
Chili / Liebenberg
Gurthro
July 30th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
can remember richard croy back in the day.
great scrummie with a beard.
his lightie, ricardo, showed some great touches tonight.
good genes
July 30th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
@charo(charo)-14:
Agreed, Ricardo has good smooth hands.
Would be interesting to see him in a better team
July 30th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Maybe that’s the optimum suitable level for Aplomn
He scored Zero (0) tries at Super14 and wasn’t even remotely close to threaten the ABs and the Wallabies, now he suddenly shining!
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
July 30th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
@Heita(farjan)-15:
and good vision (except for that intercept pass).
pity he has to play for pumas – i would pick him as first choice 10 for sharks.
cheers guys
July 30th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
hey was part of a great WP age group team… He didn’t do enough. I didn’t wavi tonight so i can’t say much… Will watch when I get home later. Glad to hear Hoffman did well, really have high hopes for him!
July 31st, 2010 at 12:20 am
@Gambit25(Gambit25)-18:
I wouldn’t take anything away from playing the Pumas, especially at Newlands, playing among the Big CC Five might be an indication, SuperRugby certainly.
July 31st, 2010 at 12:35 am
9 – Faker, Spies wishes he could tackle…
July 31st, 2010 at 7:58 am
One thing is for sure Juan de Jongh creates space through class and doesn’t just run straight into the opposition. This is the type of class needed in the Springbok backline. Having brains far outweighs brawn. Pure class.
Aplon too brings attacking flair to a team.
July 31st, 2010 at 8:25 am
Based on the skills and approach they displayed, I’d move Hoffman and Cronje out a place to 10 and 12.
July 31st, 2010 at 8:38 am
hondo you are so predictable, so Aplon’s other International tries meant nothing????? And who did impress against Oz and NZ???
July 31st, 2010 at 9:08 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-13: That tight five does not seem that they can control proceedings
Sykes has to do something to impress, anything, Alberts could be OK at lock, but I am not so sure about his line out skills
Flip seems like he wants to copy Bakkies, play for 10 minutes less
On form, Liebenberg must the the starting hooker, BJ arums well but also hands 9 points to the oppo
To me there are not many players that are actually miles better if better than what we currently have in the Bok side
July 31st, 2010 at 9:28 am
@JL1(JL1)-24:
To a great extent I agree with you about the tight five. Adding someone like Vermuelen to the pack would add a lot more grunt and aggression, even if it’s from 8.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:10 am
Skopskiet,
You are a legend! You are now saying Pieter Louw’s performance against the Leopards should make him a Bok.
Muhahahahahahaha.
Tri Nation’s opposition would tear him a new one. Furthermore, let him do it for a season or two, hell, even at S14 before you start claiming that he will be good enough for International honours.
That said, I love your enthusiasm. The word pendulum swings to mind!
July 31st, 2010 at 10:15 am
@David(David)-25: The thing is Boks have not functioned as a unit
The tight five we have had the props and hooker trying to do their best, our locks also stand off and then form a slow pod
One should run onto the ball and at a angle, we have been standing and waiting for the ball with a second player hanging onto his shirt from behind, this looked like an instruction and also reverting to instinct
July 31st, 2010 at 10:25 am
@JL1(JL1)-27:
You know, a lot has been said about Eddie Jones and the backline, but what most missed was the improvement in our forwards running lines. Exactly the same as you mention. The one thing that used to impress me about the Wobblies was how Gregan used to pick out his forwards running at different angles, something we’ve regressed on.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:31 am
@David(David)-28: Did you write this?
With all the criticism Peter de Villiers and his coaching staff have received following the Tri-Nations tour I came across a very different view from a blogger called David. His assessment is unique to say the least and he does not muck around with niceties so be warned, this puppy is explosive! I recommend a PG16 rating for this one.
The national coach and team are SARU’s most precious asset… so why not back the team… and why let old Boer mentalities dictate their reaction to Anglo-Saxon discrimination?
When I read the terse SARU message last night saying that they would not comment on the Pieter De Villiers infraction notice, I thought ag heck not again…
Why? Well because last year when the team got charged in the Bakkies armbands incident SARU did the same. When the chickens came home to roost and the IRB decided to exercise their usual little discrination against non Anglo Saxons SARU closed up shop and sat brooding at their pretty offices at SSI sulking away till their team was hammered to the wall by a bunch of pretentious know it all pratts from the IRB. Then sullenly and dryly reported that this was what had occurred.
Basically SARU hung the team out to dry.
Now we hear the SANZAR pratts have similarly sent out a little piece of paper saying they don’t like to hear the truth about their little Anglo Saxon hegemony over international rugby (including the help from their refereeing friends onfield) from a South African… in fact secretly they believe that blacks should after all not be doing anything important in rugby… bets on that secretly the Kiwis are ticked off that after 180 years of “racial equality” their national team still has not had a non white coach. Now when, to boot, you have an “uppity ******” who is Afrikaans and not afraid to throw his unencumbered opinions around that cannot be tolerated. They must put the black man back where he belongs… the old colonial prejudices start to creep out… holy moly they hated the “Boors” and the “niggers” and here you have a cross between the two… telling them outright that they are cheating… “Well well well HQ won’t be having with any of that uppitiness old chap what what?”
Now faced with this out and out attempt to repress the truth and exercise their latent racism what does SARU do…
They close up shop.
At school we used to have our group of cool kids. Whenever a new kid came to school we’d invite him to sit with us. The kid would desperately want to fit in so we’d make little insider jokes that were actually designed to make him feel out.. but he’d be so desperate to feel liked in the new environment that he’d laugh along, and when he figured out we were laughing at him… he’d leave and sit on his own in sullen silence. Yes I know it’s cruel.. kids are like that. But so is the IRB.. and SARU are childish enough to fall for the trick, go back to their offices and sulk.
So here yet again they are as an organization leaving the national coach in limbo.
As I once said (I said it last year) the correct response to this is an all out media offensive against the IRB. I am a little surprised a good sports journo like Andy Calqhoun has not advised his bosses to attack… to use the media. The SANZAR boys club secretly believe the media is there to masturbate the All Blacks after they win. Maybe SARU should have had an actual communications expert to dictate a proper media response to this. Closing up shop like the old Boere would draw a laager to “skiet die zulus” is the completely wrong response.
I believe that SARU was first asked to comment on what De Villiers said… the correct response would be now to open up.. tell us this is what SANZAR wanted to know.. then tell us what your response was… especially if it is positive and backs the coach and makes SANZAR look like the bigots they are… ask Bhutana Khompela and Makhenkesi Stofile to suggest SANZAR is biased against De Villiers because he spoke the truth and is black and Afrikaans… hell get Julius Malema onboard!
And for heavens sakes grow a pair of damned balls and back the coach… okay wait… change that… given the strong woman role models we have in this country like Helen Zille and Maria Ramos and Patricia De Lille and Cheryl Carolus (people never afraid to speak their mind and back their people to the hilt) maybe we should hope that SARU’s balls shrivel into a ******… maybe some estroegen will give them the backbone to open their mouths and defend the national coach.. who after is an employee accused of bringing the game into disrepute…
A woman like Cheryl carolus would not be afraid to say:
“Uhm no.., tell you what… if Alain Rolland is next to Pieter maybe we’d consider his attendance but until then stuff off.” Bets on the little pink balls in the ou jockey koffie sakke of the old men’s cigar and brandy club at SANZAR would shrivel away and they’d be the ones sulking in the corner.
Bottom line
SARU
Open your damn mouths and defend your employees against cruel lies from an organization hellbent on “getting the Japies”… go on the offensive… flood the media with information… if you have decent analysts throw those analyses out there that back Piedter up… let us ask the question is the media… geez why are the IRB afraid of the truth?… How can the truth harm SANZAR?
I am off now to go buy my six year olddaughter a Ken doll to “marry” her Barbie… at least she has more spunk and courage to open her mouth than SARU’s Rob Alexander, Oregan Hoskins and ESPECIALLY Andy Marinos…
_______________________________
* I think people who believe that Pieter should somehow be held accountable for telling the truth are not real rugby supporters but pretenders who like liberal whites pretend that a half full glass is actually a completely full glass and will refuse to listen to things that interefere with their self created construct of a world view. Anyone who says the ref does not affect a team has never played a rugby match. Especially not with an openly biased ref… I have… a poor referee can lose you the game… when it gets to where you think… nothing we are ever going to do will win us this game… to the people who refuse to believe a poor ref alone can cost you a game… you don’t deserve to be commenting on rugby…
July 31st, 2010 at 10:38 am
@JL1(JL1)-29:
No, although I wish I had.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:46 am
@JL1(JL1)-29:
BTW, notice how 2 of those women are also Cape Coloured like PdeV, a community known for direct speech. PdeVs english might be suspect, especially with his mixed metaphores, but he’s generally not far off the mark.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:48 am
@skopskiet(yliad)-13: Jy is poer in jou moer in!!
July 31st, 2010 at 10:49 am
@David(David)-31: Yep, I reckon loads of what he says is just translated direct from Afrikaans to English without adding context
July 31st, 2010 at 10:50 am
@JL1(JL1)-29: Btw this was posted on Rugby Talk
July 31st, 2010 at 10:52 am
PdV is speaking this Inglis tale very deliciously since he are twice. It are his home tale…….
July 31st, 2010 at 11:01 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-35:
You know, I get really pissed off when I hear English speakers making fun of Afrikaans speakers speaking english, the same when whites parody Africans doing the same. Anyone who is using a second language should be respected for trying, not treated as an idiot.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:04 am
@David(David)-36: Relax David!! I am Afrikaans. It’s called a sense of humor.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:06 am
Maybe Divvy should re-visit the old Afrikaans saying, As jy jou wil uitgee as n toffie moet jy bereid wees om gekou te word…………….
July 31st, 2010 at 11:07 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-35:
You know, I get really tickled when I hear English speakers making fun of Afrikaans speakers…throw in the squeaky voice and I can like to laugh very hard.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:08 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE(KWAGGA ROBERTSE)-37:
Sorry, it’s just that PdeV has enough problems without using his language against him.
BTW, with your comments on the reffing, I don’t suppose you have a certain ex SA ref in your family history?
July 31st, 2010 at 11:12 am
@David(David)-40: That would be a no. Got a few mates that moves in the reffereeing circles. Some interesting bits and pieces every now and again.
July 31st, 2010 at 11:12 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-39:
. It is a funny world we live
Funny how a French speaking in broken English tends to be given more understanding than an Afrikaans speaking person doing the same thing. Perhaps the French are just more “romantic”
July 31st, 2010 at 11:17 am
@Great White Shark(Predawn)-39: Divvy really needs to keep his image squeaky clean so to speak
July 31st, 2010 at 11:29 am
Haha…squeaky clean.
Ja the French can say two words correctly in English and still manage to walk away with dignity…try that with a Cape Flats accent..the outcome is brutal.
July 31st, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Why the need to insult the ‘pathetic’ Pumas? The game I watched last night was contested by two teams of equally passionate and hard working players. The fact that one team doesn’t have the skill set to match the other does not give some journo sitting in a comfy seat in the stands the right to insult them.
Show some respect ffs and report on the game. These guys played their hearts out.
August 1st, 2010 at 2:04 am
PdV suggested that the outcome of a test match was rigged. That is a big claim and he should be called to account. If he has no evidence, he should be censured. That was very amateurish and anybody who thinks the Boks weren’t smashed by a far better team is kidding themselves.
This isn’t a racism issue, a cigar and brandy club conspiracy. This is a national coach talking **** and bringing the game into disrepute. His team was smacked because it played badly and was badly coached.
This conspiracy **** is cowardly! Face up to your failures PdV!
August 1st, 2010 at 4:29 pm
hmmm… Bullet… Pieter Louw was the Baby Boks captain for quite a while and recently played in the Super 14. He has a LOT of international experience. In fact, in the Super 14 he scored almost every time he set foot on the field. Having a great season so far.
Gio… GREAT game! Well done.
The Bledisloe match was epic. I don’t think I’ve seen anything so sad in a long time. The Bokke will struggle to do worse than the Aussies.
Good luck for the rest, although it’s clearly NZ’s year again.
August 2nd, 2010 at 9:31 am
@Heita(heita)-8:
Nee man. Newman isnt quite in the same league as Whitehead!!
I’d even dare to say that Newman isnt even as good as Bosch!!
August 2nd, 2010 at 9:44 am
@JockBok(JockBok)-45:
Agree with you entirely.
It just shows a lack of journalistic skills as well as rugby knowledge to resort to a headline like that.