Guts is not enough
23 Aug 2010
The Boks offered resilience and desperation at Soccer City but nothing inventive or innovative, writes Keo in his weekly Business Day column.
It was like watching an 800m Olympic track final as the All Blacks pulled away for two tries and 12 points in the final three minutes of a contest that had seen them trail SA for much of the preceding 77 minutes.
Somehow you just knew it was going to happen.
The All Blacks were always tucked in too closely to the shoulder of the Springboks, and it was the Kiwis who had the leg strength to find an extra gear in the final stretch, whereas there was nothing left in the legs of the Springboks, who had raced on instinct and hope.
The South Africans, All Blacks coach Graham Henry said afterwards, lacked the conditioning to play the game at the tempo of the All Blacks. There can be no argument because Henry is correct.
For those who lament the lateness of the heartbreak, rugby is a game won in the 80th minute and not the 77th, and had Dan Carter’s radar not been off-centre for the second successive time against the Boks I fear the All Blacks would have put the Boks away 10 minutes earlier than was the case.
Carter, in the 31-17 win against the Boks in Wellington, missed five from eight. In Soweto, he missed five from 10. His opposite number Morné Steyn did not miss a kick in either Test, but SA were comfortably beaten in the end.
The romantics would have settled on a 22-all draw, the South African patriots on a 22-17 win and the Kiwis on the script that finally unfolded.
But no one would have been so crass as to have singled out centurion John Smit with the missed tackle that led to New Zealand’s final try. Smit said afterwards that it was a missed tackle that would haunt him for a very long time, coming in his 100th Test and in the last movement of the game. Sport is a cruel lady and when she stabs you in the back she doesn’t think twice about twisting the knife.
There is a great deal for Smit, coach Peter de Villiers and the Boks to ponder this morning. They could not have asked for a bigger crowd, better playing conditions, a more inspirational occasion, better goal-kicking from Steyn or a stronger platform for their set piece. The players could also not have given more in commitment on defence. But they lost, three tries to one against a team already guaranteed the Tri-Nations trophy.
The Boks will justifiably point to the forward pass in the build- up to Richie McCaw’s try, but they did not lose because of a missed forward pass. They lost because they created very little when they had the ball and they lost because they defended for two minutes shy of what is needed to beat the All Blacks.
One missed tackle? It is far greater than that. It is like a boxer saying he was in the contest for 11 rounds and only lost because of one punch.
I can’t share the enthusiasm of those who are accepting of this Bok defeat on the basis that it was better than their performances overseas.
It had to get better. Playing at home, after a three-week break and with all the elements associated with the match … come on. New Zealand would have done well to get within seven points of the Boks, given the occasion and how everything favoured the South Africans.
It should have been New Zealand out on their feet. They arrived in the country seven days ago and persisted with a ball-in-hand approach that would have sapped their energy. Yet it was the Boks, the home team, who were finished in those crucial final moments.
Physically the home team had nothing left, which is why I question the euphoria in talking up a performance that offered resilience and desperation, but nothing inventive, innovative or creative.
The only try came from a quick tap and go. Another may have come from a charged-down kick. The All Blacks scored three and could have got another three.
The Boks have now scored four tries and conceded 14 in four Tri-Nations matches. That is a damning statistic. Equally damning is the not-so-small matter that the Boks have lost six of their past seven Tests to France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand since claiming last year’s Tri-Nations.
The Boks were not fit enough or creative enough to win in Soweto against an opponent whose qualities cannot be denied. Against a lesser opponent the desperation would have triumphed, which would only have added to the illusion that this Bok team is the future.
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272 Comments
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23 Aug 2010, 21:52 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-249: could you imagine keo the week of the final? hahaha not sure it would be the sanest of places to visit
23 Aug 2010, 21:57 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-251: Ah Keo. An anthropological treasure.
23 Aug 2010, 22:00 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-252: finishing work Soda, enjoy…
yes, keo, where opinion is king, regardless of the accuracy..
cheers
23 Aug 2010, 22:02 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-253: adieu.
23 Aug 2010, 22:03 pm
Blood sucking vampires all out, feasting on an injured Springbok carcass, enjoy for the moment will surely pass away
This Bok will stand and be counted when it matters most
23 Aug 2010, 22:05 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-253: Sure is better than Silverfern
23 Aug 2010, 22:09 pm
Now we need some of the young ones to be picked and snotklap Australia
23 Aug 2010, 22:16 pm
Its time for new blood…
Smit has to call it time…he has served his nation with distinction and he should be remembered for that, not these last four defeats and a mistackle.
Frans Steyn should play full back…de Jongh should start again as he brings energy and passion. Fourie and JDV combination is stale and sterile…Habana is out of form…he has been given too many chances. If Mapoe is fit get him in, otherwise how about Gerhard van den Heever? Spies should be dropped. Vermuelen should come in. Flip did well. Stick with him. I think Matfield should remain for the next two games. No choice especially since Bekker is out.
I see an opportunity for Butchie…
My team for this weekends game
Beast
Smit
Du Plessis
Flip
Matfield
Smith
Burger
Rossouw (No.8)
Hougaard
James
De Jongh
JDV
Habana
Pieterson
Steyn
God bless Africa
23 Aug 2010, 22:23 pm
@Bhupendra du Solanky2(Bhupendra du Solanky2)-258: Maybe Steyn could have an extended run St flyhalf
Vermeulen is only worth a try, he does not look like package, maybe Willem Alberts should get a run
Wingers, Mapoe has not played for a while so maybe get Shadow in
23 Aug 2010, 22:47 pm
Just one comment from me today: whatever happens, the ABs must be the outight favourites going into RWC 2011.
That is a not-negotiable for me.
It must virtually be impossible for them not to take the Cup in 2011.
So far everything is going according to plan.
I’m happy with 2010 because the Boks would not have benefited from a successful 2010 campaign.
Now they have to ask the uncomfortable questions, about conditioning, combinations, depth. It must sound like someone who is in denial, but I’m telling you NOW we will see the value of these depths of despair next year, when it matters most, on the big stage.
We have harvested good players in 2010, much like in 2009: M Steyn, Brussow.
The early part of the season will afford all these players to lift themselves just that 15-20% per player which is what we need right now.
I would not even be too concerned if we lose against the Aussies twice in a row, altho that is not the preferred route.
23 Aug 2010, 23:05 pm
When former All Black halfback Justin Marshall left for England five years ago, a litre of petrol cost about $1.30.
He remembers a flat white coffee costing about $3 and a beer at his local about $6.
But since his return to New Zealand about a month ago, Marshall has noticed his British pounds are not going as far as he had hoped.
“I think five years ago you could get a coffee for around $3 or $3.50 but I wouldn’t think there would be many places you’d get one for under $4,” he said.
“Petrol is now close to $1.80 a litre and if you’re drinking quality lagers in a pub, a lot of the bars are charging up towards the $10 mark.
“It’s expensive and something you can’t help but notice.”
Marshall, 36, agreed with rugby correspondent Peter Bills that New Zealand was an expensive country – and not just for visitors.
Bills – sounding a caution ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup – said the prices of everyday articles had “horrified” him and Kiwis were “victims of massive overcharging”.
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He said New Zealand was becoming “one giant rip-off”.
Marshall, an 81-test All Black who is now a Sky TV rugby comments man, said his rugby friends had also warned him that the cost of living had become higher in New Zealand than in Britain.
“All of my mates who had come home kept saying to me that I needed to be aware that the expense of living in New Zealand is something you really have to take into account … It really has become an expensive country to live in.”
He said his weekly grocery spend in Britain was between £150 and £200 ($323-$431) to feed his family of five.
Here, the bill is $400 to $500 a week.
“I’ve really noticed it with things like cheese, milk and bread and butter … When I was in the UK I bought a leg of imported New Zealand lamb for 17 quid [$36.60]. I bought the same thing here and it was close to $40.
“Even when you take the exchange rate into account, it still costs more to buy our own meat here.”
New Zealand Beef & Lamb chief executive Rod Slater said Marshall was “pretty much on the mark” and said prices for export lamb in Britain, our biggest market, were generally “on a par” with prices here.
Mr Slater said this parity was partly because of New Zealanders paying GST on food whereas consumers in Britain did not. “So that’s 12.5 per cent right there.
“The other thing is a huge part of the lamb sold in the UK is frozen, whereas we get it fresh here. Our currencies have come closer together as well. I mean, not long ago it was $3 to one pound; now it’s two to one, so that has made a difference, too.”
Marshall said retailers, hoteliers and people in the hospitality industry were in a Catch-22 situation with next year’s Rugby World Cup looming.
But he agreed with Cup chief executive Martin Snedden, who expressed concerns that rorting visitors could damage the country’s reputation.
“You want people to come to NZ and see it for what it is,” Marshall said, “but in the same breath we want to make money … It’s an opportunity to maximise businesses and maximise what New Zealand has to offer and people are going to be here anyway.
“It’s very difficult to pull away from that opportunity when it is so evidently going to be in your face but you want those people who come here to go back to the UK and not talk about how difficult they found it to find cheap hotels or how expensive it was to go out for dinner.”
Despite the exorbitant cost of living, Marshall says there is a flip side and has no regrets that he and his family are back living in Christchurch.
“I have realised how much better New Zealand is in terms of family life and amazing scenery and just how good the people are here. It’s an amazingly beautiful country and I don’t think when you live here you realise how lucky we are.”
**********************************************************
Cut the prices New Zealand, dont rip us off if/when we get there. Listen to Justin Marshall.
24 Aug 2010, 00:54 am
Right, to win the biggest games, you need a better squad.
One of each type in each position
E.g Spies + Vermeulen – Kanko too much like Spies
Bruger + Brussouw
A squad that could do this
15. Gio Aplon / Frans Steyn
14. JP Pietersen / Bjorn Basson
13. Jaque Fourie / Juan De Jongh
12. Jean De Villiers / Meyer Bosman or Waylon Murray
11. Bryan Habana / Francois Hougaard
10. Morne Steyn / Peter Grant
9. Fourie Du Preez / Jano Vermaak
8. Pierre Spies / Duane Vermeulen
7. Juan Smith / Francois Louw
6. Schalk Burger / Heindrich Brussouw
5. Victor Matfield / Andries Bekker
4. Danie Russouw / Bakkies Botha
3. BJ Botha / CJ Van Der Linde
2. Bismark Du Plessis / Tiaan Liebenberg
1. Tendai Mtawarira / Coenie Oosthuzien
24 Aug 2010, 01:30 am
EOYT:
15. Gio Aplon
14. Bjorn Basson
13. Juan De Jongh
12. Waylon Murray
11. Francois Hougaard
10. Peter Grant
9. Jano Vermaak
8. Duane Vermeulen
7. Francois Louw
6. Heindrich Brussouw
5. Andries Bekker
4. Adriaan Fondse
3. CJ Van Der Linde
2. Bismark Du Plessis
1. Tendai Mtawarira
16. Tiaan Liebenberg
17. Coenie Oosthuzyen
18. Juandre Kruger
19. Dewaldt Potgieter
20. Meyer Bosman
21. Elton Janjtes
22. Lionel Mapoe
23. Gary Botha
24. Jannie Du Plessis
25. Francois Viljoen
26. Willem Alberts
27. Ricky Januarie
28. Patrick Lambie
29. Gerhard Van Den Heever
30. Riaan Viljoen
24 Aug 2010, 04:23 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-260: Epic fail as a copy-and-paste!
24 Aug 2010, 04:29 am
@haaibok(haaibok)-231: You don’t WIN an opponent, pilgrim. You BEAT them. And, yes, even in Afrikaans — you don’t WEN an opponent, you KLOP them.
Pay attention at the back of your Standard 5 class, pilgrim. You don’t want to grow up one day and still be so stupid. It’s not a good look. People laugh at you.
24 Aug 2010, 05:41 am
We have the players, its been that way since Jake White ran the show, thats always been clear. But the way team selections, tactics and decisions have gone… We just dont have respectable coaches. Heyneke Meyer better be the coach post World Cup.
24 Aug 2010, 06:38 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-265: You are showing no mercy today.
24 Aug 2010, 07:18 am
Time to bring in the youngsters. This should be the starting lineup once all fit.
1. Beast
2. Bismarck
3. Kruger
4. Bakkies
5. Bekker (c)
6. Brussouw
7. Smith
8. Burger
9. Du Preez
10. Lambie
11. Hougaard
12. De Jongh
13. Fourie
14. JPP
15. Frans
Old men subs:
Liebenberg
Gunthro
Victor
Louw
Jean
Ruan
Aplon/Habana
24 Aug 2010, 08:18 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-265:
Tackler, you can get quite personal , you like to attack a writer of a post.
Maar my vriend ek is n boerseun, en BAIE TROTS daarop. Engels is my 2de taal.
TACKLER, maybe you know whats this means.
4MY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND
CHOKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND YOUR BELOVED all blacks WILL SUFFOCATE IN THE W/C.
This , hiding the BOKS were giving this year will be the catalyst they needed to take them to glory. Same as what GH said about the hiding they were dished out last year, thats why they peak once again 12 mths ahaed of schedule.
Its so nice to hear Tim Noakes on yes an Afrikaans radio station , staing that you can not maintain the condition the AB’s are right now for the next 12 mths. So I predict , they will run out of steam come the Semi’s, in the 75 min. AGAIN AS USUAL
24 Aug 2010, 11:03 am
@Mike H(Mike H)-164:
Mike and Haaibok
I know, I know, you won 3-0 last year, and I would have been the first to shake your hands. Well done on that. They were quite simply some of the most fantastic games I had ever seen.
The Bokke won last year because they were awesome, not because we were missing Cater, MacCaw, our coach was a muppet/puppet or because the refs were disfavouring us.
I agree Haaibok, I suspect politics interferes with all levels of your game. It is tragic. Just a thought… do you think NZ should be boycotting SA rugby right now because of their quota system? This is blatant racism, and we have boycotted the Springboks in the past for this.
24 Aug 2010, 16:47 pm
I never thought I would open this can of worms, but here goes:
Perhaps we were not as inefficient with Smit at 3 and Bismarck at 2 as we thought.
24 Aug 2010, 21:00 pm
Springboks brand of rugby is to honest! They need to catch a wake up and start playing the way the cousins on the other side of the water is doing it.
You must play obstruction rugby! It is vital that this part of their game improves. It is the only sane way to get overlaps & holes in the oppositions defense. These decoy runners in front of the ball basically rips defense lines to shreds, the Springboks are the only clowns that have not caught onto this!
Speed up the attack! The useless officials cannot keep up with the pace of the game especially the side that attacks, forward passes will not be picked up that often because the officials just cannot watch, breath & keep up all at the same time.
Make a human barrier to protect your back 3 from up & under’s. Very important to turn your back onto the attacking player chasing the ball & turn the speed down to a jog, this will give the officials ample time to catch up with the game & in the event where your player is caught by some miracle it gives the ref an opportunity to blow the tackler up for not giving the ball carrier enough daylight to place the ball.
Watch the ref at the breakdowns, the moment he checks behind him that the offside lines are in check you must then go in as quickly as possible from the side to disrupt the attacking ball. By the time that the official has turned his eye back to the breakdown he would have thought you have come through the gate & allow you to continue with your ball spoiling shenanigans.
For pete’s sake why gang tackle the ball carrier 5 meters backwards with 3 players if none of the tacklers can contest the ball before getting back to their feet before attacking the ball again. This is nonsense, only value is that it looks spectacular & some spectators will have some bar talk afterwards ,it is brainless rugby as it takes 2 defenders out of the game and creates overlaps wide.
Read my lips, defending players are not allowed to play the player or ball on the ground!
Why does South African rugby players at all levels insist on keeping the opposition ball carrier on their feet, while they wait for more defending players to drive the attacking player backwards. This is nonsense, you are waisting energy, you are giving the opposition more time to get more numbers to the ball. Get the ball carrier to the ground asap, he has to place & release the ball asap. Get a vulture like player that always runs on the shoulder of the defender to steal the ball – do not both go for the man!!!
If the Springboks do not adapt to the above, they will loose more, more often against the cousins from over the water than they will win.
All is not lost – adapt or keep on loosing!
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