Chiliboy’s been cheated
25 Aug 2010
RYAN VREDE is utterly disgusted at the raw deal Chiliboy Ralepelle has been given.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers deplores the suggestion that Ralepelle is nothing more than a token selection to appease those appeased by that sort of thing. How does he justify that he isn’t when his actions reinforce that view?
There is, and will continue to be, debate about whether Ralepelle merits selection on ability alone. That isn’t the point of this argument. De Villiers has selected him and in doing so implies he rates him and is committed to using him.
Ralepelle played 56 of a possible 400 minutes in 2009. In 2010 that figure has risen to 160 of a possible 320 minutes. On the surface the latter figure seems acceptable for a second-choice hooker, but eliminate 79 minutes against Italy in East London and 17 minutes in Witbank and you begin to see a different picture. Consider also that he would probably have not have had more than 10 minutes against France had John Smit not been injured (he played a full half and impressed).
De Villiers said after that Test it was the first time since the start of his tenure that he trusted his bench. Ralepelle was obviously an exception because he subsequently got two minutes in a losing cause against New Zealand in Auckland, eight in a similar situation in Wellington, eight in Brisbane against Australia and zero in Soweto, where he watched a physically exhausted Smit crawl through his 100th Test and miss the decisive tackle of the match.
De Villiers’ commitment to Smit knows no bounds, which is partly understandable given that he travelled to Clermont to get him back in the Springbok fold in 2008. At this point it seems that De Villiers would instruct his medical staff to strap a wooden peg onto Smit should he somehow lose a leg, slap him on the arse and send him to war. He’d then spend the match formulating an excuse for Smit’s struggles and get his conditioning team to tell the media that wooden pegs actually make you go faster.
I don’t share the view that Smit is finished. I do, however, believe that he needed to be rested for the two Tests against the Wallabies, then be put on a specifically tailored conditioning programme during the four-week camp the contracted Springboks will embark on following the Tri-Nations.
That would have given Ralepellle two matches against world-class opposition to establish his credentials as a Test hooker. Bismarck du Plessis could have been eased into action off the wood and all three players (Smit included) would have benefited.
After 14 Tests and four years we still only have a vague idea of what Ralepelle can offer. This is utterly unacceptable. Jake White is partly culpable for this, and his coaches at the Bulls must accept some responsibility. But De Villiers, who in 2008 told the media that Ralepelle would have been his first-choice hooker had he not been injured, must shoulder the bulk of the blame.
And the future doesn’t look bright for Ralepelle either. If one considers how deeply De Villiers lamented Du Plessis’ injury-enforced absence, and how little faith he has shown in Ralepelle in the biggest matches, the Sharks man is likely to be Smit’s deputy for the foreseeable future. This will leave Ralepelle third in line at the Boks and under immense pressure from the likes of the dynamic Tiaan Liebenberg.
I recall an informal conversation with Ralepelle earlier this year, just before the June internationals. He said that for the first time since 2006 he was enjoying his rugby. He said he felt confident. He said he no longer felt like he was being used to make up the numbers. He was optimistic about his Springbok future.
I’d venture to suggest that his point of view has changed dramatically. This at the hands of a coach who prides himself on his honesty and man-management. Pathetic.
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535 Comments
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25 Aug 2010, 21:23 pm
@justrugby(justrugby)-488: LOL
Like a lion
see u tomorrow mate
25 Aug 2010, 21:23 pm
@David(David)-497: david i can tell you they dont talk race all the time there like here
be it you believe it or not , all they wanna do is ta rugby
25 Aug 2010, 21:24 pm
@grant10(grant10)-493: Kayak Bimbo don’t you mean?
I think it was because Skop was upset because some granny had been taken as lunch by a Cape Town shark…boy he was really mad! :lol
25 Aug 2010, 21:24 pm
talk
25 Aug 2010, 21:25 pm
@grant10(grant10)-499:
I know, I used to rent the cottage at Bakhoven that Rob Louw rebuilt.
25 Aug 2010, 21:28 pm
@carol(carol)-503: ja….the banter continued for days…..man it was funny…..some really insane times on here….really had a lot of laughs…..
now got these little wit wolwe here yapping like little poodles…..but they cant compete with the night owls….never ever!
25 Aug 2010, 21:28 pm
My turn to bow out!!
Night Boys
Go Bokke for Saturday…Wallop the Wallabies
25 Aug 2010, 21:29 pm
@grant10(grant10)-506: Amen to that.
Good friends found here, I am very greatful for that! See ya x
25 Aug 2010, 21:30 pm
@David(David)-505: cool….roxy Louw…voted worlds sexiest lady a few months ago….lives maybe 300 m from me….see the most incredible women here daily…..do there training walks…..my dog has a preference for blondes as well….and he is quite a good looking dog….so it s all fun….
25 Aug 2010, 21:31 pm
@carol(carol)-507: cheers
25 Aug 2010, 21:32 pm
@sharks_lover(sharks_lover)-502:
I know, but at the time things were extremely heated here with the whole Bok emblem issue, quotas and the Spears. The main reason that RT is devoid of politics, I suspect, is that nobody vehemently disagrees with some of the comments due to the filtering process of the bloggers.
25 Aug 2010, 21:37 pm
just helluva relieved that octegenarian flirting came to an end, someone was bound to put a hip out, between that and the resep swapping i had an overpowering urge to hurl – where was the rugby manne ek se?
Only time I ever agreed completely with tackler
25 Aug 2010, 21:38 pm
diverse and robust opinion and debate makes for a healthy blog….perish the thought that keo is ever in any way sanitised….restrictions on opinions are not required imo……the blog has a unique way of self cleansing…..for me keo is a very unique place to blog…..and long may it continue in such a vein.
25 Aug 2010, 21:39 pm
Potjie vir *****
25 Aug 2010, 21:40 pm
although i have to admit i sometimes do wish i had Banishment powers…..fark me a few okes would have got the axe…..before they could say De Jongh or aplon i would have sent them to cyberspace purgatory!
Yes Cab….you included you twat!
25 Aug 2010, 21:41 pm
Yeah but that’s cos we have to listen to you hold forth
25 Aug 2010, 21:42 pm
@cab(cab)-514: ag you just a jealous old git….probably an ugly old bugger who dont score no more?
25 Aug 2010, 21:43 pm
@cab(cab)-516: you love the rants and the truth….its a blessing for you….keeps you honest…..
25 Aug 2010, 21:45 pm
What me? Look go put on your volleyball outfit would you.
25 Aug 2010, 21:46 pm
@grant10(grant10)-515:
Unfortunately Cab was here a few years before you and has seniority when it comes to banning.
25 Aug 2010, 21:46 pm
LOL
okay….moeg….tea and bed….
cheers all…
cab…life is short my man….be cool
outta here
25 Aug 2010, 21:47 pm
I ain’t no oil painting, but rugby is rugby, no speedos.
25 Aug 2010, 21:48 pm
@David(David)-520: LOL
Oh hell…i am farked then….!
I reckon a pack of wit wolwe will fight for the right to push the lethal cyberspace injection….bunch of bloody wallys….
outta here
25 Aug 2010, 21:51 pm
@grant10(grant10)-521:
TEA and bed!? Oh dear Grant, whatever image you may have built is seriously in tatters.
25 Aug 2010, 21:51 pm
David, yip quite funny the okes who want their seniority. Wonder what happened to pietman, I genuinely liked him.
25 Aug 2010, 21:52 pm
lastly….still the greatest line i have ever heard on keo….
Okes fighting like crazy about quotas…..
Justrugby pipes up….out the blue….in the immortal words….
‘Hell….i long for the day when just being a saffa will be enough’
Damascus Road stuff……
25 Aug 2010, 21:55 pm
Night grant – hook, line and sinker
25 Aug 2010, 21:58 pm
@cab(cab)-525:
So did I. We had quite a few private e-mail exchanges but he tended to be a bit intolerant when he was challenged online here.
25 Aug 2010, 22:02 pm
Lol yeah did get a bit intolerant, damn funny.
What did you think of the game on sat?
25 Aug 2010, 22:16 pm
@cab(cab)-529:
We did Ok, but we can’t rely on intensity in defence as a game plan. Our guys can be as fit and conditioned as the ABs, but if we spend our time trying to defend after we’ve given possession away, we’ll never outlast them over 80 minutes.
25 Aug 2010, 22:21 pm
Yeah agree, quite amazing to see the way the younger guys came through, but we dying in last 20.
25 Aug 2010, 22:21 pm
Anyway Cab, I’m also off to bed. A few glasses of red and a cognac, rather than tea, is my preferred nightcap.
25 Aug 2010, 22:30 pm
Lol, I’ll go for the octo option with a cup of tea
night
25 Aug 2010, 22:47 pm
Good, budgie smuggler went to rest, seems the drugs are taking affect now
25 Aug 2010, 23:14 pm
@David(David)-530: yeah, pretty much how I saw the game. SA need some backplay, it’s that simple.
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