Sharks’ flyhalf focus a boon for Boks
19 Jan 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Springboks will reap the benefits of the Sharks’ decision to back Pat Lambie in the all-important flyhalf position.
While the speculation around the Bok coach position continues to escalate to hysterical proportions, keo.co.za’s information is that the position has been confirmed for some time. Gert Smal will be announced as Peter de Villiers’s successor next Friday, and among the many tasks he will be entrusted with will be the decision of who to select at flyhalf for the three-Test series against England in June.
Smal will finish his stint with the Ireland national side in early March, and will then turn his focus to Super Rugby and the composition of the Bok side. He will possess a good understanding of what has worked for South Africa in the past, and also what has not. There are many candidates both experienced and unestablished that will be pushing for that No 10 jersey this season, but what should please the Bok coach is that one of the strongest candidates will concentrate on one position for the majority of Super Rugby tournament.
Lambie has been used in several positions for both the Sharks and Boks. He started his career in Durban as a fullback in 2010 before shifting to centre and later flyhalf. It was in the latter position where he made the most impact, leading the Sharks to a resounding victory over Western Province in the 2010 Currie Cup final.
De Villiers experimented with Lambie as a flyhalf at international level, but was always going to favour one of Morne Steyn or Butch James for the 2011 World Cup. Steyn eventually got the nod despite his limitations on attack and defence, as De Villiers felt that a goal-kicking boot would be decisive. But the quarter-final was won by Australia thanks in large part to their brilliant defence. The All Blacks would later win the title in a similar manner, and the missed goal-kicks in that final against France didn’t end up costing them the cup.
That’s not to say that goal-kicking won’t be important going forward or that indeed Lambie doesn’t have the ability or the mettle to be a success. He showed during the early stages of the 2011 Super Rugby tournament just how much he’s progressed in this department. Given more opportunities, he will continue to develop and that can only benefit the Boks.
With Freddie Michalak targeting a move back to France in the near future, the Sharks have finally decided to hand Lambie the ultimate responsibility. Aside from goal-kicking, he will be tasked with organising the Sharks’ backs and controlling the game. His performance in the coming Super Rugby competition will be important in that it will show Smal and the Bok selectors whether he can be a sustained force in the position.
There will be other candidates for Smal to consider. Elton Jantjies will have plenty to prove after a dismal start to Super Rugby in 2011. He may have shone in the subsequent Currie Cup, but it is in the southern hemisphere’s premier regional tournament where potential internationals are measured.
After a successful Currie Cup, Lions coach John Mitchell will back Jantjies in that flyhalf role and this will allow him the platform to impress the Bok coach. Similarly, Lambie will now be granted an extended run at No 10.
Steyn is set to spearhead a new-look Bulls backline. His goal- and tactical-kicking remains among the best on the planet, but if he cannot improve his defence and attack then he has no place in the Bok side of 2012. It won’t be easy considering the Bulls have lost a whole host of established forwards, and Steyn has in the past battled to impose himself when his pack is going backward.
At this stage Lambie would appear to be the best option, but the coach is unlikely to make his decision until we are well into the Super Rugby competition. The important thing at this point is that Lambie will be given an extended opportunity, as will Jantjies and several others, to prove himself.
381 Comments
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20 Jan 2012, 03:44 am
Your (Keo and his minions) love the Stormers
Heineke hused you’re ‘stories’ to agro the team since 2007
Keo a Buills fan my gat
20 Jan 2012, 04:00 am
You bastedts. I want to know more about my tours to NZ and Aus.
Now I must rely on Gunter
God help us all
20 Jan 2012, 04:14 am
Lambie staying at 10 is the best thing for Bok rugby. Of all the young guns in contention he has it most where it counts the most – between the ears.
20 Jan 2012, 04:29 am
@Bok fan-139: That would be sick! Frans must get back to SA. I worry about his conditioning in the NH. Should get used to playing at the higher tempo of SH rugby. I think at no.10 the Boks will be covered this year. Positions that concern me more are 11 and 14. Habs is past it. JPP doesn’t seem to care and Ndungane is just way too slow.
20 Jan 2012, 04:39 am
@grant10-165: Who are these stalwarts? Bakkies will be the only player the Boks will miss. Hopefully will get Smith back. Juan is one of the most important players for the Boks. He increases go-forward by at least 25%. Schalk may still have some uses but he’s got nothing between his ears. Alberts should be Bok 8 in my opinion. This year if we have made the right choice for Bok coach we might actually end up with a pretty decent Bok team. Frans Steyn for me is the answer at 12. There’s a lot of youth coming through. Its exactly what we need right now.
It’s the wingers that worry me. SA doesn’t have any decent wingers maybe apart from Mvovo and Aplon. We have a crisis in this position. Wingers have been forgotten about. They are key to playing attack rugby. In SA wingers seem to be like fillers. Just there to get 15 men on the field. This is where we need the x-factor, right now we have a serious shortage.
20 Jan 2012, 07:47 am
@Sydney Bok-355: good post mate….
Yeah …I THINK bAKKIES MAY BE THE BIGGEST LOSS, ALTHOUGH gUTHRO TOO been playing brilliant rugby for boks….
The rest we can cover…..A Bekker was ready to take over from Matfield [ must stay fit though ].
Key wil be new coach ditching Spies and M Steyn, if that doesent help I am afraid we will struggle again…
20 Jan 2012, 07:48 am
Must of been an intern at Gallo that did that ish!
20 Jan 2012, 07:53 am
@Sydney Bok-355: True. There are some good young wingers but they lack experience even on superugby level.
My choices would be JP, Aplon, Mvovo, Basson.
20 Jan 2012, 10:03 am
@Sydney Bok-354: Ja the guys dont look good whenever they back from France, imagine Steyn back at the Sharks playing with Lambie for a full super 15
Yes Hababa should have gone a few years ago. JPP has some insane talent but like you say his attitude is very up and down. Maybe a shift to 15 would help?
20 Jan 2012, 10:38 am
Nice try ….
I happen to know for a fact that Patrick Lambie has a terrible shoulder AC that needed operating on a while back already.
His shoulder is OFF and he is due a lengthy lay off as soon as it explodes finally.
A real pity …
20 Jan 2012, 10:50 am
Bok fly half will be Elton Jantjies when PL breaks down.
20 Jan 2012, 11:57 am
@dr dre-360: Seriously? Thats the worst news Ive heard in a long time.
20 Jan 2012, 13:21 pm
1.Beast
2,Bizzie
3.Jannie
4.Bakkies
5.Bekker
6.Brussow
7.Smith(c)
8.Alberts
9.Hougaard
10.Lambie
11.Habana/Mvovo
12.F.Steyn
13.De Jongh
14.JPP
15.Aplon
20 Jan 2012, 13:27 pm
@Bok fan-362: No jokes mate. Worst news for me too.
He is a ticking time bomb. Same injury that Fourie Du Preez had
20 Jan 2012, 13:47 pm
Side to face England in June:
1. beast
2. bis
3 jannie
4 bekker
5 juan smith
6 brussow
7 schalk (c)
8 spies
9 hougaard
10 johan goosen
12 frans steyn (if available)
13 juan de jongh
14 jp pietersen
15 pat lambie
11 mvovo
subs oosthuizen, ralapelle, mostert (if available), alberts, charl mcleoud, sadie, aplon
Build with that to next RWC and good things will happen.
20 Jan 2012, 15:49 pm
@mshiniwami-363: Now thats a Bok team
20 Jan 2012, 15:49 pm
@mshiniwami-363: Except Habana
20 Jan 2012, 15:58 pm
1. Beast
2. Bismarck
3. Jannie
4. Flip
5. Bekker
6. Brussouw
7. Smith
8. Burger (c)
9. Hougaard
10. Jantjies
11. Mvovo
12. F.Steyn
13. de Jongh
14. JPP
15. Lambie
16. Chiliboy
17. CJ
18. Juandre Kruger
19. Alberts
20. Duvenage
21. Sadie
22. Aplon
20 Jan 2012, 23:14 pm
@Marino-365: Spies. WTF is he doing their. Don’t lose credibility by backing this mophie.
20 Jan 2012, 23:58 pm
and to think that the whinging Yappies had the gall to take the dole-bludging Kiwis to task over Wayne Barnes after RWC’07. Barnes allowed fwd-passes for a try, sent a man to the bin, and went 50mins without so much as a penalty. What 1-eyed self serving PrickBoks, coming up with BS conspiracy theories to mask the fact their team is sh*t.
“Rugby World Cup referee Bryce Lawrence will not be travelling to South Africa for the Super 15.
This follows the uproar over his handling of the South Africa-Australia World Cup quarter-final, won 11-9 by the Wallabies, and subsequent fears for his safety.
After the match, the Kiwi ref received email and Facebook threats, and was heavily criticised by Springbok captain John Smit and former World Cup final referee Andre Watson of South Africa.
Referees have received their match schedules for the Super 15, which starts on February 24, and Lawrence said he was not listed to control any games in the republic.
While part of him would have liked to have travelled to South Africa to deal with the criticism and get that over and done with, he could understand that Sanzar – which controls the three-nation contest – did not want a sideshow to detract from its tournament.
“In some ways I’d like to go and front it, but it’s not really my decision.”
Sanzar referees boss Lyndon Bray could not be reached for comment, but it is understood there were fears a fan might have tried to avenge South Africa’s quarter-final defeat.
In an interview with the Weekend Herald, Lawrence said he had been hurt by the extent of the fall-out over the way he controlled the match that put the Springboks out of the World Cup. He accepted that his performance warranted criticism, but he could not accept the implication that his performance was biased.
The conspiracy theory that a win for Australia gave New Zealand an easier road to the Webb Ellis Cup has gained credence in South Africa.
“I got quite a few threats, people telling me if I came to South Africa to watch my back because they’d take me out,” Lawrence said. “The thing that scared me most was that people would really believe I cheated deliberately and fixed the game.
“The thing I pride myself on the most is that I’m up front and honest. For people to say I didn’t referee the breakdown very well, that didn’t hurt at all.”
It was Lawrence’s handling of the breakdown, the most convoluted of rugby’s laws, that created the biggest upset.
The winner of the Referee of the Year title at this year’s New Zealand Rugby Awards conceded he took the wrong approach into the game.
With the benefit of hindsight, he said, he would have refereed the breakdown more “technically”.
Had he done so, Wallaby flanker David Pocock might have been penalised a couple of more times than he was – but he would have also earned a lot more penalties for his team, so dominant was he in that area.
21 Jan 2012, 10:45 am
@PrickBoks going South-370: Dont be such a BRYCEING prick.
21 Jan 2012, 11:52 am
all Yappies are whingers
21 Jan 2012, 14:11 pm
@PrickBoks going South-372: Is that you Tony Johnson?
21 Jan 2012, 21:59 pm
play Lambie Pambie at 10 and SA rugby stay stuck in the doldrums we been stuck in since Streauli, White, Smit and FdP stuffed Boks into reverse gear since 1999
Play Goosen at 10 and we start hitting forward momentum for the first time in 10 or 12 years. It is WAY overdue..!!!
22 Jan 2012, 00:44 am
your coach
your players
your referees
your Captain
your administrators
your fans
ALL
whingers
22 Jan 2012, 10:29 am
@PrickBoks going South-375:
You are a coward poopal69.
22 Jan 2012, 10:30 am
@ashampoopaloo-374:
You know farkall about rugby if you think Lambie should be our 15. Finished and klaar.
22 Jan 2012, 11:23 am
you’re a whinger too, Yappie
22 Jan 2012, 11:34 am
@PrickBoks going South-378:
You can’t spell. Yarpy is derived from ‘ya’ which derives from ‘ja’. Yappy is incorrect as your Kiwi mates will tell you. Yap is very different from yarp. I guess you misunderstood the origins.
We’re all astounded at your hit and miss and kinda feeling sorry for you.
22 Jan 2012, 12:23 pm
yap yap yap
you Yappies are all the same
you all WHINGE, even about being a Yappie
I aint a Kiwi
but thank God I aint a Yappie
the entire Planet knows when theyve been beaten by a superior opposition
not a Yappie tho
all they do is
WHINGE
and blame someone else
yap yap yap
goes the
whinging Yappie
24 Jan 2012, 14:09 pm
Might be good for the Bokke, not so sure about the Sharks though.
If they go with Michalak @ 10 and Lambie @ 12 they can drop a certain Meyer Bosman and win something for a change . . . .
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