Heyneke’s major tests
25 Jan 2012
RYAN VREDE examines the 10 primary challenges Heyneke Meyer will face as coach of the Springboks.
Meyer is set to be unveiled in the role on Friday, and with it comes a myriad challenges. These are the ones, in no particular order, that he will have to master.
TRANSFORMATION
I’ve been consistent in my view that transformation is largely the responsibility of the provincial and franchise coaches, but as Springboks chief Meyer cannot be completely mitigated from responsibility in this regard. There will be a string of gifted, young black players at his disposal, among them Juan de Jongh, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Lwazi Mvovo, Bjorn Basson, Gio Aplon and Elton Jantjies, as well as a clutch of junior internationals who’ll rise to prominence during his tenure. How he fares in this facet of his job will be central to how he is measured.
NEGOTIATING THE POLITICAL MINEFIELD
Immense political pressure will accompany the expectation for greater transformation at national level. Meyer’s predecessor Peter de Villiers was largely and curiously spared a grilling for his commitment to a mostly white match 22 for the duration of his tenure. Meyer, an Afrikaner, won’t be afforded such breathing room.
PICKING THE RIGHT ASSISTANTS
In Gary Gold, De Villiers selected a forwards coach with good technical and tactical skills and an unrelenting work ethic. He erred in his pick of back coach, Dick Muir, whose fanciful ideas and philosophies were never going to be effective at Test level. Muir would become a well paid ornament by the end of his stint, with the senior players deciding the attacking strategy. Meyer will have to be astute with his selections, installing men with high levels of skill and competency, innovation, experience, credibility and solid work ethics. There are no outstanding candidates. Meyer has a good relationship with Rassie Erasmus and could turn to him. Expect Victor Matfield to be used as a consultant at some stage, although his coaching inexperience could preclude him for consideration for the forward coach gig. Meyer was also never afraid to look abroad in a bid to improve the Bulls, with a number of foreign consultants sharing their expertise at Loftus during his reign. Backline coach Todd Louden made a marked impression on their attacking play in 2007 and it not beyond reason that Meyer could look to him, or a foreigner of his ilk, to assist him. There is, however, likely to be resistance to this idea…
MEDDLING OF PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL
The suits on the gravy train at the South African Rugby Union have a reputation for killing the soul of national coaches and at some point are bound to impose their unique brand of incompetence on Meyer. He was given a wide berth at the Bulls in his bid to build the world’s best franchise, often travelling abroad to study the tactics, techniques, conditioning methods and recruiting strategies of various sporting codes. Whether these amateurs will rubber stamp Meyer’s progressive plans remains to be seen.
SELECTING A CAPTAIN
John Smit was the outstanding candidate for the job in 2004 but Meyer isn’t in a similarly privileged position. Schalk Burger seems a good fit, but Meyer could well opt for a player he knows and trusts. In discussions with me he has consistently spoken of the leadership credentials of Pierre Spies. Indeed he was central to the decision to appoint him captain of the Bulls.
FOREIGN PICKS
The selection of foreign-based players was a contentious one under De Villiers, who initially refused to consider them but later softened that stance. I haven’t yet established Meyer’s position on this issue, but would hope that he doesn’t share De Villiers’ outdated view and consider a number of men who could add great value to a Springboks squad.
ADVANCING THEIR GAME PLAN
Expect pragmatism to take precedence over panache with the Meyer-coached Springboks. He believes the breakdown laws don’t promote ball retention through multiple phases in your territory and that this dictates you play down in the opposition’s half through tactical kicking, then seek to force them into errors through organised and punishing defence. Sound familiar? It was the strategy the Springboks of 2009 through 2011 employed with varying degrees of success. Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez – disciples of Meyer’s philosophies – drove that process. When employed accurately it is very difficult to counter, but failure to do so will result in the defensive line being exposed. There also needs to be another dimension added to their attacking play in opposition territory. He has the players to shape a formidable attacking force.
HOME SOLIDITY
Under De Villiers the Springboks won 71% of their home Tests. However that figure is improved by victories over weakened northern hemisphere sides in incoming tour matches. They lost five of 11 Tri-Nations Tests between 2008 and 2011, including being blanked by the All Blacks at Newlands in 2008. Meyer needs to forge his Springboks side into a side who are extremely difficult to beat on home soil, maintaining at least an 80% plus win record in the Republic.
TESTING TOURS
The Springboks won nine of 23 away Tests on De Villiers’ watch and just two of 11 in the Tri-Nations. This is an unacceptable return for a side packed with with world-class talent. Meyer consistently stressed the importance of winning on the road when coach of the Bulls and placed an intense focus on uncovering and remedying the reasons why they had struggled to do so. In 2007 they won three from five on the Super Rugby tour and could have come home with a clean sweep. Here’s hoping he has similar success at national level.
CONDITIONING CONSENSUS
With an extended Super Rugby and Rugby Championship format, it is essential that Meyer reaches some consensus with franchises about the game time of their elite players. This has proven near impossible in the past, with franchise coaches understandably concerned primarily with fielding their strongest combinations as often as possible. I don’t see this situation improving.
373 Comments
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25 Jan 2012, 23:36 pm
@ashampoopaloo-299: Read the posts again, poepol. See what I wrote. Then wipe the kaka from the corners of your frothing mouth and try again.
I honestly hope you’re seeing someone about these complex issues of yours. because you are not well upstairs. But you don’t need me to tell you this.
Now fck off, I’m going to bed.
25 Jan 2012, 23:37 pm
Dawn this little fuckwit poephol moron Katmankunt a friend of yours, he’s a right royal little cunteyed pumkarse creep, next time you sipping chardonnays or whiskey down at the fireman pub together you can tell the little know fckall know-it-all runtcunt I told him so.
25 Jan 2012, 23:39 pm
I wanna go to Vegas and have a moerse blowout
25 Jan 2012, 23:49 pm
Lay off it skop. You’re a fraud. You don’t gel as the defender of the meek, the protector of the poor, the man who walks a million miles in the shoes of the ordinary joe.
You do a good senile froth though.
25 Jan 2012, 23:50 pm
@Dawn-300: You having Chinese tonight….oh and what are you eating afterwards
25 Jan 2012, 23:52 pm
No skop I think you just told him yourself
25 Jan 2012, 23:53 pm
Mr Chow in the movie The Hangover!
25 Jan 2012, 23:54 pm
@ashampoopaloo-302: Dude, people would be more open to your ideas if you stringed some coherent sentences together.
Just take a step back relax, and type a paragraph that is coherent and devoid of crazy and you will get less grief around here….just some friendly unsolicited advice…take it don’t take it
25 Jan 2012, 23:55 pm
@Dawn-307: I’ve not watched the Hangover yet….not sure I’d enjoy it…maybe if I was hungover?
25 Jan 2012, 23:58 pm
Why not? It’s brill!
26 Jan 2012, 00:00 am
Watch the first one. The second one sucks.
26 Jan 2012, 00:01 am
what does a silver spoon fed little colonialists son living it up in mother hubbard’s cupboard know about what the poor or the meek or the hungry or the weak go through on a day to day level, when he isn’t doffing his top hat or putting on his barristers wig before bowing profusely to the queen? He don’t actually know a g’dam thing.
26 Jan 2012, 00:06 am
Please frothface, feed me more, you’re killing me
26 Jan 2012, 00:08 am
This faux defender by night has no hesitation loading up his ‘boys’ in his datsun bakkie by day, dropping them off at his bouer sites, making them sweat out dollar bills for his royal baasness.
26 Jan 2012, 00:14 am
@Dawn-307: mr chow is dope…especially in Hangover 2
26 Jan 2012, 00:16 am
h@wooden spoon-314: skop at least creates jobs here & isn’t sitting in an airconditioned office in england pontificating…
26 Jan 2012, 00:21 am
@Transformation-316: what makes you believe so convincingly that I do not ‘create jobs’ in SA?
Do tell.
26 Jan 2012, 00:22 am
@Transformation-316: ps. I have yet to come by an airconditioned office in England, but that’s a small detail.
26 Jan 2012, 00:23 am
@TheTackler-265:
When Heyneke took over the S12 Bulls in 2000, they had very little in the way of personnel, and no way of fixing it as they had no money, so it’s no wonder they lost all their matches. The next year, 2001, they made him the Blue Bulls coach and the first thing he did was to let ten senior players go.
They started recruiting young U/20 players as it was all they could afford, and they won the Vodacom Cup that year, and the Currie Cup the next three years in a row.
The Bulls played two S12 semi-finals away and lost both, so Heyneke decided the only way to guarantee a home semi was to get enough bonus points by scoring tries, so he appointed Todd Louden as his attack coach and a defence coach form England’s 2003 World Cup squad. It worked as they trounced the Reds to secure a home semi against the Crusader, it was a tough, tryless match and afterwards the Crusaders sent Heyneke a signed Crusaders jersey afterwards and said:”it was the hardest team we ever played against”
He appointed Spies captain this year as he’s the most senior player left, the others left, retired or are injured
You shouldn’t worry about him not getting rid of the dead wood in the team, blooding youngsters or bringing in outside coaches
He might even get Habana firing on all cylinders again as he took a small talented centre from the Lions and made him the best winger in the world and IRB Player of the year. He’s a big fan of Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers too and you can see it the way he manages his players
26 Jan 2012, 00:25 am
Trans, my man, when is your 10 year Waterford Kamhlaba reunion?
26 Jan 2012, 00:29 am
@victoriabok-319: I can see why I hardly come here any more. The mean spirited discourse can be tiresome.
26 Jan 2012, 00:30 am
Whoops sorry Victoriabok that was not directed at you or your post, which was excellent by the way.
Just a general observation.
26 Jan 2012, 00:31 am
@wooden spoon-320: what makes you think, so convincingly that i left high school less than 10 years ago?
do tell?
26 Jan 2012, 00:32 am
The car thieves drew 2-2 with the head stampers and are thru to the carling cup final. go king kenny!
26 Jan 2012, 00:35 am
@victoriabok-319: what a nice ode to meyer…all that is in the past now all that will count are results.
we as Bok supporters want to win!
the nonsense we heard from some aussie fans here that they might’ve lost the semi vs the kiwis but they had the youngest team at RWC is nonsense. only victories count from now on!
26 Jan 2012, 00:35 am
@Jinx2-324: another thing that we have in common, I do love Kenny Dalglish. Despite being a Liverpool bastardo.
26 Jan 2012, 00:36 am
@Transformation-325: Couldn’t agree more. I am gatvol of losing. Enough already.
26 Jan 2012, 00:36 am
Trans, you question dodger you, but to answer – the inherent immaturity of your posts is a dead give away.
26 Jan 2012, 00:37 am
Anyway been absolutely fabulous as usual and all but it’s time to go and do something better.
26 Jan 2012, 00:42 am
@wooden spoon-328: well, when dealing with verkrampte like you that is the only approprite language
26 Jan 2012, 00:45 am
@SodaJoe-327: yeah soda…SARU for once have not dropped the ball & got the people & player’s favourite candidate. now the ball is in meyer’s court.
a victorious bok team is all that we will accept!
26 Jan 2012, 00:50 am
@Transformation-325:
Us Bulls fans were tired of losing when he took over (and I expect we’ll get used to it again in his absence) and he slowly turned the ship around.
It took time as he didn’t have the money to buy talent and had to raise his own from U/20 players.
With the Boks he’ll have all of SA’s talent to his disposal as well as some good ones playing overseas.
I suspect he won’t clean house but would start with most of the remaining players from last years WC group and gradually add young talent, much like he did with the Bulls.
It would be suicide to play tests with a young team without any senior players
Look at the 2002 and 2003 Currie Cup teams compared to the 2007 S14 team, a lot of players were replaced with better ones like the Cronje brothers guys like BakkieS
26 Jan 2012, 00:56 am
@victoriabok-332: ja nee…Test rugby is not currie cup…coaches don’t take 2 years to figure outan opponent’s strategy and counter it.
good luck to heineken.
26 Jan 2012, 01:03 am
Anyone who does not believe that refs. favour Barca big time is just totally dishonest. RM thru Benzema should have been awarded a penalty in the 78min.
The ref at F-T seemed quite smug and proud of his favouring of Barca.
Seemed to even taunt the RM players to lay their hands on him after the final whistle instead of simply and smartly just leaving the field.
Barca players should get the Spollywood Oscars handsdown later this year.
26 Jan 2012, 01:09 am
@Transformation-333: ja nee…Test rugby is not currie cup…coaches don’t take 2 years to figure outan opponent’s strategy and counter it.
Yes, but he’s not constrained by using only the players his Union could afford either
And the Boks have a lot of experienced players like Bismarck, Bekker and Steyn, and exciting X-Factor players like Hougaard, Goosen, Lambie and JJ Engelbrecht coming in
We should rather see the glass as half full
26 Jan 2012, 01:16 am
@victoriabok-335: i reiterate. ONLY results will make the glass seem half full. robbie deans had 10 times the cv heineken has but he is currently sitting on 56% win ratio & 3 out of 16 vs the all blacks.
meyer’s currie cup records are history.
26 Jan 2012, 01:20 am
@ET.-334: players should get the Spollywood Oscars handsdown later this year.
No, SkollieWood, you’re talking about soccer players
26 Jan 2012, 01:29 am
@victoriabok-337:
For Barca players that would work too.
26 Jan 2012, 01:37 am
@ET.-334: serves madrid right, Pepe stomped messi’s hand last week & got away with murder! he shouldn’t have been on the pitch tonite!
26 Jan 2012, 01:56 am
@Transformation-336: i reiterate. ONLY results will make the glass seem half full. robbie deans had 10 times the cv heineken has but he is currently sitting on 56% win ratio & 3 out of 16 vs the all blacks.
meyer’s currie cup records are history.
We have the players and talent available, hopefully we’ll get the results with Heyneke.
26 Jan 2012, 02:24 am
Early results will be critical for Meyer, else you blokes will turn on him. England will be a perfect warmup but without Victor the back five will be weakened. Juan and Shalk in form and firing will be key. Spies would be a very risky captain. As to the backs either youth will reinvigorate or it’ll be same same.
Definition of rugby insanity will be to put roughly the same blokes out with the same gameplan (Bulls/Boks 09) and expect different results. I expect some improvement in 2012 from the boks but not enough to get amongst the silverware, and certainly not enough to confirm the new era most rose-tinted optimists here are expecting has begun.
26 Jan 2012, 02:33 am
@Qrest-341: juan’s injured
“Spies would be a very risky captain” is an understatement. over rated and lazy. in the aus vs boks game spies touched the ball twice and was driven out to touch both times.rest of the time he was missing.
why’s burger not captain? is this a provincial thing?
agree it will take a minimum of 2 season for the new bok team to really rolling. team work takes time to build and is the most important factor in a rugby game.
26 Jan 2012, 02:49 am
I note you do not dispute the bad adjudication but instead launch into an immature attempt to justify the ref’s. insane actions wrt Barca players’ stupid actions with an equally and utterly stupid action of a RM player but in an earlier game.
That you would link two highly dissimilar events in two totally different matches albeit by the same opponents clearly demonstrates your glaring lack of rationality and judgement and thus moronic and emotional expressions on said matter.
The first incident occurred in midfield play( thus no penalty issue) of the 2nd.half of one match and is just not acceptable to any fair-minded observer and deserved to be punished and pilloried. I would have red-carded that if I as the official saw that incident.
The 2nd incident in the subsequent game involved 3 players(Benzema, Pujols and his goalie) challenging for a lose ball on the 6yd. line within the penalty area of Barca. Pujols duly up-ends Benzema onto his back-side and prevents him from having a clear kick at the ball towards goal where their is no goalie(who duly collects the lose ball). A penalty call clearly had to be made.
More disconcerting was the ref’s actions after the final whistle.
Being neither a Barca or RM supporter but still delighting in their excellent play most times, clearly leaves me as being unbiased and in a position to expose bad play and bad and favoured adjudication.
Raw emotional responses leave a question mark on anyone’s ability to make fair observations and leaves that individual irrelevant, but merely emotional in that matter.
26 Jan 2012, 06:09 am
It’s easy. Take everything that PDV did and do the opposite.
Blood youngsters and develop talent.
Don’t let the senior players manage the team.
Play a balanced gameplan.
Score tries.
Coach the team.
Score tries.
26 Jan 2012, 06:10 am
@garth-344: Oh yes, pick your best team. Loyalty is for dogs, not rugby.
26 Jan 2012, 06:59 am
Matfield: I’d return to Boks for Meyer
January 26 2012 at 06:44am
By VATA NGOBENI
Comment on this story
——————————————————————————–
INLSA
Victor Matfield could come out of retirement, but only if Heyneke Meyer is indeed unveiled as the new Springbok coach.
Victor Matfield could come out of retirement, but only if Heyneke Meyer is indeed unveiled as the new Springbok coach on Friday.
Matfield hung up his boots at the end of last year after an illustrious career with the Springboks and Bulls but revealed this week that he would consider a return if Meyer calls on him.
Matfield, who is the most capped Springbok with 110, captained the Bulls to Super 14 and Currie Cup titles under Meyer’s mentorship and has great respect for Meyer and a return to rugby by Matfield is likely to lure the likes of Fourie du Preez, Bakkies Botha and Gurthrö Steenkamp back to the national team after they have left for greener pastures abroad.
If Matfield is to return under Meyer it would probably be for a season or two just for Meyer to get to grips with the structure at national level and it would also solve the big dilemma of who the next Springbok captain will be.
“Everyone knows what I think about Heyneke, but we must wait until Friday (tomorrow) before we talk about it. Let’s wait and see what happens, we will talk. Everything has consequences. Playing? I don’t know but we will see. It depends if he wants me. I really don’t know, it is difficult to say …,” Matfield said.
The 34 year-old is certain to feature in Meyer’s Springbok management structure if he is not asked to play, probably as technical advisor or line-out consultant.
However, the fact that Matfield has already signed a lucrative television contract with SuperSport as one of their pundits will make Matfield’s dream of being the outright Springbok captain almost impossible.
On Wednesday, the Blue Bulls Company confirmed that the South African Rugby Union (Saru) had approached them for the services of their executive for rugby, Meyer, and talks between the parties were ongoing in Cape Town on Wednesday after an initial meeting at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday.
Chief executive officer for the Blue Bulls Company, Barend van Graan, along with commercial manager Stephan van der Merwe met Saru to finalise the compensation deal for the three years still outstanding on Meyer’s contract with the Bulls.
But the Bulls could be in for more despair when Meyer takes over the reins as Springbok coach as an exodus of senior management is expected as they search for higher honours with the Springbok team.
Matfield is a certainty to join Meyer, while Bulls forwards coach Johann van Graan could be in the running for a position in Meyer’s management team as soon as his contract expires at the end of the year.
Meyer will continue to raid the Bulls kraal once he ascends to the Springbok coaching job with defence coach John McFarland and strength and conditioning coach Basil Carzis also likely to join the management team at the end of their contracts with the Bulls next year.
Speculation is also rife at Loftus Versfeld that high performance and business manager at the Blue Bulls, Ian Schwartz, could also be in line for a top job at Saru and Schwartz’s imminent departure could spell the end of the Bulls’ golden era of which Meyer was the supremo. – The Star
26 Jan 2012, 07:01 am
And the emergence of a brand spanking new Fat Boys Club takes place…..
26 Jan 2012, 07:18 am
@grant10-347: I don’t think its quite that bad! The next captain for the boks is a real issue, because of the lack of future planning that took place in the last regime. Matfield being captain for a season would probably do more benefit then harm I’m sure. It is all starting to look very Bulls first then everyone else later though. Hopefully Meyer will select players on merit first and foremost.
26 Jan 2012, 07:20 am
I said previously that Meyers success was based partly on cliques and that we should expect the same for the Boks, seems I was on the money !!
26 Jan 2012, 07:22 am
@Tuna-229: ja mate….
its too ingrained in my DNA….
cant not go…
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