With the lack of quality tight heads in SA, and the fact that John Smit’s move to this position has been a failure, some have been saying that this might open the door for Heinke van der Merwe to move to tighthead.This will in all likelyhood mean that John Smit might return to his favoured position at hooker.
This will demote Kevin Buys to the bench and leave JC Janse van Rensburg and Wayne Swart to fight for loosehead with Lawrence Sephaka deciding to return overseas. What do you think? Would this be a good move with World Cup 2011 just around the corner?
Willa, nie dat dit saak maak wat ek dink of se nie,maar so paar weke gelede het ek reeds gese Bismark kies nie meer homself in die Bok span en gese ons moet ‘n spesialis vasskop kry en Smit terug haker toe stuur.
Ek het nou nog rowe soos ek met klippe gegpooi is.
Is hierdie ‘n besluit van Heinke of maar nog net ‘n dagdroom?
Wonder what a guy like Tight Head would have to say about this…. Heinke has an odd scrumming technique… he shoves with quite a bent back and shoves with the “skof” rather than with the shoulders….
Would that suit a tight head at all?
We know he is as strong as an ox…. but can he technically adapt to the other side?
Dweeper, stel dit so. Die verskoek is gemaak.
Leave Heinke van der Merwe at loosehead we need a quality loosehead, and quality loosehead backup. I think we can all agree that Beast is not a quality loosehead. We must start by having a look at the Cheetahs front-row who is currently the best front-row in the country, and also make Os du Randt the Springbok scrum coach (He can do it like Dick Muir and Gary Gold is doing, be involved with the Boks and Cheetahs). WP Nel and Coenie Oosthuizen is the future for South Africa at tighthead prop. I like seeing Os working with the props and mentoring them. Can you ask for a better mentor as a prop? Beast will always scrum like converted loose-forward. Heinke van der Merwe when he comes back must battle it out with Wian du Preez for the loosehead prop position.
Here we go again, playing a player out of position.
WP Nel and Buys look to have huge futures at 3.
GBS can it be that I am agreeing with a Bulls supporter in the week before they lose the CC final?
5@ VanStraaten – Loosehead prop is less of a problem in SA than Tight Head prop…
There are a number of able loose heads playing… but the tight heads are in very short supply.
If Heinke can do the switch AND make it a COMPLETE success… it would suit SA as a whole…
6@Loskoppie – Impossible, I cannot AGREE with farking Cheetahs supporters this week………… NEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR !
PS! Flok jou !
Hehehe
7@groorblousmile – Yeah I know it’s easier to find a good loosehead ptop that a good tighthead prop, but I do feel that converting a player from one position to another when you have talented youngsters in the position is absolutely unnecessary and at 24 years of age I feel it’s a bit too late. Take the whole Pienaar debacle, I have no question that he’d be able to be a good fly-half but the conversion was made too late. Few of these conversions from one position to another have been successful. Pienaar made his mark already as a top scrumhalf did we really need to move him around? The WP wants to convert Conrad Hoffman by why keep playing him at scrumhalf? I hate this let’s play you out of position and see how it goes attitude that seems to be prevalent in South Africa.
~by should’ve been but
Willa I also thought that Kevin Buys is a talented tighthead. Having Heinke van der Merwe and Kevin Buys in the scrums can only be good for the Lions.
3 GBS,
Yes that is a question we need to ask the expert here. TH. I have asked him before.
H. Van der Merwe is a scrumming machine for sure. Then so was Os and he could not make the change or said he would never. Just wonder if H. Van der Merwe can. Then John must move back to Hooker as we need our captain.
I too don’t like playing players out of position but you never know Heinke could be our answer to the problems we have at TH for the Boks. That is if he can make the switch.
Smit’s move to 3 was a failure?
Really?
I am no expert but that is a tough call I reckon.
Afternoon boys!!
We need to understand that taking Heinke and asking him to play tight head is all about technique and experience.
It is not about his strength or willpower.
It is very difficult to learn the correct technique at tight head quickly if you are expected to do it at a high level.
Even if you start to get your tchnique right, it takes years to gain experience and learn the tricks of the trade by playing against various different loose heads who all pose a different challenge to you.
John Smit is learning now just why it is the most difficult position on a rugby field, and why it takes years to get comfortable.
Sometimes he has it right, and then he is stuffed in the very next scrum.
Also every loose head brings a different fight to you and you have to learn how to adapt to the particular opponent and even to the particular scrum on the day.
As for Heinke, he is very strong, but has shown bad technique at loose head.
It does not matter how strong you are, eventually you will be found out if your technique is wanting.
We are too quick to push our young props in SA.
This is because of the ignorance that surrounds scrumming technique and the mistake of thinking that it is all about strength.
GBS, I like your style! Flok jou ook!
VRYSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
tight head, what are your thoughts on WP Nel?
Morne, one just has to look at the semi and you’ll have your answer. IMO.
Good day Loose head!!
I like the look of WP, and I also like the look of Coenie at loose head.
But here is the point I always make:
We need to look after these young props very carefully, and bring them through slowly and and with good guidance.
We are far to quick to throw them in the deep end.
@18 tight head – I agree with you that forward play is for the “harde baarde”, I always get the idea the older hardened props are the best those who are 30 and older. But when you find yourself in the position that South Africa finds themselves at the moment what do you do? Do you continue playing John Smit who’s not a “harde baard” in my view because he doesn’t have years of experience at tighthead prop (Just like the Pienaar move, John Smit was a top class hooker for how long and then they moved him to tighthead prop). I don’t think it’s a matter of wanting to force the youngsters but when you have a young guy out-scrumming an older guy doesn’t that automatically make the younger guy a must? Especially when your scrum have suffered at international level? I’d choose the best player.
John Smit have not been good enough to play for the Springboks for a long time, the excuse for choosing him is, he’s a great leader. The Sharks funnily enough play better when he’s not playing… They played their best rugby in the 2007 Super 14 when John Smit was injured most of the season.
Vanstraaten, you make good points.
We have dug a big hole for ourselves by not managing the prop situation properly for a few years now.
We threw Beast and Mujati in because they were black.
Mujati was doomed to failure as a result and Beast has done his best but is struggling a little now.
We are playing international rugby with Beast and Smit who are both lacking experience.
You are right when you say the best prop should play, but we have mismanaged the current players and so to throw in the youngsters now is also not good as if we had a well considered plan to bring props through then we would not find ourselves in this position.
I am not in favour of converting anybody to a tight head.
However if it were up to me I would try to get Beast and Smit intensive training under a very good scrum coach and let them gain more experience. They have already gained some experience and it seems a great loss to not try to take them the whole way now.
Besides if we get rid of them now and put in the youngsters, we really will have buggered things up nicely.
I do not think that the coach fully realized that an international front row is something that you have to build over time.
I also think that in selection you pick your tight head first on the team sheet, then your captain and everybody else afterwards.
We may end up having to throw the youngsters in sooner than later, but my point is that poor vision about the importance of the front row and how to build a front row has led us into this mess.
@19- However, when the Sharks pulled him in the 2007 S14 final, they lost the plot and the game.
Willa,
I think it is a mistake to judge him on that game.
Remember his tests especially against the much vaunted Woodcock?
Fourie du Preez looked ordinary in his semi against a very young scrummy – is he suddenly not the best anymore?
The Boks are tired mate.
And for the record, Smit has always been my choice at hooker, that has not changed.
But the statement of Smit being a failure at 3 is very tough.
@22
Have you heard that Rallepele failed his fitness test this afternoon?
Got the press release just now…
That kid needs to go on a serious conditioning program if they are serious to blood him for higher honours.
w.p.nel needs AT LEAST another two years of cc and s14,if they are patient he can be the tight head around witch a dominating pack can be built in 2014,and also a good sub to have in 2011 same with coenie. wian has the goods to take up os’es mantle right now
sorry 2015
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Morne, it def hasn’t been a success.
He was demolished in the second and third B&I test, and he got smashed by the Aussies.
So, let’s call it 50/50.
Oh, and you owe me beer.
Your contact was wrong about Meyer.
🙂
24
He aLLready have aLL the Honours!
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