Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has made one positional change to his starting line-up for their Tri-Nations clash against the All Blacks in Wellington.
The 21-year old Patrick Lambie will now slot into the flyhalf position, with Morné Steyn moving to fullback.
De Villiers earlier named Steyn at flyhalf and Lambie at fullback.
But, according to Beeld’s J.J. Harmse, the change was apparent during the Boks’ final training session on Thursday, when Lambie called the shots from flyhalf.
Steyn has only played two matches at fullback – in 2008 for the Bulls – but he is not worried about the challenge he faces. “I may not have played many games at fullback, but I’m confident that I could make a success of it,” said Steyn.
Steyn says he has an idea of how Carter’s head works, which will help him to cover the All Black pivot’s lethal tactical kicking and even pose an attacking threat to the New Zealanders from the back.
Steyn will still be taking the kicks at goal for the Boks.
Teams:
All Blacks:
15 Mils Muliaina 14 Cory Jane 13 Conrad Smith 12 Ma’a Nonu 11 Zac Guildford 10 Daniel Carter 9 Jimmy Cowan 8 Adam Thomson 7 Richie McCaw (C) 6 Jerome Kaino 5 Ali Williams 4 Samuel Whitelock 3 Ben Franks 2 Andrew Hore 1 Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes:
16 Corey Flynn 17 John Afoa 18 Jarrad Hoeata 19 Liam Messam 20 Piri Weepu 21 Colin Slade 22 Sonny Bill Williams
Springboks:
15 Morné Steyn , 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Danie Roussow, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Gerhard Mostert, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Dean Greyling
Substitutes:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Ryan Kankowski, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Wynand Olivier, 22 Odwa Ndungane
This will please a few people, where are you Puma? Not sure this is such a good thing.
@ superBul:
On seeing the initial team anouncement had thought that Lambie and Steyn may alternate positions during the game depending on the situation, eg. Steyn on flyhalf deep in our half on our ball to get good distance on kicking for touch and perhaps Lambie on flyhalf on our ball on attack in the NZ 22 etc.. so I don’t think this is such a bad idea, I think the game will be won or lost upfront if we can somehow starve the All Blacks backs from quality possesion who knows. Anyway have predicted a fairly comfortable win for the All Blacks but did have a thought when it was too late maybe should have diced with the Boks by 2.
The next guy to fall in the imploding will be John Smit who the New Zealand press calls the Springboks mind docter.
Captain John Smit has spent time clearing the dark clouds hanging over his players’ heads ahead of tomorrow night’s test against the All Blacks.
Smit is here with a young and inexperienced team and one still hurting from their 39-20 loss to the Wallabies last weekend in Sydney and says a key job for him has been getting everybody up for Saturday’s game.
“We were hoping to come here in slightly better spirits, but having performed so poorly in the things we trained so hard on, it was a defeat to digest,” he said today.
“That was pretty tough for us, so the boys are relieved to get here and have another chance to get things right.”
Smit said this trip has been an unusual one for him because so many of the Springboks’ key players were kept behind in South Africa, officially because of injuries.
“It has been quite a different kind of tour for me and one that I haven’t been used to for quite some time, with the guys that have been coming along the journey with me over the years,” he said.
“This time around the challenges have been far larger, in terms of the guys I’m with.
“My biggest challenge has been to get the guys to keep renewing their own self belief of what they can do and what got them here against the continual struggle of how many people are telling them they don’t have that ability.
“With all that’s been written and said, it’s very difficult to keep renewing that belief in themselves.”
Smit said his key message to players has been to remind them of what got them to test level.
I dont mind Peter playing Lambie, How many times have we spoken about playing people out of position?? Next victim Morne Steyn. Is this another Dick Muir special?
He is off course ecstatic about the Natal boy.
The Springboks coaches have happily talked up Lambie.
“Patrick has a chance to showcase his talent. I’m very excited to see him in the team because he is not only talented but he is the future of rugby in South Africa,” De Villiers said.
Assistant coach Dick Muir, who looks after the backline, is just as enthusiastic: “He [Lambie] is an incredibly versatile player, he can play a number of different positions and he has had a taste of test rugby and he has come out on the right side.
“He’s a lovely kid, he’s well balanced and he has all the skills needed to be a world-class player.”
– Stuff
Duncan Johnstone writes-
It seemed unthinkable not so long ago with an ace goalkicker at No 10 a hallmark of every successful South African side.
But the prospect of Steyn missing the World Cup mix has emerged with coach Peter de Villiers putting some major heat on the Bulls marksman ahead of this test in Wellington.
I really, really dont hope that this article on Rugby365 is correct. It is too early to dump Steyn.
With this comment i will accept the Dick Muir move(i certainly dont think it comes from Peter) and sit back and hold thumbs that we dont see two good players’s destruction on Saturday.
Rugby 365-
The latest move seems to suggest that earlier reports, which indicated that Steyn’s World Cup dream is about to be shattered, may not be so far-fetched.
The record-breaking Bok pivot, Steyn, won the 2009 series against the B&I Lions, as well as the Tri-Nations championships which his intuitive play and booming boot.
However, his form this year has been well below par and last week against the Wallabies both he and scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar – the latter a 2007 World Cup winner – looked well short of the expected standards.
The prospect of Steyn missing the World Cup mix first emerged when Bok coach Peter de Villiers opted to leave World Cup-winning flyhalf Butch James at home to ‘rehabilitate’ with 20-odd other Boks at a training camp in Rustenburg.
That suggested James was the coach’s first-choice at flyhalf and has placed Steyn under pressure.
De Villiers made no secret of that on Thursday, when he addressed a media gathering in Wellington.
“Some tough decisions will have to be made before the World Cup and for him [Steyn], as for any of the players on the park on Saturday, it might be a last chance or the only chance, so we hope he can rediscover the form that made him so invincible in 2009,” the Bok coach said
Steyn has limited experience at fullback but would be up for the challenge, desperate to do anything he can to keep his World Cup dreams alive.
Steyn will still have goalkicking responsibilities and that could ultimately be his lifeline.
Musical Chairs?
When are these coaches and management going to go on a management course?
They’re flipping amateurs at best IMO.
The ring master continues to conduct his circus.
I just wonder how much ball Lambie will get, and if it will be quality ball.
I expect him to be under quite some pressure, and hopefully he can come out of this with a good reputation.
@ biltongbek:
Being peed of about the treatment Steyn gets i wish him exactly the same ball and service, lets see if HE can cope better. This is after all now just a trail, we had concensus that it should not be rated as a test anymore,
@ superBul:
Yes, we must not forget that he is still the incumbent fly half, even if PDV is messing with his selections.
@ biltongbek:
Dont you think it is that little birdie on his shoulder DICK Muir who made this swop. Morne might not inspire a lot but we never ever had a high try scoring team. Stats to follow will shock most, but deny they will , that i can promise you.
@ superBul:
The problem I have with this caoching team is how much is hidden from the public, they never give a straight answer. It is impossible to assess who is playing what role in this mess.
I just hope that the technical guys brought in made it clear that they have reputations to protect and will not accept the current status quo.
I guess in a few years when these Boks have all retired we will find a controversial Autobiography of someone that will shed more light on this circus.
I will refine it more but have a look at this stats.
Since the year 2000 the Springboks scored a avverage of 3.02 vs 2.01 tries in 140 tests
Against first tier countries, AB , AUS, ENG and FRA
we scored a avv. of 1.88 vs 2.31, 160-188
Against 2nd Tier counties, IRE,SCO, WAL, ITA, ARG,
3.51 vs 1.56, 144-64
Against 3rd Tier countries , CAN, USA, URU, SAM, TON, FIJI, URU
120 vs 22, 120-22
Remember too that England in 2007 also send a second string team to tour SA and were beaten 58-10 (7-1) and 55-22 (8-1).
Those 2 matches pushed up our ratio a bit more to the positive. Our 2 stringers conceded 6 vs 2 tries in the 2 matches they threw in 2007.
Interesting that the two teams , ENG and SA contested the WC Final, so it was a price worth paying.
Some interesting try scoring stats
1912- 10 tries vs Ireland
1913- 9 Tries vs France
1937- 6 vs Australia
1955- 7 vs Lions
1961- 8 vs Australia score 28-3 only 2 converted
2005- 21 Uruguay
I know this is a long one, but bare with me if you will…
First attacking opportunity: 2nd minute of the game. Springbok scrum. Shoved back on impact but recovers and gains some momentum.
Aussie defense stands deepish, so is SA backline. Lots of space to move in. LOTS. SA has a man on the far outside, with no direct defender to mark him. Lots of potential to run the ball up and gain ground.
Ball to Steyn, up and under. Commentators even calls it (“expect to see lots of this tonight.”)
Mvovo chases, but the better option would have been Basson. He was picked on the other side of the field though.
Kick and chase, SA loses ball to O’Conner.
Aussies gain ball, but from a STANDING START, with the ball bouncing TWICE before it gets to the first receiver, the Wallabies still manage to run over half way. Initial Bok defenders were Numbers 6, 8, 1, 5, 4, 13 and 14. Wallaby attackers, only numbers 10, 15 and 13.
Aussie mistake, and SA regains the ball on the 10m mark, inside own territory. Could have been a try. Net result of first attacking opportunity:
SA No.10 has NO vision or creativity. Susceptible to even the most unlikely of counter attacks.
(BTW, in that piece of defense No.13 SA-Juan de Jongh-made two tackles. 3 defenders, 7 attackers. One defender makes two tackles, 2 other defenders -14&4- has to combine to stop the third attacker. De Jongh over rated?).
Let’s look at SA attacking opportunity #2, the subsequent lineout.
Springbok lineout. SA wins ball quite comfortably, sets up a small maul and then takes ball to ground right on half way. So far so good.
Pienaar puts the ball in the air with a box kick down the far side touch line. Commentators again calls it, this time even before it happens. MOST Aussie defenders are even waiting for it in the back. The Aussie defense right of the ruck were a mere 2 players. The defenders hanging back was about 5 or 7. It’s the 3rd minute and the already figured out our game plan. Well done Dick Muir.
Subsequently, SA loses the ball in a very scrappy chase. SA regains the ball only after a HARD tackle on #14, which results in a knock. (Tackle by Russouw, most underrated player in SA)
SA’s 3rd attacking opportunity. (Remember, this is all in about 4 minutes of play, and the Boks have received their THIRD attacking opportunity from a solid set piece platform. By all means we should be putting our stamp on this game).
Good SA scrum. Good left shoulder, wheeling it so that Pienaar has more space to give it to his backs. Forward momentum gained by pack.
Ball goes… trough the hands??? Easy, ball from 9 to 10 to 12. High school stuff, but it works. 12 runs STRAIGHT into the defender though… SA regains ball, 9 to 7 (Pakslae) he gains about 10-15m, dragging Aussies with him. Quick ball, 9-10-14. #14 beats first defender, dragged down by second and third defenders.
Again, quick ball from 9 and the ball goes through another 3 phases. Eventually SA 10 tries something fancy (not what he is known for) under the pressure of rush defense. SA loses the ball.
Scrum Aussies.
Cooper kicks and SA #13 tries to take an awkward ball. Loses it and the ball goes forward. Aussie scrum, which they lose because of an early engagement. SA gets a short arm, decides to run it up. Phase one, good ball, 9 to 2. 2, John Smit, knocks the ball on in contact though. Ball to Cooper, and he shows some magic inside their own 22. From there on, its pressure, pressure, pressure on attack. Upshot, Wallaby try. It was a well orchestrated try, but the Boks were woeful on defense as well. All over the park, communication was non-existing. Hopefully by this week the team would have settled a bit more.
The second try came within a minute from the kick off. We went deep… like I said, from the get go the Boks were clueless against the counter attack, and giving the opposition ball deep in their own territory gives them just that opportunity.
Anyway, the plan was obviously for Basson to chase the kick. But then Steyn kicked onto 3 tight forwards. Good luck Basson. SA pinned the Aussies down, but they worked the short side with Genia and Ione having to beat, what seems like, SA’s number 1&3. Haha.
Basson at this point is NOWHERE to be seen. Yes he made the initial chase, but the players chasing were Steyn and Mvovo-from the other side of the field. Another indication that he was being played out of position!!! Aplon, while usually solid on defense, was cleverly rounded by Ione. Try.
This is basically a summery of the first 15 minutes of the game. But it really set the tone for the rest of the evening.
*Bok scrum and lineout was not that bad. Forwards will always say, once you win those first few engagements, you’re leading the way in the game.
*Ruan Pienaar was NOT fancy at the start of the game. He did what he had to. Recycled the ball, and in all cases, chose the player best positioned and gave them quick, crisp and clean ball. The one box kick looked like it was called by the coaches. It suits Du Preez, and no other man.
*SA attack in the backline was going no where. 4, I repeat 4!!!!! set piece opportunities for the Boks in the first 6 minutes, and we always lost the ball, either by poor backline decisions (1 Pienaar, 2 Steyn) or poor protection of the ball in contact (Smit, AGAIN).
*We were impatient on attack. A sign of few leaders, or basically not strong leadership, on the field. (Why then is John Smit still there?)
*Juan de Jongh was involved about 4-5 times in the game by the 6th minute. He did some things right, and other times the ball didn’t bounce right (Steyns pass to him needn’t had been so fancy, and the kick from Cooper he had tried to field spiraled awkwardly.)
*On the contrary, WO was always in picture, but barely tackled or did anything else. The one time he got the ball, he handled it for about 2 seconds after crashing it into the Aussies. FFS, Mvovo, out on the wing, did more with the ball. You would think your number 12, with 3 set pieces and about 7 break downs you would think he would do MORE???
*De Jongh looked for work. Olivier stood around and worried about his hair.
*Danie Russouw NEEDS to be our number 8. End of story. Basson was played out of position and it showed.
*More Steyn has no vision.
*WO did not make one tackle in open play. Not ONE. And the Aussies scored two tries.
*We are pathetic when the opposition is on counter attack.
*With both tries it was up to the Aussie backline to beat the SA forwards. Where is our backline defense? Aplon and Mvovo can’t do EVERYTHING.
*Our players were undercooked; the backline NEVER gelled on defense or attack (till Lambie came on).
Unless P.Divvy has something like Gummie-Berry juice, expect more of the same this weekend.
Well there is two ways to ensure there are no or very few counter attacking opportunities, stop kicking the F…ing ball, and hold onto the F…ing ball in contact.
GG any game plan can work, if you execute it right, accurate and with conviction.
Just look at our game plans when we won the Super titles in the last 5 years and the Tri Nations in 2009.
Your comment just points out were we deviated from the game plan and the accuracy.
@ Greenpoint-Gunner:You have criticized 2 of the Bulls stalwarts. Expect retribution to be swift and harsh.
18@ Loosehead:
No, criticizing is fine when not loaded to the brim with bias and conjecture and blatant untruths.
Morne Steyn had a shocker and has indeed been below par this season.
How does the saying go…. if you snooze, you lose…
Same applies to Bulls and Bokke players….
But then again, SuperBees is right as well, let’s see what wunderkid, Lambie, will do with the same kak service from Ruan Pienaar and the same quality bad ball the Bokke backline had to endure.
My Bru prediction is in for the Test…. and it sure aint pretty, pardner….
@ superBul:
I agree half way. Any game plan can work, if you have the right players… in the right positions.
Like I said, Basson needs to play on the left, where he is comfortable.
Pienaar cannot execute the gameplan the same way Du Preez can (no one can)
When WO plays for the Bulls, he is a different guy. For the Boks, since the days of JW, he’s been a disappointment.
@ Loosehead:
Hahahahahaha, I know. But I will also give MASSIVE praise to Pakslae. And did I not say that the Forwards fronted well in the scrum? Also, Basson would have been a different guy if he was used to the position.
BTW, I just reported on what I saw. Steyn was jittery, and Olivier glittery (like always).
20@ Greenpoint-Gunner:
The whole Bokke side was jittery and tentative…. it was an utterly disappointing performance…. bar maybe Jean Deysel’s effort…
Gentlemen any game plan can work, as long as it varies.
The problem with the Bulls and Bok gameplan of applying pressure on the opponents by kicking up and unders, is that after 6 years of employing that tactic 80% of the time is that teams know it, they prepare for it, no matter whether your wings chase well and your flyhalf or Scrumhalf kicks accurately.
The same applies to the way we have our forwards thunder from a standing start into the first channel, it is once again predictable.
We almost never go wide, it is so scarce that it is not only unexpected for to the opposition, but also to our own wingers.
Just to throw a spanner into the wheels, perhaps our wings have lost form because they have been standing out in the cold for so long.
Our tight phases with our forwards and our line outs with Victor, Bakkies, Pierre etc are good, in fact most often the best. But if you look at what those forwards do for possession, we have the most unthankful coach, because he doesn’t want us to use it.
Greenpoint-Gunner wrote:
Agree, maybe its the things Dick Muir says that irks him. :GRIN:
@ biltongbek:
Tell me what do you think the Bulls do to get their outside backs in the top 10 top try scorers for the last few years in Superrugby?
Bulls wingers and Wynand is regularly in that lists
hier kom n gaffie oomblik moenie vebaas wees as lambie vou nie,die probleem is nie steyn nie.dis n bok pak wat bitter min ondervinding het met n slot op sewe n flank op agt n hargreves wat nie eers die vrystaat platteland span sal haal nie en ruantjie wat te flippen bang is om sy hande in n ruck in te druk om die bal uit te haal,lambi gaan n laaaaaang moeilike dag he more
I think this is the busiest SA Rugby Blogs was for quite a long time. Some comments from around.
“Why the change of tactic with a 2nd string bok side against the no. 1 side in world rugby?
This change should have been made 2 seasons ago if they were going to make it.
The Bok tactic of conservative rugby will not change with a WC 1 month away.
All this is doing is denting our backup flyhalf’s confidence”
“Tell me this “skop en jaag” tactic…. is it Morne’s plan or team plan?
New flyhalf, new game plan? Doubt it….
Good luck Boks…….”
“Why always include the Bulls as people that know nothing about rugby,
Fact is, no flyhalve can play if the pack is useless
No Flyhalve can play if 9 is useless
For Lambie’s sake i hope he gets better service from both the pack and Ruan.
If he Lambie- performs well, good.
We want to win WC and are not blind to peoples weeknesses, Morne seem to only perform, when playing with FdP, he has not been in good form, but his 9 and pack were useless”
“SA rugby is hitting a major low. Reading comments confirm this – by now, a few weeks before the WC, the Bok team selections, especially combinations, should be obvious and settled. Another sign of the worrying state is the fact that players are now selected to play out of position. Judging from the comments, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon – lets try this player in that position and lets try that player in this position. Madness, considering that the WC is a few weeks away!I know bloggers are not selectors, but it still shows how ffcked up our rugby is if people think like that”
@ biltongbek:
so wat jy eintlik se is dat my ou draka snotske bok afrigter moet wees want die cheetahs kan hol met die bol en hulle vleuels kry oorgenoeg bal
@ grootblousmile:
Well of course they were, most of them were new… but Steyn is a bit of a veteran, and you would expect him to be oone of the pillars in the team.
Anyway, I will give Steyn an A for effort, the guy tried hard, and you can see that he knows his position at the Boks are under pressure.
You’re right, Deysel was great.
@ superBul:
The Bulls ahve been the number one franchise in SA for some years now, they have by far the best forward pack and grind teams down to submittion and then unleash their backs.
Plus the fact that they buy a wing like Basson after a super season with Griekwas.
all this culminates into having a top team, top players and many tries.
But I don’t really understand why you are asking me this.
I assume it is becasue I was talking about the Bulls and springbok gameplan.
Let me ask you this.
Do you think rugby has evolved due to breakdown laws etc?
Do you think our game plan that we used for the last 6 years are still the best?
@ smallies72:
Smallies, ek het vantevore gese ons het n’ kombinasie nodig van die Bulls en Sharks se physicality in die pak, ons het die defensive organisasie nodig van Stormers, en die agterlyn spel patroon van die sharks en cheetahs.
Daarby gevoeg die manier wat die cheetahs almal vir turn over ball sorg en nie net die losvoorspelers nie.
Kry daardie coaches bymekaar in n’ bosberaad of sluit hulle in n’ lamer toe, totdat hulle n’ oplossing vind om al daardie kennis in een Manual te kry.
Dan vat die coach wat weet hoe om te wen, Heineke Meyer ( hy het die bulls gebou voor Frans Ludeke oorgeneem het), gee hom die regte assistant en word die beste F@kken span in die wereld.
Users Online
Total 150 users including 0 member, 150 guests, 0 bot online
Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm
No Counter as from 31 October 2009: 41,860,289 Page Impressions
_