The Tri Nations should never have happened in a World Cup year. Tests were compromised by money hungry SANZAR. Rugby World Cup has destroyed Rugby’s old traditions!
Peter de Villiers was brave enough to take the first step of withdrawing his top Springboks out of the Tri-Nations competition. All his natural enemies, with the Australian press leading the way, was on him like a flash. South African supporters was there to settle old grieviences with him, seeing another chance to give Peter de Villiers stick. Although he showed his intentions early and clearly, very few South African supporters supported him.
What is disapointing is the way his media managers are handling the decision by him. Do they read any web pages or rugby websites and newspapers? It is clear from this morning’s articles that they are not aware that the two New Zealand coaches are in support of his ideas.
Marc Hinton writes on Rugby Heaven – “Smart guy that Graham Henry. The All Blacks coach recognises this week for what it is – another glorified trial against opponents of limited ability”
“Thus the weary get another week to recuperate and the scratchy get another game to search for that form”
“It’s taken a while, but I think he’s now come to realise that in World Cup year, and especially in a World Cup year featuring such a concentrated buildup so close to the tournament, no one really gives a damn about the Tri-Nations”
If Peter de Villiers’s media people were up to date they could have given him advice on what to say next. But oh NO, he tried to deny that he is resting his players and insists that they are injured. That gave the hungry New Zealand press the chance they wanted. The heat has been on Peter de Villiers since his appointment and not many South African journalists are trying to take it off him. They join in and seldom protect him.
The fact is, SANZAR should have scrapped the Tri-Nations competition this year!
Controversial Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has found an unlikely ally in All Blacks assistant Steve Hansen.
“No, I think South Africa have done what’s right for their team,” Hansen said today.
“The most important tournament of the year is the Rugby World Cup and every rugby nation is looking at that as the case.
If we scrapped the Tri-Nations in World Cup years the National teams could arrange their own warm-up games for the World Cup and play them as trails without jeopardising the Test status of Internationals. They simply play the games with Invitation XV teams. That would leave them enough room to do all the experimenting and resting they wish.
Coming back to the Media people’s failure to warn Peter, this is what he had to say a few hours ago.
Embattled Springboks coach Peter de Villiers is standing by his claims that 21 of his top players are genuinely injured and is denying a report they are at a secret training camp.
The under-strength world champions touched down in Wellington today ahead of Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium, still licking their wounds from the 39-20 loss to Australia in Sydney.
De Villiers denied a report from South African rugby journalist Mark Keohane which claimed that newly appointed technical director Rassie Erasmus was working with the so-called injured players at a pre-World Cup camp in Rustenburg.
“So-called is not the right word to use, they’re injured,” de Villiers said.
What followed could have been prevented if Peter was advised to just say ‘No further comment”
The always entertaining de Villiers, who Keohane described as “embarrassing”, appeared confused when asked if it was disrespectful to leave the best players out of Test matches.
“What do you mean by best players? The guys here at the moment, they performed in South Africa, in Super 15. There’s a few guys who didn’t make it that were also the best in Super 15. So best is a relative thing.”
De Villiers merrily continued down his cryptic path when the inquisitor replaced the word “best” with “experience”.
“Experience, then I’ll play Naas Botha too because he’s helluva experienced. The guys that have actually performed, we’ve just rewarded them for their contributions to the game. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”
Had he known what Steve Hansen and Graham Henry said, he might have not said the following-
“The Tri-Nations is a good thing, it’s the best preparation you can get for the World Cup because the best teams in the world are there. So it’s not a bad thing, but coming off the back of a long Super 15, it might just be a bit too harsh on the players.”
‘No one remembers Tri-Nations’ Steve Hansen , The All Blacks coach recognises this week for what it is – another glorified trial.
Would it be right then to say – This years Tri-Nations should be laughed off and SANZAR must get their act togheter?
Money money money, must be funny, in a SANZAR world!
Agree with most of what you say, but in many ways, it looks PDV is copying Jake White. The problem with PDV, is that foreigners do not understand his background, and his use of idiom, even us SAFFAS do as well.
Unfortunately PDV, has not convinced on the field, and his PR ability makes Jake White’s look like a well oiled machine, and we all know how many times he suffered from foot in mouth disease.
Agree there should be no Tri-nations in WC year. In fact I think tri-nations should be held only every second year.
Personally I would like to see tours back. Doesn’t need to be long tours but short tours like the AB’s and Wallabies did in 1992 (with 10 to 15 matches or so including one or two tests) would be great. This is where you can develop your upcoming talent and develop combinations.
McLook, It’s all about the money. Games between Pumas (SE Tvl?) and the AB’s wouldn’t bring in the advertising revenue that “another” test would.
It’s damn sad, but true.
I agree with all you guys have said…..absolutely ridiculous that the Tri Nations is held in WC year!!!
I loved watching tests in the old days and of course the mid-week games!!!
Scrap the 3N it is tired.
I feel sorry for Peter the Clown about this whole thing, the players are overplayed and he needs them to perform at the WC. He is damned if he rests them and damned if he doesn’t.
However……….
When you look at the players that he has taken on the away leg, and you see how they have been coached to play then I feel that he is nothing but a clown, supported by two useless assistants.
peter is ons afrigter so dit gee ons die reg om hom te kritiseer,die uitlanders moet hulle bekke van hom af hou hy rig hulle nie af nie.
This whole thing is just a storm in a teacup. Wait untill SANZAR climbs into this whole debakel.
What i expect
If we lose badly on Saturday(most likely) we will automaticaly be the scapegoat.
PdeV will be on the red carpet for bringing rugby/Tri Nations or SANZAR in disrepute.
If we can stand our ground against the All Blacks the Red Carpet might have more occupants, Henry and Hansen(most unlikely)
The Television sponsers will try and claim losses of income because the Tri Nations status was compromized
If this happens the heat on the Springbok camp before the World Cup will be unbearable.
With us touring first we had to be the leaders by putting our foot down and force the rest. I am almost certain that if the All Blacks had to tour first they would have been in our shoes.
The Wallabies’ back-row stocks took another blow after the versatile Richard Brown was ruled out of the World Cup having undergone a shoulder reconstruction.
With Wycliff Palu racing the clock to return from a shoulder injury in time for the tournament, Australia must hope their remaining back-rowers survive the Tri Nations campaign unscathed, or they may be forced to call in debutants for the Cup campaign. Brown, who has 23 Test appearances, would have strongly pushed for a spot in the Cup squad but will be sidelined for up to four months following his operation.
Relative newcomers Ben McCalman and Scott Higginbotham are the No.8 options in the absence of Brown and Palu.
Can I point something out, PLEASE.
1.) The Northern Hemisphere season ended about a week before the S15 qauter finals. And thats only for the few players who made it into the finals of their domestic laugues (many of those teams had players fomr other contries as well. Sarries for example)
Thus, by the time of the World Cup, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy and effectively Argentinia would have had 2-3 months of rest.
2.) In the movie “Any given Sunday” (a scarily accurate report of modern day sport) we see how players in the NFL are pushed, dragged and drugged onto the field.
The fact of the matter is that I BELIEVE these guys are injured, to one extent or another.
They are DEFINATLY carrying injuries that would have ANY of us sidelined. Take Bekker for example…
So I believe Div when he says they are injured.
The difference is that when I get injured, I don’t get paid to fake it. When they get injured they get a LOT to fake it. Does that mean we should push our players and Heroes over the edge for “entertainments” sake.
Never.
Richard Knowler(RH) writes, despite gaining infamy on the international rugby coaching circuit with his oddball statements in recent years, there is little doubt de Villiers is no fool.
He knows he is treating Sanzar partners with disdain and he doesn’t care.
If ever there were any doubts about the motives of the Springboks coach and his dodgy cabal, they dissipated when it was reported the 21 “wounded” Boks have been embedded in a pre-World Cup training camp in the republic rather than rehabilitating their weary bodies.
We’ve been down this road with the Springboks before of course. When Springboks coach Jake White travelled Down Under in 2007 he brought a weakened side that lost all four matches.
Predictably the New Zealand and Australian unions made all sorts of uncomfortable noises. The Australian union, especially, knew they were being sold a dud in their competitive market. White propped up two fingers to his opponents, regrouped and won the World Cup.
The Tri-Nations is often trumpeted as a peach of a competition by its cheerleaders. Except in World Cup years, it appears. Then it is exchanged for a lemon
South Africa Rugby Union chief executive Jurie Roux has angrily rejected reports a secret training camp is under way involving 21 ‘injured’ frontline Springboks.
Roux, who today announced another under-strength touring side to face the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations test in Wellington on Saturday, launched a heated counter-argument when questioned about reports of a camp in Rustenberg under former Springboks Rassie Erasmus and Percy Montgomery.
“I’m not denying they’re in Rustenberg. I’m denying the fact there is a secret training camp. I’ve got my players being rehabilitated, that’s it,” he told a packed press conference.
“I would like all those guys to be un-injured but they’re injured and they’re busy being rehabilitated. I’m not a doctor or a miracle worker.”
Roux wouldn’t specify how many of the 21 players were at the camp, but insisted they were all injured.
“It’s very simple. It’s a unique thing to me that people are worried about this at all. I run a multimillion-rand corporation where my biggest assets are my players. They’re injured so I need to do something to get them ready for the World Cup, and get them in an environment.
“What do you do with an injured player? You don’t send him to Bali on holiday, you put him into your high-performance centre with the best doctor you can find and you put him a programme to rehab and get back to the World Cup. I don’t understand the conspiracy, I don’t understand the confusion.”
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