Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer pulled no punches when asked where things went wrong for his team as they drew the second Test in The Castle Rugby Championship, against Argentina in Mendoza, by 16-16.

sarugby

The Springboks fought back from a half-time deficit of 3-13 to pull level when Mornรฉ Steyn converted Frans Steynโ€™s charge down try in the 66th minute of a Test that was played in front of 40,000 loud Argentinean fans. Mornรฉ Steyn added three more penalty goals.

The Pumas scored their only try in the 17th minute when Santiago Fernandez crossed following a period of sustained pressure in the Springboksโ€™ half. Fullback Martin Rodriguez added 11 points through a conversion and three penalty goals.

The Boks paid for ill-discipline, especially early in the game, but finished stronger although they could not pull it through.

โ€œFirstly, all credit to Argentina. We were not good enough and they played very well, but we let our country and ourselves down tonight,โ€ said Meyer.

โ€œOur problems started at the breakdown, where we could not get any quick ball and when we did at stages, I thought we played good rugby only to lose the ball in good positions on the field. W

โ€œWe have a lot of inexperience and youngsters, but itโ€™s not an excuse. For a lot of these guys it was their first Test away from home, but we talk a lot about mental toughness and we needed to make the step up.

โ€œWe always knew they were going to come out hard at us and that it was going to be very tough, but you canโ€™t afford to give away all those penalties we did early in the game. That was unacceptable.โ€

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said it was frustrating day out in the middle.

โ€œEvery time we got in their half, they gave away a penalty. We didnโ€™t get a lot of ball out wide but when we did we made some metres. However, it was one of those games where we never got into it and it ended in a draw,โ€ said De Villiers.

Tiaan Liebenberg replaced Adriaan Strauss late in the game to win his first Springbok cap, almost five years after making his debut for South Africa, against the Barbarians in London at the end of 2007.

The Boks travel back to South Africa on Sunday and will arrive in the country on Monday morning. They will reconvene in Johannesburg on Thursday to start preparing for the Australasian leg of The Castle Rugby Championship.

57 Responses to The Rugby Championship: We let SA, ourselves down – Heyneke Meyer

  • 1

    Apart from being a very shitty Bokke performance, I hope they have finally seen the light on a few things, namely:

    – You HAVE TO value the breakdowns and control the majority of them
    – You HAVE TO play possession rugby and not needlessly kick possession away
    – You HAVE TO have balance in your loose trio…. (6) a fetcher, (7)a monster tackling strike runner, (8) a strike runnner with hands of gold
    – You HAVE TO defend IN THEIR FACES and NOT SLIP TACKLES
    – You HAVE TO run into space, not over people
    – You HAVE TO use overlaps and the ball creatively, not just flung it wide for the hell of it, hoping
    – Your FORWARDS need to do the hard yards up front, not in the backline
    – Your BACKS need to be decision makers and game breakers
    – Your HALFBACK COMBINATION needs to be correct and give direction to play
    – You HAVE TO keep your dicipline and not be dragged into the off-the-ball stuff

    That’s just some of the pointers… and most of the individual elements are there, they are just not being used correctly and / or have become so used over the last number of years to an old and stale pattern, which is not valid anymore, that they seemingly know no different… yip I said it, and it counts for EVERYBODY in the mix!

    When are they going to realize that the best rugby for this junction in history is POSSESSION RUGBY, simply because the attacking side has more rights at the breakdowns… and if you have and maintain the ball, the other side simply cannot score.

    When will they realize that every modern game has about 170 breakdown point situations, so whomever controls them, controls the game!

    When will we learn not to squander the golden opportunities, with skip passes or kicking the leather off the damn ball?

    Finally, and I’m sorry to say it, but some okes just do not belong at the Springboks anymore, Andries Bekker paramount of them all, Jacques Potgieter second in line, Spies already out with injury. Also, it has become time to put it to bed and say that Hougie is a wing, not a scrumhalf!

    Our Bokke were dumb, doff and stupid to put it mildly, enticed to get riled by the physicality of the Argies… they played us like a banjo, picked all our strings… and we lost all our cool and composure, whilst they just gained composure in the process.

    Time to change the tune… I’m not advocating NO KICKING a la Harry Viljoen, I’m saying that the general rule of thumb should be not kick to set up possible attack, rather attack with ball in hand.

    By all means, kick if you HAVE TO RELIEVE PRESSURE or kick if you WANT TO DRIVE THEM INTO THEIR OWN CORNERS….. but then kick out, and well out with no chance for the sneaky quick throw-ins.

    Other than that, you will have to play with ball in hand, forwards up front, backline players at the back, searching out space and every pass must be made to put the man next to you in a better position than the one you are in… attack space, use cut-backs and use passes back inside to break the pattern and the defensive rhytm.

    Remember that your likely pass is to your outside BUT also remember that your only pass is not just to shovel the ball away so that it supposedly must reach the guy closest to the touchline…. in other words, don’t just pass one way, use variation and make them guess and doubt your next move!

    I think this was a mild rant, which definately does not reflect the words I truly wanted to use in the process, but I also feel that this feeling and the indignation I felt last night, was a feeling shared by a lot of you out there!

    Goooooooo Bokke!

  • 2

    For goodness sakes, forget Stormers style rugby, forget Bulls style rugby, forget Sharks style rugby (you too Puma)… luckily they have already forgotten Lions and Cheetahs rugby too.

    That does not mean there are not strong points in ALL the 5 Super Rugby Franchises…. but a unique style of ball in hand rugby, which suits all these strenghts, have to be absorbed and executed!

    It is NOT NEGOTIABLE!

    Unfortunately it cannot happen overnight!

  • 3

    I just received the WP injury report via E-Mail…. Siya Kolisi has broken a thumb, which will require surgery… he’s out for the remainder of the Currie Cup and therefore also out of any inclusion in The Rugby Championship.

  • 4

    Argentina just allowed them to play the way they want. When are people going to realise that Los Pumas are not push overs anymore? At home they are hard to beat. They were rusty in the first game as a different team played the June Internationals. So give credit were credit is due.

  • 5

    @ grootblouBokJan:

    Rudi: The sharks already playing the Style you speak of ๐Ÿ˜‰ ๐Ÿ˜†

    Jokes aside eish Voldy is on fire, the Cappies are demanding HM must be fired , and he is the biggest liar ever etc etc etc ๐Ÿ˜† ๐Ÿ˜†

    Now for me i find Hm needs to realise that he is coaching SA and not the Bulls, noone can argue he is a good coach but i see the problem being that he is not felixable in approach.

    I will use an example from saturdays match just so you can see what i mean, now besides the fact that he chose players like MOrne or Kirchner or POtgieter like people are moaning about, To me players dont select themselves to start with and yes even i understand his approach thus the players he chose to try achieve his goal.

    But where he seems to be stuck and being naive is in planning and response when things are not going as planned, in the first 40 min it was cleaar the Argies had planned for that kick and chase oordonder die ouens voor jou approach.

    Surely when seeing what is playing off in front of him in the 2nd half it would have been wise to Bring Lambie on at 10 and no not at 15, instead the kicking increased? ๐Ÿ˜ฏ

    I would have kept Hougaard at 9 and played Pienaar at 15 and played the keep the ball in hand, potgieter should have been subbed and not Marcel, Surely he could see kicking the ball away and i know you agree was not going to bare fruit on the day??? now i can go on and on and on but it is for me not about him not being a good coach or even selecting Morne or even Pottie.

    For me it is about reacting with positive planning as a match progressors, Lambie plays the flat attacking ball well and defends strongly, i also believe it would have thrown the Argies a bit as they would not have expected it

    Any hows my 1 cents worth ๐Ÿ˜†

  • 6

    It’s been a sad and frustrating period for me. And no, I am not referring to just yesterday, that was just confirmation of what I had been dreading. I am referring to the last 10 years of Bok rugby. The WC win by White was lucky and made us all feel great but it just papered over the awful record before. Snorre had one great year when we beat the ABs three in a row and he was the first coach in ten years to win in NZ but it didn’t last as he had surrendered all authority to the senior players, some of whom should not have been there by then.

    The fault for yesterday’s debacle rests four square on the shoulders of HM – not on any particular player. Yes, there is no other obvious better coach available in SA right now, so stringing him up from the nearest lamp post, while making some of us feel better, will not help the Boks. I have no doubt that Heyneke is a great guy; a very nice person, sincere and with the best interests of the team at heart. He is also stubborn and inflexible because he is convinced that he can coach and persuade his chosen players to play great rugby.
    He prefers to surround himself with people he knows and is comfortable with and works on motivating them to do better. The entire Bok team looked clueless and impotent yesterday. Yes there were some who were worse, like Langbek, but there were none that were good. You can’t also blame a team playing under instructions. It’s strange how history repeats itself – Harry Viljoen, a few years ago, instructed the Boks not to kick and almost lost to Argentina and yesterday, the Boks scraped a lucky draw playing under strict instructions from HM.
    All creativity is being coached out of the players. The coach wants to have perfect little robots executing his masterful gameplan to perfection not realising it is outdated and all the opposition have long ago worked out how to nullify it. By the third test against the English, I realised that HM would not be the saviour of Bok rugby and now there is another season soon to be lost. We may still win a few tests, even maybe beat the Wobblies, as they are struggling too, but with the horrific number of injuries piling up, it is now too late for the coach to make significant changes even if he wanted to. But then again he has shown absolutely zero interest in making changes. Remember his famous words, “How can you have a plan B if you can’t implement plan A properly?” A statement that would have had all rolling around laughing on the floor if it had been made by Snorre.

  • 7

    WC was not lucky. It was cause of Jake White and the style he played. IRB thought too much kicking was going on and changed some laws. Snorre did well because he worked with a foundation laid by Jake White. He on it till those players got too old and retired. Then he left a new beginning for the next coach.

    SA had too coaches who had a brain and a way of thinking into how to play. 1 was Nick Mallet the other Jake White.

  • 8

    7andaBokJan wrote:

    WC was not lucky

    Sorry disagree, nothing was left in front of us. The elimination of the power houses of World rugby cleared our path. Yeah i know you play what is in front of you, bla , bla , bla….

    Who was the ref again in the 2007 Super Rugby final? It seems now that mistake has finally caught up with us. If the Bulls lost , would HM be regarded good?

    What made us win that final.
    Predictable rugby?
    NO
    Brilliant individual flair by Jaco vd Westhuisen, Bryan Habana and Matfield.

    Sorry HM i can just wish you catch the All Blacks and Wallabies as fast asleep as the Sharks in 2007. Otherwise you WILL be the coach with the worst start in SA.
    I would gladly apologize for my lack of faith if we end this Championship with a record of 9 games played , won 7 or 6. But everything points toward P9 , W3 D2 L4.

    I watched only the last 35 minutes of the last Bledisloe cup game, the score was 19-0 when i started watching. Although the last 30 minutes were scoreless i saw the ABs within centimeters of scoring another try and going over the line but failed to ground the ball. That could have easily been another 14 points, the margin was not the problem but it seems they can easily score 40points against the 2nd best team in the World.

    Did we EVER threaten the Puma goal line?
    I cant recall any near try by us, no we where not even close.
    Our game plan cant change before the Australasian part of our Championship challenge. We must hope for mistakes by the opposition. We cant break their line with the current players and especially our game plan. SAD indeed, somehow i will by cappy like and adore the All Blacks dismantlement of the Pumas. I will bet my bottom dollar that they WILL score 4 tries with ease against the poor PUMAS.

    HM made Jean de Villiers his captain for this tournament , so we will be stuck with him. So the biggest cancer bar Morne in our back line is guaranteed to stay.
    I would drop Morne for starters, let him get his act together again.
    JdeV , well he is so useless even WO will be a big improvement.

    Maybe Heynecke learned something now, Juandre Kruger was the right guy from the beginning, sad that HM could not stand by him and listened to all the poor and ill advice to bring Andries Bekker back. I raised my concern about the second rows fitness before the Newlands test and i feel vindicated. They were poor in fact they were rather like a famous 3 letter Afrikaans word.

    Back to the backs. I would do the brave thing and play FH and Elton Jantjes as my pivots. Give HM the freedom to play his game around the fringes, ban his kicking(it is poor anyway) and instruct him to give the ball to Jantjes to RUN(control) the back line. To Jantjes i free his hands to play his full array of skills, chips, skip passes, tackles, kick whenever he feels it is necesarry, but let him play his own unpredictable game. The rest of the Backs FS, JdeV, Habana, Kirshner can stay and try and run with Jantjes. Well i feel with all the gambles taken by HM this one could prove a lot.

  • 9

    superbokspringJan wrote:

    Give HM the freedom to play his game around the fringes,

    mean Hougaart

  • 10

    OK last bit before i go back to sleep.

    I missed Gurthro, Bakkies, Victor, Danie and Spies and not so funny i think Heynecke did too.
    O and i might be the only one in SA but even Pieter de Villiers would have been great. His post match views would at least gave me something to chuckle about, miss you Divvy, hope you are well.

  • 11

    @ superbokspringJan:

    So what you are saying without Bulls players HM is useless??

  • 12

    Heyneke Meyer, I think you miss a MASSIVE POINT, never mind you let yourselves down more importantly, YOU LET YOUR FANS DOWN!

    You know, the ones that basically pay your salary?

  • 13

    Hier is my mening en keel skoonmaak:

    HM kon sy toetsloopbaan as afrigter nie op ‘n slegter tyd begin het nie.

    1. die hele SA nasie was gatvol vir die WB verloor van 2011, hulle soek resultate, NOU. Die druk word groter, en die ironie is, hy het nog nie verloor nie, maar dit is die ‘hoe’ ons wen/gelylop speel wat die probleem is.

    2. ‘n Magdom ervare spelers het afgetree of oorsee gaan speel: Guthro, Smit, Bakkies, Vic, Danie, Jacq Fourie.

    3. Klomp ervare spelers beseer: Bismark, Coenie, Schalk, Juan, Spies, Brussow, JPP, Basson.

    4. Klompie spelers wat moes naam maak deur die seisoen beseer, en daarom onseker vir die bokspan: Goosen, Lambie (kon hom nie vestig in Sharks span as losskakel nie), Brussow, Stegmann.

    5. ‘n Klomp van sy staatmakers om sy gameplan deur te voer, wat heeltemal van stryk af is en nie lyk of hul weer vorm kan herwin nie: Spies, Bekker, Hougies, Morne, JDV, Zane.

    Dit is nie om te verskoon nie, maar om dinge in konteks te plaas.

    HM was die regte man vir die job … maar dalk 4 jaar te laat ? Maklik om dit nou te sรช, maar die manskappe wat sy gameplan kon vervolmaak het en die AB kon geklop het in die WB eindstryd laasjaar, is nou weg of afgetree. Het HM ‘n fout gemaak om die 2de kans aan te gryp as bokafrigter ?

    So HM begin sy bokloopbaan presies waar hy sy CB loopboon in 2001 begin het, heel onder. Hy erf nie soos Divvie ‘n wenspan, ‘n WB kampioenspan nie.

    Gaan sy skip sommer vinnig sink, of gaan ons oor 4 jaar die WB vashou ?

    Die antwoord na my mening is ja en nee.

    1. Nee, as hy nie gaan besef rugby het aangegaan en dat sy skop gameplan nie meer werk nie. PUNT. Ja, as hy besef skoppe op die regte tyd en plek moet definitief ‘N klein deel wees van jou gameplan, maar as enigste plan is dit tans ‘n totale mislukking. Kyk maar die BB se jongspan teen die Sharks die naweek, in die 2de helfte toe hul die bal lug gee, vinnige offloads, nie besit wegskop nie … skielik 3 pragtige driee, waarvan 2 van hul eie doellyn ? So dit kan gedoen word.

    As hy besef ons het nie tans ‘n vaste vyf wat ander spanne kan oordonder nie, daarom moet ons ‘n klassieke fetcher speel. Nog net Stegmann is staande, tot Brussow terug is. As hy wil bly by groter loossies, vervang Potties met CJ. Sou Siya gekies het, maar hy is ook nou beseer en Duane is nog nie reg nie.

    Speel Jantjes op losskakel en Lambie op heelagter, Hougies op vleuel, Ruan op skrummie, dit kan nie slegter gaan nie. Jammer, maar FS en JDV is twee stadige osse op senter, nie die senterkombinasie vir die toekoms nie. Kan FS ook heelagter speel en Lambie op losskakel.

    Dink HM het ook ‘n fout gemaak om nie meer te eksperimenteer op losskakel teen die Engelse nie. Hy weet wat hy in MS het, moes Jantjies ‘n kans gegee het.

    Moeilike tye wat voorlรช vir HM en sy afrigtingspan, die volgende 4 toetse gaan hom maak of breek. Ek dink hy gaan baie mense wen deur ‘n paar spanveranderinge te bring (en hier is hy nou beperk met al die beserings) asook die gameplan te verander, sodat dit op die langtermyn resultate bring.

    Die groot vraag is, kan hy nou sulke veranderinge maak, of gaan hy soos die skop gameplan maar net bly by die span en skop gameplan … en hoop daar gebeur iets goeds ?

    Sterkte HM, hopelik kan jy aanpas, of anders gaan SA ondersteuners jou braai, eish.

  • 14

    @ bidibidi-jan:
    Nice assesment of things.

    Believe me, the SA Supporters from the coastal areas will already be looking for a call to arms to get rid of HM.

    I don’t think HM will make any great changes from either his players or his game plan, and in so doing will condemn the Boks to defeat against the AB’s and Wallabies overseas, and most likely the AB’s in Soweto as well.

    SA Rugby needs to undergo a culture change in how everyone collectively thinks and coaches the game.

    Many will tell you it’s not so, but I believe they’re in denial. The results don’t lie.

  • 15

    What I find amazing, is that everyone and his dog, know the problem, and if you didn’t, go back and watch Nick Mallets very candid interview post match to get an understanding. What he said, and what GBS said in #1 is what we have all been alluding to in some form or another for a very long time. Therefore, the coaches, coaching staff and players MUST also be aware of the same thing, and MUST have been planning accordingly. So What is going wrong????

    They must be aware that the the kicking strategy they employ week in and week out doesn’t work. They must be aware that massive lumbering forwards aren’t going to necessarily get you over the gain line in modern rugby, but they insist on continuing with this style of play. Therefore they must have a plan that they feel is such that this method is going to beat any opposition. The plan must be excellent, or why would they continue to be using it, when we all say it is wrong. We are wrong.

    But having said that, if the plan is right – and we must assume that it is, as they continue using it, then the problem must lie elsewhere. Either the players are not good enough, or the coaching of the players is not good enough. That being said, if the players aren’t good enough, then why do the coaches continue with them?

    I don’t want to go down the route of player or coach bashing, but something is wrong there. In my mind, though, I keep coming back to the coaches. Wrong plan -can only be the coaches to blame. Wrong players – Coach is picking them. Right players, right plan, but still playing so poorly, perhaps the coaching methods are not up to scratch.

    We know the coaches track record, is is very highly regarded, and we know that he is a brilliant coach, and the right man for the job. I think that perhaps a little arrogance is creeping in, backs to the wall kind of mentality, avoiding the real issues – just listen to HM’s post match interview. Politicians will be clamouring for him to write their speeches soon! We have to open our eyes, and see that rugby has moved on. We must modernise as the game evolves. We are being left behind, with our heads in the sand. And that is very sad.

  • 16

    15 @ Just For Kicks:
    The Laager mentality?

  • 17

    The AB’s ability to offload and keep the ball alive is truly effective at building momentum, AND EVERYONE OF THEIR PLAYERS SEEM CAPABLE OF EXECUTING.

    Unfortunately SA’s players seem only capable of hitting the contact point and going to ground with the ball. This results in SLOW ball, which the half back then uses for the Up and Under, which results in a 50/50 opportunity of the opposition winning the ball.

  • 18

    14 @ Scrumdown:Agree with you and BDB, it would be very wrong to get rid of HM now. Those calling for his demise just 5 matches in, are doing so for emotional reasons. I just feel that it is the wrong game plan, and if BDB’s points about retiree’s and injuries are to be taken into account, then it solidifies my previous point further. We cannot players in a game plan that they cannot play. At the same time, we must deal with what we have. We cannot blame the past, injuries, too much rugby, etc. any more. It is a fact of life. We must adapt to play a game style that we can beat opposition with. We can’t keep banging our heads against the wall with the same plan. We must adapt, and I think HM is the right person to do this. Lets hope he has the vision!

  • 19

    16 @ Scrumdown:Exactly, I was going to use the same word, but didn’t want to offend anyone!

  • 20

    Om aan te sluit wat JFK sรช, hier is die belangrikste vraag in ‘n wedstryd scenario:

    1. Bokke kry skielik turnover ball op hul eie kwartlyn, wat gaan deur die afrigters en spelers se koppe ? Tien teen een die volgende: “skop vinnig uit of in die lug op ! raak ontslae van balbesit want dit is gevaarlik vir ons, ons moet uit die moeilikheid kom en veilig speel, laat die ander span foute maak, ons soek nie die bal nie !”

    2. AB’s kry skielik turn over ball: “Aha, hier is balbesit, kom ons val aan met ‘n paar offloads, beskerm besit en die bal soos ‘n babatjie, gaan deur fases, hardloop om die ander spelers, en gaan score!”

    Natuurlik nie in elke geval nie, maar dit is ongelukkig die groot verskil. Mindset.

    Ons moet begin dink-rugby speel, nie ‘n klomp robotte in ‘n ou uitgediende skop en hoop patroon nie.

  • 21

    @ grootblouBokJan:

    I agree with much of what you say there. But I would be keen to see whether Alberts won’t do better at 8, he certainly doesn’t look like he can control lineouts, so Juandre Kruger needs to do that, alternatively maybe Bresler needs a shot.

    Hougaard must go to wing, his service is slow and inaccurate.

    Morne Steyn isn’t my favourite player, but he passed well enough on the weekend, I just wish he would stand a little flatter at times and stop kicking the ball away so much, Mvovo chased poorly on the weekend and yet Steyn kept on putting up the bombs.

    Kirchner must go, between him and de Villiers you can simply forget about passes or offloads, they look like searching for landing strips when they have ball in hand.

    On another note, the Bulls this weekend beat the sharks and I see many still beleive it is their kick chase game that brings them siccess, but when you look at the last 20 minutes of the second half, it wasn’t the kicks that scored their tries, it was counter attack.

    We need to use turn over ball for counter attack, not bloody kicking.

  • 22

    I think one thing which sticks out like a post above water is that the kick and chase game is outdated, and causes us untold strife.

    … but that’s not all…. the breakdown situations, there’s probably the area where we have to improve the most and it’s the area where we are being bossed at the moment.

    2 Weeks to go till the Wallabies Test… time for some serious introspection and some radical change!

    The thing is, when we have kept ball in hand, patiently… it has looked good at times (bar our breakdowns woes).

    Hell, the Wobblies game is on my birthday… may I get just 1 great present…. a good win against the Wobblies!

  • 23

    20 @ bidibidi-jan:
    I think you’ve summed up the needed mindset change perfectly!

  • 24

    @ grootblouBokJan:
    The only way we will sort the rucks is to have more numbers at the breakdown when we are on attack, we also need more physicality, Alberts only works when he plays at 7, we need Vermeulen at 8 or someone with simlar physicality, the reality is 2 stationary Boks aren’t going to stop 6 All Blacks who counter ruck.

  • 25

    24 @ biltongbok-Jan:
    Hope Duane gets his mojo back, this past weekend was already better than the previous one for Duane… he started like a house on fire then faded badly towards the latter parts.

    Players sticking their hands up in the loosie department, so decimated by injuries at present are CJ Stander, Arno Botha, Josh Strauss, Siya Kolisi (now injured)… and I might be missing one or two more….

    Jqcques Potgieter is weak on defence and ineffective at cleaning and clearing rucks… his technique is very dodgy – He would not make my Bok Squad. Marcell Coetzee can impossibly do everything himself, he’s been solid. Willem Alverts adds very little and always promises much but in fact is also largely effective in cleaning rucks and mauls… his biggest contribution is taking ball up and then going to ground, off-load skills suck.

    But I think BiDiBiDi alludes to a very important thing… mindset…

  • 26

    Problem with Stander who has had two very good performances over the last two weekends is he is leaving for Europe. Strauss plays for the wrong team.

    I agree Alberts doesn’t have an offload game, but he is the only physical player that gets to the gainline, if he is going to set up the ruck then the support needs to arrive earlier.

    Without him we will be up S…creeck without a paddle.

  • 27

    Nee kyk, sonder die ‘B’-s in ons agttal is ons maar dun en min daar voor: Bismark, Bakkies, Burger, Brussow en Banie … ek bedoel Danie, hehe.

  • 28

    27: en natuurlik BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBidididibidi !

  • 29

    gbs @ 25
    i think the biggest problem in sarugby, and the one thing that will be holding us back for years to come, is our skills level (or rather our lack there-of)
    simple example:
    when you open this site, theres a picture of spies with ball in hand displayed on top
    whats wrong in that picture?
    1. ball in wrong hand
    2. ball stuck under arm
    the above wrongs can mean that:
    ball can be easily dislodged
    ball cant be offloaded, so any momentum (most propably) lost
    because of where the ball is, theres no chance of fending off the tackler which couldve aided in breaking the tackle.
    ….
    and thats just from that one picture

  • 30

    20@ @ bidibidi-jan:
    Perfect analysis. I tend to think to that HM is a man out of his time – 4 years ago was his time. But the big problem in SA is there is no one else putting their hands up. HM should lose some of his arrogance that he can “coach” any player to play better and start realising his own shortcomings.
    15@ @ Just For Kicks:
    Denial is a very common human flaw. There is an obsession in SA society with strength and size. Just look how we rave about our kickers being able to kick from ever more ridiculous distances. Rugby is an 80 min game of tactics and strategy married to competence and skill. It’s not a shot put event where you just need one enormous throw to win. You wonder why the coaches can’t see the problem but persist with the same strategy: Because they are a reflection of their society and know what we admire. We like to win of course like any other human beings, but we have an ideal or preferred way of winning – by running over the opposition to demonstrate how awesome we are. It’s the same old story, the Boks try to physically overpower the opposition and when that fails we have nothing. When it works we celebrate over how we moered the opposition. We are a society that celebrates strength and toughness and bloody mindedness. It’s why we are so easily needled to give away penalties on the field and showed in our approach to the Pumas underhand tactics – find someone to donder and that will set the problem right!

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