342 Responses to The Rugby Championship: Australia vs South Africa – Live Game Article

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  331

  PumaSpringbokJan on 8 September 2012 at 2:53 pm

  Another thing is if Hougie played his natural game he too would be a better scrummie.

  Well NZ can get the cup now. So disappointed. We will now have to wait for next year. Jeez it seems a long time away. Don’t care now if we win our games at home. Wanted us to win away from home as well. We have hardly done that in the past.
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  PumaSpringbokJan on 8 September 2012 at 2:55 pm

  Cheers everyone. Catch up during the week.
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  Just For Kicks on 8 September 2012 at 2:56 pm

  @ PumaSpringbokJan:Agree with both your points. But the Forwards need some working on too, so the likes of Lambie and Goosen can get some front foot ball. Etzebeth will be out for the rest of the comp, I fear. Does that mean we’ll see the return of Bekker? No Brussouw, and a front row that is struggling a bit. I can’t see it happening too soon, but Lambie and Goosen will definitely be a positive step in the right direction. The sooner Steyn and the clown are put to pasture, the better – but hey, we’ve been saying that for so long now, I can’t see it happening to soon.
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  Gobble_BokJan on 8 September 2012 at 3:03 pm

  @ Just For Kicks:
  Just lost all faith now. Don’t know if I still have the interest and energy to continue watching the Boks…
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  Just For Kicks on 8 September 2012 at 3:18 pm

  334 @ Gobble_BokJan:I have certainly lost all faith in the management – not the players. We clearly have a serious problem if our coach can justify part of the loss by claiming he was playing a quality side, when it was clear for all to see that this is not the case. I just don’t know what planet he is on, but he is going to have to go a very long way to restore my, and many other peoples faith in him. Even if he can produce a winning side, I fear that he has dug his own grave, and will be severely criticised for every move he makes. It is a personal view, but I see HM as a stubborn, head in the sand type of fellow, who is weak willed and 4 years to late to be coaching rugby. He shouldn’t be there, I have been fairly critical from the start, and copped a lot of shit for saying so, no more so than from GBS, but all rugby supporters want to see is good, entertaining and winning rugby. We’re passionate supporters, and get upset when we lose, but we are very quick to forget the last match and support the lads for the next one if the rugby is entertaining and we can see that there is improvement in the system. Every single man and his dog has been warning that this would happen if he stuck with this style, and yet he has continued.

  This is what pisses off the average supporter (and I am one of those), and this is what will turn us against him. I will get kakked on for saying all this, but do yourselves a favour, look at twitter, and the rugby blogs – and there are a lot of them. I guarantee they will be saying the same thing. That is South African rugby, and in the end, the supporter is inevitably proved right.
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  Gobble_BokJan on 8 September 2012 at 3:45 pm

  @ Just For Kicks:
  You are not the only one speaking out. For people like GBS it’s a question of loyalty – they know the man, he is a nice guy, he loves his wife, he helps old ladies across the street, etc etc. He is one of them and they have a history together. I understand how difficult it must be for them to have to criticise HM. But they must realise that there is a bigger picture. They have to realise that every test the Boks lose goes into the record books and can’t be taken back. That as a rugby power we have to go forward and not backwards. They should try and get it through to him where he is making mistakes because it does no good if you live in bubble where everyone is going on how great you are. Results and performance matter and it is not the loss so much, it is how badly they are playing to a stupid outdated game plan with inept players. If one is beaten by a better team, it’s one thing, but if you deliberately and consistently hand the game to the opposition it is unforgiveable.
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  grootblouBokJan on 8 September 2012 at 3:51 pm

  335 @ Just For Kicks:
  336 @ Gobble_BokJan:
  Guys, you are right to criticize Heyneke Meyer…. and I feel there needs to be critisism…. and I am loud in my opinion that we should play ball in hand too.

  Just do not lose your support for your National side, your Bokke, that’s all I ask.

  So, rest easy, I’m with you in the fact that we’re not happy!

  Honestly, do you think we can change the way we, as South Africans, play in a week or 2 though… and by that I mean by ANY coach?
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  Gobble_BokJan on 8 September 2012 at 4:12 pm

  @ grootblouBokJan:
  But he is not trying to change the way we play, that’s the whole bloody point. He is trying to force a rigid adherence to an outdated game plan and stifling the natural play of some players like for instance Hougie. We don’t see any evidence of a coach coming with progressive ideas able to compete with modern rugby. He had success with a gameplan at the Bulls some years ago and now insists on it once again. It reminds me a lot of Bok rugby after readmittance. We looked completely clueless against all and sundry and lost to many “weaker” teams as the game had progressed so much in our absence. Seems like we are reliving the same scenario once again.
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  grootblouBokJan on 8 September 2012 at 4:17 pm

  338 @ Gobble_BokJan:
  Yip, he is rigid… and you’re right to criticize him for that!

  He’s 3 months into his actual tenure (working with the players)…. and no coach can change things overnight.

  Oh, and in the 3 months there was a month and a half break where Super Rugby was played….
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  Just For Kicks on 8 September 2012 at 5:05 pm

  @ grootblouBokJan:You have no worries there, we will always support the Boks, but in return we reserve the right to criticise when we play as we did. I honestly believe we have the players in this country, and the excuse of retiring players doesn’t wash for me. The talent is there, it just needs nurturing. I don’t blame the players for this one. There are some who, in my opinion, shouldn’t be there, but they didn’t choose themselves, and they try their best week in and week out, so, yes, I will always support the Boks. Just poor game plan, poor selections, and a coach past his sell by date.
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  superbokspringJan on 9 September 2012 at 4:29 am

  I missed all the rugby yesterday and might just try and watch a bit sometime , but reading reports from a few places and reading the comments here on Rugby HQ i wonder what really happened. Reports and comments are conflicting. Like this one for example-

  Just For Kicks wrote:

  Boks suddenly look much better, couldn’t be the subs, surely, as I haven’t got a clue, so it must be something else.

  Pieter Jordaan in Rapport-
  “Waar die Bokke rustyd met 13-6 voorgeloop het, het die Aussies in die tweede helfte al die speelwerk gedoen en die Suid-Afrikaners se gebrek aan ervaring en swak temperament uitgebuit, om eindelik met 26-19 as oorwinnaars van die veld te stap.

  Swak taktiese skopwerk, ewe swak dissipline en ongedwonge foute in hul eie kwartgebied in die tweede helfte was soos ’n messteek in die maag van die Bok-span, wat voor rustyd gewys het hulle beskik tóg oor die talente om die Aussies te klop”
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  Just For Kicks on 9 September 2012 at 11:51 am

  @ superbokspringJan:
  superbokspringJan wrote:

  i wonder what really happened. Reports and comments are conflicting.

  ….Or perhaps you SHOULD watch the match before commenting. But let me help you a bit. Pieter Jordaan is quite right, the Boks had a shocking second half. But, and this is very important to take note of, so do watch it, the last 9 nine minutes of the match, you will notice an ever so subtle change in the Boks style of play. Ball was kept in hand, Lambie & Goosen (who had both just come on) suddenly started attacking the gaps. The both looked for the offload in the tackle, and guess what, both got over the advantage line with ease.

  Now perhaps this may have escaped Pieter’s notice when watching the match, but there was an upturn in the tempo, and there was a slight improvement in the Boks play. Granted too little, and too late, but here, I must be careful on how I write this so you understand my point. I was being sarcastic. Read previous posts where I had mentioned on more than one occasion the the subs should be coming on when, as Pieter was quite rightly making his point. I was, however indirectly criticised for these comments, and my post was sarcastically making the point that perhaps if these two players had come on earlier, there WOULD have been a change in the game plan, and we would, perhaps gone on to win. Hind sight is a wonderful thing, But I did make the point during the game that we would have nothing to lose by bringing these players on.

  So I don’t see my point as conflicting at all. I do hope that this has cleared this up, but for future reference, I will try to include the word ‘sarcasm’ clearly in my point. Perhaps that would help?