It was written on their faces. The Boks, to a man, left Soccer City in despair last night, their 2012 Championship ending on the most depressing note.
The All Blacks, the trend-setters in the modern game, were beaming and edging ever closer to a world-record run of victories, after a game that only required one half of a puff from them.
Lungani Zama – Sunday Tribune
And, while Steve Hansen will look for new ways to open up opposition backlines, Heyneke Meyer is still looking for reasons why his way is still not working. It’s been a common thread this year.
Five months into his job, Meyer now knows that there is a monumental difference between moulding a franchise outfit to your own image and keeping the Boks relevant.
And, as much as he is part of the problem, Meyer cannot take sole blame for the depressing results. Too many of the senior players that he has are not providing the performances that are needed to keep the side going in these tough times.
Jean de Villiers, the captain, has thrown more stray passes over the last two months than he has in his entire career. The backline, when the ball has got to them, played as if they have just been introduced to each other.
At some point, the excuse that the Springboks are still learning will no longer be accepted as a reason for the abject displays that they have served up. After all, the entire team has played – and starred – in Super Rugby, where they have met the same players who are now dominating them so thoroughly.
And amidst all this, Meyer has maintained that the team is finally grasping his ideas.
By the end of the match at Soccer City last night, the Boks looked more clueless than ever, punch-drunk from being routinely raided by a team with a proper, modern game plan.
When the All Blacks were under the cosh in Nasrec, they soaked up the pressure and tightened the defence. The Boks, whenever they have had questions asked of their temperament, have wilted.
The defence used to be a source of pride, but lack of organisation has seen it become very leaky when confronted by pace and inventive running.
Those kind of errors could be understood against England, when Meyer had precious little time to assemble the troops. But now, five months on, and a solid stint of Championship Rugby later, there should be a defensive pattern that everyone understands.
The end-of-year tour to Europe now looms large as Meyer’s last chance to end 2012 on some kind of high.
Regardless of the results, which cannot really get much worse, what Heyneke Meyer simply has to do is take off the blinkers and scrap the Blue-Bull-print.
The Currie Cup run-in will again display those players who deserve a chance to play a more prominent role.
Players like Pat Lambie, who has the type of footballing brain that teams like New Zealand and Australia build entire backlines around because of their ability to play the moment.
That Lambie’s introduction in place of Zane Kirchener at Loftus last weekend raised the biggest cheer was telling. The public want to see him, and others like him, play.
Bok rugby has become stale and predictable. And yet, only Meyer has the power to change that. Only he can change the way the Springboks approach matches. Come November, we will see if he has had a change of heart.
29 @ tight head:
So if the core of this group of players have been together for what…. nearly 2 months, why can’t they get basics as you describe right?
29 @ tight head:
Somebody once explained it to me in Mathematical and Physics terms…. the body operates like “vector powers”, with momemntum and application in the same direction the key… forces and opposing forces, like the tension points of a bridge construction, construction ingineers are good at this shit… hehehe
31 @ Scrumdown:
None of the SA Super Rugby sides were good at it either… it goes down to a total new way of thinking as far as South African players are concerned… and will have to be taught and brought through from the basic levels upwards.
@ Scrumdown:
Exactly.
You have to ask what are they being told, if anything, by coaches?
@ grootblousmile:
I am just a doff prop!!
35 @ tight head:
Fark, if a doff prop can see it… then surely something and someone must be able to do something about it!
Hahaha
Fark, work calls…. auf wiedersehn!
37 @ grootblousmile:
Never saw you do a real day’s work in your life.
Don’t get caught up in your client’s “mystical universe”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers.
scrumdown @ 38
38 @ Scrumdown:
My dear man…. if only you knew how hard I do work… hehehe
PS! I never get caught up in my client’s mystical universe, I get caught up in getting the tills rolling!
PPS! It’s not how hard you work that matters, it’s how effectively you work which matters…. think about it!
40 @ grootblousmile:
Hehehe. You built that machine yet. That young man needs to go and fight the Trolls or something like that.
I on the other hand have a family all struck down with “Kroonstad belly”, so I have Trolls of another sort to fight.
41 @ Scrumdown:
The youngster who is buying it mos wants to help me build the Monster PC for the experience of it, so seeing as I was not going to do it on the weekend and all, it would have happened after 17:00 today… but now I hear we’re going out to dinner to celebrate BonzaiHandbriekie’s engagement to Os….
Ai flok, die kinders tog… eish
On Saturday the Boks seemed to get caught between two scripts: they were visibly keen to build on the new, more ball-in-hand approach that reaped strong benefits against Australia at Loftus a week earlier, but at the same time their defensive shape unravelled rather badly against a New Zealand side who only underlined their flair for counter-attacking and turnover opportunism.
If Steyn gets any chance in the next fortnight or so to confirm that he is regaining his place-kicking prowess, especially, then his hopes of earning an overseas ticket with the Boks will only blossom.
Especially when the elements conspire to make an adventurous spectacle near-impossible, a no-frills flyhalf capable of dominating both through tactical kicking and metronomic ability off the tee becomes a priceless asset in the northern hemisphere if forward supremacy is being achieved – and South Africa do look sprightly at present in that department, for all their array of warts elsewhere.
Of course a contrary view would be that the Boks need to genuinely “invest” now in a young No 10 for a brighter future and accept that growth pains will be inevitable as that player – or players – acclimatises to differing environments across the rugby planet.
But my money is strongly on Steyn to make the squad mix, at the very least …
The way NZ Press sees it
Meticulous player management is a major component of the All Blacks continued, unrivalled success.
The All Blacks’ fitness levels are unmatched and squad rotation, like the switch of Julian Savea and Hosea Gear, is another example of how work-loads are monitored. There is also constant consultation between All Blacks management and Super Rugby coaches about how to ensure All Blacks are not burnt out.
Minimal casualties are another telling sign. Australia and South Africa have been decimated by injuries this year, but, overall, the All Blacks have enjoyed a smooth season in this regard, baring Dan Carter’s two-game absence with a calf complaint.
“We’ve got a clean slate. Everyone is pretty sore. It was a big week but through the recovery everyone has shaped up well,” All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said of the squad’s status after the battering from the Boks.
“We need a break. It’s time. We’ve got the performances we want but the guys are clearly jaded. Five days at home is going to be fantastic.”
Unlike the All Blacks, who get their first week off since Super Rugby concluded, all Boks players are now required to immediately return to their Currie Cup (NPC) teams until their end-of-year-tour. There is no rest in sight for their players.
“People understand how the All Blacks can’t get too involved in the ITM Cup. There are still some situations they do play, but with a 14 test programme it’s pretty relentless.”
Keven Mealamu backed up Foster’s sentiments. The nuggety All Blacks hooker was hoping to celebrate his 100 test milestone against the Wallabies in two weeks in Brisbane by matching the world record of 17 test wins by top tier nations, but not before having some well overdue R and R.
Opinion poll on Rugby Heaven NZ
I would reluctantly go for 1, Although i hate his cheeting play , he certainly took many games and swung them NZs way.
? Is Richie McCaw now the greatest All Black of all time?
1. Yes. His achievements set him apart from the rest.
2. No. Sir Colin Meads is still the greatest.
3. Not sure. It’s too hard to compare players from different eras.
The only thing that matters from my point of view is to stop to select players by name, all the years that rugby in south africa start getting momentum is always the coach select players where he came from and select players by stats. It is time that we must select players with form and the nametags will realize they must play hard to earn their places.start with the young players that is eager to stake their claim.
super @ 44, 45
my understanding is that there were an initial agreement that no-one from the bok side (maybe barring those who really needed gametime) would be released to the unions. now the unions have done an about-turn on this agreement. not good for sarugby at all, as they wouldve gone straight from superrugby, into the incoming tours, back to superrugby, into the championships, into the cc, into the end of year tour WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIAL REST. please expect our player to go down with injury next year again!!!
btw
how long will they have to put their feet up after the EOY Tour before the pre-season programmes kick in again?
#48
from sport24
..
http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/RugbyChampionship/SA-system-blocks-Bok-progress-20121008
seems like i’m talking to myself again
but
thats ok,
i actually like starting my day by talking to someone intelligent before i talk to anyone else, lol.
..
ok, so i’ve talked to myself
now
you idiots can come out and join me!!
i’m not sure whether i already pasted this one on here, but here goes:
from sport24, an article by nzlander tony johnson
…
http://www.supersport.com/rugby/blogs/tony-johnson/Boks_will_be_world_beaters
Best article I have read on the Boks.
Heyneke Meyer has had more coaching pedigree than any other Bok coach, and he has had the past 4 years to study Springbok and World rugby.He has had every golden opportunity over the years.
And this is what he comes up with ? The players KNOW they are playing brain dead rugby….all the good rugby has been over-coached out of them,by the YES men who Meyer has surrounded himself with.
As the article mentions,a lack of belief and spirit is written on the faces of the players.THAT is what causes bad tackling.
Kick badly, chase badly….head down and donner away, and lose the ball in contact….Meyer offers nothing else.
And he is quoted, along with every excuse in the book, as saying there is no plan B….that all international teams play like this.
And he won’t change……feel very sorry for the players.
Many articles point out good player management, yes its true but it is also easy when the results stream in, the moment they start losing we will see their reactions…
“The current All Black side may not be the best ever, but they are certainly the fittest. They are superbly conditioned and managed. During the week prior to the test at FNB Stadium they only had one full-on training session. They have been working at quality rather than quantity in their preparation. They didn’t even bother with the traditional captain’s run for the tests in La Plata and Johannesburg, because of the time it would involve sitting on a bus.
At home there is a tacit agreement between the NZRU/All Blacks and the franchises that key players be given downtime during Super Rugby – ideally a week off one side of the bye so they get a good ten days downtime.
And Richie McCaw, who has played brilliantly but also taken a pounding during the current winter, has been given six months off at the end of the current rugby year in an attempt to prolong his career”
It would take someone of greater knowledge than me to prove it, but I am sure there is some sort of correlation between fitness, conditioning and workload management, and the lack of chronic injuries affecting the All Blacks right now.
It is a vindication of the pyramid system in New Zealand, where the best interests of the national team are paramount. It hasn’t always worked – the “rest, rotation and reconditioning” program prior to the 2007 RWC is widely regarded as a spectacular backfire, but a more subtle approach since then has produced rich dividends.
ok, anyone remember jake white?
well, whilst the mentioned one was Natonal Coach
ME and ALMOST ALL THE OTHER IDIOTS ON THIS SITE, was sure that we knew, uhm, well …… more than he knew
at different stages we wanted him to drop (and not see again) the likes of
victor matfield
bakkies botha
fourie du preez
john smit
percy montgomerie
jp pietersen etc etc etc.
WE KNEW
that his side would not get past the quarters (and bloody hell, the nearly didnt, lol)
WE KNEW
of better captains than john the passenger smit (and better hookers also, didnt we?)
WE KNEW
that his name (john the passenger smit)wouldn feature in the top 10 hookers we had in the country at that stage
WE KNEW
that jake white was an idiot
and
WE CERTAINLY KNEW
that we were right on all counts!!!
RIGHT?
Boy, were we proven wrong!! (hate the taste of humble pie, lol)
#54
jeez!! no fishes!!
55 @ ashley:
Die water is TE troebel… hehehe
gbs @ 56
kinners moenie inni water mors nie, want grootmense moet dit drink?
57 @ ashley:
Ek drink nie water nie, want die visse poef, pee en het seks in die water…. hahaha
interview with Heyneke Meyer (Part2)
..
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_8155153,00.html
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