How will Heyneke Meyer fare in 2013?
In his first year, Heyneke Meyer was immediately under fire and he started with two unconvincing wins against England, with the 3rd Test against England ending in a 14 / 14 draw. He ended the 2012 season with a 58% win record. His best supporters point out that with the 2 draws he recorded, the losing percentage is a fairer assessment of his first year. The half-full glass group will point out that he only lost 3 games for a 25% losing percentage. Seeing it this way makes his debut year a reasonably good one.
What would we want from him in 2013?
The 2013 season consists of 3 different tournaments or segments. The Incoming tours starting in less than 2 weeks, the Rugby Championship and the End of Year tour.
Incoming Tour:
The first part consists of a brand new mini tournament hosted in South Africa between South Africa, Italy, Samoa and Scotland. In the first two matches South Africa play Italy and Scotland. South Africa will play the best of the 3 in their last game. What type of result would be acceptable here? I recon a clean sweep is non negotiable and most supporters would agree with me.
| Date | Match | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
The Rugby Championship:
In 2012 the Springboks ended 3rd with only 2 wins and a draw against Argentina. The Bokke lost twice to our arch rivals, New Zealand, and once against Australia. In 2013 South Africa starts with a home game against Argentina and then go on tour to play Argentina, Australia and New Zealand and end with two home games versus Australia and New Zealand. There is a lot of room for improvement on last year’s performance, but all South Africans expect a series win.
End of Year Tour:
So, what will constitute a successful 2013 campaign for Heynecke Meyer?
If he could swing the two drawn games of 2012 to wins, he will immediately have that elusive 75% win ratio. But that would leave him still with 3 losses out of 4 against the real enemy, Australia and New Zealand. I would say the absolute minimum acceptable situation would be to win 10 out of 12 Tests in 2013. That means he will have to win two games vs the ANZAC opponents. Winning 10 Tests would give him a healthy 83.3% win ratio. But that might still leave him without the Rugby Championship title.
Heyneke will most probably have an easy first part to the season and the only criticism might be his game plan and tactics… and of course his squad and team selections.
Well in my opinion the Boks should win every test match that they play, in reality they should always beat the PI teams, always beat Italy,Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Ireland, USA, Canada and the Argentine. They should always beat England, France and Australia when playing in SA, and usually when playing away.
The Boks should usually beat New Zealand when playing at home and sometimes when playing away.
In my opinion HM will not pick the squad or game plan to do this. He has no fetcher, an invisible 8th man and the wrong scrumhalf. He will rely on bashing it up and kicking it away. Didn’t work last year, will not work this year.
@ Loosehead:
Well i hope he tries something new
i hope he moves more towards the NZ style and forget too much about experience and rather play in form players. In other words show guts and believe in a young player. Habana is old news , he is read by opposition like a cheep comic book.
You will seldom find a NZ wing playing more than 60 games and most that reach that make a comeback after they were dropped for a new exciting star, if he can win back his place
You only need about 5 stalwart/old experienced players with great commitment to lead the abundant talent in SA
@ Loosehead:
HM does not have the will to change his selection criteria.
IMO he seems to believe that bigger is better.
The first part of the international window is nothing more than the IRB’s attempt at growing the game, and has F-All to do with anything else.
HM could pick a second string outfit for these games and they should still win. Pointless exercise IMO.
As for the RC, I can’t see SA winning, and based on SR (which doesn’t always translate to internationals but is our only yardstick), the Ausmob may well stick it over SA once again.
I expect that SA may scrape second, but there is every chance they may end 3rd again.
If that happens, expect HM to come under some degree of pressure.
I said last year that despite the mediocre performances on the EOYT, the fact that SA won all of the games flattered to deceive somewhat.
IMO SA Rugby internationally is in the doldrums somewhat, despite having arguably the deepest talent pool of any country in the top flight.
HM is too staid in his approach to make hay this year. I echo Loskoppie’s sentiments. Piet van Zyl has been the stand out SH in SA, but HM will play Jano Vermaak, or the lumbering Houghaard.
Spies will dissapear against the Wobblies and Ab’s but seeing HM won’t look outside of Spies and Kanko we are up the creek without a paddle. Both vd Walt and the Kings 8 have plyed better.
I actually think Lood de Jager and Etzebeth would make a good lock combo. de Jager has shown some deft touches with ball in hand, and has been a trojan in defence.
Why not play Step-du Toit as a 7, ala Mark Andrews.
Brüssow still persona non grata, so our loose trio will be sooooo staid, but so HM’ esque.
Marcel Coetzee doesn’t link nor pass, Alberts a lumbering lunk, and Spies the posterboy.
How much better would a loose trio of Brüssow, Lappies/du Toit/ vdWalt not have been. All linking players that carry well, and don’t shy from the grit.
4 @ Cheetah4eva:
Just go read your own comment again… the only thing good in your book is bloody Cheetahs players… and anybody playing for the Bulls and Sharks (bar Pieter-Steph du Toit) are shit!
Whilst I agree on Brussow (or Flo Louw), the kak you spew regarding Lood de Jager and Van der Walt, is laughable!
TAKE THOSE TINTED GLASSES OFF, FFS!
Fark, the one-eyed, biased monster is alive and well….
Tell me, don’t you see the ludicrousness of the kak you type?
1 @ Loosehead:
Hello,
I agree wholeheartedly with your 1st bit, till you started speculating what Heyneke will or won’t do.
I agree with you that Heyneke has his definate ideas on how things work and normally takes the conservative approach, but I’ll give him the benefit of doubt and criticise as the International season unfolds and answers some questions.
There’s bound to be some nice fresh faces in the Springbok squad, as we’ve seen with his training group selections and the only serious grievance we all have is the ommission of Brussow from the training squad… but don’t be surprised if fate twists Heyneke’s hand enough to use Brussow somewhere this year (the looseforward attrition rate is bloody high, toughest jobs around the park)… and he then sticks to that.
wen persentasie van tussen 60 en 70 pers sal gehandhaaf word.ons behoort meer jonger spelers te sien.heineke moet dit ernstig oorweeg om strauss voltyds ksptein te maak
7 @ smallies:
Janee wragtig, ek sal self graag vir Adriaan Strauss as Springbok kaptein wil sien!
Adriaan is in die vorm van sy lewe, hy het AL die nodige kwaliteite om ‘n GROOT Springbok kaptein te wees!
Die probleem is Bismarck, wanneer hy nie beseer is nie, fiks is… is selfs darem maar bliksems goed, naby aan die wêreld se beste… so wie speel en wie sit op die bank?
Maar dan, bygesê, hoe lank sal Jean de Villiers nog kan vashou aan die Bok Nr 12 of Nr 13 spot? Hy is ook, of behoort minstens blerrie naby te wees om nie die beste starter te wees in enige van die 2 posisies nie…. of om selfs nie die bench te maak nie.
@ grootblousmile:
as mens kyk na die form van ebersohn dan dink ek nie hy is meervdie beste 12 nie.ek dink ebersohn en dd jong of serfontein sal puik sentet combos maak
@ smallies:
die donnerse touch keybord laat my dysleksies lyk
9 @ smallies:
Ons het darem nie ‘n gebrek aan baie goeie senters nie….
Robert Ebersohn
Jan Serfontein
Damian de Allende
Juan de Jongh
JJ Engelbrecht (het geweldig verbeter op buitesenter)
… en dan tel ons nou nie hier eers vir Jean de Villiers of Jaque Fourie of so paar ander opkomende senters met baie potensiaal nie….
daai eerste twee op jou lys is darrem in n klas van hulle eie sit vir jong small-smith by daar
@ grootblousmile:
The pot calling the kettle cullart? You wear your blue tinted glasses pretty well.
vd Walt has been playing well as an 8. At least he doesn’t shy away from contact like your poster boy Spoes. Unfortunately Vermeulen is injured. Kanko hasn’t played at all as such. So who is left as specialist 8’s?
Lood is in his 1st season, and has played very well in my opinion. Just because he isn’t a Bull doesn’t make him a bad player.
The Cheetahs loose trio have been amongst the best in the competition. I did forget Arno Botha who is a great talent, but then that is unlikely to satisfy.
Maybe you are the only one here whose opinion isn’t laughable?
12 @ smallies:
Ek is nog so bietjie teleurgesteld in William Small-Smith… ek het verwag hy sou bietjie gouer deurbreek.
Hy het potensiaal, maar hy moet eers verby die bestaande lot senior senters by die Bulls breek….
Miskien sal ‘n breek na ‘n ander Franchise goed wees vir Small-Smith, soos wat dit lykmy vir Sadie was, en ek dink die Bulls het nognie klaar kontrak vasgemaak met William Small-Smith nie.
13 @ Cheetah4eva:
Yada-yada-yada.
You bore me today!
@ grootblousmile:
Really? Well let me bore you no longer. Seems you just like everybody to tow the party line. Anybody who has a different opinion talks kak or is laughable!
@ grootblousmile:
daar is n groep jong senters wat almal bu grey was ebersohn venter small-smith lindeque en jordaan.almal met tonne potensiaal
17 @ smallies:
Dit verbaas my telkemale hoeveel rugbymasjiene Grey College uitstoot… en onthou ek was nie op grey College of iets nie.
Snaaks genoeg vat Grey College hierdie jaar so bietjie strain, hulle het so 3 weke terug in Bloemfontein teen Affies verloor… maar dit was ook nie die enigste verloor van hulle seisoen nie, ek dink hulle het ‘n game verloor op een van die Paas Festivals ook…. of voor dit….
Maar jy is spot-on, daai jong groep senters is spesiaal.
@ grootblousmile:
kan nie alyd bo wees nie ek hoor hulle het n killer o16 span wat volgende jaar gaan deurkom
16 @ Cheetah4eva:
Hang about, in GBS’s defense he is a Bulls supporter and therefore knows only stampkar en skop rugby. He is yet to see the light. Give him time, he will leave the dark side.
Having said that, he may be right about one or two of the Bulls players being slightly better than the VRYSTAAT players.
20: Ai ou Loosehead, weet jy wanneer gaan julle die Bulle begin wen op ‘n gereelde basis ? Die dag as julle ophou om al die stront wat julself en ander anti-Bulls praat, te glo. Noem dit wishful thinking.
Hierdie ou urban legend van dat die Bulle net stampkar en skop rugby kan speel, glo net hulle wat geen rugby ken nie.
Gaan kyk na feite, statistiek: watter SA span het die laaste 5 jaar die meeste driee gedruk ? Watter span het al in ‘n super finaal 60 punte aangeteken ? Watter span, saam met die beste span ooit in super rugby (Saders), het al 90 punte opgesit teen ‘n ander span in die reeks, veral toe dit saakmaak ? Watter span het al ‘n paar 50talle teen die Stormers en Cheetahs opgesit, een van in die 70’s tene die Stormers ? En so kan ek aangaan, maar ek dink jy kry die idee. Dit beteken baie drieë.
En hierdie seisoen het die Cheetahs 32 driee na 13 wedstryde gedruk, die Bulle 29 na 12 wedstryde ….. en moet nog op Loftus teen die Kings speel.
So hou maar op om die urban legend glo dat die Cheetahs ‘n aanvallende span is, en die Bulle net kan skop en dryf. Albei spanne kan aanvallend speel as dit nodig is …. maar die Bulle kan ook goed nog goed skop en dryf !
Laat ons maar sien wie gaan wie carrots gee, Saterdag, dink dit gaan close wees. 😉
80% van Grey se skoliere is nie van die Vrystaat af nie, hul word net vroeg gekoop, aka Blou Bull styl
Dis niks nuuts nie manne – Die geld era begin al op skool
@ Gena_ZA:
as grey 1200 skoliere het en slegs 400 kinders bly in koshuise hoe op die aarde kom jy by 80% leeringe uit.lyk vir my meer na 30% of is my somme swak
@ smallies:
ek behoorg te weet want ek het vir een van daai plekke in die koshuis aansoek gedoen
80% van hul rugbyspan word aangekoop, kom nie van Bloem af nie
Pual Roos nie ver agter nie
Dis nie ‘n aanval nie, eerder n feit kan spelers koop/boek het al uitgebrie na skoolvalk
@ Gena_ZA:
maar as daar net plek vir 30% van hulle skoliere in die koshuise is waar slaap die ander 50% op die gras? ek se weer my somme is seker swak.dan sal ek okk vir johan volsteed quote grey het nie nodig om spelers te koop nie,hulle vra om te kom….
Fire die hele beleddie spul en vat Alistair en sy sirkus saam asb
Dankie vir die samewerking
oops, verkeerde topic, die missing edit button….
smallies wrote:
Ja jou somme suck – 60-80% van die 1ste rugbyspan/groep is aankope – is 20 na 30 skoliere min of meer tjom
@ Gena_ZA:
bwahahahahaha
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