The Wallabies have their ammunition for a drought-busting Newlands ambush thanks to derogatory newspaper comments that have made the Springboks wince.
Coach Ewen McKenzie is certain to plaster the back-page of the Cape Times over the Australian dressing room wall on Saturday night after their chief rugby writer claimed the Wallabies didn’t deserve to be on the same field as South Africa.
SMH
“Let’s be honest about this – there is no way this Wallaby team should be living with the Boks, let alone play on the same field,” wrote Ashfak Mohamed.
“That is why it was actually embarrassing to see Heyneke Meyer’s team roll over and die in their last match against Australia in Perth.”
Springboks captain Jean de Villiers, preparing for his last Test at his home ground, visibly winced when notified of the incendiary column at his press conference on Friday.
Worried about what sort of motivation that would give the Wallabies, who haven’t won in Cape Town since 1992, De Villiers stressed it would be a tough encounter.
“I wouldn’t agree with that (belief),” the veteran centre said. “I think Australia have shown they have come a long way under Ewen and beat us the last time they played us (24-23) so I don’t think there is any way we can say that.
“I always enjoy playing against Australia and it’s never easy.
“Both sides have come out and said they want to keep the ball in hand and that will make for a great game.”
Dry and sunny conditions are forecast and De Villiers also expects that Welsh referee Nigel Owens will ensure an open contest, which will suit both sides as they battle for the Mandela Plate and the world No 2 ranking.
The South African skipper spoke with class when he chose to ignore the media debate about the surprise selection of rising black flanker Oupa Mohoje ahead of 71-Test local hero Schalk Burger.
“What I care about is the individual, and the person, and Oupa is an unbelievable guy,” he said. “I think we’re way past those days where we judge each other by our colour.
“We play for each other and we care about each other.”
******************************************************************
Bok face-off: To kick or run?
26 September 2014
By Zelim Nel and Ashfak Mohamed in the Cape Times
Should the Boks run the Aussies off the park on Saturday at Newlands or should they grind out a win with the percentages and kicking game? Cape Times rugby writer Ashfak Mohamed and Cape Argus rugby writer Zelim Nel face off on the issue.
Zelim Nel – Kick
The Boks shouldn’t commit to a shootout against the Wallabies on Saturday but, without the sniper rifles required to fire up a lethal percentage game, they may have no choice.
With Fourie du Preez and Ruan Pienaar out injured, Francois Hougaard will feed the scrum. The all-action Bulls halfback is an inspirational competitor who will challenge the Wallabies as a line-break threat, but who does not have the boot to keep the opposing back three on their toes.
Speaking of the Aussie back-three… like the Super Rugby champion Waratahs, the Wallabies have a bloke at fullback called Israel Folau. By rugby standards, he is a freak of nature.
Players capable of breaching well-organised defensive lines on their own are in extremely rare supply. Folau is joined by All Blacks gamebreaker Sonny Bill Williams on the exclusive short-list.
The rangy Aussie fullback arms the Wallabies with a get-out-of-jail free card. Any time their attack sputters, Folau can be trusted to get across the gain-line, putting the pressure back on the defending team.
The game-changing phenom allows Australia to laugh off the idea of kicking the ball.
The Boks don’t have that luxury. With Hougaard at No 9, they are also too short-staffed to mount an aerial assault, despite flyhalf Handré Pollard’s tactical expertise.
Consequently, coach Heyneke Meyer appears to have resigned himself to taking the Wallabies on at their own game.
Hougaard is capable and eager to exploit gaps around the fringes, while Oupa Mohoje will boost the pack with speed.
However, it remains to be seen whether the decision to load the bench with four grizzled veterans was the right one.
Meyer rightly believes that Bismarck du Plessis, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger and JP Pietersen have the experience to close out a tight contest, but experience is seldom the top priority for impact players.
With the possible exception of Pietersen, these veterans are past their physical prime. Bakkies turned 35 on Monday this week.
The whole concept of an impact player centres on the physical mismatch created when a fresh, nimble athlete comes off the bench in the final quarter to take advantage of flagging rivals. The Boks would have been better served by the experience of this savvy and abrasive group in the early exchanges. The 270-cap quartet also run the risk of becoming redundant reinforcements if the Wallabies take an early lead and the hosts are forced to chase the game.
In such an eventuality, Meyer will wish he’d started Burger ahead of Mohoje, Pietersen instead of Jan Serfontein or Cornal Hendricks, and that he’d kept Lood de Jager on the bench instead of Botha.
Ashfak Mohamed – Run
There’s no question that the Springboks should run the Wallabies off the field at Newlands on Saturday.
Let’s be honest about this – there is no way that this Wallaby team should be living with the Boks, let alone play on the same field. That is why it was actually embarrassing to see Heyneke Meyer’s team roll over and die in their last match against Australia in Perth.
The fact that it was such a tight game in Perth was due to the Boks not backing themselves enough on attack. They were way too cautious with their gameplan, despite the wet conditions caused by heavy downpours just before kickoff.
Poor old Willie le Roux, normally an excitement machine, had to be reduced to a kicking machine as he hoofed the ball back time and again, sometimes directly into touch, going against his natural instincts entirely and robbing the Boks of their main attacking weapon.
The Boks have just the right man to get their attack going in the shape of Francois Hougaard. The Bulls star made his name in the past as a dashing halfback capable of breaking open defences around the rucks with his incredible speed and stepping abilities, and it is vital that coach Meyer gives him the licence to play his natural game.
We all know that Hougaard is not the best tactical kicker around, but he needs to put those awful box-kicks away – preferably in a box – and have a full go at the Wallabies with ball-in-hand. He should use tactical kicks for variety and not as his chief weapon.
And then there is a heavyweight bench of outstanding operators, all capable of starting a Test, who will make a huge impact in the second half. Bakkies Botha and Schalk Burger might be over 30 and have been brought in from overseas clubs, but imagine the looks on the Wallaby players’ faces when they see these two Bok legends charge out on to Newlands pitch with about 30 minutes to go?
Bok coach Meyer has stated that it is easier to “grind” your way to victories away from home as it’s more difficult to get front-foot ball and attack.
But I say there’s no time for “bump and grind” – whether you are home or away. The Boks should rather “bump and run”, and they proved in Brisbane last year when they scored four terrific tries against Australia that show they can embrace a positive mindset away from home.
Now that they are back on home soil, there’s even further cause for making the ball do the work instead of bashing into defenders. Even the notoriously fickle Cape Town weather is set to play ball, but will the Boks?
If they are serious about being worthy challengers to the All Blacks, on Saturday at Newlands is the time to prove it.
Ashfak is an idiot.
Junior reporter flexing his puny muscles.
@ Charo:
Is that really you, Jake White?
AFKAK Mohamed & Slingervel “Voorvel” Nel is nou nie juis die beste joernaliste wat daar is nie… en hulle is affie Kaap… so hulle praat anyway net KAK… ja AFKAK MOHAMED!
Hey Ashfck, grow up & get a life!!!
E-dos!!!
Australia has as many world cups/tri nations/super titles as SA with half the rugby player base, very little respect is given to Australian rugby in the republic and that’s probably one of the reasons why they keep beating you. The Ab’s state publicly year after year that after the WC the Bledisloe is the second most important trophy for them.
@ NZINCHINA: Well China I wont be debating that with you and I think we(locals) collectively agree that The Cape Times are entitled to their opinion but have certainly got it wrong. I read the article yesterday and groaned.
@ NZINCHINA: but I would like to add; I read somewhere that there are more rugby clubs(and maybe players too) in the US of A than here in SA. Question? Who would you back to win a Test Match between these to ‘great’ rugby nations?
Clear and sunny weather is forecast for this afternoon’s Test. It is going to have to clear up pretty fast to bring that forecast to reality. Sad but true.
@ Tassies:
Is it raining down there at the moment?
@ NZINCHINA:
“…very little respect is given to Australian rugby in the republic and that’s probably one of the reasons why they keep beating you.”
True that. Aus was seen as a quick stop over on the way to NZ before isolation and it seems things haven’t change if one reads what PdV says in his interview.
[[Dhirshan Gobind asked: As national coach, you won four out of 12 meetings with the Wallabies. Why where they tougher for your team to defeat than the All Blacks?
Peter de Villiers: I actually beat the All Blacks more times than I did the Wallabies. I feel this was down to a few reasons. First and foremost, every time they played against us, Australia always wanted to prove a point, while we lived in the past. I must admit that it was tough motivating our players when they faced the Wallabies because we believed we were better and more aggressive than them and didn’t realise that the gap was closing.]]
Only fools underestimate Australia in competitive sport – other than perhaps for a bout of jukskei across the Jukskei …
@ nortierd: sure is Nortie. On and off drizzle. Not much blue sky around. But then this is the Cape after all and a well earned title of “four seasons in one day” capitol of the world.
@ Angostura: Ja. I’d back up for a five point win on that Test. But this evening’s scrap is not the foregone conclusion everyone is predicting. However I have the Boks down for a 5 point win. I sense we might have an advantage in the big boy department.
I am a Bulls fan, but last night’s game was pathetic. If this is where we are headed as a rugby playing nation pass me a bottle of Jack and a nine-mill. Bloem is meant to produce the exciting backline players and the Bulls the forwards. Bulls couldn’t produce a tu.d in a Calcutta curry house and Cheetah’s would be better off buying a new team of dancing girls (they can forget about rugby) if they hope to have any-one attend their next home game. Never before have I hoped for a huge shift in game rules where it is actually possible for both teams to lose. Even the ref got in on the action sending players off on both sides to try and get the other team to run at gaps. Nothing helped. Next game between these two teams I’m sending a case Jurgemeister to each change room so some-one can develop a “lastige systappie”
@ Tassies:
Let’s hope it does clear up, not that we have been convincing in the rain this year….come to think of it, Salta and Nelspruit was dry, and we didn’t exactly cover ourselves in glory in good conditions either.
Hopefully we scrape a win today
@ Tassies:
I have the Bokke by a margin of 4 – predominantly motivated by loyalty, not conviction
@ Best:
Yes, last night’s game was a real painful ashfak*, (even though one apparently sees an entirely different game on a split screen with a ‘blue hue’ 🙂 )
( * tossing new term into the ring for “volksmond” consideration)
@ Best:
Hope you’ll use the 9 mill to put the Bulls out of the misery.
@ Nama: Judging by performance last night most are already brain dead.
@ Best:
It was atrocious. By both teams.
As you’ve said, they both should’ve lost.
@ Angostura: mine’s a little bit of that too. With ball in hand, the Ozzies are a dangerous unit. Their skills level are way ahead of ours. But you cannot embroider those rugby skills without the ball. So we’ll see.
@ Best:
True words, even though we “won” it still feels like a loss, Ludeke has to go and he can take Callie and JJE with him.
@ Best: I did not get an opportunity to watch last nights game. Sounds like I was fortunate. What the HELL is going on with these two franchises that they’ll shelling out such poor performances week in week out?
Management perhaps?
@ Angostura:
haha unfortunately i did not coin it, we used split screen as a term for years 😛
@ MacroBok:
JJE is a Bok. What’s wrong with him now?
He just needs HM to coach him back to form.
@ Tassies:
The Cheetah supporters cant even blame Naka anymore.
@ MacroBok: and why has Ludeke suddenly gone off the boil in recent years MB? He used to be a winner not too long ago.
@ MacroBok: Nope. And he did have his ups and downs as we all know.
@ Nama:
Man, I have no idea how JJE dropped his form so badly, like another Jorrie Muller. It is uncanny. His defense was always a bit below average, but I liked him as an attacking weapon of the team last year, this entire year he has attacked even worse than he defended.
Maybe JDJ went to a sangoma to put a spell on him?
@ Angostura: Ashfak is going to regret that piece he penned yesterday. If he ever pays a visit to RT it will be a constant reminder.
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