Heyneke Meyer
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer is clear – the best 31 players need to go to this year’s Rugby World Cup.
Meyer began his 1st Springbok training camp with a bit of a stutter as no less than 19 of the 44 players invited to the camp couldn’t train with the Bok management. Add to that the Sharks who are overseas on tour, and there wasn’t too much training that could get done.
But despite that, the Bok coach used the time to reveal his World Cup plans to players, tell individuals what he expected of them and will use the remainder of the time to share calls, plays and get down to technical nuances for the players to take home as “homework” before they meet again in the 2nd camp in a few weeks’ time.
The final squad is only set to be selected at the end of August, when the chosen 31 will be revealed to the country for the showpiece tournament in England. But 1 thing is clear, while competition will be tough between players, only the best 31 in Meyer’s mind will be selected, meaning a number of top players may well miss out.
However Meyer has admitted that he hasn’t made up his mind yet, giving players the chance in the remainder of the Vodacom Super Rugby competition as well as the camps, to make an indelible impression on him.
And with that in mind, he may have an idea of the starting line-up, but Meyer believes beyond the starting 15, the other 16 places are still up for grabs.
“There are a lot of guys who have performed over the years, so form is important but we’ve had 3 years to see which guys can come through and what they can do under pressure,” he explained.
“Although Super Rugby form is very important, test match rugby is totally different – especially in the Northern Hemisphere and especially with Northern Hemisphere referees. Form is definitely important, but in 3 years I’ve come to know which guys can play under pressure, and which guys can play at that level. We still have time to get them back to their best. I’ve got a good idea of my starting 15, but it is still open for every guy to go to the World Cup.
“There are always guys who come in late and others. I can mention a lot but for instance a guy like Jesse Kriel trained with us last year, he was very close to selection and suddenly he is putting up his hand.
“I think the great thing is that I don’t believe in pecking orders – the best 31 must go to the World Cup.”
Despite so many players not able to train, Meyer plans to use the next 2 days at the camp to fill players in a lot closer as to what he expects from them. And with that in mind the time together is worth its weight in gold to the Bok management team.
Meyer did say it was frustrating to have so many players on the sideline though.
“It is frustrating. It is our 1st camp and we only have 2 short training sessions and then it is the start of the season. We then play the tests and then we have a few weeks to prepare for the World Cup. I’m really worried about the amount of time we have to prepare. I think the Northern Hemisphere teams – it is the end of their season – will have a lot of time to prepare and have friendlies. They will be super fit so we will have to work hard to catch up.
“The main thing now is to get patterns going again, and that is where we’re fortunate, because a lot of these guys are excellent players and they picked up new things quickly.
“There are almost 250 calls that players need to know, and that is without their franchise’s calls as well. So this camp is just to get things going again, tell players what we want from them.
“We did a lot of work in terms of strength and conditioning and checked where we were in terms of body mass and fat mass.
“I truly believe if you want to win the World Cup you have to be the fittest team, and that is 1 thing we can all improve on.”
It will also be a chance to reflect on what players can do better, what they can do to enhance their chances of making the 31 and what they are doing wrong. These players know they are all in the frame at the moment and have the inside track.
The next key for them is to make sure their stay at the Bok camp is permanent enough to take them to the World Cup.
SuperSport
Ya right,,,, 😉 😉 😉
Hmm another apparent contractual dispute between a player and SARU (Flip vd Mervwe) whats SARU doing?
According to Meyer, the best players are Bulls players or players that have played for the Bulls.
@ Lion4ever:
Or players that are about to sign for the Bulls?
Flip isn’t a contracted Bok, for whatever reason
See no reason why he shouldn’t go to Frogland to rake the hard currency for his humble efforts, pretty obvious the Boks coach doesn’t see him in his RWC mix so why not starting earlier?
I read Benni McCarthy was robbed at gun point of his wedding ring, watch and other valuables while having a hair cut in Johannesburg by three gunmen.
Perhaps he should move back to the Cape flats as it seems safer there.
It’s a shocking incident though, no wonder sports and other professional people are looking more and more for opportunities overseas.
Aitog I love how all the Lions supporters have recently reclaimed their testicles from their wives handbags now that, for the first time in living memory, their team isn’t bottom of the log.
😆
Hondo wrote:
On the contrary, during January 2014 Flip signed a Bok contract (for 2014/2015).
It is my understanding that by refusing to play for the Bokke he is now in breach of that contract which was offered to him, but which he was not forced to sign.
Perhaps some Bokke (& some coaches) must learn to respect their binding contractual obligations. A financial penalty clause (stipulated liquidated damages) that becomes operative when this sort of thing occurs seems advisable for future Bok contracts.
MacroSssss wrote:
What you mean what’s SARU doing? Rather, what’s Flip doing?
Do you condone the apparent breach of contract by Bokke?
Do you want financial blackmail to become the modus operandi for Bokke?
IMO this kind of conduct should be strenuously rebuked.
@ Angostura:
8
To my knowledge, only Matfield, Etzbeth and PSDT have the ‘Premium’ Bok’s Contract?!
Flip might be the 4-5 option in the pecking order and thus the odds to qualify for the top contract are nil
Better negotiating from a position of strength: if HM faces a lock crisis and turns to Flip then he will get paid accordingly, if not however, he is better off in France
What is there to negotiate? His contract isn’t up for renewal & only expires end 2015.
And Matfield, Etzebeth & PSDT get paid more because they are better locks. It is the employer’s prerogative to offer what he believes the player is worth. And it is the prospective employee’s prerogative to decline the offer … but in this case the offer was accepted, not so?
And now that the Bokke have a lock problem (with injuries) he doesn’t want to play unless paid more? That smacks of blackmail, bru. One’s pay must be commensurate with one’s on field performance – not dependent on the fitness of others.
If that’s his attitude the Bokke must bring in some other lock – I think the next in line is Stephan Lewies.
With respect, the Bokke need players that want to be Bokke, that want to play, that deem it an honour to wear the jersey.
Angostura wrote:
We are dealing with half truths here, I do not condone what Flip is doing, but 2 contractual disputes a year apart shows that SARU might not be completely innocent.
Definetely not.
Well thats what SARU did to Fransie wasn’t it? Financial blackmail because afterall he should be “honored” that they select him.
11 @ Angostura:
Definitely enough to negotiate, Flip easily has another world cup in him, or at the least 2 more years of rugby while PSDT and Eben are nursing the odd injury.
Ideally my World Cup lock partnership would be Flip and Eben with Victor in the squad in case.
My biggest gripe at the moment is Fourie du Preez. The fact that he chooses not to play any Super Rugby because he doesn’t want to get injured ahead of the world Cup sits badly.
What sort of shape is he going to be in come internatials time?
MacroSssss wrote:
Really?
So, if he is the one that was wronged, if SARU breached their contract with him, why is Frans not suing SARU?
MacroSssss wrote:
“Negotiating” by making yourself unavailable for Test rugby, conduct that is surely in breach of his existing Bok contract? I ask you again, do you condone this?
@ Angostura:
Because nobody wants their dirty laundry in court or even worse in front of SARS.
😆
16 @ Angostura:
you ask a lot of questions no one has an answer to, the best hope is the read it in Huisgenoot eventually.
What do I condone when all we know is this…
“Bok coach Heyneke Meyer earlier this week said Van der Merwe was “unavailable for international rugby at the moment”.
The reasons behind Van der Merwe’s unavailability were described as “personal”.”
gunther wrote:
Isn’t Fdp injured? If he is just resting himself its disastrous.
@ MacroSssss:
Not to my knowledge
MacroSssss wrote:
Indeed, but the track the Flippie saga is following is remarkably similar to that which was pioneered by the Fransie saga, & in that case ‘personal’ = ‘mercenary’.
And that is what the reports on rugby sites are suggesting, yet you still seek to blame SARU, & exonerate Flip (without the authoritative Huisgenoot having pronounced upon it)?
But the truth will out, & then we’ll revisit the matter …
Meantime I believe that an honourable man honours his contractual obligations … (among other things)
gunther wrote:
haha, you could’ve framed more diplomatically:
‘beating a tactical retreat’, ‘mitigating his losses’, ‘making a commercial decision’ ….
@ Angostura:
I think both of them would be in the hot water.
Angostura wrote:
I agree with you 100%, however I have no idea what the contractual obligations are from his side of from SARU’s.
The national contract between Flip and SARU ended DEC 2014. It is exactly the same as the national contract of JJ Engelbrecht that also ended Dec 2014. There is still a contract between Flip and the Bulls untill OCT 2015.
SARU offered Flip a new national contract for 2015. That he declined and therefore made himself unavailable for national duty. He is still honouring his contract with the Bulls!
The new SARU contract sent a message to Flip he is not needed for national duty. That he accepted.
gunther wrote:
That just cracks me up everytime. 😆
dWeePer wrote:
Thank you dWeePer for setting the record straight, & thereby also affording me the opportunity to publicly apologise to Flip van der Merwe. Subsequent to your post I revisited the matter, & it is now obvious even to me that there are 2-year & 1-year Bok contracts; and that Flip had a 1-year contract that had already expired at the time of him withdrawing himself from Bok rugby:
http://www.bdlive.co.za/sport/rugby/2013/11/12/top-springboks-given-incentive-to-remain-in-sa
My criticism of Flip’s conduct was predicated on the mistaken understanding that he had an in force Bok contract up to the end of 2015 of which he now attempted to increase its remuneration.
I stand corrected 😳
And I apologise to Flip, and to MacroSss who valiantly defended him by saying we are not privy to all the facts.
With hindsight Flip is fully entitled (legally and ethically) to do what he did since he and SARU could not reach agreement on the terms of his new contract.
gunther wrote:
Says he whose team lost at Ellis Park & relied on brother Marius vd Westhuizen & his two henchmen to win off a forward pass ( P van Zyl’s second try) @ Moftus.
gunther wrote:
Pray tell which Lions supporters you refer to?
We are quite few and far between on this forum.
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