Heyneke Meyer
We have received a request by a reader and newly registered blogger here on Rugby-Talk.com, Helgaard, to place an ARTICLE here on Rugby-Talk, containing an OPEN LETTER by him to SA Rugby, all supporters and interested parties as well as decision-makers in our country.
The topic of the Letter, follows the trend and main topic of discussion amongst Springbok supporters, namely whether Heyneke Meyer should stay on as coach, or whether he should go.
In his well-worded and well-reasoned letter, Helgaard supports the “Heyneke Must Fall” stance on the matter, and seeing as Rugby-Talk.com is “By the people, for the people” we gladly place relevant and requested reader content here on Rugby-Talk.com… once if conforms to the necessary literary requirements, of course. I wish more readers would act like Helgaard and send me their contributions, as it could lead to Rugby-Talk.com really becoming the official voice of the marginalized supporter out there and depicting the views of the average rugby supporter and not for supporters to be boxed in by the normal way media steers things to suit their own agendas.
Helgaard’s views are his own and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.
Without further a do… here is Helgaard’s Letter in it’s entirity:
WHY HEYNEKE MUST FALL…
Background to the article
As a dedicated Springbok supporter, I watched my fair share of the 48 games played at the Rugby World Cup 2015, including the 7 Tests in which the Springboks featured. I also watched all of the other 40 Tests played since Heyneke Meyer took over as the Springbok coach.
I have been inspired by the comments that I have heard from astute observers of the game and the SuperSport panel during the Rugby World Cup and what I have read from respected journalists about the state of Springbok rugby. I feel strongly that the voiceless supporters of the Springboks should be able to communicate their opinions, because this wonderful game doesn’t belong to SARU alone. It belongs to all those who have faithfully supported our team over all these years. For these reasons I have decided to make a contribution by writing my views on why “Heyneke must fall!!”
I was also encouraged by the contributions of former Springboks, like Stefan Terblanche in an article in the Mercury and Wynand Claassen and Divan Serfontein in the Sunday Times. They all came to the same conclusions that Heyneke’s game plan and stereotyped playing style, with its inherent inadequacies, won’t take the Springboks to the next level.
It is well known that SARU pays scant attention to the views of the supporters, treating them as consumers rather than as stakeholders and as it is very difficult to communicate constructively with SARU and for this reason you need to resort to different ways of getting your views across. It has become a malaise in our country that the aggrieved consumers have to revert to alternative methods of getting their views across.
I have prepared my contribution to the debate, as supporters are increasingly pleading for constructive change so that South Africa can again emerge as a proud rugby-playing country. I acknowledge that getting rid of Heyneke is only one part of the solution, as there has to be structural changes in the way we approach and play the game. Yet I still believe that we have to be saved from what Heyneke stands for.
How should we judge Heyneke?
I think it is fair to say that every coach should be fairly judged on his tenure in charge of the Springbok team and after his first Rugby World Cup. The time has arrived to judge Heyneke and I have outlined some of the reasons why it would be ill advised to extend his contract.
Consider the following:
Some background
1. There is a massive gap between the All Blacks and the rest of the world in the way that they approach and play the game.
2. The clear signals are there that if the rugby system in South Africa doesn’t adapt dramatically, the Boks will keep on losing ground and won’t be good enough to compete against countries like New Zealand or Australia. This is based on the form that they showed during the Rugby World Cup. It is, however, relevant and fair to ask what role the coach has played in the demise of Springboks rugby?
3. Heyneke sometimes distorts facts so that his coaching efforts can be viewed in a more positive light. Consider just some of the many misleading statements that he has made:
- On arriving back in South Africa after the Rugby World Cup, he mentioned that the only difference between the Boks and the All Blacks was Dan Carter’s drop goal. This is a gross distortion and a misleading claim. It doesn’t acknowledge the undeniable fact that the Boks were outplayed by the All Blacks in most facets of the game.
- Heyneke also claimed that 80% to 90% of the current players would be available for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. I doubt whether more than 70% will be available.
Heyneke’s record
4. Heyneke has only won 1 out of 8 games against the All Blacks and I can’t imagine that many international coaches would have survived such a record? It gets worse when you consider that:
- He hasn’t won a single Rugby Championship (Four Nations) and in 2015 he took the Boks to an all-time low by not winning one game in The Rugby Championship.
- During the End-Of-Year tour in 2014 he lost to both Ireland and Wales. Wales at that stage had only beaten the Boks once in 109 years of competing;
- This was followed by our first-ever losses against the Argentinian Pumas and Japan.
5. Wynand and Divan posed the question what fate would have befallen Steve Hansen, the All Black coach, if his team lost against Argentina and then losing to Japan at the Rugby World Cup and returned home with only a bronze medal as a conciliation price?
Question marks about Heyneke’s game plan as an international coach
6. Heyneke has been slow to adapt to the changing playing environment in the world and when under pressure his default position is to revert to his conservative playing style.
7. As Wynand and Divan have pointed out, he is a pattern rugby coach instead of coaching individual skills. He is obsessed with size and power. His archaic style doesn’t work, but he is persisting with it while the rest of the world has moved on to playing total 15-man rugby. As a consequence all other countries know exactly what the Springboks will do and plan accordingly.
8. During the last year he has not impressed as a technically capable coach. He seems reluctant to experiment with new ideas. During the Rugby World Cup he was out-smarted a few times by other coaches. Consider the following:
- Early in 2015, the Argentinians surprised the Boks with their ball in hand approach and outplayed them with their fast-paced game;
- The Japanese were well prepared against the Boks and they anticipated virtually every move that that the Boks used against them. The Boks were also caught flat-footed when Japan scored the last try. Eddie Jones, their coach, remarked that they knew exactly what the Springboks would do and they were prepared for it;
- In the semifinal, the All Blacks kept putting kicks in behind the Boks and turning them around. They beat the Boks by stealing 4 lineouts, missing only 3 tackles out of 86, (Boks lost 20 out of 151) and they won more gain line collisions.
9. Nic Mallet has commented that Heyneke game plan is based on No 9 controlling the game and deciding to whom the ball should be passed. Most other teams allow their No 10 to control the game as they are in a far better position to pick the runners that could break the advantage line.
The big problem – Lack of skills and what has Heyneke done about it?
10. During Heyneke’s tenure there has been very little improvement in the skill levels of the Boks and one must question whether this was treated as a priority area. In 2015, the Boks were characterised by poor aerial skills, they often used poor exit strategies and the line kicking by the two pivotal players (Pollard and Le Roux) were unacceptable. These skills were below international standard and need to be fixed if the Boks want to make progress.
11. In the Sunday Times of 1 November, Heyneke is quoted as saying in defence of his game plan that there was “only one way for the Boks to play”, because the team did not have the necessary skills to do it differently. This is an astounding statement as by implication he is saying that the Boks don’t possess the ability to improve their skills. They, however, had the skills to adapt to his pattern style of playing? That is probably the crux of where Heyneke has failed as a coach. He has put the Springboks back a further 4 years and it is a dreadful thought that we might have to endure him for another 4 years.
12. Consider how the All Blacks reacted after 2009, when they lost 3 times against the Springboks. Collectively they improved their aerial skills, strengthened their back three so that they could add another attacking option by running from deep.
13. A weakness over the years has been that Bok runners often die with the ball without attempting to find support players. Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel are both players who have the ability to break the advantage line, but they often fail to pass the ball to a linking player. These are basic things that any coach has the ability to improve, but Heyneke has failed in this regard.
14. Heyneke places inordinate reliance on players and officials that are close to him, rather than questioning what is the best is for the Springboks.
Transformation Record
Heyneke’s transformation record has been described as woeful. Under pressure he took 9 Black players out of 31 to the Rugby World Cup. Only Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen, Beast Mtawarira and Damian de Allende got regular game time. Trevor Nyakane was involved in every game, but as part of the bench. Lwazi Mvovo played two-and-half games while Siya Kolisi and Rudy Page only appeared twice off the bench.
I think Heyneke missed a golden opportunity to bring some more and talented players into the Springbok frame. By doing that, he would create role models for more than 90% of South Africa’s population who are ‘black’, to increase our current pool of rugby players significantly. There will continue to be pressure on the Springboks to increase the quotas as the new Transformation Charter has been presented to the Government and it is cast in stone. There will have to be a concerted effort to bring more Black players into the system. Is Heyneke the man who will achieve this?
Has Heyneke enhanced the standing of the Boks in world terms?
Perhaps we were given a clear message on how the state of Springbok rugby is perceived by the international community when the Springboks weren’t nominated for any of the awards presented at the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup. The only South African in the awards was, Werner Kok, who was chosen as the best Sevens player in 2015.
During the last year the standing of the Springboks in the rugby playing community has declined and South Africa is no longer the feared rugby playing country we once were. During the Rugby World Cup a number of countries like Wales and Scotland seriously rated their chances of beating the Boks. It will be the case in the future because of our predictable game plan and if our tactics remain the same.
Heyneke also comes across on TV as not being in control of his own emotions. One can only wonder what persona he presents when dealing with his players in a playing field or team room environment.
Wynand and Divan asked the question: “Can SA rugby afford to have someone who behaves like a maniac in the coaching enclosure, wearing his Springbok blazer, in the eyes of the whole world on television?” My allied question is whether a coach who so consistently loses his cool can be reasonably expected to take a professional side to the next level?
How we can move forward?
A lot needs to change in South African rugby for the Springboks to be successful at the next Rugby World Cup. The first acknowledgment has to be that there are structural problems with the way we play rugby which needs to be addressed at national level. The coach is not the only person to blame, but you need to put a coaching structure in place that can best deal with the structural deficiencies.
Our problems cannot be fixed in the short term and it will take the concerted effort and commitment of the rugby community to do so. There has consistently been talk about this and it can be done and for once the lead must come from the top and SARU must show the commitment to making the tough decisions. The need to contract the Springboks players on a national rather than on a provincial basis, Central Contracting, has been consistent topic of discussion. This way their progress and workload can be properly planned without a fair percentage of the Springboks plying their trade overseas.
The problems can only be fixed if there is an acceptance that the Boks won’t be good enough unless our rugby system changes. My overwhelming impression after putting these comments together is that the Springboks will struggle to show meaningful improvement if the current coaching staff remains. Before any remedial action can commence “Heyneke must fall.”
#heyneckemustfall. That’s how I feel. But remember, to get back to being a feared nation in rugby again will not take a few tests. Whoever the coach is must start a rebuilding phase. That will include some losses, and a lot of pain. But if the coach sticks to his guns and selects players who can play his game plan, things will get better. Also he needs to identify potential players from the national age group teams who will be able to slot in seamlessly.
89 @ GoBokkeAndIreland:
Thanks for the compliment, GBAI…
We understand that you are emotional… and passionate… so no offence whatsoever taken in a few swearwords.
I am passionate too, otherwise I would never have had this website, let alone slave on it and keep it going.
Hahaha, so you call me the Fearless Leader…. hie-hie-hie…
91 @ Lion4ever:
Any transition is painfull, but the SA Public wants and demands instant success…
They do not understand that growth is a process.
We live in a society and world which demands instant gratification, unfortunately.
91 @ Lion4ever:
Mr B, call me on the Cell sometime today, in persuance of our last telephonic discussion earlier in the week, I forgot to tell you something…
@ grootblousmile:
Hahaha – yes, GBS – you are our fearless leader here on RT.
Thanks for all the hard work you do – we all appreciate it.
I also liked your comment on other coaching options if HM were to go. I see why you advocate for an SA coach.
My wish (and it remains a wish because it’ll never happen) would be for a super-professional, passionate, articulate, motivator to be appointed.
Someone who can stand up to players who get too big for their boots, can reassure the public, and who can handle those bunch of wankers at SARU.
I am positive about the number of good (in some cases, excellent) players we have coming through the system. Good lock pairing (and backup in PSD) and good centre pair identified for the future.
95 @ GoBokkeAndIreland:
A comment like this and most of the comments on this thread is the type of thing which keeps me going, GBAI.
To those who do not appreciate, it is their own problem.
I derive a lot out of this passion of mine and at least I contribute in my way to rugby in SA and the world.
I wish SARU would put the same amount of application and thought into their workings as is exhibited on this website…. and here we do it for the love of the game and not for money.
@ grootblousmile:
Well, in that case, I shall compliment you more often!
I see Ireland are here next year, in June. My loyalty shall be tested . . .
97 @ GoBokkeAndIreland:
Hahaha
I am looking forward to a 3-Test Ireland tour, hope they send their strongest squad in June!
@ grootblousmile:
Yeah – it’s after 6 nations isn’t it. So they might need to rest some players, or have injuries. But I’m with you – a good, hard, evenly-matched series would be great.
The Springbok players will be coming off a murderous Super Rugby Season for their franchises too, so the same applies to them regarding rest and recuperation.
Would’nt it be great one day if we could have ONE GLOBAL season in the world and not 2 seperate seasons between North and South!!
@ grootblousmile:
LOL – another 1 of our wishes . . . a global season. We live in eternal hope . . .
101 @ GoBokkeAndIreland:
The more talk there is about it, the more it might become a reality.
With World Rugby wanting to have Japan (a Northern Hemisphere country) take part in The Rugby Championship (a Southern Hemisphere Competition) and with talk of a Americas (North and South) international competition to rival the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship we must surely be moving in that general direction already.
Most Northern Countries, with exception of parts of France, Italy and parts of the USA mostly having a milder summer and maybe too chilly winter, it makes sense to make the Global Season in accordance with the times / dates in the Southern Hemisphere.
I have enjoyed reading the comments made by the bloggers that have responded to the article and thanks to Grootblousmile, scrumdown, dWeeper; Nartie, Tassies, Noma and Bullscot. I think the issues at stake are will replacing HM deal with all the problems and who should the next coach be? In a subsequent post I would thing that we need to analyse some of the challenges that the next coach would have and what needs to change in the Springbok playing styles. I would also think that we could exchange some thoughts on what broader and structural issues need to be addressed:
1) Will replacing HM deal with all the problems?
The simple answer is No it won’t because there are structural problems in our rugby that must be tackled by SARU. Without tackling these enabling changes it is unlikely that any coach will succeed. Overwhelming evidence has already been presented why HM is ill suited to lead and implement any change in the way the Springboks play rugby. The need to change has simply been necessitated by the need to become more competitive and to give the Springboks a better chance of succeeding in a more competitive and changing environment.
Appointing HM will take us back another 4 years and then we would have wasted 8 years in tackling the real issues head on. HM will over promise and under deliver, he will oscillate between different outdated game plans based on variations of his big forwards being the main ball carriers. He will get stage fright when it comes to making the big calls and he will again put his faith in his trusted players who have with some minor exceptions, like Fourie du Preez and Duane Vermeulen, been disappointing. As I have consistently mentioned I have reservations whether HM can take us to where we need to be.
2) Who should be the next coach?
A number of suggestions have put forward on who the new coach should be. In summary I believe that the coaching staff should be led by an NZ coach with Super 15 experience with a NZ side and he should have gone through the ranks when sharpening his skills at a coach. The coach will be advised to absorb some of the promising SA coaches as part of his coaching team so that they gain the necessary experience to take over as the next springbok coach. The game has placed greater demands on the coaching job and it has become clear for any side to succeed greater demands are placed on exceptional and sharp coaching.
Helgaard
103 @ Helgaard:
Helgaard,
Do you think New Zealand would ever consider appointing a foreign coach as their Head Coach or do you believe they trust their own structures enough to bring another New Zealand Coach through to take over?
I personally think they’ll never even give a foreign coach a second glance… their internal systems are far too good to even need to consider such an alternative.
South Africa, being a fellow giant in World Rugby terms, should therefore in my estimation never need to go outside the country either, in stead just get their structures better in place… get the succession plans going and do what needs to be done.
To me this is important, because South Africa has many times the player base New Zealand has, which then necessarily means we should logically have that many more coaches aspiring for higher honours too.
I do not think any thought has gone in at SARU to bring coaches up and through the ranks and to create that vital succession chain and have it well-oiled.
So, I’d do it slightly different to what you are proposing… I would appoint a local head coach and if needs be only bring in a Foreign Attack Coach, to bring that absent balance to the Springbok game plan.
To me, the logical steps might be:
1. Set up a “Think Tank” of prominent Coaches and Ex-coaches (including Nick Mallett, John Mitchell, the SA Super Rugby Coaches, Gert Smal, Allister Coetzee and top Technical Advisers, as well as Heyneke Meyer) to devise the future Blueprint on what the Springbok game plan and approach should be… the Masterplan on how Super Rugby franchises and the Bokke will be on the same page, if you will.
2. The same “Think Tank” must also decide on steps which SARU has to follow to make it condusive for future Springbok coaches to achieve the objectives as well as what needs to change in SARU structures to progress forward and upwards. Here I am referring to steps like Central Contracting, Implementation of a joint Blueprint, Succession Planning ect.
3. A much smaller panel should then deliberate and decide whether Heyneke Meyer could apply that Masterplan and manage it between the Super Rugby franchises, and if they find he does not have the capacity to do so and cannot do it, make the decision that he should not get an extention…. with a hard and fast reccommendation to the SARU Exco and General Council.
4. A Shortlist should then be drawn up as to who would qualify to apply for the Springbok Head Coach position and invitations should be sent out to only those people to apply.
5. That same smaller panel could also, at the same time, make a list of Assistant Coaches and Advisors who, under the guidance of the Head Coach, could bring that common Masterplan and Blueprint to fruition.
6. The Super Rugby Head Coaches who sat in at the “Think Tank” need to accept, support and endorse this common Masterplan and approach Blueprint and start re-aligning their preparations for 2016 and beyond to fall in with that approach.
7. The candidates for Head Coach should then follow the process of application, consideration and an eventual appointment.
PS! This has quickly been drafted by me, and might need some serious work to make it feasable!
Call it the “Machinery for progress”
Hahaha
Tell me, does considering the after effects and way forward not make more sense, than simply wanting ONE MAN ousted?
Does the axing of one coach and simply replacing him, not set up the next coach to fail too… and still do nothing overall for South African Rugby?
There has to be carefull forward planning, I see no other way!
I want to use some kind of analogy here… and for immediate lack of another one, I will refer to a personal situation to demonstrate my point.
BonzaiHandbriekie and her fiancee, Os (our Daughter and her future husband) wanted a big bird cage built outside the house, to house some Indian Ringnecks and pigmy Guiney Pigs.
Os, is a good young man, but impulsive as hell!
His approach was to fetch a heap of poles and stuff, dig holes and start, and then only call me for help when he got stuck… and some damage was already done in the process, 2 skew base poles already concreted in and nothing exactly square, the floor not level, from whichever vantage point it was looked at… with a bush in the way on one side. He thought building the cage would be a quick halfday job.
Of course it was never only going to take only half a day… never!
I had to not only advise, but I ended up building the thing and directing traffic, fixing as best I could, an already half-botched job.
Now, we sit with an acceptable and quite good-looking bird cage… but it could even have been better…. and we sit with some superfluous wasted material.
Had I started, I would have sketched it out, measured twice, made a materials list, hit some pegs in the ground where holes would have to be dug and started in a very logical fashion. Construction would have been faster and the end product would have been freegin awesome…
See the analogy here, between this bird cage and it’s result and what it could have been as COMPARED to what has been happening with SARU and Springbok coach sucession planning?
Plan carefully, consider twice, set up a priority list, mark out the way forward, and start on the right footing!
My late dad, GBS Maksimus, always told the story of the Old wise Bull and the young upstart Bull standing on a hill overlooking the cows down in the valley…
The young upstart Bull said to the Old wise Bull: “Let’s run down to the cows and each cover one of them!”
The Old wise Bull replied to the young upstart: “Let’s walk down, take our time and then cover the whole bloody lot of them!”
@ grootblousmile:
“1. Set up a “Think Tank” of prominent Coaches and Ex-coaches”
In SA, with provincialism as rife as it is, that idea never delivered the intended results in the past.
I remember the last time we had something like that was when Mc Intosh didn’t deliver the results and Louis Luyt called all coaches to Ellispark to discuss the situation. Next thing you know some coaches used the forum to punt for their players to be included in the Bok team for the upcoming NZ tour. At the end, about 10 Bulls got selected in the Bok team to tour NZ (I think) including average players like Jannie Claasen. Lance Sherrel, FA Meiring etc. despite the fact that their results that season (and the previous year) were not that good. When Muller got injured Japie Mulder, who was left behind, was flown over to replace him and promptly walked into the test team ahead of Claasen and Meiring.
Unless coaches have changed their attitude and put Bok rugby ahead of their provinces, I don’t think that idea (good as it is) will bear much fruit. Too many egos floating around.
111 @ Nama:
Daar’s altyd ‘n oplossing as die Chair van die Think Tank sterk genoeg is en fokus behou… en afhangende wat die lede se stand en houding is.
Onthou ook die missie waarvoor mens vra… die Masterplan vorentoe, die game approach… nie watter spelers hoort in die Bok groep nie.
As ek Chair of Sameroeper was sou ek hulle gou reghelp as hulle begin afdwaal en hulle herinner wat hulle Mandaad is en dat SA eerste kom!
Ek dink meeste ouens en ondersteuners sou saamstem dat ons wedstrydplan en dinge aandag kort en meer geballanseerd behoort te wees… en ek kannie sien dat die Afrigters nie ook saamstem daarmee nie.
Noem dit miskien eerder ‘n Taakgroep (Task Group).
Dis maar net ‘n voorstel van my kant af, want Administrateurs soos Jurie Roux en Oregan Hoskins kannie daai tipe rigtingaanwysings gee nie, dis nie hul taak of beroepsbeskrywing nie… nie dat hulle self eers hul beroepsbeskrywings behoorlik kan voltooi nie.
Grootblousmile, I feels like we are chewing on a tough piece of biltong and what has changed is that we no longer have the luxury of contemplating matters over an extended period. We are living in a fast changing environment and in a turbulent world. The game of rugby has also changed so fast in the last year that many of our South African coaches have failed to pick up the finer nuances of these changes until it was show cased at the RWC.
But fist should we appoint a foreign coach?– As far as I am aware NZ, England and SA are the only countries that haven’t appointed a foreign coach. Not sure about the French. But that is about to change in England with Lancaster resigning. I see no reason why not because at the moment, after having read over a 100 replies on the “Heyneke must fall” blog that there isn’t an imminently qualified coach in SA that could do the job. I have outlined the reasons why I think HK isn’t qualified to take SA to the next level and I gave compelling reasons why he would be ill suited and a bad choice. He doesn’t deserve a 2nd chance because he has deceived and misled the rugby public that supported him. I also cannot understand his moronic and unbecoming behaviour in the coaching boxes.
Why is the appointment of an international coach so important?
There have been some subtle changes and some not so subtle changes in the way that the game has been played over the last year and it demands sharper coaching at international level so that you can anticipate and then adapt to these changes. The Springbok were perhaps caught off guard during the RWC as we lost a number of line-out throws especially against the All Blacks, when we lost 4. This was always regarded as one of fortresses of our game. We also battled at times at the breakdown point and our scrum wasn’t dominant but became more stable when Frans Malherbe was the first choice tight head.
Why as this not picked up earlier and are coaching staff was oblivious to the subtlety of the changes. In other parts of our game the Springboks didn’t look like a well-coached side. As I have pointed in my article our exit strategies were poor and our line kicking was below international standard. I remember the occasion against the NZ when we tried to exit from our 22m area by playing the ball to our forwards before it was passed back to the No 10 but it was passed back from outside our 22m line. It resulted in a scrum to NZ and if I recall correctly it led to a try shortly afterwards.
I did some reading on the changes in the game and found an article in the Daily Telegraph in which Will Greenwood gave an excellent analysis. They mentioned the following:
a) The line-outs have now become the best place to set up a rolling maul. But defending teams now back away from the line-out when the ball is thrown, allowing the attacking team to set up their side of the maul. The defending side know that if their opponents fail to make contact before setting up their maul, then advance and come into contact with the defending team, they will be penalised for blocking. Isn’t that exactly what Japan did against us?
b) The maul has become a powerful weapon that sides are keener and keener to use it to exert pressure from all parts of the pitch, not least when they can gamble and go for seven points. There were some very good executions of the mall and although it has been one of our traditional weapons we weren’t always that successful;
c) There have always been decoy runners coming over the top. The ball is now passed behind the decoy runner to an attacker who has taken a wider, outside arc. The plan is that it fixes defenders in the middle, and frees up the pace men in wide channels. I have seen NZ do this with success and cannot recall that it was employed by the Boks
d) Competing at the rucks has become a more important part of the game and being able to gain possession can be a game changer, as David Pocock has illustrated. When competing for a ball on the ground, cheating and playacting has been taken to a new level. Players make a tackle and occasionally get swung round into the wrong position. Even in today’s more watched world, players try to steal the ball as the tackler, and if they get buried in the ruck they try to remove themselves slowly and still slow the attacking side down. I think both NZ and Australia have always been masters at this and we have fallen behind
e) Australia has increased the speed at which a ball is recycled and as the Daily Telegraph has pointed out that Australia can execute a pass from a runner to the No 9 and he can complete his onward pass 4 times faster than any of the Six Nation sides can do it. “A lot of it boils down to coaching. Look at Japan’s scrum … in, out and away within a few seconds, with an agile No8 on the charge. Not all rugby needs to be attractive but dull-witted, orthodox Test sides are increasingly struggling”.
I will leave it that and I think it should provide enough food for thought why HM not the man for the job. This is why we must be open mind and determined to find the best coach we can. I will tomorrow respond to your ideas on how we move forward.
Helgaard
Helgaard wrote:
Without central contracting it will never work, between Super Rugby and playing for the Boks, players like Duane will always be overplayed, only getting some rest once they get injured
Another problem is young players that prefer to go overseas first rather than to wait be selected for the Boks, like Paul Willemse and the like
@ Helgaard:
I actually think we were massive at the breakdown at the world cup, that and our defense was pretty much the only positive thing about our WC campaign, I also think the success of Vermeulen at 8th man and his work as a “fetcher” is likely the reason why Cheika moved Pocock to 8th man… both players play similarly imo.
Also during the rugby championship our scrum went backwards and weakened significantly when Kock and Malherbe went on and Jannie went off, it was quite surprising to everyone, and those changes were significant in letting Aus and NZ back into the game and set us in motion for what was the WC “plan”.
We simply place to much emphasis in the scrum, a part of the game that is an incredible lottery, it can work for you or against you, and all our local teams and coaching staff are caught in this time field where they still think we should dominate up front and the win will come.
Heyneke should apply for the England coaching position
The Poms would love to end third in the WC
His skop and jaag game is ideally suited to them and would bring back fond memories of Rob Andrew
@ Victoriabok:
You wicked man, you!
Nama wrote:
I think it was the first test at Loftus against the Poms
It was the first test I ever saw live.
It was Joost’s first as well
The Poms put up 15 points in as many minutes
We sat on the Eastern pavilion and I recall watching McIntosh through the binoculars, his eyes were bulging as if they were going to pop at any moment and he was chain smoking
After the game Louis Luyt made some changes and brought in lots of Transvaal players, hard men like Kobus Wiese, and replaced Joost with Johan Roux for the second test at Newlands
Needless to say we won the Newlands test and those players eventually became the core of the 1995 squad
BrumbiesBoy wrote:
An accurate flyhalf who can kick 55m behind a big pack and Bob’s your uncle, correction Heyneke is your uncle
It’s the essence of Heyneke ball and Jakeball
Victoriabok wrote:
Hi VicBok weird you say that logged in and posted about Eddie Jones about half an hour before this comment of yours then ran out of time as taxi duties had to commence again. Was going to say similar to you if Mr Meyer really has to go even down to the 3rd at RWC bit. Maybe if at least two people on opposite sides of the Atlantic think same thing around same time then it is not so far fetched after all
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