MAILBOX: Boks need a game plan
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:40
Following the Springboks' humbling Tri-Nations defeat at Newlands, readers had a dab at where the game was lost for the Boks, or rather won for the All Blacks. You have the Write of Reply!
What has happened to Springbok Rugby???
I have new respect for Peter DeVilliers after taking fire for being under-par in the political quota for Saturday's game against the all blacks by selecting Monty for his 100th test. I think PDV has proved that he is a coach for the nation & not a politician - I do feel that aside from a few selections (and every supporter will disagree with some) PDV has got the selections spot on!
My concern lies with Gary Gold! The obvious difference in our forwards is blatent since the loss of Gert Smal. We have lost 3 of our Tri-nations games at the breakdown! How do we keep losing possession at the breakdown with the players that we have? We used to dominate this area for decades & are world renown for it but under our new forwards coach - every team (including Italy) are easily able to strip us of possession at the break downs! The Boks had a given try opportunity against the All Blacks & lost possession on the try line? How does that happen? What is going on with our loose forwards?
I don't believe it's a player problem - it is definitely a forwards coach issue & a huge 1 at that! It is destroying every other great part of our game! When we boast Burger, Smith, Spies, Kankowski, etc. - how can we be losing possession so often at the breakdown?
Please sort out our forwards coaching staff before it give our great PDV a bad name!!! The Boks always narrowly win their away games but when we lose our home games, we are convincingly hammered! Where's our consistency?
Disgusted in today's pathetic performance
- Jason Baris
This is a great team, but it's lacking inspiration, something you would expect a good coach to provide without question. Not just motivating a team, but attention and focus on individuals within the team. Knowing what buttons to push and when. This is something John can do well on and off the field, but so too should the coach. Victor is a good player, a very good player, but not a captain. Some overall very average reefing decisions got to us on the day and should not have. Victor's frustration and reactions did not help, and were a turning point.
None the less, the loss was not the coach or the captain's sole doing. We made many mistakes. We struggled to put our stamp on the game, and kicked appallingly. It's a great pity. We have a real opportunity to win the Tri-Nations off the back of the world cup. Its now going to require a huge effort and a little luck.
I must conclude by saying I am still somewhat perplexed as to why we felt the need to play Argentina right in the middle of the Tri Nations.
- Richard Hindle
Play the ball and not the man, when will Schalk and the rest of his team-mates learn and understand the rules, too much world rated players in the side according to SA sport writers.
- Heinie van Wyk
This weekend we saw a very talented Bok team being soundly beaten by a rather average All Black team. Save for Carter and McCaw, the rest of the team are very good, but hardly exceptional. Yet, they managed to make the Boks seem like a bunch of bumbling fools on the day. This exactly what one can expect, when a team is being poorly prepared. They tried to play an expansive game from the outset, which indicates poor strategy for a test match. They had no patience in setting up several phases; instead, they want score from the first phase (The fact that they came quite close on many occasions, bears testimony of their tremendous talent). They made very basic tactical mistakes, which seems like very bad regression from the standard of a mere ten months ago. And they take to the field without a specialist fetcher, so it’s no surprise that they lose the war for possession.
I have no doubt that this team would have performed much better under the guidance of any one of a number of coaches: White, Mallett, Meyer or Deans. But De Villiers is one hell of a nice guy, and he keeps on making excuses in a most humble and affable manner, which everyone seems to find acceptable, again and again. So perhaps this is what the Bok fans have to accept, get used to, and wait patiently for to improve; De Villiers will need a few seasons to become an international coach with enough strategic guile to outwit and outplay the big teams.
- Dawid Bosman
They can fix this by picking a fast, mobile loose forward(Floors,Brussow, Botes) that can compete on the ground, drop Juan Smith and move Burger to 7. Make sure that the rules are played as the ref will blow. And
if not change the plan and play the ball on the ground and off the feet as if the opposition can then so can we.
- Marc Bennie
The first thing all AB supporters would say upon reading this is probably "This is just another disgruntled Bok fan blaming everyone except his team." Yes I am disgruntled in my team but mostly in the inconsistency of the ref in Saturday's game at Newlands between the Boks and the All Blacks. We get penalised at the breakdown for not rolling away after the tackle but the All Blacks don't seem to fall under these rules. This is only one example there are many more. The first half was completely one sided when it came to penalties and decisions from the referee an other match officials. But I can guarantee the whole world, if the decisions on Saturday favoured the Boks to such an extent that they won the game as a result SANZAR would have launched a full investigation. The inconsistency doesn’t end there and it's the same thing with Brad Thorne only getting suspended for a week on blatantly unsportsman-like conduct and then Bismarck Du Plessis getting three weeks for a rubbish ruling on so called eye-gouging.
It is a sad state of affairs when one team gets targeted and the other gets away with murder. The second half was somewhat better when it came to the decisions made by match officials, and yes admittedly the Boks didn't play well at all in the second half. I believe that the Boks might have had a fighting chance though, if the first half was not as one-sided. Why can't SANZAR or the IRB penalise refs for poor decisions after a game? Dock their salary for every bad decision taken. (But obviously there will always be a good reason why this would never happen) And to actually add insult to injury Bok supporters have to read how "SAD" their team was and how pathetic they played. That I believe is a statement that should be withdrawn and the Boks should actually get a written apology from anyone who was stupid enough to make it in public. In my opinion any team that can keep the Kiwi's from scoring more than one try in the first half (with the ref being an utter blind moron) and go off the field 5-0 behind needs to be commended. As much as I despise the team in black you can't argue that they are world class.
I have also noticed that when New-Zealand and Australia play a Tri-nations match it's usually a South-African Ref on the field but when we play Aus. Or N.Z. it's always an Aussie or N.Z. ref. Another one of SANZARS inconsistent decisions? Probably but I'm just a bitter South-African supporter and my opinion doesn't mean whitewash right? The Boks are a great team but I constantly see them being robbed of a win by the match officials and decisions from SANZAR. Please believe me when I say that there is definitely room for improvement in a lot of aspects of their game. I can admit when they play like rubbish and they did exactly that in the second half (And
the first half as well in some areas, handling of the ball was terrible!) All I want to see (And probably every other true supporter of the game) is consistency in decisions on the field. That said I will wait for the next game where the Ref will cost us a game
- Bruce Harrington
What won the game for the All Blacks...?
Rugby is a mental game of philosophy! Someone famous once said that rugby is 20% physical and 80% mental! I believe that now! I have seen many rugby games were the one team lose and the other wins! It's a no brainer that one! I have also seen many games, were the referee played a very big part in breaking the soul of a very good team, that everyone thought would have won! I don't want to "moan" like a so called typical Springbok supporter but I am sick and tired of losing tests matches because a referree who was biased and plainly ignorant! I believe that the Boks should not have been in such a
position to lose the test. Just like the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup. What won the game for the All Blacks? On the day the played the referee better than the Springboks! That's the reason I believe they won! They played the referee better and not the game!
- Eben Horn
Signs of a good drilled team and have respect for the opposition and give adherence what the coaches wants to do on the field ,and are easy to change game plan.
- Heinie van Wyk
On player ratings...
I agree with all your ratings except one. I think you were a bit harsh on Bryan Habana. I thought he played his heart out and stuck to his promise of creating more work for himself. He got himself in the mis as much as possible since he doesn't usually see much action if he waits for the ball to come to him. Also, Butch James should have been given a 4. I'm usually a fan of his but his kicking was shocking and
doesn’t take charge of the game the way a 10 should.
- Matthew
I have to take issue with your ratings. The Springboks, for the first time in 100 years, were kept scoreless at Newlands on Saturday, yet you rate all the Boks at better that 5/10. Optimistic, or generous at best. The only player who deserved his rating was the Beast Mtawarira, for the rest, it was a dismal failure.
Peter de Villiers, I notice, is not rated at all. His performance has to have been the worst of the entire Bok set-up - by his own admission, the Boks took to the field unprepared, and took twenty minutes to start playing. Surely the coach has to accept blame for this? That his game plan exposed the side to risk against the best counter-attacking team in the world must be an indictment of his ability. That Fourie du Preez play for as long as he did, despite being visibly, and woefully short of game time, speaks volumes. That Victor Matfield was not given the
information by the technical advisors on how to counter the referee's peculiar application of the laws at rucks, even after half-time is unacceptable at this level of rugby.
- Michael Muller
On Fleckie's column...
Here's my Springbok Poetry 2008: Part 4.
The world witnessed an All Blacks rumble
In the wild Springbok African jungle
On Saturday it was once again shown
Who deserved the 2007 RWC throne
The All Blacks showed absolutely no mercy
Especially on the Bok fulback's 100th test, Percy
NZ actually won this vital match, upfront
Where the Boks were totally out-gunned
The Springboks suffered a dreadful home defeat
When they were eaten for Springbok meat
The All Blacks were in a rampant mood
And deliciously enjoyed this as tasty food
The Bok supporters didn't like this feasty treat
They enjoyed their Argentinian feast
last week
Newlands was the venue for this Skottle Braai
Where the Springboks scored F**k-all tries
The All Blacks were winners by 19 - nought
Bok supporters: What a disastrous onslaught!
NZ were victorious and won the Freedom Cup
The Boks in turn got another kick under their butt!
The 2007 RWC Bok champs are truely USELESS
Like a million bottles of tasteless mango JUICES
- The GREATEST, PROUDEST All Blacks supporter of all time
Mr Abudurahgiem Dollie
