by Gavin Rich | 13 August 2009 (08:51)
When you have followed or covered rugby in South Africa for a long time, and you possess a reasonable memory, it is sometimes impossible not to spot the recurring themes and arguments.
For instance, while much of the country celebrates the Springbok feat of completing the home leg of the Tri-Nations unbeaten, there are still many critics bemoaning the way they are do it. “What has happened to the spirit of adventure?” ask some and “Surely we should be scoring more tries!” lament others.
This is nothing new for it has happened several times, including in the aftermath of the 2007 World Cup triumph. But for me the current debates are most reminiscent of 1998, the year the Boks won the Tri-Nations for the first time without losing a game.
Like now, suffocation rugby was pretty much the order of the day, something that was suited to that team’s strength if you consider that the Boks of that period boasted arguably the best loose trio in the world and that in Henry Honiball and Pieter Muller, who stood together in the flyhalf/inside centre axis, they had rugby’s equivalent of the Rock of Gibraltar.
Teichmann’s men ran up a record-equalling winning streak, but with each win so the expectation heightened, and the clamour for them to open up and play more attacking rugby grew. It reached a crescendo when they reached Britain and Ireland at the end of the year.
The build-up was dominated by the calls from some sections of the media for Mallett to include the attacking skills of Bob Skinstad. This was because Rule No 1 from the public at that time had changed from being that the Boks win to that they win with style.
History will record that Mallett dropped Andre Venter to accommodate Skinstad, and it had a massive impact on the team dynamic. It wasn’t Skinstad’s fault, but there was a mood adrift that suggested something needed to be fixed that did not need fixing, and it proved costly. This is something that the current Boks brains-trust must be careful to avoid.
I do understand what is meant when it is suggested “Ruan Pienaar can offer more rugby-wise than Morne Steyn”, but right now Steyn is in the zone, and the Boks are in the zone. So why fix it if it isn’t broken?
Former Bok coach Jake White has also said that the Boks need to be more daring if they are going to win overseas. But we know Jake too well to think that when he says that he means they must now make the same mistake that New Zealand made and start to run from everywhere.
The Boks can do more with their possession when they are in the right areas on the field, but the one period of the Cape Town game where they fell back into the rugby of last year’s Tri-Nations should be a warning to them.
That came in the period when the Wallabies were down to 13 men because of yellow cards. Instead of playing controlled rugby, the Boks lost their heads, and their frantic attempts to attack left them scoreless in a ten minute period when they should have put the Wallabies away.
What the Boks are doing now is playing to the statistics of the recent Super 14, which told us that only six per cent of the tries in that competition came from moves that originated in the scoring team’s half. I did not see the stats for it, but we can take it for read that a high proportion of the tries scored by teams from good field position came as a the result of mistakes made by opposition playing from their own territory.
The Tri-Nations bears this out. The All Blacks did score a great 95-metre try in Durban that originated from a quick lineout throw-in, but how many points did they concede in the two tests played in South Africa through mistakes made in the wrong parts of the field? It was the difference between the two teams.
The second Bok try of the Bloemfontein test originated deep in the South African half of the field, but it was from turn-over ball as the All Blacks were punished for a mistake they made in trying desperately to chase the game. The rest of the tries in the tournament have all come from what we would call excellent field position, and the 15 penalties kicked by the Boks in just two matches says everything of the folly of playing from your own half.
The Wallabies looked a lot more assured once they started playing a territory game early in the second half in Cape Town to negate the Bok numerical advantage, and the New Zealanders may well be welcoming back Dan Carter shortly. So don’t be too surprised if the Boks find during the overseas leg that the opposition have wised up.
Spot on Gavin Rich.
It is not going to being easy down in the Antepodes, without Morne Steyn being allowed knocking 20 points plus….
Our boys don’t seem to be able to create tries from skillful backline moves, even on the front foot.
Maybe Adi Jacobs can inject some magic again, I hope.
But ‘I see a bad moon arising’…..
Pietman ek sien nerens enige verwysing na ons Jan in jou post nie? Hoe werk die dissiplinere kode hier, moet ek enige vorms invul om jou te rapporteer vir wangedrag? 😉
Catch 22 imo. Yes we want to play winning rugby, but the thril to see a great try is missing at the moment. But then again, the defence systems of teams in the profesional era are very good, and we need to keep winning.
Rugby at the top of the tree is ALL about winning, being flashy does not bring the bacon home. I posted this because I am gatvol at every second Aussie I come across telling me how boring the game was on Saturday… After going on and telling me how we could not score a try against 13 men and rather opted to kick…I cut them off and say…I don’t know, I thought it was a great game, must have something to do with actually winning.
If anyone think it is boring, just remember the pain of actually losing and comments like we scored nice tries does not help.
2@AB Bullsbok – Hehehehehehe
Bliksem vir Piet… hehehehe
Ja Piet, waa’s jou Jan??
5@grootblousmile –
hey gbs
hoeveel blikke condensmelk het jy vir wo belowe
dat hy besluit het om by julle aan te bly?
anyway
van news24
“Bloemfontein – Peter de Villiers may have inherited a world cup winning team from his predecessor, Jake White, but the Boks have reached unparalleled maturity under the current Springbok coach.
This is the view of Bok captain John Smit who was at the Sand du Plessis High School’s yearly prestigious sporting evening on Tuesday”
en daarop kan ek net sê
…
lekke peter man!!
@ashley – Ek dink ons gaan al hoe meer sulke comments uit die Bok kamp kry en elke keer word PdV se detractors net rooier en rooier in die gesig! Dis soooooooooooo lekker!
@AB Bullsbok – 7
Ergste van alles is dt jy nog steeds bobbejane kry wt sê, ja, maar Peter ploeg met Jake se kalwers en dis eintlik John Smit en Victor wat die span afrig en die twee assistent afrigter moet meer erkenning kry ens. Ek hoop daai ouens verstik in hul pap! Ek was ook op ‘n tyd baie krities oor ou Peter, maar hy doen bliksems goed! En ja, hy gaan foute maak, en ja, ons almal gaan hom weer kritiseer, maar dis mos maar die ups en downs van ‘n Bok afrigter!
7@AB Bullsbok –
😀
7@ashley – Asbakkie…. fork, ek het nounet die asblikke en asbakkies van my laat skoonmaak innie jantoor (ek hettie ‘n kantoor nie, net ‘n jantoor)….. praat vannie duiwel dan trap jy op Asbakkie se sterre…
Hehehehe
Dit het baaaaie beloftes van kondensmelk en sletsap geverg om Meisiekind in Pretoorsdorp te hou…. hy’s nie ‘n goedkoop rugbyhoer nie !
Abeltjie en Asbakkie,
Wat Snorrie aanbetref….. hy jaag my frustrasievlak op nes Jake White gedoen het in sy eerste 3 jare…… en hiermee bedoel ek, Snorrie maak my de bliksem in oor sy swak kommunikasie skills teenoor die Media en sy simpel vergelykinkies ensovoorts…
Maar as coach verbaas hy my, hy hou aan wen, nieteenstaande so paar shaky besluite met subs in die Leeus Toetse. Dit lyk immers of Snorrie bereid is om uit sy eie foute te leer en nie sommer dieselfde foute te maak nie…
So… Go Bokke !!
10@grootblousmile –
hehehe
ja, sy media skills 😀
maar
moet bygesê … dit het beslis verbeter, nie baie nie, maar hy’t beslis ñ stap in die regte rigting geneem!
….
onthou jy nog daai comment van josef se pad van die put na die paleis? 😆
11 @ ashley – En al die k#k tussen in
Hey, ek’s net gou uit vir so halfuurtjie, hou die fort hier…. en enigiemand, hou tog in ogie oor Asbakkie hier, terwyl ek weg is….
Daaaaa kry ek alweer comment nommer DEEEEEEETIENNNNN !!
Hehehehe
13@grootblousmile –
hmmmm
brynmense moet mos ma’ altyd dopgehou word, nê?
ek is seker onse voorvader jan sou nie ñ f*k met jou tevrede gewees het nie!!
@ashley –
Hello Vaaljan.
Hoe lyk die weer vir more, daar in ‘Swellington’?
Het jy gesien Schoonspruit het verloor laas Saterdag 36-5…..kan nie onthou teen wie nie, ek dink Drostdy?
Ek persoonlik is gatvol vir die wenrugby wat ons na kyk. Skop skop skop en dwing ‘n strafskop af in hulle gebied en kry 3 punte. On driee te druk met ‘n backline beteken nie helter skelter felter pelter whatever rugby nie!!!! Die farken mense sien heeltyd die twee uiterstes. daar is ‘n middeweg. En ons moet dit nog vind en daar moet Snorre sy gat in rat kry!!!! Daar is ‘n tyd wat ‘n bal moet wyd gaan…maar nee gee dit vir nog ‘n farken forward om te dryf totdat hulle onkantgaan of van die kant af inkom sodat ons ‘n strafskop kan kry. KAK man!!! Die sogenaamde wenrugby maak rugby daao. Ons behoort AL die games baie verder te gewen het as wat ons het. Mens kyk ‘n toets…ja dis opwindend omdat dit spannend is…maar as ‘n wedstryd….GEEN hoogtepunte nie. Met hierdie rugby wat nou gespeel word sou ons name soos Danie Gerber, Mordt, Carel Dup ens nie eers onthou het nie. Nee man….fark!!!! Dit werk nie vir my nie. 😥
Ek wou dit sê en het dit gesê. Dankie dat julle geluister het. Neem kennis asb!!!!!
@K9-MonsterLeeu – Kwaai LeeuwelpieJan vanmore!
@K9-MonsterLeeu – sal dit definitiEf met hulle opneem, kan mos nie so ongelukkige leeutjie veroorsaak nie!!!! DAMMIT MAN, hulle moet hulle dadelik regruk
anyway ek groet julle, werk net 5 ure vandag want dit is my swakkerhelfde se bday….geniet die naweek o ja en natuurlik
GOOOOO BUUUUULLLLSSSSS!!!!!
@AB Bullsbok – Nee man…hierdie storie krap my gat al lankal.
@Tripples – baai Tripples…..gedra jou al is dit dan sleg.
@K9-MonsterLeeu – Altyd jong…hehehe ek is mos ‘n bul!!!
K9
Ek stem so half en half met jou saam. Ons moet gaan vir daai bonuspunte. Veral toe ons laasweek vir seker 9 minute teen net 13 Ozzies gespeel het, moes ons ten minste probeer het om te gaan score!
Ek sal graag wil weet hoekom ons nie meer afwissel nie. Skop een up&under, dan weer ‘n skuins skop na die hoek vir die vleuel en dan weer ‘n slag die bal teen die lyn af voer. Kyk daai twee mooi driee wat die Ozzies gedruk het vanaf eerste fase bal. As hulle meer balbesit gaan kry gaan hulle ons nail.
16@Pietman –
ag
schoonspruit verloor maar so vandat ek nie meer daar is nie 😉
(nie seker teen wie hul gespeel het nie … so bietjie kontak met daai ouens verloor!)
@ashley –
Ek het Boland met twee punte vir more, op Superbru.
Wat dink jy?
17@K9-MonsterLeeu –
hehehe
hulle sê gewoonlik ñ bok is ñ bliksem
maar ek is seker dit moet wees ñ bok ondersteuner is ñ bliksem!!
net so graag soos wat ek ook meer drieë sal wil sien, besef ek ook ons huidige manier van speel
1. werk vir ons
en
2. frustreer die k@k uit ons opponente uit
anyway
laas jaar toe peter sê “hardloop”, toe sê almal “is jy bedonnerd, skop”
nou dat peter sê “skop”, nou sê baie “is jy bedonnerd, hardloop”!!
25@Pietman –
nee, dink nie boland gaan dit maak nie (te veel beserings!)
sal maar vir wp op superbru gaan
en my longe uiskree vir boland tydens die game
@ashley – gaan lees weer mooi wat ek gesê het Ash…….leer nou iets vandag by ‘n leeu
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