By Mike Greenaway in Brisbane
Fed-up Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has written to the IRB’s refereeing boss, Paddy O’Brien, in an effort to sort out the one major blemish on his team’s performance in Perth at the weekend, the slew of penalties against the Boks. “We honestly don’t know what many of them were for, particularly the ones against us for set scrum infringements,” the coach said of Kiwi referee Bryce Lawrence’s 15-4 count in favour of the home team.
“We want clarification from Paddy before our scrumming session tomorrow morning because we can’t understand it,” De Villiers added.
“We want to know what is going on before Saturday’s return Test against the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium.
Until last week the Boks had kept their penalty count to single figures in all their matches and the run of penalties against them, mostly in a 20 minute period either side of half-time, stopped their momentum and allowed the Wallabies back into the match.
“We can’t play the game like that,” De Villiers said. “With all that free possession gifted to them they gained confidence and we had to defend really well to keep them out.”
Saturday’s referee will be Wayne Barnes of England, who is quite likely to have a different set of interpretations to Lawrence, but De Villiers is taking no chances.
Lawrence, incidentally, was the referee for the first Test against the Lions in Durban in June and that day it was the Lions front row that was repeatedly penalised, so who knows what the same Bok front row is now doing wrong.
The Boks are winless in Brisbane in the post-isolation era. They have lost all seven games they have played here since 1993 and their only two wins were in 1956 and 1971.
“Records like that do not bother us,” the coach said. “We had never won in Dunedin either until last year.
“There were lots of things the Springboks had not done for a long time before this team. We can win anywhere as long as we keep our focus.”
The Boks had their first training session of the week on Monday and there were four players missing. Two of them, wing JP Pietersen (hamstring) and lock Andries Bekker (shoulder) have left for home and the other two, Bakkies Botha (knee) and Bryan Habana (groin) are expected to recover in time.
Botha has an ongoing complaint that is managed from week to week while Habana was rucked in the groin.
De Villiers said that at this stage he would not call for replacements.
“Danie Rossouw is fully fit now after missing last week because of a hamstring strain and at wing we have options: Odwa Ndugane, Frans Steyn and Adi Jacobs. I don’t like calling players over unless it is absolutely necessary.”
The Wallabies, meanwhile, are licking their physical and mental wounds after losing their fourth consecutive Tri-Nations match.
“Losing is tough emotionally and physically,” said flyhalf Matt Giteau on Sunday. “Mentally we are not staying the distance in games.
“We turned our backs at a quick tap for Fourie du Preez’s try when we should have been switched on. Then we miscommunicated in the backs on who had who to give them two tries from set pieces.
“Each individual has to take responsibility and stay committed for 80 minutes if we are to turn it around in Brisbane.”
- This article was originally published on page 16 of Daily News on August 31, 2009
Divvy Jan Confused
I am starting to warm to this coach, hi Tripples
I doubt that Paddy will have the answer.
1@Tripples –
me tink me was also confucios on saturday … and me wassie ee’s dronkie!!
@Loosehead – Hi loosehead what is blits skaak ?
@Treehugger – Hi TH….
Yep me too…..
Think Paddy is also an eeeedjut!!!!
#4 Asbakkie….ja nee Confucious het sy gat gesien Saterdag, dink sommer die siener oek!!!!
LURKER bwaaahahahahaha Cool nic!!!!
@Tripples – #7 now you see him now you dont…..
@Tripples – question- is there something you can push or type on a computer to tell someone has answered you or do you just keep reloading and checking.
Have been trying to teach myself how to use a computer for the last few months, i know very late in life to start 😆
@Treehugger – #9 Unfortunately one has to reload/refresh hehehehe
Computers can be testy little buggers at times!!!!
Snorrie is asking the right questions… and clearly now knows that scrumming is our only weak spot… good on him for that.
Now to do something very positive about it… get a flipping decent scrumming coach to assist, and keep him with the squad from now on.
Tight Head should now write one of those very astute Front Row Dark Art pieces of his… I will mail him !
@grootblousmile – 11
Hello boeta, Yip agree there PdV is asking the right questions for sure. We really do need a specialist scrum coach, I mentioned that here yesterday too so did TH.
What about Os? Or even Ballie Swart?
@ashley – 4
😆 You make me laugh Ash, Nice to see you posting here too.
@Tripples – Thanks 🙂
I wont learn if i dont ask, found out about haveing a few windows open at the same time by reading the manual countless times, Hi GBS.
12@Puma – Personally I think Dougie Heymans should be involved… never really rated Balie… and old Os certainly could be a very good option too, having played with most of the current crop and knowing their weaknesses intimately.
14@Treehugger – Hi !
Quick lesson… the “F5” key is a very handy shortcut key to refresh a page….
@grootblousmile – 15
Balie done a good job at the Sharks but I feel that Os will do probably a better job even if he has never coached gbs.
Like you say he has played with most of these players and they all rate him. Just look John went to Os’s farm and he got some advice there. Who knows maybe John gives PdV a hint to get Os involved. Wont be a bad idea at all. Os was our best Loosehead of all time and maybe for me anyway in the world.
@grootblousmile – Thankyou, is it quicker than the round green thingie at the top of the screen i click onto cause that is called reload. I know my question seems a bit silly but only way i am going to find out 😎 easy way to find out how to do all the smileys was to click on to the no images and then write them all down.
Wasnt the Springbok rugby fantastic on Saterday. Have to out for a while looks like we about to have a storm.
17@Puma – Legends of the game, like Os, do not necessarily make the best coaches… in coaching one’s ability to communicate effectively plays a vital function.
With that I’m not saying that Os does not have the ability to do so, only from my 2 meetings in a pub-environment with Os, I got the feeling that Os is not the most articulate person (Remember the time, years ago, when Os spent time in Pretoria for rehabilitation on his knee??).
Let’s hope I’m wrong and Os turns out to be a master scrumming coach with wonderfull communication skills.
@Treehugger – 18
Where you live Trehugger? Joburg? If so damn it will be good to have rain up there before I head back in about 3 weeks time. Was just so dry when I left to come down to Umhlanga.
You have John Smit on prop. What do you expect?
21@Ed_the_Lion – Ja vaalseun…. het jy lekwar verjaar gister ??
@grootblousmile – 19
You are right boet, great players don’t always maket he best coaches. Some of the greatest coaches in many sports hardly ever played their sports they coach.
Read somewhere that Os was looking at getting a knee replacement by the age of 40. One of his knees is really gone now.
Someone has to be specialist coach though. That seems to be the only part of the game we are struggling a bit now.
Read in the Sunday Papers yesterday that Victor is planning on playing in the next WC. That would be awesome if he could hang on until then. What a legend he is.
@Ed_the_Lion – 21
Hello Ed, How you boet? Your weather in Boston must be great this time of year?
Okay I am out of here for awhile.
Hello to you K9 I see you have logged on.
Cheers all.
23@Puma – People can say what they want to about Big Vic (that he hangs around the back line too much… ect) but damnit the Bokke have ruled the Line-outs with him there for years now.
Next time, do yourself a favour and check how many telling tackles Vic puts in, in a game.
There is simply nobody near his class in SA…. and also certainly not in World Rugby !
Let me go visit a client in distress quickly… chat later….
Die TILLE moet ROLLLLLLLLLLLLL !
@grootblousmile – Helloooo GBS. Great gewees. Gister omtrent heeldag geslaap.
@grootblousmile – 26
Victor is a legend. A brilliant player and we are blessed to have him in the Bok team. Bakkies too FdP, Habs our captain many more. Hope they are all around for the next wc. This team is going to be dynamite by then 😆
Cheers GBS out of here now. Back later.
@Puma – Puma, yes this time of year is awesome. The only bad thing is, winter is now coming fast. 🙁
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