This follows a report in Sport24 today regarding what a great Super 14 season Andries Bekker is having and how New Zealand is appreciating the way he plays.
Article by- Met Uysh
Now, without even reading the comments, I know there will be those staunch Bulls supporters who will now say that us Stormers supporters now all of a sudden praise Bekker as if he is the next best thing to a mute Julius Malenema, but if they read carefully and not just read : “Bekker….Great….” and then by some magical powers see the words: Matfield….k @ k right next to it, they would see that in fact it has taken New Zealanders to appreciate the quality of the man called Andries, not shooting down Matfield, but where one eyed supporters only see Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha and new Bulls lock, Flip vd Merwe as Springboks and thinks Bekker is poor only because he is a Stormer. “If it are not a Bulls lock he are not a Springbok kwallittie” I hear those biased Bulls supporters chant.
Well blokes, not that it would matter in any way to try and convince you one eyed Bulls supporters that Andries Bekker is having a sterling season in the Super 14, I will provide you with the key stats in any event. Am I saying that Matfield is poor? Not by any means.
Think for one second. Who will replace Victor when he desserts Loftus and the whole of SA to go coach the enemy, the Waratahs? Hmmm? And who will replace Bakkies when he goes over to taste some French cuisine? Hmmmm? Flip van der Merwe and Wilhelm Steenkamp perhaps? Really?
These actual match statistics show a very interesting comparisson between the top locks* in the current Super 14.
*Bekker is currently the top scoring lock in the Super 14 according the Testrugby.com, with Mumm second, Sharpe third, Patterson (CRU) fourth – not listed here, Boric fifth and Matfield sixth.
Key for a lock is to win lineouts. Andries has won 51 lineouts and Matfield 38 in the same number of matches.
Defense. Bekker has made 68 tackles vs Matfield’s 51.
Penalties given: Matfield has only given away 3 penalties vs Bekker’s 5. Not surprising given the fact that Matfield barely reaches a breakdown.
TurnOver lost: Bekker has lost 5 balls and Matfield only 3. Looking at the other numbers, it is only common sense that a man who handles the ball so much more will probably los posession a bit more.
Now, Line Breaks. Bekker has been able to break the defense line (beat the tackles’) seven times with Matfield on zero, despite Matfield spending his time as a centre.
Go Forward, meaning, crossing the advantage line and succesfully maintaining posession. Bekker has done that 20 times, while Matfield only four times.
Now, all that said, does this mean Bekker is the best lock in the country at the moment? Well, that depends. Anyone who knows anything about Rugby will know that the style the Stormers are playing as vastly different from the style the Bulls are playing. So, if you want to play Stormers style Rugby, (although the execution sometimes doesn’t go their way, losing twice by only 3 and 1 points respectively) you would want Bekker in your team. If you want to play Bulls style rugby, I would say that Bakkies is the better player for that style, but Matfield is the captain and the second best lock at the Bulls. Matfield is also vastly experienced and is the Bulls leader, and a leader in the Springbok setup.
Matfield will be the preferred choice at lock for the Springboks. It is only common sense that De Villiers would like to pick the most experienced front row. And Bekker will be on the bench. When Matfield leaves the SA shores, Bekker will take over from Matfield and so will begin a new era for our Springbok locks.
Is Matfield currently the best lock in the World? Well, not if we go according these statistics. But his role as leader and line out specialist for the Springboks, and the Bulls, plays a huge role in his value for these teams. His ability to decipher the opposition lineout calls has won the Springboks many turnover balls. Hopefully he doesn’t take that ability away with him to the Waratahs.
Personally, I do not like the way Matfield has played the last two years. He is complaining all the more with the referee and is spending way too much time in the safety of the backline instead of clearing the rucks. Personally, I would love to see a Bakkies and Bekker combo.
It was a Bekker/Botha combination against Italy last year. What about the VdMerwe/Bekker combination for the future.
This is a tired debate. People are quick to forget that Super 14 form does not translate into Test form. Look at Conrad Jantjies in 2008,that was a prime example. Matfield is tried and tested,he has even got into the New Zealanders heads. I agree Bekker is the man to take over from 2011 but Mat is still the man,statistics dont always tell the true story..
Bekker should not even be compared to Matfield.
Bekker is in my view the new generation Bakkies Botha.
However, picking a test side today with all three fit, Matfield and Bakkies it will be.
It’s a typical South African attitude, “Matfield did the job in the past, so he will do it again in the future” it’s crap. That is why we play in cycles, 3 years we win, then everyone retires, and we are crap for a couple of seasons, if Bekker and Van der Merwe for instance, was blooded earlier, we would have had two major lock combinations going into the World Cup, but no, instead we keep on flogging a dead horse, until we suddenly realize, SHIT, the old guy is gone, the new guy has to fit in but he has no experience…what to do?
SA should start working on a SQUAD instead of just a team.
I couldnt agree with you more saint.
I think we (PietSnor) should use the Wales test as an opportunity to do the following.
1.] Give players fro the Sharks a chance. There are still some awesome players in that group, like Kockette, Beast, JP Kanko (though he might be out), Muller and Jannie DuP (even though his discipline is a bit atrocious at times). These are guys who may not have been able to show their form this year due to the misfortune of their team. Guys who just 6 months ago needs an opportunity to show what they can (still) do.
2.] Give young guys who have been performing and have nevr played Bok before a chance to shine on a bigger stage. These could be guys that MAY play a role in NZ next year (and after) but might not be in the mix with the 3N later this year.
3.] Play the Northern Hemisphere boys. Why let them go bby the way-side when they can still contribute so much more. One of the problems I suppose for the Bok coach is that it is difficult to track the performance of overseas players. Well, now PietHandlebars has a chance to have a look.
Based on this, my team for the game against Whales would be…
15.) Frans Steyn
14.) JP
13.) Doppies le Grange
12.) Jean de Villiers
11.) Nokwe
10.) Peter Grant
9.) Pienaar
8.) Joe van Niekerk (hailed as one of THE BEST players in France at the moment.)
7.) Francois Louw
6.) Jean Deysel
5.) Andries Bekker (C)
4.) Adriaan Fondse
3.) WP Nel
2.) Adriaan Struass (VC)
1.) Beast Mtawarira
You will notice that with the exception of Grant and Bekker, none of the other players are expected to play a full season of Super Rugby (13 rounds, semi and final.)
Like I say, some last chances, some expats, some first timers and some new starts. We avoid “over-playing” some players, in a match that many say we will lose anyway…
Btw, I typed out this article cause I want to show that, for me, Bekker could be the 2014 WC captain… time will tell.
4 – Staint, Agree we should be working with a squad rather than a team.
Bekker has been with the Bok team for awhile now so he will be ready if Victor retires or gets injured. I also like F.Van der Merwe at 4 when Bakkie leaves.
8 – sorry typo there. meant Saint.
Saint,if I am not mistaken Bekker has played about 20 test matches,its good to have depth in all positions,I think he has more than enough experience to take over when the time is right. Lets learn from our previous mistakes and not throw away our captain and experienced players and lose another world Cup. Remember the Teichmen screw job?
I like the idea of a wannabe test team taking on the Welsh Dragons, what better time can their be to cement your 2nd Stringers and up and coming players. The test against Italy also comes to mind.
I’d like to see:
15. Joe Pietersen
14. Patrick Lambie
13. Juan de Jongh
12. Robert Ebersohn
11. Lionel Mapoe
10. Peter Grant
09. Jano Vermaak
08. Duane Vermeulen
07. Willem Alberts
06. Francois Louw
05. Franco van der Merwe (Lions)
04. Van der Merwe (Bulls)
03. Brok Harris
02. Tiaan Liebenberg
01. Heinke van der Merwe
Not a Springbok team per se, but a team that includes guys that will probably go on to be great Springboks in the future.
Agreed Saint,think your team would be a better bet. I’d also try lure Frans Steyn back for that test but we all know your feelings about him :p
#10 – Winston
Invalid argument…
Wynand Olivier also has more than 20 caps under his belt, but that is usually less than 10 – 15 minutes a game, same with Bekker.
They need to start playing 80 minutes, in any case, I wasn’t talking about World Cup 2011, because it is already too late for that, I am talking about World Cup 2015. You see I said, we could have had established players, but we don’t at this time, so it would be futile to try and force it.
Saint,you do have a point by he has been in the structures for a few years now,how many tests must he play before he is considered ready,40,50??? I agree he is a very good prospect but Mat is not ready to go,he is still playing good rugby,if he is crap this year I’ll be the first to say he must go. But you dont throw away 90 test matches of experience because somebody has had a few good Super 14 games.
Lets stop building for now. Why do you want to start building a team now? The team has already been built. Start building after WC 2011 for WC 2015. Why do you want to sacrifice back to back World Cups for the sake of building?
I thought Graham Henry’s infamous 3-team (good enough squad system) put a rest to that theory?
16@ Morne – Mmmm, I thought so too…
GBS,
At the end of the day he did not know who to pick or who his best team was.
He then proceeded to leave both Mauger and Chris Jack on the bench in their 1/4 final match and we know what happened.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Jake had his 22 nailed down to the tee (barring unforseen injuries) and we also know how that ended up…
18@ Morne – I agree with you. To me the Bokke team or the composition thereof is a rather “sacred” matter…. if you need to rest Bokke, do it in a local competition like the Currie Cup… or do selective rotation, much like the Bulls or Stormers are now doing in the Super 14… consistency in selection with here or there 1 or 2 player rotations….
The “Fringe Bokke” coming through are all experienced Super 14 campaigners and some of them have quite a bit of Bokke experience too (Bekker for instance).
There is no need for a Bokke squad of 45 – 60 players currently playing Bokke… the jersey must’nt be cheapened. If you choose to play overseas then you also choose not to be picked for the Bokke. It you want to be eligible for the Bokke (BJ, Jean De Villiers, Frans Steyn), then get your butt back here to SA….
If you want to be a Bok, see to it that you are the best in your position consistently, then they cannot ignore your form….
Am so glad this article has been put up, because for the last couple of weeks i have been thinking that Bekker is outplaying Matfield and seemed to be doing a lot more than him and he seemed more effective.
Oh and also was thinking if i was Bok coach i would only be picking him ahead of Bekker because of experience.
Bekker playing out of his skin, and last year i didnt like him at all 🙄
GG- Bekker could be the 2014 – Is he going to be playing soccer then? As far as I know there is no RWC in 2014 🙂
Treehugger – Lets see if Bekker can maintain that intensity, for that matter lets see if the stormers can as they have been doing a lot of defending for the first part of the tourney! (Very well I might add)
Morne and GBS…If I say squad, I mean the 30 or 26 players travelling to the World Cup, not at all even considering Graham Henry’s 3-Team system.
Winston
Again mate, don’t read no. of tests and automatically think experience. Bekker has played 3 full tests at most.
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