The Australian team currently have seven players out of their squad for various reasons. Quade Cooper, Digby Ioane, Wycliff Palu, James Horwill, Rob Horne, Ben Alexander and Tatafu Polota-Nau.
South Africa has a similar problem with Beast, Bismarck, Bakkies, Juan Smith, Heinrich Brussouw, Fourie du Preez, JP Pietersen and Frans Steyn not having been involved in most of our Tri Nation tests.
The conundrum for Australia and South Africa has not only been the fact that these players weren’t available, but also the fact that continuity in selection could not be made, both teams had to play players out of preferred positions and there in lies the biggest problem when facing the All Blacks.
In order to negate the All Blacks on attack, it is of utmost importance to have defensive organisation and communication, and when you have to play with different players from one week to the next, it is very difficult to maintain continuity.
So the All Blacks have been blessed this season and there is a total turn around from the situation of 2009 when the All Blacks were the team with the unavailable players. Australia has shown this past weekend that even the mighty All Blacks can be put under pressure and they do infringe as much as any other team when they are on the defensive and has to slow down the ruck. At one stage the penalty count was 7-1 in favour of the Australians, and they had 117 rucks vs the All Blacks 74 rucks.
The All Blacks also had to tackle a lot more than the Australians with 146 tackles to the Ozzies 91.
I can only come to one conclusion and that is teams need to wise up, study the referee and his interpretations of the laws, Richie McCaw is a master at manipulating referees and managing somehow not to get carded.
The signs are obvious, the All Blacks are great with ball in hand, but yet as fallable as any other team when on defense. They still need to tackle, slow down opposition ball and absorb pressure.
The biggest reason Australia didn’t win the test match on Saturday was because as talented as Matt Giteau is, Quade Cooper is better.
The All Blacks are playing good rugby, but are not invincible and if teams can make the connection between the grey matter and the on field antics of the referee and All Blacks, the percieved domination of the All Blacks will disappear like mist in the sunshine. It may just be possible that Graham Henry has shown his tricks a year too early.
The question now remains, who will be the first team to smarten up?
@ grootblousmile:27 – Gbs, I was really not impressed with Flo on the away tour. Maybe he needs more time there who knows but he never looked up to it to me.
Pity Stegmann is injured. This would have been a really good time for him to play for the Boks with Brussow out.
Why not try Duane Vermeulen at 8, he is very physical and a good ball carrier, I think he will make a great combination with Schalk Burger, Juan smith andhimself.
@ biltongbek:32 – Duane is a very good player and I rate him plenty. Also probably Alberts from the Sharks he was outstanding this past weekend for Sharks at 8.
Okay I am out. Back later or tomorrow.
Cheers everyone.
31@ Puma:
Like Tighthead says…. it’s about coaching and role application…
Flo was excellent in the Super 14… much so due to his own play but also due to the role and style he was expected to achieve and execute at the Stormers… he took to that like a duck to water.
Why would he suddenly be weak…. is it him or is it how he is asked to approach play? I lean towards the latter because someone that good does not suddenly become that average!
With Stegmann injured and also not chosen and with Brussow also out… and the absense of a pure fetcher, what do you do… you choose players who could fulfill the position and you EMPOWER them with the tools to do the job.
At the moment excellently skilled loosie craftsmen have to work with a few blunt chisels and a broken hammer… in stead of the coaches arming them with jackhammers and diamond-tipped tools…
32@ biltongbek:
Unfortunately Duane Vermeulen is not chosen in the squad… so, what is 2nd best from those in the squad….
Fark, I forgot Juan Smith is back… of course play him at No 7…
But still, Flo is good… I’d be tempted to play him before I play Schalla… because for all Schalla’s gritty mad-chiken style I believe Flo is a better fetcher.
…and still, the loosies needs to be taught / instructed to play much more towards the ball and once there to be effective in what and how they do it…
@ grootblousmile:
Exactly GBS.
A player like Flo has to have a role to play in a well balanced loose trio that compliment each other and all buy into how they are going to play as a team.
You then need to invest in him by giving him the opportunity to play his best rugby in this enviroment.
This is how you build players and build a team.
We can all argue about the fact that the All Blacks are very often illegal at the breakdown, but they have a method where every player from 1 to 15 understands how they play at the breakdown, and what you have to do depending on when you arrive at the breakdown.
There is no more important piece of the game today than the breakdown and you would think that the Boks would have a coach that would develop a method of playing at the breakdown both in attack and defence that would suit our type of players.
38@ tight head:
Yeahhh tighty… I also just frown about the same issue….
Good example of what you and me are talking about was seen in the Currie Cup this weekend as well.
The Lions only held out for so long against the Sharks due to the quality and amount of possession the Sharks enjoyed…. and go look at the critical role the loosies played at the Sharks in that effort… with Willem Alberts walking away with the Man of the Match Award…
Same situation in Kimberley…. Griquas also held well… and in the 2nd half all hell broke loose as WP was the only team on the park…
The results speak for themselves.
The match between the All Blacks and Wallabies… I thought that Pockock and Brown and Elsom fronted up well (much better than the Bokke did against the All Blacks or Wallabies), but that McCaw, Kaino & Read were just a teeny weeny bit better…
@ grootblousmile:
Exactly GBS.
The bottom line now is to make the opposition tackle.
The more you hold the ball, the more they tackle.
They more they tackle, the sooner they run out of legs and the holes appear to run at.
Simple rugby!!
tighthead @ 40
hellooooooooooooo to the DARK SIDE
and
how are you today buddy?
grumpier than usual or just your old grumpy self? 😀
@ Ashley:
Hey Ash!!
No grumps today, just spent 4 days at a remote fishing spot in the Transkei.
Still suffering from Pondo fever!!
My opinion for what it’s worth is that Messrs Gold and Muir need to either up their games or get replaced.
Maybe some young blood like Mathew Proudfoot needs to be given a chance. He was always a great coach at Pukke and has IMO done wonders in Cape Town.
Generally IMO there seems to be a lack of ideas in the Bok team, and a total inability to adopt to the situation on the ground during any given game. The question is (maybe TH has some insight) are these traits that can be coached into players, or do they only come naturally?
@ tight head:Tighthead…I’ve heard there is some great fishing spots there. What was it like?
@ bos_otter:my wifes parents live at Lady Grey for a coupe of years. Got to know quite a lot of the farmers in the are and were allowed to do some trout fishing on their farms where they would normally allow visitors. I’ve seen some great mountain streams and some awesome dams and caught quite a lot of trout and geelvis in that area.
45@ bos_otter:
How many “WIFES” do you have??
@ grootblousmile:
lol…wife’s
@ bos_otter:pee poo pee poo pee poo…GBS, spelling police!!!
middag manne, wanneer hoor ons van die meeting wat SARU het met PDV oor sy vertonings, sekerlik mag hy wel die moelikheid vry gespring het met die aantuigings wat hy gemaak het, maar hy kan darem die met “bulshit baffels brains” wegkom oor sy vertonings op die veld nie.
48@ bos_otter:
Bwahahaha
You now sound like those jippo’ing Sick reports in the Army who had to march whilst singing Pee poo sick report…. pee poo pee poo sick report…
49@ biltongbek:
Hulle het mos klaar informeel met die man gesels, vir hom ‘n kloppie op die skouer gegee… en ‘n sterretjie op die voorkop….
… hy het hulle vertel van nog so paar mechanics en die nuwe Tiger Woods van rugby aangekondig…
.. Jy weet mos… selfde ou selfde ou selfde….
@ grootblousmile: rofl….you’re right….fark, complete forgot about that 🙂
@ grootblousmile:
so wat jy vir my se is dat Gold, Muir en PDV nou die groen lig gekry het om voort te neuk in die donker in?
53@ biltongbek:
Jaaaaaaaaaa swaer….
… mogge troffe hier kom ons…
Sink skippie sink, ………… Want die coach kan nie swen nie.
53@ biltongbek:
As ek reg is kom sy formele review mos eers NA die Tri-Nations
Wel ek kan jou dit se, eendag wanneer ek groot is wil ek graag SA rugby bestuur.
57@ biltongbek:
Hehehe… ek hoop jy het moooooooooosa ghoenne… want SA Rugby kort sulke dik swaar geswelde kalbassies!
Al wat ek vir jou sal se, is dit hang.
laag
Jy kan maar self besluit of dit die gewig is, of die ouderdom.
59@ biltongbek:
Ahhhh, so jy is ook ‘n moegoe…
‘n Moegoe is mos iemand wat, as hy op die toilet sit, dan hang die pere in die spoelbak…. bwahahaha
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