It’s not all doom and gloom when looking towards the business end of this year’s rugby. Most of us are quite concerned about the performances of the Bulls, Lions and Cheetahs, but then we have to be honest with ourselves. Over the last number of years the Cheetahs and Lions have never really looked like world beaters and have often found themselves at the bottom of the Super Rugby tables.
Looking at the results against the Australian and New Zealand teams, it becomes quite clear that all our teams have been rather competitive even though many of the results have not gone our way. There were many close matches.
Here are the results against the Australian and New Zealand teams thus far:
Home team listed first:
Sharks 26 Blues 12
Lions 32 Blues 41
Western force 12 Sharks 39
Bulls 28 Highlanders 35
Rebels 32 Sharks 34
Stormers 18 Highlanders 6
Chiefs 15 Sharks 9
Waratahs 3 Cheetahs 23
Lions 15 Western Force 27
Reds 41 Cheetahs 8
Stormers 51 Western Force 15
Crusaders 44 Sharks 28
Blues 29 Cheetahs 22
Hurricanes 14 Bulls 26
Lions 25 Reds 30
Highlanders 24 Cheetahs 21
Crusaders 27 Bulls 0
Stormers 6 Reds 19
Reds 39 Bulls 30
Cheetahs 47 Hurricanes 50
Overall results:
20 Matches
7 wins
13 losses
6 losses were within one score
There was only two blowouts, Bulls vs Crusaders and Reds vs Cheetahs.
When looking at these figures at a quick glance, it does seem that we are not performing well. Perhaps looking a little deeper into these results will tell you that we are competitive, and yes even the Lions and especially the Cheetahs have been far more competitive than usual.
The Cheetahs have actually had one of their best tours to the Antipodes ever, beating the Waratahs 23-3, losing within a score to the Highlanders and Blues, both teams that are doing pretty well in the NZ conference. There was the unfortunate blowout against the Reds.
The Sharks beat the Western Force and Rebels which even though not the toughest teams still require execution and skills to beat, they lost by one score to the Chiefs which for all purposes was a very poor game from them, but then again the refereeing decisions in that match was rather questionable. Even against a mightily inform team such as the Crusaders, the Sharks fought back well after gifting the Crusaders 4 easy tries within the first half hour due to very poor defensive organisation.
The Stormers seem to be our most promising team thus far, but have not travelled yet. They have thus far dispatched the Western Force with ease, held out against a much improved Highlander team and were very disappointing against the Reds.
The Bulls lost within a score to the Highlanders, beat the Hurricanes quite comfortably, had a blowout against the Crusaders and even though scoring well at times against the Reds, did themselves no favours with a continuous showing of poor defensive organisation and execution. Their Senior players seem to struggle with form, and I think perhaps it is time to accept the fact that the Bulls Machine has run its course and there is a dire need for some new blood. The only good news for them is that their tour of the Antipodes are almost over, and they will be looking forward to the home stretch.
The Lions remain our Cinderella team, some beautiful moments that seem almost like a fairytale, but eventually they end up having to wash the dishes.
The question is, should we be getting all down on the possibilities for the rest of the year? I don’t think it is necessary yet.
Yes, there are a number of senior Boks that are currently showing very poor to mediocre form. Habana looks like a shadow of his former self, Bakkies seems slow, Victor is starting to lose lineouts, Fourie du Preez just doesn’t seem able too get back the control he once had, Morne kicks well to the posts, but seems clueless at times, Guthro Steenkamp is injured, Pierre Spies is trying too hard, John Smit should simply now retire, Zane Kirchner has forgotten to draw the man and offload, Juan Smith is out, Heinrich Brussouw injured once again.
But even when facing the dark alley way in the middle of an upcoming winter, the sun still rises in the morning.
Bismarck is showing good form, Jaque Fourie as always reliable, Andries Bekker mercurial, Juan du Jongh looks good.
Then there are the outsiders who PDV will have to consider when selecting his squad.
Peter Grant, Patrick Lambie, Coenie Oosthuizen, Gary Botha, Francois Hougaardt, Dewald Duvenhage, Gio Aplon, Duane Vermeulen and a number of others I can’t think of at the moment.
The key to a successful year will lie in the selections and there is one man that is going to have to think and decide very responsible about how loyalty can bite you in the backside when too afraid to look beyond the current group of contracted Springboks.
At the current moment there seems to be very little chance for us to defend our RWC title with a whole plethora of underperforming players, and nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So what is it doom and gloom or when facing the dark alley way in the middle of an upcoming winter, the sun still rises in the morning.
I feel it is way to early to panic.
The sad part is the supporters and press is pushing so hard against Div he might just fall over onto the panic button.
I read this barometer on the Aussie site.
“We all know the saying form is temporary and class is permanent. But the core of the Bok team has always been from the Bulls team. If there are two players in the Bulls side that are not pulling their weight, the whole team suffers as a consequence and the ship sinks.
But I will have to reach a stage where I will have to be honest with the players. My biggest challenge is to know when a guy has had enough, when he is past his best and is simply not good enough anymore.” – Peter de Villiers
With those words, in an interview with South African website Sport24 this week, the Springboks coach has given notice to the underperformers at the Bulls and elsewhere – and credence to the theory that 2011 is a year too far for a great South African team.
Importantly, it is also the first sign that he is prepared to make the hard decisions that are clearly needed to rejuvenate the national side. He also told John Smit that he had no interest in taking him to the World Cup as a prop.
That de Villiers has gone public to address the malaise is a start, but it also reveals the anxiety at what he is seeing across all South African provinces.
Watching Springboks midfielder Juan de Jongh butcher two certain tries through terrible option-taking while playing for the Stormers against the Lions at the weekend was a reminder of the poverty of South African back play at the moment.
The local derby, admittedly played in trying conditions, was an advert for the forward-dominated, backward-looking fare that South African sides, apart from the enterprising Cheetahs, have largely dished up this year.
It’s telling that the most metres run by a South Africa this season is a forward, Willem Alberts, in sixth place with 620m, in a category dominated by fleet-footed backs.
It’s as if the forces of conservatism in the Republic have decreed that any passes outside the No.10 in a World Cup year are to be treated with suspicion, unless deep on attack. They are putting their money on the bet that the World Cup will be won in the same manner of the 2007 tournament – through kicking and defensive pressure. But they have taken on a formidable and determined opponent, with the IRB repeatedly making it clear it has no interest in that spectacle – if you could call that – being repeated.
De Villiers will also be nervously surveying the latest medical reports on injured scavenger Heinrich Brussow, whose return is scheduled in the next few weeks.
The Bulls’ inability – or unwillingness – to attack the breakdown against the Reds was a major reason for their demise.
Although the Bulls’ tactic of not committing numbers was praised by the Queenslanders on the Fox Sports commentary team – who were no doubt relishing Will Genia’s quick, unfettered access to the ball – it was akin to writing your own death sentence.
If you are not at least slowing down the ball in the modern game, a la Brussow against the Waratahs
last month, you are asking for trouble, especially if halves like Genia are allowed to hit big runners with as many forward passes as he did on Saturday.
There was some solace, however, in the excellent 20-minute cameo of Fourie Du Preez at Suncorp Stadium. In that spell the Bulls scored almost half of their 30 points as the brilliant No.9 got them moving forward. If certain Bulls are to be cut from the Cup squad, he will not be one of them.
The injuries: Wounded pride reported throughout the entire Bulls squad and a few pricked egos elsewhere.
The wildcard: Workaholic Cheetahs loose forward Ashley Johnson is asking questions every time he carries the ball.
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