The Springboks need Bismarck Du Plessis
Roar Pro By kynang, 13 Sep 2011 kynang is a Roar Pro
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- Bismarck Du Plessis, Peter de Villiers, Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup 2011, RWC, RWC 2011, Springboks, Wales
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For the second test in a row, Bismarck Du Plessis has smashed his obvious superiority over Smit into Peter de Villiers’ face, and again, I expect, he will go ignored. The only reasonable explanation is that de Villiers is a madman.
Those pointing to Smit’s leadership only have to look at one simple fact – while Smit was on the field, SA were losing while Wales were enjoying almost 70 percent of the possession and looking rampant.
Cue Bismarck, and suddenly SA can get their hands on the ball, make some progress across the gainline, and even go score a try.
He almost single-handedly shifted the momentum of the game with some timely steals at the breakdown, a game which SA was almost certainly going to lose.
“Leadership” is more than being able to smile at the press and look like a school prefect, it’s about picking your team up out of the mire, and kicking a hole in the wall for them to follow through, and in that sense, Bismarck is twice the leader Smit is.
Wales’ dominance at the breakdown should be concerning to the Boks, but I think it came down to two notable ommissions – Bakkies and Bismarck.
SA lacked mongrel, left to rely almost solely on Schalk Burger, who could not compete alone against the massive numbers Wales launched into every breakdown. Without his pack providing forward momentum, Brussow’s ability to even get to the ball, let alone steal it, were severely limited.
When Bismarck and Willem Alberts appeared, the tide turned – most crucially in an epic counter-ruck to steal Wales ball when they were marching onwards towards the Bok tryline yet again. That shifted the momentum of the match, and rattled Wales self-believe.
So the answer moving forward seems obvious – with Bakkies injured, it is even more essential to include some other vicious beasts in the starting line. Sorry Spies and Smit – it’s the bench for you. Bismarck and Alberts must start against Samoa, and in the knock-out games.
Brussow and Burger were awesome, but they can’t be expected to take on eight men. They need some brutal back-up, especially against Samoa, who monstered the Aussies at the breakdown.
And a final word about Wales – their play at the breakdown was special.
Warburton is a major find, but the other forwards really got stuck in and dominated the collisions, often through sheer numbers. Had their backs been equally effective, Wales would have won with ease. Based on performances in the first round, Wales is certainly the Six Nations team to watch, though they’ll face a tricky path from here on out.
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September 13th 2011 @ 11:58am
Johnny said | September 13th 2011 @ 11:58am | Report comment
Your comments are spot on and only Div knows what is going on in his head. Smit has lost it and it shows in terms of line-out throws,tackles and sheer aggression when required. For goodness sake there are so many experienced caps who can inspire why do SA need a fallen hero. It is this misguided thinking that will hurt them against better teams and nearly did against Wales. Whilst on the subject of misfiring players hasn’t Div learnt that Morne Steyn is a liability in defence. All the teams just run at him and he pats them away. Big problem!
September 13th 2011 @ 8:38pm
Bakkies said | September 13th 2011 @ 8:38pm | Report comment
To be fair to Smit he didn’t have his two other lineout options Bakkies and Juan Smith. Smith is good at taking ball from the tail of the lineout which creates another attacking option. His money man Matfield is out for the next match so no Bok lineout. The Bok scrum did better than I expected without Bakkies providing shove from lock. The grunt has gone out of the Bok pack at the worst possible time. If they had lost that match a semi against Australia (if they beat Ireland on Saturday) would be looming.
September 13th 2011 @ 1:31pm
Pasop Dikbeen said | September 13th 2011 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
Ddiv is befok and Smit is bedornit, they make an exciting pair, Smit must be the straight man? The Bokke need to bite the bullet, put the captain on the bench and play with their strength. the old boys just cant cut the pace anymore. C’mon Samoa, strive for glory, this is your time. Bliksem.
September 13th 2011 @ 4:17pm
Green Latern said | September 13th 2011 @ 4:17pm | Report comment
I suspect Pdivvy is not only befok. He is also gerook. “bedornit’? *not afrikaans. Are you from the Nederlands Pasop dikbeen?…….Ever listened when Pdivvy speaks? He’s helium gas voice gives it away.
September 13th 2011 @ 5:40pm
Pasop said | September 13th 2011 @ 5:40pm | Report comment
Nah mate, Sydney. I write kombuis afrikaans, not a native speaker, learning from the missus (from CT), but I love the word “befok”. It explains so much about life.
September 13th 2011 @ 8:43pm
Johnno said | September 13th 2011 @ 8:43pm | Report comment
If the boks had a fully fit Bakkies, matfield, juan smith, and bismark starting what a forwad pack. add on burger, and brussow, and spies , and the beast, what forwad pack. And andries beaker and danie russow off the bench wow.
But reality is no
bakkies
bismark on the bench
and no juan.
south africa at total full strength would win RWC ,but they are not at full team so will not win.
Australia still to win for me.
What a 2009 springbok side that was.
I still think the britsih lions at full strength were better they were cursed by injuries throughout the series, at key moments.
September 13th 2011 @ 9:31pm
Bakkies said | September 13th 2011 @ 9:31pm | Report comment
Russouw is rubbish.
September 13th 2011 @ 11:07pm
Ben S said | September 13th 2011 @ 11:07pm | Report comment
The Springboks need Du Plessis, but he won’t win them matches on their own. As great a player as he is, the Springboks are a hugely flawed side. Stylistically they are limited, and their pack is full of has beens or players who haven’t yet delivered on the Test stage.
Alberts and Hougaard are very good impact players, but neither of them have proven they are Test starters, so I would just swap Smit for Du Plessis and go with the status quo. The lack of depth means there aren’t really any alternatives.
September 14th 2011 @ 12:08am
Ivan said | September 14th 2011 @ 12:08am | Report comment
Du Plessis adds that dogfight the boks rely on to ‘bully’ packs. Without it, they have to rely on enterprising backline play that they dont have. Du Plessis must start, Botha must come back and Alberts must start at 7, with Burger at 8. Spies is now a liability. All the muscle, but no fight. He would fit well into the Aussie setup because he can break off the scrums and make yards for quick ball. But when he breaks off the back for SA he usually finds himself alone and gives away a penalty.
So add Bismarck and Gurthro to the front, Bakkies to the middle, Brussow, Alberts and Burger to the back and the pack would be semi decent again for their limited style.
September 14th 2011 @ 12:26am
Ben S said | September 14th 2011 @ 12:26am | Report comment
I think Steenkamp is necessary, but he was out for a long time with injury so it’s expecting a lot of him to recapture that pre-injury form.
Whenever I have seen Alberts on the Test pitch he looks sluggish after a while. He’s a great impact carrier, but I don’t think he’s the answer to start as I don’t think he’s fit enough. Perhaps he could start and then bring on Spies. Maybe that would be a better option?
South Africa need to find something quick. One of their better results in recent years was when they beat England at Twickenham last season. That result was partly because of the physicality of the Boks, but mainly because England simply could not win a lineout. If you take that lineout superiority away from SA then they need more. Personally I don’t think England or France, or any side with a good pack, would have allowed SA to start punching holes down the middle toward the end of the match, as they did against Wales. The Samoan game will really test the back-up players too.
September 14th 2011 @ 12:33am
Bakkies said | September 14th 2011 @ 12:33am | Report comment
Bakkies might be ruled out for the tournament. He has an Achilles problem
September 14th 2011 @ 12:11am
MMN said | September 14th 2011 @ 12:11am | Report comment
Smit scores tries. Du Plessis doesn’t. Simple as that. Look at the last three years of Tri-Nations. Du Plessis is great, no doubt, but he doesn’t score tries.
September 14th 2011 @ 12:19am
Ben J said | September 14th 2011 @ 12:19am | Report comment
Ben S
I cannot help but agree with you, Habana, Spies, Jean de Villiers et al have shown nothing in a Bok jersey to exite their fans in the last 2 years. Their backline coach should be fired, I have not seen 1 decent backline move in years while the other Tri Nations churn them out. The Boks are hanging by the skin of their teeth in this tournament.
September 14th 2011 @ 8:54am
Mike said | September 14th 2011 @ 8:54am | Report comment
Hougaard should be given the next pool match at no. 9. He is keen and may well make the position his own. Even if he does not, it will serve as a wake-up call to FduP and fire him up.
A good keen scrum half can transform a wallowing team.