One thing has become very clear from the Boks two heavy defeats to the All Blacks – change is needed. The team does not currently have the personnel to effectively implement their “kick-chase” strategy. What has changed since last year? A couple key ingredients:
1) No Fourie du Preez. Morne Steyn is not the boot in the Bok or Bulls line-up. That responsibility falls to du Preez. He does an enormous amount of kicking and chasing, and fielding of kicks. His ability to read the play is supernatural. The Boks miss him more than anyone else on the field. We like to hype Burger, Matfield, Spies etc. The only irreplaceable man in this team is Fourie.
2) No JP Pietersen. This may seem like a strange one, but JP is a master of chasing kicks and leaping into the air to disrupt the fielding opponent. He has the speed, height and bulk to make opposing him in the air a very difficult and dangerous task. His defense is exceptional too. The All Blacks scored out wide against de Villiers and Aplon. You wouldn’t see it happen against JP.
3) No Heinrich Brussow. People talk up the rule change and the rise of Francois Louw. Frankly, he’s been horribly outplayed by McCaw, and the Boks have been unable to slow the Kiwi ball as a result. In order to successfully kick-chase, you have to be titanic in defence. Without Brussow, the Boks have been second-rate at the breakdown and the All Blacks have run riot.
Add those three ingredients back, and suddenly the team starts winning again. I also wonder if they’re missing the mongrel of Juan Smith and Bismarck at the breakdown…
The solution? Change the game plan until du Preez is available again. The team is stocked with runners, so why are they Boks kicking the ball away?
Aplon looks dangerous with every touch. Januarie kicks terribly, but more importantly, Pienaar runs fantastically and gives much quicker service.
De Jongh has looked elusive. Becker is a beast on the gainline. The Boks need to play to their current strengths.
So, start Aplon on the wing. De Villiers can move back to 12 with de Jongh backing him up on the bench. Pienaar needs to slot in at scrumhalf, and then the ball needs to be moved.
The Boks need to implement the Bulls simple strategy of 12 run it up, Spies, Burger or Becker bash up the 2nd phase, and then spread it wide to Habana and Aplon. They’re about the two quickest men around. Let them touch the ball!
Once the Boks are going forward, the support play of their athletic forwards is fantastic. But they have to be going forward. Without du Preez, that means they need to run it. They can revert to their old winning formula once he gets back – just in time for the World Cup.
Rusty
Roar Guru
Like the team - I tempered mine to the current Tri Nations squad or I would have done the same. I might have plumbed for a slight change in the front ranks as well 2. Leibenberg 3. Brok Harris With Bekker's back mangled it looks like Victor is going to get another shot sooo 4. Rossouw 5. Matfield and Hougaard for all his promise played more on the wing this year than at 9 only shifting when FdP was off. Perhaps Duvenhage?
Ben J
Guest
Rusty I would play combinations in some areas but I agree that form S14 players do not become chumps overnight. John Smit is massively overweight (not fat but he looks like a prop and has about the same turn of speed) 1. Steenkamp 2. Gary Botha 2. Wener Kruger 4. Danie Rossow 5. Andries Bekker 6. F Louw 7. Burger 8. Duane Vermeulen 9. Francois Hougaardt 10 . Morne Steyn 11. Habana 12. Juan de Jongh 13. Jacque Fourie 14. Gerhardt v d Heever 15. Kirchner There, just like Spain, SA can win the World Cup choosing players from 2 teams and have readymade combinations in place.
Rusty
Roar Guru
Totally true - its however nothing new. Our gameplan has always been one of dominate and subdue although it appears the thing we feared most is coming to pass and thats the veteran core is running out of steam but that had to happen sometime. The key will be how we adapt, I think we can but we are going to have to do better than the last few weeks lacklustre efforts and that will mean shaking up the team a bit. My team for the Wallaby test based on the current sqad 1. Steenkamp - Still our best loosehead 2. Smit - he may be out of puff but he is the captain and we need some core experience. I do however think its also time to get other options into the squad. 3. CJ - probably the best TH although in this position that isnt saying much 4. Rossouw - form 4 lock in Super 14 5. Bekker - form forward in Super 14 6. Louw - Much better performance by the youngster 7. Burger - One of the few who seemed to be trying last week 8. Kankowski - Consider it a wake up call to Spies whose form has gone round the S bend. 9. Pienaar - Ricky hasnt played all that bad but his service is nowhere as snappy 10. Steyn - not much of choice here 11. Habana - lack of other candidates gives Bryan the ability to redeem himself 12. de Jongh - classy and deserves a shot after suspension of JdV and ineffectual Olivier 13. Fourie - as per above 14. Aplon - has X-factor and just needs the opportunity 15. Kirchner - deserves a bit longer in the jersey 16. BJ Botha - depends on Jannies injury 17. Ralepelle - no other hooker in the squad but has tried hard when he has come on 18. Matfield - Still a great player but needs to also know he is not irreplaceable 19. Flip - The future number 4 for the Boks 20. Potgieter - Class playerwith plenty of snap 21. Hougaard - another player looking to explode on to the scene who covers wing and scrumhalf 22. Olivier - hasnt made the starting position his own and so will cover from the bench
tubby
Guest
JdV being suspended is a good thing. The defense has looked suspect everytime the ball is spread. I'd rather have JdV in the team and olivier on the bench, but if the only option is on the wing he's better not being there. Spies has to go, he's been slothful all year and is not contributing now. kirschner is kicking badly but they have no specialist fullback in the touring party to replace him. I'd take any super15 fullback over kirschner right now
The Other Reds Fan.
Guest
They probably have a game plan and team that on its day could beat any team in the world except New Zealand in NZ (but would have a better chance of doing so than anyone else). They will probably beat NZ at home, although that won't help them for the world cup. So for a team likely to make the world cup final where anything can happen (especially against NZ) we can't be too critical. I think that we Australians like to try to kid ourselves that a dominant pack isn't essential.