Meyer must create a new Springboks culture

I really don't get what positives there are? The set piece has been erratic. The selection has been consistently confused and poor. The side looks tactically one-dimensional, and the attack and defence are both severely lacking. Is the side any better than it was in the 1st Test versus England? I don't think it is. Blooding a few youngsters out of necessity does not a silver lining make, and judging by the various SA rugby blogs I'm not alone in holding that opinion.

There is also being hyper critical seeing no silver lining too.

At the end of the day there is being positive for the sake of being positive, and then being realistic.

So Ashton has been in the world's top 3 right wingers since 2010, and JPP has had one good season (last season), which includes only 3 Tests. Great. Linebreaks are actually quite relevant to wingers given the necessity for the back three to involve themselves all over the field. Ashton is actually quite fast... Maybe you should spend some more time on YouTube. Ashton's game is based on cutting angles through the midfield. Managing to beat so many defenders as he did is pretty informative given how England were on the back foot for a lot of the series and also given the fact he had a poor season by his standards. If he had been worked out like Quade (another ridiculous comparison) then he wouldn't be making incisions against a dominant defence... Corbisiero? The try that Alberts scored when the ball popped out of the scrum was because Dan Cole had just barged Mtawarira over. Your scrum is mediocre, as the Australians proved. I agree re Bekker. I personally would select Kruger. You can see all the positives in the SH you want, but they're all dressed in black and have a twangy accent. Got the YouTube of Du Plessis sitting on his bottom? One tackle by Steyn compared to multiple Boks on the deck across the 3 Tests? That's an apt comparison. Pretty funny? Oh wow... Celtic nations cheating? How old are you?

Agree, I predict Meyer will never beat the All Blacks as a coach. We Bok fans are looking at 4 more years of pain. Meyer is simply an idiot, along the lines of Strauli, His selections of Potgieter, Wynand Olivier and Kirchner are unbelievable. His game plan is directly from 2005, when he was last a coach. The world has moved on, and Meyer has been stuck in time warp, just like the rest of Pretoria, actually. The only good thing he did was select Goosen. And if it wasn't for Morne's incredible slump of confidence we would still have Morne, I am dead sure. Meyer only bowed to public pressure. If the Boks win one game on their Europen tour, I fall over in shock. Sorry Biltong, I know you hope and dream that Meyer can evolve, but I see a simple and stubbon man, who is out of his depth at this level, still playing an outdated "Koppe-stamp" rugby from years gone by.

Thanks for that steve, I got tired of his negativity and criticism.

There you go we can sum up a worth of a player by quoting how many clean break he has. There is a lot more to being a wing than bringing up one stat but I'm sure you knew that. Here is your highlight for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPHypYGNokU. As stated before even when he was put on his back JDV still made tackle and that is all that really counts. Pretty funny to watch Manu get thrown around like a rag doll by Frans Steyn. I distinctly remember, when comparing Ashton to the South African wings, you saying that (if only they keep all the posts from 6months I would have the quote I require) JP Pietersen was overrated and Ashton had superior skills "Ashton has been performing well at Test level since 2010" well what is it, has he been playing well or poorly? He is another League convert who doesn't understand Union positional play and lacks the raw speed which is required to be a world class wing. I think he is suffering the Quade effect, he has been figured out and isn't having the same impact. Yeah I watch English rugby often and England really haven't achieved much for a while or any English club come to think of it. Oh wait that's because the Celtic teams cheat their way to H Cup victories I forgot. re Set piece - Now while our scrum did struggle a bit when Cobesiro started the second test it has improved substantially getting the better over the course of the RC as the tight five has settled. What we have really struggled with is a decent backup prop. Coenie should never have played in the RC after coming back from his injury, he should have been given time in the CC. Our work on the ground has improved drastically and we are winning the collisions more often. We lack world class props in SA its no secret and I'm not hiding from the fact. There are a few youngsters in WP that look the goods but meyer has been managing them so I think if they have a good Super Rugby tournament they will get the call up for the June Tests. Victor left a massive hole and for some strange reason Meyer thinks Bekker is the man to take his place. If there is ever a case to select a Bull its Jaundre Kruger. He still has some work to do on his lineouts but his work around the field is vastly better than Bekker who is trying to become the worlds tallest backline player. Our line out has been chopped and changed so often its been hard it to settle and be effective Our mauling off the the line out has been solid, consistently making yards. Its all there but the issue in South Africa is how do you bring it together into a cohesive unit. The point of me jumping in originally, even though that point may have been lost due to time constraints and better things to do, was that if biltongbek wants to see the positives in his own team whilst not being overly critical of other teams he should be entitled to that opinion. There is no need for you to be a debby downer, jumping up and down like a petulant child saying there is nothing to be positive about. I understand that things may seem a bit glass-half-full under the grey English skies but down here in the Southern Hemisphere, where its generally warm, we do like to see the positives in life.

Ashton had a poor season, but before that he proved himself to be a world class talent. And despite playing outside Farrell he still managed 4 clean breaks against SA. Pietersen, in the form of his life, managed 5 clean breaks. What superior skill set of his have I referred to? Please quote me. I repeat: what hype? Tuilagi bashed around the Boks on multiple occasions. Sorry to dent that macho ego. Just watch some YouTube highlights. Have you even watched Toby Flood? Do you actually watch European rugby? Good response re the SA set piece.

As an All Black fan I'd love to see it happen.

Well there was ashton whose flat footed defence and lack of speed saw possibly one of the worlds slowest backs round him to set up the first springbok try.He did very little else even with his superior skill set as you constantly referred to. Please Tuilagi Hit JDV over yes but JDV held on to make the tackle even though he was lying on his back however when it was JDV's turn to run at Tuilagi, Tuilagi stayed down. One good hit on Bismark and now he has tossed him around by definition this is the hype that I'm referring .Also Frans Steyn monstered Tuilagi in defence on several occasions. He really didn't get the front foot ball England require. Flood is another player that you say has been there done that, proven test player, exactly what has he achieved. He really isn't that good. Everyone talks up their side I don't blame you but having a go at other people for doing the same is just hypocritical.

South Africa's pack are building nicely. Not much needs to be done here imo. They are physical and they have a good platform to launch from at set piece. One improvement they could make is just a little sharpening up of the skills and better communication between those big loose forwards and the backs. I noticed a few times the big boys in the backline getting in the way or running lines that forced the distributor to stutter or change target. There is nothing more devastating then a big South African loosie running in the backline, but they can also stem the flow of ball to the guys who should be getting it. Like any side selections need to be decided and combinations need to be built. Until this happens there will not be the smooth transition of ball through the back-line which is one area that let South Africa down against the All Blacks, and the one area that won the All Blacks that game. Meyer needs to get that balance right between using his big pack and using his backline. More then anyone else i think the change in mindset needs to come from the coach first. He has made steps in the right direction but some of them he arguably tripped into.

Who have I talked up? I largely agree with your criticisms, and I did at the time - it's no coincidence that things clicked when Flood started. I think Lancaster is a poor selector, and I openly stated at the time that some of the rugby I saw from England was awful - tight five players in the midfield etc. Tuilagi was hardly ineffectual. He tossed around Bismarck, Oliver and JDV like they weren't even there, and this was his first ever go at playing 12, and he's only been a centre for two seasons now. What hype? The SA scrum is still very hit and miss, as England proved, and the lineout just isn't dominant like it was. Matfield leaves a huge void.

I know that i'm just making sure you guys do aswel. LOL I don't like JP never have, so my opinion is completely bias.

Its strange how you criticise South African's for talking up their players when you do exactly the same. In Englands tour Ashton was super average, Tuilagi was fairly ineffectual, Barritt really only made up the numbers, Foden was hopeless on the wing and the list continues. This was after all the hype about these players. Despite the series loss I could see some light at then end of the tunnel for England much like the Boks. What the Boks can take out of the RC is that our forward pack is building into a fairly cohesive unit that can take on the best packs in the world in the collisions and set piece. We have the backs to play a complete style of rugby now its just about developing the link between the forwards and Back and getting the defensive patterns right. Hugaard has been disappointing but its because they are trying to turn him in Fourie Du Preez and he isn't that sort of player.

Agreed, Biltongbek. On McLeod, I like him too but I don't know.., perhaps its because he doesn't seem to have an onfield presence? Whatever that is... he just seems to fly below the radar for some reason.

Same old Springbok mentality... The state of world rugby is poor right now. SA and Australia were very poor in the RC, and France were very poor in the 6N. You're clearly trying to be optimistic, but when your captain, a 50 odd cap veteran, runs sideways across the midfield and throws a pass straight to a stationary on a narrow pitch you aren't heading for great things... The performance in NZ has been overhyped, and you were routed at home. I really can't see the reasons for optimism. So, Elton Jantjes is going to rip England apart. That isn't a debatable statement? The SA attack wasn't laboured and one-dimensional? Habana has only had one good season in the past few? Every season we hear about these new world class Boks, and yet where are they?

Mace 22 sums up what comprises the DNA of All Black rugby - the whole thing starts off when the kids are in primary school. Another issue is that provincialism is so strong in South Africa - even more fanatical than support for the Boks I would guess. Unfortunately Biltongbek this is not going to happen overnight - getting all the structures fully integrated into a Bok-pattern of play. It needs a think-tank, indaba - and administrators should start planning a way forward for an integrated approach in SA rugby. Don't forget the Boks are still the second best in World Rugby - they could do no better than try to imitate the AB blueprint, so they can 'compete' consistently and have the beating of their arch foes. It obviously hurts being No 2 and still not being able to beat your rivals who are no 1, consistently. My humble opinion is, until that happens, (closing the gap) two things are needed right now. A coach who can MOTIVATE his team and build them into a tight unit - win or lose. Motto: "We die for each other and for the team." And faith. The latter of which especially applies to the nation.That whatever the coach is entrusted with putting out on the park will eventually conquer through perseverance. Unfortunately HM looks devoid of personality - just watch him in the coache's box, throwing his tantrums. He gestures as if the Boks is about him and only him, his sticking to MS (when the game was crying out for the Goose) and a patchy game-plan. I might be proven wrong I just think that in time to come, HM will be proven to have fallen short as Springbok coach. In mitigation though, you can't replace guys Like Bakkies, Victor, Smit, Guthro.

Don't worry Kuruki, no bok is better than any All Black, ....ever. ;)

I fail to see how JP is better then Cory Jane right now when Jane has dominated and won the RC while JP has been dominating the couch.

I'm not citing injuries at the beginning - as the Test season progressed Spies and JPP dropped out, as did Du Plessis, but in the case of Spies he is no loss, JPP is a big loss with the form he was in, and Strauss was always the preferred back-up to Du Plessis. I applaud Etzebeth's selection, but if you openly state that you will not consider overseas players until totally necessary then selecting the form 4 lock in SA (and arguably Super rugby) is not that hard a choice. Van der Merwe and Muller - don't follow? I'm not criticising Meyer's selection due to retirements. I am saying that all progressive changes were basically forced upon him due to poor form and injury, and that tactically he was totally off the radar. Brussow was riddled with injuries, but he is a proper 7 (Bok 6). Coetzee is not, and he got schooled by England. The point re Brussow was that the coach thought (going against basically every other top tier Test nation) that a jackal over the ball was not needed. Clearly Meyer got that massively wrong and it cost SA badly. Hougaard doesn't have the skills of a Super 9, let alone a Test 9, so pick a player who can do the basics. Why not? Hougaard proved after the England series that he didn't fit into Meyer's rugby brand, so either change the brand or the player. Muddling along isn't the answer. Lambie is a kid. Do you drop a rookie after one Test? Jon Joseph made a big mistake v the Boks which led to JPP scoring, but he was retained thereafter. The England series was a great opportunity to ease players in. England fielded one of the least experienced and youngest sides in their history and hadn't played in a comparatively long time. It's 4 years out from the WC. Game one was the time to be bold. That Bok side still had a lot of experience (far more than England), so selecting Oosthuizen, Etzebeth, Kruger and Coetzee wasn't that much of a risk given England selected Marler, Mouritz Botha, Parling, Johnson and Morgan. I don't follow how I'm contradicting myself? Mtawarira could still come off the bench. I'm not advocating dropping Jannie du Plessis - average as I think he is. The experience balance was still there.