It’s with some sense of relief that we bid the 2012 rugby season farewell. Too much of a good thing, they say…
South Africa ended the year on a high by remaining unbeaten on their tour of Europe. The Springboks battled hard for their victories over Ireland, Scotland and England and cemented a top-four spot in the IRB rankings ahead of the pool draw for the 2015 World Cup.
Despite their performances leaving a lingering feeling of emptiness among fans, the team showed the potential to improve considerably.
Heyneke Meyer claimed that the season was a success given that the injury-hit Boks conceded only three losses. Even when one counts the draws against England and Argentina the team statistically performed fairly well.
However, all the talk of win ratios and statistics is secondary to the quality of rugby the Boks produced. Suspect selections and an outdated game plan cast a cloud over the team’s accomplishments.
The Boks were good in patches, predictably in the forwards which remains their strength. Meyer can pat himself on the back for basically creating a pack from scratch that competed with the All Blacks and even dominated the world champions for much of their clash in Dunedin.
Bar the 32-16 defeat to New Zealand at FNB Stadium, South Africa also displayed miserly defence. The way the clearly fatigued Boks managed to keep out their opponents during the latter stages of their end-of-year tour matches demonstrated a brilliant bloody-minded resolve.
But the inability of our backs to fire, to show even a sense of attacking rugby, is a massive concern. You can blame backline coach Ricardo Loubscher (who was in charge of Blue Bulls age-group teams before his Bok callup) as much as you like, but Meyer’s game plan was at the root of the problem.
Mistakes included selecting Jaco Taute at 13, Francois Hougaard on the wing, and instructing Ruan Pienaar and whoever wore the No 10 jersey to hoof the ball up the field whenever the Boks were on the park. Meyer needs to build an attacking game plan around players selected in their natural positions to give the Boks a chance to put teams away once they have them on the ropes.
When Meyer relaxes his ‘bigger, heavier’ policy and selects more of the genuine ball players he has available to take advantage of our awesome forward platform, the Boks will beat the All Blacks at least once next year.
Fortunately Meyer started showing a willingness to admit mistakes and adjust his strategy towards the end of the season. His instructions to Pat Lambie to play his natural game ahead of the clash with England last week was proof of that.
Despite an unsatisfying year, fans can take comfort from the fact that the Boks now have a squad for 2013 that is strong across the park in every position (with the exception of fullback).
With the usual player exodus and retirements after the World Cup Meyer’s first season was always going to be tough. The coach however deserves credit for blooding youngsters and building experience.
Next year will see the return of stalwarts such as Bismarck du Plessis, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussow and Pierre Spies, none of whom will simply walk back into the Bok starting XV mind you.
We’ll also see Pat Lambie and Frans Steyn reuniting at the Sharks for an entire Super Rugby season, and Elton Jantjies playing off the massive advantage a world-class Stomers pack will offer him. These factors can only bode well for the Bok attack.
For now the players and coaches will enjoy a well-earned break before returning to the drawing board. With the Bok coach steady does it and we can expect steady improvement until South Africa reach their full potential.
Ben.S
Roar Guru
Kruger isn't well under 6'4. He is 6'6.
Jorceylin
Guest
Used to dislike Kankowski almost as much as I dislike Spies. But something snapped and he actually did man up this year before going off to Japan. Certainly not Bok material, but on current form isn't as bad as people say.
Jorceylin
Guest
Yes. I think I actually forgot about Bekker. However I'd like to see Alberts/Eztebeth combo tried... Alberts is far too good to be left on the bench once Brussow/Burger return.
steve.h
Guest
He is back for the Sharks at the start of the Super Rugby
Rabbits
Guest
BB, I think players like Juan Smith, Willem Alberts and Eben Etzebeth bring a lot of physicality to the Springboks style and Kankowski in the mould of Spies is the type of forward who can exploit a battered defence. He was good during the Super XV. I think he's less of a flat track bully then people realise. I would have picked him on form for the Rugby Championship and saw how he would handle the responsibility of being the country's No.8.
mania
Guest
i look forward to the day tho i'l quibble about the result
Well we can only wait and see, hopefully when we are where we should be, we can start beating the All Blacks with more regularity. ;)
mania
Guest
biltongbek - agree. fact is in the past u couldve gotten away with having a solid defensive halfback because the backs were never used on attack. now however u have to have an effective, creative link between bax and forwards. boks forwards dominating and being good on D is an awesome starting point. team work takes time. boks are well placed at having a consistent forward pack that will get to know and understand each other. the more understanding the more team work will improve. all it takes is for forward to pick n go, then another then another and then all of a sudden the forwards want to be a bit more creative in attack and start discussing with enthusiasm other ideas. i feel the boks forwards arent that far from this critical mass when ideas will start exploding. the AB's do it now but it took two tenures under gHenry, wayneSmith and sHansen for the AB's to do it consistently and as a team. boks are scarey and tho u want their progress accelerated i reckon they're coming along fine. good things take time. i'll admit to being worried about the boks but i'm also anxious for them to get there as well. would love for my AB's to beat a boks team that has realised its full potential.
mania
Guest
i agree biltongbek. kankowski is athletic and mobile but he does have that habit of if he's unable to pick on the oppn then he tends to disapear. if he's effectively bullying oppn then he plays well. couple times i've seen when he gets out muscled by opposing forwards he tends to go into his shell. anyway isnt kankowski in japan?
Rabbits, the biggest problem with Knakoski is he is a bit of a flat track bully in my view, he is very athletic and has good speed, but not very physical against strong forward packs. Pretty much the same as Keegan Daniels, very good Super rugby players, but not sure whether ai would play them against those strong teams you mentioned. I would like to see Burger at 8 with Frans Louw and Willem Alberts as a combination.
Rabbits
Guest
Ryan Kankowski? I thought he was the best South Africa No.8 in the Super XV last season. The Boks pack can match it with the All Blacks and England and the French. They will be hard to beat in 2013 provided there aren't too many injuries. My team for 2013 would be: Tendai Mtawarira, Bismark Du Plessis, Jannie Du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Andres Bekker, Heinrich Brussow, Juan Smith, Ryan Kankowski, Ruan Pienaar, Joahn Goosen, JP Pietersen, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Jaco Taute. Reserves: Coenie Oostuizen, Deon Fourie, Dean Greyling, Flip Van de Merwe, Willem Alberts, Francois Hougaard, Francois Steyn, Lwazi Mvovo.
Yeah we did have some good debates regarding Meyer. For me before we start worrying about impressing or entertaining anyone, we must sort the Halfback. But more importantly, and as you have said, our forwards can dominate, but the ohysical domination is not enough. We need these forwards to be smarter, I watched closely over November at what our forwards are doing wrong, and I noticed on defence they are truly brilliant, but on attack the same physicality is one on one, not a collective effort to not only secure ruck ball, but to secure momentum ruck ball. I know it is my new favourite word, but think about it this way, if you clear a ruck as individuals you fail to ensure front foot ball, when you clear the rucks ala All Black style (as the collective) you put their whole pack on the back foot, this provides the attacking team an extra yard or two on the front foot. That is what we must maintain before worrying about how to entertain anyone.
mania
Guest
biltongbek -its been a long season. remember preseason when we were discussing the merits of meyer? its been a long time since those conversations. i've flip fopped in my support of meyer but in the end i have to say he's done a good job. maninly because he learnt from his mistakes and evolved his coaching as the season went on. that sole attribute imo means boks are in good hands, provided meyer doesnt stop wanting to learn. hougaard i easily prefer as HB over ruan. sarel i'm not convinced about. ruan is a petulant over rated sook. hougaard just gets on with it. having a strong defensive HB suits the boks play and will help keep the ruck/maul area defensively sound. his attack is solid if a bit unimaginitive, but then thats a strength in itself. unimaginitive can mean reliable in some aspects. its been a good year for boks i feel. gone are the shackles of PDV and player power. boks have shown glimpses of explosive expansive play but have retained their forward dominance and defence. boks are definately better than last year and they'll hopefully get better next season.
Mania, if Meyer picked Hougaard he has to play his natural game. Hougaard is strong on defence and strong on attack, but he must be released from any pre concieved notions. He will be effective and unpredictable which would mix our attack up nicely.
mania
Guest
biltongbek - i fully agree. half back is a key area. sarel needs to learn how to tackle. AB's will target him around the fringes if he's suspect on D. i easily prefer hougaard to ruan. ruan is slow and throws balloons. JPP distributes on occasion. fransSteyn is needed in fullback. de jong, JPP and JDV can fight it out. i doubt JDV will lose his spot next season so really u only need one other centre. of de jong and jpp i'd go jpp. boks have a long way to go but i must say they are looking great at the moment. as a starting point for next season they're already well ahead of most countries.
steve.h
Guest
I just looking for the balance between a lock that is a ball carrier and a lock that does the hard graft in the rucks and mauls. Yes Alberts played lock but was partnered with Bresler that plays a similar style to Kruger. I'm not a fan of kruger but I think there needs to be balance in your locking pair and we have to find a suitable partner for Etzbeth.
Cliffdriff
Roar Rookie
I agree, I was talking about Mvovo playing for the Sharks. For the Boks at 11 behind Habana they should give Rhule a shot, even Willie le Roux. And who knows what other young talent next year's Super will produce? Mvovo is quick but like the NZ wings of old his struggles in defence and is horrible when he has to turn around.
I agree with you, defensively poor, positiona play is poor.
Franna
Guest
I must say I'm not a fan of Heyneke Meyers gameplan.. People may say playing ugly is effective, but it was only effective against the weaker teams and South Africa isn't satisfied unless we are able to beat New Zealand. Just look at what happened against them in Dunedin. We had the forward dominance and terrotorial advantage, everything was in place for Heyneke to prove his gane plan, but it failed. That said, I have to complement Heyneke on What he has done with the forwards of the Springboks.. He creaed a world class forward pack from scratch, a pack so effective that injured stalwarts Schalck Burger and Juan Smith will have to work hard to get a place in the team. I am very satisfied with the combinations we have up front.. To get to the backs, I am a fan of Ruan Pienaar. I backed him the whole year until the last match against England, then I saw the big influence Heyneke had on him, because that was not the same player that played so well for Ulster this whole year. As for Hougaard, he is a fantastic, exiting and versatile player who peforms very well when the forwards have momentum. Unfortunately, I noticed that he really struggles without forward dominance - the only reason why I would choose Pienaar above him. I believe Pienaar handles pressure better than Hougaard, but they need to be able to play their natural game. My choice is Pienaar starting and Hougaard on the bench as an impact player. At flyhalf Johann Goosen is the best we have, but Lambie and Elton aren't far behind.. Again, they need to be able to play their natural game. I believe we should scrap Morne Steyn as an option. At centre, we have many options, but I belive Jean is the best option at inside and as captain.. When Frans was injured and Jean teamed up with Goosen against Australia, he looked like his own dangerous self.. Don't get me wrong, I love Steyn, I just think Jean is better at inside. We coukd use Frans at outside and have him play he physical role that Jacque Fourie played when he was at outside center for the Boks, but I would like to see the combination of JdV and Juan de Jongh. I belive that we have the right wingers at the moment, Habana and JP were in fantastic form this year and are perhaps one of the best wing pairs in the world. I also like the prospect of Rhule in the future. At fullback, I don't believe Zane is the best we have. He is solid at the back, but doesn't bring much to the attack. I believe Taute is our best option and we shouldn't forget about Aplon. Aplon and Joe Pietersen would probably start if they were in any other country, they're that good. Here's my starting team for 2013.. 1. Beast Mtwarira 2. Bismarck du Plessis 3. Jannie du Plessis 4. Eben Etzebeth 5. Andries Bekker 6. Francois Louw 7. Willem Alberts 8. Duane Vermeulen 9. Ruan Pienaar 10. Johann Goosen 11. Bryan Habana 12. Jean de Villiers (c) 13. Juan de Jongh 14. JP Pietersen 15. Jaco Taute 16. Coenie Oosthuizen 17. Adriaan Strauss 18. Pat Cilliers 19. Juandré Kruger 20. Marcel Coetzee 21. Patrick Lambie 22. Frans Steyn 23. Francois Hougaard
Jorceylin
Guest
Whenever anyone mentions Mvovo in Bok colors I role my eyes. He isn't up to it.