Finals rugby during the Rugby World Cup is probably not the best example or advertisement for free and open running rugby. It is more often a war of attrition, and the team who makes the least mistakes walk away the victor.
Heyneke Meyer will refer to previous World Cup finals when he decides upon his first choice fly-half and the criteria will be simple – have a kicking accuracy of 80 per cent or above, be tactically astute when kicking and have the ability to execute consistently.
Regardless of the expectation that South African rugby must evolve and become less predictable on attack, the World Cup is not the time when Meyer will concern himself with creative play. Percentage rugby is what it is all about. Play in the right areas of the field, contest the breakdown, do not attack from within your own half, make the right decisions and be consistent.
The challenge for Meyer here is that Handre Pollard has only played six Test matches, and although successful on hard and fast grounds, failed against Ireland in wet conditions. However, can one dismiss Pollard after being given only one Test match in Europe in his first season?
The young man has oodles of potential, has the ability to break any defence, defends like a Trojan, and has an educated boot, his only downfall is experience, or should I say, the lack thereof.
Regardless of his experience at senior international level, Pollard has played New Zealand six times, four times as a Junior Springbok and twice as a senior, and his record is five wins and one loss. He knows what it takes to beat a New Zealand team.
Patrick Lambie may have 40 Test caps, but only 15 have been as a starting player and only 11 at fly-half. His record reads eight wins and three losses as a starting 10. Standing only 1.78 metres tall and weighing in at 87 kilograms, Lambie is not the most physical player, however in my view this young man is the least error prone of all the fly-halves South Africa has to choose from. He has the ability to hit the line, is defensively sound, can play from deep or flat, and has an educated boot.
Lambie is a confidence player, and he needs his coach to believe in him. Give him the trust that he can do the job and he won’t let you down, but consistency in selection is necessary for him to settle if he is the chosen starter.
When it comes to Morne Steyn there are two distinct camps in South Africa, those for the inclusion of Steyn regardless of the fact that he cannot secure the starting berth at his French club Stade Francais, and those who believe Morne has reached the end of the line and should be sent out to pasture.
I fall in the latter category, I believe Steyn has lost all confidence. His decision making has suffered and his error rate in execution has been too high to include him in any future tournaments.
However Meyer is a big fan of Adrian Monk of the hit TV series Monk. There will be a back-up, and that back-up will be Morne Steyn. How Meyer is going to ensure Steyn regains his confidence and his form is the big challenge, and one I am happy to say it is not my problem.
It is of interest though that Meyer is considering Johan Goosen as a back-up for Willie le Roux at fullback, a decision that could oust Steyn completely from the World Cup squad as Goosen and Lambie provide Meyer the option of having three players at fullback and three players who are adept at fly-half.
Goosen is an exciting player, an all-out attacking 10 who loves to play with ball in hand and has the ability to engage his back line. The sheer number of tries the lowly Cheetahs have scored with him participating as the playmaker is testament to that. He possesses a huge and accurate boot, though there is perhaps a question mark over his frailty and the fact that he is injury prone. However he does not shy away from contact and commits hard to the defence.
In summation, Handre Pollard and Patrick Lambie should be the clear selections for the World Cup, and when it comes down to Morne Steyn or Johan Goosen, Goosen provides the additional option of substituting Willie le Roux, so common sense would suggest Johan Goosen is the man. However the question is will common sense triumph over personal subjective beliefs?
Harry Jones
Expert
Of course! :)
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Lambie would be my first choice. I just hope he stays injury free and has a cracker of a Super Rugby tournament, bossing play around at the Sharks, that Meyer finally feels confident in trusting him. As you said he's a confidence play, so he needs someone to back him. Who could forget that Currie Cup final in 2010? Magic. The same could be said about Quade Cooper really, when the team, coach and fans back Quade there's no-one else to touch him on attack. But when he plays in a WC in NZ and gets booed..... Oh well......
Noted, thanks bottles :lol:
44bottles
Roar Guru
Biltongbek. Your articles are far too short to be on this website. This short length is garnering too much interest. You would be better served by separating these articles into an individual article on each player available for each option, rather than just for each position.
George
Guest
I feel the Boks have more than enough depth at 10, this is not a concern, however I thank you for this interesting read, which has me think back to past world cups. And yes, over the years this position has been greatly debated. I still think Henry Honiball should have started over Jannie De beer, but Mallet did not have the guts to make this change after his performance in beating England. And we all know we went home after that cold day in Twickenham against Australia. Who ever runs out behind FDP, who will be the Bok general. Must come from your selections. So agreed. And I feel this quartet is good enough to get through the group stages. My concern is the AB's who know Morne inside out. They are a team whom pride them selves on doing their home work meticulously. I just hope HM has the foresight and recognizes, that doing the same thing by selecting MS against the Ab's, and expecting a different result is the definition of Madness. Pollard or Lambie or even the Goose is preferred. I think sooner or later the Goose will shake off this injury curse and this would would be exciting, to have 3 quality fit 10's.
George
Guest
Agree.
firstxv
Guest
yep. For me Steyn is only a liability vs the AB's. He goes ok vs others. ABs will pressure him enough to make other things go badly. That will create the situation you're referring to...having to adapt. Lambie and Pollard would be targeted as well but given proper and correct support between now and then will better mitigate the chances of that happening.
Although I agree with your thinking, that is not the reason we won't win the cup. The leadership have failed in 2011 when they needed to adapt, and didn't recognise that they had too, and neither do they have the ability to adapt. Whether Steyn is replaced by Pollard or Lambie is neither here nor there. Yes either of them can do some individual brilliant move to win us a game, but one miracle move might not be enough. It isn't even about the gameplan, because finals are mostly won on that game plan, the Boks might even put pressure on the All Blacks in the semi final that the All Blacks cant run away with it, the difference is McCaw and co knows how to adapt, de Villiers, Matfield, Du Preez etc don't.
RobC
Roar Guru
Angry Eben will explode round 4
firstxv
Guest
My point about Steyn is he will go ok against the pool teams and that is the reason he shouldnt be there. The pool games will be enough to convince Steyn himself and Meyer that he's up for it. He'll score the points, pass the ball on, and generally make himself indepensable. A good %, no fuss, goalkicking 10 is right down Meyers alley. By then Lambie or Pollard won't have started, Steyn will be there by default, having initially deemed by Meyer as necessary earlier to secure the pool then later to mainatin 'continuity'. Can see it now...
Andrew Jardine
Roar Guru
We are lucky to have Pollard and Lambie, there's not much between them. Either would be a good first choice. I do not believe that Morne Steyn has the confidence anymore. but I believe that Meyer will use him as back-up. The kicking game will be vital, but so, too, will be the ability to make decisions during the game.
RollAway7
Guest
AVZ never expected this from you, I tend to agree but only if he plays super rugby backup to pollard. I would like to say good bye to Morne, ill never hate on him, his boot has brought me much joy over the years. I like your thinking about attacking and tactical pairs. Morne has experience to close out tough games but needs to spend time at Loftus to find his form.
RollAway7
Guest
FirstXV nothing freakish about an injury to Goosen, its such a shame. Each time there is hope for SA at 10 it flops in some way. I won't say who I think is next but the SA 10 is cursed.
RollAway7
Guest
Harry you will be singing when Morne puts in the winning kick from the sideline on the 80th minute of a rainy final! :)
RollAway7
Guest
I like above all the combo sets off Bulls 9-10 with replacements from the bench sharks 9-10 this has worked well.
Firstxv
Guest
Gosh...in another injury he put himself out for an entire season... In March 2013: "Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen is set to be ruled out of the rest of the Super Rugby season and most likely the Rugby Championship with the Springboks. Goosen was practicing his goal kicking in Sydney and slipped and fell and injured his knee which has been diagnosed as a cruciate ligament tear. The Cheetahs star will now miss the Super Rugby season, the June Tests and most probably the majority of the Rugby Championship. "It was a freak accident," Cheetahs team manager Eugene van Wyk told Supersport. "He is a bit down, there was nobody near him at the time and he slipped while kicking balls during practice. " Either he's the unluckiest freak accident player ever or he's continuously drunk or something. With confidence already an issue, and goalkicking practice and bus rides a near certain requirement for WC 2015, I'd say he's off the list. Not funny to have this happen but I don't think I've seen an unluckier player (other than Carter that is)...
Suzy Poison
Guest
Here is article from the end of last year about Goosen. He is currently injured again. http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Goosen-injured-getting-off-bus-20141229 He injured himself on the team bus..it's pretty funny. I love the comments. I laughed at: 'Just waking up in the morning is dangerous for him" Forget this poor unlucky fella, Morne has more chance of making the squad.
Suzy Poison
Guest
Yes but Heyneke doesn't sadly.
RobC
Roar Guru
Just show one penalty goal and touch finder, then loop
Talking about youtubes, I tried to find a decent one for Morne, but it is mostly just him kicking at goal, I decided that won't be of much use.