Roar Pro
Joined September 2014
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Former player, coach and opinionator.
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Rassie Erasmus evidently has the inability to recognise that his off-field antics do more harm to the Springboks that any match referee could possibly…
At the outset I want to say this is not about nostalgia; rather it’s about common sense. Certain professional sports played today warrant the…
A Bedouin was entering the desert with his camel when a tourist asked him why a camel rather than a horse. "Surely the horse…
On a brisk evening at Eden Park on August 7th, Jacques Nienaber watched the Wallabies put over four tries against the All Blacks. He…
The Springboks will tell you that their win in the 2019 Rugby World Cup had nothing to do with luck. They’ll tell you that…
Before rugby union’s governing body gets callouses patting themselves on the back, World Rugby’s council and executive committee need to swiftly get down to…
No, it was not ‘the big one’, but tremors were definitely felt across rugby union’s stadia this last weekend, some more than others. The…
As the warm-ups for the Rugby World Cup get underway, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is, once again, executing the right approach by naming…
Known, for its strength, flavour and appearance, the bitter is a distinctive drop. Many bitters were downed across the 26 counties in the Republic…
One can go back to schoolboy rugby where you can still hear the coaches telling you that all matches matter. For fans, that’s old…
And so it was, September 15, 2018, in the land of the Long White Cloud, The Springboks walked off the pitch victorious over the…
Nine long winters have passed since the Springboks edged the All Blacks at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. The men in green and gold walked off…
Rassie Erasmus, Springbok coach, crossed the Indian Ocean bound for Brisbane knowing he would have to shuffle his pack. What he chooses to deal…
There's a lot of blame to go around the South African Springbok side that ‘played' against the Argentinan Pumas, but certain players are more…
They say wise men learn from their own mistakes, but wiser men learn from other people’s mishaps. Will this 2018 campaign demonstrate that the…
Five Test matches into his tenure as Springbok head coach and the verdict is now in: Allister Coetzee is a failed coach. And this…
How is it possible Springbok coach Allister Coetzee could suit up Morne Steyn on the bench this week? His form was so bad during…
Nienaber is over his head. He told the media he was not sure why the Boks were not game-ready mentally on Saturday afternoon. You don’t have to be an international coach to measure the read of your squad’s intensity level leading up to match day. You just need to have played the game at some intermediate to top level to understand that during the week, at practices and post-practice in the clubhouse, there’s a certainty in the eyes of your squad. Or there’s not. You see it on the practice field and you hear it in the clubhouse. Where were you Jacques? You are the coach – one of your many responsibilities is to prepare your squad mentally – not just select and game-plan – both questionable.
ANALYSIS: Boks need new blood and new ideas, and should take a lesson from Cheika's Argentina
Nice read Harry.
‘There is no other place I know that is so heavy with atmosphere, so strangely and darkly impregnated with that stuff of life that bears the authentic stamp of South-Africa.’ — Herman Charles Bosman in Marico Revisited.
'When you think they're done they rise up': Why Boks can shock the All Blacks
When I coached, and what I was always taught from day one, is that the FH orchestrates the attack. I reckon to do this, he needs to have great vision of the field and his weapons are passing, kicking and running. I’d rather go to war with a FH who has all three skills.
Springboks selections: Are we missing the bigger picture?
My error – appreciate the correction.
How the Springboks can overcome the All Blacks – and not just this year
SA Rugby Franchises are run like collective farms in the old Soviet Union – asking players and management to work as hard as they can for little in return and provide the state as much as possible – AKA the Unions and SARU. And as was the case in the Soviet Union, the system is breaking down. Enter free-markets and you get innovative ideas from business owners who are incentivized to grow their investment. One just needs to look at Saracens (and there are many other examples) and you can see the difference. Ownership worked with its local Council to renovate the local stadium in 2012. The club secured an 8 million Pound 6-year sponsorship deal with Allianz, hence Alliaz Stadium. Saracens generates additional cash from renting the facility out for special events. The club invests in high school rugby, has a robust marketing arm and a broad commercial partnership base. One can either continue to look negatively at the current South African rugby business model and lay it waste for any future growth, or step up and make a business out of it.
Japan must join the Six Nations
Would seem that way, but post-apartheid, the Boks have beaten the ABs only 36% of the time. Various SARU regulations over these years have prevented coaches selecting players who had elected to earn their keep overseas. While this is no longer the case, a much needed cash infusion is needed in SA Rugby to build a next-generation squad that can compete annually and that means beating the ABs more than 36% of the time.
Japan must join the Six Nations
Enjoyed the read Harry. For Rassie to be in a position to build a Bok squad on par with the ABs, SARU will need to be ‘reinvented’. SA rugby talent will continue to go north to earn their keep. Hansen has the luxury of building continuity; not so for this SA coach.
Springbok report card: How does Rassie rank?
…and may this not last nine long winters.
BBBBB in Wellington: Bok Belief Battered But Beautiful
Nice prose Harry; a test for the ages and great you were able to be a part of history to chronologize it for us all in technicolor.
BBBBB in Wellington: Bok Belief Battered But Beautiful
Corne – agree; it’s complicated, but your article and mine start a conversation. SARU needs to be privatized with owners of the Super Rugby Franchises given a seat on its board. With regards to the poor financial condition of many of the Super Rugby Franchises (not all), that’s my point: Financial opportunity is most rewarded when investors with vision can execute. Neither of us will document the exact blueprint for SA Rugby’s future, but we all agree it needs a makeover on a significant scale. To say that this is unattainable is to shut the door to any change. I hope that’s not the case.
South Africa's rugby future: now or never
It’s time for SARU to privatize and negotiate with SANZAR about shopping both the Currie Cup and Super Rugby franchises to local investors, or overseas ones. Let investors with deep pockets negotiate their TV rights and infuse capital into building economical and viable winning sides. For example, the owners of the Stormers also have rights to Western Province. This will help stem the tide of players heading to Europe for foreign currency. It’s not perfect, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the current situation where SARU and the unions are run by corruptible idiots with no sense on how to market a winning product and pay their players. Limiting the number of professional players is simply a band-aid on severed femoral artery.
Why I am considering handing in my notice to the SARU
Harry – if color is in question, the preference has to be Willemse at FH over Jantjies. It would take the act of one brilliant conjurer to re-write Jantjies’ test match stats. This is a player whose been given more second chances than Jacob Zuma could have ever wished for.
Play with the cards you're dealt
My 2 cents worth here is on Willie le Roux. He was way out of position on England’s first try in the 1st test and not much better on defense in the 2nd. He’s really a shell of his old self, in terms of when he first came onto the Bok side. I think Rassie would do well to drop him and Allende and see what Robert du Preez can do at FB and Jan Serfontein at center.
By the numbers: How South Africa won the skirmishes and thus, the war
Well written and thought through. My only 2 cents worth to add to all this is that the decline of the Springbok side can really be traced back to 2009, the last time they won what was then the Tri-Nations. No imminent quota system hung over the team back then; rather it was a strange culture where the players, particularly the ‘veterans’ ruled the roost, vs. the coach. Years later the joke became a reality: In order for an up and coming Bok player to earn his colours, his targeted replacement would first have to be injured, retire or die. Not much has changed.
A Black bridge too far
Here’s what justifies ‘failure’ as a head coach: AC still started with Jantjies in Salta despite the fact Jantjies had, in the most clearest of ways, demonstrated his inability to play the FH position consistently at international level. AC then doubled down and put Steyn on the bench – a failed strategy. He also still went with Strauss despite the absolute evidence he has lost his way. Take this stat: Strauss has played both tests in this Championship series this year – so a full 160 minutes. Over the course of these matches he has carried the ball 8 times and made 6 meters – let me say that again: 6 METERS over 180 minutes. You could put Strauss on a beachfront promenade and only maybe then could he improve his distance. His counterpart on the ABs, Dan Coles, has played 147 minutes (mostly with bruised ribs) against a stronger opponent and carried 19 times, made 80 meters and scored a try. Should I also mention he beat 9 defenders and made 3 offloads while Strauss made zero in those categories? This is clearly a coach with no direction.
Springboks display failed game plan of a failed coach
Get a life man. Cosatu is the least of the Boks’ problems. HM’s record is the current #1 problem. The ABs have won 10 of the last 11 tests against the Boks since 2010. HM has won a single test in 7 outings against the ABs. Beating the All Blacks is, by every measure, is the benchmark of a top performing international team.
My love letter to the Springboks
Each year it’s the same verse; the same commentaries – like working to find the right letters on a diminished scrabble board. The Boks’ board has ‘letters’ such as Steyn, Matfield, Bakkies and Jannie du Plessis. The All Blacks board is playing with letters like Brodie Retallick, Ben Franks and Cruden. Dan Carter? They can afford to even discard that letter. The point is that the ABs have been bringing up tremendous young talent and slotting them into the side over time – they’ve been doing this for years. And the powers that be at SARU? They wait until guys like Matfield and Bakkies retire and then it’s a mad scramble and that’s a little too late.
What went wrong for the Springboks in Salta?
Appreciate the reference CPM because with all due respect, it makes my point. The powers that be now allow the TMO and what we once called ‘touch judges’ to make ‘live referrals’ to the referee. As I wrote, it’s difficult enough mentally to adjudicate a test match. Now the ref has to contend with 3 other officials talking to him without his request and based on a set of guidelines that are significantly wide open to interpretation.
Rugby union officiating: Bring back common sense