Bloues

If there’s one job that I don’t want to do, it’s being the director of a live sports event. Looking at all those monitors choosing the correct angle that must be broadcast to a world wide audience. And being the director at a rugby match is even worse because you have the TMO decisions that you must cope with.

That’s what makes the TMO call at the Rebels Stormers game so much more interesting. According to Sareferees.co.za, the call for the forward pass fell outside the TMO’s jurisdiction because he wasn’t asked about it, but Lindon Bray disagrees with this. He said the TMO could have made a call on the forward pass, but the camera angles that was shown was either zoomed too far out or only shows the back of the players, so he couldn’t make a ruling on this issue.

Strange then, that soon after the penalty try was awarded, a replay was played at an angle that clearly shows the knock on. Why wasn’t this angle used during the TMO decision? To his credit, Bray didn’t accuse anyone of foul play, but just stated that it is unfortunate that this angle wasn’t used during the TMO decision.

So far, all the macth officials present are being held accountable for their calls. That’s why they are there, but, as far as I know, the director cant be held accountable if he doesn’t provide the TMO with the one little piece of footage that might have costed the home side seven points.

Just saying…

Cheers

Bloues

As much as I like reveling in the Stormers’ woes, the fact that they are a South African team and that their captain will probably captain the Boks later this year has me worried. Yes, you can blame some of the calls made by the ref and that TMO call was as close as they get,but yesterday’s match should never have come to that. If I leave my car parked outside with it’s key still inside and it gets stolen, I can go on a rant about how our society is morally going down the drain all I want, the fact is I made my car vulnerable to theft by leaving the keys inside.

By not putting away the rebels when they had to, the Stormers left themselves vulnerable to dubious calls by the officials. The penalty try should have been a consolation try at best, not the match winner it turned out to be. Jean de Villiers said all the right things at the post match interview. The message was clear the the Stormers are not satisfied with how things are at the moment, but what are they goint to do about it? If they go home now and down the Bulls, Cheetahs and whoever comes to Newlands, not only will it ruin SA’s only change of winning the tournament, it will also give the false impression that things are not all that bad in Cape Town.

The way I see it, the Stormers are as good as they are going to get. They have settled as a team, they have found a good combination between youth and experience and, last season at least, have created a winning habit. It was after reaching this point in their respective development that teams like the Bulls, Brumbies and Crusaders usually start winning the tournament, but not the Stormers. Instead, the Stormers seem to be getting worse. I really cant see what the current management team will be able to do to turn the Stormers into a championship winning team in the next two seasons. (That’s when their current contract periods will end)

Andries Bekker and Habana is leaving at the end of the  season and I cant see them being replaced by players nearly as talented.Jean de Villiers wont be soldiering on for much longer. Nobody knows whether Taute and Jantjies will stay on and I have my doubts about Peter Grant staying on as well. That’s not a very bright future to be looking forward to.

By keeping with the current coaching team, the WPRU management are telling us that they are happy with the way things were going for the past three seasons. Let’s look at those three seasons then, shall we?

In 2010, the Stormers reached the final. This was an indication that the future looks bright. I’m not sure ow much credit the Coetzee can get for this because Erasmus’ influence was still fresh in this team.

2011 should be the the real test of Coetzee’s ability. In 2011, with the Bulls’ golden era coming to an end the Stormers came to the fore as the best SA side, but they finished the season with home losses against the Bulls, Reds and Crusaders. Losing three games at home isn’t the qualities you’ll be looking for if you want to be seen as a championship winning team and this was evident when they lost a home semi final as well.

This brings us to 2012. This time the Stormers win 15 out of 16 and topped the overall standings. But in how many of those matches did they spent the entire last quarter defending the lead they build for sixty minutes? How many times did the Stormers score three tries during the first sixty only to not be able to score the fourth and put away the opposition in the last twenty? They lacked the ruthlessness needed to be called a champion team. Their excellent defense helped them top the log and plaster over their shortcomings. The Sharks were their self imploding selves at the start of the season and the Bulls were building a new side, so a Stormers side with all their shortcomings had an easy ride in the local conference as well, but the semi final against the Sharks showed the Stormers up for the pretenders they are.

Now, in 2013, the cracks are showing. Change is needed. The Stormers never was a team capable of winning the tournament and under the current management and with the current players,they never will be.

Cheers

Bloues

For past few seasons, every time a player leaves the country or someone gets injured after playing his 30th game in a row, the words central contracting and All Blacks are being flung around at studio and braaivleis vuur discussions around the country.

Nick Mallet is the latest expert to voice his opinion. (http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/Springboks/Mallett-Pay-Boks-more-20130509)

Although I agree with Mallet that a lighter playing load and a better paycheck might convince the top players to stick around for a while, I don’t agree with him on where those funds should come from. His suggestion that SARU should stop funding the smaller unions will be the death of rugby in this country.

At the moment, you can watch a rugby match anywhere in the country and you can be sure that there would be sufficient medical personnel available, the coaches are trained in a manner that enables them to put the safety of the players first and the match is handled by a referee that is registered at his provincial union, who is Boksmart certified and has the support of a regional referees union that meets regularly to discuss the laws of the game and help train new referees.

At least this is how things are being run at Griquas right now.

When a match is being played in Rietfontein, 300km from Upington close to the Namibiam border, Boksmart dictates that the match must be handled by accredited officials in a safe environment. This means that the referee as well as the coaches must be able to recognize a potential life threatening situation on field and act accordingly. The field of play must also adhere to certain safety standards and the correct medical equipment must be on hand and handled by medically trained staff to prevent neck and spinal injuries.

The clubs in these areas do not have access to the necessary funds to provide this. The referee alone must travel all the way from Upington, a 600km round trip, just to handle the match. Where will this money come from?

At the moment, when I am asked to travel to Kenhardt to ref a rugby match, I just submit a form to the Griquas Rugby Union and my travel allowance is paid into my account a day later, SARU supplied them with the full medical equipment neccesary and the medic is paid by Griquas as well. Game on!

Now, I know if these people are as passionate about rugby as they make us believe, the game would be played no matter what equipment is available or whoever handles the match. But at least now the game can go on in an environment that’s safe and nobody gets killed.

Regarding the Vodacom Cup, I was in Kimberley once when they beat the Bulls in the Vodacom Cup final and believe me, to these folks it did matter. The reason why we don’t see people at these stadiums is because we are spoiled with top notch rugby from all over the world on our tv sets, so why go out and watch Upington play Kimberley police or even Griquas play the Leopards? That’s the situation, and it won’t change.

We are a country with that delivers some of the best players and by far the best referees in the world. We are also a country that needs to deal with a difficult geographical profile. So far we have managed to deal with this situation as is proven by two World Cup victories out of five attempts. We are doing well.

Regarding the players leaving the country, we seem to have that one covered by only selecting overseas based players that really makes a difference a la Francois Louw. We also have an excellent conveyor belt of talent thanks to SARU giving back to rugby at ground level.

We are fine. Unlike New Zealand that has to milk the All Black brand for all that it’s worth just so their union can break even and Australia that has to compete with three other sporting codes.

Cheers

Bloues

Warren Gatland surprised us all by naming Sam Warburton as his skipper for the Lions’ tour of Australia next month. At 24 years old, Warburton, who temporarily stepped down from the Wales captaincy to focus on his game, is the youngest BIL captain since David Watkins on the 1966 tour of New Zealand.

Although many people thought that Gatland would go with his national captain at Wales, the availability of previous Lions captains Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll made the decision to hand the captain’s armband to Warburton still came as somewhat of a surprise. Has Gatland completely lost the plot, will his blind faith in his captain prove his undoing or will the lad step up to the challenge and lead the Lions to their first tour victory since 1997?

About this time last year, I was of the opinion that even a Lions team lead by Tony Blair would be able to win against this Aussie team. But the recent form of the Aussie S15 franchises coupled with the form of individual players (And the return of George Smith) has made this tour look a lot more difficult for the tourists. Getting players from four different countries to work together as a team is a hard thing to do at the best of times, doing it while grouped together behind the posts awaiting an O’Connor conversion is even harder. Will a 24 year old Lions rookie be able to do this?

I think, like Gatland, I am quite confident in the man. I think he will show the same resolve he has shown in nearly leading Wales to the 2011 WC final and that he is in the Martin Johnson mold. Leading the Lions to their first series victory since Johnson’s Lions came to South Africa in 1997 will definitely put his name up there with the likes of Martin Johnson, Billy John Mcbride and John Dawes.

Despite their new found form, this Wallaby side is not nearly as good as the class of 2001, neither would they stand a chance against the All Blacks of 2005 or the Boks of 2009, which gives the Lions their best chance to win a series since 1997. Imagine what a winning start as captain would mean for Sam’s Lions career. He is young enough to still be around for New Zealand in 2017 as well as South Africa in 2021, when he will be younger than BOD and O’Connell is on this tour.

The BIL tour of 2013 has the potential to unearth a new Lions legend or proof to be a failed experiment. Which one will it be?

Cheers

Bloues

PS – A few Lions snippets:

This year’s tour of Australia will be the first one since 1993 where the World Champions will not be involved in any way (Except for the four New Zeland born players in the Lion’s squad). In 97, 01 and 09 the hosts were the reigning World Champions and in 2005 the victorious England team of 2003 form an integral part of Clive Woodward’s failed campaign.

It will also be the second tour of Australia in succession where the Lions are coached by a Kiwi after Graham Henry coached them in 2001.

Mind you, I don’t think it has ever occurred that both sides are coached by Kiwi’s as will be the case with Robby Deans coaching the Wallabies.

Just heard the news that Frans Ludeke’s wife gave birth to triplets. Well, I know Mr. Ludeke doesn’t read the blogs, but seeing that the BBRU doesn’t want to give me his cellphone number I will use this opportunity to congratulate the man.

Three girls, one for every Super Rugby trophy he brings home. 2009, 2010 and 2013.

Cheers

Bloues!!!

When the Bulls played the Kings yesterday I couldn’t help but notice Luke Watson’s presence on the field. The man was everywhere, fielding kicks at full back, playing first receiver, making tackles and just being an all round menace. All is well and tells a tale of a captain leading by example, but the question should be asked. Was he the best man for the different rolls he took on during the match?

He isn’t the best kicker or runner with the ball, so wouldn’t his full back or wings have been better options to field the high balls at the back? He also isn’t such a powerful runner, which doesn’t make him the best option to take on the numerous standoffs he took instead of letting his locks or other loose forwards take the ball.

This reminds me a lot of Schalk Burger while captaining the Stormers. When things got tough, you would always see Schalk taking more and more of the play on himself. While this could be seen as leading by example, it is short sighted because while Schalk is a monster of a man, there are certain things that other players are better at than him.

Luke still needs to learn the difference between leading be example and entrusting those better equipped for the situation with the ball.

Cheers

Bloues

I just heard the news that Craig Joubert will be handling the Stormers vs Sharks game on Saturday. It’s a pity, because I cant see the Stormers winning this one no matter who handles the game. But the loss will just be added to Joubert’s already growing tally of WP/Stormer losses.

The way I see it the Stormers have lost quite a few make or break matches in the past few seasons, notably 2011 when they lost to the Crusaders, Bulls and Reds at Newlands at crucial stages in the competition. Add to that the 2010 final which was handled by Joubert you have quite a few matches that was lost mainly due to the Stormers’ knack for  folding under the pressure attributed to Joubert’s handling of the match.

So I say it here. The Stormers will lose on Saturday because they can’t handle the pressure. Not because Craig Joubert is the referee.

Cheers!!!

Bloues

I cant even describe how irritated I have become with the rugby public’s fixation with running rugby as opposed to the seemingly ‘boring’  rugby played by the South African sides. It has been a topic that has been analyzed senselessly for the past two seasons and these doesn’t seem to be an end to it.

We live in an era of High Definition, 3D, Surround sound, High End video games and near naked ladies dancing next to rugby fields. I can understand that with all these things going on people will constantly want to be entertained. If they are not entertained, they will simply move on to the next platform that gives the entertainment value that they want. We live in an era of instant satisfaction it takes a lot from something we watch on tv to keep us from wandering off.

This is a big problem in Australia because of the huge support other sporting codes enjoy over there. They constantly have to promote rugby to keep people from switching over to league or Aussie rules. So a 9-6 ‘snorefest’ wont help rugby union’s cause. Attempting a dropped goal will kill the game in an instant.

New Zealand has similar problem. Although not nearly as big as in Australia, league also has a huge following over there. I also do get the feeling that the pressure from the public to constantly be entertained by their rugby teams is also a lot bigger over there than back here.

Although there no doubting the entertainment value of running rugby, I think it gets emphasized too much. Rugby brings something unique to the party that no other sport does. It’s a game where thirty players with different skillsets, body builds and mindsets can take the field simultaneously and all play the same game. Different teams can use different tactics and no tactic is better than the other. The only difference lies in the accuracy of execution.

Do we really want the whole world to just play a game of pass and run. The faster the better? Do we really want rugby to be a game exclusive to 100m sprinters and not the all inclusive game that it still is?

There are codes that stopped embracing this philosophy years ago. If running is all you want to watch and you think scrumming and kicking is boring, then switch to league.

But, as long as a team that doesn’t care much for flair that has a disciplined kicker willing to put in the long hours practicing his kicking and studying the game in order to be tactically superior can play against a team with excellent runners and there’s no clear cut winners, then rugby is in a healthy state.

Wow! A series win in Australia, the second one for the current group of players, is some achievement. Well done to the Proteas on a fine display of cricket.

The SA team’s mission to hold on to that number one ranking made me think of that excellent Nintendo game of yesteryear named Super Mario Bros. Especially SMB 2, which I played tirelessly as a pre teen. Sometime you reach a new level after taking a few punches and you start an extremely difficult level as “little Mario”. You must avoid absolutely every obstacle you cant jump on because one mistake and you must start over again. But eat that magic mushroom and you are allowed at least one mistimed jump on a crab and you can even punch through brick walls. Get a fire flower and you are war machine in 2D!

The Proteas worked very hard to get to this point of them being ranked number one in the world, but it would only have taken a series loss in Australia for them to surrender that title again. Pretty harsh if you take into account just how difficult it is to take on the Aussies in their own backyard.

But the series win is a symbolic power mushroom that will give us some space as well as make us a more powerful unit. I suspect that a series win in our next encounter will establish this team as a unit that will take some beating.

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Perhaps the most telling attribute of the current squad is the ruthlessness displayed by them when previous Protea teams went the conservative route. Smith declaring at a very risky time during the first test in England to finish them off in the last over as well as the batting we’ve seen at the start of the second innings in Perth was something not often displayed by Protea sides in the past.

This team has a certain killer instinct that puts fear and doubt in the minds of their opponents that is absolutely thrilling to watch. The sooner this attribute boils over to the other formats of the game, the better.

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I must admit. I never liked Ricky Ponting at all. For he was like cricket’s Ritchy McCaw. But, just like I saluted McCaw on his WC victory, I felt a heart warming respect for Ponting as I watched him take the field this morning. I even felt sorry for him for not getting a result worthy of the occasion, but I then remembered he is playing against us.

Ricky is a true gentleman of the game and, although things didn’t go according to plan in his farewell test, he came out on top more often than not. He is right up there with the greatest of the greats and he will be truly missed.

A true legend.

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That handshake between Ponting and Smith was worth a thousand words. Two great servants of their respective countries acknowledging one another. One’s time is up and another has the perfect opportunity to lead his country to heights never reached before.

I just hope that Greame is up to the task.

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As an avid rugby supporter I seldom get as excited about a game of cricket the way I go around about a rugby game, but there’s something about a well executed test that has an air of perfection around it.

You cant do anything but love it!

Cheers

Bloues

Sorry for my absence. Work has been tough and getting Telkom to reconnect my ADSL is proving even more problematic than I thought, but I did follow the posts on the site and even commented on a few when I found the time to do so. Unfortunately, reading the most of the posts as well as a few columns on other sites left me feeling even more irritated than watching the Boks play ever did.

What has been bothering me throughout reading anything that has something to do with the Boks were everything starting with the word “If”.

“If we played the All Blacks today, we would surely have lost this one.”

“If Ireland played against New Zealand today, they would have lost 50-3 instead of leading at half time.”

“If Mallet was the coach the Boks would have played a more attacking game.”

“If it was Lambie playing at fullback, he would have attacked instead of kicking the ball.”

If, if, if.

We as South African supporters seemed to never be satisfied with whatever is happening at present and always either want the situation to change or we linger back to the times that we also weren’t too satisfied with at the time.

We want the Boks to play a brand of rugby that they never were able to do successfully for more than a season or so. This is not the first time the Boks were in Europe scraping past the Scots and the Irish while NZ were putting 50 past them with a rotated squad each week. This is far from the worst that the Boks have been on an end of year tour, but still we think it’s the end of the world.

Nick Mallet has been hailed as a rugby genius for stating the obvious in SS’ studios each Saturday, but his own failings as a Bok coach is never mentioned. The talk is all about the 16 he won in a row while playing running rugby but the attempt at number seventeen that he lost against an average English side does not get mentioned. Nor does his semi final loss against the Wallabies ever receive any attention by those wanting him to take over as Bok coach.

The rugby that the Boks played in those days were extra ordinary, but they lost the games that would have made that team immortal. Granted, the Boks did play well to keep the All Blacks from scoring in their 3-13 away victory and showed great resolve to come back from behind at Kingspark against the same foes, but when the record and the oppertunity to defend the Webb Ellis trophy was held right under their noses, they choked.

It is also interesting to note that so many supporters wants Meyer to emulate the Sharks. A team that has reached, and lost, two finals this season. Or the All Blacks, a team that’s in a very different stage of their growing as a team than the Boks are.

The core of the current All Black side has nothing left to prove. They got the monkey of choking at the World Cup off their backs as well as several Tri Nations trophies and Grand Slams under their belts. They are a team that can afford to play with more freedom and enterprise with the knowledge that they have the experience and discipline to fall back on should things not go according to plan.

They were able to defend their way to the WC title as well as grind it out against their southern rivals in the RC, pouncing at the correct moment to seal their victories, but they were able to employ mesmerizing attacking feats when the opposition allowed it and the pressure was off.

Interesting, though, that they weren’t able to clinch the one achievement they still had yet to achieve when they played against the Wallabies for win number 18. Choking again, perhaps?

Another joke I’ve heard was people saying that they would have been willing to see the Boks loose if it meant they were trying to perfect a more attacking gameplan. We did that in 2001 and in 2008, and everybody was screaming at the top of their lungs for the Boks to turn things back to the way they were.

After sixty minutes against Ireland and after fifty minutes against the Scots, it was apparent that the result was beyond any doubt. It would have been nice to see them employing a more enterprising approach, but the Boks kept both sides from scoring (The Scots will never be able to pull off that lineout move ever again).

The Boks are working on being effective and being able to judge the situation on it’s merits. This is a process that takes time. As a Bulls supporter I’m very concerned about what has been happening in the corridors of Newlands this season.

Although I have criticized the Stormers for lacking the killer instinct needed to bag the important trophies, they have laid a foundation from which they were able to back themselves to employ the enterprising play needed to clinch their first Currie Cup in eleven years. They were able to give the ball some much needed air knowing through experience that their forwards and their defence were solid enough to keep the game from slipping out of their grasp should they not be able to run it they way they planned. They now have that trophy and could well be on their way to secure the Super 15 next season based on the progress they have made in the Currie Cup.

What’s happening at the Boks is no different, but it is in a far more demanding environment than Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. The closest thing to the Currie Cup Meyer has is the EOYT, but unlike WP, Meyer didn’t have the foundation to work from that Coetzee had. Although the Boks’ defence weren’t bad, it was far from effective and the forwards were also found wanting. These aspects, I feel, have improved and are in for a stern test against a wounded England side next week.

The English aren’t a very effective attacking unit, but their forwards will give the Boks some problems, so a good performance in this department might enable Meyer to check these boxes after the EOYT. Next year, we face tier two countries and Scotland sans their Lions players. The Boks will do well to build on the showings of this EOYT and not concede any tries and dominate the exchanges upfront.

This will give the backs the freedom to attack and give the spectators something to watch.

Unlike Henry, Meyer does not have eight years to win a World Cup. He only has four. In this time he must make the Boks an unbeatable unit first and an entertaining unit second. When we face the French in the 2015 WC final, we’ll have to dump our entertaining brand for a conservative approach in order to lift our third Webb Ellis trophy.

Meyer is slowly working towards that goal, but unlike his predecessors, he will do it by winning a few tests and trophies along the way.