Lambie is moving to flyhalf against the All Blacks. It is a call, nay, a scream from the public that has finally taken fruit in the Bok’s management’s minds. South Africa has needed this from a team and supporter perspective. As much as I rejoice at this decision I am still left feeling uneasy. Let me explain.

Lambie has and always will be (I hope) a real star in the making. Do any of you still remember Gaffie du Toit? Now back then he was an exceptional talent and in my opinion one of the best thinking flyhalves I have ever seen. Enter Nick “I-know-it-all” Mallet. What did Old Nick do to Gaffie? He ruined a potential Bok great! He basically destroyed a bright prospect’s future. And he did it in a nasty way. Gaffie wasn’t allowed to grow and mature as a flyhalf. He was chucked in the deep end and told to swim. When we lost he was told that it was his fault that the entire team drowned. I know this doesn’t say much for his psychological strength but it destroyed him and he was never the same player again. He never reached those heights he looked to smash through.

Enter Pat Lambie. The kid has shown tremendous maturity and an ability to absorb pressure and in this way, more than anything, is the difference between him and Gaffie. But then again he is only 20 and being asked to float a sinking ship once again and against the world’s toughest opponents. Isn’t that just a little unfair? I say yes, for a few reasons.

Lambie is expected to carry a team with mediocre individuals, some who don’t even deserve to be there. If our more senior guys were playing I would have played Lambie because you would have had people like Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie and Fourie du Preez to help the player and provide the much needed experience to help him through the game. Lambie has underperforming players that he is now expected to carry through this game after having only a few games test experience. He will be playing against the best team in the world and he is expected, at 20, to be our saviour.

All eyes have now turned to Lambie and what will happen if he doesn’t perform? What will be said? Will fingers be pointed in his direction and receive most of the blame? I bloody hope not!!! There will be 14 other players on that field all who are supposed to bring their “A-game” to the show. However due to nonsensical player choices no matter how well the guys who do deserve their places play, will never measure up because of the few who are out of their depth at this level. Guys like Lambie, de Jongh, Mvovo, Chilliboy, Johnson and Mostert will struggle to make their presence felt because they will be carrying extra unneeded responsibility.

Let us hope that their reputations come out the other side unscathed and even stronger after Saturday’s game. Let us hope they do not get pulled down by the undeserving few. I do not see us winning, in fact I predict a massacre and in a game like that it will be difficult for the talented to shine.

Cheers,

Mark

Last night I sat in front of my PC to organise things for my brother’s bachelor’s party and my own wedding. When I was done with that I naturally gravitated towards some rugby news over the internet. I read articles and followed by user comments and the one theme that kept on appearing was the question of versatility. In South Africa it is seen as a boon for players. In Aussie land and All Black land it almost seems to be a positive.

Let us take Australia as a prime example. They have some very gifted backline players at the moment and a spot is always found for them in the team somewhere because of their exceptional skill, not because of their preferred position. James O’Connor jumps to mind here. He can play virtually anywhere and no matter where he plays adds value, be it flyhalf, fullback, wing or centre. Kurtley Beale is another prime example. In New Zealand they do tend to be a bit more structured but still have players with the ability to play anywhere on the park. Mils Muliana comes to mind. These players are indispensible to any team in any position.

Here in SA there is a massive debate about player positions. First up was Ruan Pienaar having to play anywhere he was chosen and then when he wouldn’t perform a lack of time in said position was blamed. Francois Steyn is another example. He is able to play anywhere but he would rather not. Now we have Pat Lambie in the unfortunate position. Another player hamstrung by this was Brent Russell.

I have decided to discuss why our SA players always seem to be worse off being multitalented then our other Southern Hemisphere brethren. To me the answer is quite simple. From a young age, in South Africa, structure is introduced into the way we play rugby. Freedom of choice is a no-no. You play the game plan or you get dropped. You are moulded into what the coach wants, not what you can produce as a player. Your creative flair gets stunted and expressing your skills is frowned upon and you get seen as a show pony. In Australia, a player seems to have a bigger freedom of expression on the playing field. The basics are still taught and expected but the players get rewarded for high risk rugby. Confidence is instilled in their abilities. The same goes for players in New Zealand. Players are given freedom to develop their own brand of rugby.

In SA our wings have become mere puppets and defenders and require a special something to create opportunities for themselves. Centres are expected to be defensive experts and “bash-em-up-kinda” players. A fullback is someone who is never out of position, has a big boot and a great one-on-one defender but his attacking potential from the back is a sort of “last-requirement-on-your-CV” thing. Our flyhalves have become Naas Bothas’ of the day, monotone in their approach to the game. Our forwards are only meant to dominate physically and crash ball the hell out of whom ever they see in front of them. Skill with the ball in hand and eyeing of the gaps and running lines are rare in SA players.

On keo.co.za I saw an article about how much more Jean has to offer in terms of his skill but because of game plan and monotonous flyhalves he has not had the opportunity to do so. It states that is we had a flyhalf who takes the ball flatter he will create more space for his outside players. Fair enough but without vision that flyhalf will mean nothing for we do not teach creativity from a young age. I agree with the article but blame SA rugby culture for that. Not just Springbok management. PDivvy, to his credit (which will never be uttered by me again), did try and change our approach with more flash and flair. But with the team he inherited it was impossible. Jake understood this and that’s why he created the brand of rugby that won us a world cup. PDivvy forgot about SA rugby culture and ignored the basics of rugby as well.

I feel that for South African players to reach their true potential that the only thing that we should be coaching at school boy level is the basics and nothing but the basics. I had this coach in my matric year (I was playing 2^nd team inside centre) who only ever taught us the basics. Fitness, catch and pass drills and running support sessions were a part of our everyday training. Moves and things and how we played the game was left up to us as players to figure out. In our district we were the smallest school in physical size of players but we managed to make it to the semi-finals our district games. We never lost a round robin match and we were a tight bunch of individuals, not remarkable in anyway, playing as a team. We beat our 1^st team regularly in practice matches for we were allowed to explore and risk and create, but we never lost the basics of rugby.

For SA players to become more adventurous and creative we need an environment that induces those characteristics. That will require a paradigm shift in terms of how we view rugby in this country. But one thing must never be forgotten and no team can win without it… and that is basics.

Cheers,

Mark

Sometimes I think that the sport writer’s in South Africa are fickle beings. It’s like watching a tennis match… first they are on one side of the court and then on the other! Let’s take today’s headline of Lambie now having to grab his chance for a Bok place in the back three. Just before the Aussies game it was about how Aplon must grab his chance to make the Bok squad. See a pattern emerging? I do…

Aplon was given a chance to play fullback against the Aussies. The talk from SA writers was that now it is Aplon’s chance to show his mettle. Out of all the Boks that played that day, he was the only one to show any form… possibly our best player on the day. Now according to me he did his chances of a place in the Bok squad no harm and in fact staked a very strong claim. He played his heart out and proved once again that his size is a moot point.

However Aplon is now injured and Lambie to, his detriment, will be playing in the last vestige. Now the reporters are on about this being his turn to lay a claim to the Bok squad. This I find redundant because I think he is a shoe in already. I just feel that playing him at fullback against the All Blacks is a waste. Because Morné Steyn will be playing flyhalf Lambie won’t get to do much. His positional play will be invaluable and his ability to take the high ball. But other than that he will be played out the game, not by NZ, but by our own infamous backline. So him playing fullback will not help him but hurt him.

Aplon offers counter-attacking opportunities from the back because of his pace, quick feet and vision. Lambie offers more of a conservative approach. I however feel that Lambie’s vision will help the Boks more at flyhalf. He has the ability to dominate a game even if it is behind a retreating pack. He might even be better than Carter soon… in my humble opinion.

Aplon and Lambie are two totally different players in what they offer. However, how we coach these talents will be most important. Aplon under Coetzee has an astute coach who understands his players very well and builds a game plan built around their collective strengths. Lambie under Plumtree has a coach who believes in players having freedom to grow into their own game and gives them the freedom to play those games. However under Pdivvy we have neither.

I believe both Aplon and Lambie should be indispensable to the Bok squad for they are both game-breakers, they just go about it differently. I believe Aplon belongs in the back three somewhere, even if it’s just in the overall squad. I believe Lambie’s future is flyhalf and should thus be nurtured there. And above all else I pray that thanks to Pdivvy’s idiocy, that the game against the All Blacks doesn’t damage Lambie’s already excellent credentials out of World Cup contention.

Cheers,

Mark

This weekend I was in the (un)fortunate position of not watching the South Africa vs. Australia game (to call them Boks would be sacrilege). I was hunting a runaway dog and had the (mis)fortune of listening to the game on RSG (Afrikaans radio station that very few people know about). Well let me tell you, it was as bad listening to the game as I’m sure watching it was. There was lack-lustre (and sometimes it seemed bored) commentary going on. I can’t blame them… we sucked!!!

I had to hear how woeful Morne Steyn and Wynand Olivier were (what was to be expected?) and how manfully certain players toiled. Well stupid ol’ me decided to tape the game on PVR (lekker lanie nê!). I wanted to see if what I heard was in anyway a true reflection on the game… and boy oh boy was I sad to see that it wasn’t… it was worse on TV than on radio!!!

It’s difficult to nit-pick when a team is a sum of its parts but some players were so glaringly crap that you actually struggled not to nit-pick! I have never believed in Morne Steyn ever… except his kicking, but as a player in the overall sense of the word he just plain sucks! There is a big North-South (in other words Bulls vs. Rest of RSA) debate about this so I will leave it at that. However, when it comes to old Wynand “blonde-locks” Olivier I think even some Bulls supporters will tell you he is crap. Doppies would have been a much better bet… hell even John Smit could do better at inside centre than this clown!

I also saw the coach send pity John’s way but how can you say he needed more leaders when, after all, he is the only leader. I am a John Smit fan but even I must admit it is time for him to move on. Chilliboy gave much more impetus when he came on.

Our back row as a unit was none existent and as individuals only Russouw stood out. Stegmann doesn’t even deserve a look in the direction of the Springbok jersey and would serve his country better by rather plying his trade overseas… so he can stop offending Bok supporters’ eyeballs! Ashley… verdict is still out but I believe he has potential… I would have rather played Russouw at 8 and Ashley 7, it would have provided a better balance… though that stability would always be off-set by a more than useless Stegmann.

In the backline I have already said what needs to be said about the day’s worst performers but alas it doesn’t end there. Juan de Jongh, as manfully as he tried, should start learning how to step in a different direction… his inside step is becoming stagnant! Mvovo only started playing better when Lambie and Jacobs came on… probably because those guys know how to spread something that doesn’t involve a butter knife! But make no mistake, I am no fan of Jacobs either, he is a freeloader and nothing more! Can anyone tell me if Basson was in the game? Saw him on the team sheets but not in the game! Out of all the backline players only Gio Aplon showed some form of willpower and tenacity… probably because he has had to face resistance all his life but he showed he is taller than the rest on this fateful day. Even Pienaar was disappointing but that boiled down to a useless pack and a poofy first flyhalf. He seemed a lot better when Lambie was on. Probably because he had a flyhalf helping with the decision making.

Talking of Lambie it is easy to see that the future of Bok flyhalf lies with him. The kid has it all, BMT, kicking, passing, tackling and a brain!

Now I have been reading a few articles and seen what some had to say and they still say that we should not fear for the World Cup. I wish I could agree, I really do but playing with old fogies way past their prime and never bringing through the younger guys (as Pdivvy should have at the end-of-year tours) will come back and bite us in the ass… a huge chunk! The size of Texas (because everything is bigger in Texas)!

No I am afraid that all the good work of Rassie will be undone by Pdivvy and bad team choices and I expect at best a semi-final spot and at worst a quarter-final exit.

Cheers,

Mark