This test will be remembered as the Dean Greyling test as he was like a Rhino in a china shop; a demolisher on a rampage that cost us the match in my opinion (an opinion that Heynecke Meyer seems to share). It must be the single worst effort by a South African rugby player in a test match ever.
In the end it was another test that got away due to ill-discipline, poor kicking (tactical and place kicking) and poor passing. We threw away 17 points with kicks (5 penalties and a conversion) as well as a very plausible try scoring opportunity in the first 5 minutes of the game. That is another 7 points bringing the amount of points that we pissed away to 21. Jean de Villiers said it after the match; “You can’t expect to win against the All Blacks if you mess up so many point scoring opportunities”.
The Springboks must be wondering this morning just how did this one got away.
Who to blame for this loss? An out of control Dean Greyling; an off target Morné Steyn or a game-plan of mindless kicking? Probably, a combination of all of the above but I reckon the real culprit is an inability to play heads-up rugby or as I want to put it lack of ball sense (due to lack of adequate terminology I use the term ball sense but read on to see what I mean with that and with the term heads-up rugby).
Dean Greyling came on and within minutes he gave away a penalty that was converted into points. If this was the first time he did something like that it would probably be digestible but this seems to be a pattern with him as it happened in at least one (if not all) of his previous test matches. How many more times before he learns? He then proceeded and got himself sin binned for 10 minutes for a cheap shot on McCaw before giving away another two penalties the last one right at the death which cost SA a bonus point. Sorry but this sort of BS is just not acceptable.
I don’t want to spend the whole piece on Dean Greyling because he is just not worth it and I hope to never see him in a Springbok team again. Greyling’s penalties (poor technique at the rucks) and fumble of the ball in a try scoring situation after a lineout is however indicative of a larger problem within South African rugby.
I don’t want to generalise but lack of ball sense seems to our biggest obstacle. It is this lack of a true feeling for time and space that prevents us from playing heads-up rugby and to close matches out. Our players are like little robots following instructions and have no real feeling for time and space.
I am talking about an inherent and refined ability to adjust your body and movements in a split second to maximize ball control and/or impact. Tony Woodcock creating turnover ball from Bekker is an example of an well developed sense of time and space at the tackle ball. This has been coached out of our players. Our forwards enter the rucks like rampaging bulls with little understanding of timing, technique, angles and foot placement. Players like Keegan Daniel (attacking space) and Heinrich Brussouw (natural body adjustment at the ruck) that has developed such abilities don’t get selected because they are not robotic enough.
I use the term ball sense here to communicate that sense for time and space that all superstars or great players demonstrate in every facet of their play. A feeling for time and space comes into play in rugby at rucks, tackles, mauls and in the running of support lines. A feeling for where the space are when you run with the ball or when you run in support with an automatic response to exploit those spaces by adjusting your running lines as the situation changes. It includes also an understanding of what your team mates are likely to do and adjusting your running lines to either create space for him or to be in position to support.
The try by Isreal Dagg is a classic example of what I am writing about namely how the off-the-ball running lines of the tight forwards can create space for the speedsters on the outside. When Dagg handled the ball the first time –in that move that led to his try- at least three forwards (two of which were tight forwards) ran supporting lines towards his inside –knowing that he will go to the outside- forcing the opposition to hesitate. This created more space for him on the outside because Dagg sensing what was happening intuitively goose stepped using the running lines of his tight forwards to his advantage. He swerved to the outside and slipped the ball to Whitelock who ran splendidly before offloading with a backhand pass (sensing the support) to Kieran Read while tumbling head first into the ground. Kieran Read then ran a line that put him between two defenders and Dagg coming through on the outside (sensing space and reading the speed of the incoming defenders)before shifting the ball to the flying fullback for a brilliant try.
This try by Dagg was produced by tight forwards with an inherent sense of time and space that our players just don’t have and which they will not develop through osmoses. There are specific drills that need to be done to develop this ability but more importantly the way we South Africans think about the game and play the game need to evolve.
Mindless kicking -infuriating to watch- and a mind-set that set piece (scrum and line-out) and physical bullying at the rucks are what the game is all about is turning our players into one-dimensional brutes with no muscle memory or skills to exploit time and space at close quarters or out wide in the backline.
Our players can’t read moments or matches namely how the match enfolds and are as a consequence unable to adjust on the field. Our coaches can’t do it either hence the tendency to select one-dimentional players and for opposition teams to figure us out and to take control in the second half.
Our players are like rampaging bulls in a china shop and even when they man up and play with heart and determination like in the last two games they lack the ability to intuitively adjust to the situation and close matches out.
This will remain the situation in SA rugby with the fate of losing matches that we should have won until we select coaches and players that can turn it around.
Far from me to comment on Bok matters because you obviously know more than me but from a worrying perception on my behalf as an AB fan is that under S.Hansens helm we are missing that back play X factor, the AB’s in the back play don’t seem to gel compared with last year.
I realize it’s early days but as an avid AB fan I think we are missing Kaino, SBW but most importantly Wayne Smith’s influence in the structural back play especially combinations, handling skill and direction let alone lateral movement.
What’s worrying me is that the AB’s seem to be regressing whereas the Boks seem to be progressing with each match so far this early start of the season.
A wins a win no matter how ugly it is but it was far from convincing and if Steyn had his kicking boots on last night we’d be singing a different tune. And once again the score line flattered the AB’s.
As I see it so far the Boks are getting better whereas the AB’s are either going backwards or getting submerged in stale water.
Frustrating for both fans in my opinion whether as an AB or Bok fan.
When I mentioned Kaino concerning back play, I realise he’s a number 8 but he sets up the likes of Weepu/Smith.
Kaino’s influence on breakdowns/defence is sorely missed.
Kaino/Read interchangable as was McCaw, Sam Cane as well as Beaudan Barrett (spelling?) need game time let alone merging within the AB culture as has Aaron Smith
Have to agree with Andrew. I honestly think the Boks are getting better and moving forward (I said it on my blog as well). I just hope it can happen a little faster. As far as the AB’s go, if I was a fan I would be worried too. The spark isn’t there!
The boks were better this week but I am concerned about our inability to close matches out. We have history of being tactical naive and losing matches we should have won since 1956. Jake Whites first test in NZ is another example as was the case in PdV time. We started to get better at it in 2009 playing a game plan which relayed heavily on Matfield and Fourie du Preez.
In terms of the spark been absent in the AB. They still score some fantastic tries of set piece but are getting shown up at the tackle ball or breakdowns. Their phase play is not, in my opinion, what it was over the last two years. Richie is not as fast as he used to be and they are got different locks which are not as aggressive as old Brad Thorne at the rucks.
Nonu in the midfield is also not what he was last year and Carter is constantly playing with injury and in essence still on recovery from a very serious injury sustained last year.
“I don’t want to generalise but lack of ball sense seems to our biggest obstacle. It is this lack of a true feeling for time and space that prevents us from playing heads-up rugby and to close matches out. Our players are like little robots following instructions and have no real feeling for time and space.
I am talking about an inherent and refined ability to adjust your body and movements in a split second to maximize ball control and/or impact.”
Interesting. As you know from being in NZ McLook, whenever the ABs loose, someone will point the finger at the Polynesians, and imply they are “dumb”. Is crap, but interestingly, you as a relative outsider see something we take for granted – Polynesian flair, ball skills, and an innate sense of time and space (which are the chief currency on the rugby field!).
How do you get that? I know how I experienced the “NZ rugby system”. At age 14 I arrived in Auckland to begin secondary school in Auckland. Was a huge culture shock to me, and a sign of my naivety, that I didn’t realise there were people in NZ who didn’t speak English as a first language – Pacific Islanders. But man, I used to love playing touch rugby with these guys at interval, and lunchtime, and at PE. We would turn it into tackle at winter time, when we had to play on the concrete tennis courts, just for the sheer joy of the physicality. And I go to schools now, and I see the same thing – passing, handling, running into space, gaining the basic ‘gestalt’ of rugby.
Don’t know if that goes on in South Africa. One thing I will say, though, is that we did 90% of that ourselves,without any formal coaching, just for the sheer joy of it, not realising that we were coaching ourselves. If the aim of the game, as described on that plaque at Rugby School, was, “to pick up the ball and run with it (thus originating the distinctive feature of the rugby game)”, then we were true but unwitting disciples of William Webb Ellis. Which I’m sure, deep down saffer kids are too. Hell, that’s what you play the game for – the joy of having the ball in your hands, and balancing the emotional mix of exhilaration and terror as 29 other maniacs chase you!
One of those guys who turned up in our games when were 16 and 17 year old veterans was a cocky young 13 year old, who, whenever he got the ball, was too greedy to pass. So if we ever caught him, we would smash him over real good as punishment for his sins. Two things eventuated – we hardly ever caught him, because he was too good, and he became an All Black! And even then, they put him on the wing because he was still to greedy to pass!
I learned it playing backyard rugby as a kid. I do however believe you need some baseline genetic ability for it to develop.
We had a seven’s tournament here in PN in which the team I coach played. Last week during training I created different scenario’s (for instance a player receiving the ball on the wing with a defender coming in from the inside) with different players and ask team mates first to tell me how they think the player will deal with he situation and then told them what I think the player will do before asking the indivual what he would do. I was spot on with my predictions in virtually every scenario.
I then had the players show me how they would run up in support for the different scenarios involving different players. We then practiced the scenarios giving feedback to the players and making adjustments as we went along.
This payed off handsomely on the weekend to the extent that one of he parents asked “why didn’t they do it during the season” when the team started flinging the ball around.
Small sided games (up to two to four per side in small playing field) is I think crucial to develop the skills. These games should also involve some competive rucking for the ball. Also getting martial arts specialist (judo, wrestling, grappling) to work with the players and doing ruck-up drills first in small groups and then increasingly more demanding situation are ways to develop feeling for time and space in close combat situations.
SA coaches wants to control player behaviour to much I believe; there is no space for indivual decision making and over time players do it less and less until loose that natural flair.
“How do you get that? I know how I experienced the “NZ rugby system”. At age 14 I arrived in Auckland to begin secondary school in Auckland. Was a huge culture shock to me, and a sign of my naivety, that I didn’t realise there were people in NZ who didn’t speak English as a first language – Pacific Islanders. But man, I used to love playing touch rugby with these guys at interval, and lunchtime, and at PE. We would turn it into tackle at winter time, when we had to play on the concrete tennis courts, just for the sheer joy of the physicality. And I go to schools now, and I see the same thing – passing, handling, running into space, gaining the basic ‘gestalt’ of rugby”
.Same could be said for Robbie Robinson whom played for the Stags then went and played for the Chiefs under Wayne Smith.Breath of fresh air in my opinion. (NZ Maori player from recollection)?
With regards to back up players as Ozzie’s say “cattle” regardless of codes whether it be league or union we have the muster but our hookers are short and plenty.
I’m not fooling myself, the Boks could have won that but as I mentioned earlier concerning the AB v Pumas match the AB’s held their nerve…..different kettle of fish when we start travelling, it’s going to be brutal but hopefully DC will be amongst the mix for directional play.
I for one hate the RWC format and as HM said he’s there to win “every game” ie former TN, Lions tours etc but what gives me the shits is how the Boks are starting to progress whereas we (AB Fan) are starting to play back foot cover up play and yes I realize that A.Smith’s try was exceptional but that’s all it was and damn lucky.
Next year’s going to show HM’s compared with Hansen’s worth as a coach………EARLY DAYS yet but nothings set in stone
Wayne Smit was the magic maker of he Henry/Hansen/Smit era. Chiefs results this year had much to do with Smit (not taking anything away from Rennie who provided he basic structure) I believe.
What we see at he moment with the AB is due to the absence of Smit. He specialise in teaching/coaching players how to create space and to develop timing.
100% agreed…..Wayne Smith was the conducter amongst the orchestra, Cruden wasn’t a fluke, SBW wasn’t heresay and last but not least Sam Cane’s going to be the next young inform number 7 hence R.McCaw playing 8 when Read was injured.
JDV has absolutely no direction whereas NZ have 4 captains on the field at any given time.
Heyneke Meyer is to blame.
For:
- continuing to select Morne Steyn and Kirchner
- for not substituting Morne with Goosen or Lambie when Morne was playing poorly
- for substituting Beast with Greyling when Beast was playing well
- for substituting Strauss with Liebenberg when Strauss was playing well
- for substituting Kruger with Bekker when Kruger was playing well
- for not trusting talented youngsters like Lambie, Jantjies and Goosen to do the job
Hopefully Meyer will now realise that the value of a specialist fetcher is not only in the balls they steal but also in not giving opposition fetchers a free ride.
If there’s any justice the Blue Bulls should get at least two players back for their next game but HM is already shifting blame from Morne and will probably start him against the Wallabies with Ruan taking the goal kicking duties.
I do agree Bay.I don’t think though that Ruan will take over the kicks, I think they will go with the mindset that Morne is in South Africa, and he should kick them all over…with that said, he scores 15 points and suddenly all is well again. I don’t buy into that BS.
Spot on. Bullying tactics get cards these days. Greyling Etsebeth and Province are a case in point. Brainless aggression is a losing factor.
“We threw away…a very plausible try scoring opportunity in the first 5 minutes of the game”.
That’s right – I forgot that. Probably because I tend not to take joy in the sins and failures of others. Not sure if it was the passer, or that Habana had made the elementary error of running ahead of the passer, and so had to reach back behind his shoulder to catch the ball. Either way, teams who commit such sins against the game of rugby don’t deserve to win!
the problem starts at u/9 level. The ball is given to the biggest boy in the team to run over the smallest laaitie in the opposition team. This trend continues into highschool. Given my age away, I was privelaged to play against Johan Muller, Kobus Caldo, Gavin Hume, Henk Eksteen and Pedrie Wannenburg. They played for Oakdale. They were much bigger than our team at under 19 level, but ball skills from them was few. They gave the ball to these okes and they ran straight at us, not trying to side step, or run into space. Yes they still beat us, but the score could have been much higher than it was if they used their space a bit better instead of trying to run over us the whole time.
This is unfortunatly a South Frican disease.
It is not just that, its the inability to play the situation. For instance when Goosen just came on he took the ball up, drawn two defenders and wanted to offload but there was no support a mile away! If the centres ran a close line next to him we wouldve scored because Goosen generated a overlap. Simple as that.
It even happened earlier when JDV did try to pick the ball up before the NZ tryline rather than to kick it over the tryline and just fall on it. The same goes for Frans Steyn who was put into a gap by Goosen again, but rather than going inside he went outside and we butchered another try.
This cost us at least 14+ points.
I do think it is not the players fault, they are so drilled into kicking that they actually are forgetting how to attack with the ball in hand!