A few weeks later i know :)
The last game between the Blacks and Ausies was as close a comparison to
life in general as any! On the one had we have Australia who did all but
win the game. They deserved more than they got. Same as in the first
test against the Boks. The Ausies did all they had to do but the old
adage of survival of the fittest held so true in this game. The Blacks
ground out a win against the odds. They showed old signs of panic when
they were a little behind but the old heads stuck to their game. The
main difference was when Jerome "the super hero" Kaino came on to the
field. With a name like that he was born to be a character in Mortal
Kombat...Kaino wins, flawless victory. But his introduction showed what
a truly balanced loose trio the Blacks have in Richie Kieran and Jerome.
Another visible difference was when Slade came on for Cruden. I like
young Cruden and i dont think he had a bad game, other than 2 or 3
random kick offs his game was pretty decent. he tackled anything that
came at him wasnt scared to take on the line, what more do you want from
a guy? But Colin Slade just seems to have that confidence, he came on
and was shouting the odds, true sign of a confident man.
Ausies are a team to watch. They did what they wanted. They played how
they should have played. They kept the ball and Bam Bam stole ball that
wasnt theirs! Quade danced a little but i think he held off a little.
Gitts showed his class again and the ever solid and reliable Ashley
Cooper did his thing. Aus have a young and slightly built side, but they
play with technique, skill, belief, confidence and precision. That shows
that our (Boks) preoccupation with size is ill informed. Rocky Elsom
what a sour p**s?!! my word! Have you seen a more personality-less
international captain in any sport?
A quick summary of the tri-nations...it was a pretty interesting
competition this year. To be honest there were only 2 out of the 3 teams
that showed any signs of wanting to play. with respect the Boks were
pap. I blame coaching for the selections. For sticking with the same
tired players when clearly they lacked heart. I have been saying this
for a loooooong time, Bryan, is overrated. He is fast, he works hard but
if you dont give him the interception he is largely ineffective,
actually he is a liability, because he inisists on coming off his wing
to go for the intercept, which gives the attacking team endless over lap
opportunities. John Smit, another one, no where near the best hooker in
the country, and judging by the results of the last tri nations, maybe
not the best captain we have at the Boks disposal. Schalk Burger another
guy who as much as he puts his body on the line, he is as ineffective as
a misguided missile. The sad thing is there is talent aplenty in this
country. I know i live in my own world, but i would find a space for
Luke Watson in that team and make him the captain, well maybe after this
era, because a lot of these senior players dont like him much and that
will result in an epic fail of the defence of the Boks' world champ
title. I'd play Chilliboy at 2 or if not Burden or Liebenberg. I know
many of you like Bismarck but to me he is ANOTHER Bakkies Botha, a
yellow card waiting to happen. During the end of year tour, id like to
see the likes of Flouw, Deysel, Strauss (lions), Duane, get a shot in
the forwards. In the backs Pretorius, Lambie, Jantjes, Mvovo, Viljoen
(griquas) and the griquas wing get a shot on tour. You guys wanted Frans
Steyn you got him and with him you got a bucket full of toilet! The Boks
lost a few games, and they looked clueless on the field, but i think it
was more an attitude thing than anything else, this was shown in the
last half of their last test. They need to just man up and focus on the
game. you cant have guys like Victor, De Villiers, Fourie in your team
and be toilet.
Aus are the best placed out of the 3 teams in my mind. They were never
outpayed by any team, well maybe in the first test against the Blacks.
But it was their first game fresh team and they showed improvements in
every game. They have exciting backs competent forwards and the
willingness to win. They will go far. I wont write a lot about them
because we all know they are a team on the up.
The Blacks, what a difference a year makes? that being said though i am
not one of those AB supporters who believes this team is wonderfully
majestic, nah man, they are fallible. They were competent. they were
solid. They did their job, but they were under the pump a few times.
They showed maturity as a unit. and have unearthed some skillful players
such as Izzy Dagg. Some of the old heads are stepping up and playing
their best rugby in a long while. And to think that there are the likes
of Hore, Williams, Sivivatu, Kahui. Players like McAlastair that can be
called on. Then there is this phenom called Sonny Bill Williams. He is a
specimen of a man, but i am not buying the hype though not yet at least,
watched him play a few games for Cantebury and he has great offloads and
he is a presence, but he has much to learn in terms of rugby. I would
rather the Blacks not have won this year, but good for them that they
did because winning becomes a habit. The beauty about the way they are
winning is they are having to scrap for their points its not the 50-20s
of other pre world cup years.
It was a decent tournament, dissapointing from the Boks performance and
point of view but alas, they will come back, need to work on their
defence and decide on their systems and execute accordingly. Its not all
doom and gloom. Oz will just have to keep on keeping on and their day
too will come. The Blacks well just keep building and most importantly
building depth in 10, 6, 7. The end of year tours will be most
interesting and i look forward to it, but till then go the Lions in the
Currie Cup, loving how Province have been playing too.
Till the end of the year then boys and girls
Y
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tri nations 2010 - final week
And so it ends the best and most competitive international competition. An interesting turn of events and lots to talk about but most of that will be done next week. This week we talk about the 2 Bok v Oz games and the Oz v AB game this weekend.
2 weekends ago must have been heartbreak for the young wallaby side. They did everything but win. But i guess the same heartbreak that was felt by the Boks a week before and the ABs in France a few years ago. I didnt want to comment on that last game because i dont believe the boks deserved to win that game, but then again those who win deserve the win because they won and good on them and their turnaround. This weekend, i saw the same thing happening and i really felt sorry for the Wallabies, because in as much as i was backing the Boks both last week and this week, i didnt think they played well enough to win and they really didnt show the desire and passion worthy of wearing their national team colours.
Lets start with the Boks, many out there are so quick to point out that the senior guys run the team...when the boys are winning, but when they lose its the coaches fault. now i am of a different mentality. last week proved my point perfectly. the first half, the players looked like blind american football players who were playing rugby for the first time ever in their lives. Yes the Australian attack manipulated them into the positions that the players found themselves in but that was largely because the players didnt trust the player on the inside of him and also cos they just gave the ball back to the Aussies so they could run circles and even octagons around them Then Victor came up with a moment of individual brilliance. You go into the shed for 10 minutes, 10 minutes and then the team that takes the field, with no personnel changes comes out looking like world beaters. Now if the coaching was taht bad, then what difference would 10 minutes make? Then shoot, forget training during the week and weeks prior, just give me 10 minutes before a game. it shows that the team does have structures and a plan, but the execution thereof on the field is poor. Now who can i blame for that??? the players ofcourse. I dont think they are all of a sudden bad players, no not at all. I just think they are stale. They have this entitlement thing going on in their heads and thus complacency is brewing.
Then there is that guy Jake White coming into the mix again, i know a lot of you think he is the Messiah at SA rugby, but if he truly was i think he would have made more of an impact at the Lions. Many people forget that in 2006 before the world cup year, he lost 4 out of 6 tri nations test. he only won the last 2 at home. I went to a website that has stats on coaches etc. its called pick and go. anyway so i did a little comparison between the 2 of them. Jake before 2006 tri nations had played 28 games and won 19....68% after the tri nations had played 33, won 22...64%, PdV on the other hand had played 29 and won 21....72% and after the tri nations had played 22 and won 35...63% not to mention a Lions tour in there and 2 wins in New Zealand, something your holy Jake was never able to achieve. He can argue that he had a young side and was building a team, i say voooooormmmittt. And i think it was at this time or maybe slightly later that he brought in Eddie Jones which made a huge difference. I still believe that any coach and no disrespect to Naka Droskie, but if you gave him the players jake had at his disposal, Eddie Jones and the draw in the 2007 world cup, Naka would have brought home the Webb Ellis too.
The only blame i put squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff is the fact that they insist on playing players who are out of form. I would never have brought back Frans Steyn at all, he doesnt look interested at all, put a player like Gio on and his enthusiasm is immediately seen. Bryan is another player who we all know needs a break from the game, you could even see it in the S14, he is trying too hard and too much pressure on himself and it shows. There are players like Jongi, Mvovo, that guy from Griquas and vD heever, Killian, shoo plenty
and its just wing really as long as u can catch, tackle and run fast you are ok. Morne Steyn looked a whole lot better since SA's answer to FdPs absence Hougaard took the stage, the boy is a little hot head, but i like him. he is the future. I'd like to see a guy like Pat Lambie and Elton Jantjies get given a chance to see what they can do. Plum and Mitch arent idiots. They want to win and when they see players with talent and heart, no matter how big or old, they will blood them which is the way it should be. The end of year tour is a good place for them to get a taste of big time rugga. At no 8 Spies is tired man so too Schalk. A lot of you might differ, but i say bring on Duaane, even though he is predictable i think he adds a lot in terms of physicality and fresh ideas. Many of you might think i am on tik,but i would give Luke the no 8 jersey and the captains armband, you dont just go to Bath, and in less than a year you are made captain with the blessing of all the senior players. no one does that!! Bring on Deysel for Schalla even though he is just returning from injury or some other big brute, because Schalk in as much as he works hard, his efforts are unguided, its like just body and arms everywhere. Juan goes nowhere. See what a difference a break makes. he is the future. Victor to take it easy and Andries to replace him. John is done. He adds nothing other than leadership but he is a liability on the field. I am not sure if anyone else noticed it but in the first test against the wallabies at home where they used the spider cam, in most of the scrums he popped up, no good i tell u. defence is a little tired too, ball in hand tired....game over. Guthro, goes NOWHERE, what a tireless and committed worker? Maximum respect. i am yet to see fire works from the centre combination though but you cant deny that they are class, a bit of good go forward ball and whala they are back
The coach must just not speak to the media. He must just focus on his job which is coaching. The end of the year tour will be massive, because i think its a grand slam, something SA hasnt achieved in a looong time. he has lost games to NZ and Oz, its not like its to italy and urugua or wales or scotland you know. Its like someone telling me Federer has lost to Nadal or Djokovic, it happens!!! I mean tell me is Alistar Coetzee a bad coach now because his team has lost 3 on the trott? Come now, give the man a break. remember this...72% before the tri nations, NZ in NZ twice, a lions tour...what more?
Oz, shoot i absolutely love this team. i dont like Rocky though, just seems like a sour p0@s. But the youngsters. Man this team or France will be in the finals of the 2011 world cup and in as much as it pains me to say it one of them will more than likely win the Webb Ellis. This win will go a long way in building their morale, because they nearly let it slip again last week, but the good thing for them is they didnt. Average age is 22 odd years and the backline is fast and skillfull throw in the experience of Gits and Adam Ash and shoot u have a team as talented as Mr Ripley. Their forwards are no push overs either. And in Robbie we all know they have a master as their head coach. Nathan Sharpe is very underrated but what he adds to that forward pack is something else. I am no fan of Brown at no 8, he is a great player, but i dont think he's ready just yet for test rugga. Higginbotham on the other hand, i think he will be their guy at 8 even though the lock come no 8 mcelman did an admirable job on the weekend but it wasnt anything memorable. the front row seems a whole lot more competent. The locks are good at what they do and they can put pressure on opposition ball and then there is Bam Bam, shoot that dude is the tomorrow. He is so strong on his feet, body position is perfect and he knows the law, injury permitting very soon he will be the new cheat of world rugby ;)
This weekend will be a great test of NZ's resolve without DC, i hope that Richie also plays a limited role, because we need to look for depth in those 2 positions. I dont for once think that the Blacks are that good, cos they arent, what i do think is that the other teams were slightly off the pace a little this year. The Blacks are slowly building a team there have been a good few people added to the mix but subtely and it bodes well. players like Keven back, the franks brothers, donelly, vito, dagg, stanely, crudes, Slade, thats half a side right there and plenty more where they came from if you watch the ITM cup. Saw Sonny Bill in action last week. He is a beast of a man with some good touches, but im not too conviced yet man, i feel for him though because he was so hyped up, kinda like being the last person to watch Pulp Fiction after it came out, and you build up such a huge expectation and even though it was a great movie, you were like duhhhh!!
Anyway, pick for this weekend, think Oz might get up and stun the Blacks, the only thing against them is the fact that they have just had a long flight back and have had 2 hard test matches against the boks. its pretty hard to call, but you know me always for the black fern, just hope Graham gives some of the youngsters a good crack
Happy viewing and arent we happy for the Lions, lets see if we can keep on roaring!!
Y
2 weekends ago must have been heartbreak for the young wallaby side. They did everything but win. But i guess the same heartbreak that was felt by the Boks a week before and the ABs in France a few years ago. I didnt want to comment on that last game because i dont believe the boks deserved to win that game, but then again those who win deserve the win because they won and good on them and their turnaround. This weekend, i saw the same thing happening and i really felt sorry for the Wallabies, because in as much as i was backing the Boks both last week and this week, i didnt think they played well enough to win and they really didnt show the desire and passion worthy of wearing their national team colours.
Lets start with the Boks, many out there are so quick to point out that the senior guys run the team...when the boys are winning, but when they lose its the coaches fault. now i am of a different mentality. last week proved my point perfectly. the first half, the players looked like blind american football players who were playing rugby for the first time ever in their lives. Yes the Australian attack manipulated them into the positions that the players found themselves in but that was largely because the players didnt trust the player on the inside of him and also cos they just gave the ball back to the Aussies so they could run circles and even octagons around them Then Victor came up with a moment of individual brilliance. You go into the shed for 10 minutes, 10 minutes and then the team that takes the field, with no personnel changes comes out looking like world beaters. Now if the coaching was taht bad, then what difference would 10 minutes make? Then shoot, forget training during the week and weeks prior, just give me 10 minutes before a game. it shows that the team does have structures and a plan, but the execution thereof on the field is poor. Now who can i blame for that??? the players ofcourse. I dont think they are all of a sudden bad players, no not at all. I just think they are stale. They have this entitlement thing going on in their heads and thus complacency is brewing.
Then there is that guy Jake White coming into the mix again, i know a lot of you think he is the Messiah at SA rugby, but if he truly was i think he would have made more of an impact at the Lions. Many people forget that in 2006 before the world cup year, he lost 4 out of 6 tri nations test. he only won the last 2 at home. I went to a website that has stats on coaches etc. its called pick and go. anyway so i did a little comparison between the 2 of them. Jake before 2006 tri nations had played 28 games and won 19....68% after the tri nations had played 33, won 22...64%, PdV on the other hand had played 29 and won 21....72% and after the tri nations had played 22 and won 35...63% not to mention a Lions tour in there and 2 wins in New Zealand, something your holy Jake was never able to achieve. He can argue that he had a young side and was building a team, i say voooooormmmittt. And i think it was at this time or maybe slightly later that he brought in Eddie Jones which made a huge difference. I still believe that any coach and no disrespect to Naka Droskie, but if you gave him the players jake had at his disposal, Eddie Jones and the draw in the 2007 world cup, Naka would have brought home the Webb Ellis too.
The only blame i put squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff is the fact that they insist on playing players who are out of form. I would never have brought back Frans Steyn at all, he doesnt look interested at all, put a player like Gio on and his enthusiasm is immediately seen. Bryan is another player who we all know needs a break from the game, you could even see it in the S14, he is trying too hard and too much pressure on himself and it shows. There are players like Jongi, Mvovo, that guy from Griquas and vD heever, Killian, shoo plenty
and its just wing really as long as u can catch, tackle and run fast you are ok. Morne Steyn looked a whole lot better since SA's answer to FdPs absence Hougaard took the stage, the boy is a little hot head, but i like him. he is the future. I'd like to see a guy like Pat Lambie and Elton Jantjies get given a chance to see what they can do. Plum and Mitch arent idiots. They want to win and when they see players with talent and heart, no matter how big or old, they will blood them which is the way it should be. The end of year tour is a good place for them to get a taste of big time rugga. At no 8 Spies is tired man so too Schalk. A lot of you might differ, but i say bring on Duaane, even though he is predictable i think he adds a lot in terms of physicality and fresh ideas. Many of you might think i am on tik,but i would give Luke the no 8 jersey and the captains armband, you dont just go to Bath, and in less than a year you are made captain with the blessing of all the senior players. no one does that!! Bring on Deysel for Schalla even though he is just returning from injury or some other big brute, because Schalk in as much as he works hard, his efforts are unguided, its like just body and arms everywhere. Juan goes nowhere. See what a difference a break makes. he is the future. Victor to take it easy and Andries to replace him. John is done. He adds nothing other than leadership but he is a liability on the field. I am not sure if anyone else noticed it but in the first test against the wallabies at home where they used the spider cam, in most of the scrums he popped up, no good i tell u. defence is a little tired too, ball in hand tired....game over. Guthro, goes NOWHERE, what a tireless and committed worker? Maximum respect. i am yet to see fire works from the centre combination though but you cant deny that they are class, a bit of good go forward ball and whala they are back
The coach must just not speak to the media. He must just focus on his job which is coaching. The end of the year tour will be massive, because i think its a grand slam, something SA hasnt achieved in a looong time. he has lost games to NZ and Oz, its not like its to italy and urugua or wales or scotland you know. Its like someone telling me Federer has lost to Nadal or Djokovic, it happens!!! I mean tell me is Alistar Coetzee a bad coach now because his team has lost 3 on the trott? Come now, give the man a break. remember this...72% before the tri nations, NZ in NZ twice, a lions tour...what more?
Oz, shoot i absolutely love this team. i dont like Rocky though, just seems like a sour p0@s. But the youngsters. Man this team or France will be in the finals of the 2011 world cup and in as much as it pains me to say it one of them will more than likely win the Webb Ellis. This win will go a long way in building their morale, because they nearly let it slip again last week, but the good thing for them is they didnt. Average age is 22 odd years and the backline is fast and skillfull throw in the experience of Gits and Adam Ash and shoot u have a team as talented as Mr Ripley. Their forwards are no push overs either. And in Robbie we all know they have a master as their head coach. Nathan Sharpe is very underrated but what he adds to that forward pack is something else. I am no fan of Brown at no 8, he is a great player, but i dont think he's ready just yet for test rugga. Higginbotham on the other hand, i think he will be their guy at 8 even though the lock come no 8 mcelman did an admirable job on the weekend but it wasnt anything memorable. the front row seems a whole lot more competent. The locks are good at what they do and they can put pressure on opposition ball and then there is Bam Bam, shoot that dude is the tomorrow. He is so strong on his feet, body position is perfect and he knows the law, injury permitting very soon he will be the new cheat of world rugby ;)
This weekend will be a great test of NZ's resolve without DC, i hope that Richie also plays a limited role, because we need to look for depth in those 2 positions. I dont for once think that the Blacks are that good, cos they arent, what i do think is that the other teams were slightly off the pace a little this year. The Blacks are slowly building a team there have been a good few people added to the mix but subtely and it bodes well. players like Keven back, the franks brothers, donelly, vito, dagg, stanely, crudes, Slade, thats half a side right there and plenty more where they came from if you watch the ITM cup. Saw Sonny Bill in action last week. He is a beast of a man with some good touches, but im not too conviced yet man, i feel for him though because he was so hyped up, kinda like being the last person to watch Pulp Fiction after it came out, and you build up such a huge expectation and even though it was a great movie, you were like duhhhh!!
Anyway, pick for this weekend, think Oz might get up and stun the Blacks, the only thing against them is the fact that they have just had a long flight back and have had 2 hard test matches against the boks. its pretty hard to call, but you know me always for the black fern, just hope Graham gives some of the youngsters a good crack
Happy viewing and arent we happy for the Lions, lets see if we can keep on roaring!!
Y
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