Ken Borland

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says his team’s rise from number four to number two in the world rankings tells him they are on the right track, but it was the smattering of applause his squad received when they arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Monday that was perhaps an even bigger advisory that the public, his sternest critics, are pleased with his efforts.

It’s hard to remember when the Springboks were last applauded in the arrivals hall at O.R. Tambo, but it must have been 2009 when they returned from Hamilton with the Tri-Nations trophy. Generally, the media gathered for interviews have been the only ones to show much interest, the general public keeping an awkward distance, much like how the employee who got drunk and took all his clothes off at the office Christmas party is treated.

But South Africa’s unbeaten tour of Great Britain and Ireland, the first perfect end-of-year trip since 2008, has enabled Meyer to lift his record in his first year in charge to seven wins, three losses and two draws from 12 Tests. The former Blue Bulls coach has admitted that for him, too, it has been a steep learning curve.

“Our three goals were to remain unbeaten, which has not been done for quite some time on the end-of-year tour, secure the number two ranking and, perhaps most importantly, make our supporters proud. So it was really great to see the support here at the airport.

“It’s been a tough year, we’ve lost three out of 12 Tests, but the great thing is we started at number four on the world rankings and now we’re second. So I’m very happy, especially considering we lost a lot of guys through injury, and we can only grow from here,” Meyer said.

While the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Willem Alberts, Adriaan Strauss, Francois Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Duane Vermeulen and Pat Lambie have stolen the limelight, captain Jean de Villiers has been the unsung hero of the team, alongside ever-present tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis.

De Villiers was initially appointed as captain for just the three June Tests against England, which was quickly extended to the whole year and now, after an often torrid season, Meyer advised that he was unlikely to change captain next year in the light of the calm, intelligent leadership shown by De Villiers.

“Jean has been awesome. He’s one of three players to have started every game this year and he’s also been a great ambassador for the country. In the last three games, he was our main ball-carrier and he gained good ground for us. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be captain again next year,” Meyer said.

The two areas about which Meyer has been most strongly criticised have been the attacking play of his side and his transformation record.

While the wet conditions overseas served to undermine much of their attacking ambition, there were hints against England at Twickenham last weekend that, with Lambie at flyhalf and Juan de Jongh at outside centre, the backline could develop into more of a threat.

The transformation issue is one that all Springbok coaches – save for Peter de Villiers – have had to face, but it is disingenuous to single out Meyer for criticism.

Nine players of colour, including five black Africans, were in the touring squad which is as good a record as any of his predecessors, including De Villiers. With Siya Kolisi out injured, it is difficult to imagine other black players who can feel unfairly treated by not being selected.

Even criticism that these players did not get game time on the tour is unfounded, because there were a heap of white players who also spent the three weeks carrying tackle bags. It’s the nature of sport that not everyone can get a run and even someone like Elton Jantjies, whose form has begun to taper off after a great start to the Currie Cup campaign, was overlooked because Lambie deserved a fair chance to stake his claim at flyhalf.

Meyer’s focus in 2013 should be on wedding better backline attacking play to the formidable pack he is building and the outstanding defence shown on tour. He will also want the team to perform more consistently: they have produced their best for the full 80 minutes perhaps only once this year (against Australia in Pretoria) and the need for a ruthless, killer edge was shown in the last two matches when they allowed both Scotland and England back into contention in Tests that looked done and dusted.

But these lapses of concentration that afflicted the team are in stark contrast to the mental strength they showed in winning all three Tests in Europe despite being in high-pressure situations (even if they were of their own making).

“A lot of guys hadn’t been on an end-of-year tour before and a lot of great players have lost over there. We’d lost the previous Test against Scotland and we’d only won one of the last three in Ireland. I always say there are only two types of rugby: winning rugby and losing rugby. And we won three out of three, so I’ll take that.

“There is still lots of room for improvement, but that will come with experience. It takes a lot of mental effort to grind out wins like that. But we made life hard for ourselves by conceding 17 penalties a game on tour, compared to six per game back at home, so that’s unacceptable and has to change,” Meyer said.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-27-meyers-mojo-growing-stronger

It was a day for the extraordinary at Twickenham on Saturday as the Springboks shaded England 16-15 courtesy of heroic defence, one of the strangest tries ever scored in international rugby and an outlandishly poor decision by the hosts at the end of the Test.

Rain before and throughout the match put paid to any hopes of expansive rugby, but it was still a gripping, thrilling encounter, played with great intensity.

As forecast, England posed the toughest challenge of the tour but, in truth, they were outplayed for long periods before the Springboks reacted to their 10-point lead by making a host of stupid mistakes that let their opponents back into the game.

Having battled their way into a 9-6 lead after a troubled first half, the Springboks piled on the pressure at the start of the second half, but had to rely on quite extraordinary bounces of the ball for their only try. Pat Lambie’s grubber first of all deflected kindly for the visitors, putting them into the England 22. Lock Juandre Kruger then spilt the ball, but it went backwards. The attempted hack clear by England scrumhalf Ben Youngs rebounded off JP Pietersen and flew high towards the tryline, where two England players failed to gather the ball, dropping it into the hands of Willem Alberts, who just had to fall over the line to score.

The Springboks led 16-6 and were poised to shut England out of the game. But it should be a major concern for coach Heyneke Meyer that his team once again failed to follow-through on a commanding position, letting England back into the game through mistakes like kicking directly into touch after taking the ball back into their own 22 or from the kickoff.

England responded by thoroughly dominating territory in the final quarter and, trailing 12-16 with 80 seconds left to play, they won a penalty. But instead of going for the try that would win them the Test, they kicked the penalty but then did not have enough time to get back into the South African half after they failed to win the restart.

England captain Chris Robshaw has been widely criticised for his decision, which was inexplicable. But one could see the worry in England’s eyes all the way back in Johannesburg whenever they contemplated a lineout or even trying to find a way through the Springboks’ outstanding defence.

Well-marshalled by captain Jean de Villiers, South Africa’s defence was phenomenally efficient, with every player willing to get down and dirty for the team as England unleashed wave after wave of big ball-carriers. But there was also minimal flair from the home side and the Springboks, who showed some neat touches on attack despite the conditions, always looked the more likely team to score.

Eben Etzebeth and Duane Vermeulen were once again major factors in the lineout, with England hooker Tom Youngs suffering an awful afternoon with his throwing-in, and the Springboks used their advantage in that set-piece to the maximum.

After a torrid first 15 minutes in which referee Nigel Owens could see only fault in the visitors and no wrong in the English, South Africa dominated territory, keeping England under pressure, and it was pleasing to see Lambie play with such assurance at flyhalf. The 22-year-old kicked especially well, but also ran with the ball and showed some fine touches on attack in a far more balanced display at pivot.

One of the areas where the Springboks struggled was in the scrums, but that was largely due to Owens not seeing loosehead prop Alex Corbisiero scrumming in on the angle against Jannie du Plessis.

Whatever their other shortcomings, the Springboks of today are a hardy, determined bunch and they can be well-pleased with a perfect three-from-three record on tour. Their play was far from faultless but, for a team that is still developing, they showed impressive mettle in absorbing pressure in all three matches and ensuring victory was achieved, even if it was in ugly fashion.

There is no doubt that the future is full of promise for Meyer and this team.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-26-boks-play-it-by-the-book-victory-first-entertainment-later

Heyneke Meyer is ending his first year in charge of the Springboks the way it began – with a Test against England.

Back in June, Meyer’s tenure started with a 22-17 win over England at King’s Park, but on Saturday the match will be at the more daunting venue of Twickenham, London.

And the danger is that progression from that first Test in Durban to the last of 12 fixtures in 2012 may not be evident.

The Springboks’ play is still characterised by halves of hugely differing quality – they were held to 6-6 in the first half in Durban – and the backline is still miles behind the pack in terms of match-winning contribution.

South Africa scored two tries against England in their first meeting this year, but such was their forward dominance in the second half that most people felt they should have scored more.

And England, as they showed in snatching a draw against the Springboks in the final match of that series, are also a team that is developing and their coach, Stuart Lancaster, is certain they can end a 10-game winless streak against South Africa.

Twickenham is something of a fortress for them as well and Springbok fans can expect the toughest challenge of their three tour matches this weekend.

In terms of personnel, there are also areas where the team is no more settled than they were back in June.

The debate is still open over who should be flyhalf going forward. Morne Steyn played in Durban, scored a try but missed both conversions and a penalty, and has now disappeared entirely from the match-day 23.

Johan Goosen has started but then suffered a season-ending injury, while Pat Lambie has not yet set the world alight during his two starts against Ireland and Scotland.

Meyer has been making encouraging noises about wanting Lambie to open up more this weekend, and hopefully another great young talent, Elton Jantjies, will get a chance later in the game.

Francois Hougaard was the starting scrumhalf against England in Durban, but is now on the wing. He was shifted there in the second half as he failed to convert the forward dominance into territorial advantage or really spark his backline, and since then Meyer has relied on Ruan Pienaar in the number nine jersey.

Pienaar has been competent on the heavier fields of the United Kingdom, but whether he has the pace or snappy delivery that is required against teams like New Zealand and Australia remains in doubt.

Hougaard, for his part, showed amazing maturity this week by saying he did not want to be considered on the wing next year, but instead wanted to become a specialist scrumhalf and would be putting in the work required to achieve that.

“My preferred position is definitely scrumhalf and I do think that playing wing as much as I have been has hurt my play as a scrumhalf. I have made it known to the coaches at the Bulls that scrumhalf is where I want to specialise from now on. I will only develop as a scrumhalf if I play there regularly. What I need is a full pre-season where I work only as a scrumhalf, and then to play only as a scrumhalf when the season starts. That will get me thinking like a scrumhalf.

“There are a lot of technical aspects of scrumhalf that require a heck of a lot of hard work and preparation, and I just haven’t been able to put in the time that is needed as I have been playing so much on the wing. Playing 10 minutes or so as a scrumhalf later in the game after playing the first part as a wing is not going to help me develop into the player I want to be,” Hougaard said this week.

Other questions that still need resolving as the Springboks head into their last match of the year are:

• Where is Jaco Taute’s best position?
• Will the game plan allow the likes of JP Pietersen and Juan de Jongh to showcase their brilliant attacking skills?
• Is there a viable, trustworthy alternative for the admirable Jannie du Plessis at tighthead prop?
• Who is going to grab the number five jersey and make it his own with consistent performances?

As for how Saturday’s Test will probably unfold, up-and-unders and kicking for territory are probably the pet hate of many Springbok fans right now, but there is an even slimmer chance of the boot not dominating this weekend because Lancaster has already stressed the importance of the tactic to his team.

The changes he has made to the side that lost last weekend against Australia indicate he wants half-backs Ben Youngs and Toby Flood working in tandem with the outside backs, having recalled Mike Brown, who lacks pace but is good in the air and has a strong left boot, on the left wing.

While Lancaster has also tried to beef up his pack, the Springboks go into the Test knowing that their forward unit has seldom been outplayed this year. Much as they did against Scotland last weekend, it will be up to them to lay a solid foundation, from where the tourists can kick England back into their territory and then capitalise.

The kicking will only be as effective as the chasing, however, and this time it can only be hoped that the backs are able to seize the moment and score tries when the opportunity arises.

Until now, the Springboks’ backline has been largely sterile, but perhaps the impending festive season and Meyer’s encouraging words to Lambie will prompt a spirit of adventure if not largesse.

It may be five-to-midnight in terms of the Springboks’ year, but an 80-minute performance in which both forwards and backs contribute equally is better arriving now than never. Hopefully Santa Meyer and his Springbok elves will make the wait as worthwhile as the Night Before Christmas usually is.

* Cyprus successfully maintained their winning streak as they beat Austria 54-20 in their Second Division Fira Championship match in Vienna last weekend. The strong Austrian side put up a stiffer challenge than the scoreline might suggest, but another brilliant performance by the Moufflons netted them their 16^th successive win, just two off equalling Lithuania’s world record of 18.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-23-santa-and-siege-of-fortress-twickenham

It was a win and it may have been an improvement on the last two visits to Edinburgh, but the Springboks’ 21-10 victory over Scotland left more feelings of disappointment than elation.

The sad truth is that South Africa’s attacking play seems to have regressed even more. Having done what was required in the first half in terms of building a foundation, the Springboks scored early in the second half to open up a 21-3 lead.

The Scots looked ready to be put to the sword. With the admirable forwards having done their job, bashing the hosts into submission, the time was surely right to open up and allow the backline to ram home the advantage, score some tries and give the Springboks a handsome victory befitting the team ranked second in the world.

But the backs fluffed their lines. All confidence with ball in hand has drained away from them and, when the chance to open up did arrive, they seemed over-anxious, snatched at opportunities and a rush of basic errors allowed Scotland back into the game.

Coach Heyneke Meyer has constantly stressed how tight Test rugby is, how narrow the margins are, how one mistake can lead to defeat. Which is mostly true, but in emphasising the negative, in ensuring his transitional side understand how easy it is to lose, he has drummed the positive out of them and they seem to have no idea how to win a game, how to well and truly put the opposition away. They are scared to try anything in case it leads to a mistake, heaven forbid.

There has seldom been an international side that has looked so imbalanced in terms of where their strengths lie.

While Meyer has followed conventional wisdom in terms of where South African rugby’s strengths are and is building a formidable pack that is growing more impressive with every outing, backline play seems to be totally neglected.

It is hard to remember even one backline move, wings JP Pietersen and Francois Hougaard barely had the ball in their hands, and, even after the final hooter had gone and the Springboks could not lose, they decided to kick a penalty out and end the game rather than have a go!

The dreadful second half undid all the good work of the first 40 minutes, much as the second half against Ireland made up for the awful first half.

Pat Lambie would have convinced few that he has the kicking game to control a Test from flyhalf and many of the Springboks’ problems in the second half were due to his inability to blast clearing kicks back out of their own half.

That being said, the decision-making was largely left to Ruan Pienaar at scrumhalf, who was solid without setting the world alight. Pienaar had the ball in his hands 56 times, but Lambie only handled on 25 occasions, running just twice and kicking 12 times.

The Springbok ball-carriers, especially Willem Alberts, were effective and there were promising signs in the first half as even the backline took the ball flat and the Scots were struggling to plug the gaps created by front-foot ball.

The rolling maul was also a potent weapon for the Springboks, the first of hooker Adriaan Strauss’s two tries coming from one. The visitors should really have had two tries from the maul, though, as the first one was identical to the second one but was inexplicably denied by the referee, George Clancy.

Strauss did not have any family in the opposition this weekend, but it did not affect Sunday’s birthday boy’s determination. He contributed to a strong scrummaging performance, South Africa’s lineout touched perfection with a 12/12 success rate and Strauss was all over the field to harry and block the opposition. He did superbly in the 46^th minute to intercept Scotland scrumhalf Mike Blair’s pass and scoot away from 40 metres to score his second try and give the Springboks a commanding lead they failed to add to.

The loose trio of Alberts, Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen continues to impress. Alberts was everywhere, tackling strongly, softening the Scottish defence with his bullocking runs, but also showing a lovely sidestep and a good turn of pace to spark the counter-attack that led to Strauss’s second try.

Louw made an astonishing 17 tackles and won two crucial turnovers, as well as carrying the ball well to deservedly win the man of the match award, while Vermeulen and lock Eben Etzebeth were also strong on defence.

Of the backs, Zane Kirchner continues to provide a solid last line of defence, while wing JP Pietersen also spent the whole match tackling his heart out. There was precious little opportunity for him to shine on attack, while Juan de Jongh could also only show glimpses of his abilities with a couple of darts through the half-gap.

To progress as a team, the Springboks are really going to have to use their backs more.

*Stats courtesy of espnscrum.com

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-11-19-boks-running-more-scared-than-ever