Ken Borland

The well-drilled EP Kings were in firm control in the second half as they beat the Border Bulldogs 35-19 (half-time 10-6) in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at the Buffalo City Municipal Stadium in East London on Friday.

Credit must be given to the Kings management for their effective game plan and for keeping the team focused after a frustrating first half.

The Kings, physically superior to the gutsy but outmatched Bulldogs, used their most effective weapon, the rolling maul, well as eighthman Cornell du Preez scored a hat-trick of tries from that tactic.

Du Preez benefited because the Kings were without the services of marquee player Luke Watson, but he was not missed as the sheer physicality and forward power of Eastern Province always gave them the edge over the Bulldogs.
The home side were reduced to surviving on scraps of possession and their banditry did bring them a fine try by eighthman Theunis Lambrechts and four penalties in a brave display.

Border scored first through a seventh-minute penalty by flyhalf Reinhardt Gerber and the Kings only opened their account in the 17th minute when flyhalf Wesley Dunlop slotted a penalty.

The Bulldogs had their best try-scoring chance of the first half six minutes later when an up-and-under by Quinton Crocker was brilliantly claimed by wing Chumani Booi, who then fed the fullback up in support. But Crocker decided to cut inside instead of heading for the tryline as powerful Samoan wing Paul Perez came charging across in cover defence, leading to a ruck and a penalty for Border, which Gerber missed.

By now the Kings were using their dominance in the collisions to good effect and Du Preez scored their first try after 10 phases of driving play. Dunlop converted and, although Gerber cut the deficit to 6-10 with another penalty, the excitement was still upcoming as Eastern Province finally hit fifth gear straight after half-time.

Dunlop, one of the people to relocate to Port Elizabeth in the wake of the Kings’ promotion to SuperRugby, kicked a penalty soon after the restart and the Bulldogs were immediately pinned back in their 22 and desperately trying to defend a series of forward drives that led to a couple of penalties. Border were unable to defend the rolling maul off the lineout and Du Preez had his second try in the 45th minute.

Strong running by Perez and centre Tiger Mangweni then displaced the Bulldogs defence in the 51st minute, leading to another Dunlop penalty (23-6).

But Border have their attacking routines well-rehearsed and a counter-attack allowed them to record their third penalty in the 57th minute, kicked by replacement flyhalf Jannie Myburgh.

Du Preez’s hat-trick try probably won’t make the season’s highlights reel as it came from yet another rolling maul, stretching the Eastern Province lead to 28-9 on the hour mark.

Bulldogs captain and flank Gareth Krause managed to latch on to the ball in a ruck and force a penalty, kicked by Myburgh, three minutes later, but the outcome was settled with the home side trailing 12-28.

The best two tries of the match followed in the last 13 minutes, with Mangweni scything through to add another try to his considerable album, before Border eighthman Lambrechts claimed a loose pass and then showed great deternination to grab his try, bouncing off Mangweni, eluding two other tacklers and then barging through replacement wing Siyanda Grey on his way over the line.

It was merely a consolation score for the Bulldogs but, to their credit, they showed little evidence of low morale after suffering their 11th successive defeat.

SCORERS

BORDER BULLDOGS – Try: Theunis Lambrechts. Conversion: Jannie Myburgh. Penalties: Reinhardt Gerber (2), Myburgh (2).

EP KINGS – Tries: Cornell du Preez (3), Tiger Mangweni. Conversions: Wesley Dunlop (3). Penalties: Dunlop (3).

http://www.supersport.com/rugby/currie-cup-first-division/news/120907/EP_Kings_beat_Bulldogs_in_EL

The Springboks opened their Rugby Championship campaign with two lacklustre attacking showings, but now their defensive prowess will be under the spotlight when they take on Australia in Perth on Saturday.

Even though the Wallabies failed to open their account in their last outing, losing 22-0 to New Zealand, they are a side known for their brilliant backline play and they have regularly carved up the Springboks en route to a record-equalling four successive wins over the South Africans.

This is one game where the Springboks’ preoccupation with the gain-line battle could be a good thing.

The Wallabies rely on quick, front-foot ball and the disorganised defences that come with it but, as the All Blacks showed, the skills of their backs are nullified when they’re going backwards.

The Springboks will start the undermining of the Australian platform in the set-pieces.

While both sides have in-form scrums, with Australia boasting one of the best looseheads in world rugby in Benn Robinson as well as the experienced Ben Alexander at tighthead, a strong Springbok lineout, boosted by the presence of Duane Vermeulen at the back, will hopefully work in concert with a much-improved tactical kicking game to ensure the Wallabies have to try all their fancy stuff from inside their own territory. Australia’s kickers – Berrick Barnes, Quade Cooper, Will Genia and Kurtley Beale – cannot match the distance Morne and Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar and Zane Kirchner are capable of getting.

In fact, they often prefer the little grubber through under pressure and it’s a pity Pat Lambie won’t be at fullback to counter-attack off such opportunities.

Vermeulen, his previous international hopes ravaged by injury, makes his long-awaited Test debut on Saturday and the Western Province man is a frightening prospect at boiling point. He will have to spearhead a much more physical display from the pack if South Africa are to have any hope of claiming the inaugural Rugby Championship trophy.

But it’s all very well being physical; however, the ball-carriers have to be smart as well. Too much hard-earned front-foot ball was wasted against Argentina because the carrier just blindly ran into a gang-tackle, was put on the ground and then robbed of the ball.

While the Cape’s demand to throw every ball to the wings can only lead to trouble at international level, the offload seems to be a forgotten skill amongst the Springboks. It stands to reason that if three people are trying to gang-tackle the ball-carrier, there must be two gaps somewhere – and that’s where the ball should go, post-haste!

A titanic clash between two of the most exciting scrumhalves in Francois Hougaard and Genia has been dashed by Hougaard’s move to the wing, but hopefully the 24-year-old will still get the chance to go flying down the left.
Genia is the Wallabies’ attacking general and it will be a disaster for the Springboks if they give him and elusive flyhalf Cooper space to attack with front-foot ball.

Cooper is barely a factor with slow ball but South Africa also has to be vigilant that its team does not supply potent counter-attackers such as Beale, Digby Ioane, Dominic Shipperley and Adam Ashley-Cooper with poorly-directed or badly chased kicks.

Australia also has to cope with a raft of injuries. Captains have had a particularly bad run with both lock James Horwill and loose forward David Pocock ruled out.

Nathan Sharpe, playing his 108th Test, brings a wealth of experience and plenty of grunt to the second row, while Pocock’s replacement, Michael Hooper, is a top-class prospect and also a major factor at the breakdown.
Other key players out injured are late withdrawal Stephen Moore, James O’Connor, Pat McCabe and Wycliff Palu.

It all just increases the pressure on the Wallabies, who will be expected to win at home, and let’s not forget that there has been even more of a song and dance about their coach, Robbie Deans, than the discontent Heyneke Meyer has had to face.

Winning in Australia may be too much to expect from this new-look Springbok team – South Africa has only won four Tests since 1993 Down Under (three of them in Perth though) – but fans will hope to see a much more clinical performance from the side, as well as much better use of its own ball.And, vitally, stopping Australia from playing (much like Argentina did to them in Mendoza) will increase that pressure and might lead to crucial mistakes from the hosts.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-07-rugby-championship-time-to-bok-up

The Springboks and Heyneke Meyer are on the back foot and the coach is relying on two changes to his forward pack and a new halfback to change their fortunes against Australia this weekend.

Meyer has always said he will target Australia up front in Perth on Saturday and the inclusion of Duane Vermeulen at eighthman and Juandre Kruger at lock should give the pack more vitality, with the emphasis on a greater ability to play hard on to the ball.

That means the same backline which failed to impress against Argentina will be running out on to the field, but with one significant change. Ruan Pienaar has sat on bench for all five Tests of the Meyer reign, but will get his big chance as the starting scrumhalf on Saturday.

Francois Hougaard, for all his natural talent, has looked hesitant as the vital link between forwards and backs, a round peg in the square hole of Meyer’s game plan. He has not been helped by an inexperienced pack that has struggled to give him front-foot ball, but his erratic service to Morne Steyn and the inaccuracy of his kicking have also spread the lack of momentum down the backline.

It’s not all bad news for Hougaard, however, as Meyer does fancy the X-factor he brings to the game and will start him on the left wing, where his Springbok career began so spectacularly in 2010. The 24-year-old will hope the rainy weather in Perth clears up and it is a dry day on Saturday that will suit his running skills.

But it is the Springbok pack that will have to rule the night at Subiaco if South Africa are to prevent the Wallabies from claiming a record fifth straight win against them. These are dark times for the much-vaunted strength of Springbok rugby with Bismarck du Plessis, Schalk Burger, Juan Smith, Gurthro Steenkamp, Pierre Spies and Chiliboy Ralepelle all out injured and Bakkies Botha and Ryan Kankowski unavailable. Plus the new boys in the Rugby Championship, Argentina, matched them up front and left them scratching their heads in search of answers.

Meyer’s answer is to go back to a strength that destroyed all comers in 2007 and 2009 – the lineout. Of course, the career of the kingpin of that set-piece, the talismanic Victor Matfield, is now over, but the Springbok coach has made it clear he wants to attack the Wallabies at source, at the set-pieces.

Vermeulen, as destructive a player you can get when fully fit, will finally make his Springbok debut at eighthman, but Meyer resisted the temptation to choose the whole Stormers lineout. With doubts over hooker Adriaan Strauss’s knee – he has trained just once this week – Tiaan Liebenberg could of made his first start in the number two jersey, Eben Etzebeth has impressed at number four and that might have earned Andries Bekker, who had no positive impact in Mendoza, a reprieve at five.

But Meyer has said Bekker is simply not fit enough at the moment. “Andries’ back is almost there and his ankle is almost there. I just wanted to give him a break because we know what we have in Andries. He is a quality player, but he has come through a few injuries and is probably not 100% fit. Juandre played really well against England and I wasn’t happy with our cleaning and the way we recycled ball against Argentina and Juandre plays more to the ball than Andries and we will need that on Saturday,” he said.

“Duane is a specialist number eight and is good in the lineout. Against Argentina, we gave them easy ball at the back of the lineout because we didn’t have a jumper there,” Meyer added.

With Vermeulen coming in at eight, there is a further change in the loose trio with Willem Alberts shifting to number seven in place of Jacques Potgieter, who was a disappointment against the Pumas.

Meyer controversially found no place in the touring squad for Keegan Daniel, who enjoyed a top-class SuperRugby campaign for the Sharks and is a dynamic, linking, offloading type of player. The coach had also previously indicated that a “horses-for-courses” selection policy should get Daniel a call-up against the Wallabies.

“Keegan was unlucky as I felt he could have come on against Australia because they fit his game plan more. But we don’t have a classical number eight at the moment with Pierre Spies and Ryan Kankowski out and as I said, Duane provides us with another lineout jumper,” Meyer explained. But why not a spot on the bench again for Daniel?

Meyer has instead gone for a fetcher in Francois Louw, a well-travelled flank who is currently enjoying a stint with Bath in England. “On the bench, I had to decide between an impact player or a specialist openside flank. If the referee is going to allow stealing of the ball at the rucks [Saturday’s official is Nigel Owens, a Welshman known to be more lenient at the breakdown], then I want to have a specialist openside,” Meyer said. “I’ve really been impressed with Francois Louw. When we did our ball-stealing drill he was superb on the ground and he looks in great condition. He is definitely going to get game-time on Saturday and I’m quite excited to see what he can bring to the party.”

But it’s not a fetcher stealing the opposition ball that the Springboks need most. It is better protection of their own ball at the rucks and for that to happen, the pack as a whole need to show more fire in the belly when it comes to clearing out.

“We have got quite a big back row and Francois gives us an insurance policy on the bench depending on how the game goes or how the ref interprets the breakdown,” said Meyer. “I want a higher work-rate from the back row. More ball carries and we have to break the line open as well. The one thing we don’t have in our back row, which is a little bit of a concern, is out-and-out pace but I think they make up for that with a big work-rate.

To ensure an 80-minute effort up front, Meyer had the opportunity to go for a 5-2 split on the bench with either two locks or two loose forwards amongst the reserves.

But the coach has selected three backs amongst the reserves, including the exciting 20-year-old flyhalf Johan Goosen – a surprisingly bold move by Meyer. “I believe that Goosen can be a world-class 10. He has got everything that you need from a flyhalf and I want to get him into the system as soon as possible, as well as getting him into the culture and the patterns of play because the 10 makes most of the calls.

“I want to give him some game-time as soon as possible, but it depends on what happens during Saturday’s game as Morne Steyn is one of our more experienced players,” he said.
Pat Lambie, who has frustratingly not seen any action off the bench in the last two games, and exciting wing Lwazi Mvovo are the other backline substitutes.

While their contributions in open play left much to be desired in Mendoza, the scrummaging is not broken so Meyer is unlikely to make changes in the front row, unless Strauss cannot play of course. If Liebenberg has to start, then the uncapped Craig Burden will be on the bench and he is a tremendous force in broken play, which could add some much-needed spark on attack.

Springbok team: 15-Zane Kirchner, 14-Bryan Habana, 13-Jean de Villiers, 12-Francois Steyn, 11-Francois Hougaard, 10-Morne Steyn, 9-Ruan Pienaar, 8-Duane Vermeulen, 7-Willem Alberts, 6-Marcell Coetzee, 5-Juandre Kruger, 4-Eben Etzebeth, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Bench- 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Pat Cilliers, 18-Flip van der Merwe, 19-Francois Louw, 20-Johan Goosen, 21-Pat Lambie, 22-Lwazi Mvovo.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-05-nervy-boks-prepare-for-must-win-wallabies-test