Ken Borland

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has a degree in psychology and he will surely need to have sessions with Morne Steyn on the couch – and bring Dean Greyling along for good measure – after South Africa’s infuriating 21-11 loss to the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday.

Meyer has persevered with Steyn at flyhalf for all seven Tests this year, but surely a man of his intellectual capacity and people skills must now realise that the hero of 2009 and 2010 is mentally shattered and devoid of all confidence.

The Springboks wasted 20 points with kicks at goal, with Steyn missing three penalties along with a conversion, while Francois Steyn (2) and Johan Goosen also missed three long-range penalties between them.

It is hard to remember a substitute having a more disastrous impact than Greyling did. The front-ranker clearly needs his head read after conceding some of the stupidest penalties possible on a rugby field, including a shocking assault on the face of Richie McCaw that is bound to have some more serious consequences than the yellow card he was issued with.

The inexperienced Springbok pack was magnificent in a come-of-age performance that saw them match if not edge the All Blacks up front, laying a platform that was ultimately wasted by Morne Steyn and some laborious backline play.

There were some promising signs from the backline, but great try-scoring opportunities were butchered in the fifth minute, on the half-hour and on the hour mark.

With three minutes remaining and the All Blacks 18-11 up, the Springboks were then gifted another golden opportunity when Keven Mealamu threw a lineout ball five metres from his own line straight to Greyling, who promptly dropped the ball.

The Blue Bulls prop should have had the good grace to want to be swallowed whole by the Forsyth Barr Stadium turf, but instead he then cost South Africa even a bonus point for their efforts when he stupidly handled the ball in a ruck, allowing All Blacks flyhalf Aaron Cruden to kick a penalty after the final hooter.

Greyling’s first act after coming on to the field in the 50^th minute was also a blatant hands in the ruck, Cruden’s penalty allowing New Zealand to draw level just two minutes after Bryan Habana’s brilliant individual try.

There were times in the first half when the All Blacks were floundering against the Springboks’ suffocating defence, physicality in the collisions and pressure game. But the goalkicking woes drowned out all conversation about those major positives.

Fullback Israel Dagg’s wonderful attacking instincts saw him feature prominently in the move he finished for the All Blacks’ opening try in the 20^th minute and the hosts led 5-3 at half-time. At that stage, South Africa had already missed 15 points via missed kicks at goal.

But the Springboks regained the lead in the 50^th minute through Habana’s brilliant try. Flip van der Merwe won the lineout throw and, even though Francois Louw stumbled in receiving the pop off the top, he found Habana roaring through on the angle. South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer burst through the first line of defence before he chipped over the fullback and regathered the ball to score in the right corner.

The next half-hour was dominated by Greyling, although Morne Steyn also kicked away some good attacking ball with aimless kicks. If it were the navy, they would be consigned to port immediately by the good ship South Africa, because their heads are clearly not in the right place.

But there are huge positives to be drawn from the game for the Springboks, even if the result was a major disappointment.

The ferocious performance of the pack, led by flank Willem Alberts and lock Juandre Kruger, is at the head of the list, while the defence was also much improved as the Springboks warded off several dangerous attacking forays by the New Zealand backs.

Springbok rugby may well have moved out of the ICU ward on Saturday and, if Meyer can correctly diagnose where the mental deficiencies are, he may well be able to produce pleasing results in Pretoria and Soweto in coming weeks.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-15-crushed-by-the-all-blacks-south-africas-national-facepalm-moment

The lack of attacking spark has been a theme for the Springboks in their first year under Heyneke Meyer, and on Saturday they come up against the masters of offensive play, the All Blacks, at one of their fortresses – Dunedin.

Interestingly, the Springboks and the All Blacks have both scored just five tries from three matches in the Rugby Championship thus far, but for South Africa, three of those came in the opening match against the debutants, Argentina, in the shadow of Table Mountain at Newlands.

The All Blacks are playing their last Test at home this year, and they are eager to produce the 100% performance that has eluded them thus far in 2012.

“We always aim for that perfect performance; it’s the last time that we are playing in New Zealand for a while, although I think wherever you play you want to improve on before. But certainly, seeing that it’s the last time we play, it would be nice to put a good one together before we head off,” New Zealand captain Richie McCaw said on the eve of the game.

“At times we have not been as accurate as we could be, but it won’t stop us from trying to play. One or two passes sometimes can make the difference. It is just a matter of getting the timing right to do that, and keep the guys creating those opportunities.”

The good news for the All Blacks – and very bad news for the Springboks – is that the venue for the Test, the Forsyth Barr Stadium, is enclosed under a roof and therefore the outside elements will play no part. There will be no swirling wind to make South Africa’s much-loved up-and-unders difficult to catch and there will be none of the wetness that helped Argentina in their mission of stopping the world champions from playing their favoured ball-in-hand game.

Coach Meyer has admitted that the conditions will be similar to a dry, windless winter’s day on the Highveld, and the All Blacks have regularly lit up Loftus Versfeld with their dazzling running play. South Africa tends to avoid playing New Zealand in Pretoria these days, which is not surprising when you consider the previous four results have been 45-26, 52-16, 34-18 and 33-26 in favour of the visitors to the Blue Bulls citadel.

Up-and-unders are not going to be the answer on Saturday against the thrilling All Blacks back three of Israel Dagg, Cory Jane and Julian Savea. South Africa’s best hope is to really get up the noses of the All Blacks at the source, up front.

But the Springboks’ inexperienced pack will be up against McCaw, arguably the greatest rugby player ever, and the likes of Kieran Read, Andrew Hore and Tony Woodcock, who are up with the all-time greats.

They are bound to supply their backline with at least 50% possession and at least 50% of that will be front-foot ball, so New Zealand will create enough try-scoring opportunities for their lethal finishers.

The Springboks, on the other hand, are labouring with a flyhalf that stands too deep, an inside centre who has just played crash ball all year, an outside centre who looks out of place, and a fullback not known for his attacking prowess.

With 64% possession against the desperate Wallabies last weekend, the Springboks could still only score one try.

It is difficult to see what weapon the Springboks could possibly hurt the All Blacks with.

They will probably try to physically intimidate and rattle their hosts, but that approach has rarely borne fruit in New Zealand and has usually led to a yellow card and more gaps for the best users of space in the game.

After the All Blacks have absorbed the physical challenge, they will be able to play their game and that’s when it will become a rough night for the Springboks.

Like men overboard in turbulent seas, they’re going to have to cling on to every tackle in sight, claim every scrap of 50/50 ball that they are presented with and hope that the All Blacks believe that they are invincible and try and run the ball from everywhere, including positions that will just put them under pressure.

The Springboks have claimed just nine victories in New Zealand since 1921,and some great South African sides have fallen short in the Land of the Long White Cloud. There won’t be many expecting Meyer’s inexperienced and embattled team to secure a 10^th win.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-14-rugby-preview-the-all-black-fortress-awaits-springboks

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer will continue to rely on Morne Steyn as his flyhalf as the South Africans head into a daunting Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.

While Steyn seems to have his goal-kicking boots back on these days, his tendency to stand so deep on attack literally puts his backline on the back foot and the Springboks’ attacking efforts thus far in the competition have been timid in comparison to those of the mighty All Blacks.

Meyer has resisted the temptation to start with the 20-year-old Johan Goosen and there are good arguments to support his decision.

Throwing a baby (in international terms) into the cauldron of Test rugby in New Zealand, with your pack most probably going backwards and Richie McCaw, Kieran Read and Liam Messam running at you, could be catastrophic: both in the short-term (the match) and the long-term (Goosen’s overall confidence).

Never mind only owning one cap and seven or eight minutes of Test experience, Goosen has played less than an hour of rugby in the last four months thanks to the shoulder injury that ended his hugely promising SuperRugby campaign.

But in the short time that he was on the field in Perth, Goosen hit the line and beat defenders well, and we can only hope Meyer gives him even more game time this weekend – as Steyn, frankly, is not providing any spark or linking particularly well with his backline.

Pat Lambie has his supporters for the flyhalf position, but the Sharks talent has started just a single Test at number 10 before, last July in Wellington against the All Blacks, and that did not go well, the Springboks getting thumped 40-7 with a second-string side.

Game management/control is the one area of his play that Lambie still needs to work on (the Sharks preferred Freddie Michalak at flyhalf in SuperRugby) and it seems the 21-year-old’s role at international level at the moment will be limited to that of substitute.

Meyer has made two changes to the team that lost so disappointingly against Australia last weekend, both of them amongst the forwards.

Eben Etzebeth has been suspended for a feeble headbutt and Flip van der Merwe takes his place. Let’s hope the Bulls lock doesn’t see yellow.

The other change will add some much-needed pace and pressure on the ball. Although the Test is in New Zealand and an Arctic front has brought snow, high wind, sleet and rain to Dunedin, the match is being played in the Forsyth Barr Stadium, which has an enclosed roof.

As Meyer himself pointed out, it will be a bit like playing on a clear winter’s day in Pretoria, and that will suit the All Blacks’ fast-paced game perfectly. The Springboks will be in serious trouble if they don’t find a way to slow down their opposition’s ball, and Francois Louw has been brought into the starting line-up to do just that.

There are also changes to the bench, with Juan de Jongh called up to hopefully provide some much-needed attacking verve in midfield.

Dean Greyling, who can play both sides, is the reserve prop because of the uncertainty over the fitness of both tightheads in the squad, Jannie du Plessis and Pat Cilliers.

Critics of the Springboks’ recent form will be angry that Meyer has still not started on the road to adding a greater attacking dimension to his team. But the All Blacks on home turf are perhaps not the side you want to be facing when you’re setting out on a journey.

Besides, no one will be surprised that Meyer, who would call his conservatism continuity, has once again relied on what has served him well in the past.

The Springboks’ best chance of getting back on track is probably back home when they take on Australia at Loftus Versfeld on 29 September.

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-Francois Louw, 5-Juandre Kruger, 4-Flip van der Merwe, 3-Jannie du Plessis, 2-Adriaan Strauss, 1-Tendai Mtawarira. Substitutes – 16-Tiaan Liebenberg, 17-Dean Greyling, 18-Andries Bekker, 19-Marcell Coetzee, 20-Johan Goosen, 21-Juan de Jongh, 22-Pat Lambie.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-12-boks-vs-all-blacks-were-in-for-hellof-a-show