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Ken Borland



Match-fitness not as big an issue for the Springboks 0

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Ken

 

South Africa forwards coach Johan van Graan said on Monday that fears over the match-fitness of the handful of Springboks returning from injury were unfounded ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld.

Tendai Mtawarira, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Jean de Villiers, Damian de Allende and Pat Lambie are all likely to be involved in Saturday’s Test and all of them have just returned from injuries that have kept them out for weeks and in some cases months.

But Van Graan said players today, especially experienced ones, were more able to hit the ground running.

“It varies from player to player, but they are all professionals who have been around the block. For example, last year Duane Vermeulen had been injured for a long time but he came back and played 80 minutes straight away,” Van Graan said.

Team doctor Craig Roberts acknowledged that players did need to take contact in order to get match-fit, but he said much of this could be done in training.

“You need hits and contact to get match-fit and sometimes you need game time if you’ve been out for a long time. Which is one of the reasons Eben Etzebeth and Frans Malherbe were sent back to their province last week because they had three months out with injury.

“Someone like Beast has only been out for six weeks and he’s done everything in training, he did a lot of scrumming last week and he’s looking good. We had some big, heavy sessions last week,” Roberts said.

Fears that captain De Villiers might miss the opening Rugby Championship encounter now look misplaced as South Africa’s most-capped centre continues to make steady progress from his knee injury.

“We’ve brought Jean through slowly and we’re happy with where he’s at,” Roberts said.

Mtawarira’s progress means that he might well start in the number one jersey in his 56th Test and his first match since the game against Wales in Nelspruit on June 21.

The Springbok pack has been even more disrupted by the injury to veteran Victor Matfield.

“Victor tweaked his knee, there’s a little tear in the cartilage, but he’s responded well to rest and rehab and it doesn’t look like a scope will be necessary. But he won’t be available this week and we’ll reassess his fitness for the trip to Argentina,” Roberts said.

While Van Graan said the absence of “probably the best lock to have ever played” would be felt beyond just the lineouts – Matfield also plays a key role in the defensive organisation – the search was on for someone else to run that set-piece for the Springboks.

“Losing Victor is obviously a huge setback, but we’ve worked hard with Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth on calling the lineouts and Duane Vermeulen has been calling the Stormers’ lineout for some time. He’s been part of the system for a long time and is an experienced caller, so Duane is probably the favourite to do it,” Van Graan said.

The forwards coach said taking on the Argentinians this weekend would be a major test of the Springboks’ ability to hang on to their own ball.

“In 2013, Argentina and us stole the most ball, not only at the breakdowns but also at set-pieces, and we were at one and two again in the June Tests. So it’s definitely going to be a game with a lot of contesting for the ball, Argentina will attack us at every breakdown, scrum, lineout and kick-off.

“The Pumas also do a lot of leg-tackles, taking the ball-carrier low, but playing against Wales and Scotland in June was good preparation for that. They also do more leg-tackles, while you have more double-hits in SuperRugby. But it’s been a focus of ours in training, especially for the taller guys, who are put in situations they’re not used to,” Van Graan said.

There is a good buzz in the Springbok camp, especially with the legendary Juan Smith once again part of the squad, and they are hopeful, despite the injury concerns, that they will be in tiptop shape come Saturday.

“For the first time in two-and-a-half years, we’ve had the actual 30-man squad together two weeks before the start of the tournament and you can feel the buzz and vibe in the squad. Everything’s been planned – the players knew in June what we would be doing now – and we’ve been concentrating on our set-pieces, attack, kicking game and what to do when you’re five metres from your own line and five metres from their line,” Van Graan said.

Even the rusty Malherbe and Etzebeth showed good form in Western Province’s weekend Currie Cup victory over the Eastern Province Kings, with the tighthead prop making over a dozen tackles.

 

 

Coach delighted with pack, but improvement needed 0

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Ken

South Africa’s forwards coach Johann van Graan said on Tuesday that he was delighted with the pack’s performance in their last outing, but added that they will need to replicate that effort in order to beat Australia in their Rugby Championship match in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Springboks dominated New Zealand up front in Dunedin on September 15, but their effort was marred by terrible goal-kicking that saw the South Africans waste 20 points and lose 21-11.

“We’ve worked hard the last few weeks and the front row gave one of their best performances and the loose forwards got stuck in as well. We can improve on the lineout, where we lost a couple of balls, but the kick-offs were good and so was the ball-retention – we had our lowest turnover rate of the whole year. Francois Louw did very well, especially on the ground, while Duane Vermeulen was good at the breakdown too.

“I’m really proud of the performance against the All Blacks, we played some of our best rugby and to have 58% territory and 52% possession against them at home is a great effort. But unfortunately we just didn’t get the points,” Van Graan told a news conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

But Van Graan warned that the Wallabies, led by Nathan Sharpe, the grand old man of Australian rugby, would be another major challenge up front.

“Australia scrummed very well against us in Perth and Nathan Sharpe is one of the best locks of all time, so their lineout is tricky and they kick to different places to put you under pressure. Playing against the number two side in the world is always a massive challenge,” Van Graan said.

Experienced Springbok tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis said that while the Alll Blacks were a daunting physical prospect in the scrums, the Wallabies were clever, strategic scrummagers.

“The Australian scrum is different. While the All Blacks view scrums in the same mould as us, as a place to exert physical dominance over the opposition, the Wallabies are much more tactical, they know what they want from certain areas of the field.

“So it’s a big challenge against them, they have a great loosehead in Benn Robinson and he scrums well with Tatafu Polota-Nau, they’re both short and stocky,” Du Plessis said.

While Du Plessis and fellow prop Tendai Mtawarira were the only members of the Dunedin pack to have more than 30 caps, the qualified doctor said that inexperience helped create a never-say-die attitude.

“There are some advantages to inexperience, because those players are hungry and will play better than someone who has played a hundred tests and has a ‘been there, done that’ attitude. As they say, a hungry dog hunts best,” Du Plessis said.

Van Graan said it was important the Springboks showed an improvement in Pretoria on Saturday and took another step in their evolution.

“You can always improve and evolve and we started with the base, it’s about finding your feet at this level. But we’ve grown a lot, there’s been a lot of progression, our ball-retention and contesting on the ground is much better. You evolve step-by-step and we hope we take another step on Saturday. Hopefully we can go from a good performance to a great winning performance,” Van Graan said.

The assistant coach also highlighted the need for better defence against a top-class attacking team like Australia.

“The Wallabies are a big threat, especially with their reverse attacking lines, Digby Ioane and Dom Shipperley in particular. We will have to improve our defence and hope our kicking game is spot on.”

Van Graan also said better decision-making on attack would be crucial.

“Some stuff in Dunedin worked well but in these close tests, which they all are in the Rugby Championship, you need special moments from special players to change games, like Bryan Habana’s try. We’re expecting quite a quick game and, against defences that are a lot better at international level, you need to convert your opportunities into points. There were quite a few chances in both Dunedin and Perth that should have been points and it’s about making better decisions,” Van Graan said.

South Africa will name their team on Wednesday, with experienced inside centre Francois Steyn unlikely to be chosen as he was still on crutches on Tuesday after rolling his ankle the previous day.

 

Oosthuizen’s injury a major blow for Boks 0

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Ken

Prop Coenie Oosthuizen’s injury-enforced absence from the rest of the Test series against England is a major blow for the Springboks, forwards coach Johann van Graan said on Tuesday.

Oosthuizen has a “mildly bulging disc in his neck”, according to South Africa team doctor Craig Roberts, and will be out of action for between two and three months as the Springboks follow a conservative treatment approach.

“Coenie is still a young player and has a long career ahead of him and needs to be managed appropriately. We will follow a conservative approach with him,” Roberts said.

The 23-year-old Oosthuizen made his debut off the bench in the first Test against England in Durban, but Van Graan said he had made an impressive impact.

“He showed in the first Test what he can do and his injury is a big loss for us, especially since he can play both tighthead and loosehead,” Van Graan told reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Oosthuizen is also a major threat with ball in hand, as Springbok tighthead Jannie du Plessis pointed out.

“Coenie had two brilliant scrums at tighthead but the real difference he made was in carrying the ball, it’s no secret he’s one of the best in the world at that. He always puts you on the front foot,” Du Plessis said.

While the Springbok ball-carriers dominated England and the advantage line in the second half of the first Test, Du Plessis said the forwards had placed too much pressure on scrumhalf Francois Hougaard on their own ball in the first half, by not offering him enough protection at the breakdowns.

“It’s great to play in a pack where all eight players want to do well, but we weren’t clinical enough at the breakdown. We didn’t hold on to the ball well enough and England had good stealers, especially at second or third phase where we were a bit light on cleaners.

“The longer you keep the ball, the more pressure you can exert on the opposition and we improved in the second half and played better rugby as a result,” Du Plessis said.

While the Springboks expect an even better performance from the England pack in Saturday’s second Test in Johannesburg, an area where the home team is more than likely going to be better is goalkicking. Sharpshooting flyhalf Morne Steyn struggled with the swirling wind inside the King’s Park Stadium in Durban and missed two conversions and a penalty.

“My kicking was not up to standard. The conditions were quite tough, but a kicker must be prepared for all conditions. In a place like Durban, the ball doesn’t travel as you’d like and I allowed too much for the wind. But it should be better at altitude and Ellis Park is closer to Loftus [Steyn’s home ground with the Bulls], so I should be more at home this weekend,” Steyn said.

Van Graan also praised a second debutant, lock Juandre Kruger, for a top-class all-round display.

“Juandre did really well in his first Test, he had a lot of responsibility – organising the calls on our own ball and when we contested, as well as the kick-offs. We only lost three out of 15 balls, so the lineout went well considering we had personnel from different teams,” Van Graan said.

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    2 Peter 3:18 – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

    True Christianity starts with accepting Jesus Christ as your saviour and redeemer and fully surrendering to him. You have to start living a new life; submit daily to the will of your master.

    We need to grow within grace, not into grace, and the responsibility rests with us. Your role model is Jesus Christ and he is always with you to strengthen you in your weakness, but you have to cultivate your growth. So spend more time in prayer and use the faith you already have.

     

     



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