Ken Borland

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

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Heyneke Meyer has previously said that bowing to public opinion would be akin to having fans voting for the national team, but the Springbok coach has made what will be some popular selections in the squad announced on Sunday to tour Great Britain and Ireland.

While it’s a perfectly logical squad, featuring all the players who appeared for the Springboks this year and are fit, there will be some debate, as ever, round the flyhalf position.

Meyer has predictably named all three contenders – Elton Jantjies, Morne Steyn and Pat Lambie – in the squad and it would perhaps be best for the long-term growth of the Springboks if he spread the flyhalf duties between the trio for the three Tests against Ireland, Scotland and England.

There are five uncapped players in the 31-man squad, with lock Franco van der Merwe and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak having been round the block a few times, while outside backs Lionel Mapoe and 19-year-old Raymond Rhule have the flair and skills to be exciting additions to the Springbok backline in years to come.

Speaking of flair and skills, Meyer has decided to bring hooker cum part-time flank Schalk Brits in from the cold, the 31-year-old Saracens player having not represented the Springboks since 2008. The other overseas-based players in the squad are Ulster scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, Bath flank Francois Louw and mountainous Toulouse loosehead prop Gurthro Steenkamp.

The other uncapped player in the touring group is loose forward Arno Botha, who has been part of the Springbok squad this year.

Meyer explained his reasoning by saying: “We’ve got a settled core of players that did the job during the England series and the Rugby Championship and we decided to stick with them.

“Gurthrö and Schalk are experienced front-rankers who have played for South Africa before and know the conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. This tour provides a good opportunity to assess them as we plan ahead. Arno, Lionel, Franco and Jano have all been part of our squad earlier in the season.

“Raymond put up his hand for the Junior Boks and the Cheetahs and I’m very excited to see what he can do. It’s also great to have JP Pietersen and Chiliboy Ralepelle back from injury as they bring a lot of experience to the squad.”

Meyer will also name a 32^nd squad member before the team depart for the United Kingdom on Saturday, with loose forward and outside back the two areas where the Springboks probably currently have holes.

Captain Jean de Villiers, who missed Western Province’s run-in to the Currie Cup title with a hamstring strain, will also have to prove his fitness before departure.

The Springboks have already been hard-hit by injuries with prop Coenie Oosthuizen, hookers Bismarck du Plessis and Tiaan Liebenberg, lock Andries Bekker, loose forwards Siya Kolisi, Jacques Potgieter and Pierre Spies, flyhalf Johan Goosen, centre Frans Steyn and wing Bryan Habana all being wounded in action this year.

Flanks Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussow were all ruled out before the Springboks even stepped on to a field this year.

The injury curse got her dirty little hands into Habana over the weekend, the in-form winger leaving the field with a knee injury in the 14^th minute of the Currie Cup final after Beast Mtawarira hurled him to the ground at a ruck.

On the plus side though, Pietersen is back in the Springbok squad and will be hoping Lady Luck only has her best in store for him after he missed the entire Rugby Championship with a hand injury.

While Springbok fans have had to endure a diet of uninspired rugby and mostly defeats this year, the team began to show real promise in the second half of the Rugby Championship before the brilliant All Blacks gave them a lesson in Soweto.

Weather conditions overseas may favour Meyer’s preferred conservative game plan, but there are enough exciting youngsters in the squad for more glimmers of hope to be seen.

Springbok squad – Zane Kirchner (Bulls), Pat Lambie (Sharks), JP Pietersen (Sharks), Juan de Jongh (WP), Jaco Taute (Lions), Jean de Villiers (WP), Lionel Mapoe (Lions), Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks), Raymond Rhule (FS), Elton Jantjies (Lions), Morne Steyn (Bulls), Ruan Pienaar (Ulster), Francois Hougaard (Bulls), Jano Vermaak (Bulls), Duane Vermeulen (WP), Willem Alberts (Sharks), Arno Botha (Bulls), Francois Louw (Bath), Marcell Coetzee (Sharks), Juandre Kruger (Bulls), Franco van der Merwe (Lions), Eben Etzebeth (WP), Flip van der Merwe (Bulls), Jannie du Plessis (Sharks), Pat Cilliers (Lions), CJ van der Linde (Lions), Adriaan Strauss (FS), Chiliboy Ralepelle (Bulls), Schalk Brits (Saracens), Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks), Gurthro Steenkamp (Toulouse).

Rugby journalists tend to receive a steady diet of “facts”, statistics and obfuscation from coaches and players in the regular course of their duties; and filters, a fair degree of cynicism and good old fashioned fact-checking are all necessary in making sense of it all.

Steve Hansen (New Zealand), Robbie Deans (Australia) and our very own Heyneke Meyer have been the coaches under pressure in this year’s Rugby Championship (Argentina’s Santiago Phelan has had immunity because of his team’s new boy status) and all of them have had their moments of spreading disinformation and spin.

Following the Springboks’ convincing victory over the Wallabies last weekend, Deans is probably the coach whose head is closest to the chopping block. Being a Kiwi certainly doesn’t help in Australia.

The former All Blacks fullback tries to add extra gravitas to his press conference utterings by speaking slowly and staring intently. The fact that he is the most successful SuperRugby coach ever, steering the Canterbury Crusaders to five titles between 2000 and 2008, and is generally a pleasant bloke to chat to, means that the magnifying glass of closer scrutiny is not always applied to what he has to say.

One of the surest signs someone is feeling the pressure is when they try something smart or out of the ordinary. It’s a classic Heyneke Meyer principle that rugby is a simple game and as soon as the opposition gets you to deviate from your normal game plan or strengths, they have the advantage over you.

It was a tell-tale sign of strain when Deans, a thoroughly decent bloke, used a sneak move involving his front row at Loftus Versfeld that would ultimately lead to his team finishing the match with 14 men.

Benn Robinson, arguably the best loosehead prop in the world, was surprisingly substituted after just 30 minutes on Saturday, with Deans later confirming that it was a “strategic move”.

He was replaced by James Slipper, but it was inevitable that Robinson would return, with either Slipper or Ben Alexander “developing” an injury in the second half.
Sure enough, Alexander hobbled from the field in the 67th minute with a fresh Robinson returning.

But the cunning plan backfired on the Wallabies because, in a game that saw them suffer a freakish number of injuries, Robinson’s return was the seventh substitution and the maximum allowed, so when hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau needed to be replaced due to genuine injury, they couldn’t and had to make do with 14 men.

After the game, Deans sallied forth into a tale of woe about their injuries, claiming they only had 12 men standing in the latter stages of the game and fired a salvo at the fourth referee, who he blamed for not allowing Polota-Nau to be replaced after initially saying he could be.

Deans also claimed that Robinson’s trips to and from the bench were “totally irrelevant” to the situation, which was disingenuous in the extreme.

Hansen was promoted from forwards coach to replace Sir Graham Henry as the All Blacks head coach after their World Cup triumph and he has had some difficulties of his own in satisfying the demanding New Zealand rugby public.

While most observers would agree the All Blacks have been some way off their best until last weekend in Argentina, Hansen has been extolling their dominance and brilliance after every game, including the Dunedin match against the Springboks which even had the home media giving most of the praise to the South Africans.

As far as Meyer goes, he is not afraid to engage with the media, and there have been some memorable technical discussions where he has allowed his passion for the game to overflow – and he has given an impromptu coaching session to journalists! There is a memorable photograph on a reporter’s cellphone of Springbok media manager De Jongh Borchardt lying on the ground with a bunch of media guides doubling as the ball and Meyer bent over him demonstrating the correct ball-stealing technique at a ruck.

And if you ask Meyer why he has chosen Arno Botha ahead of Keegan Daniel, he will give a detailed, reasoned response.

It is all rather refreshing because his predecessor, Peter de Villiers, was always very reluctant to talk about technical matters or even to explain selections beyond “He’s the guy I think we want to go with this week”.

De Villiers has not been so chicken to speak about where he believes Meyer is going wrong.

Meyer treats rugby as a science and is extremely statistics-driven. While it may seem robotic and liable to inhibit flair and experimentation, it does ensure that the coach is not led on flights of fancy by his perceptions or emotions.

Statistics can reveal some fascinating insights. I was intrigued on Tuesday when kicking coach Louis Koen said Morne Steyn averages a 78% success rate when kicking at goal in Tests and the only year he has been above 80% was during his annus mirabilis in 2010 when he was at 90%.

Facts are sometimes forgotten in the mists of time, though, and I do get mildly irritated when Meyer insists on saying Jannie du Plessis is the only member of the World Cup pack still playing. Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Tendai Mtawarira and CJ van der Linde were all also in New Zealand, although the tighthead prop was the only one who started the infamous quarterfinal defeat to Australia.

It would probably help considerably if South African rugby fans could begin to watch games with a more analytical eye rather than just blind emotion. How many fans have picked up that the Springboks have kicked less than their opposition in every Rugby Championship game this year?

Who would the public say had the greater impact in the weekend hammering of the Wallabies – Zane Kirchner or Pat Lambie?

One should hastily add that the media also needs to lift their reporting to new levels, with astonishing numbers attributing Saturday’s win to “a new game plan”.

– http://dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2012-10-03-its-just-part-of-the-lip-service