Ken Borland

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer believes the current Springbok team will become stars of the future despite a lean recent run that has seen them lose to New Zealand and Australia and be held to a draw by Argentina.

“I have a special feeling about this team going forward. We’re on the right track and the results will come,” Meyer told journalists at the O.R. Tambo International Airport on Monday after the team’s return from New Zealand, where they were beaten 21-11 by the All Blacks in Dunedin.

“I thought we scrummed well and I’m very happy with our front row. The combination we used in the loose forwards was superb against the best loose trio in the world and we have four great locks going forward.

“There were lots of positives from Dunedin, especially from the forwards, and I believe we did enough to win that game. I think it instilled that self-belief in the team that they can beat anyone anywhere,” Meyer said.

South Africa dominated the first 50 minutes of the Rugby Championship test, but missed kicks at goal cost them 20 points.

Flyhalf Morne Steyn, the hero of their 2009 and 2010 campaigns, was responsible for 11 of those missed points and the waning influence of the Springbok backline has also been blamed on the 28-year-old pivot. But Meyer believes Steyn, who has started all seven matches this year under the new coach, still has a future at international level, pointing to the resurgence in form shown by wing Bryan Habana, South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer who struggled with his form last year and played just six of the Springboks’ nine tests.

“I don’t want to knock individuals but the missed kicks were crucial. Morne is mentally tough though and if you look at what happened to Bryan Habana, with the right guidance he is now playing phenomenal rugby again. I don’t want to boost myself, but I’ve always been great at getting the best out of players and the mental break will do Morne well. We’ll look at the situation after this weekend’s Currie Cup matches and then decide who will play,” Meyer said.

Meyer said the way the Springboks dominated the All Blacks in Dunedin showed that the controversial game plan they were using was the right one.

“The guys were very unhappy not to win, but sometimes we’ve played worse rugby in New Zealand and won, it was just the goalkicking that let us down. Otherwise we did enough to win, it was the right game plan and we kept them under pressure, we just couldn’t convert that into points.

“It was 3-5 at half-time, but it could have been 15-5 if we’d made our kicks, that would have built pressure and they would have had to chase the game. There’s always criticism about the game plan, but I believe we got it 100% right, we just didn’t put the kicks over. We had them under pressure,” Meyer said.

The Springbok squad for their last two Rugby Championship matches, both at home against Australia in Pretoria on September 29 and New Zealand in Soweto on October 6, will be named on Saturday night after the Currie Cup games have been completed.

South Africa have an outside chance of still claiming the title if they register bonus-point wins in both those home fixtures and the All Blacks lose in Argentina without getting a bonus point.

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

The Rugby Championship, featuring the top three teams in the world and rising powers Argentina, should be all about the best the game can offer, a showpiece for the talents of most of the best players on the planet.

But unfortunately, for governing body Sanzar, it’s all about quantity rather than quality.

For Sanzar, the aim seems to be to fill every weekend of the year with rugby – SuperRugby stretched from February 24 to August 4, followed by the Rugby Championship from August  18 to October 7 – rather than ensuring that their product is the best it can be.

Before anyone accuses me of just being bitter because the Springboks are in the doldrums, let’s look at New Zealand, unbeaten in this year’s Rugby Championship and occupants of top spot on the log.

By their own admission, the All Blacks have struggled to hit their stride thus far and many experienced observers have been wondering how a team as poor as Australia’s managed to stay in the games against them for so long.

It can be argued that South Africa’s game plan is keeping their opposition in the game as well, but despite the new blood in the side, their displays have also been lacklustre.

The one side that has played with passion and intensity has been Argentina, who have performed with the typical enthusiasm of the new boys. With the vast majority of their players based in Europe, they also don’t have to deal with the draining effects of SuperRugby. The European clubs generally have bigger squads, so the workload is shared around more.

Leading South African sports scientist Professor Tim Noakes says it is impossible for the players to play with their usual intensity and accuracy after more than 14 weeks of high-intensity rugby, never mind the 22 weeks they endured at the start of the season.

“The players will pace themselves and make more mistakes, there won’t be the same intensity, they’ll cut out sprinting on the field, for instance.

“It’s because they’re exhausted. The brain tells the body to go easy and the players aren’t even aware of it. They’ll know they’re tired, but it won’t be a deliberate attempt to hold back. It’s just that their bodies can’t give them anything more,” Noakes said.

The ridiculous demands on the players are also shown in the catastrophic injury rate. The Springboks are without Bismarck du Plessis, Coenie Oosthuizen, Schalk Burger, Siya Kolisi, Pierre Spies, Bjorn Basson, JP Pietersen and probably Jannie du Plessis this weekend, while the likes of Heinrich Brussow, Duane Vermuelen and Johan Goosen have just returned to action after SuperRugby.

Australia have been similarly ravaged by injury, with the captains being particularly unfortunate. James Horwill, David Pocock and Will Genia are all out, joining James O’Connor, Stephen Moore, Wycliff Palu, Sekope Kepu and Sitaleki Timani on the sidelines.

The injury situation has become so bad that one of the team doctors has actually sent a letter of complaint to the governing body!

The product has to suffer with so many stars not featuring and the great god of TV has to see the warning lights flashing after some of the mediocre fare dished up this year.

It’s important to note that it’s not just matches every weekend that fatigue the players. It’s all the training and travelling (which is particularly onerous in the southern hemisphere) as well.

Thanks to sports science, the days when coaches would proudly say that the players died out on the training field are gone. The most successful coaches are those who taper and construct their training sessions the most efficiently, rather than just wearing the players out with over-training.

“Expanded competitions are widely being held accountable for increased demand on the top players and the rise in long-term injuries. But the management of player welfare isn’t as black and white as measuring the number of playing minutes each player receives in the game,” Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said this week.

“It is paramount that we protect our key assets, our players, and mitigate the risks of injury where possible. Probably the most effective way we manage our players’ workload is to determine the amount of minutes they spend in training versus the amount of minutes spent playing actual games. This is an area where teams have the biggest opportunity to manage an individual’s player welfare.
“We obviously want our top-performing and therefore highest-paid players on the field and fit to play every match in the season, so that’s where we start and work backwards from there. Typically, players can undertake up to three times more minutes in training each week than the important 80 minutes at the end of the week – playing in front of the supporters, viewers and sponsors.

“We need to ensure our players are receiving adequate rest to ensure they can perform at an optimal level during peak playing periods,” McKenzie said.

The bigger squads the SuperRugby coaches are asking for will help alleviate the situation a bit, but again the product suffers because second-string talent is on show. The only long-term solution is for Sanzar to cut back on the schedule.

The old adage that less is more is the pertinent one in the case of top-level rugby.