Ken Borland

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.

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

Springbok fans will be dying of embarrassment as one of the weakest Australian teams in recent memory won a record fifth successive Test against South Africa, 26-19 in Perth on Saturday.

This is an Australian team that has only one or two players that would be considered for a World XV, had lost their opening two Rugby Championship games, blanked by the All Blacks last time out, and were under immense pressure leading into the game.

That pressure only intensified in the first half as the Springboks strangled them, pinning them in their own territory for lengthy periods. Possession may have been 50/50, but South Africa spent 66% of the first half in Australian territory.

The Wallabies, on the verge of disarray, should have been put away in that first half, but these Springboks totally lack a ruthless touch, especially on attack.

Australia went into the shed relieved to be just 6-13 down and were a much-improved outfit in the second half.

But the Springboks still enjoyed 50% possession and 61% territory in the second half, yet they could score just six points. Frustratingly, good ball was kicked away when they were inside the Wallabies half, Morne Steyn missed a crucial penalty in the 50th minute and a lineout throw was lost inside the 22 in the dying moments.

South Africa’s much-maligned kicking game worked a treat in the first half, creating the platform for victory as Australia’s weak kickers simply could not get them out of their territory, resorting to disastrous grubbers.

But the Springboks were once again limp on attack. Apart from Bryan Habana, who popped up everywhere before he left the field with a leg injury in the 53rd minute, there was no spark. The backline looked pedestrian and simply did not gel, failing to seize on a number of opportunities when they created holes in the Wallabies defence.

While flyhalf Morne Steyn is the obvious target as scapegoat, there is another issue which coach Heyneke Meyer may have to wrestle with, and that is his captain, Jean de Villiers, at 13.

A fine captain and person, a great Springbok and a highly-respected inside centre De Villiers may be, but the 31-year-old didn’t threaten once on attack and, the one time he did find himself in space on the outside, he and replacement wing Lwazi Mvovo managed to get in each other’s way and the turnover ball and overlap yielded nothing.

That was in the 58th minute and, just two minutes earlier, De Villiers also missed the midfield tackle on Dom Shipperley that led to Scott Higginbotham’s try. South Africa have some right to feel hard done by, however, as the move started from a scrum penalty against them that even the Australian commentators agreed was unjust.

But the Springboks clearly also still have problems with their pillar defence around the fringes as Higginbotham burst between Willem Alberts and Steyn at a ruck in the shadow of the poles, while Australia’s second try, by prop Ben Alexander, also came after gaps were left close to the breakdown.

South Africa have a ready-made replacement captain when Schalk Burger is fit, although Meyer might prefer to move De Villiers to his favoured position at inside centre. The coach will then, however, have to sacrifice the physical presence and direct running of Francois Steyn that he loves so much at 12.

Meyer belatedly introduced Pat Lambie into Rugby Championship action in the last 10 minutes, but it was the debut of the 20-year-old Johan Goosen in place of Morne Steyn at flyhalf that perhaps shows the coach the way to go in future.

Goosen, in his brief cameo, showed a willingness to take the ball to the defence, beat tackles and generally just looked a better attacking option. Plus we all know there is nothing wrong with his boot, and he can tackle.

There are arguments, of course, that Meyer should wait before thrusting Goosen into a starting role against the All Blacks. But the longer he waits, the more the Springboks will frustrate on attack. What everyone agrees on, however, is that Goosen is bound to have a long international career.

Whether Meyer enjoys the same remains to be seen. He will plead that it is very difficult to turn naturally conservative players into attacking dynamos overnight. But to dominate a poor Wallaby team for so long and still not manage to put them away means he has to add something more adventurous, more incisive to the current mix.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-08-boks-with-no-spring