Rugby Championship: New Zealand - South Africa (15/09/2012)

[nero]

I'm so happy Hansen took off Fatty Weepu. Why he is even in the team let alone starting is beyond me.
Meesam Had a quiet game.
The AB's need to stick to their game plan and not get sucked into a kicking game. They played so much better with ball in hand/using forwards to drive it.

 

[voiceofreason]

McCaw, the single most overrated player in all of rugby.

 

[welshglory]

What is it about this stadium and goal kicking. It's the not the first time that good goal kickers have struggled there.

Perhaps because of the enclosed environment?

 

[smartcooky]

McCaw, the single most underrated player in all of rugby.

Fixed that for you

 

[nero]

McCaw, the single most overrated player in all of rugby.

He's good at what he does, so in that sense I don't think he is overrated. He's knocking on a bit thoguh.

 

[nero]

What is it about this stadium and goal kicking. It's the not the first time that good goal kickers have struggled there.

Perhaps because of the enclosed environment?

Nah, I just thing Morne's lost his mojo.

 

[Sker]

Anyway now that I've let some of my frustration out, the All Blacks didn't play that great either but they played helluva lot better than us. McCaw? Overrated? I don't think so.

Goosen needs to start, he must start, he won't. But he must. When Marcel Coetzee came on he played really well, I don't think Louw had a good game. Vermeulen looked better this game. JdV is getting old and plodding. Fransie made some stupid mistakes but a few good linebreaks. Pienaar's kicking was off but otherwise he did okay. hey I just had an idea.

9. Pienaar (c)
10. Goosen
11. Hougaard
12. F.Steyn
13. de Jongh
14. Habana
15. Lambie

 

[austingtir]

All i can say about this match is i hope the saffas never work out that if they dont kick so much ball away aimlessly they will beat us no problem. That was about as bad as iv seen from them just kicking away ball for no other reason but to kick it away its ridiculous.

Honestly we were well beatable in this game they just threw it away.

I mean Dagg is probably the best in the world at either returning the ball from a kick or his punt kick just has crazy distance its just so 2008 to keep trying these tactics against us i dont understand it.

 

[dasNdanger]

Justin Marshall has actually read his lawbook tonight, congrats to him. He got the key one in the first half where the AR incorrectly ruled out on the full when Habana touched it.

Mebbe he should think about putting on the referee mantle...

If Morne Steyn is playing the next match, I won't watch. I cannot take another ping-pong fest where we give the ball away the whole time.

McCaw and Dagg were the only players who looked to have turned up for the All Blacks. Morne Steyn was the All Black's best player. Boks were robbed I feel, poor kicking and decisions that were not in their favour.

It was the Springbok's game to lose, and that did so quite well. It was all in the kicking, making it doubly frustrating. I wonder if Steyn had racked up some points if it wouldn't have put a bit more fire under the AB, which may have resulted in a more exciting match.

I'm so happy Hansen took off Fatty Weepu. Why he is even in the team let alone starting is beyond me.

'Cause he's the face of the haka?


das

 

[smartcooky]

All i can say about this match is i hope the saffas never work out that if they dont kick so much ball away aimlessly they will beat us no problem. That was about as bad as iv seen from them just kicking away ball for no other reason but to kick it away its ridiculous.

Honestly we were well beatable in this game they just threw it away.

I mean Dagg is probably the best in the world at either returning the ball from a kick or his punt kick just has crazy distance its just so 2008 to keep trying these tactics against us i dont understand it.

Nisbo made the comment that it seems to be a mindset with them. The more the game went on, the more aimless the kicking became.

 

[William18]

What is it about this stadium and goal kicking. It's the not the first time that good goal kickers have struggled there.

Perhaps because of the enclosed environment?

Wouldn't that make it easier for kicking?

I can't believe people are criticising Richie - he was excellent tonight.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

It makes me sick. I think I've never screamed at my laptop screen so often as in the previous 2 hours. Every time Morne kicked, I was just swearing and shaking my head. The number of facepalms today was higher than the number of metres gained by kicks of the Boks.

If Goosen doesn't start the next game, I will just skip it and prepare for the Sharks match later that day.


1. Mtawarira: 6
Didn't have a bad game. Good scrumming, ball carrying. Never understood why he was subbed
2. Strauss: 4
Scrums were okay, but his line-outs throws were horrible. He lost 4 line-outs and on top of that he lost the ball in contact several times. Not his best game
3. du Plessis: 6
Same as Mtawarira. Nothing bad, nothing specifically breathtaking
4. van der Merwe: 6
Good carries, strong in the collisions and played better than expected
5. Kruger: 7
By far the best tight forward today. Strong in the line-outs, good calling, quick at the rucks
6. Louw: 6
Was supposed to challenge McCaw but didn't get a chance. Was more busy going offside at the rucks. Had a good pass to Habana leading up to the try though
7. Alberts: 5
I thought he was off the field after 10 minutes. Cannot recall seeing him or being mentioned anywhere between the 10th and 60th minute. Very anonymous game.
8. Vermeulen: 6
A real step up from his debut. Was strong in the ball carrying, solid at the back of the scrum and did pretty good for a guy in his second test

9. Pienaar: 6
Was suffering from the gameplan and his impotent halfback partner for 60 minutes. Taking ages at the rucks and scrums but once Goosen came on, his distribution looked like what we know from him. Quick, direct and unpredictable for the opposition. Not good enough for a solid rating though. If only he played like that for 80 minutes!
10. Morne Steyn: 2
The only reason he gets a 2 in stead of a 1 is his 3 points from the kicking tee. Then again, missing another 11 points just shows he is awful in every aspect of the game. Heyneke Meyer will obviously blame the backline for not making the most of their chances. Or should I say "chance" since they only got the ball once from Morne?
11. Hougaard: 5
Anonymous, but what can you expect when you never get the ball?
12. Francois Steyn: 5
See Hougaard
13. de Villiers: 4
A captain but only on paper. Was he even playing?
14: Habana: 7
Well, got just a few balls but his chip kick leading up to the try was amazing. Had a chance to score a second one but was unlucky to knock it on. Early in the match got a shocker of a pass by Kirchner
15. Kirchner: 5
Brought nothing on attack, was awful on defense and his attemped drop goal was the worst in a green shirt since Jaco van der Westhuizen.

16. Liebenberg: n/a
Too short to really rate him
17. Greyling: 1
Gets the rating similar to the number used for his position. Getting a yellow card (should have been red), conceding 4 penalties and brought nothing!
18. Bekker: 6
Solid and a big improvement from his match in Mendoza. Maybe he was rusty after his injury. Good option if he gains some more form
19. Coetzee: 7
Came on for Louw and showed that he was wrongly dropped to the bench. Great tackles, good carrying and together with Goosen personifies the almost-upset by the Boks
20. Goosen: 8
Best Bok on the field and only on for 20 minutes. What if we had him for 80 minutes? Can he please start the next match?
21: de Jongh: n/a
Wasn't used
22. Lambie: n/a
On too short. How is Lambie supposed to fight for his place when he only gets 15 minutes in 4 matches?

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Breaking news from the Boks changing room!!!

Morne Steyn kicked the wall in frustration.......

but missed...

 

[voiceofreason]

To angry to post full sentences....

Drop (kill) Morne....
Start Goosen....
Give Lambie more than 5 minutes of game time, when the game is I don't know, not already lost....
Greyling.......read Morne^^^
Bring back Brussouw, because Flow showed how important a fetcher can be.

 

[Icemn]

Breaking news from the Boks changing room!!!

Morne Steyn kicked the wall in frustration.......

but missed...

Lol

Icemn's hunch was spot on, the Boks should have won this...

HM is not a doos, a doos is still worth something...

The AB were poor and still the Boks could not win...

SA is not worthy of playing at this level...

The AB had 16 players today, 15 wore black and 1 wore the 17 springbok jersey...

I seriously think HM needs to go!

How poor was weepu :O Aaron smith won the game, not only his try but the energy he brought

Ritchie mccaw my man of the match, I think he needs to play at 11 in 2 weeks

Poor lambie and goosen... I think the Boks wasted 3 tries and 23 kickable points

The girl singing the Sa anthem was hot though...

This SA team lacks patience and composure, they have clear overlaps put throw skip passes - and not once did I see jdv say guys keep a cool head...

i nogal feel for the SA supporters, wonder if they will return the favour of the AB were too suck as they do now...

For the guys that said aplon is not selected for is size and liability on defence... Go look at cruden tackle on Fran steyn...

Did hou hard get ball in this game :? I saw hom once on77min and he beat a defender :?

 

[Darwin]

Right, just got back from the ground. That was certainly one of the most physical games I've been to. From the people of New Zealand I would like to thank Morne Steyn for his outstanding performance. Without his contribution the AB's would have really struggled to win the game. I hope he is playing for us again when we play in South Africa!

While I'm sure there will be plenty of people that will suggest that it was another poor AB's performance, a lot of this was down to the pressure South Africa put on. For most of the game I thought they completely dominated us up front, they got the better of us at the breakdown, and their backline defense was very impressive - if they had a 10 who didn't kick the ball away whenever he touched it (or had been able to kick penalties!) they probably would have won the game. I thought South Africa's mauling was particularly impressive, and we really need to work out how to counter this before we meet them next.

I was very impressed with South Africa's line-speed on defense, though I felt the AB's were attacking in the wrong areas. With he South African 'banana' defense there was no real chance for the AB's to go wide - they were far more effective when hitting it up in the midfield or (even better in my opinion) running forwards close to the breakdown, as the South African defenders were spreading out very quickly.

For South Africa I was very impressed with van der Merwe, Kruger, and Vermeulen in the forwards, while I thought Louw was solid, while Alberts had a few great moments (though was a bit invisible for most of the game). Pienaar did some good things, but I am surprised he continues to get away with (illegally) kicking the ball back into the breakdown to slow the ball down. F Steyn looked good when he ran straight and hard, and Habana scored a brilliant individual try, and had a massive work-rate (I don't think I saw him standing still once...).

For the AB's I thought Sam Whitelock was pretty good, while Romano was solid. Messam was pretty quiet, and I thought Read had a better game than last week, setting up the first try, and making a massive tackle at one stage. McCaw was the best player on the park yet again. He just leads so well from the front, has a phenomenal work-rate, is a pesk at the breakdown, and also has a brilliant ball running game these days.

The AB's played much better once Aaron Smith came on. Though Smith was guilty of missing Habana on the way to his try, he made up for it by scoring a brilliant individual try himself. Cruden I thought was a bit hesitant again - he went across field rather than hitting the line straight, which made him a very easy target. Nonu looked much better this match, especially when he was running straight at the South African defense. Savea was solid, and Jane proved yet again he is probably the best player in the world under the high ball - it is a pity that South Africa didn't seem to realize this! I was very happy with the play of Israel Dagg too, as he was solid under the high ball, and his clearing kicks were vital for the AB's.

Overall I'm happy with another win, though I'm still waiting for a more complete AB's performance - perhaps I will just have to accept that we aren't as good as I think we are!

 

[welshglory]

Wouldn't that make it easier for kicking?

I can't believe people are criticising Richie - he was excellent tonight.

I don't mean the fact that it's undercover.

Some people have commented that since it's entirely indoors it could affect the ball/air etc...

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Personally I am glad we lost because of Steyn. I just can't see how HM could justify NOT dropping him in favor of Goosen. Players that have shown they need the axe are Steyn, Kirschner and JdV. These are starters that should not even be in the squad truth be told. As for some of the others well they're only there because of injuries/suspensons to the likes of Bismarck, Etzebeth, Oosthuizen & Cilliers (talking about Greyling).

I think FLouw did alright but he's a poor man's Brussow (who seems to be on the up and up), Goosen, Lambie and Taute are the youngsters that'll give the backline some energy. I'd strongly consider Hougaard or Piet van Zyl at 9 if we could get rid of Steyn or if Pienaar could up the pace when it's on I'd be happy enough but in Hougaard and Van ZYl I'd prefer investing in the guys plying their trade in SA.

What I'd like to see for the games in SA;

1 Mtawarira
2 Strauss (to be replaced when Bismarck is fit)
3 Mujati if available / Du Plessis (to be replaced when either of Cilliers or Oosthuizen are fit)
4 Etzebeth
5 Bekker
6 Brussow
7 Coetzee
8 Vermeulen
9 Hougaard
10 Lambie (rotate with Goosen to create depth)
11 Habana
12 F Steyn
13 Juan de Jongh (I believe he could do serious damage if given some space by Lambie/Goosen on a skip pass, solid on D)
14 Aplon (until JP is good to go)
15 Ludik (until Taute is fit)

16 Guthro Steenkamp (just to answer the injury SOS)
17 Gary Botha (just to answer the injury SOS)
18 Kruger / Bresler
19 Alberts
20 Pienaar / PvZ
21 Goosen
22 Ludik / Taute

 

[William18]

Who will captain that side?

 

[Icemn]

Are the Boks wearing orange jersey now against Arg :?