The Springbok Team to face the (rather crocked) Wallabies at the Subiaco Oval in Perth, at 12h05 (SA time) this Saturday, was announced by Coach De Villiers today.
Only two changes were made to the 22 that thumped the Australians in Cape Town earlier this month. One of those changes was enforced, with Schalk Burger returning from his 8 week suspension to replace Danie Rossouw on the bench (the latter is nursing a slight hamstring strain). The other change sees a shuffling of the starting lineup, with Francois Steyn and Ruan Pienaar swapping positions. Steyn moves to the bench, whilst Pienaar will don the number 15 jersey (emulating his father, former Bok fullback of great repute, Gysie).
A few pundits have questioned the need to tamper with the starting fifteen, suggesting that the team was just fine, as it was.
In this regard, although I would have been equally happy with an unchanged starting lineup, I am not altogether unhappy about the change.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a supporter of Frans Steyn, and I do believe that he’s been playing well this season. And I also don't believe that he should be disadvantaged because of an imminent departure to play for Racing metro in France at the end of our season, because of the Bok Coach's penchant for preferring players who ply their trade in SA. Having said that - and knowing the Bok Coach, I doubt very much whether that was in any way a factor in the selection process. In fact, I KNOW it wasn't.
I feel that perhaps we need to start seeing the bigger picture here. Could it not be that the coach and his selectors and assistants feel we need to just add a bit to that which we are doing so well, by bringing in a player that can spark something different – something the Wallabies may not be expecting or be prepared to handle.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we should now be dumping Frans, (he’s in the mix anyway, and probably still is going to play a major role, perhaps just in a different way). Far from it. I rate him very highly in fact.
Remember, this is a squad of 22 where all have a role to play, and we should not become fixated on the starting lineup vs bench, mentality.
I’m sure there’s good reason for this change, and quite frankly, I’m excited to see what plans unfold on Saturday.
What a pleasure it must be for any coach to be in the position where you can mix and match with little or no disruption to your team. I'd be tempted to suggest that, if you were to ask either of Robbie Deans or Graham Henry if they would welcome such a situation, they'd gleefully agree. But that would be obvious....wouldn't it?
I have watched the Boks' progress very closely this season, improving game by game, and bringing a whole new dimension to their dominance in international rugby.
True, this could all go pear-shaped on Saturday afternoon. But conversely, it could bring yet a new dimension. Yet a whole new weapon to be added to the incresing Bok armoury.
We’ve seen so much newness about our Boks this year. Tactical supremacy, outstanding discipline, deadly accuracy, admirable confidence. Why not another weapon – confident variety in selection?
I really do not see a switch in positions in the match 22 being risky. Not in the least.
The selectors, in effect, made only ONE change to the match 22 – and that was enforced if you like. Schalk in place of Danie (who has a slight injury). Otherwise it’s the same personnel, about to take another step on the road to total dominance.
I cannot see why they should not be bold enough to be taking these steps on a regular basis.
Don’t see Frans & Ruan’s positional swap as punishment for the one, and favouritism for the other. See it as two members of a well-drilled team of personnel being given a chance to augment their skills in the interests of their team – and their supporters. See the positions in the Bok team being from 1 to 22, rather than 1 to 15. Rugby has become a squad game. Everyone now has a major role to play. Those who begin on the bench know that they have an equally important role to fulfil if the match situation calls for it. Remember, it's a team game - and these boys do it for the team. And what should really be abundantly clear to us all is the way these Boks play for one another, and for the team. Could that not be the MAIN reason for their major ascendancy over the past season? By George, I believe it may well be!!!
Other rugbywriters have questioned the shifting of Ruan to fullback for Saturday, suggesting that the likes of Conrad Jantjes and Zane Kirchner are earmarked for that position going forward.
To raise the names of these guys in the context of the current series – players who are not at the coalface of test rugby right now, seems futile to me. I have a very high regard for both Conrad and Zane. And I too believe that they're destined for greater things. But c’mon guys, let’s keep it real. They are not around right now.
Let’s focus on the here and now!!!
Let’s enjoy this wonderful, previously rare, experience of what it’s like to really be living up to the mantle of the world’s best team. Let’s celebrate the fact that our team’s selections are borne out of a commendable sense of adventure to see just how much more we can achieve, rather than the former scramble we used to see, when week after week we were trying out new players in the blind and desperate hope of stumbling upon the right man for the job.
That now seems to be the lot of our two SANZAR opponents.
We should be happy in the knowledge that we are able to make team selection changes from a position of strength. Happy, but not complacent.
Long may it last…….....
Thursday, August 27, 2009
World Champs with a World of Experience
My goodness!! I spent a couple of hours earlier, researching some statistics around the experience of the Bok Team which fronts up to the Aussies in Perth this weekend.
You will be awestruck by the difference in experience levels between our World Number 1 Team and the current Wallaby 22. I know I was!!!
Well, here's the info. It's phenomenal.
First up. Smittie and his match 22 boast a staggering 813 caps in comparison to the Wallabies' impressive 586. The Bok backs have 362 whilst the hosts' backs weih in with 201. In similar vein, our forwards bring 451 caps to the party, with their Australian counterparts numbering 385.
Looking deeper, we see that this works out at the Boks averaging 37 caps per player to the 27 of the Wallabies.
Our starting lineup has 634, with theirs numbering 440, whilst our bench has 179 tests between them in comparison to the Aussies' 146.
The average number of caps per backline player, and per forward, indicates an interesting aspect, namely that our backline seems far more experienced than theirs. We have 36 caps per man to their 20. Up front honours are more even, with the World Champs having 38 caps per man to the 32 of Robbie Deans' charges.
As if these stats were not conclusive enough evidence of the experiential supremacy of the Boks' I decided to delve into the realm of experience in combinations, and compared what I thought to be the coaches' seven most important combinations to consider when selecting a team. Again, Deans did not have much to entuse about, as only 2 of his combinations are more experienced than those of Div's Boks. And even then, the difference is not THAT marked.
Important to note here is that (in all cases) these numbers include the substitutes, based on the positions they are most likely to cover.
See for yourself:
But I'm going with the proven old adage that "there's no substitute for experience"
Go Bokke!!!
You will be awestruck by the difference in experience levels between our World Number 1 Team and the current Wallaby 22. I know I was!!!
Well, here's the info. It's phenomenal.
First up. Smittie and his match 22 boast a staggering 813 caps in comparison to the Wallabies' impressive 586. The Bok backs have 362 whilst the hosts' backs weih in with 201. In similar vein, our forwards bring 451 caps to the party, with their Australian counterparts numbering 385.
Looking deeper, we see that this works out at the Boks averaging 37 caps per player to the 27 of the Wallabies.
Our starting lineup has 634, with theirs numbering 440, whilst our bench has 179 tests between them in comparison to the Aussies' 146.
The average number of caps per backline player, and per forward, indicates an interesting aspect, namely that our backline seems far more experienced than theirs. We have 36 caps per man to their 20. Up front honours are more even, with the World Champs having 38 caps per man to the 32 of Robbie Deans' charges.
As if these stats were not conclusive enough evidence of the experiential supremacy of the Boks' I decided to delve into the realm of experience in combinations, and compared what I thought to be the coaches' seven most important combinations to consider when selecting a team. Again, Deans did not have much to entuse about, as only 2 of his combinations are more experienced than those of Div's Boks. And even then, the difference is not THAT marked.
Important to note here is that (in all cases) these numbers include the substitutes, based on the positions they are most likely to cover.
See for yourself:
- Frontrow: SA 146 Aus 152 (6 more to the Wallabies)
- Second-row SA 163 Aus 72 (Boks have 91 more)
- Back-row SA 142 Aus 161 (Aus by 19, although Brussow's 7 tests are worth 50!!)
- Halfbacks SA 126 Aus 94 (SA 32 ahead)
- Midfield SA 124 Aus 46 (Aussies seriously lacking)
- Back 3 SA 145 Aus 65 (another big gap)
- 8-9-10-12 SA 164 Aus 133 ( a healthy gap in this crucial combination)
- Leadership SA 173 Aus 172 (nothing much in it here, between 2 teams captains & vc's)
But I'm going with the proven old adage that "there's no substitute for experience"
And they call the BOKS a boring team!!!!!................
What is that age-old adage about the pot calling the kettle black? Funny how it happens over and over, and in all different spheres.
The latest case is a humdinger. The Kiwis and the Wallaby media accusing the World Champion Boks of playing boring kicking rugby. Hmfff!! I mean - have you EVER?? And do you know what the biggest irony is in all this?
The irony, my friends, is that if you look at the stats of the 2009 Tri Nations thus far, which team has scored the most tries? The answer is going to shock you more than anything, especially if you are of similar opinion to the Australasians. The ABs have scored 3 five-pointers in 4 games. The Wallabies have crossed the line 3 times in 3 outings. And........Wait for it..........Our "boring" Boks have amassed 4 tries in only 3 outings!!
So, I ask you in all sincerity (and with a fair amount of desperation!), why is it the Springboks that are being labelled with the "Boring Rugby" tag?
We've long believed that our Antipodean SANZAR comrades have a 'thing' about the Boks being ahead of the pack, and we all know how much they hate it when we steal a march on them - be it collectively OR individually. But surely we could not have imagined that their jaundiced views would lead to such delusional behaviour as to accuse the leading try-scorers of playing the "boring" rugby in this year's edition of the Tri Nations.
Graham Henry has suggested that the laws of the game need to be looked at, to prevent what he refers to as "too much kicking". He may have a point. Yet in last week's between the All Blacks and the Wallabies, there was more kicking than in the previous games involving the Boks. Funny, that.......
Methinks there's a distinct air of desperate despondency and lack of idea and/or ability on the part of our 2 Tri Nations rivals to counter what the Springboks are now dishing up on the international stage, and in a frenetic effort to try and curb the Boks' undoubted ascendancy, both the Kiwis and the Aussies, via their adoring (yet frustrated) media, are exhausting all manner of means to try and persuade their fans, supporters - and indeed themselves - that the Boks are not playing exciting high quality test rugby.
What utter hogwash!! An in-depth look at ALL the key statistics of this year's TNS, will demonstrate beyond any doubt that it is the Springbok team of Peter de Villiers and John Smit, that is dominating and leading in all aspects of the game. Why, we even take the honours in the area in which we, in most if not all previous editions (I will concede), were the whipping boys before - discipline!!!
All in all, I am of the opinion that the wheels may finally be beginning to come off for the Australians and the New Zealanders, and they know it. That is why they're trying to divert the attention of the media and fans away from themselves - by trying to suggest that it is the hugely-improved and dominant Boks that are the baddies in this year's edition.
Sorry boys, that aint gonna work anymore. This time the problems are YOURS!! Fair dinkum, mate.
The latest case is a humdinger. The Kiwis and the Wallaby media accusing the World Champion Boks of playing boring kicking rugby. Hmfff!! I mean - have you EVER?? And do you know what the biggest irony is in all this?
The irony, my friends, is that if you look at the stats of the 2009 Tri Nations thus far, which team has scored the most tries? The answer is going to shock you more than anything, especially if you are of similar opinion to the Australasians. The ABs have scored 3 five-pointers in 4 games. The Wallabies have crossed the line 3 times in 3 outings. And........Wait for it..........Our "boring" Boks have amassed 4 tries in only 3 outings!!
So, I ask you in all sincerity (and with a fair amount of desperation!), why is it the Springboks that are being labelled with the "Boring Rugby" tag?
We've long believed that our Antipodean SANZAR comrades have a 'thing' about the Boks being ahead of the pack, and we all know how much they hate it when we steal a march on them - be it collectively OR individually. But surely we could not have imagined that their jaundiced views would lead to such delusional behaviour as to accuse the leading try-scorers of playing the "boring" rugby in this year's edition of the Tri Nations.
Graham Henry has suggested that the laws of the game need to be looked at, to prevent what he refers to as "too much kicking". He may have a point. Yet in last week's between the All Blacks and the Wallabies, there was more kicking than in the previous games involving the Boks. Funny, that.......
Methinks there's a distinct air of desperate despondency and lack of idea and/or ability on the part of our 2 Tri Nations rivals to counter what the Springboks are now dishing up on the international stage, and in a frenetic effort to try and curb the Boks' undoubted ascendancy, both the Kiwis and the Aussies, via their adoring (yet frustrated) media, are exhausting all manner of means to try and persuade their fans, supporters - and indeed themselves - that the Boks are not playing exciting high quality test rugby.
What utter hogwash!! An in-depth look at ALL the key statistics of this year's TNS, will demonstrate beyond any doubt that it is the Springbok team of Peter de Villiers and John Smit, that is dominating and leading in all aspects of the game. Why, we even take the honours in the area in which we, in most if not all previous editions (I will concede), were the whipping boys before - discipline!!!
All in all, I am of the opinion that the wheels may finally be beginning to come off for the Australians and the New Zealanders, and they know it. That is why they're trying to divert the attention of the media and fans away from themselves - by trying to suggest that it is the hugely-improved and dominant Boks that are the baddies in this year's edition.
Sorry boys, that aint gonna work anymore. This time the problems are YOURS!! Fair dinkum, mate.
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