| Volume 3, Week 20 | |
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Editors Note |
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Brilliant! Take a deep breath. Thanks goodness this column is written after a few days of reflection, debate and the emotions have calmed down. Were I to vent my spleen in the immediate aftermath of the Scotland test in Durban, every server on my mailing list would return the familiar “inappropriate language triggered” response to my inbox. Talking of which, those of you who wondered whatever happened to the Apartheid era sensors need to look no further than the purveyo
rs of content filtering software! How I wish they were there to block out the “inappropriate amount” of errors made by the Springboks! The test, only the second against Scotland on home soil was a rather large disappointment for the legions of Springbok supporters despite a victory after three record-breaking defeats in a row. This column warned a few weeks ago that they (Springboks) are coming off a low base and in the light of their previous performances a victory against a team who outscrummed, outjumped, outmuscled and outran them only two matches ago AND with 14 new players, the result must be seen as positive however hard it is to swallow. Yes, there are many alarming aspects of the Springboks' play but here is an extract from Volume 2 Week 41, “little should be seen in these matches and if there is one positive to take from it or even one lesson learnt then the tour should be regarded as valuable. Here are a few point worth pondering: · Experience is invaluable and should not be disregarded. · Select horses for courses. · Establish a dominating forward pack · Source lineout exponents · Introduce variation in the backline · Establish a better work ethic – the Springboks did not deserve their day’s pay, even in defeat more should be expected and delivered’ So what did Rudolf Straeuli do? Some experience was brought back into the mix, the forward pack was beefed up and dominant on the day with two tightheads and the lineouts were well contested by Matfield and Botha who spoiled and nicked some good Scottish ball. There was an attempt at establishing a better work ethic by laying down some ground rules in the ensuing week, widely described as “draconian” etc. by the world. The result = progress = some confidence. What did the Springboks not do? Backline play was again non-existent except during the two try scoring movements when slick handling and instinct took over from the “gameplan”. It may be clear later on that the players were not the ultimate “first choices” but they were given an opportunity and found wanting. Fine, at least the cost was not a defeat, find the correct combinations and move on, quickly. Defence is a serious problem and the “new” method of stopping the man around the shoulders is filling this ole “round-the-ankles” man with more and more trepidation. For one the players are not getting it right and two it nullifies the opportunity for the open side flank or nearest player to the tackle to compete for the ball. The rule is simple; the tackled player must release or be penalized. The rigid adherence to one gameplan must be seen as dangerous and plain dim-witted however the players seem to be under so much pressure that even the guaranteed R 100,000 payslip cannot relax them! It has become so overbearing that they were reduced to jittery, hapless, butterfingered amateurs. They seem to have too much angst. Milan Kundera’s “lightness of being” is a concept far removed from the average Springbok player not to mention supporter, moi included! A few issues ago the renowned Frik Du Preez was lauded in this column for his magnificent contribution to the Springbok cause, however on more than one occasion the big man exasperated his fellow Springboks, selectors and the public by exclaiming after a Springbok defeat “it still beats the hell out of working!” or words to that effect. Another great South African sportsman, the cricketer Lance ‘Zulu’ Klusener was publicly criticized by his new captain for being a “disruptive influence” in exclaimi ng amongst other things that the “pre-mature” departure of the SA team from the World Cup meant “two weeks extra fishing”. This may be the reason Oom Frik was dropped about 13 times in his career and Zulu probably “rested” as many if not more games yet these two were proven winners and “greats” in their respective sports! The coming weekend is a huge fest of rugby and the highly anticipated England/All Black clash will be the center of attention. The score will not be as lopsided as everyone think and in this writer’s humble view England will acquit themselves well and give the All Blacks a good run for their money. The Springboks need another victory and with an improved performance in the key deficiency areas the Scots should run out of steam on the Springbok’s favourite ground, Ellis Park. Enjoy the weekend! Lucas |
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| A tidal wave of utter desperation by Tom Marcellus |
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As I was wafting through the DSTV channels on late Sunday afternoon, as I am wont to do at that rather dubious time of the day, watching the French Open men's doubles finals of all things, one of the commentators, whose brain had seemingly turned mushy in the Roland Garros heat, was rather harsh in his description of Yevgeny Kafelnikov and his partner, whose own brains, he surmised over a chilled flute of the finest squished grapes (no doubt), had turned from "chocolates into boiled sweets in 28 mi
nutes". It goes without saying that Comrade Kafelnikov and his long-suffering partner, Paul Haarhuis, had gone from possible champions to no-hopers in that brief spell, which, if one considers some of the great to-and-fro tennis matches of yore (a certain Borg-McEnroe tie-break in '80 suddenly springs to mind), is but a flicker of a bleary eye-lid. Not wanting to over-state the point, kind reader (but indulge me, I beg), they crumbled and imploded, as the victory chalice, polished and glistening, beckoned . I mulled over these words again, as I considered the fortuitous, at-the-death victory of het Springbokken over their valiant foes from north of Hadrian's Wall on Saturday afternoon. I may have been a tad critical of those caber-tossing Jocks over the last week or 2, but, I have to confess, this has stemmed more from a well of muted admiration, than from any true hostility. And that is not even considering that I have gallons of McAllister (of the non-Irish branch) and Mackenzie blood coursing through my veins. Judging by the melancholic newspaper headlines that were draped from every lamppost on Sunday morning, the news from the front was not promising, to say the least: although the Green 'n Gold had prevailed, the circumstances were, even to the most one-eyed fan, highly fortuitous. As one esteemed scribe from West of the Drakensberg memorably noted, with muffled pride (one hopes), the Boks were spurred on "by a tidal wave of utter desperation". And, having blown a week's pocket money on newspapers of vastly differing sophistication – to make matter worse, l then spent a sun-burnt afternoon mulling over the rather desperate missives received from a number of sporting scribes dotted around Afrika-Borwa – I had strong convictions on the subject. The news was all doom 'n gloom, as various esteemed scribes (not unsurprisingly) predicted the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire, the End of Civilisation as We Know It, and other such calamities. As I pondered these and other lamentable facts (after all, my car is leaking oil in buckets and my girlfriend is being typically disagreeable), I could not help but be thankful that a greenhorn Bok side had managed to overcome a spirited, talented XV that, in the first half at least, had showed itself to be full of juice, muscle and aggro. This was, after all, a team very similar to the one that had put the Boks to the sword so gloriously (if you’re a McAllister (of the non-Irish branch) or a Mack enzie) in such grand style at Murrayfield 6 months ago – a Bok team that, granted, was tired and dispirited, but one that wore a little leaping antelope over its breast, and was led onto the pitch by its inspirational, grim-faced skipper (much like another Bok team 51 years before). And look what happened to them. I have rarely seen a Bok side perform so poorly for 60 minutes. Up until the 3rd quarter of the match, those whiskey-quaffing marauders from north of Watford, with their jaunty backline and mean-eyed pack, seemed to have had the test veritably all sewn up. It goes without saying that (much to the aston ishment of this of this arm-chair correspondent), things went a tad pear-shaped shortly thereafter, as the Scots' prospects turned to boiled sweets, a la Comrade Kafelnikov and his Dutch ally. With 20 minutes to go, the Boks had everything to do, and they did it. At pressing times such as this – in a World Cup year, and immediately after the most ignominious defeat in all the long history of het Springbokken – I rejoice in mere baby steps. And, as always, in pride, and lots of heart. |
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| Nameless, Blameless? by Desmond Organ |
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Thank God my grandmother was Scottish were the thoughts that repeatedly went through my mind following the events that unfolded in Durban. For a while I thought that the only team on the field that had any plan, sense of conviction or idea on how to play the game was wearing a dark blue strip. Yes the result was a victory for South Africa, but forgive my cynical soul for thinking that the scoreboard is not the only thing that matters. Of the several predictions that were made before the game several were spot on and unfortunately they were all Scottish but one. Louis Koen kicked his goals when it counted and that resulted in a Springbok victory. The pundits that had done their homework noted the wry intelligence of Telfer and company and once again they were spot on. The threat of one Springbok scrumhalf was nullified through brilliant play by the loose forwards. The man does not possess the best pass in the business and so the rest is history. One the other hand Mr. Redpath has one of the best in the business and managed to get the ball to his stand off in an effective manner. What really blows the mind is the inability of the Springbok forwards to do anything resembling cohesive forward play, even when they had the ascendancy they were unable to keep the ball through more than a couple of phases. Playing as individuals at international level is about as effective as relieving yourself in front of a hurricane, you are going to get wet, very wet. The only real positive thing was the ability of Victor Matfield to poach the opposition ball, something that several journalist s were quite correct in forecasting. On Friday a remarkably revealing article appeared on the Supersport site; which was quite bold in its articulation of lies and statistics. I found it to be an incredibly brave attempt to bring the South African public back to their sporting senses. For too often we are duped into believing that the miracle will happen and that the statistics will not reveal the realities that are all too often clear for all to see. The argument of successful Provincial combinations was brought back down to earth wi th a thud, all to obvious when you consider the number if times that several of the three quarters have played together this year and the amount of international experience in the forwards. The ease with which the Scots scored their opening two tries would have filled the notebooks of Jones and company as they plan the downfall of the Springboks. In fact you do not need a notebook to tell players that all you have to do is pass the ball, catch it and enjoy the view of the opposition patting you on the back as you pass by. The Springbok three quarters resembled an ox wagon descending Table Mountain without the benefit of vegetable oil; once again thank God that Louis Koen can kick. Several months ago a fellow writer had the following to say: “ The problem with Scotland is that the forwards keep on going forward and the backs keep on going backwards. I have a feeling that South Africa’s problem is that everybody is going backwards. The result is a victory, but if you count the number of times that Halstead and company received the ball timeously then it is perhaps not surprising that they kept on going backwards. It is a disgrace to the ability of players to execute to their s trengths under such circumstances. A solution to the lack of penetration at flyhalf and inside center has got to be found. Halstead to his credit can only break the advantage line when he gets quick service, not something that either Joost or Koen are known for. The South African three quarters will continue to battle if the likes of Joost, Koen and Davidson are employed in the no 9 and no 10 jerseys. Andre Pretorius may be the solution but he is going to need to get the ball out very, very quickly. Few people realise that the reason for Halstead’s success in the Super 12 several years ago was the ability of Butch James to break the advantage line. This was something that Henry Honiball mastered and with the genius of Dick Muir outside him the rest was his tory. Familiarity with playing partners is a key to success at international level, something that was not forgotten by the pundits in their analysis of Scotland’s abilities. The sublime passing that we witnessed in the first twenty minutes has not come about by chance. Brendon Laney was Scotland’s nemesis in the Six Nations and he could not kick either. The Scottish loose forwards were all over the park, something that was not prevalent in the attempts of the Springbok back three. The coach may well hav e played his cards when he said that he already knew many of his World Cup combinations, he might just be using these early test matches to prove a point. One thing is for certain the back three that played on Saturday will not threaten a world-class team, quite the opposite they will fuel their appetite. The only member of the back three that emerged with his reputation intact was Pedrie Wannenberg, but what a time he had trying to avoid the directionless over exuberance of his colleagues. The tight five were effective whilst not being cohesive and the performances of the Super 12 were written all over the faces of the front three. A lot of work will need to be done in the next week, but one thing is certain, a win under any circumstances is a lot better than a loss. In attempting to engage in the art of predictions, here are the teams that I selected for the first and second tests against Scotland. 15. Ricardo Loubscher 14. Stefan Terblanche 13. Andre Snyman 12. Trevor Halstead 11. Ashwin Willemse 10. Loius Koen 09. Joost vd Westhuizen 08. Pedrie Wannenberg 07. Wikus van Heerden 06. Hendrik Gerber 05. Victor Matfield 04. Bakkies Botha 03. Richard Bands 02. Danie Coetzee 01. Lawrence Sephaka Reserves: Cobus Visagie, Robbie Kempson, Craig Davidson, Selborne Boom , Jaco vd Westhuizen and Gcobani Bobo 15. Jaco vd Westhuizen 14. Stefan Terblanche 13. Marius Joubert 12. Trevor Halstead 11. Ashwin Willemse 10. Louis Koen 09. Joost vd Westhuizen 08. Pedrie Wannenberg 07. Juan Smith 06. Hendrik Gerber 05. Victor Matfield 04. Selborne Boom 03. Richard Bands 02. Danie Coetzee 01.Lawrence Sephaka Reserves: Cobus Visagie, Robbie Kempson, Craig Davidson, Bob Skinstad, Brent Russell and Gcobani Bobo |
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The international season gets off to a rusty start for the Southern hemisphere
by Vinesh Naicker |
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There were three games of interest to me on last weekend. The Wallabies versus Ireland, the Springboks versus Scotland and the NZ Maori versus England. While watching the Ireland versus Australia test on Saturday I spent the first 20 minutes thinking to myself. What is wrong with this picture? It finally dawned on me that it was the fact that the Wallaby forward pack was totally dominating the Irish. Over the years we have come to have a stereotype of the Wallabies. Their forward pack has traditionally struggled to compete with the opposition and it has been through their talented backs that they have been able to score tries. That has change d in recent years based on the template provided by the Brumbies. The Wallaby team now normally consists of forwards who are adequate in the scrums and mauls but who really attack the ball well in the lineout. Their massive backs make yardage by running into the opposition and setting up phase play. The Wallaby mantra has become continuous phase play. However, on Saturday the Wallaby pack completely dominated the Irish pack at every phase of play. Scrums, mauls, lineouts, the Irish were beaten in every facet. The Irish halfback Stringer had a shocking day at the office. There is no doubt that Gregan played well but when compared to Stringer even Whittaker looked good. The only thing that stopped the game from being a total rout in the first half was the amount of times the Wallabies dropped the ball or knocked it on. The Irish backs scored one good try, but frankly, if this team were good prospects for winning the Grand Slam this year, then the Six Nations isn’t much of a competition. I must charitably assume that the loss of O’Driscoll and Wood has been a massive blow for them. I went into the Boks versus the Scots game with pretty low expectations on the Scots. They had after all been contenders for the wooden spoon and so were ranked lower than the Irish. The first half of the game involved Koen kicking the ball either for touch or "up and under". Unfortunately the "up and unders" were either too deep or knocked on by the chasers. About 25 minutes into the game one of the commentators mentioned that Snyman had not got his hands on the ball yet. My first thought was that from what I could see of the Bok game plan the only reason Snyman needed hands was so that he could use them in the tackle. The backline really didn't have any centres just two fast flankers. The one time Koen ran he made a break, which came to nothing when he subsequently kicked it. I would have thought, with the size of the Boks forwards, they might have gained some territory by driving or going one off the ruck. AJ Venter would have been a good selection to provide this aspect. Ironically, the Scots first try was a direct result of their forwards driving through the Bok forwards from the ruck. They even still had three forwards spare to leave on the left wing and beat the defence to score. The Scots second try was a direct result of Terblanche not trusting Loubscher to do his job, and as a result failing to do his own. The Scots may have been further ahead if not for the constantly wayward kicking of Townsend who, it seemed, could only find the touchline when he was outside the 22. The Scots third try started with a great run by Logan, from his own 10 metre line, with a number of forwards and backs subsequently keeping the ball alive in the tackle. They were assisted by some bad Bok tackling. As expected the Boks response was a kick at goal. No attempt to kick to the corners and win the lineout. The Scots responded with two penalties of their own to go up 25-12. With only 20 minutes to go the Boks changed tactics, with Koen keeping the ball in hand and the team attacking the Scottish defensive line. Three minutes later Terblanche crossed the try line. 25-19. A penalty kick rebounded off the uprights and Gerber following up pounced on it. From the resulting ruck Halstead went over in the corner. 25-29 and the Boks went ahead for the first time on the 69 minute mark. What followed was desperation play from the Scots who spent the last 5 minutes camped on the Boks 5 metre line. The Boks held out to win. In the final analysis the Boks carried on their Super 12 form for the first 60 minutes, only displaying pride in their jersey in the last 20 minutes. Still for a team who were pretty sad through most of the game it only took 20 minutes of passion to beat a pretty committed Scottish side. If the Boks can put an 80 minute together and with some of their stars coming back next week, I don’t rate the Scots chances too highly next week. The NZ Maori versus England game was noteworthy for one reason. In my view not one single player stood out in the game. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, no one in the English team stood out because they played as a team, not as individuals. It was the best team effort I can remember seeing. As Woodward said afterwards they strangled the Maori team. By contrast no one stood out in the Maori team because they played like rabble. Their performance against Tonga the previous week was exc used because they had only been together for three days. The additional week of training showed no apparent returns as no one improved. Coach Matt Te Pou’s philosophy of light training and structure to allow the Maori players to show their flair backfired badly. The conditions did not suit running rugby but it’s hardly an excuse for a team of natives to not be able to cope with the weather conditions in their own country. I hope the All Blacks don’t make the same mistake against the full English team this weekend. It’s going to be close. Mitchell has made some bold selections in order to exploit Englands perceived weakness. I back the Blacks in the dry with Umaga and Nonu having the wood over Greenwood and Tindall, but England could have the edge if it rains. |
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| Quotes |
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No In the famous Barbarians v All Blacks game [in the early 1970s] there were 97 kicks. These days the average is about 50. There were also more errors then, and more turnovers.
Former Welsh referee, Corris Thomas in a report on modern test match rugby England aren't as good as they are made out to be. If they were, they would not rely so heavily on Wilkinson. David Campese We want to bring the crowds back in before us and we want them to get behind us, to be proud of us. It does not take much to turn the negativity around - we must just go out and produce. Joost, before the first test vs. Scotland It's like a sprinter having to find a new pair of running spikes just minutes before the final heat of a big race. It's unsettling. Dion O'Cuinneagain after the Springbok Sevens squad's kit was stolen by a security guard in London and their subsequent defeat against England. A win is a win. Rudolf Straeuli Saturday's game was the most pathetic Test match that I have ever seen. There was no fire, there were missed line-outs, poor kicks and our defensive lines were shocking. A Bok side should not play like that. Michael du Plessis There is so much talent in New Zealand. If they don't win the World Cup there should be an inquiry. Wales coach, Steve Hansen The teams that will win the big tournaments in the modern era will have aerobic fitness, athleticism, high skill levels, intelligence and resilience. On the evidence of the weekend, the Springboks are headed in the wrong direction. The life-embracing Wallabies are on track. Spiro Zavos Coming over to France, winning the championship in my first season and becoming the first foreign coach to do so in a season where we never lost a home game ranks right up with anything I have achieved as a coach. Nick Mallett We don't expect people to start booing in our stadium. We believe the fans in Johannesburg love and understand their sport and that there will be no need to resort to booing. Lions CEO, Johan Prinsloo |
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| Letters to the Editor |
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Dear Ed THE STATE OF SPRINGBOK RUGBY: 2003 No, Rudolf, what the hell am I reading in the papers? The current squad is our B team, or B plan team? That should be a slap in the face for a couple of guys that came an restored our proud of what was shattered by the so called "injured" A-team at Murrayfield last year. Two quick facts from last year: Scotland scored a try after Andre Pretorius made a balls up under pressure. Scotland scored a try when the then pack forwards were mauled backwards. Two quick facts from this year: Louis Koen is brilliant under pressure. The now pack really dominate at scrums and line outs (go look at the match stats), and prevented the Scotland pack from Mauling over in the dying minutes. Now why in the world would you like to take the guys that lost to Scotland last year to this years World Cup? Those Boks could only beat wooden spoon Wales, Argentina and Samoa, and had a lucky game against Australia, almost like the Cats against the Brumbies this year. We shouldn't flatter ourselves with that win over the Aussies last year, because the Aussies were not in shape last year (they lost to Ireland, England and us). What am I? Just a public eye? I think the Boks played much better than the Scots the past weekend. Had we taken all our penalties to line outs we could have made the margin more impressive, and less stress for the Bok fan in the second halve. To go chop and change guys that are building momentum will just shatter our World Cup dreams. I have a few opinions I feel strong about: - The Bulls pack never gets injured because they are the fittest in the country - Joost never puts his flyhalf under pressure - Trevor Halstead and Marius Joubert is the best balance in defence and attack that we have - Jaco v/d Westhuisen and Brent Russell is the best loose play attackers we have - Pedri Wannenburg is the best loose forward in the country - Andre Pretorius is not a good overall flyhalf for the team. He'll suit better on wing. He must start specialising as wing and he'll become like Breyten Paulse. But it is not good to experiment with him now. Maybe next year. We must use Louis and Derick as the "kicking flyhalves", or Brent and Jaco if we want to play the "running flyhalves" from Naas' perspective. These are the things that I would look at. I would ignore things that makes it difficult to choose the best given team. Things like: - Contractual Agreements. More Boks mean more contracts, more payslips. Paying the A team and they are not even playing. I think Joost is still under a Bok contract signed with Harry Viljoen. Good examples are Willie Meyer, Dean Hall and Corne Krige. - Kwota players, but luckily Bobo and Sephaka is good. Paulse is really to small for defence. - Unions, such as Western Province (the hidden Doc Craven policy) ex Springboks influences, such as comments etc. - Media influences. Supersport voting polls. A Good example is Bobby Skinstad, and currently Derick Hougaard and Geo Cronje. What I'm trying to say is. Choose the good team now! And work with them now! Don't wait for combinations and future game plans. Perth is almost yesterday. Thanks for reading my view Herman Kotze, Pretoria |
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Hi Lucas (brilliant), For Fun Have been reading your forum for some time now and really appreciate it. We all seem to complain about the same things every season so why don't we start our own "Rules of thumb" manual. For example: 1. All tactics in Rugby are, of necessity, temporary. If the opposition knows which you are going to use, you have lost 50% of the game before you start. 2. Do not play touch rugby for at least 12 months before a test. 3. Poorly opposed loose scrums (rucks, Mauls etc) enables the opposition to thump your best forwards without mercy and they are inclined to revert to touch rugby. 4. Flat footed defence on either side of any type of scrum means ,you are not interested, are loosing, or have lost the game. (probably why Joost lost his job some time ago, tackling opposition heavies whilst his own heavies were playing touch rugby). 5. Unopposed lineouts are neither attack nor defence, but capitulation. 6. Forwards in the back line need backline training. There are many more, All the best, Bob. |
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Hi Lucas, Letters I'm one hundred percent behind George Havenga. If South African rugby wants to develop flair and vision amongst its players then the Cheetahs have to be in the Super 12. Hell I'm a Natal supporter (and its still Kings Park to me, or has your ground become the field behind Ohlssons?) but we wouldn't have had a prayer of winning any Currie Cups if it wasn't for the importing of Free State players. It really is time they received recognition BUT SARFU will always bend to big bucks, although they're there to promoter the game, so that's why two Super 12 teams exist 50 kms apart. Its also why one or other of those two teams will always prop up the Super 12! Good on you George, if you start a petition forward it to me, there are plenty of us down here that will sign it. Storm Ferguson |
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Hi Ed Saturday Two points arose immediately from Saturday's Test against Scotland: 1. The Boks each received R100000 each for their entertaining effort! 2. If a Super 12 Ref had handled the game the Scots would have won by three points after a penalty try at the end! Naturally there are always some interesting quotes made after the game by those who hope to infuse you with confidence for the next 'performance.' Straeuli was superb: 'We've only had a week together and the players haven't got used to each other!' Beautiful! Six of the pack were Bulls plus the scrumhalf and flyhalf. The two centres, one wing and the fullback were Natal players. So the desperate performance, in Straeuli's terms, was due to the loosehead prop, the left wing and the No. 7 flank? Ja, our coach fills me with optimism! Whatever the Scots were paid they earned in full value. Their movements, vision and handling were what we'd hoped to see give us hope for the future. Now the news has broken that our illustrious coach has dropped Loubscher and been saved dropping Snyman due to a hamstring pull. Who has he replaced them with? Brent Russell and Skinstad, both of whom haven't played a game for over six weeks. Ah yes, the thinking is deep, very deep! Storm Ferguson |
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Goeie Dag Na aanleiding van al die kritiek en teleurstellings die afgelope twee jaar, wil ek darem nou se -HOERA. Uiteindelik is Tim weg en Rudie Joubert waar hy moet wees. Verder is dit verblydend om te sien dat Jaco vd Westhuizen uiteidelik as heelagter aangewend gaan word. Beide is verbeterings wat ek al verlede jaar na die Super 12 aanbeveel het. Net jammer ons moes soveel vernederings deurstaan voor Straulie sy trots in sy sak gesteek en die regte besluit geneem het. Jammer ook hy gee nou selfone die skuld vir sy mislukkings. Ek is n voorstander van dissipline, maar redelikheid is ook noodsaaklik vir prestasie. Veder wens ek al die spelers voorspoed toe en glo dat daar nog n paar spelers is wat aan die deur klop en beslis hul plek verdien. Daarmee wil ek vra dat die keurders nie blind moet wees vir talent en harde werk nie. Moenie op ou spelers leuen wat nie meer die passie en trots het nie. Met dank Tjaart Coetzee |
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Beste Lucas. Manne met rokke? Ai tog, ek het weereens amper weer op die Bokke geskree in plaas vir hulle. Dit het maar moeilik gegaan. Ek sien egter 'n lig in die tonnel en dit is nie 'n trein nie. Wat ek wil uiter gaan nie almal se goedkeuring wegdra nie. Ons span se grootste probleem is die skakelpaar en hoofsaaklik die skrumskakel. Die man is/was 'n goeie speler maar nie op internasionale vlak nie. Hy kom nie meer by die losskrums uit nie, kan nie spel opsom nie en is gans te stadig. Die kere wat hy dioe bal uitgeggee het kon Koen in elk geval niks doen nie want hy was op die agtervoet. Twee kere is die bal laat loop en is daar driee aangeteken. Probeer Davidson en die verskil sal gesien word. Dit is nie 'n skande om 'n kaptein te "fire"nie. Almal maak foute. Ek glo ook dat 'n Springbokspan 'n Joodse speler moet insluit. Kyk vir Nomis en Stransky toe hulle gespeel het. Die Bokke was toe nogal 'n goeie span gewees. Ek glo dat hulle net beter kan speel. Groete. Chrisjan X |
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