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JJ Harmse
The Springbok management’s Rugby World Cup preparations for the 2011 tournament will hopefully move up a notch on Friday night when Wales take on England in the opening match of the Six Nations.
In 219 days the Springboks will start the defence of the Webb Ellis Trophy by taking on Wales in Wellington, New Zealand in their opening fixture of the 2011 showpiece.
This clash will be the most vital of all four of the Pool D matches played by the Springboks in September as the winner of this match at the "Cake Tin" is expected to top the pool and move on to an ‘easier’ quarter-final fixture.
I have a good feeling that either Samoa or Fiji could beat Wales in New Zealand in their pool clashes, but the fact remains that a good win by the Boks on September 11 will not only secure top spot in the pool, but will kick off their campaign in the best possible way.
Wales play Scotland next weekend and then face Italy, Ireland and France to conclude their Six Nations campaign. This will give the Springbok coaching staff five valuable opportunities to study Wales - and study them proper.
There is some truth in the argument that there are no secrets between the top international sides any more as they play each other so many times a year and because the technical analysis of matches has improved so much in the last decade.
So although the Bok file on Wales is probable thicker than usual already, they still have been given an unique opportunity to find out everything they need to know - and more - on their opponents.
Wales will also play England (twice) and Argentina (once) in August as part of their final preparations, but those late matches are often more geared towards giving fringe players in the squad some game time ahead of the real deal.
This time around the Bok coaches will be able to study some newish faces, like Morgan Stoddart on the wing, the midfield combination of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies (with Roberts at outside centre) and how debutant Rhys Priestland shapes up.
I am not sure if Peter de Villiers has roped in other rugby minds to help him on the technical side this year or whether someone like forward's Gary Gold will perform that duty as well, but let us hope for a pragmatic approach from our national coach.
In an ideal word, De Villiers would have asked the likes of Balie Swart, Wessel Roux, Marius Hurter or Dougie Heymans, all scrum consultants with massive expertise to look at the Welsh scrum. Ditto with say, Krynauw Otto and Johan Ackermann for the lineouts, rope in Naas Botha to look at the flyhalves and so on.
This will not only create a feeling of co-operation among ex-Springboks, it will also establish goodwill among supporters that everything is been done to make sure the Boks are as prepared as they can be.
The new Bok jersey sponsorship with Absa will be announced on Thursday and this will create a good early vibe towards the team. Let’s hope other efforts behind the scenes are being planned and executed to make sure the Boks are better prepared than ever.
One only needed to look at the shock and vulnerability of our management when two players tested positive in November to realise that they don’t have all the answers all the time.
They should have. It was Heyneke Meyer who so often used the phrase ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. Seeing that Meyer will probably not be seen near the team this year, the least the Bok coaches can do is to act upon his slogan.
Meanwhile, one union that is certainly planning for the future are the Lions.
While one should congratulate them on their new found ability to outbid all others, I am not so sure about the choices of their spending sprees.
A three-year contract with a temperamental 32-year-old flyhalf with yellow card issues and wobbly knees is certainly not the soundest investment there is to make.
But then, last year they paid top dollar for a 35-year-old temperamental flyhalf. And how did that not pay off for the Johannesburg side?
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
The Springbok management’s Rugby World Cup preparations for the 2011 tournament will hopefully move up a notch on Friday night when Wales take on England in the opening match of the Six Nations.
In 219 days the Springboks will start the defence of the Webb Ellis Trophy by taking on Wales in Wellington, New Zealand in their opening fixture of the 2011 showpiece.
This clash will be the most vital of all four of the Pool D matches played by the Springboks in September as the winner of this match at the "Cake Tin" is expected to top the pool and move on to an ‘easier’ quarter-final fixture.
I have a good feeling that either Samoa or Fiji could beat Wales in New Zealand in their pool clashes, but the fact remains that a good win by the Boks on September 11 will not only secure top spot in the pool, but will kick off their campaign in the best possible way.
Wales play Scotland next weekend and then face Italy, Ireland and France to conclude their Six Nations campaign. This will give the Springbok coaching staff five valuable opportunities to study Wales - and study them proper.
There is some truth in the argument that there are no secrets between the top international sides any more as they play each other so many times a year and because the technical analysis of matches has improved so much in the last decade.
So although the Bok file on Wales is probable thicker than usual already, they still have been given an unique opportunity to find out everything they need to know - and more - on their opponents.
Wales will also play England (twice) and Argentina (once) in August as part of their final preparations, but those late matches are often more geared towards giving fringe players in the squad some game time ahead of the real deal.
This time around the Bok coaches will be able to study some newish faces, like Morgan Stoddart on the wing, the midfield combination of Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies (with Roberts at outside centre) and how debutant Rhys Priestland shapes up.
I am not sure if Peter de Villiers has roped in other rugby minds to help him on the technical side this year or whether someone like forward's Gary Gold will perform that duty as well, but let us hope for a pragmatic approach from our national coach.
In an ideal word, De Villiers would have asked the likes of Balie Swart, Wessel Roux, Marius Hurter or Dougie Heymans, all scrum consultants with massive expertise to look at the Welsh scrum. Ditto with say, Krynauw Otto and Johan Ackermann for the lineouts, rope in Naas Botha to look at the flyhalves and so on.
This will not only create a feeling of co-operation among ex-Springboks, it will also establish goodwill among supporters that everything is been done to make sure the Boks are as prepared as they can be.
The new Bok jersey sponsorship with Absa will be announced on Thursday and this will create a good early vibe towards the team. Let’s hope other efforts behind the scenes are being planned and executed to make sure the Boks are better prepared than ever.
One only needed to look at the shock and vulnerability of our management when two players tested positive in November to realise that they don’t have all the answers all the time.
They should have. It was Heyneke Meyer who so often used the phrase ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. Seeing that Meyer will probably not be seen near the team this year, the least the Bok coaches can do is to act upon his slogan.
Meanwhile, one union that is certainly planning for the future are the Lions.
While one should congratulate them on their new found ability to outbid all others, I am not so sure about the choices of their spending sprees.
A three-year contract with a temperamental 32-year-old flyhalf with yellow card issues and wobbly knees is certainly not the soundest investment there is to make.
But then, last year they paid top dollar for a 35-year-old temperamental flyhalf. And how did that not pay off for the Johannesburg side?
Read JJ every Sunday in Rapport.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
