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Comment by Tank Lanning
Loyalty is a great thing, and a coach loyal to his players will generally be rewarded with a squad who return the favour … and this in turn breeds team spirit, continuity and confidence – three vital ingredients needed to build a winning side.
Respect, though, is built by making tough decisions, even when not universally liked …
It’s a tough balancing act for a coach, and a knife edge on which Peter de Villiers now finds himself.
Given the team announcement this morning, he has clearly gone the loyalty route, sticking with the exact side that went down so spectacularly in Auckland last weekend – the only changes made because of suspension and injury. And given the Bok success in recent times, it’s difficult to fault this mindset. But …
Given that there is a only a 28-man squad down under, and thus only the Bok nearest and dearest, changing players could be seen as rotational rather than a severe use of the axe, and perhaps a change in scenery for a few of the squad members would have been opportune?
Danie Rossouw in for the suspended Bakkies Botha and prop CJ van der Linde replacing injured tighthead Jannie du Plessis are obvious replacements. But it does beg the question as to why BJ Botha (instead of the more versatile CJ) was used as a sub last week, and why Botha is on tour at all?
The third change is less obvious, with Ryan Kankowski filling the place on the bench vacated by Rossouw. It was a mistake to have two locks on the bench last week, so this sees the bench better balanced, but against Richie McCaw, especially given the dominance of the All Blacks at the breakdown in Auckland, I would have had Dewald Potgieter in the mix to change the game if needed.
I have given up fighting for Ruan Pienaar to play scrumhalf ahead of Ricky Januarie as I think that battle is lost – sadly. Replacing the legendary Fourie du Preez with a player more in his mould, like Pienaar is, just makes so much more sense. But Januarie seems an immovable object in the coach’s mind.
I truly believe Zane Kirchner and Wynand Olivier deserve an extended run in the Green and Gold, but sticking with Jean de Villiers on the wing beggars belief! He is too slow, relies on the intercept too much, thus placing the overall defence under pressure, and is keeping the most exciting player in the Super 14, Gio Aplon, out the side. Ridiculous!
I also do not see the logic in taking Butch James down under as a bag holding splinter gatherer? It would make infinitely more sense to have another of the exciting finds of the Super14 season, Juan de Jongh, on the bench, especially given that Pienaar can cover both scrumhalf and flyhalf.
I just get the feeling that the Boks might have entered this Tri-Nations slightly defensively – looking to enter a holding pattern, rather than be brave and use a few new and exciting players to take the Bok game to another level – to coin a horrible cliché.
Teams:
Springboks:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers,13 Jaque Fourie,12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana,10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon
All Blacks:
TBA
Injuries have forced New Zealand to delay the announcement of their match 22. Richard Kahui (left shoulder) has been ruled out, while scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan (strained abdomen) and wing Joe Rokocoko (hamstring strain) sustained injuries last Saturday. Victor Vito’s availability is also in doubt as a result of a calf injury. Zac Guildford and Alby Mathewson have been called into the squad as cover for Rokocoko and Cowan.
Loyalty is a great thing, and a coach loyal to his players will generally be rewarded with a squad who return the favour … and this in turn breeds team spirit, continuity and confidence – three vital ingredients needed to build a winning side.
Respect, though, is built by making tough decisions, even when not universally liked …
It’s a tough balancing act for a coach, and a knife edge on which Peter de Villiers now finds himself.
Given the team announcement this morning, he has clearly gone the loyalty route, sticking with the exact side that went down so spectacularly in Auckland last weekend – the only changes made because of suspension and injury. And given the Bok success in recent times, it’s difficult to fault this mindset. But …
Given that there is a only a 28-man squad down under, and thus only the Bok nearest and dearest, changing players could be seen as rotational rather than a severe use of the axe, and perhaps a change in scenery for a few of the squad members would have been opportune?
Danie Rossouw in for the suspended Bakkies Botha and prop CJ van der Linde replacing injured tighthead Jannie du Plessis are obvious replacements. But it does beg the question as to why BJ Botha (instead of the more versatile CJ) was used as a sub last week, and why Botha is on tour at all?
The third change is less obvious, with Ryan Kankowski filling the place on the bench vacated by Rossouw. It was a mistake to have two locks on the bench last week, so this sees the bench better balanced, but against Richie McCaw, especially given the dominance of the All Blacks at the breakdown in Auckland, I would have had Dewald Potgieter in the mix to change the game if needed.
I have given up fighting for Ruan Pienaar to play scrumhalf ahead of Ricky Januarie as I think that battle is lost – sadly. Replacing the legendary Fourie du Preez with a player more in his mould, like Pienaar is, just makes so much more sense. But Januarie seems an immovable object in the coach’s mind.
I truly believe Zane Kirchner and Wynand Olivier deserve an extended run in the Green and Gold, but sticking with Jean de Villiers on the wing beggars belief! He is too slow, relies on the intercept too much, thus placing the overall defence under pressure, and is keeping the most exciting player in the Super 14, Gio Aplon, out the side. Ridiculous!
I also do not see the logic in taking Butch James down under as a bag holding splinter gatherer? It would make infinitely more sense to have another of the exciting finds of the Super14 season, Juan de Jongh, on the bench, especially given that Pienaar can cover both scrumhalf and flyhalf.
I just get the feeling that the Boks might have entered this Tri-Nations slightly defensively – looking to enter a holding pattern, rather than be brave and use a few new and exciting players to take the Bok game to another level – to coin a horrible cliché.
Teams:
Springboks:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers,13 Jaque Fourie,12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana,10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon
All Blacks:
TBA
Injuries have forced New Zealand to delay the announcement of their match 22. Richard Kahui (left shoulder) has been ruled out, while scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan (strained abdomen) and wing Joe Rokocoko (hamstring strain) sustained injuries last Saturday. Victor Vito’s availability is also in doubt as a result of a calf injury. Zac Guildford and Alby Mathewson have been called into the squad as cover for Rokocoko and Cowan.
