Sanjay's Rugby World

The second test against Italy was a massive improvement from the first test. A scoreline of  55-11 represents a much better performance, but was it good enough?

During the week leading up to the test the Boks were more focused and this was clerly evident when the players took the field. The determination and aggressive intent was highly noticeable, no more so than the singing of the national anthem where most of the playes had eyes closed and were focusing on a strong performance.

It was a good win against an Italian side that largely had to resort to spoiling tactics to keep the score down. However against an almost second tier side, we should expect the Boks to be able to win comfortably by 30-40 points as a matter of course.

If we strive to be the best side in the world, and want to go into the Tri-Nations firing on all cylinders I would suggest this performance was not up to standard. I thought some individuals were good, especially Francois Louw and Bakkies Botha who looks to be heading back towards top form.

The rest of the side however were good, without being great. There were few players who played poorly, but none that really said “I am world class and let me show you how good I am.”

With the Tri-Nations to start in less than two weeks, it is time for the Springboks to take a step up and produce a performance worthy of defending their title.

It’s time for the Boks to be ruthless

After a poor performance in Witbank, the Boks get the chance to redeem themselves against an Italian side that has made 10 changes.

TEAM SELECTION

Coach Peter de Villiers has made 7 changes to the Springbok starting line-up (5 personnel and 2 positional) for the second test against Italy in East London. There are also another 6 changes made to the bench.

John Smit resumes the captaincy and hooking position after recovering from his hamstring strain.

Speaking to the press from East London, Springbok captain John Smit said “It is important for us to refocus for Saturday’s Test. It is important that we prepare the same every week regardless of who we play. We concentrate on what we do well and on how we want to play. We have to fix some of the problem areas from last week but generally we want to make sure we are good in all departments.”

He will do so without the aid of Springbok vice-captain Victor Matfield who is enjoying a well deserved rest. Matfield has had a busy schedule this year with 15 Super 14 games, and 3 consecutive tests.

Schalk Burger returns to the starting line-up after his recent leg injury and Andries Bekker gets his chance after a brilliant Super 14 season.

In the backline, with Juan de Jongh and Jaque Fourie looking like the first choice centre combination, Jean de Villiers starts on the right wing, a position I feel he lacks the pace and kicking skills for. At least Peter de Villiers is trying things, but a call for Gerhard van den Heever would be better. Gio Aplon gets his chance at fullback after Zane Kirchner has not been able to stamp his authority with the opportunities he has been given.

PREDICTION

The Springboks need towork harder on the small things. Retaining the ball in contact, clearing from the base of the ruck quickly and breaking the advantage line before going wider.

After a disappointing performance last week, I believe the Boks will be focused on playing well for 80 minutes, and the Italians should feel the full force of the Boks going forward.

Boks by 45+

The Springboks:

1. Gurtho Steenkamp
2. John Smit (c)
3. Jannie du Plessis
4. Bakkies Botha
5. Andries Bekker
6. Schalk Burger
7. Francois Louw
8. Pierre Spies
9. Ricky Januarie
10. Morne Steyn
11. Bryan Habana
12. Juan de Jongh
13. Jaque Fourie
14. Jean de Villiers
15. Gio Aplon

16. Chiliboy Ralepelle
17. BJ Botha
18. Danie Rossouw
19. Dewald Potgieter
20. Ruan Pienaar
21. Butch James
22. Wynand Olivier

Italy:

1. Salvatore Perugini
2. Fabio Ongaro
3. Lorenzo Cittadini
4. Carlo del Fava
5. Marco Bortolami
6. Paul Derbyshire
7. Manoa Vosawai
8. Sergio Parisse (c)
9. Simon Pincone
10. Craig Gower
11. Mirco Bergamasco
12. Andrea Masi
13. Gonzalo Canale
14. Michele Sepe
15. Luke McLean

16. Leonardo Hgiraldini

17. Franco Sbaraglini
18. Quintin Geldenhuys
19. Alessandro Zanni
20. Tito Tebaldi
21. Riccardo Bocchino
22. Matteo Pratichetti

South Africa currently has a dearth of top quality fullbacks, with the departure of Francois Steyn opening the position for someone to make their own.

Zane Kirchner has not had a great start to his test career, however I see plenty of potential in the 26 year old to believe he can emulate the rolls royce of fullbacks, Andre Joubert.

Kirchner was born in the Western Cape town of George. At high school he played flyhalf before moving to Fullback in 2002 at the Craven Week.

Kirchner made his Currie Cup debut in 2003 for Griquas, staying with the union until 2007. After moving to the Bulls in 2008, Kirchner’s career has gone from strength to strength, winning 2 Super 14 titles and a Currie Cup title.

Initially I was not that impressed with Kirchner, as he often doesn’t stand out as many great players do. However he is a solid rugby player, who performs the basics exceptionally well, has few weaknesses and above all, his greatest strength is his intelligence.

It is for this reason that I can Kirchner becoming a Springbok great. His test career has started poorly, with a debut against the Lions in the ill-fated third test at Ellis Park (2009),
dropping a high ball that led to Wales scoring a comeback try in Cardiff and indifferent performances against France and Italy so far this season.


The reason I rate Kirchner so highly is because he reminds me of Andre Joubert in so many ways.
He lacks out and out pace, but plays to his strengths exceptionally well:
His positional play is top class, and is rarely out of position
His kicking is solid, with a long boot and great at putting up hanging kicks
His chasing and ability in the air is safe and fearless
His tackling is solid. As the last line of defence that is all you ever want, no one will run over Kirchner who is great with his front on defence

But what will make Kirchner invaluable is his rugby intelligence. His ability to read the game and enter the line (which so many fullbacks fail to do these days) and put other players into space creates so many tries for his outside backs. Just ask Bryan Habana, Francois Hougaard and Gerhard van den Heever who have benefited from playing alongside Kirchner.

After a largely forgettable start his test career, I am certain Kirchner will be a success because he is smart, and that will ensure he has the mental resilience and toughness to recover from an indifferent start and become a truly great South African fullback.

The Springboks have had 3 test matches so far this season, and have shown too much inconsistency.

Having narrowly beaten Wales 34-31 in Cardiff with a largely understrength side, producing a strong scoreline against France and then an unconvincing display against Italy in Witbank, I have been far from happy with the Springbok performances so far this season.

There have been mitigating circumstances. Injuries, the travel to Wales straight after the Super 14 final and problems with team selections did not make the Cardiff fixture an easy task.

After a poor start, the Boks dominated the forward exchanges to lay a platform for a decent win before letting Wales back into the match at the end to make it a tight finish.

However certain individuals such as Juan de Jongh certainly put up their hand and showed their value, making it a worthwhile match for Peter de Villiers and his coaching staff.

The match against France at Newlands was possibly one of the most important matches of the season given our recent record against the Tri-coloures.

Whilst a scoreline of 42-17 was impressive, I wasn’t getting carried away like many critics as I still didn’t feel we played that well.

We took our chances from turnover ball and intercepts brilliantly, and Gio Aplon took his chances superbly, but there were still too many basic errors for my mind.

Against Italy in Witbank I was hoping for a cricket score, and the 29-13 final score was very disappointing.

At least the Springbok coaching staff were also very disappointed, and also stated that the side’s attendance at Bafana Bafana’s soccer match at Loftus on Wednesday was also a factor.

“We drove over 100km last week to support Bafana and it meant that we were still on the road at 1am the next morning. We don’t normally do that in a Test week. There were a lot of team commitments and maybe I made the mistake not to place enough emphasis on motivation” said De Villiers.

I think it’s great that the Springboks supported their countrymen in their hour of need, and given the uniqueness of the occasion I have no problem with that.

However it’s the fundamental errors that have not been corrected this season that worry me more. Too many knock-ons, drop catches, and most importantly not clearing the ball effectively at the base of the ruck. With slow ball we’ll never get enough go-forward for our ball carriers and get our game going.

I understand Ricky Januarie has been with the Boks for some time, knows the set-up and calls, and offers great physicality and the odd break for a scrumhalf. However a scrumhalf that can’t clear the ball quickly is not doing his job in my book and I’d prefer to see Dewaldt Duvenhage included given that Ruan Pienaar is heading overseas.

At least the Boks have admitted their performance against Italy was not up to scratch which is a very commendable quality.

Peter de Villiers said this week, “I’ve done some soul-searching and definitely made a few mistakes before the game. I’ve shared it with the team and want to limit outside influences to a minimum this week. There are six new guys in the squad and I don’t want them to get the wrong impression of what Springbok rugby is all about.”

“We were quite harsh on one another, but the players now understand how we feel. My biggest concern is the silly little errors the players made. It may have been due to a lack of concentration” continued de Villiers.

I look forward to an improved performance ahead of the Italian clash at East London which represents our last chance before defending our Tri-Nations title.

Saturday was a historic occasion as Orlando Stadium in Soweto hosted an all South African Super 14 final.

It was awesome to be at the ground and witness first hand the atmosphere in Soweto.

The Bulls won 25-17, but the result was secondary in my mind. What mattered most was that it was an unforgettable day for all, a final held in a black township, the resumption of the north-south rivalry that signifies South African rugby is healthy, and confirmation that the Bulls are a champion side, with the Stormers trying to emulate them, and in my view they’ll ensure there are many memorable battles in future years.

The Bulls sealed their 3rd Super 14 title in 4 years, and exhibited what a complete side they have become. It was a game built on forward dominance, strong defence and converting opportunities.

The Stormers game has been based on a strong defence, and utilising their strong loose forwards to gain momentum wide of the ruck to give their backs space to operate in. However they ran into a blue wall at Orlando stadium, the Bulls defence was oustanding in fanning out as the breakdown was set, and then making double tackles which allowed the side to gain momentum and turn ball over as they made offensive tackles.

The Stormers had no counter and were unable to dictate play. Unlike any other side this season, the Bulls showed they are smart enough to find a weakness and peppered the Stormers back 3 with high kicks, and were the better side in contesting the aerial ball as the Stormers lacked height and physicality. This meant the Stormers loose forwards had to hand further back, and the Bulls exploited space up the middle too.

Fourie du Preez once again showed his experience and vision, spotting the gaps as they opened up and got the Bulls going forward before delivering the most delicate pass to put Francois Hougaard into space, who showcased his sublime running skills to clinically score an important first half try. Once the Bulls opened up a decent lead, they were always going to be hard to reign in.

It took a wayward pass and Bryan Habana’s vision to claim the intercept that gave the Stormers a sniff of a comeback in the second half, but this only spurred the Bulls on once more, and they opened a 15 point lead which effectively sealed the game, before the Stormers claimed some respectability to the score.

After the game the Stormers claimed that the referee, Craig Joubert was one sided and had “coached” the Bulls at the breakdown whilst penalising their side. This was interesting given the fact that the only losses the Bulls had incurred this season came when they were nailed by Joubert at the breakdown. Had the Bulls simply learnt their lesson?

Whatever the case, the Stormers did not adapt on the night, and the Bulls were clearly the better side.

The Bulls have also shown this year how complete a side they have become. Initially this season they showed a more attacking game and adapted to the new law interpretations better than any side. As the officiating changed, so did the game plan and Bulls tightened their defence and attacking structures.

The Bulls have shown they are adaptable enough to play any game plan, and more importantly think on their feet to spot an opposition weakness and exploit it on the field during a game. However they have the confidence to play to their strengths no matter how predictable it is to the opposition, they simply say to their opponents, ‘stop us if you can.’

After a poor 2008, a result of being too rigid in their thinking, resting on their laurels and missing Victor Matfield, the Bulls have openly spoken of their desire to succeed as a union and build a legacy. What is more impressive than just claiming the Super 14 title in 2009, is the addition of the 2009 Currie Cup, topping the Super 14 log for the second successive season and impressively laying the foundation to consistently being the best provincial side in the world…the legacy is definitely being built!