Rumours That Benny Griessel Wil Be Replacing Rassie Erasmus Are Fake News
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"Rumours that Benny Griessel wil be replacing Rassie Erasmus are fake news. (Benny says it will drive him to drink. Volume 1, Number 4 Again.)" 30 August 2018 – Deon Meyer Argentina Shock Bumbling Boks There is no way to sugar-coat it. The Springboks were utterly awful last weekend in Mendoza. The headline above related appeared on Craig Lewis’ analysis of the match but there have been many others. Sprot24’s Rob Houwing rated the Bok performance at 4/10 and suggested that even that was too much. He followed that up on Monday with Bok loosies: Major rebalance required, which, for many might qualify as more constructive criticism. You may be reminded of Mark Keohane’s column featured here last week, but you probably didn’t Even novelist Deon Meyer weighed in on the disaster think he’d be right to soon. The apartment lack of a when he Tweeted: coherent plan to counter the Argentinian onslaught exposed both coach and captain, as being out of their depth – especially after halftime when they would have had an opportunity to consult. They simply had no answer. Jake White’s words of a week ago resonate: “Just because those players are legends of the game, some of the greatest ever, doesn’t mean they can coach. There’s the science of coaching, and then there’s the art. The science of coaching comes from a book, but the art comes with time in the saddle.” In case you don’t read – or don’t read Deon Meyer – It all begins again in a little over a week, when the Benny Griessel is the fictional detective and the main beleaguered Springboks face the Australian Wallabies character in many of the author’s excellent novels. down under at noon (our time) in Brisbane. And this He was clearly trying to lighten a very sombre mood time, the head coach and his team have a bit more on Twitter on Sunday. than a few wrinkles to iron out. Whatever your thoughts on the game, and as a mere One thing is certain, the Australian coaching staff rugby fan (rather than a pundit), your correspondent would have learned a considerable amount from was extremely disappointed. But rather than subject watching the Argentinians dismantle the Springboks. you to my rather amateur analysis, I’ll defer to the However, will the Bok coaching team find anything in experts, one of my favourites being @Oom_Rugby, the thumping given to the Wallabies on successive who wrote a superb analysis of the Puma game plan weekends by the All Blacks? If they don’t, the Boks by denying the Springboks go-forward ball. could sink even lower in the world rankings. KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER REGULAR FEATURES Wrinkles for Rassie to iron out Examining the Laws of the Game Currie Cup off to a cracking start Referee Profile Saturday night in Mendoza Player Profile Page 1 Can Rassie Grasp the Nettle Despite the appalling performance in Mendoza last “The Wallabies run complex pre-set attacking waves Saturday, Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks can still from set-piece that can last up to five phases or more redeem themselves in the eyes of the public by – it looks fancy but ends up doing next to nothing. thumping the Australians in their own back yard next There is a lot of pre-planned player movement, but a weekend. There’s a very useful piece on RugbyPass lack of substance makes it very easy to defend.” that may aid the South African cause. It highlights the many problems facing the Wallabies and unpacks, in considerable detail, how it was that the All Blacks managed to expose these weaknesses repeatedly and on successive weekends. In notes that although the lineouts and scrums were far better this time around, the Australians “were killed on turnover ball once again, as the New Zealanders ran wild in transition phases”. The analysis is brutal: “While many are quick to jump Pressure never builds enough to break down the and defend Michael Cheika and his coaching staff, defence, and inversely it’s the Wallabies who lose any there are visible and clear issues with their attacking semblance of shape by running scripted play after play play that proves to be ineffective.” without getting into a balanced pattern. Want to eliminate fear while boosting performance? This is important if you want to: Eliminate fear Stop your inner critic over powering your intentions Boost productivity by 500% Accelerate learning speed by 490% Unlock your 200% creativity spike Check out this video on Hack the free Flow State Courses. Another Topsy-Turvy Currie Cup Looms After a stunningly entertaining opening weekend, the Currie Cup dived into the gutter this past weekend. It began on Friday when the Lions leaked far too many easy tries on their way to a 62-41 victory over second- from-bottom-of-the-table Griquas. The Sport24 match report doesn’t say that but most Lions fans do. On Saturday, the previously victorious Bulls went down with a whimper to the Sharks in Durban while across in the Western Cape, the Cheetahs suffered their second defeat on the trot at a swimming pool called Newlands. If SA Rugby learned anything from that match it should be that it’s long past time to bulldoze that utterly inadequate stadium with its non-existent drainage system and build a parking lot for the cricket ground across the road. With a virtually brand new stadium down the road in Green Point standing empty most of the time, it would just be the right thing to do. Page 2 Click on the image for more information Page 3 Examining the Laws of the Game Law Discussion: Penalty Try Perhaps the most misunderstood law of rugby that SAreferees.com has an interesting analysis by Paul pertaining to onside and offside, particularly when Dobson (Moonsport) that assesses the decision the game is in an open play phase. A reading of not to award a penalty try in a recent schools the newly simplified rugby laws may provide some game between Rondebosch and Bishops. It was clarification. contentious primarily because the score is tied at 10-all and the game is in referee’s optional time. “A player is offside in open play if that player is in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball or who last played it. An offside player must not He first sets the scene: “Rondebosch win the interfere with play.” scrum and the ball goes out to left wing Thoubaan Gabriels who has a bit of an overlap, he kicks the That sounds simple enough, until you start to read ball downfield, and he and the Bishops right wing the detail. For example, the law book states race after the bouncing ball, Gabriels getting just categorically that “a player can be offside ahead of the Bishops player. anywhere in the playing area”, presumably as long as he (or she) doesn’t interfere with play. “Gabriels stoops as if to grab the awkwardly bouncing ball but instead bangs it on with his leg But perhaps the most debated offside decisions into the Bishops in-goal. The Bishops wing pushes occur (or don’t) around the ruck and maul. The Gabriels in the back and the Rondebosch boy falls law states: into touch-in-goal as the ball heads for the dead- “A player who is offside at a ruck, maul, scrum or ball line.” lineout remains offside, even after the ruck, maul, scrum or lineout has ended. The player can be put With spectators (it was a Rondebosch home game) onside only if: baying for a penalty try and even the television That player immediately retires behind the commentators asking the question, the referee applicable offside line; or calmly consulted his assistants chose to award only An opposition player carries the ball five a penalty, which Dobson suggests was the correct metres in any direction; or decision. Read his reasoning here. An opposition player kicks the ball. There is much more than we has space for but you can find more about this and about all the new laws of the game we love here. Page 4 Click on the image for more information Page 5 International Club Competition Kicks Off As mentioned in a previous issue, several international club rugby tournaments are kicking off on Friday in Europe and over in Japan, and many of them have an interest for South African fans. It’s appropriate to begin with the competition that featured South Africa’s two discarded Super Rugby franchises: the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings. The Kings kick-off their PRO14 campaign on Friday night while the Cheetahs have their first match on Saturday. Read more about their respective chances on the next page. Similarly, across the English Channel, more than 50 Meanwhile, across the Irish Sea, the newly renamed South Africans are expected to turn out in the French Gallagher Premiership kicks off and it will be sure to Top 14, which kicked off last weekend. Some, like feature a number of South African players, including Bakkies Botha and Bryan Habana, may have retired two who are presently turning out for the Springboks: but others like Morne Steyn and Robert Ebersohn Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux, who were both named should be in action. in the competition’s dream team last year. The same story will unfold in Japan, with Duane As usual, however, there will be plenty of South Vermeulen already there. Watch this space over the African interest with coaches and players from our coming weeks as we provide details of our many shores plying their trade in England players flying the flag in foreign leagues.