"Kitshoff’s freakish strength – epitomised by scrummaging that is guaranteed to locate an opposing tighthead prop’s reverse gear..." - Simnikiwe Xabanisa, writing on All Out Rugby (see page 4) Volume 1, Number 12 25 October 2018 Register to receive your own free weekly newsletter at www.leopardnewsletters.co.za

Missing the transformation plot

It’s a bit dated in that it was published at the end of August but that doesn’t detract from the messages conveyed in the article by Antoinette Muller on The Daily Maverick. She is still spot on in her analysis that politicians and administrators are still missing the transformation plot, in my estimation by at least a country mile.

Muller reports on the recent appearance of the South African before a parliamentary committee. The purpose was to explain the dire state Leaving aside the problems created perpetuated by of the organisation’s finances and, naturally, to the broadcasting monopoly, the sparsely populated answer questions about its progress with stadia during provincial games, even – or perhaps transformation. especially – for , don't help.

As is usually the case in parliamentary committee Perhaps, it's simplistic but using massive stadia when meetings, the occasion provided politicians with a only a few people come to matches seems dumb. I perfect opportunity to put their ignorance on public recall a PRO14 game in Port Elizabeth this display – and many took full advantage. You can when the Southern Kings used a local university read all the gory details in Muller’s piece. stadium against the Glasgow Warriors. In a packed stadium, the Kings scored their first win of the season No need for me to repeat what she wrote but the (second story). committee meeting did stumble upon one of the big problems for rugby in SA: half-empty stadia. We could also change booking systems for large stadia for these games. Sell seats block by block, “From the start of the question session, it was clear only opening up the next block once the previous one that there would be a big focus on transformation. is at 80% capacity. The same for the upper tier, it DA member Darren Bergman equated the financial opens when the lower tiers are at 80%. woes, at least in part, to some of the country’s crowds being ‘too white’.” It would certainly help the optics on television, which may attract more bums on seats for the next game. They probably haven't noticed that the stadia are also And with increased numbers, the crowd diversity frequently empty. may improve too.

KEY TOPICS IN THIS NEWSLETTER REGULAR FEATURES

Faf absence good for Boks Examining the Laws of the Game How the All Blacks have changed South Africans playing overseas A Contender for “Try of the Year”? Weekend Rugby Action

Page 1 Faf absence good for Boks

If we learned one thing from it is that we lack depth on the bench, particularly at scrumhalf. This was made abundantly clear in the last 10 minutes of the game in which the Boks squandered a 17 point lead to lose by two.

The brutal truth is that has developed so far and so fast that he has left the competition far behind him. So what should the coach be doing about it?

Writing for All Out Rugby, Joshua Brown reckons the only solution is . He spells out And while I do agree that was why he thinks none of the others Rassie has tried as pushed in far too soon and given only limited understudy worked and puts a case that the opportunity, I also think he is the future – or at least, Northampton Saints scrummie is the solution. one version of the future.

I’m not so sure. At 30, Francois Hougaard is hardly Rassie just has to decide how best to bring him along over the hill and with his experience he may be a to be ready for the World Cup next year. perfect stop-gap solution.

How the All Blacks have changed

In an intriguing analysis posted on RugbyPass, Ben Smith (@bensmithrugby, not the All Black, the kiwi rugby scribe) has examined how the All Blacks game plans have changed since the 2015 World Cup.

It’s a reasonably lengthy thesis but replete with pictorial illustration and it reminds us what it takes to stay at the pinnacle of the global game. He writes: “The rate of change in the modern game is rapid, so much so that watching footage from the All Blacks 2011 World "In 2015 the All Blacks were still dining off turnovers, Cup campaign is almost unrecognisable. The 2015 one scoring long-range dazzling tries on counter-attack is becoming just as outdated. and showing off world-class skills. So, what has changed for the All Blacks since they last held aloft “Tweaks to ruck laws and tackle interpretations have the William Webb Ellis trophy?” had a butterfly effect across the game, forcing teams to adjust and spurring innovation in the process. Modes of From there he delves into an analysis of specific areas operation have evolved and refined as teams search for in which these rules changes have brought about efficiency.” changes to the All Black patterns of play.

Page 2 Page 3

A Contender for “Try of the Year”?

Firstly, a hat-tip goes to RugbyPass for bringing this to my attention. The match doesn’t seem to have been televised but the clip was Tweeted by @GoldCupRugby along an unequivocal exhortation:

“TRY OF THE YEAR? Outrageous skills from @RosesUnitedRFC in their Boland Grand Challenge quarterfinal win over Protea in Wellington. If you haven’t watched a club game recently, this is what “Playing in the Boland Grand Challenge you’re missing on a weekly basis at community fields quarterfinals, the South African club side scored this across the country!” 80 meter scorcher to secure their place in the semi- finals. Putting together nine perfect passes off first Indeed. You can find the clip here. RugbyPass called phase, including an outrageous behind the back pass, it “One of the most spectacular tries you'll see this this try by inside centre Tyrone Abelse had the crowd season” and described it perfectly: in raptures.”

A Sudden Loosehead Deficit?

A couple of weeks ago we highlighted that peculiar South African habit of constantly converting good looseheads to tighthead. But now, with the Beast out with a neck injury, questions are being asked about looseheads to back up Mtawarira and .

This is the thesis of Simnikiwe Xabanisa, writing on All Out Rugby and to solve it he suggests switching back to his favoured position. Specifically, he writes:

“…the shift he put in against the destructive Louw in the semi between the Blue and Western Province on Saturday emphatically suggested he be the first cab out of the taxi rank to (Bath) is playing in the English replace Mtawarira.” Premiership while JC Janse van Rensburg (Grenoble) is in the French Top14. Fair enough, Trevor is a class act, no doubt. But currently plying their trade overseas are at least two On top of that, there's a plethora of other quality pretty damn classy looseheads with a few years left loosehead props - some of them still relatively in them yet. young - plying their trade in Europe and elsewhere.

Page 4 Page 5 Examining the Laws of the Game Long Road Back for Gerbrandt Grobler

Over the past eleven weeks we have selected areas for which to briefly, interrogate the laws of the game. While it is true that are only nineteen basic laws in the simplified Laws of the Game of Rugby Union handbook, the complexity to be found therein makes some of them difficult to grasp.

However, if you wish to better understand the sometimes perplexing decisions of referees, you need a working knowledge of the rules of the game. There are three ways for you to obtain your copy: Just over two-and-a-half years ago WP Rugby Read them on the website confirmed that then 23-year old lock Gerbrandt Download the PDF Grobler had tested positive for a banned substance Install the app on your Android device, iPhone during the 2014 Currie Cup. or iPad What followed was a the two-year ban, as a result of which, he missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons but stayed in shape enough to join Racing 92 in France for the 2016–2017 season. The following year he moved to Munster on a one-year contract and then joined Gloucester for the current English season.

At only 26, there is still time for him to resurrect his aspirations of playing international rugby but it probably won’t be for the Springboks. Rassie has such an embarrassment of riches in that position that he’s using locks as loose forwards.

England is one possibility and he recently told The Guardian’s Gerard Meagher that he wouldn’t turn it down if Eddie Jones called. And if you prefer tabloid Presumably, it is possible to order a hardcopy but we journalism, he had an interview (video clip available) were unable to find that link. All of the above allow the other day with the Daily Mail in which he spoke you to read the Laws, watch video examples and about his fall from grace and the long road back. animations to improve your clarity and understanding of how the Laws are applied on the field.

Interestingly, other than knowing the laws – and being able to pontificate at length when a referee calls it wrong – there's something else to gain from learning the laws. offers a self-test exam on the web site for you to check your knowledge – but you need to register (it's free). After completing the exam, you can download your personalised awareness certificate.

Page 6 South Africans playing overseas

After a brief hiatus we’re back to the series looking at A couple of weeks ago we said that we had found South Africans – both eligible to play for the 117 players plying their trade across the four leagues Springboks and ineligible – currently earning a crust analysed: PRO14, Gallagher Premiership, and by playing rugby in foreign lands. Japan Rugby . That number has since been revised upwards to 129. Unfortunately, the original plans have been stymied somewhat by a lack of available information on some In PRO14, we added Bulls outside centre Johnny of the lesser known leagues. While it is probable that Kotze who joined the Ospreys for three months (until there will be few, if any South Africans (or former Super Rugby resumes) as well as veteran tighthead South Africans) playing in these leagues, it would be Petrus du Plessis. nice to be sure. The latter was contracted to London Irish in the For the record, again, the primary source of English Premiership but when that club was relegated information for this series has been the Ultimate he was looking for a new place to hang his hat. He Rugby app on my smartphone – check it out on found one at Glasgow Warriors and, in doing so, Google Play or in the App Store. switched competition too.

Unfortunately, while they seem to have added all the Meanwhile across in the newly renamed Gallagher American leagues (’s Torneo de la URBA, Premiership, Exeter welcomed lock-forward Wilhelm the Canadian Rugby Championship, USA's Major van der Sluys to its ranks. League Rugby and Uruguay’s Campeonato At the same time, veteran loose forward and son of Uruguayo de Rugby) these all seem to have ended or Wynand Claassen, Antonie, turned out Racing 92 in be ending their seasons. We’ll have to wait until the French Top14 while loosehead Albertus Buckle April next year before we can get a proper look at ran on for Lyon. those competitions. Over in Japan, four more Saffers took to the rugby And as noted previously, among lesser European field for various clubs: leagues, Didi 10 (Georgia), the Italian Top12, Professional Rugby League (Russia), Rugby RG Snyman (5) for Honda Heat Bundesliga (Germany) and Rugby Andre Esterhuizen (12) for Munakata Sanix (), all appear to be ongoing at present but the Blues level of information available on them is too low to Rynier Bernardo (4) for Canon Eagles aid our cause in any demonstrable way. Hopefully, Corne Fourie (1) for Panasonic Wildknights that will change next year.

Page 7 The Weekend Rugby Action

Unless you’ve been otherwise occupied over the past few weeks you will know that this weekend is the Currie Cup final, between the same two teams that contested it last year. Will Western Province win it two years on the trot or will the Natal steal it from the this year?

If you’re at all interested in that you can watch the match at Newlands if you’re in and surrounds or on DStv channel 201 at 4pm on Saturday. The action also resumes this weekend in the Pro14, the There are a fair number of South Africans in Japan, six Gallagher Premiership and the Top 14. of whom made the World 15 captained by former Bok On Friday (12pm), there is also a rather fascinating captain, Adriaan Strauss. encounter between Japan and a World 15 made up (Note: Corne Fourie looks like a late withdrawal, largely of internationals playing in the Japan Rugby seemingly replaced by New Zealand’s Wyatt Crockett.) Top League.

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