"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." Volume 1, Number 3 22 August 2018 – Jake White Springboks Will Beat the All Blacks This Year Your correspondent has to admit that the headline above caused a double-take, coming as it does from one of the foremost rugby commentators in South Africa, Mark Keohane. My thought process, as I’m sure yours would be too, went along the lines of: “Hang about, let’s beat Argentina and Australia first before we start dreaming big.” But then this is Mark Keohane we’re talking about, not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to expressing his opinion about the game we all love. In this case, looks at the player line-ups (particularly the In other, somewhat related news, World Cup winning tight five) and draws heavily upon history – both former Springbok coach. Jake White, himself not recent and long past – to make his argument. averse to sharing his opinions, has bemoaned the depth of local coaching resources. In his column on But while he expects the Boks to beat the All Blacks, All Out Rugby, he wonders how far SA is from having he suggests they may not beat Argentina and a Bok coach who has never coached before. Australia both home and away, thus ceding the overall Rugby Championship title to the All Blacks, White’s thought process was instigated by the alleged again. short-listing of two Springbok greats, Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield for the vacancy that will arise if You can read the short version of his astounding Bulls coach John Mitchell leaves for England. He thesis on his blog or access the longer, more detailed writes that Fourie and Victor are “two of the greatest version on the Sport24 website. Either way, prepare rugby brains we’ve produced in the last 20 years.” He to be astounded but the logic of it all. also mentions Naas Botha and Frik du Preez, saying all four were fantastic Blue Bulls and Springboks. “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.” He has a point. Neither he nor Kitch Christie played the game at the highest level. 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 Weekend Fixtures Page 1 Wrinkles for Rassie to Iron Out Last weekend’s Rugby Championship match For an insightful match report check out RugbyPass between the Springboks and Argentina’s Pumas in You may also want to read Dawie Boonzaaier’s Durban delivered what most fans saw as an well-considered analysis for All Out Rugby in which excellent result: a bonus point win for the home he highlights some of the issues that will be team to get their campaign off to a good start. concerning Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus ahead Even so, certain players came in for criticism on of this weekend’s return match in Mendoza, social media during and after the game – think Argentina. Malcolm Marx for his line-out throwing and Handré Pollard for his kicking, to name just two. Boonzaaier asks telling questions about the loose forward trio and the flyhalf and fullback berths, wonders about the midfield partnership, the tight- head position and expresses concern about backup in the scrumhalf position. These are all extremely pertinent questions for which the coach will have to find answers before the Springboks travel to New Zealand, if he hopes to compete in that fixture. Flow State Training Program (Advertisement) Cutting edge Physical and Mental Meditation Techniques to Hack The Flow State by expert trainer C Wilson Meloncelli. 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. Currie Cup Off to a Cracking Start All the international rugby around these days may have taken some of the gloss off Currie Cup rugby but, if the opening weekend is anything to go by, it’s far from dead. On Thursday, the Oracle called the opening Pumas v Griquas fixture for the home side at a gallop and so it proved, with a comfortable 42-19 win for the Pumas and five points in the bank – although it must be said that the Griquas came within a whisker of denying their hosts that valuable bonus point. Read a full match report here on Sport24. In Friday evening’s second game the Oracle called the Bulls and was right again. Although looking a little rusty the Cheetahs were in contention until about 15 minutes into the second half and their second yellow card, which came along with a penalty try. The final score was 34-12 and the Bulls returned to Pretoria with 5 points in the bag. You can read a full match report, also from Sport24. Page 2 Click on the image for more information Page 3 Examining the Laws of the Game Referee Profile: Aimee Barrett-Theron The past two issues have looked at the some of SAreferees.com is carrying an interesting article the prosaic elements of the game, the field that, while, quite heavy-handed with hyperbole, dimensions and the ball. This week we skip over celebrates a remarkable achievement. The piece laws governing the more obvious elements such as deals with the success of Aimee Barrett-Theron is the team, players' clothing, time and the duties of making of her career in what has, for a long time, the match officials and dive straight into the been a male-dominated field. minutiae of advantage rule. She becomes the first woman to referee Currie Cup rugby when she referees the Division 1 match between South Western Districts and the Leopards in George on Friday, and nobody is surprised at her appointment. A former international three- quarter, making her debut when still Under-20, Aimee is remarkably fit and fast. Contrary to popular belief, and according to the laws of the game, the only discretion the referee has under the advantage law is how long to let it go on. Specifically, it states that the advantage “must be clear and real. A mere opportunity to gain an advantage is not sufficient.” Other than that, the referee has a set of strict guidelines they must follow until they are satisfied that sufficient advantage has been gained. Perhaps most interestingly, the law as published is utterly silent on the difference between a scrum advantage and a penalty advantage. That, it would appear, is a distinction that is made elsewhere or, is indeed, at the sole discretion of the referee. At the same time, there are eight The SA Referees' Association measure her speed clearly described times when the referee cannot and fitness on the same scale as that of their top plat advantage and has no option but to blow the male referees. She has a good knowledge of law, a whistle and good feel for the game and good communication to stop play skills. She is the first woman to make the national immediately. refereeing panels in South Africa and is currently on the Premier Panel, one of the nine very best You can find referees in South Africa all the new laws of the Aimee is no stranger to men's rugby, having game we love refereed in the Under 20 and Under-19 here. Championships, Varsity rugby, two Craven Weeks and just recently the Under-18 match between England and France. Read more here. Page 4 Click on the image for more information Page 5 Player Profile: Joseph Dweba One of the standout players (for the Cheetahs) of the opening weekend of Currie Cup rugby this weekend is was the hooker, Joseph Dweba. Born in October 1995 in Carletonville, his first provincial representation came during in 2011, when he was selected for the Golden Lions Under-16 side that played at the Grant Khomo Week competition. He also represented the Golden Lions two years later, this time in Under-18 Craven Week, where he appeared in all three of their matches. His performances led to inclusion in the South African Schools side, where he made appearances in the wins against England, France and Wales in August 2013. For the 2014 season, Dweba made the move to Bloemfontein to join the Free State Cheetahs. He remained in the thoughts of the national selectors and was called up into the South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand in 2014. Since then he has played for other age-group national teams including the Under-20 team that toured Argentina in May 2015. Upon the team's return, he was named in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under-20 Championship. More recently, he has represented the Cheetahs in the Pro14, the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup and the Free State XV in the Rugby Challenge. Remember the name because the national selectors certainly have not forgotten it. Saturday Night in Mendoza Ok, Ok, it will be Saturday afternoon in Mendoza and Saturday night in South Africa when the return fixture between Los Pumas and the Springboks kicks off.