2012 Rugby Championship Round 4 Game 1 New Zealand vs South Africa - 15 Sep

[Hugh Jarse]

15 September 2012: Round 4
New Zealand vs South Africa at Forsyth Barr in Dunedin
Referee: G. Clancy (IRFU); AR: R. Poite (FFR), J. Leckie (ARU); TMO: V. Munro (NZRU)
Australia vs Argentina at Skilled Park, Gold Coast


22 September 2012: Travel Bye

29 September 2012: Round 5
South Africa vs Australia - Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Argentina vs New Zealand - Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata

6 October 2012: Round 6
South Africa vs New Zealand - FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
Argentina vs Australia - Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Calf injury rules Carter out again
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10832812
By Daniel Richardson

Carter was ruled out of last night's 21-5 victory over Argentina in Wellington and Cruden was handed the reins but produced a mixed performance in tough weather conditions in the capital.

The All Blacks were guilty of failing to adapt to the surroundings, particularly in the first half where Cruden struggled to stamp his mark on the game and give the home side the direction they needed.

He grew in to the game though and found his range in the second spell and produced a couple of nice touches, including a great cut-out pass to send wing Cory Jane over for New Zealand's second try.

Hansen said Carter would be available for the trip to Argentina for the return match against the Pumas on September 30 but they decided to pull him early from next week's encounter so he could focus on his rehabilitation.

"He's getting older isn't he? And the more you play the game the more vulnerable you are to injury and he's got quite a few miles on the clock,'' Hansen said today.
"So that's just standard for any older player and he's got to be smart. We've got to be smart in how we deal with it.
"Just at the moment it's about getting him on the park now. It's as much about that as it is about the long term. He's what we call a `red-flag athlete'. He's a high risk of getting re-injured so we have to be smart about the wear and tear of his body and how much pressure we put him under.''

While young Taranaki pivot Beauden Barrett is also in the squad and has looked sharp during the opening rounds of ITM Cup, Hansen expected Cruden to be given another night in the hot seat.
"To be fair Aaron will probably start.''
There's also a chance Cruden may find a different halfback inside him against South Africa after his Manawatu team-mate Aaron Smith was given a rough time by the Pumas last night.

Hansen rarely likes to speculate on his starting line-up so far out from a test given he won't name his match-day 22 until Thursday but said the more calm and collected game of Piri Weepu could be seen in the No 9 jersey in Dunedin.
"We could well be tempted to give him a run, yeah. That's another Thursday question though.''

Hansen also confirmed there were no major injury concerns from the side who beat Argentina just general bumps and bruises.

 

[No4918]

I am really backing the Boks for this. For them and to put more heat on Dingo. A home loss would really show his claims about them being too good for the crap they are.

 

[qwerty51]

Calf injury rules Carter out again
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10832812
By Daniel Richardson

This is a Canterbury conspiracy to get them the Shield back. (Taranaki defend it against Canterbury on Saturday)

 

[PaarlBok]

Last time we beat them in Dunedin under the same captain. Hope to see an improvement from Perth, less kicking and more running. Bakkies enter the Bok frame. Will Meyer sack Morne and Kirschner?

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Last time we beat them in Dunedin under the same captain. Hope to see an improvement from Perth, less kicking and more running. Bakkies enter the Bok frame. Will Meyer sack Morne and Kirschner?

I guess you will have to live in hope PB. Although Kirshner was better than usual on the weekend.

 

[PaarlBok]

Young Malherbe on his way to NZ
Sport24

Malherbe gets Bok call-up


2012-09-11 10:13













Cape Town - Western Province prop Frans Malherbe has been called up to the Springbok squad currently preparing for their fourth Test in The Castle Rugby Championship in New Zealand.

The 21-year-old Malherbe trained with the Springboks in June during the England series, effectively replaces the suspended Eben Etzebeth in the squad.

“Frans’s call-up is purely precautionary as our two tighthead props on tour are struggling with injuries,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

“Neither Jannie (du Plessis) nor Pat (Cilliers) trained with us on Tuesday, but we’ve decided to give them as much time as needed to regain their fitness.

“Frans has been with us before and he knows our calls and moves. He’s still young and has a bright future ahead of him.”

Malherbe is due to arrive in Auckland on Wednesday evening.

The Springbok squad to play New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday will be named on Wednesday.

 

[Larno]

It'll be interesting to see how a certain John Philip Botha will perform upon his return to international competition. I'd imagine Flip van der Merwe will be getting the starting tighthead lock gig ahead of him though.

 

[Blue]

Why they bother flying Bakkies out beats me. Alberts covers lock.

Meyer just has to get his old boys involved.

Blacks by 10+ after we hang in there for the first hour.

 

[Bowside]

I reckon if the boks pick lambie and goosen they are a shot at winning this one.

 

[Hawko]

I reckon if the boks pick lambie and goosen they are a shot at winning this one.

New Zealand are a class above everyone else at the moment. We will look back on this team in the future and say they were one of the best NZ teams ever. You could not, in your wildest dreams, say that about the Boks. NZ at home will be very tough, even if SA muscle up like the Argies did last week. The Argies still got done by 16. Meyer needs to plan for this match to be a respectable loss.

SA have a shot maybe, but a very long one. Goosen is the real deal, but this would be his first test as a starter and a tougher cauldron does not exist. Nonu, McCaw, Reid and Messam will be breaking their necks to get to him and put him off his game. If I was Meyer, I would start Steyn and bring Goosen on at 50 minutes. I'd also bring JdV into 12 to support him. Then he can start Goosen at 10 for the two home tests, where it will be much easier. From thereon in I expect Goosen to be an automatic pick as long as he stays fit.

Lambie hasn't played well since his injury and Kirchner has looked limited but OK in what he has done. I'd let Kirchner start and bring on Lambie at 50 minutes for much the same reasons as Goosen. Long term both will be automatic picks, though I don't know whether Lambie will be at 12 or 15. He has all the skills for both.

SA has a group of young players coming through that rival the three amigos, and may turn out better than them. They have an opportunity to tear teams apart in the backline that they haven't had for 20 years. But I doubt that Meyer has the first clue about how to coach them, especially given his treatment of Hougaard just because his box kick is a bit weak. He has wonderful skills that look like they'll never be seen because Meyer only expects backs to kick and chase.

 

[PaarlBok]

Bakkies been blocked by toulon.

 

[Larno]

Bakkies been blocked by toulon.

They need to get back in their box re releasing players for international duty. It's the most important and meaningful level of the game IMHO, and every step should be taken to ensure that it remains so.

Not relevant to the thread, but I'm not happy with the growing trend of big clubs wanting a say in more than how their own leagues are run. I've found this particularly irksome recently. It smacks of a power grab by the big English and French clubs disguised as an appeal for a qualification-based competition.

If clubs start ruling the game then we'll end up in soccer land with international competition playing second fiddle to the money men in charge of big clubs. Aspiring soccer players dream of making 50,000 quid a week and playing in the Premier League, not about playing for their country.

 

[Bowside]

New Zealand are a class above everyone else at the moment. We will look back on this team in the future and say they were one of the best NZ teams ever. You could not, in your wildest dreams, say that about the Boks. NZ at home will be very tough, even if SA muscle up like the Argies did last week. The Argies still got done by 16. Meyer needs to plan for this match to be a respectable loss.

SA have a shot maybe, but a very long one. Goosen is the real deal, but this would be his first test as a starter and a tougher cauldron does not exist. Nonu, McCaw, Reid and Messam will be breaking their necks to get to him and put him off his game. If I was Meyer, I would start Steyn and bring Goosen on at 50 minutes. I'd also bring JdV into 12 to support him. Then he can start Goosen at 10 for the two home tests, where it will be much easier. From thereon in I expect Goosen to be an automatic pick as long as he stays fit.

Lambie hasn't played well since his injury and Kirchner has looked limited but OK in what he has done. I'd let Kirchner start and bring on Lambie at 50 minutes for much the same reasons as Goosen. Long term both will be automatic picks, though I don't know whether Lambie will be at 12 or 15. He has all the skills for both.

SA has a group of young players coming through that rival the three amigos, and may turn out better than them. They have an opportunity to tear teams apart in the backline that they haven't had for 20 years. But I doubt that Meyer has the first clue about how to coach them, especially given his treatment of Hougaard just because his box kick is a bit weak. He has wonderful skills that look like they'll never be seen because Meyer only expects backs to kick and chase.

I said a shot, not that I expected them to win.

Whilst this NZ team is one of the greatest ever, they are still definitely weaknesses in their game at the moment. A. Smith and Cruden can be exploited like they were last week. Richie isnt the player he was. Vito and messam are no kaino.

As it stands the boks have no chance. The closest they will get is if the two steyns can magically start kicking at close to 90% like they once were.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I can't understand why so many are putting the 2012 Darkness on some sort of Greatest Ever (or one of the Greatest Ever) pedestals.

What is the definition of Greatest Ever? Rhetorical Question.

They are beatable, and there are plenty of weaknesses in their game that can be exploited. The opposition teams this year have failed to exploit those weaknesses. Many of the errors made by the Darkness opposition teams were self made and were not been the result of Darkness pressure. Examples - poor S&C preparation, Poor selection and application of Game plans, basic skills execution when not under pressure (unforced errors), poor discipline etc. These unforced errors gift the Darkness possession, field position, momentum and ultimately points.

In the TRC games, this year the Darkness have left plenty of points in the tank rather than on the scoreboard through dropped passes, poor options, and butchered tries. The Spud Bashers in Test #2 ambushed them and they were lucky to scrape home vith a victory. Even my Kiwi mates admit that. The Frogs nearly had them in RWC 2011. They are beatable. A Greatest Ever team is not beatable, nor do they butcher tries, or look vulnerable.

The use of the term "Greatest Ever" is just an excuse being trotted out by defeatists and losers who have decided the game is lost before they take the field, or apologists seeking to make excuses and avoid accountability for sub-optimal performance. It is oh so easy and convenient to blame poor performance on your opponent being the "Greatest Ever".

The Darkness are reigning World Champions and have set standards that are the envy of many nations, but they can and will be beaten.

Good - Yes.

Undefeated 2012 - Yes, So far.

#1 IRB Rank - Yes, definately so.

Greatest Ever - far too early to tell. Let time and history be the judge.

 

[Brisbok]

South Africa:
Zane Kirchner, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers (c), Frans Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Morné Steyn, Ruan Penaar, Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Juandre Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Beast Mtawarira.
Reserves: Tiaan Liebenberg, Dean Greyling, Andries Bekker, Marcell Coetzee, Johan Goosen, Juan de Jongh, Patrick Lambie.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...Prop-Jannie-du-Plessis-fit-to-face-All-Blacks

Louw replaces Coetzee at openside. Good move to have a specialist fetcher, although tough on Coetzee to be dropped. I would have considered shifting him to blindside and moving Alberts to the bench. Alberts has been very quiet so far and hasn't been giving the Boks the momentum that they need from him.

I guess the predictability in the Boks attack is the issue here. At this stage it is either a box kick from 9/10 or a forward runner, one out from the breakdown. Opposition defenders are lining up in numbers in this channel to smash the forward runner on the advantage line as they know it is unlikely that the ball will go wide.

Still, they may miss Coetzee's workrate and tackle count here and perhaps Alberts would be good as an impact player halfway through 2nd half? 50/50 call.

Bekker and de Jongh replace Flip and Mvovo on the bench. Good move on de Jongh, hopefully he (along with Lambie and Goosen) get decent game time. They certainly have the ability to have an impact once the game opens up in the 2nd half. Flip replaces the suspended Etzebeth, so Bekker comes onto the bench. No surprises there.

Hoping like hell that Jannie can last 65-70 minutes as Greyling is far from test quality as a loosehead, nevermind tighthead! Jeez, we are very thin in this area.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

...snip....

Hoping like hell that Jannie can last 65-70 minutes as Greyling is far from test quality as a loosehead, nevermind tighthead! Jeez, we are very thin in this area.

One of the constants of World Rugby has been the seemingly never ending production line of big ugly strong opposition eating props from the Republic.

I think the Bokke have telegraphed their game plan far too early with this team selection, and they will become road kill unless Goosen and Lambie get plenty of time on the paddock.

Without the Battleship...........

Darkness by 10-15.

 

[Troy]

..snip

I can't understand why so many are putting the 2012 Darkness on some sort of Greatest Ever (or one of the Greatest Ever) pedestals.
.

Agree with you 100% HJ!

The All Blacks are a very good side, nothing more. On Sat they struggled against the Pumas and you'd have to say some of that was down to poor handling and execution.

If the Wallabies or Boks cut out the errors and play to their potential then we'll see where they are really at!

 

[Dan54]

I agree with what you say HJ, I regard this AB team though at very good, not quite prepared to yell greatest or anything. I think it could be more as happened I believe in late eighties that the rest are not very good. Inkosi I see what you are saying about Wallabies or Boks cutting out errors, but reason I not getting carried away about ABs is I think they are making as many errors. If this AB team had cut out errors they would I imagine have knocked over wallabies etc by 40 points, which they need to do to be called great. Still I maybe just being harsh on rugby teams, but I always thought when ABs won 87 world cup and for next couple of years they were far ahead of other teams, and was not convinced it was because ABs were so good or like now other teams poor. I remember in 87 the Welsh stopping in my home town to have training session, and got a few local players to come out to provide opposition, Drek Quinell the welsh coach actually told locals to go easy in scrumming as they were knocking his front row around, that Welsh team made semis in WC. Hometown is only a town of 17000 and no way what you call a rugby stronghold.

 

[teach]

Going by the number of articles i have read in NZ slating All Black tactics, handling, try butchering etc, they are unlikely to be given the mantle of Greatest Ever just yet. That talk seems to be coming from the West Island.