Barely a day after it had been announced that Jantjies will miss the rest of this year’s rugby, it has now emerged that Frans Steyn has an injury similar to the one Ruan Pienaar sustained in the 1st quarter of the Super 14. This means that Steyn will also be sidelined for at least 7 weeks. For any team to lose 2 players of this calibre would be a great loss and the boks are no exception. I am an ardent bok fan and usually quite one sided in my views regarding the boks, but I cannot help but feel that this seriously depletes the bok squad. While I may not necessarily think that this will hamper their chances of winning, this loss is more of a concern for me for 3 reasons.
Firstly, most would agree that Conrad has been the shoe-in first choice fullback for the last 2 seasons. While the staunch Sharks supporters may want to argue Terblanche’s case here, one cannot fault the coach for sticking with his guns with Conrad. Secondly, while Frans Steyn may not have the coolest head on his shoulders, his kicking out of hand and the occasional drop goal will be sorely missed. In Conrad and Frans, the boks have lost territorial advantage through metres gained from pressure relieving kicks. Thirdly, Lions vs Bok tests have been very physical and tight affairs in recent times. One cannot help but think back to the 1997 Lions series which was settled by a Jeremy Guscott drop goal in the dying seconds. It is very clear that the winning team will more than likely have a decent goal kicker and at least 2 good tactical kickers in its back line. The issue of a reliable goal kicker was always going to be a problem for Peter De Villiers. However, this problem has now been exacerbated because both Conrad and Frans, who are very good kickers of the ball out of hand, are now out of the picture.
Furthermore, their likely replacements in Kirchner and possibly Daniller have not had as much test experience as these two. Yes, Terblanche once played for the boks at the highest level, but it must be mentioned that this was years ago. While he is playing good Super 14 rugby, we all know that Lions series and Tri-Nations may not be as flashy but they are both certainly tighter contests with limited space.
It may not be panic stations just as yet for the bok coach due to the wealth of depth at his disposal. However, one cannot deny the void that has been created and the limitations it places on his game plan. This will be a true test of Peter De Villiers’s coaching prowess and ability to make do with what he has.
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13 comments
Ron says:
May 5, 2009
Not only is PdV going to earn his salary in the next few weeks with all these injuries but I feel he is going to buckle! Without Conrad and Steyn there is a HUGE whole at the back. Even if you bring Stephane and Zain. Mind you Stephane played his bok rugby as a winger so he has no experience at test level as a full back. Who is PdV going to have as his number 15?? Earl Rose!!!! Dont forget that Conrad made up part of the quota so PdV may be forced to bring in a quota fullback, who fits the bill? Earl!!!!!!
Ruan has been injured for a while and he may not be fully fit and have game sharpness come the Lions. Jean de Villiers is also injured! Im hearing Fourie du Preez is also injured so to Burger!!!
The spine of the Bok is injured and a wounded spine means the bok can not run and thus the task of the Lion is made much easier.
2-1 to the Lions!!!!!!!!
Guru says:
May 5, 2009
Ron, Ron, Ron, why am I not surprised by your utterances. I certainly do agree with you regarding the injuries to key players, that will affect the moral of the teams and the dynamics that go along with that. Where I disagree with you is the point that because of this PDV will buckle. Do not forget that the boks still have quality players like Jacques Fourie, Adi Jacobs and Brian Habana who have all played superrugby in atleast 2 different positions.
Secondly, the issue of quota players does not force PDV to pick an Earl Rose over Terblanche because you seem to be forgetting many other black players who are there on merit like, Beast, Gurthro,Ricky(to a lesser extent this season), JP, Habana, Adi Jacobs and possibly Zane Kirchner.
I still maintain, at the very worst, Boks to win 2-1 but more likely, I see that 3-0 WHITEWASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Manny says:
May 5, 2009
I think these injuries will serve only as an excuse for PdV after he loses the series …….and gets fired.
And the injuries will be the excuse used by Bok fans after the Lions take this series 2-1!
So the backline is looking like this…9 to 15…Januarie, Pienaar/Rose, Habana, Jacobs, Fourie, Pietersen, Kirchner/Rose……are we seriously going to suggest that THIS backline is better than…..Phillips, O’Gara, Williams, Roberts, BOD, Halfpenny/Monye, Byrne?..Boks are in for a beating here!
2-1!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guru says:
May 5, 2009
Well, if it were 7′s maybe yes, the Lions would be better off. But why don’t you move futher up the weight class and assess players number 1 to 8? This is where the trick lies Manny. PDV will not allow as much ball to be played out there as he normally would. After all, in Beast/Gurthro, Smit/Bismarc, Jannie/CJ, Bakkies, Matfield/Bekker the boks have a solid engine room. Then the loosies speak for themselves, Juan,Deysel,Spies, Kanko….should I go on?
This is not a train smash Manny, the bok coach will just have to change his game plan and keep it close and tight.
3-0 to the BOKS!!!!!!!!!!
Manny says:
May 5, 2009
I hear you Guru and that forward pack is mean…..I’ll admit that its the best in the world right now (although I know the All Black fans will have an argument about that). But close and tight is EXACTLY what the Lions want because that nullifies the so-called athleticism of the Boks runners….and it fits in perfectly with the team that has been picked which is full of tough british beef!!!
2-1 Lions!!!!!!!
BP says:
May 5, 2009
Pdiv will def be earning his bucks with all these injuries….while the backups are still decent they dont add the same dimensions, its gonna be an interesting time and should the boks come unstuck against the lions or in the trinations coz of the injuries be sure that those excuses will come up…what is rather untimely for SA is that these injuries/red cards have come at the business end of the tournament where this weekends results will have a huge bearing on the top 4 spots…while the bulls will be without du preez the sharks are now without kockett and steyn…despite who they have in the reserves, they wont be of the same caliber and it’ll be interesting against the cheetahs and waratahs respectively….
Guy says:
May 6, 2009
I think that he is crumbling already-hope he hangs in though!
Werrie says:
May 8, 2009
Earl Rose is the worst player in the whole S14. Yes, he had 1 (maybe 2) good moments throughout the whole competition, but my golly…he is not Springbok material!.
PdV must realize that the test series against the Lions is not there to cultivate younger players for the 3N’s or the next RWC……the series MUST BE WON, and to do that you have to pick the best AVAILABLE players. This takes the whole injury discussion out of the equation and only one question needs to be answered : Who is the BEST in each respective position. With regard to the fullback position, nobody can argue against the fact that Terblanche is the best (far better than Jantjes) fullback in SA at the moment.
BP says:
May 9, 2009
altho that joe pietersen kid had a blinder for the stormers today, but cant really select him on one game…..
rose is amazing, he has some moments of brilliance, but its blighted by a lot more moments of lunacy….
if the best players in each position are injured, then what do you do? i didnt really understand that bit Werrie…
Werrie says:
May 10, 2009
Hallo BP, think what I’m trying to say is that who is the best from the remaining (not injured) players?. If Rose is selected to play for the Boks against the Lions, the Boks chances to win decrease drastically. Joe Pietersen, Louis Ludik, Zane Kirchner, Danniler, Terblanche are all light years better than Rose in my opinion, with Terblanche in the pound seat. Rose’s inconsistency makes him a huge target which can only be exploited by the Lions. He can score one brilliant try the one game and give away 8 tries in the next three games. Boks cannot afford that!.
Manny says:
May 11, 2009
I think both BP and Werrie are right, Rose can be brilliant but if he is picked he will definitely be a hole that the Lions try and exploit.
Since I am backing the Lions I hope PdV makes the mistake of starting Rose at 15!
Guru says:
May 11, 2009
While PDV may not have made the best of decisions everytime, he would know how suicidal having Rose in the team would be. I have been defending the bally since he started but if he were to do that, he would leave me with no choice but to give up on him. After seeing what Rose did in the Highlanders game, i’m sure any of PDV’s ideas of including Earl would have been erased. My worry though is seeing as though Stefan seems to buckle under pressure as well, does this mean that we will have to settle for Kirchner? I am afraid the Bok squad is looking too thin and inexperienced. I may have to forget about the 3-0 whitewash and settle for a mere 2-1 victory.
Werrie says:
May 11, 2009
Good luck Manny. Will be an awesome series. Guru, I don’t think Kirchner will disappoint at all. Good consistent player under the high ball and defends his goal line well. He also can join the backline effectively on attack. I do however, opt for Ludick. He has played better on the attack in the S14 and attended PdV’s Bok trainng camp squad at the end of 2008. But then again, so has Rose and he went on tour to the UK whilst Ludick stayed home. I agree fully on Terblanche…what a disappointing weekend he had, where the cracks under pressure indeed appeared. Wating in anticipation fr the Bok team announcement at the end of May. Cheers mates.