All roads led to the Shark Tank on Saturday as the Boks took on the Lions in the first test. The Boks edged past the Lions 26 – 21. Below are Guru and Manny’s take on the game:
Guru’s Take
Well what can I say about this, other than the fact that I feel for Phil Vickery who was taken to the cleaners by the one and only BEAST, the Springboks have definitely calmed the nerves of their supporters and dished a good serving of humble pie to their critics. I will start off by addressing 3 points that the critics had been raving on about regarding the weaknesses in the bok squad.
1) Not only did John Smit hold his own in the scrum but the Bok captain was colossal in open play, scoring a try that any forward would dream of. John certainly was solid in all facets of play and led from the front. My conclusion, test passed with flying colours and Smit will not be troubled for the rest of the series.
2) Ruan Pienaar is 50% of the reason why the boks built a 12point lead by halftime. His tactical kicking and awareness were so good that he almost put in a flawless display of fly half play on Saturday. He missed 1 kick at goal, giving him an A Grade accuracy percentage. He was never found wanting in defence and he certainly kept the Lions back three back peddling with his intelligent play. My conclusion, test passed with flying colours, the critics are 0-2 down.
3) Frans Steyn showed that his huge boot is exactly what the doctor ordered as he sent the Lions back deep into their own half every time they kicked the ball. Steyn produced at least 2 sixty metre efforts and contributed to the momentum that the forwards were building on. His positional play was also very good and he played a very mature and educated game. My conclusion, test passed comfortably and critics were proven wrong yet again.
The Lions themselves were simply outclassed. Vickery had the worst game I have seen him play but in all fairness he did not do much wrong, he just came up against a bigger, stronger and better scrummager. I was impressed by Tom Croft, Mike Phillips, Jamie Roberts and Brian Odriscoll (BOD). I felt that the Lions forwards were shown up and their physicality was not half as visible as it has been vs the Provinces. As I have been arguing since the beginning of the tour, players are as good as they are allowed to play. I heard the likes of Ron and Manny telling us how devastating Roberts and BOD are and how they would rip the boks apart, well, they did show signs of potential sparks but the Boks are not that dumb. The Boks starved the Lions of ball in the 1st 55min and rendered this centre paring useless. If truth be told, the Lions were saved by Peter De Villiers’s shocking substitutions between the 55th and 65th minutes. Had it not been for this tactical error by the bok coach, the Lions would have been dished a 30point drubbing at least.
The 2nd test will not be any different, the boks will play test rugby, i.e. look for territory with intelligent kicking, chase the kicks well and run the ball of Lions mistakes. I honestly do not see the Lions being able to match that and even if Sheridan replaces Vickery, the boks are just a much better team all round.
For those of you that missed the game or for those who just want to see it again, below is a video of the highlights from the First Test:
Manny’s Take
The first test has come and gone and the Boks take a one nil lead into the second test at Loftus on Saturday. The Boks must be commended for showing up the fragilities of the Lions team and for exploiting some key weaknesses in the Lions set up. The Boks won the game by destroying the Lions at scrum-time, making the Lions jittery at the lineout, forcing a high number of turnovers at the breakdown and exposing the Lions inability to defend the driving maul.
I don’t know if this win would have calmed the nerves of the more analytical Bok supporters however; certainly not the players. In winning the game the Boks must not forget that some weaknesses of their own were exposed.
Firstly, the Boks were dominated in terms of possession. This is a worry if the Lions start turning all that ball into points. Combined with the high turnover count, this would suggest that the Lions were the team playing the rugby, and the Boks were content to simply feed off of Lions errors. A dangerous tactic to use if the opposition get better at securing the ball and starve the Boks of what little ball they did get in the first test.
Secondly, once Jones came on and stabilized the scrum so as to give the Lions a platform to play, the Lions scored two tries; and could’ve scored two more had Phillips been half a centimeter taller or had Monye kept the ball in the outside hand instead of the inside hand when he was desperately close to the whitewash.
Linked to this is the third Bok weakness; the Boks were outscored three tries to two. If one considers the Phillips and Monye efforts in the second half, and the two denied tries in the first half (the Monye effort and the Tommy Bowe “try” that was ruled out for obstruction), this means that the Bok try line was breached 3 times legitimately and a further four times illegitimately. That’s a total of seven clear cut try scoring opportunities for the Lions compared to just two for the Boks. The Lions, once given a platform to play are more than capable of breaching the Bok defence, particularly down the middle where Roberts and BOD gave JdV and Adi Jacobs a torrid time.
Fourthly, the Boks lack of fitness in the last twenty was plain for all to see when they nearly conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Ironically, the advantage of playing in the highveld with the hard grounds and thin air may actually work against the Boks in that they may once again find themselves unable to cope with the pace of the game in that last quarter. This could prove critical if the game is tight heading into those dying stages. If one considers that the Boks may once again find themselves without possession of the ball for two thirds of the game then the constant defending will definitely tire out the Boks.
Now, to address the three points raised by Guru.
1. Smit didn’t pass the scrum time test because he did not take it. Remember, all along the critics had feared what SHERIDAN was going to do to Smit at scrum time. To the surprise of many Ian McGeechan opted for the mobility of Jenkins at loosehead rather than the brute strength of Sheridan. A mistake that he will no doubt not repeat in the second test. All the pressure in the Bok scrum came from The Beast. Smit merely held his own, aided by the fact that the Lions scrum was constantly back-pedalling due to Vickery’s pummeling at the hands of the Beast, Smit can hardly be said to have passed the scrumming test with flying colours. The second test will be the barometer given that Sheridan is likely to start and yes, when he scrums against the English powerhouse he will be troubled.
2. Ruan Pienaar kicked very well into space and was accurate kicking at goal. Credit for that. But that’s all he did. Given the domination of the Boks at scrum time it was nigh impossible for Ruan to be pressurized when he had the ball, and when Ruan was in defence, Stephen Jones had to stand a lot deeper to cater for the bad ball he was sure to receive from the back-pedalling Lions scrum. This meant the Lions pivot could not attack Ruan’s channel and the Bok fly-half was spared from exercising his defensive duties. Again, once the Lions scrum is sorted out and stabilized expect Ruan to be tested a lot more. What’s interesting is that despite the Bok domination at scrum time, Ruan failed to get his line going. One struggles to think of an instance where the back three, or even Adi, were set off or put into space by their fly-half. Ruan passed the first test but much credit must go to the Beast for that.
3. Frans was indeed kicking the ball a fair distance, but that was expected. The critics were unsure about his positional play, which to his credit, he did decently. But like Ruan one wonders whether this was due to Frans ability or rather just a spillover effect from the Lions pack being under so much pressure.
Can the Lions win in Loftus?
The answer is simple; they must, they can and they will.
How?
The front row needs to be changed. Sheridan, Rees and Jones will provide a much better challenge to the Bok front row and stabilize the scrum giving the Lions the platform from which they can play. Jones held his own against the Beast, and this will enable Sheridan to put Smit under the sort of pressure Vickery was under. Rees’ inclusion should also help to shore up the shaky Lions lineouts.
Alun Wyn Jones may have to be dropped for a more physical lock partner for O’Connell, the Bok physicality and driving maul has to be countered.
Martyn Williams in for Wallace who was shown up by Broussouw all afternoon. Lions must get better at the breakdown by getting more numbers there. Winning the battle on the ground should be made easier by the fact that PdV is likely to make a huge error in picking Schalk ahead of Broussouw which may nullify the Bok advantage in this area of the game.
Jones must arrive at Loftus with his kicking boots on, the six points he missed ended up being the difference between the two sides.
BOD and Roberts must continue being BOD and Roberts. They definitely have the numbers of Adi and JdV.
Monye, if he plays, will no doubt get try scoring opportunities. He has to put these away.
It can be done, and what better place to prove one’s supremacy over the Boks than by winning at Loftus.
Expect a major Lions backlash.
2-1 to the Lions!
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10 comments
BP says:
Jun 22, 2009
BOD and Roberts will be better in the next test, and they crossed the advantage line with ease in this test, so there already lies a weakness for the boks to work on.
as mentioned in my other post, the scrums are going to be a contentious debating issue, i’d like kamate’s opinion on that being a fellow front rower. in my opinion, beast was boring in and up and that shouldve been penalised. vickery with all his experience shouldve been able to counter that but we know beast is very strong anways. i still think smit did well enough against jenkins, but loftus will give a better idea if a different front row is chosen.
manny’s point about the lions try scoring abilities is undeniable and this is a positive for them going into the second test.
ruan was good, and his kicking for poles and out of hand really was an asset to the boks. i think between him and morne they should do fine in that 10 channel.
the jury is still out on frans steyn, while i do believe he is a talent i think his stint at racing metro at the end of the year will prune him into a great bok. at the moment he plays for himself. his boot however did get the boks out of some trouble and his defense wasnt bad, but still wouldve picked kirchner on form
victor and bakkies still are the premier lock pairing in the world wiht no one even close. i dont even think if you chose the next 2 best non SA locks, they’d be anywhere as good as those 2…really becoming a legend in their own right
fourie du preez is without peer and wouldve been my man of the match, followed closely by mike philips who is fast forming his own legacy with the lions and wales
i thought broussow was good. a lot of the dirt work done in the first half by the bok loosies went un noticed. i didnt see many rampaging runs by spies who was supposed to be terrifying the lions…i thoght it was a fair battle between the two sets of loosies
Fraz says:
Jun 22, 2009
So manny in other words if the lions fix all their mistakes then they will win the test at loftus!?!?!? I take it that is assuming the boks play the exact same way…..
Now what happens if the boks fix their mistakes too???
Which no doubt they will, nobody in the bok camp was pleased with the overall performance and will without fail close any holes exposed….
Granted the Lions found holes in the back-line, i think jacobs was non existant in the last game and should be dropped ASAp, however with all these holes broken through 2 points were highlighted very clearly…..
1) The lions have no finishers bar mike philips who was brilliant but he can’t do it all.
2) The boks defense of their own line is immense.
And please don’t back pedal on the Smit issue, there was mention of sheridan, but okes were bleating that no matter what the boks front row were going to get squashed and they turned that statement on its head…..
Never have I laughed so hard as to see Big Phil vickery a full metre off the groound getting carried by the beast like sack of potatoes……hahahahahahaha
So I once again warn the detractors to mark my words now “BE VERY CAREFUL OF STATEMENTS MADE AGAINST THE BOKS THIS WEEK…..COZ HUMBLE PIE IS A SERIOUS BITCH TO EAT!!!”
Ron says:
Jun 22, 2009
Reading some reports this morning, it looks almost certain that Jacobs will be dropped from the team for Saturday and the funny thing is they are going to say he is injured and not have the balls to say he is dropped considering that PDV loves the guy. And it also looks like Burger will be back in the team at the expense of Brossouw.
Now with that said, Fraz raised a valid point that the Boks also have to fix their mistakes or should I say PDV should not make mistakes come Test 2. But it will be difficult for the Boks to fix their fitness “mistake”. The guys looked tired and if they can not last the last 20 minutes come Saturday then they could be in trouble.
I am surprised no one has mentioned the way the Boks ‘cheated’ in the last few minutes when one of their props ‘faked’ and injury so Captain Smit could come back onto the field and steady the team and the scrum.
I am sure Vickery got his boarding pass on Saturday after the game and he has been sent back to the UK. The Lions will be ready for Test 2, that you can be assured of and the fact that they saw on Saturday that this Boks team can actually be beaten will add to their confidence.
The Lions also need to drop Monye after his school boy errors cost two tries. If the ball was under the correct arm he would have had 10 points. Being a former great winger myself, you are taught which are to put the ball under when you are still in you diapers. Monye can not be forgiven for those mistakes and thus he should be dropped and IRB player of the year Shane Williams should be recalled!!!
Manny says:
Jun 22, 2009
Interesting comment by BP about the Beast’s scrumming technique. I know absolutely nothing about what goes on in the front row and what counts as legal and illegal. Your explanation about this aspect of the game would be very welcome BP.
I can already hear Fraz and Guru getting worked up. Guys, this is not an excuse, Vickery was destroyed. No question. Just out of interest I would love to know what goes on in the scrum and maybe this can explain how a world cup winner like Vickery can be lifted off his feet from a crouching position! And as a Wallaby supporter it would be nice to be able to engage in debates about the scrum because the W scrumming is always described as illegal by Bok fans especially.
Valid point Fraz, no doubt the Boks will be smarter about the opposition too and will rectify their own mistakes. I just think the Lions have more room for improvement which should make for a closer contest.
For all the Lions fans out there, if push comes to shove (no pun intended), then maybe we should each contribute some money to buy Vickery a complimentary ticket straight back home to the UK on the first available flight!
BP says:
Jun 22, 2009
while i know that vickery has been known to give penalties away before, i did think that beast shouldve been penalised himself a few times, namely the first couple of scrums. this area is always contensious because there are so many factors that can influence how a prop scrums and it makes it harder for the ref to call. at the end of the first scrum best was almost standing upright as it wheeled and i was actually surprised when the penalty went the other way. a lot has to do with binding as well these days so its even trickier.
i’d like to watch some of the footage again to recap, but theres no denying the beasts strength there and he totally demolished vickery, illegally or otherwise. wouldve thought that with his experience he’d have been able to combat it, but he is tall for a tighthead as well which makes it easier for the loosehead to get under him. thats why when jones came on, a shorter prop, the beast didnt have the same effect.
i think rons comments re match fitness is a good point and something that cant be ‘fixed’ in the space of a week…lions have the upper hand in that department
please someone tell januarie to hang up his boots so that rugby doesnt get in the way of his pie-eating contests
Fraz says:
Jun 22, 2009
PLease BP I can’t agree more with getting rid of Janurie….the dude has been on a celebratory eating spree since he scored against the ABs last year…..so useless he needs to be fired asap please!!!!!
Guru says:
Jun 22, 2009
And now the new bok weakness is fitness, well once again as Fraz always says “do not say i did not tell you so”. The boks will not stuggle for fitness becasue the problem is not fitness, they were disrupted by P Diddy’s substitutions which led to the Lions having 70% of the ball in the last 15min. This will not happen on the 27th because P Diddy will not pull off 4 keys players before the 70thmin this time around. Another thing that Lions need to take into account is the difference between playing in Durban and Loftus. 1stly, we all know Fourie always has his best kicking games at Loftus. Secondly, the Loftus crowd is much more intimidating and thirdly, the 12/13 channel will not be a gaping as it was. Whether it is becasue Jacobs is replaced or that they improve communiation with Jean, Roberst and BOD will not enjoy as much space. I think the Lions supporters must be more worried coz they could not win nwith 65% possession. Now what will happen when it’s 50/50?
BP says:
Jun 22, 2009
you saying that the boks wre ok in the last 10mins of the first half and first 10mins of the second half? no ways boet, thats why they had to ring the changes and claim blood bin for ruan. theres only one way to get match fitness, and we all know its not from another week of intense training, its actual game time. ruans boot was the only thing keeping them in the lead after the first 30mins, yuo cant defend like they did and not expect there to be some very tired legs out there
Kambas says:
Jun 22, 2009
BP, Manny, you guys are smoking summin serious coz what you seeing and the rest of the world is completely different,
right manny lets go thru your points one at a time. you say,
“Firstly, the Boks were dominated in terms of possession. This is a worry if the Lions start turning all that ball into points. Combined with the high turnover count, this would suggest that the Lions were the team playing the rugby, and the Boks were content to simply feed off of Lions errors. A dangerous tactic to use if the opposition get better at securing the ball and starve the Boks of what little ball they did get in the first test.”
Thats why they call it attacking defense, the whole purpose is to force the opponent into making silly mistakes and then you feed of the mistakes and capitalise which the Boks did. Even when the boks made mistakes they were still able to force the lions into making more of their own before they capitalised. Talk about pressure, i have always said that the lions would wilt under the bok pressure and as evidence i give you Stephen Jones kicking for goal and for territory nowhere near as good as we have seen him play all season and why coz of the pressure mentally and physically. Even your Beloved B.O.D made many errors due to pressure and my basis is if you look at the dropped balls and the penalty that he gave away trying to use the block when he should have fed that man the ball. i will not even bring in the scrum pressure becoz Fraz and Guru have said it all.
next. you say, “Secondly, once Jones came on and stabilized the scrum so as to give the Lions a platform to play”, Jones had minimal reps against the beast and BP if i recall correctly in ’99 (i was playing hooker at the time with you alongside me) we came up against a very strong P.E. squad in the scrum but for a minimal number of reps we were able to hang with them even tho we ended up losing by 100 odd points. It doesn’t bode well when the lions coach dismisses any complaints about South Africa’s scrumming tactics (to answer your question about beast’s scrumming technique manny) and admitted the Springboks pack – particularly the scrummaging of Beast and hooker Bismarck du Plessis – had simply been too good.
Manny, you know as well as i do that irregardless of the manner the points come, if you keep the ticker moving regularly during the game with penalties and drops and the like in the end you can nullifhy the need for the five pointer as was clearly the case in this match. Ruan played a heck of a game and truth be told His and Frans contribution actually did the damage. Gents the banter, when it comes to this tour has always been about how crucial the boot is and as evidenced in this match that is and has been the case thus far in world rugby this year. Don’t now clutch at straws and say because we breached your line seven times we should have won. Bollocks gents the lions were beaten at what they thought of as their strength, kicking. full stop.
Manny it seems to me that you are highlighting Bok weaknesses but failing to look at your own in this regard, seven chances that you got at the try line you converted 3 times giving you a 42.8% conversion rate using Mr. young’s simple arithmatic, the boks had converted once from two chance according to you giving them a greater try conversion rate. maybe thats why they won. they were more clinical when they got into scoring positions.
Fitness, SERIOUSLY?!! Guru said it best, chalk it up to P Diddy effing up the substitutions and not fitness. If you really want to be on the money, then you should be saying that the Boks bench is not as deep as they think because it is unacceptable for professionals at their levels to come into a game of this magnitude and then let go a 19 point lead within a space of 10mins. The bench basically froze once they got onto the field and if you ask me, if you choose to bring on a player off the bench the intensity should stay at the same level or increase. It didn’t and as such you need to re-evaluate your bench to see if its as strong as you think it is. Those players should be fined if you ask me. that was kak play and preparation. plus the coaches really messed up. The coaches tactically let the lions back into the series when this series was effectively over.
Brussow’s play was almost non-existant at the breakdown, but his play behind the scrum was on another level. his support play and defence were phenomenal, but as a fetcher he didn’t need to show up at the office, he even said as much in his interview after the game as did naas, and bob skinstad. I dunno what game all you guys were watching that thought brussow was good in the breakdowns. as for the loosies, BP, your calling the loosies battle a tie is absolute nonsense man. i mean what criteria are you using becoz as a former loosie my criteria and i’m sure guru’s says the same thing if i may be permitted to speak on his behalf that the lions loosies wern’t even on the park. They played that bad.
and Manny how does Frans positionally playing well and hoofing the ball have anything to do with the lions pack being under so much pressure. my friend your analysis on this game was severely and uncharacteristically skewed. don’t know what happend to you this time.
Bp, beast should have been penalised a few times my foot. Jeez what were you seeing that the lions coaches didn’t see after their review of the game tape. lets not clutch at straws gents. Messrs, PDV, Gold and whathisface Muir saved your blushes and you all know it!!!
why don’t the lions do us all a favor and make like feotuses and head out.!!!
Stick a fork in me i’m Done!!!!
BP says:
Jun 22, 2009
the boks out kicked the lions in every department, theres no denying that and to do so would be foolish
i still believe it was match fitness, we’ll see when/if PDiddy leaves the starting XV on for the first 70mins of the next test
the lions coaching staff didnt mention anything untoward for the beast scrumming, which i was surprised about coz i wouldve thought they’d be the first to be bleating. i will review the scrums again this week and give my verdict.
tom crofts 2 tries came from superb loosie support, so surely that counts for something? while there werent a lot of turnovers (which doesnt nessecarily mean that they had a bad day) i thought that both sets of loosies did a defensive job, nothing flash but decent. what criteria do use then kambas?
it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next game and whether either side fixes their mistakes and what that’ll mean for the result, i still dont see it being as clear cut as some one-eyed bok supporters
BOD is still one of the best rugby players around regardles of a few mistakes. i hate him with a passion after his whining after the NZ lions tour, but you cant deny he’s class