The Springboks have named Ruan Pienaar at fullback in place of Frans Steyn for this weekends test match against Australia. When I saw this change I must say I was a bit shocked! What is PdV thinking? I am not the biggest Frans Steyn fan but the boy is playing well especially with this kicking game the Boks have adopted. I can not recall the last time I saw Ruan Pienaar play at fullback so it will be interesting to see how he handles it.
PdV has come out and said that the reason he has picked Ruan at the back is in the hope that he will spark the Boks attack. In all fairness, the Boks backline has not sparked for a while now but why reshuffle things when it is working for you? As they say, “If it ain’t broken then don’t fix it.”
But then looking a bit more closely to this Ruan selection at the back; chances are high that Frans is going to leave SA Rugby and go play in Europe so thus PdV has to come up with a solution at the back if Frans does end up leaving. So could Ruan be the long term replacement fullback for the Boks? We all know that PdV loves Ruan and he will do anything to find a place in the team for him but I have my doubts with Ruan at the back.
The second change in the Bok lineup sees Shalk Burger return to the bench after his ban. PdV may have been tempted to bring him straight into the starting lineup if Juan Smith was injured but Smith has been declared fit. I would have been shocked if PdV had replaced Burger with Brussow.
What do you make of Ruan starting at fullback?
The Bok Team in full is: 15 Ruan Pienaar, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Frans Steyn.
Loading ...
17 comments
Fraz says:
Aug 27, 2009
Fully agrre Ron. The timing is Pdiv perfect. I really don’t know why they changed it for this game considering this is the best opportunity for the boks to seal the series.
Having said that, I rate ruans rugby brain, and maybe given some space from the back he will shine with both kicking and spotting gaps for a break, but alas I have nothing to back this up so we will have to wait and see!!
Frans is off to France (ha ha) after tri nations so Div is clearly looking to put ruan to the test at fullback….. Who knows and only time will tell….could this be another brussow break through???
Lets wait and see…. Frans is on the bench for any emergency Ruan meltdowns!
Mozie says:
Aug 27, 2009
i hope you are busy scripting the wallaby changes mate. anyway I don’t see why would pdv bench styne unless he obviously feels he had a poor game at newlands. even if he is leaving sa I don’t think this is the time to try new things. but then again may be he feels juan will bring much needed reliability on attack as I feel frans had ample opportunities running to the wallaby diffence with just that last pass missing to hand over to his team mates. as u have said why fix it if it ain’t broken.
schalk must sit on the bench.
amani says:
Aug 27, 2009
It is a potential weakness given that the Wallabies will be kicking a fair bit because the ball in hand approach against the AllBlacks back fired last week. Getau will raise his tactical kicking this week and i dont see Ruan going high in the air to claim them…?But hey,He is a naturally gifted rugby player,lets see what he can do…
Guru says:
Aug 27, 2009
I’ll be the devil’s advocate here and state that if I were in PDV’s shoes, i certainly would have done the same. Here is my thinking.
1) Without Berrick Barnes and James O’Connor, the Wallabies only have Matt Giteau to do the effective tactical kicking, so the Boks would not be desperately in need of Steyn’s big boot.
2) Ruan Pienaar has a much more educated boot, better rugby mind and his counter attacking with ball in hand is much better coz he has a side step and an eye fir the gao while Frans always bashes into people.
3)In the latest Issue of SARugby, Steyn states “some people are childish not to pick players based overseas”. Whether PDV is right or wrong, the moment a player insinuates something like that about his coach, he becomes a danger to team dynamics.
Based on those 3 points, I’d say the team selected is very good and I would not be surprised in Ruan out in a man of the match performance, capped off with 2 tries.
Ron says:
Aug 27, 2009
No one seems to have mentioned Ruan’s defence. He is not the biggest lad and his defence has been suspect at times for the Boks. At number 10 he has the bonus of having the lossies close to him to help him out in defence but at fullback he is all alone. I think if the Wallabies can break the line they will not have a problem getting past Ruan at the back.
I am sure the Wallabies will continue to kick this weekend and test Ruan. They have the educated boot of Giteau and Ashley-Cooper at 12 together with O’Connor at the back so they will still be able to kick.
Manny says:
Aug 27, 2009
2 tries from Ruan Guru? If the Boks get two tries in a game it’s quite a shock these days!
One thing we may be missing here.
During the build up to the clash between Aus and NZ in Aus both Deans and Henry made remarks about how boring the Boks were and that they kick too much.
SA rugby writers, fans and even the Bok coaches were very quick to return fire by saying that NZ and Aus were trying to trick the Boks into changing a winning tactic by inducing the Boks to play more exciting running rugby. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it was the maxim from the SA rugby world.
But lo and behold come team selection time and Ruan has been included at 15 to add that attacking spark from the back and to find the gaps in the Aus defence. Now if the Boks are playing kick and chase, how will Ruan be able to add this attacking spark? Ruan’s inclusion sounds like a change in tactics to me; despite utterances to the contrary it seems as if PdV may have fallen for the trap set by NZ and Aus and opted to run the ball more than has happened in the last few games. And I do think it is a mistake because the Boks cannot play running rugby.
Yes, Ruan can kick and as Guru has said he has a more educated boot than Steyn. But Steyn’s boot is bigger. Playing gaining grounds against the Boks was a mistake because Steyn could return any kick with interest. Ruan’s inclusion may have eliminated this advantage. The Boks may be thinking of counter attacking by running the ball back at the Wallabies. I am sure Deans and George Smith are licking their lips at the anticipation of Ruan trying to run at Australia from deep.
As a Wallaby fan I had lost all hope of winning this weekend, what with all the injuries to key players in the Wallaby set-up and a general lack of self-belief that seems to be setting into the Wallaby camp. But this selection has given me the slightest glimmer of hope that an upset may occur!
Mozie says:
Aug 27, 2009
I am not sure how much kicking did styne do at newlands compared to other 2 games. but I felt he was full of running with ball in hand, oh well, he did more bashing than in the two previous games. so I think “tactics” changed at newlands already. may be pdv felt that styne did not execute those plans accordingly. he was replaced after all in this game so to me that’s a sign the coaching staff may have not been entirely happy with his execution.
my worry is somewhere along the lines someone obviously feels the ausies are not potent as the kiwis. I hope these guys are not underestimating this wallaby side. that is if they are going to, or have already changed their tactics, in this game or the previous one. otherwise I don’t see how much more would styne offer that pienaar would not, if tactics remain the same. surely this game is not going to be won with a halfway drop goal, or is it?
Guru says:
Aug 27, 2009
I do not see any bchange in tactics here people. The instruction will be simple, the ball should not change hands more than once when the boks are in thier half. Ruan will still have to kick from his own half. Difference is that when the boks are now in the Aus 22, Ruan can join the line and they can run the ball. Remember that noone in w World rugby (barring maybe Contepomi) has a bigger boot than Frans. Ruan’s boot is still above average, it just seems minute when compared to Frans.
A real concern though is the point raised by Ron, Ruan is not the biggest tackler and Robbie Deans will know that all too well. With Players like Elsom on the park, I am sure Aus will look to exploit that. It will be interesting to see how Ruan fares there. Other than that, you can be guaranteed that tactics are not changing. The boks will still kick from their own half.
I still maintain though, boks will score tries this time around, how about I make a bold statement is call this a 3 tries to 1 in favour of the Boks?
The Ultimate All Black says:
Aug 27, 2009
Ruan is probably an upgrade to Frans Steyn.
However, it probably dont matter since the boks will win anyway.
The Aus lineup isn’t as weak as people think. Ashley-Cooper and Cross can be good if they gel. O’connor is fit and Baxter’s career is done.
Manny says:
Aug 28, 2009
I don’t even re-call the Boks trying to run the ball when in the opposition half Guru. If the Boks are gonna be running it when in the Aus half and trying to spread it wide to where Ruan will be then that is a change in tactics. I don’t see the Boks scoring three tries! Guru! Your just trying to rub us Aus fans the wrong way aren’t you?
Ron does raise a very good point about Ruan’s defence although Steyn isn’t the best tackler in the world either.
Let me make a bold statement and say that the Boks are in for a surprise defeat this weekend! And we all know that once the Boks start to lose they continue losing until their coach gets sacked!
Guru says:
Aug 28, 2009
Manny, please back your bold statement on Superbru…..put money where your bold mouth is!!!
The Ultimate All Black says:
Aug 28, 2009
the boks lack offensive imagination nullifies the selection of Ruan.
Interesting.
Mozie says:
Aug 29, 2009
the green machine rolls on …..
boks lack what? hater…..
ruan had an off night. I did not see him until he was substituted.
boks defence needs some tuning.
Fraz says:
Aug 29, 2009
Sorry guru you got it wrong… They didn’t score 3 tries!!! Ha ha ha
And manny and ultimate all black please enjoy your fresh steaming slice of pie!!
Bring on the tour… 3 from 3… World domination!!
Mozie says:
Aug 29, 2009
One thing for sure. Call it tennis, call it pouching. The Springboks are good at executing it. Yes we fed off their mistakes, but there is one thing for sure. The wannabies were clueless, outmuscled and outplayed. This game was virtually over by the 10th minute of the first half, shaving off the mark they set in Newlands by a massive 30 minutes, where that game was over as a contest by halftime. I saw fear and smelt panic all over my TV screen when I looked at the boys in gold. Giteau tried as he may to wipe off the horror on his teammates faces but, the men in green were determined to prove once and for all that whether you kick it or swing it, you still have to do it right. Even long after the fat lady had sung, there was enough time for consolations and the Boks did show that they are human after all for loosening the grip they had on the helpless Kangaroos.
For that reason, in the end Pdv had a rear look of disappointment on his face on an evening where he should have felt his team could have done better. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise, as he knows his team still needs to improve defensively, and they need to me more brutal to be feared, respected and acknowledged as the best team ever to wear a jersey with a proud Bok emblem. There is no doubt that they are the best team to ever wear a jersey with a Protea badge, the best team in the southern hemisphere, and the best team in the world for that matter, but greatness has not yet been earned by the current Springboks. Ruthless as they were in the first quarter of an hour, they just could not get out of the third gear, setting up another victory by feeding off their terrified hosts. It is still not clear what the Boks of 2009 are capable of on their best, but we know that they are precise, accurate and deadly at the moment.
The manner in which they allowed the Aussies to score two tries in the second half is worrying, but it could be well explicated by the fact that they had a man with virtually one hand on the field for one those tries, and the replacements coming off the bench are not able to round off their predecessor’s platform. Nonetheless Pdv deserves credit for this week’s victory. The next two weeks will not proof how good this team is because we already know, but they will proof how great they are. Go Bokke.
The Ultimate All Black says:
Aug 30, 2009
thats total domination. The boks shocked me and were worthy winners.
Wallabies were average to pathetic.
Congrats to the Boks.
Guru says:
Aug 31, 2009
Ooops, my bad Fraz, i got that all wrong, it wasn’t 3 but 4 tries………………….damn these bok players………..lol