Albert's Bok spot at risk?

Ex SupersportCape Town - He probably seems at first glance one of the most settled figures in a Springbok side otherwise marked by certain daring, fresh-faced selections, but blindside flank Willem Alberts is under pressure to produce a rousing performance at Loftus on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Sharks favourite is back after missing the 55-6 rout of Scotland in Port Elizabeth through injury, giving the Boks the same loose trio for the Castle Rugby Championship opener against Argentina (17:00 kickoff) that began last year’s equivalent fixture at FNB Stadium - a record 73-13 outcome in favour of the host nation.

At least at this stage, the restoration of the “Bone Collector” for his 33rd cap is hardly a surprise, and still well justifiable.(Nonsense)

The alliance of Alberts, Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen has become a staple feature of Bok XVs even when all loosie candidates are available in the Heyneke Meyer era, and usually operates as a well-greased machine.

But if you had to pinpoint one of the trio as being most at risk of being nudged out of the starting equation, that player would probably be the hefty No 7.

One rival “wolf” has been kept from the door for the time being as Meyer, for whatever reason, resisted the temptation to involve Toulon-based, medical miracle-man Juan Smith in the match-day squad.

Nevertheless, World Cup 2007 winner Smith is at least back lurking thereabouts, and the classy, lanky customer has clearly stated his hunger to be involved in a personal third RWC campaign next year.

The designated loose forward substitute against the Pumas will be Marcell Coetzee, an ally of Alberts’s at the Sharks who was a leading light in their advance to the Super Rugby semis this year.

Coetzee is being predominantly modelled into an out and out open-sider this year, but he also still boasts plenty of qualities to make him an appealing thought at No 7, not least a quite staggering work-rate at times.

Also far from out of the mix is another seasoned marauder in Schalk Burger, currently Japan-based but available later in the Championship: he was admiringly described as “all over the park” by TV commentator and former Bok AJ Venter when he plugged the Alberts gap at blindside against Scotland recently and was at the helm of the home tackle count.

Mention of the sheer industry of characters like Coetzee and Burger is apt because it is an area where, for all his formidable physical qualities, Alberts can come up a little short at times (LIttle short - hahahahhahahaha) - even while earning some rightful oohs and aahs for the odd drive-back tackle or particularly fierce carry.

Fitttingly Pretoria-born, the big flanker has an opportunity at Loftus, where the air is thin and the ball bounces or is airborne for good distances, to put the fears of some critics to rest that he loses some effectiveness when a game is played at notable pace.(Aha then penny is finally dropping for these scribes. - perhaps the oaks here may one day catch on! )

This is especially relevant because Meyer has made no bones about his desire to see his side up their overall tempo (IS Meyer aware of the problem one wonders) if they are to disturb the long-time crown of the All Blacks this year (it is, sadly, no longer applicable to suggest the New Zealanders, for instance, can have the air stripped from their lungs at altitude; they have actually come to revel in such conditions and often outlast the Boks).(Well if you pick a 7 weighing 120 kg with a poor work rate etc anybody will outlast you. Burger has incredible stamina and will outlast anybody playing rugby today. He gets better as the game gets longer. Just pick the right pack and we will again as always outlast the wee abs at altitude - no problem whatsoever!!! Howwe make our own problems)

It is here that a large specimen like Alberts, in a role that increasingly requires mobility to match raw strength, runs the risk of coming under critical scrutiny.

I am among those who suspect that he comes into his own for South Africa best on heavier surfaces - like at the coast domestically, and in year-end European mud baths - where the most vital gains are so often made in centimetres rather than metres, and penalty goals earned through precious field position rather than tries can sway close contests when the elements are foul.(Agreed and it's hardly rocket science. But tell me why oh why dont we learn the simple lesson of tweaking the pack according to conditions!! )

Make no mistake, Alberts is wonderfully geared for the November or December demands of a Millennium Stadium, Murrayfield or Twickenham, or grim June and July at Newlands, for that matter.

In such environments, there is an aura about him, a presence that can send a shudder down opposition spines.

Yet Meyer knows the culture of the Rugby Championship, played as it is these days in the promising first buds of the southern spring, remains for five- and seven-pointers to be the primary way to make decisive headway, with the All Blacks’ monopoly of the silverware very much founded on that ethic.

The situation endangers someone like Willem Alberts ... Saturday at Loftus would be a good start to allaying reservations about his ability to stay with the rest of the pack, as it were, when the pace gets searing and there is no place for passengers.

Trouble is the Argies are unlikely to match the Boks and the wrong conclusions may be drawn. Wake up Meyer

 Beeno
This change is long overdue.   I have been saying this for the past year or more now.   Alberts has been deficient in many respects -
*    Alberts' so-called "bone-crushing" tackles s rarely in evidence - I have not seen one the past year in which an opposition player really tackled back and the player lose ball possession or aa penalty results from the tackle.   Most of his tackles are very average and he missed way too many tackles he should have made;
*    Alberts famous ball carries Has been reduced to the level where he never carries balls more than 2 meters before he is tackled;
*    Alberts plays no role in tackle ball protection and recovery.   He arrives late at breakdown points - and even when he is there he is clumsy and incapbale of doing the routine tasks attached to the two functions mentioned;
*    Alberts is extremely poor in catching balls passed to him and he virtually never passed balls he got in hand by accident;
*    Albert's role in line-outs is so rare that it can be said it happens virtually once in a blue moon.
The article is mild compared what it should be - it should be blunt and to the point.   Alberts is low work-rate player and a waste of space in the Bok set-up - a player who should have been dropped a year ago.
     

 Mike what I liked about the article is the realisation that Alberts may not be suited to the highveldt. 
Two fatal mistakes in Bok thinking. Your 5 lock can be as pap as victor and no matter.
Your pack is never tweaked regardless of conditions or opponents.
I also hope snapster takes heed of AJ Venters comments re Schalk and admits he got it all wrong.  Schalk is 31 and has had two years rest to heal all niggles and get refreshed. 
I agree the journalist is very mild on the subject. 
Anyhow Alberts now has to prform but I cant think he is the answer in a fast tempo game.He is simply not equipped for it.  

Well I can already hear the last post playing hauntingly in the twilight as the mighty Boks future swirls down the toilet. 
How could anyone in their right mind think of dropping Alberts?? He's fat, slow, can't pass, can't catch & slavishly believes that all it takes to be a good rug by player is to bludgeon the opposition. What more could you ask for in a Bok forward?

 JW, 3 IQ is two IQ points ahead of you. You getting my drift here?

Err Beeno, you mentioning IQ may be counterproductive. 
                Illustration provided to aid comprehension

 

 You have to love ou JW  obsession with that duck!
JW  bludgeoning the wee abs is what we do BUT we also require other skills from our forards and hence our concern with Alberts.

Beeno: you failed to get the "point" that Daffy was making, lol
The Boks problem is a problem of "mind-set" not just skills. For example, Alberts must be able to pass & catch he just does not see the value of it. He has been trained to bludgeon like many Bok forwards. Weeee matfield is the exception and look at how some "Bok Supporters" weep & wail when his is selected

 Nope I dont JW  Why repeat an erroneous point?

Beeno:  The Boks problem is a problem of "mind-set" not just skills. For example, Alberts must be able to pass & catch he just does not see the value of it. He has been trained to bludgeon like many Bok forwards. Weeee matfield is the exception and look at how some "Bok Supporters" weep & wail when his is selected

Juan smith would add something to the team.... a great player. But HM has a strong sense of incumbency. I doubt Smith will go straight into a starting role. The guy under pressure is Coetzee on the bench . I'm sure HM watched his Saders performance and asked himself whether any of the touted progress since Coetzee's failure two years ago, is real. 

Yes, it will be good to see Juan Smith get a go at some point especially as I have heard he is coming back from serious injury. Always good when a player has worked his way back into contention with perseverance.