Are our backline players stupid?

Mcleods kick was a dreadful mistake....if he felt compelled to kick it should have gone deep. I agree with your observation about decision making.....we saw some very poor decisions today.  

 Sharkbok
All players on the field of play must at least have thinking ability - coupled to the physical attributes to do things correctly and also have ball handling skills.
Let me explain - if somebody kicks a ball - the kick should have a purpose - it should not be aimless.
Our backline players are often enough dreadfully poor in all three aspects listed.   It is not only in the game today - but it is virtually in evidence in all games played.
Some players try to hard and bugger up - others are robotic and do the same thing over and over again.   From an overall backline perspective we have a huge percentage of our flyhalfs and scrummies who are clueless.   They do not know when to kick and when to pass.   
Matter of fact the only two flyhalfs who do play "thinking games" are the much maligned Goosen and Boshoff.   They are not robotic and do not repeatedly does the same thing over and over again.
Logic tell people that if something does not work - do not keep doing the same thing. That elemental thinking is totally absent in our players.
So lets accept that -
*   the majority of our scrummies and flyhalfs are clueless and manage to bugger up game like it is unbelievable by repeating the same thing over and over again;
*   the kicking game of our inside backs are piss poor - since it is normally totaslly without reason; and
*   the majority of our backline players lack ball handling skills od an adqequate calue.
Problem is the same dolts are selected time and time again.    
     

The lack of skills & poor thinking ability was evident in the Bulls back line. I will watch the sharks v Mighty stormers  game this morning but I wouldn't be surprised if the problem was there also.

Yes many backlne players are Robots that do not want the responsibility of thinking. 
What ever they do at training, it certainly seems that skills development is not part of the program.Training might just involve running into a brick wall and seeing if they can hold onto the ball during the collision, kicks up field blindfolded and up & under's blindfolded. 
Then it is back to gym where they can eat more creatine and pump iron for the remainder of the day.
I would be surprised if the backs ever play touch rugby, or sevens, elevens where their is more space that will force more passing into their games. 

It is only the Cheetas, and to some degree the Lions that play a runnng backline game, but they do not have the firepower in the forwards that the richer unions do.
The backline players and coaches should be forced to explain to the public why they have poor skill levels, and what their plans are for improvement. 
Otherwise we should start selling the players to overseas clubs to the highest bidder and make a commission on them to re-invest in new players and coaches. 
If players signed longer contracts, then SARU and the Unions could sell them during their contracts- and markup the original price they were bought for, and make money from them. 
Like the Bulls- have really big squads, and when a player is not getting enough game time they will have the option to leave- but the overseas club will have to buy them out of the contracts- at a higher fee than originally paid for.

 katrikilis was piss poor yesterday, it was like watching a clown at a circus

"The general option taking of our players does not much sense."

tell us something we dont kn ow or i havent said a million times already.

Bok test in ellis park last year, halftime siren sounds.
morne gets the ball in his 22 and he passes to JDV (mistake 1)
JDV passes it to jj who is running inside into traffic (mistake 2)
jj gets ball turned over in the resulting breakdown (mistake 3)
All Blacks spread ball out wide and messam scores to give the All Blacks the lead going into the 2nd half.

two of the Boks most senior players took the wrong option and were systematically punished by a better team.
this is because the boring brand of rugby which is embedded into Bok DNA makes everything outside of 10man rugby hard to understand and execute.

sure u can play a weak pumas team who has next to no game time heading into their 1st RC/4nats test for the year and start patting urselves on the back for an attacking job well done, but once u come across areal tier one level team, penalties, drop goals will be the only thing to expect on the day, with everything else a bonus.

all saffa teams bar the cheetahs play a variant of 10 man rugby, and this isnt going to change in the lifetime of anyone alive right now.
and until u get the attacking mindset right from grass roots level, its borign brand will continue to be passed on to every level.

useless coaches dosent help matters much either, u know ur up shit creek without a paddle when meyer and joke white are the countries best rugby coaches.

if SARU were smart, they would try to get robbie deans or even dave rennie to take over the head coaches role, unless of course u want SA to continue playing this eyesore u call rugby,