Barbarians team against Fiji

Eddie Jones as coach of the Barbarians team to play Fiji has announced the  Barbarians team and the team is very interesting from a SA point of view as well:-

Barbarians

15 David Havili, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Marco van Staden, 6 Pete Samu, 5 Tyler Ardron, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Replacements  :   16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Campese Maafu, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Angus Cotrell, 20 Matt Philip, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Lukhanyo Am, 23 Morne Steyn

So lets look at the interesting SA players we can look out for:-

*    First of all there is Dillyn Lleyds who did not make the Springbok WC squad.  A good player with questionable defense but good attacking ability,   Not really the best SA can offer.

*    Andre Esterhuizen was considered for the SA World Cup squad - but found to be defective in not being capable to play the Erasmus game plan.  He is not a high world rate defender either.  Lets see what Jones an do with that one.

*    Makazole Mapimpi - one of the stars of the Springbok team in the WC.   Lets see whether he continues in the same vein today.   

*    Curwin Bosch was disappointing in high profile matches in the past - eg the Junior WC matches.   He can be very good or even poor at times.   Bosch was often used at Full back by the  Sharks, but when eh did play at flyhalf he had Esterhuizen at 12.   It would be interesting to know how these two combine in the match.   For th Sharks they were not very effective - but it would help to see what they produced in the Barbarians game.

*    Marco van Staden has played for the Springboks - mostly from the bench.  He was not impressive on test level - but is one of the guys Houwing sees as a repacment for Francois Louw.   Would be nice to see how he measures up in this game. 

*    Tendai Mtawarira - another star of WC game - a pity he retired from test rugby, but he is to be expected to do very well in this game.

*    Hencus van Wyk - we may need another tight head scrummager in future - would like to se ehow the guy dioes in the match.

*    Morne Steyn - must be getting sued to be the bench player in matches -  he has been a regular in that position from 2014.

No Ceradunce 

I said I am looking at all performances of SA players and here follows:-

Dillyn Lleyds

Looked good in attack when in the clear - but his defense was iffy,

Andre Esterhuizen  

Nothing new here - he did score a try forcing his way over the tryline - but missed another opportunity,  On the whole the Barbarias backline was not at all good enough in defense and the ball handling by the backline was sub-standard and slow.   Etsrhuizen was partly to blame for that.   In the final attack that could have changed the outcome of the match he knocked on the ball.   Showed exactly why he was not in the WC squad,

Makazole Mapimpi  

Another top class performance in both attack and defense,  Scored two of the tries of the Barbarians - in my book  a candidate for MOM

Curwin Bosch  

He made Morne Steyn looks good and that says a lot.   A poor performance and  his goal kicking was not up to standard, 

Marco van Staden

Had a very good game and one to look at in future,  A very hard worker at breakdowns.

Tendai Mtawarira

He enjoyed playing and was all over the show - always a player a pleasure to watch.   The scrumming was strong - but not as strong as it was in the WC.

Morne Steyn

Miracles do happen and  he followed up in an attack involving Havili and Lleyds and got a pass allowing him to score a try.   For the rest his goalkicking was accurate,  but spoilt his copybook by a poor kick-in  after the last Fiji try and an earlier relieving kick failed to find touch and the Fijians counter attacked ending near to the Barbarians 22.   Finally he was just brushed aside by the Fijian 7 before the latter scored the last Fijian try.   Congrats with the try scored to Morne. 

Not much to go on about the SA players,  Erasmus was right about leaving out Esterhuizen and Bosch from the Springbok squad and the only new player to look at in future is Van Staden,     

Look at what I wrote dimness and tell me where it was inaccurate.   I do not listen to commentators - I use my own eyes.     

Marco had been very good earlier and then went off with an injury - he came back after being off for about ten minutes and I do think he maintained a high work rate.  

"He is not a high world rate defender either."

Profound.

"Meyer was right leaving Esterhozen and Bosch out the Springbok squad". Well I have to agree with you there. Whether Eraser was right leaving them out is more of a question.

Sorry Mozart

I corrected the issue of Erasmus being right and  who the hell is Eraser?   Grow up idiot,

Sorry Mozart

I corrected the issue of Erasmus being right and  who the hell is Eraser?   Grow up idiot,

Never been a Bosch fan. 

He doesn't bring enough to the table.

Another guy that was told he can play at 15 if the 9 spot was taken.

I'd rather have Kolbe, Willie, Combrink, Coetzee, Galant, Kriel, Willemse, Ishamel or anyone else with two feet and two hands at 15 than Bosch.

Bosch has a lot to do to get ahead of most of the players above and the odd piercing run from the back ain't nearly enough. 

He should take a contract abroad and earn some money there. The Springbok jersey isn't for him.

Hell, I'd even take Lionel Cronje instead.

At super rugby level, no South African made more metres per run. In fact, it wasn't even close. Given his playmaking ability, he is the most natural replacement for Willie. The others are more blunt runners, hard runners like Kirchner, but without the distribution which he regularly led the league in. His defence isn't the best, but we don't really see great defensive 15s in the SH game anyway. Something to consider at least. 

Bosch will not make the grade at all.  My prediction is that Erasmus - who knows more about rugby in his little finger than most other coaches - have his eyes set on two key players for the future full back position and Bosch is not one of those.

The two are Damian Willemse and Muller du Plessis.

I have my doubts about Bosch and had it since the Junior World Cup when he was totally bewildered while playing at flyhalf.   The question was never whether he would really make it at flyhalf - the question was would he make it at full back.   I doubt it very much - he has pace - but plenty problems in decision-making.

Rassie will do what every average coach does, look for the "x-factor" players to do compensate for the limitations of the gameplan. It won't work, not necessarily because of the player(s), but because that is not how you form a sustainable model of attacking rugby. 

Hell - the nutcase is at Erasmus again.   "Limitations of game plan"  - this without even knowing and understanding what the game plan entailed and how it cooked England in the WC final.   This idiot wrote about a wonderful Meyer game plan that was never a game plan at all and has the audacity to criticize an actual plan producing results.   

What about attacking rugby?   You know zero about attacking rugby and less about the fact that Erasmus selected players that can undertake the real rugby plan he devised - not the duds that  could not contribute to such implementing.

So what about winning the WC and everyone but idiots like you praising the achievement of lifting the team out of the disaster he inherited from Meyer and Coetzee into a good functional side able to win the WC?   Let me remind you of the following:-

*    Winner of the 2019 WC                           - the Springboks

*    World Rugby Team of the Year in 2019  - the Springboks

*    World Rugby Coach of the Year in 2019 -  J Erasmus 

*    World Rugby Player of the Year in 2019 - Pieter-Steph du Toit

Tell me when did De Villiers, Meyer or  Coetzee ever came close to be honored worldwide for achievements like being Coach of the Year, Team of the Year or even Player of the Year?  Never - but you keep telling people how good those failing coaches were and how poor Erasmus is,             

Rassie likes bashers, and some x-factor players to gloss over the cul-de-sac bashing. Like giving it to Kolbe and hoping he does stuff.

Fewer carries, fewer metres, fewer linebreaks, fewer defenders beaten, fewer passes, fewer offloads. Why? Because the team is not built to attack ball-in-hand.

How did the Boks beat England? Exactly as I said they would. 

You couldn't be a bi gger flub if you put your clown shoes on the wrong feet. 

More tries - more points - more wins - more thinking rugby - the dead rugby of the Meyer era is gone forever  and the idiot does not understand it,    You never said anything as to what happened in the final game because you did not understand what was happening.   What you said before the game was an attack on Erasmus and some key players with a sentence added that you can only hope that a miracle would happen and the Springboks win the game. 

What happened in the RC and the WC was totally foreign to the dreams you conjured up as happening under Meyer and to write-ups about a non-existent game plan under Meyer you posted on site, .    

Reality is Erasmus becoming the WC winning coach - Meyer effectively got  booted out by Stade Francais because he had no game plan and no idea abut team selection.     So instead of continuing  writing BS on site, it is time for you to start thinking like a grown-up and not a childish and rugby ignorant delinquent and write some real rugby postings on site. .       

"England is the more complete team. They are rightfully the number one side in the world, and have been playing a very good brand of rugby throughout the past four years. To argue otherwise wreaks of sour grapes. That said, I always stated I'd much prefer England over Wales or Ireland. We match-up far better and possess the necessary tools to negate key aspects of their gameplan. We can keep them in the wrong areas of the field, we can dominate the breakdowns and we can dominate the set pieces. Dominance at the breakdown has been the strongest aspect of our game in this World Cup, and success in this facet, against England, will take the sting out of their slick and enterprising attack structures. In short, it allows us to load the line after each phase under considerably less pressure, denying England the chance to effortlessly get behind our weaker defenders and run us ragged. If we can achieve this, the game becomes an arm-wrestle, one which we can win. We must be in control early, robing England of their blistering starts. We've done that before, most notably at Twickenham. Our pack were immensely dominant that day, in fact, so dominant that I simply cannot foresee a replication of that game for the foreseeable future. We don't need to be that imposing, however, but it does raise a red flag: Finishing. We are a terribly blunt force, and if we cannot turn dominance into points, we will struggle. This has been a common problem throughout the Rassie era. We simply have to convert opportunities whilst we are on top."

What is the problem  with the following quote:-

"We don't need to be that imposing, however, but it does raise a red flag: Finishing. We are a terribly blunt force, and if we cannot turn dominance into points, we will struggle. This has been a common problem throughout the Rassie era. We simply have to convert opportunities whilst we are on top."

I highlighted the part where you were a total idiot - where you did not want to see what actually happened.   If we were a blunt force - how come the Springboks scored nearly double the number of tries with Erasmus as coach than they did in the Meyer era?  Lets face fact Idiot Speak comes easy to you because you have no idea about rugby.    

Haven't you had enough misery for today? Cast your hook somewhere else. 

Sorry - but I do not accept idiocy - especially from you.   What makes you write garbage like the quote above?  

I know it's all rather hard for you to take in, but in case it truly has escaped your attention, the static phase play of the Stompie ball the Boks play does not qualify as enterprising attacking rugby. The Boks were and are a one-dimensional bashing team wholely dependant upon physical superiority and defence. Hence, we are a blunt force. It has been a problem under the Rassie era, as that has been the same blueprint he has implemented throughout his coaching career! Truly Dreck, this is too easy. You need some time in the corner and a stiff drink. Try again in the morning.

It certainly is, it covers over cracks nicely. I think Herr Dreck should learn to leave it at that. However, he won't. He hates Meyer too much. 

No - I do not hate any player or coach - I dislike incompetence in any work environment.  The hatred of Erasmus and some players comes entirely from you and Mozart. LMAO

Now it is back to the Stormers where Erasmus has had no role in coaching for nine years = what a farce - dimness.   Please get over silliness and dementia!!!!!!!!  LMAO  

My posts have been devoid of this emotion. I post information, which leaves you spitting your dummy out. 

Really? What changed over those seasons? Rassie was sitting in the background, as he proposes to do now for the Boks. It's undeniable that Coetzee away from Rassie implemented an entirely different style of rugby. Rassie went the Stormers route. This is irrefutable. 

As I keep telling you, stop these dreadful comparisons and you will stop your tears. Learn from these experiences. Resurrecting past topics that left you bloody nosed isn't going to help. 

AO

If you ever did objective performance player assessments I have not seen it on site, even when it comes to using "information".      

I am very sorry for you having a defective brain cell.   For the last 7 years that background was not even with the Stormers or WP at all.   You started off a discussion that could only have come from the BS you normally spout on site - directly blaming Erasmus for the decline in backline performance over the last 15 years when he was not even involved with WP or he Stormers coaching for 12 of the 15 years.  Better still - for the last 7 years he worked for SARU and Munster - where he got the Top 10 award for Coach of the Year in 2017.  

Must say I am always amazed how low you can go in statements made on site,  Annyone believing what you can come up with must be as stupid as you are - and that will be difficult to find on this site.