Bok Barometer 4/9

Final Barometer as adjusted. Ulengo for Skosan, Mapoe for de Jongh, Smith for Marais, PSDT for Mostert

WillieCombrinkMapoe VenterJumbo UlengoJantjiesFafDylan SmithMarxMalherbeEtzebethPSDTKrielCoetzeeWhiteley
The Barometer reflects S15 form, with a modest amount of emphasis on recent games. Make your suggested changes and they will be incorporated in the first posting on the string if they appear to reflect a majority view. A new Barometer will be posted under a separate string each week. 

Dylan Smith was the catalyst to the dismantling of the Sharks scrum in the first half, notable difference when he was subbed off as the Sharks 'improved' their scrum after it. Marais must've done a lot to get picked over him, but he's a new favourite of yours and we all know what that means...
Also struggle to believe that De Jongh had a better game than Mapoe.

 Mozart
De Jongh has never played at 13 this tournament and at 12 he was not up to standard.   However Venter played virtually  all his games at 13 - so if your selections cover all rounds thus far - he is the obvious selection at 13.
Insofar as your selections up to date is concerned - you really must e kidding selecting Mostert ahead of Du Toit,  Still trying to get over the prejudice problem?
In respect of the latest round only I have some differences from your selections,   M y team for this week would be as follows:-

15   SP Marais14   Kobus van Wyk13   Johnny Kotze12   Jan Serfontein11   Jamba Ulengo10   Jean-Luc du Plessis  9   Louis Schreuder  8   Dan du Preez  7   Jean-Luc du Preez  6   Lappies Labuschagne  5   Pieter-Steph du Toit  4   Jason Jenkins  3   Julian Redelinghuis  2   Malcolm Marx  1   Dylan Smith

 It's not a team for this week, it's a cumulative team with an emphasis on recent games, but your comments are noted.

 Coennie was shown up as the chump he is. 
Dylan Smith has been very impressive. 
Mapoe had a cracker ... again  ... and should surely be a contender for the best SA 13 out there ...
Jamba Ulenga is a Bok in the making. 

 CC 
There is one thing common to Mapoe and De Jongh - they both weigh 87 kgs.  Both are physically too small to be effective centers,   Both should play on the wing where they would be more effective.   The small Lions centers were shown up badly in the game against the Crusaders.
I like Mapoe - but think both Mapoe and De Jongh will be more effective as wings - not centers,      

 taking into account what we've seen till the moment and some previous performances, my bok selection for the june tests would be:

1. D. Smith     2. M. Marx    3. Malherbe

4. Etzebeth     5. PSdT

6. J. Kriel     7. Vermeulen    8. W. Whiteley

9. R. Cronje    10. E. Jantjes

12. de Allende   13. Mapoe

11. R. Combrick    14. J. Ulengo   15. le Roux


16. Strauss/du Plessis   17. C. Marais   18. V. Koch   19. RG Snyman   20. Carr/Kolisy   21. S. Venter?? (may be Faf as impact player for the last 10 min)  22. Lambie  (if fit)  23. J. S erfontein (as he can play both 12 and 13)

 On the loosehead, Smith has been impressive....but Marais has dominated against Malherbe, Marcel van Der Merwe and  Nyakane. Probably tougher opposition.
Allende  is likely to get the nod at inside centre, but if this is a form team we have to wait for that to happen.
There seems to be no consensus on the wings....indicative of our problem.

 Moz, I can't really fault your sellections, but I think it would be nice if we can include the bench, maybe not the whole bench, but a couple of key contenders for crucial positions.

 Our weakness remains the centers.  One of the problem cases was that nobody made a real impression at 12 and De Allende only had 30 minutes on the field of play on Saturday - his first appearance this year.  The other potential player at 12 - Vorster was injured in his first start against the Chiefs and is unlikely to play again this season.  Be it as it may - in his sort time De Allende was impressive bearing in mind his stats.
He is likely to start against the Lions in the next round.
I was disappointed with Jesse Kriel - he seems to have lost pace and was not up to standard in the games he did play since his return from injury.  The only player showing some class at 13 was in fact Venter.  
It would be interesting to see how the Jantjies - Mnisi/Van Rensburg combination at flyhalf and center do against the Du Plessis - De Allende combination in Round 8.   Du Plessis showed some class on Friday and was better than Jantjies in Round 7 of the tournament.  Statistically Du Plessis scored a try and was credi ted with two try assists - rather unique for an SA flyhalf.   His goal kicking will have to improve though - specially kicking from the far side of the field was not good enough.


  
         

 Mike ... Mapoe breaks the line at will ... and he does so with a good solid step, excellent running lines and tremendous upper body strength. 
He sees the game unfold before him before it actually does and plays accordingly. That's what sets him apart from De Jongh. 
He is also a solid defender. 
We need to get as much ball into his hands as possible. 
Putting him the wing would be stupid and a complete waste ... if you can't see that then I seriously don't know..
And what do you mean that the only class 13 was Venter?? Please explain how Mapoe falls short. 
You are judging him on his supposed size and not on his performance.  
De Jongh is NOT wing. Never has been and never will be. As I said, he's far more effective at centre. 
Come now, Mike ... try to think clearly.

 Selecting our team must be strictly according to form. There is no room for favouritism.
That would be defeating the object.
I agree that when the form player shows his face he'll be eligible for selection ... till then he sits on the sidelines.
 

 I do think clearly and what I saw was not the same as you make it out to be.  He is physically just too small to be an effective center - and that is a fact of life.  In the Crusaders game he made 2 tackles and missed 1 for a missed tackle ratio of 33% - just not good enough.  
A center is not there to attack only - defense is where physical strength count and he does not have that ability.   I am not convinced that he is the answer at 13 as a reult.  

 Come now, Mike ... is that honestly your best attempt at discrediting him?? Your going to have to do a little better than that.
You conveniently forgot to mention that he made 5 line breaks and got at least 3 go forward and won a great turnover which put our entire team on the front foot. He also scored a try against the Saders.
I think your just prejudice. You don't like him and so his size is now conveniently an issue.
I disagree. He is a class act and I would definitely have him contend for the starting Bok 13 jersey on current form.
Kriel cannot compare to Lionel Mapoe currently. Not in any way. Especially not on defence but that's ok with you ... right? Just as long as he weighs more. Talent has nothing to do with selection, right?  
You're starting to sound like Heyneke Meyer.


  

 CC don't insult me please.   Nobody can be as bad as Meyer is when it comes to player evaluation.   I never denied that Mapoe was good in attacking play - but like De Jongh he is a serious liability when it comes to defense.   That is my point in this case.      

 Hows Kriel's defensive abilities??
Does he know how to pass the ball?
Bodyweight counts for nothing if all your going to do with it is go to ground and die with the ball still in hand.
Bodyweight counts for nothing if your best defensive ability is high around the neck and shoulders.
Bodyweight counts for nothing if you don't know that rugby is a team sport and not all about you.
Funny how you rate him as a Bok.
Can you see why I regard your player assessment much the same as that of Meyer??

 Funny how I criticize Kriel for poor performance elsewhere and now suddenly that is thrown at me as an argument about body weight.  I do not rate Kriel at all at this stage.  There are elements that count and where bodyweight is a factor.  Those are the ability to break lines and off-loads balls to other players while drawing in a number of defenders - thus creating space for other attacking players.  That is not a factor in the case of Mapoe (and De Jongh) - he breaks the line and is tackled by a single player - he is unable to draw in more than one defender.   Defense and strong physicality is what counts in defense - tackling a player backwards and putting a team on the back foot is just not possible in the case of Mapoe - tackling a player hard and resulting in a loss of possession by an attacking team is also not in existence with Mapoe. 
Mapoe is a good player - but with the deficiencies as listed by me.   He is just not international material - same as the case is with De Jongh.  Try them on the wing and they may yet become a Paulsen type of player.           

 It's taken you an age to figure out that Kriel is no test player.
Then again it took you an age to set aside your love of Fat Fransie Steyn and for that matter Jannie Du Plessis.
I recall seeing them both in your Bok line up many a time. 
Perhaps its cause your a little slow on the uptake ... but in the end you eventually come around ... and I guess that's what really matters. 
Not sure where your an@lysis of Mapoe comes from ... other than the random thumb suck we've all grown so accustomed to. Perhaps it's time for a new prescription? Your visions must be severely impaired to come up with that lot of nonsense. 
As an example, merely take a look at your team, Mike! The Du Preez twins with Lappies as the best in South Africa currently???
Honestly???
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahaha!!!
See what I mean, Mike?
Prejudice. Favouritism!!!
You are defeating the object of this Bok barometer.
Try to be a little more objective next time round and not so one-eyed, ok?
I like Basques contribution. It seems he knows more about South African rugby than you do, Mike!

 CC
I am not wasting my time by responding to a lot of false statements, but just s few corrections will do.   I have never since 2012 written anything positive about Fat Fransie and if you can fin anything I will appreciate clarification.   Same with Jannie dun Plessis.   Those are Mozart's version of events.
I never prejudge a player - the only things I said on the positive side is that Kriel has been disappointing thus far this year - but he should be given time before we writer him off completely.  Not much of a supporting statement for the player. 
Look what I wrote about the matches in the past round does not mean that overall they are the best for the tournament as a whole.   Both kriel and Coetzee were injured fairly early and that took them out of contention.   I am a consistent supporter of  both players - but in the absence of them I was in trouble as to the team of the week from my perspective.  
If there is one person without prejudice against any player it is me.   I try and be as objective as possible about players and look at both positives and negatives of players.  I do not look at one aspect of play - but at a comprehensive package.
What I am really surprised about is the fact that I was not attacked because I said in the latest round Du Plessis was better than Jantjies.   Even though I agree with Mozart that overall Jantjies was better than the other flyhalfs - bar in one round where Du Preez was better than he was.  So 4 out of 6 for Jantjies. 
By the way I was looking for a cheap option at flyhalf in Test Rugby and also in Foxsport - but his name was not included in the latter comp.   I picked Du Plessis in Test Rugby and he was the top point scorer of all flyhalfs in the latest Round.  Wish I had him in Foxsport as well - but he was not listed as a player.     

 Hmmm....not easy to totally reflect all views.  Draad on the bench issue, I'd like to simply list prior picks in brackets next to the main selection....as the weeks go on that should give us a sense of alternatives.
Now to the players. There seems to be more support for Ulengo at 14, Mapoe at 13,   Dylan Smith at 1 and du Toit at 5. I will say though Marais is worth watching. His scrumming against the Bools was awesome.
 I will make those changes in the first post, and this will be our starting Barometer.

Willie....Maybe somebody in a slightly better form.
CombrinkMapoeVenterJumbo Ulengo(Great pick)
JantjiesFafDylan SmithMarxMalherbeEtzebethPSDTKrielCoetzeeWhiteley...Duane is still numero uno here though not in the S18

If i'm not mistaken, the oldest person in that team is 28/29.

Moz, you are not living up to your "favoring old players" reputation. I'm dissapointed

Snyman from the bulls is looking very good. And only 20-21. Yikes.

@ Mike Serfontein has been ever so flat lately. Another players who seems to be regressing. Might be playing for the K ings soon.

 Check the adjusted team in the first post against yours Plum. BTW, these aren't necessarily my picks for anything. I'm simply trying to reflect form and the general view on the Board.

 Mozart
Agree with you now - but I still think that there is not much difference between De Jongh and Mapoe insofar as performance is concerned.
What is interesting is that Coetzee is out of contention in view of his injury and that Jaco Kriel may also be out for a while - there is no in dication what went wrong on Saturday.
However, what will be interesting is what is going to happen this coming weekend - especially in the Lions-Stormers game, since most players in the squad are from those two teams.      

"If there is one person without prejudice against any player it is me."
Mike - are you being sincere?

 Definitely - the only norm I go for is performance - inadequate performance, no support from me.

Ok bud.

Mike, Mapoe is 97kg and his defence is fine... Wikipedia has him at 87kg but it's outdated if not wrong, ESPN has him at 97kg and so does Supersport when the lineup on the TV comes up

 Mine:

15   Willie le Roux14   Combrink13   Mapoe12   Venter11   J Ulengo10   Jantjies  9   Louis Schreuder  8   Dan du Preez (Borrowed from Mike - Whiteley was my choice)  7   Jean-Luc du Preez (ditto - Marcel Coetzee was my choice)  6   Lappies Labuschagne  5   Pieter-Steph du Toit  4   Eben Etzebeth  3   Julian Redelinghuis  2   Akker vd Merwe  1   Dylan Smith
Remark: I would have liked to see Jaco Kriel at 6, but he is somewhat off the boil in the last 2 matches.

RG Snyman for me at #5. 
Another good game this past Saturday. Carries and tackles well. Turned over two balls on the deck which is impressive for his height. Taller and longer-limbed than PSDT who had two balls stripped in the tackle against the Sunwolves and almost lost a third.

 oimatey
Snyman is good - but he routinely is a 4 - was so in most matches until Hattingh was injured,   I would not say he is better than Du Toit based on one game at 5.    

 Snyman is a 5, he marshals the Bulls lineout where Jenkins plays at 4.

Semantics Mike. 4 or 5, not much of a difference nowadays. He looks, plays and acts like a 5.
Anyway - he has started at 5 for the past three Bulls games. Sunwolves, Cheetahs and Kings.

 There is as much a difference in the roles of a blindside lock and an openside lock as there is in the blindside flank and his openside partner.