Bok front row circus

Ex Sport 24

You know, I feel sorry for Coenie Oosthuizen! 

The poor bugger has come in for some brutal criticism from many quarters, with this very columnist leading the charge. I remain convinced that he is not a tighthead prop – he will survive in a big pack such as the Bok pack, and do a job, but will never ever dominate a good loosehead prop. Technically, and physically, he is just not equipped to play in a position that requires granite like stability. (Agreed)

So when he got his first start at loosehead against the Scots on Saturday, I joined the fat men of the world in a wobbly old jig of joy. Back to the position he should be playing, I thought.(My thoughts as well)

But on a good day for South African rugby where the Boks proved that the next man in line is good enough (you just need to trust the conveyor belt), that good enough is old enough, that a flatter, more physical Handre Pollard is the future, and that they can play a more ball in hand kind of game (Pollard only kicked 6 times), a pretty weak scrum got overlooked.

It was the Scots 4th game on a tour that spanned 3 continents, came at the back end of a long season, and they were missing many players. The Boks should have man handled them. And they did, with a new-look young side. But come scrum time, it was more about survival, and not even close to dominance. And given that the stalwart Du Plessis brothers were to his right, the spotlight rightly remains on Oosthuizen – again! 

After 2 or 3 years of trying to turn the feisty Free Stater, who really is monumental round the park, hence coach Heyneke Meyer wanting to get keep him in the Bok squad, the poor bugger now seems unable to play loosehead either! How utterly tragic! (Maybe its that neck injury butr he has struggled at scrum time as I have often noted)

Sure it was his first game with the No 1 on his back in a while, but 2 things concern me. 1 – He is back at tighthead for the Cheetahs against the Sharks this weekend, and 2 – Marcel van der Merwe, on the bench as a tighthead on Saturday, was brought on for Oosthuizen at loosehead, before being switched to tighthead with 10 minutes to go, so that Trevor Nyakane could get his obligatory meaningless few minutes.

It’s a bloody circus!

There are 5 positions in rugby that see 2 players carry the same name: Prop, Lock, Flanks, Centre and Wing. Same name yes, but all 5 should be treated as separate positions. Yet as the game migrates toward a ball in hand, multiple-phase entity, so we see the need for all 15 players to employ a more similar skill set.

11 and 14 have been interchangeable for a while, 4 and 5 are becoming closer as players become better physical specimens (and can thus carry and jump), Jake White was the first to play without a fetcher, opting for 2 big ball carrying, hard tackling flanks at 6 and 7, coaches have been happy to move a 12 to 13, but this weekend we see Juan de Jongh moving from 13 to 12 in an indication that the centres are becoming less defined, but you NEVER mess with 1 and 3!

The 23 man squad allows for both a tighthead and a loosehead on the bench. The days of the CJ van der Linde type utility bench prop are over. Props can, and must, specialise. And as such, the Bok selectors must emerge from the dark ages (and circus tent), and select accordingly. 

Fair comment by Tank.

Tank is a former Western Province tighthead prop who now heads up Tankman Media, and sprouts forth on all things rugby on the Front Row Grunt

Tank is useless, his comments are always way off the mark. Our prop situation is better than it has ever been with at least 9 test quality props on board:

Jannie, Beast, Coenie, Marcel v/d Merwe, Malherbe, Mellett, Frik Kirsten, Kitshoff and Nkanyane 

The fact is have no....that's right zero.....props coming through who are test class.

Coenie can't scrum....has never delivered the promise of that Os-like body in the scrums.

Maybe Nyakane can hold up the loosehead side....but he is utterly hopless around the park.

Marcel van der Merwe is a player of indeterminate size who got hammered by the Lions van der Merwe

Kitshoff, like Coenie, looks the part. But too often he is down there looking for truffles. He never provides loosehead dominance.

Malherbe had a decent game or two at the end of the last international season....but this year he has either been hurt or been dominated.

I absolutely guarantee you  that none of these guys has a prayer of excelling in test rugby. The best bet is that Kitshoff gets a bit more canny and does an adequate job....he will never produce the pressure a top loosehead should.

So we don't have the great props anymore....probably because we don't rate scrumming much anymore. So we become enamoured with guys like Marcel who run well. And watch in horror as they die in the scrums.

Still there are only about half as many scrums as lineouts....and in that case we have the ultimate set piece specialist. Victor Matfield. And even though there are only half as many scrums, would we pick a prop who provides the dominace Victor does in the lineouts, if we had one? You betcha!

Oh what utter rubbish......all these young props are just as good as Beast and Jannie in the scrimmaging department.

Coenie's transition to tighthead this year has been a success, unless someone can actually point out a match where he has struggled.

Saying Nkanyane is hopeless around the park is ignorance of the highest order, his general play is a strength

Marcel v/d Merwe weighs 125kg plus and saying he got hammered by the Lions prop is a LIE

Kitshoff came of age last year......no prop in game provides dominance........such a thing does not exist

Malherbe has NEVER been dominated - name the occasion

Name a country with better prop depth than we have - no-one comes close

Every one of the 9 props I mention are test quality and that is a FACT

There has not been an issue with Coenie's scrumming at 3 all year and its the very reason he continues to be used at 3 for it is working.

I know my props and can confidently say you are speaking complete shit about our props not being able to scrum, for every one of those props have proved better than their opposite numbers and the very reason I say we have more depth at prop than any other country does - FACT

You just make shit up like Marcel v/d Merwe being dominated by the Lions prop - what utter rubbish, but if you really want to assert this point then kindly point out the very scrums that the Lions prop got the better of Marcel - the game in on Youtube......as I said, its just a lie  

Oh what utter bloody rubbish. Steenkamp came on in the first test against Wales for 15min and conceded 2 scrum penalties you ignorant fool

Shark do you know anything about rugby - geez, why do you bloody bother  

The Boks have struggled with the front row since readmission and it was only Os du Randt that was of international standard. BJ Botha was the best on the tighthead side.

Currently there are no outstanding players to fill any of the prop positions.

Pity JC Janse van Rensburg is lost for Bok rugby.

I have lost faith in Coenie. I think he is still protecting his neck - especially in the loosehead position. Coenie has never been a success on the tighthead and will probably need a strong flank to support him there. 

No integrated x squared.....let me guess Cheesy, that went woosh right over your education peak. But it's no problem for 13 year old school kids. You are a bit of a plank....hey?

OOM you best learn how to count old toppie.

The simple fact is a bunch of ignorant fans... read Dave, Cheezy and the OOM.....were predicting Steenkamp would fail. He did the opposite. Now they have come up with all sorts of secondary, philisophical reasons Steenkamp shouldn't have been picked.

T here is no philosophy in the front row....you can either man up....or you can't. Steenkamp could....Coenie and Marcel couldn't. It's that simple.