The preparation is total crap.
Also instead of the players getting a rest they will be playing in France.
Then get herded onto a plane to get over to Australia.
Insanely stupid. I see SARU says its a one-off concession but why do it right before a must-win game at Suncorp? They need to stick to their guns one way or another - either don't select overseas players or be willing to pay the forfeits required to keep them in the squad for the duration including the bye weeks. SARU management lacks conviction, creativity or a clear plan forward. Always seem to be caught out by situations and having to improvise. At the very least Habana and Steyn should have been held back. But what Bok coach hasn't had to deal with this crap? No wonder Bok fans are generally so cynical.
This is what truly separates NZ from us. You read the news reports in the NZ papers of player negotiations, sabbaticals, coach and player assignments and there is always a clear plan and they execute that plan down to the last detail. Even the journo's seem to know what the plan is and they buy into it 100% so that for the most part news articles are just a notch below puff pieces written by the NZRU PR department constantly praising NZ rugby and its players. It all contributes to an overwhelming national confidence (arrogance?) in their rugby side and as anyone knows that is crucial to success. All Black rugby is on auto-pilot, Hansen just needs to settle in and enjoy the ride.
CM - thanks, I wasn't aware of those IRB regulations but that just reinforces my view that SARU is constantly being caught out with their pants down whereas the AB's are always prepared with every contingency covered. That goes beyond the coach and reflects on the leadership of their respective unions.
One of the reasons SARU gave for selecting so many overseas players this year was that several announced their overseas contracts only later in the season - in effect they were caught unawares and they had an undefined policy regarding overseas players that was exploited. An organized, cohesive organization would have known this was coming by being in communication with players and agents and made decisions regarding eligibility for the Boks or made offers to keep the players in SA. The Springbok Factory model clearly shows how equal revenue to NZ becomes quickly diluted by SARU's union structure and far too little is used for the Bok players.
Something is rotten in Camelot.....too many pigs at the trough.
first of its not like the whole Springbok squad is going to france, only 6 players are, morne, habana, gunthro, veermak, kruger and chilliboy.
of these 6 players, only three of them would have most likely made the starting XV based on meyers selection, habana, morne and kruger.
gunthro and veermak will most likely be on the bench, which leaves chilliboy as a non factor unless folks here believe hes taking over either bizzy or strauss.
thats a total of 5 players who will be missing.
i also havent read any reports about french clubs forcing SARU to hand those players over, all reports indicate that they sought permission and were given it by SARU who were very accommodating.
could some of the higher ups involved have been financially compensated for being so rewarding??? ti wouldnt be the first time.
and do u want to know what mendoza to toulon to brisbane is the same as in timezone terms???
mendozza to johannesburg to brisbane. johannesburg and toulon are in the same time zone, its a myth to say they will be traveling through more time zones as a result of SARU releasing these players.
and as the Boks are training in johannesburg, the only real issue here is the lack of preparation that those players (of which only 3 will be most likely starting) have, which is according to SARU only two days of training.
the preparation has been hindered, but not to an apocalyptic event which this thread feels like.
as morne kruger and habana in particular are key players, this small disruption could also work in the Boks favour, maybe give the wallabies a false sense of security, unlikely, but u never know, im sure Bok expectations wouldnt be as high with all these dramas and given that the Boks are the worst traveling team of the three SANZAR powerhouses, this could be a recipe for a good ol fashioned ambush.
Haha - nice try Sas :)) , but you haven't alleviated any of my fears about the potential impact. Not concerned about Gurthro (who probably won't be coming back) and Vermaak but Steyn and Habana are absolutely critical to Bok success and Kruger is no small cog as I reckon both the NZ and AUS lineouts are not clicking and open to attack. No one really mentioned time zones, the travel itself is fatiguing and these players will be practicing with their clubs during the week and then playing a full-on game on Saturday while the Wallabies and All Blacks rest. They'll get to Australia two days after the Bok squad after a marathon flight (about 30 hour total travel time) from France giving less time to acclimate from jetlag and will miss at least three training sessions.
The point is that it is an unnecessary disruption right before two massive Tests and given how close the margins are in Test rugby this can easily sway advantage in a close game to AUS / NZ. Its a stupid self-inflicted move, especially if it is true according to the report that SARU had the option of retaining the players. ARU or NZRU would never do this. Just a very disappointing decision when I feel like we have a legitimate shot at the RC title this year if we could win in Brisbane.
I'd be tearing my hair out as a coach and I would imagine Meyer is chewing the antennae on his walkie-talkie right now.
@oimatey,
:oP
mozter compared mendoza to toulou to brizzy as being harder to what the sharks went through in the 2012 finals (which should be balmed on SARU BTW).
time zones wasnt mentioned, but it was the core of the implication.
travelling is tiresome, but while those players are will be travelling a little longer, they will be expriencing the same time zones disruption as the rest of the squad when they hook up with them in brizzy.
but taking longer to get over the jet lag and what have u is aver real problem and from what i read they will only be missing out on two trianing sessions???
ur right though, the disruption cant be ignored, especially with moren and habana who are key cogs in the Bok machine.
on the bright side, if ur right and gunthro dosent return, then who in the world cares, thats a small price to pay if u it means gunthros out of the Bok equation, LMAO, :oD
NZRU & THE ARU would never do a thing like that, but there must be more to it then that, maybe SARU really did have no choice???
also there have been problems in the past between french clubs and SARU wanting players, like PDV with francosi steyn, so maybe SARU are taking the intiative and trying to build up a good rapport with the french leagues for future player realeses???
who knows, but wish u guys all the best, especially the walkie talkie who pulled the short straw and ended up with meyer, o_O
meyer and saru knew this is a issue pre tournament so there cant be anyone telling me this is a major surprise. meyer and co have only them selves to blame. the team will be semi tired and expect the wallies to up the tempo to run these players of there feet. if the wallies play a slow game that will keep the boks in the game for the 60mins.
