Can the Boks compensate for Kolisi?

The fetcher role is an important one. Winning the breakdown is vital and lesser teams have benefitted greatly by simply focusing on that.

Our problem is not just with Kolisi ... if only it were ... but also with all his quota brothers ... and some really poor choices elsewhere ... including the bench.

The few deserving players brought in will have to cover for the horde of incompetence scattered across the field.

It gets worse ... when the best cover at 10 is a jittery, panic stricken wimp, what’s there to do but to endure and hope that our premier 10 isn’t injured early.

We have no choice. Sipho and his brother Bongani also want to represent their country.

If I had my way, I wouldn’t allow a substandard sports team of any sort to compete internationally at all.

Mozart

Other than Du Toit our loosies are not up to standard,   Kolisi remains a weak point and Vermeulen is 70.%  of the time a passenger in the team.    Fact is that your idea about a 7 is also a real problem.   For the past 6 years that was a major problem - the role of players like Alberts and Burger - who was slower and weaker than Du Toit is - became a weak point in the set-up. 

Burger himself was a great player until 2012 and on his return in 2015  h was used in a way that was foreign to what he used to achieve in rugby.   He never really was suited to be a ball carrier in traffic - a better 6 than a 7.         

Alberts was a real joke - he was always to pace=deficient to get to breakdown points and more often than not arrive and did not enter rucks.    His famous ball carries was ineffective as well, while his tackle rate deteriorated and by 2014 was a joke.   

Are you sure about who makes the captaincy decisions?   Pollard yes - but Vermeulen is not on that list.    He barely played in half of the tests last year and in the EOYT he was ineffective,   The players who influenced decisions were in fact Pollard, Du Toit, Marx and De Allende - that is if the on-field discussions shown on TV are borne in mind,.         

So the present loosie problem is a carry-over from what was the situation over years and the only satisfactory situation at present is at 7.   For the rest the situation is indeed problematic,  Incidentally Kolisi was a "political" selection by Erasmus  that would allow  for  a relaxation of the quotas prescribed by SARU - at least that is what I believe is the case in point..      

How about making Beast the captain and drop Kolisi from the team?

The fetcher issue can be solve by Van Staden of the Bulls.

Is Beast the best in his position?

Has Beast learnt not to sulk when things go against him?

Does he inspire a team like Whiteley?

Does he even belong in the squad?

No ... to all of them.

However ... if I had to choose between Beast or Kolisi, I would choose Beast without a second thought.

I would however prefer it if both were at home watching test match rugby from their lounge chair.

Clean Cut, agreed to all your questions, but

Beast has never been overwhelmed in the scrum, but yes, if we did not had quotas, I would not select Beast and also I would have just simply dropped Kolisi and transfer the captaincy to Pollard.

But we live in different times and I just watched the match between the Reds and Bulls. Van Staden was not a bad fetcher at all. Few will know him, but he returned from an injury only a few games ago.

Selecting Beast as captain will allow Rassie to have 1 less quota player in the team.

Selecting Beast as captain will allow Rassie to have 1 less quota player in the team.

How's that solving the 50% quota dilemma?

No idea blobbie, but this was the message that was broadcasted when Kolisi became captain. Yes, there could still be 1 quota short in the team, but I am no longer prepared to accept the Bok's lack of a true fetcher.

Blikkies ... you have a point. He is undoubtedly the best player of colour we have, even at his current age, and is well known to contribute in the tight phases as well as in the tight loose as a ball carrier.

Putting him the mix would not be a train smash.

Kolisi on the other hand is a complete disaster. He contributes nothing at all.

Not so sure I'd want Beast as captain though ... Pollard is a much better option.

CC

Who should be the captain?   Maybe Pollard - but why is he the stand-in captain while De Jager is out with an injury?    What will make him the Springbok captain?  

Mike ... Pollard has a little more experience as captain. He's represented his country in that capacity.

I'm not saying he should be the cpt.

If I had my choice I would have Jaco Kriel in at 6 and as captain.

How about you? You like Lood as your kapitan?

How's that solving the 50% quota dilemma?

The same as usual. By not applying any quota policy that is.

Of course a captain is important. Especially when the team's in trouble and in need of a pep talk or a change of tactics.

Kolisi doesn't have that ability. He'll turn to his two assistants for aid. He's useless.

Etzebeth isn't much of a capt either. I would never even consider him for that role and to be honest, Lood would be the last player I'd ever consider .

A captain must be the best in his position ... someone respected and able to inspire.

My choice ... Jaco Kriel

 Jaco Kriel

When last did he even play?

Marx or Pollard

Mozart

What rugby have you watched for years,   You write garbage on site and think that other people will believe it.   Good luck to you in that regard - fools would believe you.  

I would say Marx will be a better captain -  Pollard has captaincy limitations I am afraid.   The only player outside of those two would be Du Toit - who captained the Springboks already.    None of the others - bar  Etzebeth has test captaincy experience.        .    

Try your garbage about De Jager for one.

A clear, unambiguous statement that we are WC contenders would be to drop Kolisi from the captaincy.....

No. This is rugby, not football. Competition in a rugby WC is low. NZ is going to be under pressure from any part because a triple does not serve the promotion of rugby, an essential issue in dire financial times.

SA is a contender to the title, whether this quota player is selected or not.

The question is whether dropping this guy guarantees a final win.

Win or terminate rugby in SA.

SA rugby supporters largely prefer their quota policy tale to hide from that situation. Convenient little story that gives them excuses for not winning.

I like Kolisi as a player, hybrid flanker. Like I said before. South Africa rarely pick all out fetchers...our hookers do most of the fetching for some odd reason. I do think it's a shame they made him captain because he was always going to be called a quota, regardless of his skills...or lack thereof. 

SB

If my auntie had balls - she would have been my uncle.   Too many ifs and too little facts. 

  Francois Louw last year made less turnovers than Du Toit - so why should he improve in Japan - he frankly was useless as a loosie anyway,   

Vermeulen has not contributed to anything after two good tests last year he fled to Japan and on his return he was useless both on test level and in Super Rugby.   What will make him in any way competitive.   He plays for not more than 3- minutes and then vanishes from sight.

I do think that with Vermeulen at 8 and Kolisi at 6 Du Toit would have to do a hell of a lot at 7 to cover the deficiencies of the other two loosies.    I think that I can liv e with Kolisi at 6 - but why Vermeulen at 8?   .   

Suddenly there's a desire to play a fetcher, surprising that for decades coaches spurned the idea and turned out teams without a dedicated fetcher.

What's changed?

Mozart

I have asked you repeatedly in the  past it is unethical to name a few issues and left out the rest.

Still it is not unexpected, since the fact is there are more negatives about Burger than other stats will expose.   But taking your stats - a blindsider making as many tackles as a lock - is that acceptable?   Definitely not.    Burger made 77 tackles in 7 games in the WC - that is in 7 games played.   Take into account that Du Toit in  5 games made 76  tackles - did it show you anything?  

Burger was a wonderful top loosie until 2012 - thereafter he was below par in 2015,

Stupid at his best again.

Haaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaaaa ... exactly, Mike ... too many ifs. Is there anyone more ignorant than SharkShit? I'm delighted your auntie never had balls. LOL!!!

His thinking is somehow retarded ... slow to grasp ... he's definitely a borderline moron, He hs the mind of a young child.

Burger was never a true fetcher. He did his best there but his strength lay on the blindside. Would love to have a young and full of cum Burger in the mix now.

Watson was a natural at 6 ... far more so than Burger.

Louw and Vermeulen are no longer options. They haven't been for many years now. Why are we even talking of them as though they were?

For heavens sake ... let's move on already.

Every match has it's breakdowns ... be it on a fast or slow pitch, it matters not ... fetchers will always play an important role ... particularly the openside flank ... who by rights should be quicker to the breakdown than anyone else ... including the hooker. We should not depend on Marx solely just for the sake of retaining the useless quota Kolisi in the mix.

The best Kolisi can offer his country is to stay at home and never play rugby again.

I was never a fan of Lood ... but ... that has changed since he found his form last season. He is a class act and a must for the coming WC.

Moz, from your stats it's clear that we can live with the 6 flanker who can't fetch, but sometimes can run like a center, because we have a 12 that can fetch. ..therefore we have a 10 that takes over some of 12's responsibilities.  Good thing then that we have Willie who can sometimes stand in at FH..

PS, then we have a lock playing flanker just to make sure there isn't any confusion. 

Higher tackle counts are often an indicator of how much pressure your team is under.

Example:

SA vs NZ Wellington 2018 - SA possession 25%
PSDT 24 tackles
Mostert 24 tackles
Team total tackles: 235

SA vs NZ Pretoria 2018 - SA possession 59%
PSDT 5 tackles
Mostert 5 tackles
Team total tackles: 93

Sure and the Springboks were not under presasure against Japan?   BS asa per normal si what Pakie and co thrive on.   

Sure and the Springboks were not under presasure against Japan?   BS asa per normal si what Pakie and co thrive on.   

Mozart

Twisted stats will not help - what about the four balls Burger knocked on when going into contact.  Not a word of that obviously.   

Use of twisted stats is an abomination amd you should know that well enough - so why keep on twisting facts? .