Combinations that work

Thinking coaches are like hen's teeth. There have been a few, like Doc Craven, Kitch Christie and Ian Mac. There have been quite a number which you could call good to reasonable.

Thinking coaches try different combinations, ie Doc had 6,7 and 8 in what today would seem slightly out of place. He composed strategies, ie 2 strong heavy weights as agile flankers, ie Jan Ellis, Piet Greyling and sometimes Frik Du Preez ( who was brought over from lock) and fairly medium to light weight brilliant Tommy Bedford who was a no 8. It worked well, 2 construction workers and an engineer. 

Kitch Christie, when facing NZ in the 1995 RWC final took Mark Andrews from lock to no 8 and closed NZ's expansive attack and with Joost and it worked.

I think PSDT is played slightly out of position, I think he is lock, indeed and I sense he was better at it. He even out- jumped Matfield in Natal Sharks/ Bulls games. Frik Du Preez was both, but switched when ou "Doc" had a plan.

In today's rugby changing positions is a great idea.With the amount of game analysis it's 

definitely the way to go.Spring the surprises as much as you can.

The pods change personnel a lot. You're looking at a first receiver behind a pod, or linking a pod. 13 with outside backs and a forward, usually the opensider or lock, though Steph operates along the tramlines a lot . The 12 somewhere with the first pod or a second pod, or somewhere in between. It's quite fluid. Basically, you need your players to have skills, field awareness and good organizational skills. We could do with some more leaders. After a few organized phases we lose effectiveness. Our boys can't adapt to a breakdown from set phases. The All Blacks used to work in two and three man combinations to breakdown different systems. All the players on the field are expected to know these things. 

How do you gage players potentional when your system  is the medium of merit, do we fail in this? Yes we do, thats why I said, there's a difference between the conventionalists and the creative. 

My old schools 1st 15 never lost a game over 10 years, a little before my schooling there but during my stay never did and a couple of years after even beat Grey Bloem at Goldstones Field.They only met their defeat in the next match in Bloem, both sides equal tries, except one our school one unconverted try, so we lost by 2 points. Both those sides, unbeknown at the time consisted of future Springboks and one cricket captain, Hansie Cronje...God rest his soul because he believed, dear ol' Hansie, My old friend (a true christian) Tich Smith, a cricketer, a wicket-keeper for Natal, who could have been a Springbok/Protea player ...a man that led a very wild life before he became a very lovely person, Tich a lovely man.

We had a brilliant school coach, a legend, Skonk Nicholson...even respected by Danie Craven who consulted him during the schoolboys Craven Week to any potental amongst players in Natal, I know that Andy van der Watt and Gert Muller got in years before, but Skonk retired and gave the reigns to "Ding" Dell , who produced Joel Stransky, Peter Grant, Jeremy Thompson and Butch James.

Three top fly halves from that school. Two with World Cup medals, nice. 

It was such a long time ago, and memory sometimes distorts.

No it was not Hansie that captained Grey Bloem XV, in 1985 but it was his older brother Frans who was vice captain.. Hansie was captain 2 years later. Ruben Kruger played in 1987 and 1988 and so did Pieter Muller and Jeremy Thomson (MC) in 1986.

Joel was in 1985 when MC first b eat Grey and again in 2005.

Here is the vintage game in 1985.

https://www.youtube.com/live/pc7Vc38Ki-8?si=Jm5EbFtNb-oOCzUv