Erich Cronje vs Worry Gelant - a study in apologetics

Dobbo wrote an almost emotional piece a few weeks ago defending Worry Gelant, harping on about all the abstract things the fans don't see that makes Gelant such an important cog in the Stormers system. Well, today Gelant was at the wrong end of many a shenanigan yet again, none more so than his tentative stalking of a Connacht kick that ended up in a try for the Irish side.

On the other side, Erich Cronje again produced a noteworthy performance crowning it with a determined solo counter ruck that set up a late Lions try. I mentioned the last time the Lions played how he doesn't look like much, almost a poster boy for the journeyman. Yet this dude is into everything - stealing, counter rucking, chasing kicks with a never say die attitude, making his tackles. You don't need a coach to condescendingly lecture the public about all the stuff they don't understand about the player that makes him so good. It's there, on full display.

Dobbo should probably be commended for standing up for his players, and you only have to look around Facebook to see that the rugby public can be thick as a plank on many issues. But good players rise to the top and get noticed for the clear influence they have on games, all the moments they create, and they usually transcend all but the most stubborn biases. Cronje is a fine example of this - no polish required.

And the gaping chasm of class between Quan Horn and Gelant couldn't be bigger either.

It's indeed Gelant's Harry "I'm the creative" Casual attitude that gets my goat. And then he has zero hard edge either...and is slower than a lot of forwards.

Compare that to Cronje and Quan who would rather die than give an inch and seem to know what they wanna do from the moment they get the ball.

It's as you say, zero lecturing is required to see what is very obvious.

...but let's also remember that we have been complaining about this very stuff for two, maybe three, years now with Gelant. And not so long ago we were being lectured on what a class act he is and the same lecturer was putting him in potential Boks squads. It's bloody laughable actually.

Yep, Quan is another shining example.

Insulting the fans is usually not a coach’s best move, especially when the on field results suck.

I honestly think that Dobson, and many Stormers fans, are confusing being a good guy with being a good player or coach.

Dobbo seems like a nice guy, but he appears to be taking the "we are family" angle a bit too far. It doesn't matter how good a bloke somebody is, if he's not good enough then he shouldn't be playing. Sport isn't about being a nice guy, it's about dominating and winning. The rest is just a bonus.

His comments on Moerat last week, where he was saying things to the effect of "It's unimaginable to me that people can talk that way about a player."

Now, I'm pretty sure nobody called Moerat a SOAB, bastard, or anything of the sort. The majority of what people said is probably what the majority of people here say when they see him selected fot the Boks..."He sucks"(and different versions of the same sentiment).

So has Dobbo just arrived on earth? Does he expect all fans to admire all players and never say when they think a player sucks?

If fans think a guy isn't good enough they are more than welcome to say so in all the creative ways they see fit. That come's with being a public personality and even the law allows for it. In fact, the law allows for much more.

And it's also worth remembering that fans are the Occam's razor of sport. They naturally provide the simplest explanation, because they're not professionally involved in sport, so it follows that their opinions might only be right sometimes but it seems foolish to totally ignore fans...or bloody lecture them.

After the game yesterday, Dobbo said something to the effect of "It was just down to few individual errors really."

I ask you, with tears in my eyes, do the Stormers problems really amount to nothing more than a few individual errors?

For reference, look at the massive difference between the Lions and Stormers yesterday. If you still think the Stompies problems are down to a few individual mistakes then I honestly don't know what to tell you.

My team are the Stormers but I'm one of those fans that would not support their team if the coach or the players are poor. Don't get me wrong, I want us to win , but I feel you have to vote with your feet. Yes. We are a fan and we don't understand everything but I think it is poor of the coach, knowing that we all played or coached rugby at some level at that we spent many hours watching games, studying players. We might know what it takes to prepare team etc but we have a voice and we can tell you when things are off.

Gelant should not be in the team. End of , he had his chance.

Sasha is playing under his potential and he has lost what makes sense by playing this coloured rugby that Dobbo loves so much. There is a time and place for it, but when these players put the bok jersey om Tassie drills it onto their heads not to get to smart with dumb passes.

That last play of the lions where Cronjé got the ball, fought for it. Then got up, ran a support line, and then , and only then did he do a need little backhand flick to set Horn away. That was well into the game, players were sync with one another and it was a low risk given it was near the touch line and wouldn't have resulted in an intercept.

Go to Cape Tow and Gelant, Sasha, Willemse. Zas, Simelane just wants to razzle dazzle all the time. Then you have the work horse of the team having to watch how they fuck it up