Gelant vs Gatland

I read again the usual BS about the Boks. They came onto the field with no energy and pathetic play be our back three conceded 21 points in no time. Then our dominance up front clawed things back, only for our subs to start with no energy, completing the cycle. Coetzee is not the answer, tries hard but limited talent. Lleyds was our best back, sparking a few things Kriel was his usual dithering self....could have saved one of the Welsh tries....has no creative skills, no hands. Running over a feeble Halfpenny tackle doesn’t change that. The depressingly ordinary potential of Venter was obvious. The biggest slug of sheer nonsense is saved for Gelant who was out of position on the first try, missed high ball after high ball and managed to outsprint a slow scrummie for a try. He never beat a tackle in 8 runs. Way not ready. Pollard is a solid citizen, but he has to work harder on releasing his backs. He led the tackle count though and has brought some authority back to our inner channels Cronje is out of his depth like Coetzee. Kitshoff had a great game as did Wilco.....we have a great front row emerging. Marx is our main fetcher and superb bursting around the breakdown. Etzebeth was playing well before his injury.....Lomp remains a non event. Stephanie looked more comfortable at lock in the second half.....but his turnover, intercepted pass on the Welsh line and penalty really hurt. Nobody can argue he isn’t involved, but he lacks finesse. He conceded a match leading 4 turnovers. Kolisi had a strong game, one of our few players who can actually beat a tackle and du Preez was productive without really imposing himself. As for the bench, they failed to fire. Mohoje was the best of the bunch and the woeful Jantjies the worst. This man just loses tests.

Gelant vs Gatland??? You made no reference of it in your article. Did you struggle finding a decent headline?

No

Ok well your headline made no sense

A bit of whimsy.....try to relax.

Mozart De Jager was today superior to Etzebeth and so was Du Toit. Pollard was seriously defective in his kicking game and is in urgent need of proper coaching - \the damage done by Meyer and Ludeke was patently evident yesterday. Kriel was utterly useless and so was Leyds - bar once om the game. Look at his near to non=existent defensive stats. Schreuder was clearly better than Cronje today.

‘De Jager was today superior to Etzebeth and so was Du Toit'... That’s when you know you have reached rock bottom!

Agree Chippo. Eben does lots of hard graft. The bench let the side down and was always going to be a weak link . Du Toit was outstanding working incredibly hard. The forwards were very good. Playing Gelant out of position didn't pay off and the back three were the big problem. Andries Coetzee is the biggest problem. I am trying to recall whether, when playing for the Lions, he never passed the ball!!! Playing for the Boks he always takes the ball to ground and thus messes up the backline bigtime. Is that what he has been told to do? Kriel had a pretty good game despite the usual harsh criticisms. Cronje lacks spark and looks fatigued after a very long season. The backline needs sorting and a stronger reserve bench can obviously be picked. Time to get a real coach. I warned years ago that Coetzee was mediocre even if a decent enough guy!

Beeno Etzebeth is a hard grafter - but never really an eye-catching player. So lets het to Gelant. Leyds is useless under high balls when under pressure - absolutely useless, Coetzee is solid under high balls and rarely fails to cath balls coming in his direction. I am a bit worried about the way Coetzee plays for the Springboks compared to the way he played for the Lions. There is a massive difference and I think it is brought about by the coach. I would not write off Gelant after one test. He is in need of game time and he needs to be taken in hand by a decent coach. Remember he had Ludeke and Marais coaching players and both are clueless about backline play. The Welsh and as a matter of fact virtually all other teams have developed the kicking game to a fine art - something all SA coaches have failed to do. Strategic kicking is a missing link in SA rugby and our players are rarely exposed to such a game. They will get used to play under high balls when under pressure.

“Etzebeth is a hard grafter - but never really an eye-catching player.” And there I was, having to read, almost on a daily basis, that Etzebeth was going to be a bigger “enforcer” than Bakkies ever was.

He is better Dunce - he is much more athletic. I am sure that Du Toit is better than Matfield ever was since Matfield was physically deficient.

Hahaha. Yeah right about Etzebeth. Make up your mind about Etzebeth sweet cheeks. Etzebeth is not in the same class as Bakkies at the top of his game. Oh, and BTW, any particular reason why you had to drag Matfield and Du Toit into the equation? Du Toit will never become as respected by the rest of the rugby world is of Matfield. Note that I have said the rest of the rugby world. Outside of SA the rest of the rugby world do not turn on their rugby heroes like they do in SA.

Comparing Etzebeth and Bakkkies is futile. 2 Different players from different eras, playing in a different team setup. Both are fine players. Etzebeth is already a Bok great with the potential to be even hreater. Why demean 2 great players by involving them in a petty board spat.

Depend on what you would call an era, I suppose. My point is that you have to look at what the player’s opponents think of him. It is no us to listen to breathless SA fan girls who will kiss a player’s feet one day and p!ss on him the next day. In the eyes of some Bakkies will always be a thug because of his head but on the cheat Jimmy Cowel but mostly Bakkies is regarded as one of the great second rowers in decades. I doubt if it is the same with Etzebeth.

Depend on what you would call an era, I suppose. My point is that you have to look at what the player’s opponents think of him. It is no us to listen to breathless SA fan girls who will kiss a player’s feet one day and p!ss on him the next day. In the eyes of some Bakkies will always be a thug because of his head but on the cheat Jimmy Cowel but mostly Bakkies is regarded as one of the great second rowers in decades. I doubt if it is the same with Etzebeth.

Dunce Matfield in your dim mind may be regarded as a respected lock - amongst real locks in SA he is not so.

As I said, Ou Sopdrol, listen to what people who are in the know say, instead of biased bleating armchair p@epolle like you.

Stephanie isn’t in Matfield’s league....aa a lineout player, tackler, maul organizer, kickoff receiver or passer. The only area he has an edge is in the pick and go. Matfield dominated the lineout, Stephanie only participates. Which of course is why Matfield made virtually every world team during his playing days and Stephanie has yet to make one.

Maybe Ou Maaikie should try and find the RWC fans’ all time dream team that was drawn up after the 2015 RWC. Or maybe not. We don’t want him to vomit on his keyboard when he sees who the number 5 lock is.

Seldom right, never uncertain.

Ag Foeutog - I wrote the truth about Matfield and Mozart and Dunce id having a fit. The number 5 SA lock in the RWC who was top of the log and at one stage considered to be the player of the tournament was De Jager. Matfield was piss poor in the Japan test and was afterwards basically throughout the tournament on the bench.

You and truth in one sentence? Come on.

Listen to me when it comes to lock play, says Ou Maaikie, I speak the truth when it comes to Matfield. Stuff John Eales. What does he know when he says the following about the RWC all time dream team: “Packing down in the second row behind the Pumas front row of Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma and Omar Hasan are two Rugby World Cup winners, Martin Johnson, England’s triumphant captain from 2003, and South African centurion Victor Matfield. While in the back row All Black legend Richie McCaw, who received over three-quarters of the votes cast in the openside position, is joined by old French adversary, Thierry Dusatoir, with Lawrence Dallaglio just edging close rival Kieran Reid at number eight. Australia’s RWC 1999-winning captain John Eales was nominated for the number five shirt and says the pack chosen by rugby fans from around the world ticks every box.” And if you think that John Eales knows farm all, what about Will Greenwood? This is what he had to say: “ That is exactly what South Africa have been lucky to find in Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield. They are a mix of athlete and thug, ballplayer and bone-breaker. It may sound terrible, but it is a rare thing of beauty, a wonderfully balanced unit that comes along only rarely. And they make no excuses for their strengths. Botha will find you and he will hurt you. He has been the recent benchmark for second rows who want to dominate the gain line and bully the contact area. Brad Thorn, of New Zealand, has been pushing hard for the title of rugby enforcer over the past 18 months, but if you asked me who I would fear the most, it is still Botha. I once compared his partner in crime, Matfield, to Lee van Cleef. He strolls into town, ready to do what must be done, confident that the opposition will blink first. A basketball athlete with the leap of a bucking bronco and the hands of a centre. Old hands, Botha and Matfield have seen it all and done it better than pretty much anyone. “

Sure - Matfield was not a center - although he pretended he was one - thus terminating the cotributions expected from centers, He was so light it was easy to lift him in line-outs - his only claim to fame . For the rest as a lock he was totally useless, since he was physically deficient.

Says Fantasy Flop

Jaaaaaa Ou Maaikie. Another Afrikaans expression comes to mind....... “Soek jy geselskap of is jy net lus om kak te praat?”

Die enigste kakprater op hierdie forum sal altyd wees Cweradunce.

Die enigste kakprater op hierdie forum sal altyd wees Cweradunce.