Given how pathetic and utterly out of his depth Meyer is, its clearly time to move on. How the game is played is pretty universal and hardly a mindfield in terms of interpretation. The primary role of a coach is getting his selections right. Selecting the right squad to implement the universal plan. Meyer fails dismally in this regard and its why we find ourselves sitting at 3 in the rankings…..we used to languish behind NZ, now we find ourselves behind Oz as well. Testament to how poor Meyer really is.
Give me the job I say, how the hell can a coach fail with this kind of talent and options available to you:
Fullback: Willie might have had a disappointing WC by his high standards, more likely thanks to Meyer’s conservative kicking instructions, he remains one of the best threats in the game and at 26, is middle aged in rugby terms. As back-ups you have the impressive Andries Coetzee of the Lions and new kid on the block Gellant of the Bulls, another electric player with ball in hand. Taute is young enough to stake a claim as a back-up as well, if WP can stick to playing him in one position. SP Marais showed great promise but has lost ground, same can be said of Visser. But its Willie, with Coetzee and Gellant as back-ups, with the obvious option of Jessie Kriel if need be.
Wings: My guess is that Habana is closing in on the end but still handy enough to contribute and impart his knowledge. JP showed good form this WC and at 29, has a year or two left in him. We have a handful of promising youngsters, none more so than the big Ulengo of the Bulls with 11 tries this CC. Kolbe is pure class with ball in hand and punches way above his weight, given his size is better suited to wing……could be our answer to the impressive Argie midget. Senatla our 7’s star needs to be given plenty of game time in the 15’s game – another potential match winner in the Kolbe mould as is Cheetah’s Segal Petersen – this kid always looks threatening playing in an average side. Rhule has been good this year, plenty of raw pace and has bulked up to negate the defensive frailties he had. Sithole had a very impressive s15 for the Sharks, is very physical, bouncing a good few defenders off on a regular basis. v/Wyk is another quality wing, with pace and size – would love to see him given an opportunity at 13, where he played as a junior. Combrink of the Lions is the most under rated back in SA – has been fantastic for the Lions this year scoring some brilliant tries. Jordaan of the Sharks is a real threat with ball in hand but too small for 13, play him on the wing I say. Same applies to de Jongh. Its good to have Mjekevu back in SA, this coming s15 should be defining for him. Skosan of the Lions is another quality wing. Obi of the Kings, Senatla’s Baby Bok wing partner looks a good player. Volmink is no mug.
Centres: de Allende, Jessie Kriel and Serfontein have already established themselves as test centres. DA beats more defenders hands down than any other centre out there, be it at s15 or test level and Kriel made more clean breaks than any other centre in the WC. Will be good to see the impressive Serfontein play with the freedom of expression under new Bulls coach Marais. His partnership with Jessie Kriel or Dries Swanepoel will be a mouth-watering prospect. Dries Swanepoel of the Bulls is one of the finds of the CC, has a good rugby brain on him – our Conrad Smith in the making. Finds himself in the right place at the right time. Odendaal is a very illusive inside centre always looking to beat his man through skill……how the Bulls manage Serfontein, Kriel, Odendaal and Swanepoel in the squad will be interesting and a handy problem to have. The Lions have a similar centre issue with impressive Harold Vorster who made a great impression at 13 this s15, looks to have Bok written all over him. Add Stokkies Hanekom at 13, the player who reminds me of Jaque Fourie. Howard Mnisi has been huge for the Lions this year, how this guy has not got a Bok call up is beyond me. Beats defenders regularly and has good hands. Another missed political call that has merit written all over it. Love this guy. Another find of the CC was massive Rohan Janse v/Rensburg, who in the CC final made de Jongh and co look like pretenders. His move from the Bulls was a great call. One to watch, built like a brick shit house. Mapoe had an impressive s15, a very good player. One of the players of the CC was Frans Venter, who was equally impressive this s15. Has it all, has been playing 13 for the Cheetahs but is more a 12. Another who has the knack to beat defenders through skill and runs great lines. Big Andre Esterhuizen has found his feet at the top level, playing really well for the Sharks……at 115kg, he is freakishly strong in contact and it was good to see the odd SBW offload added to his game. Frans Steyn at 28, still has plenty to offer, have always been a huge fan. Kotze of WP has had some impressive displays at 13 and Huw Jones the Pom looks a great prospect if we can convince him to stay with us. Two under-utilized centres in Pat Howard and Tyler Fisher would always remain on my radar. Sadly we have lost Howard to the Saints thanks to useless Coetzee not utilising him. Jessie Kriel’s twin brother Dan is pretty handy as well as is Heimar Williams of the Sharks. We have centres to burn. Add v/Wyk and Taute as options. Not to forget my man JJ, disgustingly discarded after an impressive year with the Boks.
Flyhalves: Pollard is world class, Lambie is a class act….both proven test players. Jantjies our best 10 of the s15 should have walked the WC squad ahead of plodder Morne. Would love to see the classy Goosen return to SA as he is wasting his time in France. Young du Preez of WP has impressed me with ball in hand, has a Pollard look about how he plays, takes it up flat in an imposing way. Schoeman of the Bulls looks a handy all round 10 as does v/d Walt of the Lions. Boshoff of the Lions has his merits. Promising Swiel has left our shores for Quins, it will be interesting to see how he fares here. Coleman of WP is solid, but not test material.
Scrumhalves: Hougaard has been very impressive for the Bulls at 9 this CC, his credentials should never have been in question, him not making the WC squad is a travesty – testament to how useless Meyer is. Same can be said of our find of the s15 in Faf de Klerk, our version of Aaron Smith. One had to feel for the snubbing of impressive Reinach as well. Good old Meyer got his 9 calls so wrong this WC. Groom has been very good for WP this year. Will be good to see a return to form from Piet v/Zyl of the Bulls, a quality player who has been in the wilderness for some time. Paige is handy enough and I like the look of v/Zyl the new Bulls bench 9, a Baby Bok this year. Schrueder of WP is another solid player. A player I have changed my opinion of is Cronje of the Lions, he is not that bad…..handy enough at the lower levels.
Props: Beast is at best solid these days, no longer the impact he used to be. Time is running out but worth hanging onto for now. Greatest travesty of all is the snubbing of Kitshoff by Meyer, this guy is potentially the best loosehead in the game……in fact I will go so far as to say he is the best. It is unbelievable that he has not won a Bok cap yet. My first phone call would be to him apologising for the disgusting treatment he has been dished out by the incompetent Meyer. Nyakane has found his feet at test level, have always been a fan…..at home at 1 or 3. Thomas du Toit is a star in the making, he is going to be huge, sooner than later. Has it all. Am a big fan of Ollie Kebble another mountain of a lad going places. Young Schoeman of the Bulls is one to look out for, was very impressive as a Baby Bok last year and has now broken into the senior squad. What has happened to impressive S.v/d Merwe of the Lions at 1? Mellett is a good player who seems to have lost ground at the Bulls thanks to injury. Malherbe was very impressive this WC in particular that last game against the Argies……his scrumming has always been his strength but his tackle count of 17 in the Argies game was huge as was his display with ball in hand. My MOM that game. Coenie is back from injury thank goodness had a great season at 3 until his injury. At 26 he has plenty to offer, will be good to see him in partnership with du Toit at the Sharks. Marcel v/d Merwe showed his quality in the few tests he played this year only to be snubbed by Meyer, another pathetic call. Rate this guy big time. Koch was very good this s15 and looks the real deal. One to watch is 133kg Wilco Louw of WP, impossible to budge in the scrums……one for the future. Redelinghuis and Dreyer have their place, not convinced by their size though and would be telling at the highest level. Engelbrecht the new Sharks tighthead has been a good find…..a real lump of beef. de Bruin of the Cheetahs looks handy at 3 and I like the look of Maks v/Dyk.
Hookers: Bismark and Strauss still reign supreme. Malcolm Marx has had a good CC and looks to be a Bismark clone, our best prospect post our incumbents. Scara and Mbonambi are good players, more as impact players. Ackers of the Lions looked really good this s15 but missed the CC through injury I guess. Cooper lost ground at the Sharks. Young Marais of the Sharks looks promising. Coetzee of the Lions and Visagie of the Bulls are good hookers. We are a little short at 2. Marx being the standout prospect.
Locks: Etzebeth is the best in the game, closely followed by Lood. This pair has the potential to surpass Bakkies and Vic, but the likes of Willemse and PSDT might have something to say about that. Willemse is another player completely missed by useless Meyer. PSDT has the potential to be better than Lood……that is how good our lock stock is. Not to mention the very impressive Jacques du Plessis who is able to play 7. Another big Meyer miss. These are our top 5, which are closely followed by the impressive WP pair in Ruan Botha and Jean Kleyn Lions pair Mostert and Lorens Erasmus. Erasmus being one of the real finds of the CC, what a prospect this lad looks. The impressive Lewies will be back for the s15, have plenty of time for this live wire. Carl Wegner has been good for the Cheetahs. The Baby Bok pair of Jason Jenkins and RG Snyman look the real deal, both having broken into the Bulls senior side this CC, not bad for two 20 year olds. Based abroad we have two handy youngsters in Quinn Roux and Peet Marais. Like centres we have locks to burn.
Loosies: Vermeulen is still our best. Schalk showed that there is still life in the old dog. Kolisi and Carr have been under-utilized at the highest level, big fan of both. I can’t believe hard man Elstadt has never even had a Bok training squad call up. Has been great for WP this year. A perfect hard man at 7. Notsche has been another find of the CC. What running skills this lad has for a loosie…..best suited to 6 given his size. Cloete the bodybuilder looked a real handful until his injury. How on earth like Kitshoff has Jaco Kriel not played for the Boks…..Louw does a solid job but Kriel is twice the player. de Wit looks handy at 7 for the Lions, another hard man. Whiteley is very good but not big enough for a test 8. Kwagga Smith, the 7’s star is a brilliant impact player…..punches way above his weight…..brilliant attacking skills. Oupa is a good player as is Jean Cook who missed much of the season for the Cheetahs. Brussouw was another Meyer let down. Arno Botha looks back to his best and is a sure bet for any Bok squad. Munster player of the year CJ Stander would be another I would be making a call to…….he has to be brought on board before he is lost to Ireland…….typical Meyer missing the boat. Roelof Smit looks handy for the Bulls and it was good to see the impressive Labs playing 6 for the Bulls where he belongs. Young Baby Bok captain, Liebenberg looks a real prospect at 8. Marcel Coetzee had a great year for the Boks but missed out on the WC through injury although I am not sure clueless Meyer would have selected him. Its good to have v/d Walt back in SA playing good rugby for the Sharks, he would never let a test side down. Am a huge fan of the impressive Mtembu, looks the real deal to me. The du Preez twins are as hard as nails, great to have them on board as bruising 7’s. Louw had some good moments in the WC, credit where credit is due.
How on earth given the above can you not pick a winning squad, I ask with tears in my eyes. Give the job to me!!
