How Strong id Wakes?

I was watching the game between Wales and Tonga last night.  My own impression was that Wales did not include some players who played against SA two weeks ago in the team - and this may have weakened the team.

However, in watching the game last night and the poor play of many of the Welsh players I had an uneasy feeling about the real strength of Wales as a team.   They had some real difficulties in their scrumming - and it times their defence was not very good,   The fact that they somehow seems to struggle to win against a very low-rated team and end up winning by 17-10 does not represent a convincing performance.

The real problem is that the Springboks performance against Wales was not all that bright either and that our backline was not as effective as it should have been - resulting in a really unconvincing win by the Springboks - makes me feel really uneasy.  That unease is further strengthened by the fact that last year we struggled to beat Scotland - yet the  following week Tonga beat Scotland with ease,    In last Sundays test the 28-0 victory of the Springboks seems really convincing but 14 of the points came from moments of individual brilliance by Le Roux - while five of the top Scottish players were not available and without them Scotland really is an under-strength team.   

Granted a win is a win - but on the whole the above raise questions as to the real strength of the Springbok team.   In the first circa 30 minutes of the game - the Springbok forwards were attacking continuously - but managed to score only one try.  That was followed by the two brilliant tries by Le Roux and Pietersen - the latter also as a result of the brilliance of Le Roux. 

What happened in the rest of the game?   The problem in the main circled around a few players.   Fourie did nothing in attack - he basically was useless in that aspect of the game.   Bakkies Botha was factually and statistically poor.   Steenkamp was a joke in bad taste  and Alberts ran out of steam.  The latter tried a high number of ball carries before replacement - 10 in fact - but the average territory gain was circa 2 meters per carry - which really showed nothing much.  

That brings me to todays game.   The weak links in the Springbok team as ,mentioned are still around and the team is in fact weakened by the inclusion of Morne Steyn at flyhalf ahead of Lambie.  France is no doubt a much stronger team than Scotland - so with five passengers in the playing 23 today can we beat them?  I doubt it very much               

its a mistake to measure a teams strength based on a test, their season as a whole is better indication.

wales vs Boks saw the scoreline flatter the Boks, after all a simple referral to the TMO would have ruled out du preezs try making it 17-15 contest which very respectable considering the Boks status as the number 2 team.

Pine in Ireland 

There are some references to games where the Springboks showed some improvement and I assume you are referring to the RC.   Sure there was signs of improvement in two tests - such a the away test against Australia and the fact that we did not draw in Mendoza - but scrape in with a narrow win this year.  

Australia went through a serious sip in form this year.   The home win against them this year was less impressive than the win last year.   For the rest we played 3 low rated teams in June and even in that case battled to win against the Scots.

As to the AB tests we showed more of a fighting spirit against them in the Ellis Park test - but really not much in the Eden Park test.  

In essence the reasons for the loss at Ellis Park can be ascribed to poor defence and decision making.   In the defence and decision making scenarios there were three players who buggered up badly and their bugger-ups all led to AB tries.   The three are -

1  Morne Steyn;

2  Willem Alberts; and

3  JJ Engelbrecht

Meyer decided to retain two of the players and in the recent matches played Fourie at 13.   Was he really an improvement?   The answer is no - he was not if the assessment of Planet Rugby is borne in mind.   His defence was badly exposed by Davies in the Welsh test and he did nothing in attacking play during the Scotland test.   Lucky for us Morn Steyn was replaced early in the Welsh test.   In the said test he showed a gaping hole in defence again and if he remained on the field of play - and Davies was not injured - we would have been in serious trouble with the Fourie-Steyn defence in tatters - as it was before the Davies injury. 

Alberts - a player with a very limited capacity in respect of most loosie functions - is still in the team and our loosie performance will remain nothing more than average - or in some respects inadequate - because of his one-dimensional capacities/ performances.        

Did the new selections - Bakkies Botha and Fourie-  improve the team?   All indications are that they did not and my fear is that Meyer will persist with them and we are  going to go backwards in those two positions - rather than forward.   And as long as Morne Steyn is flyhalf - so long we will be ranked 2 or lower as a rugby-playing nation.  

The above are facts not fiction and I do not see much advancement unless Meyer gets rid of the handicaps in the team.   no team can advance with a one-dimensional flyhalf and players with deficiencies selected only because of their reputation   - while there are better players that could bring improvements in performances.     

Pine

For the record yes there was a slight improvement - I would say by about 10% - but ther are still serious deficiencies that needs correction for us to reach the number 1 ranking in world rugby

I am not so sure about present form of players.  Morne is still Morne - though his kicking at goal was better this year than last year - but his defence deteriorated.   Jannie Du Plessis went backwards from last year and Alberts remained what he was.  

I would say the biggest improvement was Willie le Roux insofar as he team is concerned - and De Villiers and Habana maintained their normal high level of play.  Etzebeth was also better than last year.  

On record the team should have been substantially better than last  year - but for the handicaps that we still have in the team and those have ben identified already.

Pine

For the record yes there was a slight improvement - I would say by about 10% - but ther are still serious deficiencies that needs correction for us to reach the number 1 ranking in world rugby

I am not so sure about present form of players.  Morne is still Morne - though his kicking at goal was better this year than last year - but his defence deteriorated.   Jannie Du Plessis went backwards from last year and Alberts remained what he was.  

I would say the biggest improvement was Willie le Roux insofar as he team is concerned - and De Villiers and Habana maintained their normal high level of play.  Etzebeth was also better than last year.  

On record the team should have been substantially better than last  year - but for the handicaps that we still have in the team and those have ben identified already.