Kriel and de Allende

Damian was slow in general and slowed the attack. Kriel was very quick and hit the line hard. He was begging for space. Damian could not straighten up the attack, thus robbing our outside backs of space. He had two good carries in the first half but missed all of his open field tackles and was generally weak in contact. He was beaten cleanly in our 22, which allowed New Zealand to score shortly after. Was largely ineffective.

This was Kriel's best game if the season by some distance. He is a competitor, I'll give him that. Not great on defence though. His interaction with Willie and the wings is particularly pleasing. He used to be a cul-de-sac like Damian, but shows so much more ball-in-hand now. His work with the back three will probably force Rassie to oust Am, unless his defensive lapses rear their ugly heads again.

Thus far? Damian was not even close to being an adequate 12. Was he better than  Crotty in this tournament? No. He was plan g at 13 on Saturday which backfired. The man is an out and out 12. Very poor call by Hansen. Though Sonny was anonymous, he made far fewer mistakes than Damian. Considering that Damian has only edged a player coming back from a long injury absence, we must put into perspective how much value he truly has to the team.

André has been our best 12 and has effortlessly outplayed Damian. 

I agree, Mostert at 7 is a very intriguing thought, and Snyman partnering Eben. Mostert has grown a lot this RC. These are fine margins to call at times. 

The point most people aren't making, New Zealand's midfield was a muddled mess. Crotty is no 13. Sonny lacked any kind of sharpness coming back from injury. We all knew it was a gamble and it didn't pay off. You won't have the luxury if facing a midfield mess like this next year! That Damian couldn't really assert himself is very worrying. He'll be good for another 40 caps though, the media and commentators gush over him. He doesn't even need a good tour. The media darlings will be exonerated. It'll be interesting to see where the excuses will be found. Is it the player or Rassie?  

Dave

Don't try and argue with the serial liar Mozart and his co-liar AO/   They are on their standard anti campaign against all of Erasmus. Du Toit. Kriel and  De Allende.

They are worse than ever - Meyer is king and Erasmus rubbish = Morne Steyn is king - all other flyhalfs are BS compared to him,  Am is a huge improvement from Kriel. etc

They have elevated themselves  to the top rugby analysts in the world and they can write whatever they want and lies ca n be justified on that basis.

Damian isn't getting anyone away. He is too lateral, eats up space. His natural inclination is to go wide and look for space. He is more dangerous when he has it, but makes poor decisions. He isn't very physical and often slows down before making contact, hunch in his shoulders and burrowing into the defenders. Everything he does is so slow. Against the All Blacks, it really stood out. Everyone else had intensity and zip. He didn't. He hasn't had a truly standout game for Boks this year. His best was the first England test.

If you'd kindly point out some specifics, we can assess his game more deeply. You should stick around for video I've 80% competed. Damian and André's entire test performance thus far. I hope it finally puts to rest the Damian mythos, where it belongs. 

This isn't prejudice. As I say, we'll all have their entire season in one video apiece soon enough. It's pointless suffering an aneurism in defence of the lost wee lamb. 

The lock depth is better than what it has ever been, and the loose forward depth is the worst it has ever been. 

The top 10 SA locks could make international test teams, but not that many of the SA loosies would. 

None of the loosies is very effective at the rucks, regardless if they are big or small. (except Vermeulen, and Louw- when on form)

In this context converting some locks to loosies may be the best option just to get more test quality players onto the pitch. 

The donkey twins are more like locks than loosies, and a bull in a china shop has more finesse than they do at the base of a ruck. Given they have a father that was a Springbok scrumhalf, it is surprising they lack basic passing and catching skills. Need to spend less time in the gym and more on skills and running. 

Mostert could make a good blindside flank, and he at least hits the rucks- unlike the donkey twins.

Jean-Luc is a test quality loosie. I don't know why he was discarded so readily. As Sharkie says, we don't have depth in those positions, we can't mess around. We have enough quality to form reliable rotations to keep the squad fresh. We must use them. 

The gap between Faf and everyone else is quite big. Seeing as Faf is so critical to our game, this is quite a problem. I'm not sold on Papier. I prefer what I saw in Van Zyl. We have usable pieces at 15, but nobody who can replicate Willie's playmaking ability. Faf and Willie are our two most important backs. 

@Ed,

Can this entire thread be forwarded to Rassie.?

Some extremely valuable ideas are discussed in here.

Hi Blikkies

His email addy is either rassier@sarugby.co.za or rerasmus@sarugby.co.za

We can forward many things to Rassie, but nothing would be better than having Jake do some video analysis for him, as he his incapable of it himself.

trying to find jake's email addy.

He has so many.

Agree with most of what you say Dave, disagree about Nazeem Car and Jantjies, for mine they should never be in a Bok jumper. Same can be said of string bean Mostert who really shortchanges the Bok pack. It boggles the mind when ball carriers are mentioned in the same breath as Mostert. 

Mostert has a high worth rate. Is generally accurate as well. 

The stats don't reflect how poor Damian truly is on defence. Video review is horrifying when you see how he is making those "successful" tackles. 

Lood isn't a test lock. 

Damian was totally ineffective. Hasn't had a good test yet. Too weak, lacks skills, can't make decisions, can't tackle and is slow physically and mentally. André is vastly superior. 

I still have questions about Mostert at lock, but can't deny he is contributing. He can still contribute at 7, and Snyman with Eben. The numbers on the back is one thing, how they are used is another. 

Damian was the best centre on the field? What about Kriel? Kriel was far more effective. Damian's best moment running slowly in a straight line, literally, before and after Kolisi got the ball. What else did he do? 

Snapster i agree with a lot of what you have said. Strongly disagree regarding Du Toit at 7 - he is world class. There is zero wrong with his speed. No more nonsense about Du Toit please!

Organhuffer has some very weird ideas about Allende which he insists on pedalling daft though they are. He also was persistently wrong about wrong about Du Toit. at 7 and thinks Lood is no good. Astonishing really! No ou Organhuffer lacks soundness at times and needs guidance!

Herr Sitzsack, you will learn soon enough! Damian is no 12. 

Steph has contributed well, no doubt. However, he lacks mobility. Mostert looks the perfect 7. The only question is this, Snyman or Steph?