Meyer and JJ

ExSuperpsort

If anyone doubted Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s ability to identify and manage talent, one of the players getting his first start for the national team against Italy in Durban on Saturday amply underlines it.

JJ Engelbrecht made his debut for the Boks last season, but it was as a replacement in a solitary test. He came off the bench in the Newlands Castle Rugby Championship test against Argentina, and played wing in his short cameo role.

Wing had been the position he was identified with back then, as it was where he was playing when he was recruited by Meyer, then Bulls Director of Rugby, from Western Province in 2011.

Meyer always felt he could be a good centre, and after excelling there for the Bulls this year, that is the position that he will be playing as for the first time he runs onto the field wearing the green and gold at the start of a game.

The 24-year-old is in fact the one player to have left WP over the past few years, aside from Francois Hougaard, that they would be right to regret losing, and Rassie Erasmus admitted at a stage of last season that he might have been the one player that he made a mistake with by letting go.(At the time it was said that he had received  a huge offer from the bulle. Rassie has said he had a significantly smaller budget than the bulle. I believe finance was at the bottom of it. But possibly JJ's value may have also been underestimated. However we must not forget also  that Du Plessis made JJ look like an amatuer and he has not been used and now is off overseas. Man its hard at times to be a WP supporter!! Next its Howard and Sweil who will be off - the bungling is unbelieveable. Season are long rotation is necessary give these guys a chance!! Pollard left to go to bulle as well. Morne o sfrom down her nd so is illie Le roux!!!!We are now the official suppliers of players to other SA Franchises and are expanding our exports to japan and the NH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Engelbrecht’s mate Johann Sadie never quite made it at the Bulls, and there aren’t other former WP/Stormers players that have returned to hurt their old province.

Engelbrecht hasn’t really done so either as yet, and it is probably fair to say that Stormers first choice outside centre Juan de Jongh would have played ahead of him in this test had he been fit (Thank goodness he is not fit!!!). But the point about Engelbrecht is the massive improvement he has made since moving north across the Hex River Mountains.(Please not Dr Mozzzzz)

His selection surprised a lot of people when he was first called up by Meyer to the national squad last year, and he never made a full fist of his opportunity. It was felt he needed to work on his defensive game, and he has gone away and done that, and hasn’t been found wanting in any area of his game playing outside centre for the Bulls in Super Rugby.

“I really feel I have improved since being part of the Springbok squad last year and I have worked on those things that needed to be put right,” said Engelbrecht after being announced in the Springbok team.

“My defence was my main problem. I tended to shoot out of line, which of course is problematic. But I have worked hard on that with the Bulls, and believe that the problem has been sorted out.”

Provided Jean de Villiers is cleared to play – he has been given until Friday to prove his fitness – the 24-year-old will have the immense experience of the Springbok captain to feed off against Italy, and he says he is looking forward to that.

At the same time, he won’t be all at sea if young Jan Serfontein has to make his debut in De Villiers’s place as they’ve played together for the Bulls and many consider them to be the most dynamic South African midfield combination in Super Rugby.

“He’s a great No 12 and I find that when he plays there it opens up more space for guys like me on the outside,” said Engelbrecht.

Beeno

We can thank our lucky stars the useless De Jongh is not available - Meyer would have been stupid enough to select him as well.   The Springboks have enough underperforming  liabilities in the team already  - I am thinking of Spies, Alberts and Jannie Du Plessis in particular - - they do not need another one even worse than the three alredy mentioned in the team as well.

As to the issue of Engelbrecht - I hope he is performing well and would watch out specifically about his defence - as there were gapses in that regard in the past.   Howevr, to a large extend it depends on whether he get any decent balls from the inside backs.

We will have to see what Morne produces - if he keeps on kicking usable ball away - the wholebackline - inclusive of Willie le Roux woud suffer.

All -in - all - it should make for an interesting watch to see what is produced  by the habitual under-performers as well.

 

Mike if Spies flops it could result in him being dropped from the squad. Alberts is coming back from injury so he needs game time - but as I said sending him to crash into gang tackles will not work. Hopefully they are aware of this. He needs to get tacklers to commit and then off load etc.

De Jongh has tp be a quota selection. There is no ways he should have been selected ahead of Ebersohn for example. But he is not the only one.  You could be blaming the wrong people here. That is why I say spell out the quota rules - stops folk blaming the wrong source of the problem. Ditto Loubscher and quota coaching staff rules. Transparency is a must.  Bring this sordid stuff into the light. Lets see what is really happening.

Still on your de Jongh Baaik Maaik? Man you are a broken record. Hasbeen as regards JJ, victory has been declared without playing any test rugby. We will see in the AB and Oz tests, whether he is over the technical issues of centre play that still plagued him at times. This guy could be a lethal finisher for the Boks, but that is 10% at most of the game. The rest is handling in traffic and defending accurately against backlines trying to exploit any weakness. The jury is still out, but there is no doubt he deserves a shot. Apart from his pace I have said from the beginning that his problem is maintaining the defensive line. I also said that he was a much better player after Serfontein was selected. It's interesting to note those are exactly the two points he makes in your article.

Mozart Two things - in De Jongh's case - *   

*    I was meely responding to Beeno's remark on De Jongh; but

*    bearing in mind the poor excuse you rendered about his atrocious performance in the Twickenham test I accept your new comments on my response as a joke as you still sem to want the useless bugge in the team.

I am just wondering how the other players you so unreservedly support and who failed since last year are going to respond on the fied of play.

By the way - I was the first person on this site that expressed some reservations on Engelbecht's defence and appreciate your comments - which is in fact supporting  my initial messages on the said issue.

Nah not a baaik a traaik....Maaik you were a year behind me on JJ, assuming you grasp the issue even today.

Mozart

You may have done so a while ago - but never put it on this site before I raised the issue moe than nine months ago after watching some Super 15 matches you missed out on - I assume.   Saffex nearly had a seizure about my comments and that is the first time you wrote about it oin this site.

 So it turns out that while not denying his current form, Meyer picking JJ wasn't really a result of out-of-the-box thinking but was a matter of familiarity and in many ways as much a vindication of Meyer in originally recognizing the talent as it is of JJ.