meyers prescription to beat All Blacks,,,

Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer knows what's required to beat the All Blacks, but he acknowledged how difficult it was for South Africa to win in New Zealand ahead of Saturday's Investec Rugby Championship Test in Dunedin.
  To overcome that record you needed to be: 'technically astute, your defence needs to be impeccable and there needs to be no soft moments in your discipline. You need to be 100 percent, and even then you need some luck'.

That was his prescription and given the injury woes his side has suffered he has chosen a side with as much experience as possible

"There's not a lot of difference between the top three sides in the world but I believe the All Blacks are still a way ahead," he said in Auckland ahead of the side's transfer south to Dunedin.

"If you look at their team they are very well balanced with a lot of experience. I've got the biggest respect for a guy like Richie McCaw, I think he's probably the best player who's ever played rugby. He's a leader from the front so an unbelievable team at this stage," he said.

Francois Hougaard will play on the open side flank in place of Marcell Coetzee while Flip van der Merwe will get his chance after the suspension of fellow lock Eben Etzebeth who was suspended for head-butting Australian lock Nathan Sharpe.

Meyer said with not only Richie McCaw but other forwards as well being effective at the breakdown he went with Louw because he was a specialist openside while No.8 Duane Vermeulen was also good 'on the floor'.

It was a 'horses for courses' approach and the man Louw replaced, Marcell Coetzee would get some time in the match. Both Louw and van der Merwe would provide the experience necessary to cope with the 'ultimate experience in rugby, playing New Zealand'.

Meyer acknowledged there was a gamble being taken in the scrum with two tightheads named, Jannie du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira. He was positive both players would come through.

"Saturday is going to be a huge challenge for our pack but I have confidence in them. It's going to be a tough battle up front, especially at scrum time.

He wasn't worried that the All Blacks enjoyed the favouritism for the game. His teams had always been written off but he felt an inexperienced team always played better if they were written off.

"We haven't had a good record in New Zealand with great teams and experienced teams so I think it is going to be win-win for us and we've got a lot of respect for the All Blacks but if you don't believe you have a chance to win then you will never win," he said.

Aaron Smith's presence had been noted in the All Blacks side and he had made a significant contribution to the way the side was playing. Meyer ranked already a great player.

The covered stadium would probably suit New Zealand's game but South Africa also preferred dry conditions and he was hopeful a fast game would result.

The team is: 1. Tendai Mtawarira, 2.Adriaan Strauss, 3.Jannie du Plessis, 4.Flip van der Merwe, 5.Juandre Kruger, 6.Francois Louw, 7.Willem Alberts, 8.Duane Vermeulen, 9.Ruan Pienaar, 10.Morne Steyn, 11.Francois Houggard, 12.Frans Steyn, 13.Jean de Villiers (captain), 14.Bryan Habana, 15.Zane Kirchner.

Reserves: 16.Tiaan Liebenberg, 17.Dean Greyling, 18.Andries Bekker, 19.Marcell Coetzee, 20.Johan Goosen, 21. Juan de Jongh, 22.Pat Lambie.

coetzee has been a tireless workhorse, they should have bumped him into blinside and benched alberts who has done nothing since the first two england tests. louw is a no brainer and should have been there against the wallabies.
and regardless of what the article says, francois hougaard is NOT playing openside flank in place of coetzee, francois louw is, lolz.

as for this comment,,,

" To overcome that record you needed to be: 'technically astute, your defence needs to be impeccable and there needs to be no soft moments in your discipline. You need to be 100 percent, and even then you need some luck'."

those are all things that the Boks have at best only had in patches in 2012, but luck was a plenty in medoza i guess.
maybw the Boks knowing they are up against their No1 rivals and currently the worldwide benchmark team the All Blacks will light the fuse and the Boks will show up in force???
PDV has already gotten rid of the dunedin monkey of the Boks back, getting their first win in dunedin in 2009, so u never know.

oh yeah and i gotta say there is one part of meyers comment i agree with 100%, McCaw is the greatest rugby player to ever play rugby,
thats going to ruffle a few saffa feathers, but hey the truth is not always easy to swallow. :oP

oh yeah and i gotta say there is one part of meyers comment i agree with 100%, McCaw is the greatest rugby player to ever play rugby,
thats going to ruffle a few saffa feathers, but hey the truth is not always easy to swallow. :oP

Sasue

have to agree with you about McCaw - but my contention is there are signs that age is beginning to take its toll - even in his case.

What i find totally absent from Meyer's comments is th fact that NOT ONCE he spoke about attacking play - so does he expect to win by luck or by being good in defence.   A simple and sterile game plan will not win the test - and I am afraid what is going to be dished up on Saturday will lead to an inevitable All Blacks win by 20+ points.   My prediction in fact is as follows:-

All Blacks - 34 (four converted tries and two penalties)

Springboks - 6 (two penalties)

It could be worse though - not better.

Well Meyer probably is a little naive saSUE and is just being polite as well - rubbing up the old ego before we flatten them stuff.  saSUE a lot of honest Afrikaners find it difficulut to think that anyone would cheat at rugby - its not in their nature really. They can hardly credit  a ref would cheat either. Perhaps one reason why this deplorable state of afairs has gone on for so long?

Mike 6 from 34 = 28. hence it could be by 28 or even more you say . But you say 20 points or more as well. Which is it?

Beeno seeking clarity on Mike's very pessimistic take on matters.

Go Bokke!!!

when you coach starts talking about luck then you know your going to have a long day at the office. the same submissive mindset that the bulls always had when playing overseas seems to foster in his mindset.

few points to note. he just talks about the pack and defence. good luck trying to pip the blacks on the combination of a pack and defence alone. total rugby can beat the all blacks total rugby not a mixture of high school tactics.

there was no mention of the poor attacking options the the backline or any other aspect of rugby. just shows where the mindset really is. feels like i am living in a twilight here. england has even now appointed a attacking coach is the english more dynamic then the boks these days ???? oh my word.

@mike nice post i reckon 20 points might be a more generous.  i cant handle the public statements anymore from HM......he is really starting to build the wrong reputation very quickly.

Seems the muncher also cant get a handle on the figures - confusion reigns!

mike and muncher will you please pull yourselves together and stop embarrasing Bok supporters like this!!!   saSUE is running out of tissues to hand out in any case! You two are simply egging each other on to more and more extreme pessimism.

Try some St Johns Wort -  I hear it is great for depression and has no side effects.

i know beeno your mum uses it. i saw in her bathroom cupboard. i thought it was yours so i didnt mention it before.

if you can read the undertones to the statements that Hm is making beeno then dont be alarmed that in 4 years time the boks stand cup less at the RWC and watching the game at home in front of the TV. we know what type of approach is needed to be the best the size obsessed slow kicking defence only game is a one way ticket to nothingness mark my words. your stormers proved one thing at least defence only does not win cups and i for one dont want to sit with my hands in my head when we dont make it. i do believe we have the players to beat the best on a weekly basis but the mindset of HM and his mindless statements of where he thinks we are going to be challengde just shows and proves my point. HM was a 8th when he played rugby so he cleary has not idea how to coach a backline

muncher if Meyers under tones were anything like your out of tune tones I too would be on St John Wort.!!!

You are way ahead of the game right now. Have some faith. I predicted a difficult year and so I am not too phased about matters but I do not expect a bloodbath of epic proportions.

fair enough beeno your right we wont see a bloodbath but we cant expect anything to get exited about either.

@clevermike,

i have to say i was very surprised to hear u say that about McCaw. o_O

i love ur thinking with the scoreline, but im not as conifdent, at the ned of the day its still the Boks and i really agree with the comments that the All Blacks bring out the best in them, its in the Boks DNA to front up against the All blacks when ever rugbys greatest rivals collide.

@beeno,

i love the hypocrisy of ur attitude when it comes to NZ.

benno says PDV is an idiot, but when PDV comments about the scandal with the All blacks victory in the RWC, beeno applauds his intellect.

beeno says meyers is a great coach, but obviously naive/being polite/rubbing egos when it comes to McCaw being the greatest rugby player ever.

ROLMFAO dont know what multichoice reason u went with in explaining meyers comments, but lets just say all of the above, bawhahahaha, :D.
 

Sasu

My thinking is at times somewhat influenced by past game results - soemthing like the All Blacks beating the Wallabies at home by 22-0 and beating the inspired Pumas by 16 points, whilst the Spronboks lose to the Wallabies by 7 points and played a draw against the Pumas.

The away issue could have an influence on the outcome - but the Springbok squad is very weak and even weakened further by injuries and the suspension of Etzebeth.

Against the above - must be put that the All Blaks made numerous handling errors in the Puma game in particular - which could have been due to the weather factor - not to be the case in the game on Saturday.

I believe that the issues raised as to the backline problems - discussed widely on this forum and on Re-Union - are  going to impact on the game.    I think the All Blacks will optimise attacking rugby by not launching return kicks after kicks by Morne or the other Springbok players and if they kick - they would put tremendous pressure on Kirchner - who is very weak under high balls couple to presure.   Even good defence will be of little value  under such circumstances. 

Do you think it does not hurt me to make such a forecast?   It hurts badly - but I believe I am a realist.   Meyer is under extreme pressure - and I think his escape route is to go conservative - but that certainly would noy help in this case.

@clevermike,

i try to ignore past results, otherwise i would expect the All blacks to trounce most teams and comfotably win the others, something that rarely happens, especially in TriNats/IRC.
i still think the Boks like the wallabies are a good team, but i do expect a win, but as long as the All Blacks themselves treat the Boks like the serious threat they are, im sure everything will workout for us,,,,,by us i mean kiwis, lolz.

ive noticed u mention krichner is poor under the highball, i havent really paid too much attention TBH, but i thought he was very solid in that particular area and coupled with his kicking game is IMO one of the reasons why meyer always picks him.
in some of the bulls game this year when the bulls were on attack, krichner also showed great nous on support. sadly we have seen none of this as the Boks are for some reason trying to emulate bafana bafana.