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Most disappointing Super Rugby player thus far

Started by Saffolk 27 REPLIES318 VIEWS· 08 Mar 2016, 10:17
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SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 10:17
#1
08 Mar 2016, 10:17#1
has the be Schalk. Last year Schalk was good playing at 7 where he should always have played. He had added some variety to his game instead of the predictable targeting a player and running straight into him that we became used to.
But in two games thus far he as been boringly anonymous.
Time to step up Schalk 
CL
clevermike
Coach57,555 posts
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
08 Mar 2016, 10:21
#2
08 Mar 2016, 10:21#2
Dave
My feeling as well - he tries to be active - but whatever he tries is ineffective.   He did not look good against the Cheetahs.
I think like so many of Meyer's golden oldies he should go and play club rugby in Europe to build up his perso nal finances - he is not the real deal in Super Rugby anymore.
RO
Rooinek
Captain18,117 posts
RO
RooinekCaptain18,117 posts
08 Mar 2016, 10:22
#3
08 Mar 2016, 10:22#3
Slow, clumsy, ball-hogging . . . same as last season . . . and the season before that . . . and the one before that . . . and . . .

Hardly disappointing. Who still has high expectations of this plodder?
SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 11:05
#4
08 Mar 2016, 11:05#4

I actually thought he was ok last year. I have always rated Schalk but never as a 6, much like Louw and Robshaw are not 6's.


He was the one old boy I was happy to see involved for he was playing good rugby, added a bit of variety to his game with the odd good touch.


But to date he has offered nothing. Some jorno had him in the Bok team of the week after week 1, which was the joke of the season thus far  

CL
clevermike
Coach57,555 posts
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
08 Mar 2016, 12:23
#5
08 Mar 2016, 12:23#5
Dave
I agree that Burger was a player who earned his inclusion in the EC squad by performance.  However, because of Meyer's game plan he was nailed in the series and never really produced the goods.  Burger is nt the type of player that can do what Meyer wanted him to do, namely carry the ball in traffic.   
That harmed Burger's image and he is trying the same nowadays - it is not going to work out.  He should play his natural game - n ot the hogwash Meyer required from him.  
SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 14:39
#6
08 Mar 2016, 14:39#6
Yeah good old Meyer used him as our flyhalf against Wales  
DB
DbDraad
Captain26,388 posts
DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
08 Mar 2016, 14:40
#7
08 Mar 2016, 14:40#7
 Schalk is doing fine. He is still building up steam and with Elstadt injured the Stormers have no other option. Carr is good at 8 and Notshe is doing well. ..both on the light side, so we can't afford another lightweight like Kolisi against teams with heavy packs. Kolisi will get his chance and I suspect Burger will play at 8 if Carr needs a rest. You can't pick your best team every week for SR. It's a marathon and you need your whole squad....and experience counts quite a lot.
GO SCHALLA!!!
sharkbok
sharkbok
Captain23,274 posts
sharkbok
sharkbokCaptain23,274 posts
08 Mar 2016, 15:01
#8
08 Mar 2016, 15:01#8
Schalk was playing some of his best rugby ever last year for the Stormers. He no longer has the physicality that he once had- but he added a playmaker element to his game
Meyer decided that was not conservative enough- and revered Schalk to crashballing-even though he is no longer an effective crashball. 

DB
DbDraad
Captain26,388 posts
DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
08 Mar 2016, 15:22
#9
08 Mar 2016, 15:22#9
 Meyer made everyone crash ballers. Du Preez, one pass, receiver to ground, next phase, + 100 times a game. First receivers from FDP passed less than 10% of the balls received in almost all the matches post Japan. Go check the stats. It must be a World Record.
RO
Rooinek
Captain18,117 posts
RO
RooinekCaptain18,117 posts
08 Mar 2016, 15:30
#10
08 Mar 2016, 15:30#10
Except Skulk wasn't so much a crash-baller as an all-fall-down-baller.

Skulk has always shown the line-breaking ability of a one-legged rag doll. I'm not saying this is the case this season or last season, it's been the case throughout his career.

Skulk is a great guy to have in your team when you need to get your hands on the ball but once you have it, he's nothing short of pathetic. One of the weakest ball carriers to play test rugby . . . and yet he's the oke we tried to give it to in the last 2 RWCs! His passing is pretty speculative as well. Not the person you want to get involved at all when your team is in possession.
CL
clevermike
Coach57,555 posts
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
08 Mar 2016, 15:48
#11
08 Mar 2016, 15:48#11
 Draad
I agree with you wholeheartedly, but differ with you on the issue as to Meyer's dismal game plan starting after the Japan test.   It happened also in that test - the ball was constantly passed to Burger and he lost ball possession 4 times and was penalized twice because he hung onto the ball.   The other functionary used for the same purpose was Bismarck and the end result was 4 penalties against him.  
The only change afterwards was to replace Pienaar with Du Preez - the sickness of  Meyer's game plan got worse and worse until the very end. 
DB
DbDraad
Captain26,388 posts
DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
08 Mar 2016, 15:56
#12
08 Mar 2016, 15:56#12
 Mike, I only checked the stats post Jap game.
sharkbok
sharkbok
Captain23,274 posts
sharkbok
sharkbokCaptain23,274 posts
08 Mar 2016, 16:01
#13
08 Mar 2016, 16:01#13
Kolbe has been a bit of a disappointment. 
He seems to have bulked up- but is not as an effective runner as he was in the Juniors.


SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 16:12
#14
08 Mar 2016, 16:12#14

These conservative coaches quash the free spirit out of players. Look what happened to Serfontein under Ludeke and Meyer. Serf instead of attacking space as he did at Baby Bok and at the start of his s15 career started attacking bodies under these coaches.


Take contact and set up the next phase is what they wanted, the same happened to Jean under Meyer....its why Meyer struggled to embrace Willie at the start, but sheer performance and injury forced his hand. Its why the likes of Jantjies has never featured under Meyer or a player like Faf de Klerk. Look what happened to Hougaard under Meyer and Ludeke.


Under Marais at the Bulls, one can already see Serfontein attacking space again and last CC, Hougaard was on fire playing his natural way under Marais as he is for Worcester right now.


I like Schalk as a player, he is the type of player you would want in the trenches with you......gives it his all like Marcel Coetzee. But at times this kind of player is a bit blinkered, they fail to include those around them in the quest to deliver. They can be shellfish, which is what Schalk used to be, but last year he mixed it up by making passes instead of only taking contact


We have seen nothing from Schalk in the last two games......its early days but he is clearly not firing

CL
clevermike
Coach57,555 posts
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
08 Mar 2016, 16:16
#15
08 Mar 2016, 16:16#15
SB The problem with a player like Kolbe is that it takes a season for opponents to work him out,  After that he becomes more ineffective unless he constantly consider different options and take them.  Le Roux was in the same boat - but I think he has changed his various strategies to make himself less predictable than he was in the past year or so.   . 
OI
oimatey
Pro1,870 posts
OI
oimateyPro1,870 posts
08 Mar 2016, 16:21
#16
08 Mar 2016, 16:21#16
For me, its been Koch. Good with ball in hand, but his scrumming has been a liability. Malherbe comes on and its a big difference.
Schalk has been fine. By far our best linking forward - the ball doesn't die with him. 25 passes in the first two games so far. No other SA loose forward comes close. All his runs are in heavy traffic. Solid in defence as always.

MO
Mozart
Captain49,914 posts
MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
08 Mar 2016, 16:49
#17
08 Mar 2016, 16:49#17
 RooiAAS and Dave are still angry at Schalk because he succeeded and their hero, Luke Watson failed.  I know it's hard to believe, but that's the truth.
SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 17:14
#18
08 Mar 2016, 17:14#18
Watson was a better openside than Schalk......Schalk was always a 7  
MO
Mozart
Captain49,914 posts
MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
08 Mar 2016, 17:28
#19
08 Mar 2016, 17:28#19
 There you have it from the delusionist ....Watson, who was embarrassingly bad in his few tests, was a better open sider than Schalk.
SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 17:32
#20
08 Mar 2016, 17:32#20
Wrong Watson was fine in his tests, was playing under a cloud anyway......he was a fantastic openside.....great linking forward  
DB
DbDraad
Captain26,388 posts
DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
08 Mar 2016, 20:14
#21
08 Mar 2016, 20:14#21
 Watson was a decent player at one stage, until some in the media claimed that white refused to pick him because of Cheeky's political history. From there it all went downhill. After the controversy about his D#thmen remarks, he poisoned team spirrit and left for Bath. After his wash he left for PE...wonder if he left a ring back in the Bath? Nice enough guy (I hear), but he should have focussed on rugby and kept his mouth shut on other issues.
DB
DbDraad
Captain26,388 posts
DB
DbDraadCaptain26,388 posts
08 Mar 2016, 20:18
#22
08 Mar 2016, 20:18#22
 PS, Saf, he was k@k in tests, but he was playing under a cloud already...he did lead WP to a memorable victory against da Bools on Roftes...at a time when victories over da Bo ols were quite rare, especially for WP.
CL
clevermike
Coach57,555 posts
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
08 Mar 2016, 20:44
#23
08 Mar 2016, 20:44#23
 Watson was always a controversial character - he came to the Sharks and they released him from his contract after he spoiled  his copybook with  John Smit who cared for him when he came to Durban.   There was a nasty story about the reason for his early departure.
He disliked Burger at the Stormers leading to the nasty remark Draad referred to and also left the Stormers under a cloud.  He did well for Bath though.   I do think that White knew that Watson was so controversial that he would spoil relationships within the team - hence his reluctance to select him.
BO
bobbok...
Captain10,129 posts
BO
bobbok...Captain10,129 posts
08 Mar 2016, 20:51
#24
08 Mar 2016, 20:51#24
We'll see how Schalk shapes up this weekend when the gormless Guppies come to Newlands . The twins look promising, apart from the butter fingers .
sharkbok
sharkbok
Captain23,274 posts
sharkbok
sharkbokCaptain23,274 posts
08 Mar 2016, 21:01
#25
08 Mar 2016, 21:01#25
I remember when he left the Sharks he said the reason he was leaving is that he wanted to be part of a winning team. Total Twat. He was a decent rugby player- I will give him that. Especially when he was younger- he was an out an out fetcher with a high work rate 
BO
bobbok...
Captain10,129 posts
BO
bobbok...Captain10,129 posts
08 Mar 2016, 21:08
#26
08 Mar 2016, 21:08#26
 Good provincial quality player .
SA
Saffolk
Captain30,741 posts
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
08 Mar 2016, 21:09
#27
08 Mar 2016, 21:09#27
Luke was a very good player but sadly the silly twit thought he was some kind of voice/example to hell knows what. His delusional father set the tone. If Luke had just focused on rugby he could easily have had a long test career. At his best he was by far our best openside.
CL
clevermike
Coach57,555 posts
CL
clevermikeCoach57,555 posts
08 Mar 2016, 22:20
#28
08 Mar 2016, 22:20#28
SB
Watson did not leave the Sharks voluntarily - his contract ran till the end of December but he caused major problems about a story he spread about Smit's wife and was told to leave immediately (that is on October that year).   
He was those days a totally warped person that caused trouble wherever he went. 
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