Neinaber - options at 13

They've had plenty of time to blood another 13.

At this point, RasNaaber's "testing" has amounted to testing random players in random games...and gleaning very little from it.

That game against Wales showed how these guys give chaps a go...they simply chuck a lucky-dip team together and apparently learn something from that.

At no point has it felt to me like they are planning for the future? 

Look at where we are with the Pollard situation. Are you telling me that they never envisaged a situation where he could become injured?

They completely discarded the one stand-in we had in Jantjies and now we're headed into a WC with Libbok as our pivot. I'm not saying he aint good enough but damn, the guy is super fresh to international level.

Who in the F is gonna be our kicker off of the tee, in a competition where things are very often decided by low margins dominated by penality goals ? Libbok? Or are we gonna go with a mix of Cheslin, Faf, and Libbok if is radar is firing?

I don't get much of what is going on with this side.

Agree plumb. Just read Nienaber latest comments that it will be between Wille, Kolbe and Faf to play 10 and take the kicks because they had one or two games there for the clubs. The difference is that it is club games and you can afford to test players during clubs. Often these teams are ravaged with injuries and their 3rd choice players are also injured. 

I would definitely want to see Moodie settle in at 13 if that is his real position, but he has not played a single game for the bulls at 13. He is only 20 and a lot of great centres like Nonu and Fourie either started at full back or the wing in their younger years. It is a big ask to thrust him in there now. 

But we should also look at our clubs, we simply don't have decent 13s. 

The one player I think we are missing is Rohan Jansen Van Renseberg. 29, wrecking ball and play both 12 and 13. He should have been our 3rd choice behind am and Kriel. 

Who has been the 13 for the bulls, Mapoe, Hendrikse, Simalane but no Moodie being used there. They you have to look at the Sharks, Am is there and Van Rensberg but they have used a foreign import to fill that key role. 

The stormers have Nel, very solid player but not test standard. Hartzenberg has been touted as a future star but only 19 and got a serous knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Dan Du Plesis can play 13 but his biggest impact has been at 12 for the stormers and name the best player in the URC. 

The Lions have Henco Van Wyk, but he got injured and didn't feature much. Did get a crack in a rubbish SA A game. But no one else at the lions that stands out. 

Rassie and Nienaber were lying when they said they work with the provinces, only not to have be transparent about who our 1 to 4 rated player are in each position. 

Rassie is to obsessed with his ego and twitter battles. Our junior boks are a shambles and Nick Mallet called him for it. He got really offended and upset. Rob Louw criticised him about the coaching team and lack of attack

Jantjies must have done something really bad because to be completely overlooked, when you were the 2nd choice and when you have a long history with the current 1st choice 9...well, that isn't normal.

And it's not like Jantjes was the mr Catastrophy that everybody made him out to be. He was mostly solid for the Boks and is still our best kicker...and brings bags of experience too. Still our most successful 10 against Kiwi opposition

I think Libbok will likely be regarded as a better player than Jantjies once all is said and done, but for now his kicking is pretty concerning. For his size, and the fact that we can't rely on him for any grunt, both out of hand and at goal he should be way ahead of what his recent performances gave us. 

Haha now we just gotta hope that he doesn't become even more flummoxed by it all the further we get into the WC.

Serfontein would be the call I'd have made. When we talk about martialing a defence, neither Am not Kriel offer this. Serfontein actually has leadership credentials and can manage the edge effectively. 

"I bet you Orie starts as Eben’s partner and RG is wasted on the bench. Why - because Orie calls the line-outs. Are you telling me RG is incapable of calling lineouts?"

Lol, anybody(though I doubt such a person exists) that thinks RG should not start ahead of Orie needs to go and watch the Australian game again. 

RG came on and basically took over the lineout completely. The guy is easily our most athletic lock and also the most skillful. Solid hands, is probably taking lineouts way more comfortably than any other locks our squad, and sets up mauls well too. 

But this is the thing...

The Boks never seem to be able to just have our best side on the park. There's always some fuckery. Whether it's BEE, favoritism, or stupidity...there's always something.

I mean, we've gone since the last world cup predominantly not starting the best 2 in the game.

I think being successful is difficult enough without actively trying to sabotage oneself.

The Dead Lemur makes sense. What happened to Serfontein, he can play both 12 and 13 and could either partner with Kriel or play at 13. 

Rassie didn't bother at all to call him into the team. 

Let’s just be clear….every significant decision in this team is made by Harrassmiss. So all these deficiencies, most notably the lack of a credible flyhalf back up, is entirely on Harrassmiss. His 4 year party since winning the WC is really costing us and to think NZ have a serious warrior like Razor twiddling his thumbs this WC, when he would give a digit to be in the the fray.

One of the scrummies and one of the wings are probably already injured and sure to be replaced...giving some players more time to recover.

Completely agree Dave….Pollard and Am could have withdrawn if they really reached the point of no return.

As for him organising the defence better than Am does - what utters horseshit from Doos .

Am is next level at 13 - such a good rugby brain, with subtle touches. Always in the right place at the right time and a great knack of getting past the first defender.

Saddex, always having to be wrong. Am is not an organizer. He never was. He is a good defender as an individual, marginally better than Kriel statistically speaking, but there is no indication that he anywhere close to the kind of figure Fourie was on defence. Serfontein is quick enough for 13. Speed of thought and ability to read play a few phases ahead makes all the difference. Am has better offloading than Serfontein, but I'd actually trust Serfontein more as a cerebral distributor. We lack leaders in this team, and he would actually be a good partner for Esterhuizen. Am's positional work on defence has regressed under Erasputin. That's part of the problem with our shabby defence of the past four years. Am would be more effective on attack if we had a real coach. 

I have long laboured and bemoaned the lack of a backup at 13 for AM
Now here we are going into the World Cup with what appears to be Jessica Kriel as the starting 13....

Their should have been some experimentation with Moodie at 13 for the Bulls, or the Boks.
It's a bit difficult for the Boks without B-team tours though. 

We know Moodie is good enough on the attack to play at 13. His defence looks solid, but 13 organises the Rasnaber defence. 

My Bok Backline would be:

9 Grant Williams
10 Libock.
12 Esterhuizen
13 Moodie
14 Kolbe
15 Willie
11 Ardense

That would be a serious attacking unit. It just depends on if Moodie can play at 13 on defence.

Nkosi, in 2019, sharpened his game up a bit. I liked that version of Nkosi. I doubt we'll see it again. We really seriously need to shore up our defence. The likes of Moodie, Willemse, Damian et al at 13 will fail. We need some solidity on the wings. Arendse is just not test quality. Against good defences he will be useless. These track runners are hopeless. 

Adrense's scoring rate is probably the highest in the world at the moment. His try rate is higher than Habana's.

He is also strong on defence and a very good tackler. Like Kolbe, he punches above his weight.

Arendse is poor positionally, weak in contact, poor in the air. Show me one try that required skill, power and wasn't an easy walk in. Our defence ranks bottom of the top 12 test nations. This didn't happen for nothing! Our backline can't defend. 

Bok regular

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Our defence ranks bottom of the top 12 test nations. This didn't happen for nothing! Our backline can't defend. 

The Boks benefited from double ranking points, a year of no rugby and two years where no teams were truly dominant in world rugby. The Boks having the best attack is ludicrous. This schizophrenic assessment of the Boks is not surprising. After the first Puma test it was all doom and gloom, and then the predicted amnesia after the second test. It happens all the time. After the RC, the Boks ranked bottom of the log for tackling, barely achieving 80%. They average, over the last two years, 78%. Defence has gone backwards. We lack stopping power on the gainline, and we lack defensive nous and physicality out wide. The edge is not protected very well, the seams are not secure, the connection between the outside rush and the interior line is scattershot. How anyone can watch film and arrive at a contrary conclusion is laughable. However, the casuals, as we have seen over the past few weeks, don't have the ability to read the game. Lots of bluster and no substance. So, their conclusion? We have the best attack in world rugby, we have a top tier defence, we are super physical, and have the most well rounded and best team man for man in the world. We shall see in the WC. This being true, the Boks must do no less than win the group comfortably, and defeat New Zealand or France and make it all the way to the final. The Boks cannot do any less than make the final, and do so demonstrating these top tier facets of their game. How this explains away the Bok scrum Ranking so lowly, the lineout dead last in the RC as well, remains a mystery. A mystery if you believe in Bok supremacy. Square peg; round hole. 

Here is a backline I would like tried out against Wales 

Faf- the ultimate warrior and superb on defence. In your face player. Good skills. 

Libok - Nobody else right now. Good player. 

Esterhuizen - let's see what he can do against Wales. Want to see how much creativity he has and more of his distribution skills. 

Willemse - has everything  to succeed at 13. Very dangerous runner. Pace. Great distribution skills. 

Gives you a physically strong center combo with nice attacking flair. 

The Back three has been collectively too small. 

So let's try Mpimpi. Moodie and Willie. 

I heard guys here trashing Mpimpi so was pleasantly surprised to see him playing well against the Argies. 

Pack. 

I would like to see this pack start against Wales

Kitshoff, Marx, Koch.  If Kick is strong enough his extra mobility is valuable. 

Eben, Snyman. 

Deon Fourie - still very fast and can play 80 minutes. Something of a fetcher. He and Marx will win us a few on the ground! A warrior who gets stuck in. 

Vermuelen and Du Toit. Vermuelen or Eben as Captain. 

Tough no compromise lose trio. Soften up the Welshies. 

Yes Pollard and Lood should be in the squad IF they can be fit in time. For all we know Rassie will send a scummie and a wing home if needs be. 

The Oaks here seem to think Rassie is clueless. Listening to a speech he gave at Newland some years ago, I know this guy is no fool and plans every last detail. He is a strategic thinker way beyond the armchair critics here. 

Of course it's possible to lose to NZ and high flying Scotland in the pools and be out of the comp. However if I were a betting man I would bet we make it out of the pool stage. 

A lot also depends on refs and injuries. 

I think ou Deus is already working on what he is going to say if the Boks don't win the RWC. He can't wait to blast Rassie, Allende and Du Toit. Hahahahahaha. 

I wouldn't mind a AE DdA 12 /13 against Romania maybe if Am wont be back. Jesse can't play every game. If we're comfortably through to the 1/4s rest DdA and Kriel for the Tonga game and let's see what Moodie can do with some space and a monster inside him with AE. 

If you are going to try Esterhozen and Dud, the creative player, Esterhozen, should be at 12.