As a junior he was one of the best prospects I'd seen in a long time.
I looked forward to seeing him grow into a world beater. He had the makings of giving Dan Carter a run for his money ... but that slowly faded and he ended up being just another average Joe.
It's just another story of wasted talent.
Have a look at this footage. This is what a class act looks like.
Streets ahead of the our "best" 10.
Both Willie and Pollard have both been anemic under Josè. They were far more productive under previous coaches.
There is somehing called age that have a detimental effecto/n performanes - it has zero to do with coaching. Willie was just past it and Pollard is movng rapidly towards th same situation. Erasmus is the top rugby coah in the world and has been since 2019 - he produced results, but cannot prevent aging and deterioration of performance by players, In any event Pollard under Meyer was brilliant in hsi first test and then Meye ent down the drin when it omes tgpo coaching. Pollard never played while Coetzee was coach and Erasmus helped him into very good performnces in 2019. amd even through to 2023.
Pollard was outclassed throughout the Lions series and was about average in the World Cup. Pollard's last brilliant individual performance was against Scotland in 2018. A long time ago.
haha this aged well!
Clueless people judging players on form and not class.
JJ you might want to know that Organpuffer suffered a need for attention hence the reason he made a nuisance of himself on here.
It goes to show the high level of tolerance on the forum.
I agree that Pollard is probably on our best 10 in recent years. We had to be stuck with player like Liefling, aka Deric Hougaard, now fallen on hard times. Or players like Peter Grant.
Then we had the next Carlos Spencer in Elton Janjties, that couldn't tackle, bit of an enigma and never felt right to have him as a bok.
Along came Pollard, very direct, great size for a back, lots of speed. Incredible kicking game.
Some times his kicks went astray and not finding touch when it is a penalty.
But his clutch moments are uncontested. Ice cool under pressure. Just gets so much better when the game is tight, not much room to move and know how to marshal his backline and take pressure off. Slots his kicks.
Unfortunately, that all unravelled when he moved to the Bulls, once his home ground, now his graveyard. Ackers want flair and the pill to be tossed around which end up Pollard throwing a number of intercepts.
His value was super high after 2019 World Cup and was getting a $1 million reportedly in France, but the got grinded down playing under white at Montpellier and then had to find a new home at Leicster, still demanding top squids £600k per season. He helped Leicester get to a couple of finals. Nothing flashy or a person that would ever unlock the defence like Finn Russel but still great at his exits and applying pressure.
What everybody forgets is how negative Rassies rugby has been. Rassie ask his team to kick the ball away. One of my biggest frustration is when they are on the half way line and then Pollard like a robot just hoof a cross field to the 10 meter line, hoping the ball would land. There is no option of putting the ball through the hands. Even recently against the bargies, a little grubber through on the 22. It is almost like they don't know how to bring players in like Edwin, create space and carve them open.
Hooker, with all his pace and strength got wasted on the wing.
If Pollard regressed, I blame Rassie and Meyer. A once gifted attacking ruckby player and 10 times better than Sasha to a player that now just kicks and can't pass.
All of that got coached out of him.
KC
Under Erasmus the S prin gboks scored more backline tries per year than any other Springbok coach since 1992 and most of those riesivovled. are scored by backline players. ,
I miss Augie.
Didn't agree with everything he had to say but the man would substantiate his views, and that's enough for me.
He'll be back...he always come back in a new guise... I always liked him, but he tends to get upset if you disagree with him...so he always go on a sabbatical after a while only to come back again...😁
Plumpster we have quite enough ignorant oaks posting here. Organhuffer couldn't see the wood from the trees and left in a monumental huff because all his nonsense about the Boks crashed when the Boks won their second consequetive World Cup. He was incensed and issued wild insults aimed against the Boks.
Dud Mossie was almost as bad but has a very thick skin so he stayed on and has continued unabated bitching about the Boks, Rassie, Du Toit and Allende
Now King Corn ie saying Rassie is ruining Pollard. Whatever next!!!
Now we have wingers bitterly complaining about tbe Bok attack against the Argies forgetting all the big scores posted by the Boks. Ignoring all the rusty players returning or how the Argies are no pushover in their country.
Nope what is needed is more sane posters like me of course. Hahahahahaha.
Beeno
Erasmus is not ruining Pollard - age and injuries made worse by age - is negatively affecting Pollard's performances,
Does anybody still think Brown ball is real….our rugby is exactly the same as 2019. And it still works, at least until some team matches us up front.
Balls - you do not realize what Brown ball entails. Our Rugby changed drastically in 2024 and you try to ignore the change through deliberately distorting the issue,
