SA SXV 2014

As the curtain comes down on a disappointing Super XV, with only 1 round left to play until the play offs I think it is  time to start putting together our best and worst SA combinations.
To keep things positive, i'll start with my best XV:

Beast Mtwarira
Callie Visagie
Frans Malherbe
Lood de Jager
Lewies
Heinrich Brussouw
Nizaam Carr
Warren Whitely
Cobus Reinach (close run with Faf de Klerk)
Marnitz Boshoff
Lwazi Mvovo
Jan Serfontein
Damien de Allende
Cornal Hendricks (not much depth in the right wing)
Willie le Roux


Thoughts?
Some positions have little depth locally. Right wing, tighthead and 12 seem to be problematic areas.

 Chippo
You are very near to spot on with your pics.   There will be loud screamed about other players.  You left out the no 5 lock on your list.  The old guard will scream and shout Matfoield, Matfield, Matfield - despite his pathetic show in the game on Saturday   I prefer eithe Lewies or Ruan Botha in that position.
Carr and Brussow are both openside flanks and Beeno will obviously shout Fourie for that position.  You may have noticed tjat in respect of the number 7 position I prefer Jacques Potfgieter - even thou he played for the Waratahs in Super 15.
I think it is a close call between Vermeulen, Whiteley and Philip van der Walt as well.
I also think that Pollard in fact looked better in the little game time he had than Boshoff.   In any event it is a close call between Goosen, Pollard and Boshoff
The older players were off often s a result  of injuries and when they played they did not show too much  

Some very daft picks. A small lighweight loose trio. Chippo really. Callie Visagie at hooker!!No 5 lock.Where is Jean de Villiers and JP?
This side would get slaughtered. The pack would be hammered physically. The b acks need the clout Jean and JP bring. Where is Habana
Sorry don't like that side at all.

 Beeno you moron...
Did Habana play SXV????

I forgot to add lewies. Added him now.
As for Visagie.. who else has been in better form?
Jean... close call. But Jan has played well as well.
JP... dont think he warrants selection purely on form

@clevermike... i chose 2 opensiders as a preference.
But there is a valid point by Beeno...
If i choose 2 opensiders, i should have a ball carrying 8.
Maybe van der Walt or Vermulen?

Malherbe has hardly played any rugby???? Marcel v/d Merwe and Coenie have been the best 3's

Saffex
Malherbe played in more games than Ban der Merwe did - he was off with cncussion after the Highlanders game and played in all before that.  That was about twice as much rugby played by him compared to Van der Merwe.   Coenie had mor off time this year than Malherbe as well - so your argument is rather feeble at best.
Sorry - to disagree - but Malherbe performed way better than Coenie and Van der Merwe this year.   Before he was injured he was rated as the best performing prop on Foxsport this year - so you seem to be biased in this case.    

Oh what bullshit - Malherbe has been no better than Coenie or v/d Merwe - not even close  

 Sa ffex
First of all - you came up with the story Malherbe had very lttle rugby - now th myth about Coenie and Van der Merwe being better.   There is no way that was the case in any event.   However, I know that you favour some players and nobody else is good enough to conmpare with them - irrespective of actual performances.   So lets leave the matter there.

 Ok so i'm new here.
Totally unbiased opinion...
Why look any further that Willem Alberts at blindside?
He has had a fantastic Super XV.

Im also becoming a big Jaco Kriel fan.

Overall its been a poor year for the SAFFA sides.

 Welcome to the site Chawna
Unfortunately I differ from you on Alberts - he was in analyzing performances this year not at all acceptable.  For instance his performance on Saturday mirrored his performances in virtually every match he played in this year.   Looking at what he did on Saturday after coming from the bench - the Sharks might as well have left him on the bench and played with 14 players for all he achieved.
Alberts0/000/1/2400103/20/000/0
His most notable non-achievement was he attempted 5 tackles - making 3 and missing 2.   Having a missed tackle ratio of 40% is an abomination.    He had two ball carries - making a total of 4 meters - effectively meaning he was brought down within 2 meters every carry by the first defender he came up against.        

 

 Dof Doos
Another prominent rugby issue discussion - the Dof Doos moron at work again.  

 OK. I see you haven't figured it out yet. Maybe I will have to tell you tomorrow as well.

 It's hard to assess where exactly the Boks are at, the win against the Scots should  not to be taken seriously and their performance in 2nd Test against Wales when Wales did front up raised a few questions. I think Meyer is a work in progress coach and the Boks exactly the same as a team. Meyer has an exciting squad but he has some crucial decisions to make as to who makes up his starting lineup in the RC. With FDP out the moat critical area is at scrumhalf....will he persist with Hougaard? Will he run with Pollard as his first choice against OZ and the AB's? I don't believe he will. If he does give him a run I think it's best if he starts him on home turf. Another critical area is our frontrow, it's just not reliable and vulnerable to penalties. Still we're in a much better space than last year so I expect we'll win our home tests with some close ones in the away leg.

 Denny
You are right as to the tricky situation Meyer is in - especially after the second test near fiasco against Wales.
There are a few positions which are not going to be seriously reconsidered and those are Willie le Roux, Bryan Habana,  Duane Vermeulen,  Tendai Mtawarire, Jannie du Plessis and Bismarck du Plesiss 
One can expect that Jean de Villiers will be back at Center and Eben Etzebeth at lock.
That leaves us with some very tricky holes that needs consideration - since the rest either under-perform badly in the second Welsh test or are injured.   Those positions are the following:-
No 14
This position is to my mind a bit of a problem.  Feeding off Willie le Roux Cornal Hendricks looked good in the first test and not so good in the second one.   There are lingering doubts about him under the high ball and he may be exposed on defence as well.  I think it is highly likely that he would be replaced by JP Pietersen.
No 13
This is really where there is an enormous hole.  Pietersen looked food when put into space - but in all tests played his one real weakness at 13 was in defense.  He did not have the sideline to help him in defense and two many players past him with relative ease.  I still think despite a slight speed deficiency - he is a very strong ball carrier, but not really a speedster - his best position is at 14.
the hole is really big - neither the slow carthorse Jacque Fourie - who cannot help in attacking play at all - nor JJ Engelbrecht (weak in both attack and defense) is really the answer.   I think that Meyer is still looking seriously at Damian de Allende to fill this position - where he would have been in all three June tests if it was not for his injury.  The latter has an excellent ability to create space for other players and his passing skills are tops.   He is the most likely candidate to last in that position.
No 10
The question of Morne Steyn is always debatable.   He was very poor in teh second Welsh tests = maybe he had to little rugby this year - being the perennial bench player for Satde Francais.   He remains robotic and predictable.  I think that Meyer will be forced to make a change here and the likely replacements are Pollard and Goosen.
No 9   
With Fourie du Preez out - the candidature for this position is limited  to Ruan ienaar, Hougaard and Reinach.  I think both both Pienaar and Hougaard has serious deficiencies and the answer probably is Reinach - despite all of Mozart's lies about his performance in the latest Sharks game.
No 7
Alberts is a reputation player that was not really up to standard in either the Super 15 or the June tests.   His famous ball carries has dwindled to the insidnificant and his tackles deteriorated badly this year.  Incapable of ball handling and protection of and recovery of balls in breakdown situations - he is likely to make way for either Jacques Potgieter or Schalk Burger.
No 5 
Meyer will go with Matfield - but the latter is one-dimensional as well - good in line outs and that is where it ends.  He is bound to weaken the Tight 5 and that was shown already in both Super 15 games and in the June tests.   He is physically not strong enough to carry balls in traffic and he is poor in maul situations. I think ultimately the much stronger and more physical De Jager is bound to be brought in.  He was excellent in the second half of the 1st Welsh test and outstanding in both the Scottish test and in the game last Saturday.  It takes two or three defenders to tackle him when he carries balls and he is the type of lock that brings a massive amount of physical strength to the Tight 5.  
Players like Jan Serfontein will remain on the bench and the likely prop bench players are going to be Malherbe and a great loosehead question mark?   The other bench players are likely to be Lambie, Hendricks(?) and Pienaar/Hougaard.   Obviously Strauss is another bench selection.  
I do think there will be cahnges from the Welsh test side - things did not really look good enough in the second test and the danger signs are clear to see,  Changes there will be - and the avove are mostly the questionable areas to be attended to.  
    

 

 The second Welsh test was merely the exposé of Serfontein. It reminds me of the Lions series in 2009, in the first test the Boks dominated all areas of play, but the Lions were able to generate significant pressure through Roberts targeting Jacobs. Despite our dominance, we could have lost. A single weak link can cost you, and I have been warning for years that if Wales can get their big runners into the game they are extremely difficult to stop! That second Welsh test showcased the evolution of the Boks, the team of Peter's era would have lost without so much as a whimper; the team of 2012 didn't have the structure or development to win a game like that and the team of last year certainly would have lost going 17-0 down. It was a worthy win, more so because we backed our backs to create that winning running by Henricks. You have to give Wales credit, they played a tougher game than what we have been exposed to over the past few years with the exception of the first Scottish test last year. I can see how this team has developed.

As per the Super XV? Matfield, Brussow, Reinach, Mvovo are the names I really feel like mentioning. Mvovo in particular has improved in leaps and bounds.

Sun stop speaking utter shit.....it has been widely acknowledged that Serfontein was very good in all 3 test starts this year.......your rugby ignorance is shining bright  

 He was a door mat in the second test. And had no resistance in the Scot test.

 Saffex
Better in general play - have any of them scored two tries in one match?  Sorry to disappoint you - but Malherbe did more ball carries and tackles in general play than you are crediting him with. 
In any event - Malherbe is sa stronger scrummager than the other two as well.

Oh for fuck sake Mike stop speaking bloody shit - Coenie and Marcel are far better ball carriers than Malherbe and there is no way in hell Malherbe is a better scrummager.......stop fucking lying man  

 Sun Tzu
The weak links in the second test was numerous - starting with Matfield among the forwards and Morne Steyn among the backs.   
Serfontein was solid in all three tests he played in - the problems were elsewhere.  

 Im taking it that Saffex is the forum's class moron?
WHy are you so nasty Safex? We are just posting some opinions.

 Fuck shit cock pussy crap
I wanna be like Mike.

 Aag fok Vlagman. Is jy met vakansie? Hou nou op ga tskeer met Mike. :-)

 Onskillag jor onner.

 Forget it Chawna. There is nobody as clever as me.

Actually I think if we are talking S15 and not test potential, Chippo is close.You have to give it to Steppie, even though he has been bog ordinary....Jean has been out too much. I probably would have picked Victor....mostly because the Bools have not won a game without him. And Bismarck, because he has huge influence....in 20 minutes he was able to wrest the initiative away from the Cheetahs for example.  I'd also take Jannie over the three Ring a Rosie all fall down props...Coenie, Marcel and Malherbe.

 Mozart
The standard balls - Victor - who was pushed around by Botha and Carr - just brushing him off like he was a kid.   They have lost games with him as well.   When will you realize that they only started winning games when they changed their flyhalf - Matfield have had no sweet Fanny Adams to do with them starting winning games.  The non-physical Matfield - the joke of the year. 
And what about you other favourite - Alberts - no word about him?   
After reading your match reports on the latest two matches I am really amazed how little you know about player performances - or better still - how biased and incorrect your assessments really are. 
      

 clevermike

Status: Hall Of Fame
Posts: 11623 Is Stade Francais trying to get rid of Morne Steyn
May 15, 2014, 15:31:02

A report and photo showed him together with the Paris St Germain Rugby Club and he himself posted the photo.   Could be - because he was a serious and very expensive flop for Stade Francais.

As I understand it both Stade Francais and Paris st Germain at one stage  belonged to the same owner - and the article on the issue quoted them as sister clubs.  

However, Paris St Germain is not a Top 14 club and it seems that they are a second level club with no representation in the French international team.  

If this arrangement proceeds I believe it would be a massive comedown for Steyn - a second level club in France and he is he to be considered for the Springbok team?   That would be a disgrace and I hope it does not happen.     

 Another diversionary effort fell flat.