15 Fassi
14 Nkosi
13 Am
12 De Allende
11 Mapimpi
10 Du Preez
9 Schreuder
8 Du Preez
7 Du Toit
6 Snith
5 De Jager
4 Etzebeth
3 Sadie
2 Van der Merwe
1 Snith
Vermeulen played at 7 for the Bulls. He was good in covering kicks and carry balls - but his defense was basically non-existent, Not a 7 at all, should play at 8 only.
Mozart
I do not normally put bench players in a team like the above - and even though Etzebeth only played for 30 minutes he did make two ball carries and took a critical line-out ball I will include him as suggested,
Insofar as De Allende is concerned - he caused two possession turnovers at breakdowns which led to converted penalties by Marais. But then who would you pick ahead of him. Please provide a name with reasons.
As to Kwagga - sure he had his positives, but his main negative was on the ground where he had the problem you accused De Allende of. I know I picked him at 6 where he did play when Schoeman was carded. By the way - I hesitated about 8 as well - could go to Whiteley despite his relatively early injury,
Esterhuizen outplayed Damian. Mapimpi was indeed the pick of the backs. Clearly the premier Bok wing, as things stand.
How did that happen - knocking on a ball with an open tryline?
A Blues player hit his thigh, knocking him down, and the pass was less than accurate. He did however provide solid defence, strong running and was quite accurate in everything he did. Damian was less than satisfactory, starting where he left off from a very poor 2018 test campaign.
Happy delusional day to you - you may think so - but Esterhuizen's role in the game was fictional. Example he never made a possession turnover in the game - De Allende made 2 - both leading to penalties converted by Marais - 6 points. De Allende beat 4 defenders and ran over Jantjies at will - Esterhuizen managed only 2.
Damian leg-drove through four defenders for slow, stodgy ball. Esterhuizen ran over Sonny Bill, a much more impressive feat. Your insistence on interpreting the game through stats is always your undoing.
Sonny Bill is useless at this stage - go back to last year and see what De Allende did to him.
Useless, yet look at that crisp break and offload for what should have been an awarded try. When have we seen Damian do that? Never? Damian did nothing of note against Sonny. Go watch the video and see for yourself.
SBW did seem a shadow of himself yesterday.
Is he going to Canada to play league?
He had some moments. Doesn't look very committed, but still a great athlete.
Don't know - He was the poor component in the Blues team yesterday neutralizing a very good backline. Nonu is not much better though, Time is overdue for the Blues to not use those two.
Reputation players is not the way to go.
Yes, I agree with that last statement. It's time for Rassie to apply this.
Damian's offloading in 2015 was frantic, and often put teammates under pressure. He was also playing considerably wider for the Stormers, who went to great lengths to give him space. This led to a very lateral and, ultimately, ineffective attack, despite being laden with good strike runners at the time. Dying with the ball, and playing such a linear, deep clunky game is stifling the Boks. We're quite a long way behind any other top 10 nation, even some who are lower then that. When the fanboys read defenders beaten on ESPN, they have visions of Damian bursting through defenders, or beating them cleanly, causing mayhem. In reality, he hunches his shoulders and drives through the first defender by targeting a weak shoulder, and eventually we get a recycle. When in space, his eyes dart around frantically, and he cuts back inside. He doesn't distribute outside of set sequences of play - refer to the opening two salvos against France.
Steph is better at carrying the ball up, but for so much ball to go his way, it's not going to work.
So the prejudiced BS continues. I love the fact that you are the real expert on site while very few actually agrees with the nonsense you spout on site.
What you missed is that it takes two to three players to bring down De Allende and quickly recycling of the ball leaves gaps all over the show. Beside that De Allende is the only backline player who regularly turns over balls at breakdown situations.
I look at game in totality and not on the basis of prejudice. .
No prejudice, just facts. Levels of agreement don't qualify as a measure of truth. That's mob think. As it happens though, you only seem to have Rump and 2CC as your support, and only because you disagree with Mozart. Schplott 1.
Next, There are two types of tackles on D amian. The first being a tackle around the legs. Damian gets behind those consistently. There is very often a second defender going for the upper body, especially where the ball is located. In this instance, it takes one player to bring him down. The next is when a defender grabs him high. Damian can drive through the tackle with his strong leg-drive whilst targeting a weak shoulder. Whether or not a defender requires support depends on their footwork and upper body strength. They'll be at a disadvantage as they have to grab and apply force sideways. Neither of the two leave the Boks with numbers irregardless of the speed of recycle. Review the first Aussie test and the fourth England test for excellent examples.
André hits the line so hard that he often knocks multiple defenders backwards, and we are talking forwards here. There are many instances of him stopping crashballs dead in their tracks. Damian can't do any of these. André often dislodges the ball in the tackle.
As per counter rucking? I pointed this out first, citing it as one of his greatest strengths. It doesn't happen quite as often as you claim, but he is more present at the breakdown than André, though I prefer André's ability to clean rucks.
There is a vast differen ce between what you prefer and what actually happens.
Really? Show me where this disparity exists. I uploaded the entire test seasons of both Damian and André. Jetzt zeig' mal was du kannst.
