Sssspies is a non-combatant again.

Take his stats for the Canes match....

Those are terrible numbers for an eigthman in a game his team is dominating. Twelve metres, no tackles beaten. But two tackles missed in eight, putting him in the debit column. One lineout missed out of two....two turnovers and a penalty. Aunt Nellie could have done better.

Spies showed some interest when he came back, but is now going through the motions again. I hope this very non competitive guy is not brought back into the match 22.....he has done almost nothing of note in recent years. And those videos of him pounding up and down the race track maak niks! A show pony, even though laughably one fool on here thought the Boks were doomed in 2007 without him.

@mozter,

spies lineout stats are 1 won on own throw and 1 won on opposition throw, not missed lineout.

sucks to say but those are very below average stats from spies and it might be time to accept the sad fact that he has very little to contribute to the Boks now.

my Bok loose forward trio would now be,,,

6 d fourie, 7 a botha, 8 d vermeulen, 19 m coetzee

and to think u still have the likes of w alberts, l labushcange, s kolisi, j englebrechtt, h brussow to give worthy consideration.

francois louw, pfffffffft,i  love how SARU and meyer continue to shit on the talent on their doorsteps.

What's wrong with Flouw?

Mozart

I am not taking the above stats seriously - since you quoted them and your usage of stats is notorious.   My advice to you remains - never quote stats in this forum as a basis for making statements - because in other cases you ignore stats and fabricate info.. 

However, there is one issue here and that is the way Spies in general performs in games.   He had his one moment of glory in the Blues game - otherwise he was very much the Spies we have grown accustomed to.   He is really not a good enough number 8.   he used to play 10 minutes in 80 minute  games and there is no real sign that that characteristic changed significantly this year.   Short runs and going to ground even before effective tackles are made is in evidence and his defence is also not particularly sound.

Howeer, your hero Meyer is likely to select Spies ahead of Vermeuen as the Springbok no 8 - so our arguments is a fruitless  exercise..  

saSUE your loose trio would be a very good one to choose perhaps for a test at Loftus.

Louw of course is ideal for NH condiditons - a superb number 6. A lot depends on your opponents and what you are trying to counter/ achieve.

Spies is not a forward and that is really the  problem.

@mozter,
im very anti selecting players not based in SA. IMO NZ and SA are the only two nations in the world that have no need to go outside their country for players to make up a formidable national team.

im also of the very firm belief that it is detrimental towards the Boks goal of being the number one nation.

look at the wallabies, they dont select outside of australia, they had a horrendus year last year with a mounting injury toll and were forced to bleed more players then anyone else.despite that they still finished second in the IRC & beat the 6nats grand slam champions in a whitewash.

in 2013 with their injuries under control, they now have some serious depth all around the park & are bringing in new talent with loads of potential.

none of this would have been possible had they opted for the easy way out and selected their aussie players based overseas, the way meyer has done with the Boks.

@beeno1 aka storminged,
IMO theres nothing that louw can do that fourie cant do better. fourie is a better fetcher, defender and ball carrier, and is one of the few forwards who can link up well with their backs (a serious issue in general with SA looseforwards). i mentioned that hes a good ball carrier, well i meant hes an amazing ball carrier, he uses his speed very wisely (something spies never does) and is able to always make ground regardless of the traffic which is odd for someone of his size, hes also got the hooker utility factor ace up his sleeve.
fourie has easily been the best stormer this year, as he was last year in both the spXV & currie cup & i would have no problems with him starting at No6 against anyone.

my remarks on louw werent about him as a player, merely my disdain at selecting non SA based players, but that is an issue of which i seem to be a majority of one, but each to their own.
i would rather face louw any day of the week and twice on sunday then deon fourie aka mr consistent.

i dont really believe in picking certain players for certain teams, i believe in picking a balanced outfit, one compromised of excellent loose forward fundamentals, speed, mobility and power/size.
IMO a balanced outfit is more capable of handaling all sorts of issues u might face, for example if u select a big looseforward trio to counter another big loose forward trio, but ur trio fall short, ur going to be on the backfoot when it comes in the muscle department, but also have no other option for countering them.
a balanced team is better for all possible outcomes and also has more options to counter what ever ailment u may be suffering in that 80mins.

i also wouldnt mind coetzee over botha TBH, IMO coetzee has one of the best workrates in the spXV. always involved in attack and defence, but for now botha seems to be a player who desont know how to do anything wrong, if he can do that for 13 years plus at all levels, he could be as good as McCaw, but thats easier said then done, :oP