Stokkies Hanekom

 A little over a while ago I said that after RWC 2015,Hanekom and Watermeyer would be the front runners for the Bok midfield.Bit yeah...I know nothing.Go figure.Bwahahahahahahhahaahhahahahahaha

Well you are a little late tin soldier I sang Watermeyer s praises when he played for the Bulls U21 side alongside Dippenaar who is now a Blitzbok. Both never found much favour in the Bulls senior ranks with Watermeyer pissing off to Wales for a bit.
I raved about Stokkies last CC and bitched and moaned when clueless Ackerman never selected him during this year's s15

The 20 year old Lions center Harold Vorster looked decent when I saw him as well. 
Stokkie's a clever player and I hope he plays 13 more where he can develop further and maybe play there for the Boks. 
The Lions could have a supremely strong team in the coming years if they hold onto their players!

 Stokkies is 25 so one has to wonder where he has been hiding. Mnisi is a good acquisition for the Lions but they need to give him more game time.
I like the way the Lions play the game. They need to find a good lock to partner Mostert.
Skosan impresses me on the wing

 When the Lions got back into Super 15 - I advised some New Zealand and Aussie members to pick Hanekom at center.  Unfortunately Ackerman went off the boil and did nit pick him in his squad.   Huge mistak e - the guy is good - probably the best outright 13 in SA at present.      

 So Stokkies is now the flavor of the day. Mind you anything would be an improvement of JJ and Steppie.

Mozart
 Ag Foeitog = another typical Mozart contribution.  Hanekom is not the flavour of the day - was very good playing for the Lions last year and similarly so in the CC this year.   The difference is that insofar as  you are concerned performances means nothing - so you cannot base any assessment of players on it. 
You are just impossible.   Hanekom virtually always plays at 13 - the last two games only he was at 12.   Serfontein and De Allende are basically both 12's.   They are a lot better than the at tackless Jacque Fourie.   At 12 both are better than De Villiers if his present poor form is borne in mind - he is not the player he was a year ago. 

 Moffie do es not even know who Stokkies is.....do a Google! !

 Dave
Mozart has  huge opinions about players he never saw playing - he did not see this weeks CC games - but he must shout and scream about it.  

 Yeah Moffie is famous for making calls on games he has never seen.
Got to love the take on Odendaal of the Bulls who in fact had a great game. ...talk about egg on the face

 Odendaal looks to lack rugby nous as does ----. Does he ever put away a good pass. Must be a rarity.Very typical mindless bulle play from him. If he wants to progress leave bulle.How guys like Owen Meanie are so fanatically bulle fans is a mystery. Die magte blou bulle. Hahahahahahahahahaha

 Beenkop stop speaking utter shit....your rugby ignorance is shining bright. Odendaal had a good game beat defenders a number of times.
This kid is good

 Everyone know's my opinion on Odendaal, I'm not going to shove it down anyones throat. I much prefer Harold Vorster, Serfontein, Janse Van Rensburg and Esterhuizen.

 Odendaal was good yesterday and I never saw anything of note from Vorster at all. He seems to have been discarded already.
Burger is going to make a name for himself. Fast becoming the next best 12 after Serfontein....its a race between him and Esterhuizen. 
I like Frans Venter as well but the Cheetahs are messing him around by playing him at 13

 I purposefully missed the game yesterday because the Sharks and Bulls are playing poor rugby, I've watched all the other Bulls games. Vorster made a few linebreaks and I'm pretty sure he put Hanekom into space once or twice, he was dropped because Mapoe returned from injury. 
Saff, trust me I want to see Venter to stay at 12 with JP Du Plessis at 13 but Rory Duncan keeps changing the backline. 
Jaco Van Der Walt is really impressing me at flyhalf for the Lions, reminds me of Lambie.

 Yes v/d Walt looks very good and Schroeder at 9 is much better than Crone. 
Armand is a great find at 2.
The Lions are taking shape, they need to finds some locks.  I like Mostert but he needs a good partner.
The Lions assistant coach seems to be the business as I doubt Ackerman is pulling the strings

 Dave
I have watched every game the Bulls played this year.  Odendaal is a crashballer - he showed zero at 12 other than crashballing.  No space creation for anybody outside of him.   I am afras he is not good enough to eb anywhere near Springbok selection.  
He is young and may develop further - but the Bulls kills centers - an they are not doing this guy any favours by equiring him to play in the way he is rquired to play.   Maybe with Pollard nd Serfontein back next year in Super 15 - he will get very few chances to play - but if he does play he may do much better than he is doing with Potgieter inside of him.       

Mike you ignorant idiot. Go watch him beat Esterhuizen yesterday and come back and tell me all he does is crash ball you stupid fool.
Geeeez you do speak utter rubbish

 

Beat Esterhuizen.....hmmm....where have I heard that before. Oh yes in the Junior RWC, where the Pom palmed him off like a minor irritation, setting up the RWC winning try. Reminds one of JJ.

 In the last couple of seasons Stokkies has done really well at curry cup level, but would like to see him tear up Super rugby teams ala Fekitoa and I don't mean just SA. It would be great to have a real danger SA 13 like Jacque Fourie in his hay day. Hope he stays injury free next year. 

Dup lication

Dave
To be fair - Esterhuizen did miss a crucial tackle in the JWC which ultimately result in a try for the English team.   He was replaced after that effort in that game.   I initially thought he would go to the top - but am wondering about him as well.   I think he is physically up to it - but whethr he is not a bit clumsy insofar as sideways defense is concerned is another question. 
On the positive side he is a better attacker than Francois Steyn - with the latter's limited crashball only attack - but I am not sure whether he will nake the grade on higher level. Even the Sharks management might have thought he would make a better loosie than center and played him as a flank and not a center for a few games. That is not an indication that he really is a top class center.
I could be wrong - but I think one will have to wait and see what he produces in Super 15 next year.   For the moment the jury is out on him.   As to Odendaal - he is developing into another Bulls "crash ball" center.   I do not think one single line break in a number of games is all that bright - especially under the circumstances that line break occurs in the Sharks game.   Whether he will make the grade will take a longer time to determine - have my doubts though.   
The problem with both Esterhuizen and Odendaal is there is still a ball skills problem in both - cn be eliminated - but will it be?

Duplication

 Mozart
Even though the players aroiund him like Taute and Van Wyk had a good game on Saturday - De Jongh was poor and showed zero again - with an unaccepptable defnsive game as well.   The Stormers forwards ovwrwhelmed the opposition and they had plenty if ball - so had the Jongh - but while they did well - De Jongh did bugger all of note. .
Whethr you like it or not - De Jongh rmains crap as a center.   

 Yep the Lions are coming together very nicely.....reminds me of the old Transvaal days.
Agree that Mostert needs help at lock.
I think that the Lions will be a much stronger team come S16, 2015.
Your thoughts.

 AJ
Th situation is that the smaller unions in SA brought through the good players in Super 15 and th financially more viable unions leece these players from the breeder unions creatin talent.
This has always been the case with the Cheetahs - who has had an amazing ability to bring through talent in Super15 and then ended up with the lesser talented players and then have to start buildoing up a squad all over.
Perhaps it was a good thing that the Lions were out of Super 15 for a year.  That meant that they could rid themselves of tyhe old passengers - who did not deliver the goods in the past and could start afressh.
They are in the porcess of putting together a very decent squad.   There are still a few gaps here and there, but the youngsters that got their first chances last year were really good.
The pool inclusive of some Pumas players) lshould look like this for next year:-
Full Backs - the key here remains Cotzee, but they have alternatives and verygood ones as well
Wings   -  Skosan, Roscoe, Mapoe
Centers  -   Hanekom, Swanepoel, Hollenbach
Flyhalves  -   Boshoff,  Van der Walt
Scrummies :   Faf, Cronje, 
Loosies  :   Kriel, Britz, Minnie, Whiteley
Locks    :   Mostert -they need some more
Props  :  Van der Merwe, Redelinghuys, 
There are spome very good players in the Pumas team as well.   Giant can come in as a lock for instance, they have that no 8 and their props are good as well.   
A person can add quite a number of players from the Pumas and other players from the Lions I have not mentioned to the squad and come up with a very decent team.They have very good loosies and centers and I if I was WP - I would really have gone fortheir flyhalfs.       

 Yes in by-gone times the Transvaal union bought promising players from other unions because they had guys like Louis L bankrolling them.
Once he move out of the TRU and relocated to Balitto Bay (?) on the Natal north coast Transvaal rugby toke a great nose dive.
But hopefully they will promote local union players and add strength to SA rugby once more.
Their present captain who is on Bok duty has been an excellent leader and has inspired the players to lay their lives on the line.
They are playing great rugby.

Forget Cronje at 9 he is useless. Schroeder who is currently playing looks far better but Faf is the real deal at 9.
Howard Mnisi is a quality addition as a 12. Young Vorster looks ok at 12 as well.
Dreyer adds depth at prop.
They have 3 good Hookers in Coetzee, Marx and Armand v/d Merwe.
They have Combrink as a utility back who is useful enough and Volmink is a good wing.
They need to find some real locks to partner Mostert who is good. They should go after last year's Baby Bok Dennis Visser at the Bulls or try entice the Marais brothers back from France.