The backline cupboard is bare

This year we have seen great glee among the perpetually thick Bok "fans" as Frans and Fury we're lost to the Boks. This opens the path for the youth brigade supposedly. At flyhalf we have Pollard a world class prospect, who will emerge as the winner in his contest with Lambie. But who else who could make an AB team.

Van Wyk....a good provincial wing

Move-ou ...a good player against weaker teams.

JJ...a fast player who doesn't enjoy contact

De Allende....a player with great physical assets, but no rugby brain

Stepfontein...not as talented as Meisiekind or Etiene Botha his look alike Bools

Reinach....another good runner, with below par technical skills

The most talented players out there are Kolbe and Senatla. Kobe may be too small as cross kicks emerge up north as the most potent tactic.But Senatla seems strong enough  and athletic enough to use his blinding speed and step. He is also a competitor unlike a passive player like JJ.

But taken in aggregate, flyhalf aside...we  have no new players  who might  make the AB team. Our older players are fading away, but in many cases are still better bets than this thin harvest of unimpressive newbies. This incredibly stupid notion that a centre combination of Step and JJ could be a positive in the RWC is tragically stupid.

 This is what Rich has to say...

"I am less convinced that he has all aspects of backline coaching well covered, and although the Boks have scored some great tries this year and last, there are too many times when their backline attack lacks congruency. If you want an example, think of the last minutes of the match against the All Blacks in Wellington, when the Kiwis were helped by poor Bok decision making and a lack of the sort of attacking incisiveness boasted by their opponents.

Part of the problem of course is that the Boks have two inside centres playing together in the midfield, and although there is no bigger supporter of Jean de Villiers than me, I do look forward to what the Boks might be able to achieve post-2015 when they will be able to play Jan Serfontein or Handre Pollard at No 12. The trick then will be to unearth an outside centre, for there aren’t too many genuine ones around.

But I am digressing from my main point, which is that the over-reliance on fullback Le Roux when it comes to attacking innovation is a problem that needs to be addressed. Apart from the Italy and Dublin games, where possession dominance was frittered away by incongruent back play, we should also not forget that the Boks had a lot of ball to play with against Australia at Newlands and yet only really looked like scoring tries once the Wallabies had fallen over in a heap in the last 10 minutes.

Meyer’s record as Bok coach is a good one, and his attention to detail is impressive. The planning is on track for next year, and there shouldn’t be any need for him to sack anyone, but I do wonder if ahead of the World Cup year he shouldn’t perhaps take a leaf out of the book of his two immediate predecessors by refreshing his management group with a key addition.

The impact Eddie Jones had on the attacking aspects of the Bok game when he was introduced as an assistant by Jake White ahead of the 2007 World Cup has been well documented. And while Peter de Villiers’ team didn’t win the World Cup in 2011, the team arrived at that event a lot better equipped and prepared to challenge than they might have had it not been for the addition of what he called his X-factor coaches, Rassie Erasmus (technical adviser) and Jacques Nienaber (defence).

The Jones innovation though is the relevant one when it comes to this group of Boks and it may require the engagement of a shrewd overseas coach with backline and attack specialisation to ensure that on the days that Le Roux isn’t there, they don’t regress into becoming the herd of cumbersome buffalo that they were before the Cheetahs fullback was first introduced."

When I saw that video on Jonah Lomu, I again wondered why the Bulls never experimented with Pierre Spies on the wing or maybe even at centre? Too slow perhaps?

Maybe it was a fault to let Robert Ebersohn go.  

I agree with his suggestion with regards to harnessing outside help in addressing our backline woes, the knuckle running the show was an average backline player in his day.

Eddie Jones with out a doubt did wonders for our  backline, Rich is saying let's get someone who knows what his talking about....I can't disagree  with that. 

Let's look statistically at the 13's tried by Meyer

De Allende, played two tests one at 13 and one at 14.

Runs 11

Meters made 87

Defenders beaten 3

Clean breaks 2

Passes 4

Penalties conceded 0

Turnovers conceded 3

Tackles attempted 8 missed 3

The only criticism that can be levied at De Allende is that he got isolated a few times and that his defence was poor, but then if you consider the fact it was his first time in a thirteen jersey and you don't just immediately adjust to the positional play in defence it is unfair to judge him when he has Jean who breaks the defensive line on a continuous basis to create gaps that his team mates must adjust for.

JJ Engelbrecht played in 12 tests, 9 as a starter.

Runs 56

Meters made 474

Defenders beaten 14

Clean Breaks 8

Passes 11

Offloads 1

Turnovers conceded 13

Tries 4

Try assists 2

Attempted tackles 50 missed tackles 10

Jean de Villiers played in 8 tests at 13

Runs 33

Meters made 174

Defenders beaten 6

Clean breaks 4

Passes 24

Offloads 5

Turnovers conceded 8

Tries 1

Try assists 1

Attempted tackles  27 missed 3

Jaco Taute played 3 tests at OC

Runs 20

Meters made 60

Defenders beaten 2

Clean Breaks 0

Passes 5

Offloads 0

Turnovers conceded 3

Tries 0

Try Assists 0

Attempted tackles 22 missed 3 

Juan de Jongh played 2 tests at 13

Runs 4

Meters made 12

Defenders beaten 2

Clean breaks 0

Passes 1

Offloads 0

Turnovers conceded 1

Tackles attempted 8 missed 1

Jacques Fourie played 3 tests at 13

Runs 9

Meters made 13

Defenders beaten 0

Clean breaks 0

Passes 5

Offloads 2

Turn overs conceded 2

Tries 0

Try assists 1

Tackles attempted 19 missed 0

Jan Serfontein played 10 matches at 13

Runs 78

Meters made 312

Defenders beaten 18

Clean breaks 7

Passes 34

Offloads 6

Turnovers conceded 9

Tries 1

Try assists 2

Tackle attempts 123 missed 18

De Allende, played two tests one at 13 and one at 14.

Runs 5,5 

Meters made 43,5

Defenders beaten 1,5

Clean breaks 1

Passes 2

Penalties conceded 0

Turnovers conceded  1,5

Tackles attempted 4 missed 1,5

JJ Engelbrecht played in 12 tests, 9 as a starter.

Runs  4,67

Meters made 

Defenders beaten 1,17

Clean Breaks 0,57

Passes  0,92

Offloads 0.13

Turnovers conceded 1,08

Tries 0,33

Try assists 0,32

Attempted tackles 4,3 missed tackles 0,85

Jean de Villiers played in 8 tests at 13

Runs  4,13

Meters made 21,75

Defenders beaten 0,5

Clean breaks 0,33

Passes 2

Offloads 0,42

Turnovers conceded 0,67

Tries 0,12

Try assists 0,12

Attempted tackles  3,38 missed o.38

Jaco Taute played 3 tests at OC

Runs 6,67

Meters made 20

Defenders beaten 0.67

Clean Breaks 0

Passes 1,67

Offloads 0

Turnovers conceded 1

Tries 0

Try Assists 0

Attempted tackles 7,3 missed 1 

Juan de Jongh played 2 tests at 13

Runs 2

Meters made 6

Defenders beaten 1

Clean breaks 0

Passes 0,5

Offloads 0

Turnovers conceded 0o,5

Tackles attempted 4 missed 0,5

Jacques Fourie played 3 tests at 13

Runs 3

Meters made 4,33

Defenders beaten 0

Clean breaks 0

Passes 1,67

Offloads 0,67

Turn overs conceded 0,67

Tries 0

Try assists 0,5

Tackles attempted 6,33 missed 0

Jan Serfontein played 10 matches at 13

Runs 7,8

Meters made 31,2

Defenders beaten 1,8

Clean breaks 0,7

Passes 3,4

Offloads 0,67

Turnovers conceded 0,9

Tries 0.10

Try assists 0,20

Tackle attempts 12,3 missed 1,8

Anybody looking at the above averages would from a ball carrying perspectie put De Allnde t the top of the list and Fourie and De Joongh at th bottom of the pile. 

From a defensive perspective the situation is different with Fourie and Serfontein at the top and De Allende at the bottom.

Th situation here is that De Allende played only in two tests - the one in horrible weather conditions - and sicne it was his first two games at 13 - one winders whether the probms encountered by him ar not the unfamilaiarty in the posistion coupled to the playing conditions.   

What is clear from the above is the fact that De villiers is not an effective 13 - he should stay at 12 - and that the 13 positions hould be considered around Serfontein, De Allende and Engebrecht - with all three getting special coaching and experience in that position.  Peronally I thin Serfontein is absically a 12 - and my choioice with special coaching and experience would ebthe answer at 13.  

Looking at the stats De Allende has not had enough time to be judged, in my view JJ has been prematurely dropped, he runs the most meters by far. Jan has also been decent.

I think a combination of Jan at 12 and JJ at 13 is a decent attacking combination. Defence can be worked on, but you can't teach speed.

Damien needs more opportunities. For me these three are the future, plus I would like to see Paul Jordaan given an opportunity.

Jean brings little in attack.

If you want to play defensive minded rugby then pick Jean, if you want to score more tries the combination is obvious.  

Moola, that is a general statement.

Players these days must be balanced in skill, size, speed etc.

Let players earn their Bok jerseys, that will improve the Springboks

In 2013, only 13 of the Bulls tries were scored between no's 10 and 15 in the matches Morne played, 16 were scored by no's 1-9, in one match he wasn't playing.

Way off the majority of tries being scored by the backs outside him. That is assuming Morne had a hand in each of those tries

And because you can offer no evidence contrary to my facts you call me a name.

 Your ability to reason has astounded me, nay, stumped me into silence.