The Matfield issue

 Ou ho seems to be new to the game.matfiled is a a stringbean 105kg show pony. The weakest lock ever. 2 kg heavier than brussouw! Mike is totally right to be fed up that this pathetic player is included.
Get real ho ou you clearly dont have a clue. Another matfiled groupie arrives. 
Lood is far, far better than the hapless show pony as we all should have been able to see. matfiled should not make a club team.
Take it from the guys who know their rugby. Whatever you do dont listen to my good friend but very confused JW! 

Lood is not a 5 lock, and he's frankly not clever enough to be. More in the Bakkies mould.
105kg stringbean. That's an oxymoron mate. And he's one of the fittest forwards we have. There's nothing wrong with him except your hate towards him.
Your comment that I'm new to the game is quite amusing after reading your whole post. I'd take everything you post here with a massive pinch of salt. You seem butthurt over something that happened in the past(2007 SR final? 2010 SR final?) and want to take it out on Heyneke and Matfield publicly.
Well, good for you. Enjoy it while you can.

 By Beeno's definition, this guy was weak:



...... and this one is strong:

 
I wanna be a stringbean too - looks pretty mean and lean.

Wake up ho hum you are as clueless as cerudunce windpomp!!
If you believe pap victor, who lopes around the field, is one of the fittest forards we have you will suck up anything. He can be on the field for 80 minutes because he does zip. bwahahhahahahahaa these matfiled groupies are hilarious. The laughs they give is one reason we may miss wee victor. Nothing wrong with being a pap 105kg stringbean of 38 years old who shuns the hard stuff.remeber the immortal words of bakkies - victor doesnt always play in the backline . Bwahahahahahahahahhahaha - okay not always.
Lood and Etzebeth are our locks. Best combo in the world. We have absolutely no need for pap victor strutting about with his arms out at right angles. Trying to tackle backs and getting driven back. Its pure embarrassment to any Bok fan.
Away with the show pony!
There is a moleish pong developing but ou JW is fast asleep as usual!

 Welcome aboard hoener, your posts are a refreshing change from our resident doom & gloom merchants .

 Thanks blobbok  Nice to be here.
@Hondebeen1 I don't think you have the faintest clue about the differences between a 4 and a 5 lock. I'll rather let you rest in peace since I also have time for ignorant fans.
Gonna be fun seeing your melodramatic fits every time the Boks do something wrong this world cup - it's gonna be worth the (free) price of admission alone.
I guess you must've had a triple bypass when we played France in the 1995 semi, or Fiji in the 2007 quarters. 

 ho3n3r
Welcome to the site.  However, I suspect that you have been on the site before using a series of other user games - the last being Desert Fox.  
Although I agree with most of what you write there is one point that I do not agree with you - there is enough talented players in South Africa - but we unfortunately have goats as coaches who select players - both on Super 15 and test levels who select players basically on reputation - with no regard to performance.   This leads to virtually no team renewal over the past few years in some of the Super 15 franchises.  It is also the situation where talent-deficient players who were selected for reasons only known to the Super 15 coaches stay in the teams and they are incapable to play anything other than "stampkar"  rugby.   
The only real exception is the Lions - where a list of no-reputation and inexperienced players are improving on a regular basis from where they were.   That is like watching teams playing real rugby.  The team is getting better with experience.  They are beating opponents in the CC with ease.  What is amazing is that this team has no representation in the squad selection by Meyer.
Meyer has been the Springbok coach since January 2012 - and the question arises - what has he done in building up a squad for the 2015 WC.  The answer is zero - he made up his mind in 2012 whom he wants in his squad for 2015 - irrespective of whether the players perform or not.  This leaves us with a string of players who have not performed  on any of the games they played in over the last 14 months and more and that is a fact as well.   The problem is that the majority of the team on Saturday is made up of players who failed badly in the 2011 WC campaign.          
The team for the Japan game is based on reputation only.  The question is - can the players who under-performed in the 2011 WC do any better in 2015 and the answer is simple - never.   They are likely to beat Japan - at least I hope they beat them convincingly - but I am not sure that the team Meyer selected for Saturday would not be successful in the other pool matches and the quarterfinal.   There are way too many passengers in the team and that is going to cost us in this campaign. 
I have no hate of Matfield at all - I watched him play and since his return to test rugby he took just three line-out balls on opposition throw - ins,  but he also fluffed two throw-ins by the Springboks,   I would not call that his strong suit anymore.   My problem is not with line-outs - it is with his non-existent contribution to Tight 5 play.             

 I'll read and respond to your post in whole later today, as I will be in meetings and so on from now, but I promise you this is the first time I've even found this site.
I was on "The rucking flanker" (sarugby.com) as Javelin circa 2009, and more recently on http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/community/ (Aussie site) as Ho3n3r as well.
Other than that, I haven't really been on rugby forums, especially locally.

"I have no hate of Matfield at all"


Jislaaik ouMaaik, then I'd hate to be on your hateshitlist, you've been hammering the oak relentlessly since forever .

Although I agree with most of what you write there is one point that I do not agree with you - there is enough talented players in South Africa - but we unfortunately have goats as coaches who select players - both on Super 15 and test levels who select players basically on reputation - with no regard to performance.   This leads to virtually no team renewal over the past few years in some of the Super 15 franchises.  It is also the situation where talent-deficient players who were selected for reasons only known to the Super 15 coaches stay in the teams and they are incapable to play anything other than "stampkar"  rugby.
- I guess you haven't watched much Bok rugby over the last 4 years. It was clear as daylight that Heyneke was trying to move away from playing only stampkar rugby like Jake and Piet Helium before him were happy to do - under much less criticism, I might add. He tried to get a good balance between still using our strengths, combined with some new variation, which is why he picked Le Roux, who whilst thrived under attack, is our biggest single defensive frailty, which you can't have at a world cup. Thus, the Kirchner pick.
He's also picked many new guys, most of whom have failed to make the step up - most recently Pollard(not yet, has his moments but isn't the complete article as of yet), Mohoje(lol, we all know why he was tried) and Serfontein. De Jager and Etsebeth are new, Kriel is new, Kirchner is making his world cup debut on Saturday, Nyakane on the bench, and many others I can mention. In fact I'm almost sure we have more debutants in the 31-man squad than the All Blacks do.
Experience is also very important at a world cup. No world cup has ever been won with a young team. You can't just throw the good experienced players out because you feel like renewal is the next big thing.
He has made some which seem like obvious mistakes - e.g. I can't for the life of me understand why Jaco Kriel hasn't been in the squad. But you also have to remember that there are 2 other selectors, so combined they will discuss why and why not to pick players. Every squad has had some players left out who were unlucky, since 1995. It is part and parcel of the game.

The only real exception is the Lions - where a list of no-reputation and inexperienced players are improving on a regular basis from where they were.   That is like watching teams playing real rugby.  The team is getting better with experience.  They are beating opponents in the CC with ease.  What is amazing is that this team has no representation in the squad selection by Meyer.
- They still didn't make the Super Rugby playoffs. With the exception of the above-mentioned, there are no real players that stand out and make you think "this guy will become a great Bok", they have a great squad and play for each other, but like the Blue Bulls in 2002, whilst that is great, it doesn't make them automatic Bok inclusions. If you pick a squad full of newbies just based on form, you are gonna get your ass handed to you in a big way at the world cup.
If the Lions keep it up, and start making serious Super rugby challenges, their time will come sooner rather than later.
Meyer has been the Springbok coach since January 2012 - and the question arises - what has he done in building up a squad for the 2015 WC.  The answer is zero - he made up his mind in 2012 whom he wants in his squad for 2015 - irrespective of whether the players perform or not.  This leaves us with a string of players who have not performed  on any of the games they played in over the last 14 months and more and that is a fact as well.   The problem is that the majority of the team on Saturday is made up of players who failed badly in the 2011 WC campaign.
- We've clearly been watching different Springbok matches. All the players bar Jaco Kriel who deserve chances, have been given that. Many simply did not make the step up. Some did, and they're there now.
Also, the majority of the All Black squad is made up of players who played in 2011. As specified earlier, this isn't a bad thing.
The team for the Japan game is based on reputation only.  The question is - can the players who under-performed in the 2011 WC do any better in 2015 and the answer is simple - never.   They are likely to beat Japan - at least I hope they beat them convincingly - but I am not sure that the team Meyer selected for Saturday would not be successful in the other pool matches and the quarterfinal.   There are way too many passengers in the team and that is going to cost us in this campaign.
- I don't see any passengers, but we clearly have different views on who should be there and who shouldn't.  De Villiers is a clearly contentious selection, but it makes sense to give him a full game here, as he badly needs gametime, and I'd rather give him 60 vs. Japan than Samoa or Scotland. It makes sense, if only to assess where he's at. If he's not showing any form, he'll be dropped.
Matfield is there on merit, and only your personal vendetta(did he sleep with your wife?) is making you angry about this pick.
I have no hate of Matfield at all - I watched him play and since his return to test rugby he took just three line-out balls on opposition throw - ins,  but he also fluffed two throw-ins by the Springboks,   I would not call that his strong suit anymore.   My problem is not with line-outs - it is with his non-existent contribution to Tight 5 play.I
That's probably 3 more than all of our other locks combined. And the fluffed throw-ins were due to the hookers, unless I missed it(unlikely).
He is also a number 5 lock. What do you want him to do, monster the opposition like a demon? He was one of the top ruck hitters per minute played in super rugby from an SA perspective. It's a bit sad that his selection is questioned since he is in reality probably one of the first names on the teamsheet, and rightly so.
He clearly has been cotton-wooled all year, and rightly so. At least he arrives at the world cup in good shape. When the All Blacks take people out of Super Rugby to rest them, I don't see them being criticised by their own fans. And it's always the older players first, which makes sense.

 Meyer tried to play a more enterprising game and at times it was successful - but he selects too many players without the ability to adjust their game and the changes do not last.  `
You apparently have a complete misconception of what is going on in the case of AB rugby.  In NZ player selection is based on PERFORMANCE and the players Hansen selects is still top class performers.  In the case of Meyer performance means nothing at all.  
I have watched every Springbok game since Meyer took over and the same rubbish turned up most of the time.  Kirchner was always a poor defender -  even in the latest Argentine test he missed 2 out of 6 tackle attempts.  And he is useless in attacking play as well - totally useless.
I do not intend to add to what I said - it is based on fact - but in the last RC - Etzebeth took for opposition throw-ins in line - outs and did not fluff any - so you must be looking at rugby with rose-coloured specs insofar as Matfield is concerned.  Anybody thinking that Matfield iis in the team on merit is not woirth debating rugby issues with in any event.     

"Meyer tried to play a more enterprising game and at times it was successful - but he selects too many players without the ability to adjust their game and the changes do not last."
Well done on defining all of SA rugby. He must pick what he has to play with.
To pick an analogy - I don't know if you watch motorsport, but you should get the gist - it's like taking a GP2 spec car, entering a team with it in Formula 1, and expecting to win world championships with it. Obviously in the real world they can't do that, but if it were possible, they'd never be able to.
Our best team finished 7th on the overall Super Rugby log this year. They played anything but enterprising rugby. Neither did the Bulls. The Lions did play some beautiful rugby, but they still even finished below the Stormers. The Sharks, well there wasn't much to talk about either, and the rugby they played, it was atrocious.
As you may or may not have picked up, there was a concerted effort from the Bok management over the last 4 years to get all provincial coaches to think differently. It was managed in patches, but it's a process that took longer than what Meyer and co. probably envisaged. It was hopeful, but they tried at least, and failed.
Why do you suddenly think if he picks a bunch of Lions and start running that we would set the world alight, keeping the above in mind?
What we do have going for us, though, is guts, loyalty and determination. It makes a helluva lot more sense to pick a bunch of players that you personally know how to get the best of, than putting a bunch of newbies together who individually may be slightly better than the aforementioned bunch, but who won't necessarily put their bodies on the line for you.
Again, he's made some mistakes, but he's done a helluva lot more right than wrong. I'm guessing after we lost most of our 2007 games pre-WC you were also giving it to Jake in spades. If you weren't, you are nothing but a hypocrite.
EDIT: A N A L in A N A L ogy removed? Really?

 Hell this defense of Meyer is the pits.  You pick players who perform - not personal buddies who have been around for years.  Meyer has to identify performing players and get them to throw "their bodies on the line" for him.

 Ceradunce
Where that you get that photo of Willem Alberts from?  

Hell this defense of Meyer is the pits.  You pick players who perform - not personal buddies who have been around for years.  Meyer has to identify performing players and get them to throw "their bodies on the line" for him.
Every Bok coach ever has done that. Even the great Kitch Christie. Worked well enough for him.
It's not ideal, but it's seemingly the South African way and we do well with it. Our players are too insecure to be dropped and re-picked all the time. Coaches showing confidence in them is what they thrive on.

 clevermike
 
Status: Hall Of Fame 
Posts: 19219RE: The Matfield issue
September 17, 2015, 13:29:44

 Ceradunce

Where that you get that photo of Willem Alberts from? 
Nice picture isn't it? I thought that you would like it. He has the same kind of hangtiete that you boast .