The Questions answered by the Boks

1) Habana is back to close to his best.

2) Hougaard can't keep JP out of the team when he returns.

3) Fransie Steyn is no inside centre, his absence energized the Bok backline as much or more than the absence of Morne.

4) Morne wont be missed as long as we can find a reliable kicker in the team.

5) Goosen isstill a work in progress.

6) Pienaar is our only test proof scrummie.

7) Etzebeth and Bekker have the potential to be as dominant as Bakkies and Victor.

8) Francois Louw is the difference in our loosie performance

9) Jean is a competent captain.

The question we haven't answered is whether this is enough to beat the ABs.....and in this regard point 4 is relevant. We could lose Saturday because of our goal kicking. In which case the Jantjies drumbeat will start.....watch this space.

I believe it is certainly enough to beat the ABs and definitely possible. The question remains wether these players will continue to play well, particularly Kirchner. We could possibly lose on saturday because of our poor goal kicking like you stated, it just has to be more efficient because its very important that these kicks go over. It does play a big part of the game in the end.

I also believe we'll challenge the ABs lineouts, it should be highly contested. Bekker does have the potential to be as dominant as Victor, he just seems like one of those second rows that can easily steal a lineout and gain possession for his team.

 Moz my 2 cents, fo what it's worth..

1) Habana is back to close to his best. - true, but he can only be as good as the amount of ball he sees.

2) Hougaard can't keep JP out of the team when he returns. - Ture, Hougaard did not have a good game, but he is a usefull player to have.

3) Fransie Steyn is no inside centre, his absence energized the Bok backline as much or more than the absence of Morne. - Incorrect, Goosen made Jean look good, play Frans next to Goosen and we will see Frans show up just as good- the Difference was the Goose not Frans Steyn

4) Morne wont be missed as long as we can find a reliable kicker in the team. - Agreed 100 %

5) Goosen isstill a work in progress. - Agreed, but what a wonderfull work in progress to have. Imagine the finnished product.

6) Pienaar is our only test proof scrummie. - Pienaar had an excellent game, Took the pressure off Goosen brilliantly, played a big part in the success of the youngster

7) Etzebeth and Bekker have the potential to be as dominant as Bakkies and Victor. - Agreed, our lineouts were excellent, just hope bekker's back holds out.

8) Francois Louw is the difference in our loosie performance - He played excellent over the weekend but the support from the other loosies was just as good. I would rather say our loose forward balance is correct. Vermeulen also gave him excellent support on the ground.

9) Jean is a competent captain. - Agreed totally, especially his decission to take the kicking pressure off Goosen and let Pienaar kick. Made the kid more comfortable to play his natural game. If it was not for Pienaar and Jean this weekend Goosen might not have had the excellent game he had. So cut's both ways probably. Although we have to be realistic....Jean will not be with us for much longer, we need to look at replacements positionally not such an issue, Captaincy might be an issue though.

A few pointers for the pundits.

Unless you are worried about the lineouts play Etzebeth and Flip at lock. Horses for courses. Also if he is fit give Coneie 30 minutes in the second half.

I agree Ek the issue re Frans is not cut and dried. Frans would have thrived against Oz in my opinion.

Pienaar must make few breaks to complete the picture. As matters stand his ability to take pressure off Goosen will ensure he continues at 9.

Lambie as a goal kicker could also be considered. Had Morne been on song we would I think have beaten not only nz but also Oz and the Pumas in Argentina?  Goal kicking has to be up to scratch. I would again start with Goosen. He had two nasty kicks to start with and just missed both - not bad kicks. I do not believe it had anything whatsoever to do with nerves.

Yes those shouting on endlessly about Jean were shown to have got it all wrong as did the hopeless Brussouw brigade. In vain one tried to warn them as to their folly!!! Snapster, carpet muncher and ragtad come to mind!! ragtad bleated on about this and that and whatever - going around in circles - but missed the whole point about Beeno's power pack.  Well gues who got it right once again ragtad. Bwahahahahahahahha

Ek

I agree with you about most of your comments.   However, one of those need further evaluation.  

I do not necessarily agree with you about Francois Steyn - I think he need to be tested in play next to Goosen.   Frnacois is no doubt a good player - but is he really a player than can be part of a backline that try  to play the type of rugby played on Saturday?    I am not at all convinced that he can.  Matter of fact taking into account his performances in France especially I have my doubts about that one.    Steyn's problem is that he believes in trying to use his strength to run "over" players - not necessarily to try and draw in players and try to put the m into space.   Simultaneously he is not a good off-loader of the ball in such circumstances - th ball normally dies with him in a maul situation.   That would nullify expansive backline play and what could easily happen is that the neutralization problem  would move from Morne Steyn to Francois Steyn.   In essence it could be that we are wrong in that regard - but I would not be entirely convinced that it is the case as stated by Mozart - who normally bases his arguments on stats indicating performance by individual players.  Lets really see what happens on Saturday and then assess the issue again.

Mozart also worry about the defence stats of Francois Steyn - he misses too many tackles in defence according to the stats.

I do believe that Tancois Steyn would have to improve drastically to remain in contention for future Bok selection or at least prove that he is still a worthy player on international level - especially now after removal of Morne. 

Insofar as the future replacement of De Villiers is concerned - I really am not overly worried about that.   I would say that there are a number of extremely promising youngsters coming through and replacement would not necessarily be a problem.   Same apply to the captaincy issue.

 I understand your questions regarding Steyn Mike, but as you also said the combination still needs to be tested. I think goosen would rater put frans in the space where he needs to be thereby negating Frans constatly trying to run over guys. but it is to wait and see.

Another thing that i have thought about for the last week. just a thought. on Lambie and Frans steyn.

I think alot of guys might disagree and defensively i have some questions as well but i would want to test something if i was heyneke.

We have now seen what a backline can do that runs into space. As a suggestion. for future Taute can be replaced by Jean at 13 i washappy with him( Saffex will be exalted :))

But as an experiment, why not utilise Lambie at 12. I believe the main issue with him at 15 is his lack of height, which means he cannot compete in the air as well as someone that has the height on him. So rather than waste his playmaking ablities move him to 12 next to Goosen.......

Which will free Frans steyn up to move to 15, then we have a players at the back with a huge boot, and that is tall enough to compete in the air.

Just a suggestion, maybe to test on the end of year tour....

Pienaar,

Goose,

Habana,

Bambie,

Jean/Jaco,

Pieterson,

Frans

let me know what you think from the argument of creating space for the outside backs thsi looks really good. Defensively to be tested though, but .....

Ek

I agree substantially about what you say about the issue of the backline.   if Francois Steyn becomes an obstacle in backline performances - Meyer wuld have no option about having to move him to full back or leave him out completely.   The first option is probably the more likely one.

It will obviously be necessary to replace De Villiers at 12 at some stage over the next 18 months.    However I am not sure that Lambie should be the replacement.   I would much rather look at Jordaan - based purely on his performance in the Super 15 final when he played at 12.   He also showed in Super 15 level that he is a real playmaker  and that is what we need in a really fast moving backline.  With Jordaan you have lots of options - he plays equally well at  12, 13 and on the wing.  

Lambie to my mind should rather be our back up flyhalf and full back.

Insofar as taute is concerned - he may meet requirements at 13 or even at full back.   He did not show much on attack on Saturday - but was a good link player and his defence was good.   I actually rate him higher as a full back than I rate him as a center.   However, there are a host of youngsters coming through and they may challenge strongly for the 13 jersey.  

We are indeed fortunate that over the next 18 months the youngsters are going to work harder and harder to get recognition for higher honours.   I especially like what I have seen on CC level from JP Du Plessis - but Howard is also around.   The average age of the team is already low at 25 - it may even become lower in future.   What a lucky position to be in. 

 A nice predicament to be in Mike, No matter what decision sheyneke makes at the end he will make some people unhappy. but eeven with these youngsters all having the potential to make it he will have to settle on 2 in the end with a replacement long term. Luckily that decision is still pending for maybe a few more months. but they will have to settle as a combo for a while.

 It is great to see that we are moving in the right direction in terms of players picked. Gone are Steyn, Potgieter, Flip, Greyling and all of a sudden we have a very dangerous team. Be it that 6 of the 22 players are under 21. With the right planning we can become a real threat in the next 18 months.

The aim for this weekend would be to beat the all blacks and be unbeaten in the end of year tour.

Meyer will have time to plan before and during the Super 15, getting the most from super 15 coaches.

As for Frans Steyn at 12, I would give him a go next to Goosen. That is due to the fact that when he played next to lambie in previous tested matches his game just got better. Many people criticised De Villiers for being a crash ball runner in the last couple of years but when he played against the Goose he all of a sudden looked to be creating space for his outside backs.

What we need is a reliable goal kicker. Instead of shuffling the midfield I would perhaps look outside the group and bring in somebody like Joe Pietersen. As long as JP is injured I would drop Hougaard as he hasn’t done much on the wing for us and bring in Joe Pietersen as our goal kicker. As much I hate the idea, I would leave Kirchner at 15 as he is solid under the high ball. Looking at the Arg vs AB game over the weekend, the AB’s used a lot of up and unders.

Although, goosen in his own right is a fantastic goal kicker and it may be an injury or nerves that got the better of him and he may slot into gear on Saturday, but I would definitely bring in Joe Pietersen as a safety net. 

Some very good points made and some interesting differences in perspective. Kirchner was fine on Saturday, but that was because he was hardly tested.....except for two high balls, which he handles well in any case. It's when he has to read a fluid opponent, like the ABs, that his deficiencies become apparent. I think Lambie is smarter and Steyn is more potent.

But Steyn at centre will kill our backline play. He had tons of ball in the prior tests.....ran a lot of that ball with very little gain.....and never made one unlocking pass to another player. He is the bottleneck.

The puzzle is that in the WC  te distributions of frans was excellent.

On ecan though that all isno tsettled.

Another point I would like to underline. I agree with Meyer when he speaks about horses for courses. have always felt a slight tweaking can help against different opposition.

Here a point in question is do you want Flip for Bekker. Also snapster I beleive is a little worried about speed around the park against the abs on a fast highveldt field and wants Coetzee for Alberts. Personally I am going for Flip and leaving the loose trio as is. ie I am going for a more physical pack against the abs but am wary of the fact that greater pace maybe needed. But hammer them hard and speed up later? One wonders though how the abs will play. I dont hink they should be looking to slug it out with the Bok forwards but we shall see.

I am also going for Frans with Lambie at fullback. One needs to see how he goes. Lets face it we have little to lose so a bit of experimentation wouldn't harm us. Lambie needs to be tested. Taute we can bring him on with a fair degree of confidence as he had a good debut.