We start with Kerevi as our benchmark. Over the last 3 games he has run the ball 37 times and beaten 15 defenders. The Bok centres in total have run the ball 26 times and beaten 3 defenders.
That means our duds beat a tackle about every 9 runs.
Kerevi beats a tackle every 2.5 runs
This vast gap stresses just how absolutely bloody awful our centres are.
The nature of those stats in motion is something to behold. Our carriers with the slow stodgy move into contact, not breaking the tackle, but getting a little behind the first tackler. It's a slow and untidy process. We eventually secure possession, and slow set for the next phase where we, again, go for the stodgy carry into contact. We aren't overwhelming the opposition with power. When Kerevi beats a defender, he is overwhelming them and freeing himself for the offload. When our opponents play us, they knock our defensive line back several feet to metres at a time. That's momentum. For a time, Wiese was giving us that grunt, though not to the extreme of a Kerevi. Our players are also quite static coming onto the ball. Watch the opposition from past tests, running contextually useful lines from thoughtful depth and pace. Look at the body position and eyes, the energy. From a high ball, Sanchez gathers, he bursts towards our defenders. Their 15 bursts into position for the inside pass between two defenders; hands out and with purpose, he sells the decoy, Sanchez dummies and cuts right through our feeble defence. A seemingly harmless high ball turns into red alert, thankfully a fumble ended the threat from what would have been a certain try. Our players are playing the same static, slow, clunky phase play that José plagued the Stormers with. Even with an absolutely loaded side comprising the likes of Habana, Fourie, Jean, Aplon et al, they still languished near the bottom of the competition for attack production. Personnel is one thing, coaching another side to the problem. Our best players are beginning to look very robotic, going through the motions passively. This gameplan requires so little thought and concentration, or accuracy.
If you go over a test, and track every attacking sequence and distribution chain, you'll see that we almost never look like doing any serious damage. I can't recall another Springbok side that was so toothless. Literally. We are on pace to fall short of production in 2015's shortened RC, and in other categories, only nudge ahead marginally. It's incomprehensible. The Boks are a mess. We need competitive players, and I put forward Esterhuizen ass the man who amplifies our defence and provides no-nonsense stopping power, the kind that twice put Kerevi in his place. You can play off of him, that's probably the most important attribute, a range of passes and offloads in high-pressure situations with minute windows of opportunity. Am has a history of playing well when outside Esterhuizen, and the latter interacts well with the outside backs.
There is no intent to break the line, it’s a reset to try and tease the defence out of position for the next box kick. So all the runs as you point out Augie, are done at half pace… half hearted. Demonstrated by the fact that our centres have not made one clean break in 3 tests on this tour.
Winning like this is no cause for celebration. Losing like this feels like losing twice every game.
Actually, the All Black ability to cut our line open and create space and opportunities was very good. They botched a lot of tries, with unforced errors. This is a lot like the first Wallaby test; one try scored, but many opportunities created. The plastiks with low standards saw it as a moral win, just like last Saturday. The reality is that the disparity between the two sides was immense in both cases. Will the Kiwis stick those passes in the next test? If so, we are in serious trouble. The All Blacks made our defence look like tier two. Our attack was almost non-existent. So many clean beats and missed tackles. Of course, this doesn't fit the hero-worship of José Erasmus, so the plastiks will lie through their filthy, rotten teeth.
Good old Kerevi is having a golden patch the same guy who could’nt make the Oz side months back - about as consistent and reliable as Tuilagi is
Kerevi is always better than what we have now. He is always more useful. Attacking Kerevi only lowers the estimation of our centres. Keep talking Kerevi down, and you set an even lower estimation for Damian. It's that simple. Our midfield has been outplayed in every test this season. Think about that. Let it sink in. Our entire midfield has been outclassed and outplayed in nine consecutive tests.
I don’t think Havili is great….but he beat 3 defenders on Saturday in 9 runs. As many as both our centres achieved in 3 matches and 27 runs. He also made 2 offloads.
If Havili is utterly useless…..how utterly, utterly useless is Dud,
Better numbers than emotional claptrap.
I rely on video. That's how I mop the floor with you sloppy and incompetent plastiks. How's the old "eye test"? Now weaknesses, the best 15 players in their positions in the world with the best coach of all time, and we are staring down the barrel of a whitewash against our traditional SANZAR foes. Where did it all go wrong Unter-O.
Both useful tools. Every time I go through the stats after the game I find surprises and confirmations. Video reruns are also invaluable eg that Dud shepherding of Umaga that gifted the ABs their semi winning try in 2015 WC. The reporters totally missed that ….the Allenfosi totally missed that….some fools still deny that. Dud Allende has cost us a lot of tests.
Stats are useful, if you use them honestly. I look for trends and things to look out for. When stats and film are combined successfully, you have an ironclad defence.
Give me Havili any day over the wee bokkies backs, its hard to show any skills when you don't get any ball but what little they did get they did nothing with it.
Its obvious that the forwards/coach/waterboy has absolutely no confidence in the backs so refuse to let them play with it.
Havili beat Dud….Dud never beat Havili.
