It seems fans were waiting for Eben to be super human. On Saturday he was part of a winning scrum and took two Irish lineout balls against the throw. He carried the ball up seven times, made as many metres as Coetzee, but never lost the ball. He beat a tackle and offloaded. His tackle count was low, but that's rare.
I think he is still regaining his full match edge, but he is so much better than Lood. We seem to have vastly different standards for different players.
I rate him - just cant rely on him. Made of glass. - Sharkie
I think Bismarck will disagree with that.
I am beginning to think that Etzebeth is possibly our best option at 5 going forward, Meyer had an issue with Pieter Steph du TOit being too respectful to senior players when calling the line outs.
It still does not solve our problem currently because Meyer is not going to drop Victor, injuries have really curtailed progress f the youngsters this year.
Pieter Steph du Toit, Arno Botha , have been missing in action the whole season.
WHat has happened to Lewies, is he injured?
I am severely split on Matfield, as soon as I think he is still worth it I look at a match like Saturday and start wondering if there is really ay benefit in having him there, firstly he did not steal one line out on the weekend, it was the newbies that stle the line outs, now Victor has been seen as the best line out exponent in the last decade, would that not suggest he should still be able to steal opponent balls?
Etzebeth has always had the quick muscle reflex to outjump his opposing lock and hnce although he does not have the nous Matfield has, he has quick reactions.
Hell even Mohoje steals the odd line out.
In the physical stakes Matfield has never been the greatest, but as one gets older that physicality deteriorates even more, and in contact he is now easily dealt with.
So you really only look at him as leadership, at what point does lack of form outweigh leadership?
MIke, I remember reading Matfield's book where he and Fourie du Preez were having lunch with Jake WHite and there was an argument between them about Matfield telling Jake WHite that Meyer is a better coach than him.
It does confirm that Matfield, du Preez and Meyer are very close. It will not surprise me at all if Matfield is the one playing the game.
I think it was in Jake White's book, although it could have been in Matfields book where it is discussed that Matfield has a bit of an ego, liking to be the centre of attention.
It does create two issues, will Meyer drop his "tjommie" if he loses form, so far evidence suggests not as Matfield is gaining more power and say even though his performances have not really stacked up.
The second issue is if Matfield is taking over, then why is Jean still there?
Surely you only need one of them?
And the big question is which is the lesser of two evils?
If it comes down to that I would think Matfield is the lesser evil of the two, at least he can still run the line outs, wh ereas Jean is costing us tries, and impacting the midfield selections to our detriment.
You can make up the lack of Matfield's physicality, but you can't make up for lack of penetration in the midfield, or gaps created by Jean's defensive mistakes.
