When is the kick and chase game of Saffa's teams going to end.

I'm not going into exact stats but I'm embarrassed by our rugby. Steyn is boot happy...kicks away virtually every opportunity...his kicking for goals is good but this is offset by his lack of basic skills in feeding his backline and poor tackling...I've always stood up for FS but in all humility Ol' Maaik is right...a serious deficiency in the way he plays now...to his credit the one time he did pass we scored our only try. His passing skills were poor in the few times he off loaded.

 

A good flyhalf like Lambie or an import like Michalak would have seen the Sharks dotting down possibly +4 times.

 

Comparing the Blues against the Reds I wondered if we were playing in the same league.

 

NZ attacking and backline skills leave us in the dust.

 

The Sharks were very lucky that there was not more playing time left...another couple of minutes would have given the Rebels a possible 7 points to clinch the game.

 

Sorry a win is win is not good enough...it was hardly convincing even with the overlook of a bonafide penalty try.

 

Having said this there were a few guys that did the side proud...the 2 black men...Mvovo and Pietersen. Well done to them.

 The chances of that happening are about as good as this poor wee chap getting free from the pole.Keep watching... it could happen, lol

 @ Seb; There isn't enough chasing at the moment either.  Its called 'kick and wait and hope for the best'.  

Ntanga, good one mate & so true, lol

 Ntanga
Chase is only possible if the kick is strategic - Steyn's kicks are too far and normally straight into the arms of recipients - so chasing will produce no results.  Too many kicks are mindless and consequently negative or even dangerous, since the opposition can counter-attack and put the Sharks on the defensive.   

Only when the backline players learn how to pass and catch properly, along with knowing how to run supporting lines to be a combination
How can a country that ranks number 2 in the world have such a low level of skills in the backline. I suppose at National level we are able to select the best that is available, so it hides how bad it is on the next level down  

True...there was very little chase,if any in the Sharks game (I was just generalising the Saffa style) I agree just mindless robotic booting into the hands of your opposition and as Mike correctly stated , no point in chasing...a ping pong dual...dislike watching intensely...if Sharks continue this form of Russian Roulette style of playing then the NZ sides are going to take them to the cleaners.

 I hope the Sharks keep their kicking thing as minimal as they possibly can. As you all have rightly pointed out, NZ backs are great counter attackers and superb in punishing reckless kicking opposition. 

Jake White would have to come up with a better kicking strategy, kick the ball out, unless the opposition has left a massive gap behind so the ball can be dropped way behind them; then send  fast chasers to close the counter attack channels from the likes of Tim Nanai-Williams. 



Maybe Habana was the only one taught how to execute a kick and chase effectively putting tons of pressure on the opposition resulting in all sorts of troubles.  We're not getting that treat anymore guys.

  

 Seb
I know the simple and easy answer to the question - it is an easy answer.
The moment we start selecting thinking flyhalfs that can read the game properly and adjust the plays accordingly  - that is when the present madness will stop.
With flyhalfs like the Steyn s it would never happen.

Having denounced the way we play more often than not...the k and c game was ironically effectively was effectively executed by the Chiefs but they vary their style at times...we are so predictable...the Lions whipped as another one bites the dust.

 

With NZ sides their variation and thinking is far ahead of us blockheads...we keep blaming individuals but the problem is not so much that but our style, the way we play and think and lack of creativity, not to mention an incorrect mindset.