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FORUM / RUGBY /  Where is our no 4 lock?

Where is our no 4 lock?

Started by believer13 REPLIES2,089 VIEWS· 09 Nov 2014, 08:09
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BE
believerRookie17 posts
09 Nov 2014, 08:09
#1
09 Nov 2014, 08:09#1

I'm going to get straight into it.

Eben Etzebeth needs to go back to club rugby and get his form back that made him the best lock in world rugby last season and the one before. 

This season he has been useless at best.


To make this sweet and short.

In 64min of rugby Eben did the following:


The good.

Stole 2 lineouts - Very good. Most in the game. 

7 Carries for total gain of 14m. This should actually be in the bad section. As Eben was in the backline the whole game and only carried it 7 times?

Didn't miss any tackles - You will see why when it comes to the bad.


The bad

First time he touched the ball in the 13th minute he got driven back 5m.

I cant remember when last a bok got driven back so badly in the contact.

Go and have a look when SS shows the game again.

2 Tackels in the WHOLE GAME. This is 1 Tackle every 30MIN!! OUCH!!

This is also why he didn't miss any, because he hardly made any.

Most shocking for me is the cleaning at ruck time.

Eben made his first of TWO cleans in the 37th min.

This is the no 4 lock people. And you make 2 clean outs in more than 1 hour of play!!!


This is the problem with the game today. When a lock carries the 5 times he had a good game. A lock fist needs to do the following, secure line out, take kick off, scrum, defend and clean. Once this is done then you can be a show pony in the back line. You know you are having a bad run when Matfield is more physical than you and Jannie had a better game than you..


Victor Matfield is out performing Eben in every aspect of the game. And i really hope that Eben regains his form before next years world cup. Because a Eben on fire is one hell of a player. But test rugby is not the place to try and regain your form. It is costing the boks dearly. Eben now had 8 game back after injury and still there are no signs of him getting better. He has been average at best the whole season and that is just not good enough.  


Go have a look at the game. Every time we do a drive from the lineout Eben is walking right at the back next to the ball carrier, doing nothing. The 4 lock should be right in the middle of the maul or right in the front doing the hard work. And it is shocking to me that no one has noticed how ineffective Eben has been this whole season. 


Here is to hoping that the kid gets back his form before next years world cup. 



BE
Beeno1Captain40,032 posts
09 Nov 2014, 08:30
#2
09 Nov 2014, 08:30#2
 I note from the Rugby 365 ranking that Etzebeth had a better game than wee matfiled the papest lock ever to represent the Boks.Believer welcome to the board but it would appear you are off to a weak start! 

BE
believerRookie17 posts
09 Nov 2014, 09:29
#3
09 Nov 2014, 09:29#3
Weak start? Let's see.

This is  what rugby365 said about Eben. Made a nuisance of himself by stealing some line-out ball. Had some good carries and made plenty of tackles. He made 2!!! Do you get that? one TWO.

This is what they said about Matfield
The veteran showed he is still one of the best line-out jumpers in the world.
Yet Matfield made 8 tackles.

To sum up. Matfield makes 4 TIMES the tackels Eben did yet Rugby 365 doesn't mention it.

That says everything about the rankings on rugby 365.
On top of that Matfield made 7 clean outs at ruck time compare to the 2 Eben made.
The only stat Eben beat Matfield on is in meters gained. Not a suprise, as Eben was in the backline the whole game.

So please Beeno1, before you reply get your facts straight. If you are in love with Eben or a family member i can excuse you for trying to protect him.
But when it comes to out and out rugby performance on the pitch you are better of not commenting at all.

RO
RooinekCaptain18,117 posts
09 Nov 2014, 09:33
#4
09 Nov 2014, 09:33#4
believer, I think a lot of Abby Elizabeth's form from two years ago that apparently made him the "best lock in world rugby" was just the usual WP hype. 
Truth is, he had a few good moments in a few games early in his career but he's never been consistently good for 80 minutes and I can't think of too many games where he's lasted the 80 minutes. To have called him the world's greatest lock ahead of proven performers like Sam Whitelock or Paul O'Connell or even Victor Matfield is laughable.
The loud-mouthed WP blowhards saw this rather ordinary plodder bust a few tackles and they immediately elevated him to greatness . . . as they have done with countless other WP donkeys . . . and everyone seems to have bought into this myth which is being exposed this season.
I've never claimed this as a fact but looking at the size of Etzebeth as a teenager and looking at his insistence on acting the tough guy and his inability to keep his cool, I suspect Etzebeth was on a steroid program when he was younger and if that is true then sadly, we may have already seen the best of him. 
Hope I'm wrong . . . but it's not looking good this year so far. For now, pick a proper lock and forget about Abby Elizabeth until the performances match the hype.
PS Oh and believer, I wouldn't take anything that Baboon-ou (aka Beeno) has to say too seriously. He is widely regarded as being one of the least knowledgable rugby commentators on this message board and one of the stupidest people on the planet.  
BE
believerRookie17 posts
09 Nov 2014, 10:20
#5
09 Nov 2014, 10:20#5
Rooinek, i agree with you on Eben.

He actually had a good first 2 seasons. Come to think of it, it is as you say. He is only a 60min player. But this year he has been very very poor.
Well, you can include the end of last year as well. Since Pieter steph du toit made him look like a child in last years currie cup final he was never the same. He played on the end year tour and was invisible till he got injured.
Then he missed the whole super rugby and came back straight into the bok team again.

I really hope it is not the steroid thing. That would explain all the injuries as well..
He has only had one full season off the last 3. That is not good for a player his age.


HA
hakwaPro4,146 posts
09 Nov 2014, 10:46
#6
09 Nov 2014, 10:46#6
 Something funny happens everytime Eben and Matfield take the field together - Eben retreats into a shell.
SA
Saffolk Captain30,741 posts
09 Nov 2014, 12:09
#7
09 Nov 2014, 12:09#7
I thought Etzebeth was one of the few good Boks on the day.
He got driven back by two players for goodness sake. Bit naive bringing that up when it was not a one on one contest.
If you want to point fingers at a lock look no further than old man Matfield who once again found himself isolated and dominated physically conceding a penalty in the process.
Oupa was ineffective and Bismark had his worst game for the Boks. Etzebeth was solid, Coetzee and Vermeulen were goodThat's where it ends in the forwards.
In the backs, Pollard was solid as was Jan. Willie had the odd moment mixed with some poor.
The rest of the backs were average.

CE
CeradynePro9,374 posts
10 Nov 2014, 21:24
#8
10 Nov 2014, 21:24#8
 I watched the game with family and did not really pay attention to what was going on. I do not have a recording of the game and was hoping that it would have been on YouTube or DailyMotion by now.

The reason is that I would like to see how the Ruddock try came about. From what I can remember it came after an appalling line-kick by Le Roux and than even worse defence in the subsequent line-out. As far as I can recall, one of the culprits was our friend Etzebeth.
BE
Beeno1Captain40,032 posts
10 Nov 2014, 21:34
#9
10 Nov 2014, 21:34#9
 Its amazing how stupid some oaks can get. Ou matfiled is a better lock than Etzebeth. Bwahahhahahahahahahahaha - man you get some funny clowns here.
Eben is 6ft 9 inches and 125 kg. He is mobile and gets on with the real grunt work of a lock.To compare the 106 kg show pony with Etzebeth is a big laugh! 
MO
MozartCaptain49,914 posts
10 Nov 2014, 21:59
#11
10 Nov 2014, 21:59#11
Well Believer says Etzebeth was the "best lock in the world" last year. Then after RooiAAS puts up his usual anti WP vinegar....Believer excludes the end of last year, and calls him a 60 minute player. Believer sounds like his beliefs are easily swayed.
BI
biltongbekClub Pro749 posts
10 Nov 2014, 22:02
#12
10 Nov 2014, 22:02#12
 I do agree that the brutal power and physicality is down from what it was before the injury, I don't know why though.
BO
bobbok...Captain10,129 posts
10 Nov 2014, 22:19
#13
10 Nov 2014, 22:19#13
 Here's another reminder, especially for the newbies

https://www.facebook.com/TTRugbyVids

T'jy moet wakker skrik oom vlag
SH
ShezzaPro2,471 posts
10 Nov 2014, 22:21
#14
10 Nov 2014, 22:21#14
 Teams have started falling to the floor to stop Etzebeth so he trips over, effective but very cowardly!
— END OF THREAD —

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