Where to with Pollard?

He played in four games now in Super Rugby and in all games it was evident that -
*   his pace is gone;*   he lost the ability to read games and take positive decisions; and   *   his linking with the backline is seriously problematic.
I am always prepared to say give the guy more match time - but the opportunities to find form is dissipating fast.   He looks more and more like the re-incarnation of Morne Steyn and that is not a good sign.  

I just look at Pollard's stats and they are not looking good.    Ball possession conceded in turnovers 3 - tackle count also problematic.   

Before you diss Pollard perhaps you'd want to diss stampkar, Nollis....he is simply clueless and would be of zero help to a flyhalf in dire need of remedial action.

 
Pollard is taking a lot longer to find his mojo than is usually the case.

Something is amiss.

4 matches down and he still looks lost on the pitch.

Puzzling!!!!

 

 
Shut your mouth, MudBlood.

This thread is focusing on Pollard and his issues.

Can't you read, ass wipe??

Pollard has not suddenly went down the tube. He just became worse. I've been saying, for years, that I'm not buying into my the hype around him. The fact that he is saddled with a clown like Marais is not helping either.

 
Well Ceradyne ... we saw how he reacted to a little pressure at test level. It wasn't pretty.

Yet at junior level he was superb ... much like Serfontein.

Is the jump to top tier rugby that big ... or is it all just a matter of the wrong mental approach?

How can one so talented fall away so badly?

 Careful Ceradunce
Your leader is going to have a fit because of disloyalty to him. 

Ag p!ss of you immature childish monotonous one-track minded idiot.

The dog with his bone.....here are the facts: . Pollard 10 tackles made , one missed....one wonders what's wrong with that 'tackle count' . Admittedly he did turn the ball over 3 times, but he also won 2 turnovers. . And he ran 8 times for 28 metres, the most of any Bool. The dog and Desnotter had best look at the facts before they post.

 
End score of 38 - 14 says it all.

Shameful performance ... led by a disfunctional 10.

He's our Bok choice alright. Perfectly suited to go with the incredible coach we currently have.

Maybe he'll a do little more with the "egg laying" counter ruck tactics his coach has introdiuced.


 

 The leader of the Village Idiots did not see the match and he now comments on it.   Pollard was sub-standard at flyhalf and that remains a fact.
Incidentally Pollard was a major reason why the backline misfired.   And he was replaced at minute 60 - an early replacement according to the Village Idiot boss.        

The dog with his bone was simply lying when he said Pollard's tackle count was a problem.....a big, fat outright lie from the Fantasy Rugby Flop.

 Mozart
You obviously did not see - dim one - the tackle Pollard missed after which a try was scored by the Blues.   Dimmer than dim - since you have not seen the match - a chronic display of poor decision-making and poor execution was always present.      

 Fantasy Flop you never see the game even if you watch it.

  What a remark from a dud who comments on games he has not seen.   Dim as hell is a good description of you.

 I thought that Pollard had a fairly good game & the commentators had similar sentiments & were surprised at his 60 minute subbing. Bulle definitely went south after his substitution.

I also thought he had his best game of the season, with a higher work rate. Not great, but better than the early rounds. Marias can't spell backline attack- so we are not going to see much.

 Take it easy on Pollard...you're only as good as the players around you and let's be honest, they are'nt all that special... unfortunately for Pollard he now faces the Mighty Chiefs, so things could be about to get a hell of a lot worse for him before they get any better...but as the saying goes if all else fails call in an airstrike  the hard school is always the best school ..

 Let's be honest SA best Ten on his best day is on par with our 5th running Ten. 

 
Why not call it as it is? Why make excuses for a dismal performance?

The Bulls never looked to be a threat. Pollard never looked in control. He played a massif part in the thrashing they received yesterday and it's not exactly as if the Blues are top draw these days. They went into the contest with 1 win from 4 played.

Lifting your play from 15% to 20% isn't something to cheer about. It's not something to become hopeful over. How desperate are you?

The Bulls have one of the best sides on paper in South Africa and they should be doing a hell of lot better than they are.

Pollard is not ready for Super Rugby and should be sent to find his mojo at a lower level of competition.

 CC
Lets just do a reminder of Pollard's test career.   His first test was in June 2014 against the Scots after serious flops by Morne Steyn in the tests against the Welsh.   It was a sub-standard Scots team with a lot of their senior players missing.   He was very, very good.
That was followed by two tests against Argentina here he was basically just about average and a test against the AB's where he put in such performances that Meyer decided to replace him with Morne Steyn in the Perth test.  That resulted in such a fiasco Steyn was out if real contention in the succeeding tests under Meyer.
Meyer then went back to Pollard as starter in two tests and he was good against the AB's in the Ellis Park test and poor against the Irish.   Thereafter Meyer basically use either Lambie or rarer Pollard to start in matches.  
In the WC campaign Meyer changed his strategy as to first receiver of the ball from scrummies.   The flyhalfs only received the balls when it was required from them to kick the balls - most went to the loosies.    In the event of the loosies passing the  ball the hospital passes went to De Allende.   As a result it was virtually impossible to assess the flyhalf performances in 2015.
So where are we really with Pollard.  I would say 3 good tests (all in 2014)  and the rest average to poor.   At least in 2015 Super Rugby Pollard was above average - but he has thus far in Super Rugby this year showed nothing about anything more than average.  So lets accept that in the game on Saturday - as some members state above - that he was average in performances.  The previous three games he was just below what is expected from a player of international class or even on Super Rugby level.  
Mozart's support of Pollard in the case of Springbok selection has nothing to do with player performance.  He stated himself that the role of flyhalfs is 90% to kick balls - irrespective of the quality of kicks.   That is why he is such a strong supporter of the Steyns and now Pollard.   Besides that he developed a strong dislike of players who threaten his three favourites in the selection situation.   We all know Mozart - he is not above falsifying what happened on the field of play to suit his arguments.
I still say Pollard has been destroyed by his coaches - Ludeke, Meyer and now Marais.  If he had a decent backline coach like Mitchell, Plumtree or even Smith he could have developed further on senior level.   A real problem of a player that has gone wrong because of coaching idiocy.                           

 
Mike ... you must remember that Mozart wanted Fats Fransie at 10 at one stage. I think he still does.

He's accepted that Fats cannot compete against the likes of Vorster and Janse van Rensburg at 12. It took an age but as usual he eventaully does his 180 on most of his picks.

My point is that the Faggot will eventually do the same on Pollard. Morne will return as his Bok 10 favourite and so will Fats Fransie a little later.

He mouths off loudly for all to hear and then quietly does his usual 180.

Regarding Pollard. You say he was dead average over the weekend. Personally I thought he was as clueless as ever. One would think that the man earmarked for the Bok 10 jersey would show a little individuality. A little flair. Be innovative, creative ... do something to impress at least.

The Bulls were thumped by the hapless Blues and Pollard contributed to that with another below "average" performance.

Feel free to join Mozart's ranks and cheer for Pollard. I'll rather look around for someone who shows more prom ise.

 
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 Pollard always seemed more like an inside centre than a flyhalf. Just my 5.

 
Perhaps!

It would be nice to have an additional skilled boot at 12.

A friend of mine has often spoken of his preference for Pollard at 12.

I thought he had too much brandy at the time ...

 

 Perhaps he's already realized his full potential as a flyhalf and now there's no more room for improvement.....it is what it is. That said I think he'd be a damn good inside centre.

 Pollard does not have the speed - neither the thrust to play at 12.  He tried that a couple of times on varsity Cup level and was dead average their too.
Some players can do the switch - but I think he will not be better than De Allende, Van Rensburg or Vorster at inside center. 
Insofar as Pollard is concerned - the sooner he switch provinces and get out of the grasp of the incompetent coaches at the Bulls - the better it would be for his playing career.  Smith did wonders with Zeilinga and he can perhaps get Pollard out of the groove he is in at present.   So could Ackerman - if he is still around after the season. 
I am afraid that the other franchises would be hesitant to take over Pollard the way he is playing now.   So lets hope for the best - but I am not too optimistic about that one.

 
De Allende is about as intellectual as a brick.

Pollard strikes me as one capable of thinking properly.

I would much rather have an intelligent player at 12 than one with nothing else than brute force ... especially if he has a good boot on him.

 

 I know you do not like De Allende - but he showed some class when he returned to play this year.   He was phenomenal in 2014 and was the best rated center in Super Rugby then .  Then Meyer got hold of him and he flopped.
I cannot see how Pollard will be an improvement at center - his intelligence did not show up at flyhalf recently and he has lost too much pace to be considered in that position.  
I would not be happy to have three aimless kickers in the backline - in other words at scrummie, flyhalf and center.  Most of the kicks of players on Saturday was aimless and not effective at all.
Incidentally Mozart does not know the difference between tactical kicking and aimless kicking .   

 
Well if Pollard is to convert to 12 he will have to do so at junior level ... not at test level.

He will then also have to prove himself worthy of the spot. There is some tough competition currently for the Bok 12 jersey.

I know some would prefer to see De Jongh and Fats Fransie there but those are not to whom I refer.

Pollard is coming back from a serious injury & is not yet back in top form. He shows signs of his former self so I would give him time. Don't write him of yet, you all were raving about him when he first appeared on the scene. 

 
Really ... there are signs of his return to form?

Can't say I've seen any ... then again, don't you usually turn to the papers for your info on the matches?

A quick summary on the back pages and that's sufficient for you to past comment ... right??



 

 cc, watch the bulls vs blues game, he did ok in that his kicking game was very good overall. They took him off at around the 60 mins mark but even the commentators thought this was too early. 

 
I did ... I'm surprised you did though.

Holy Moly...the poor guy has been unemployed due to injury...give him some space to recover and find the talent that he has and the same with his colleage Pat Lambie...the SA 10's appear to be targets by opposition, also Goosen...one is inclined to think underhanded foul tactics are done in this game.

Maybe a more robust 10 like Rob Du Preez (Junior) is needed...the father was strong and tough...good genes...Handre,Pat and Johan are certainly not p ussy cat tails but appears our opponents use underhanded tactics to injure them and put these game breakers out of business...our game plans,unlike the NZ'ers don't protect our 10's...DC grew to become the illusive greatest flyhalf because NZ'er protect their key man and don't make them vulnerable.