Good to see you making an in depth rugby post Rooi.
...and I agree on almost all your points.
Even on RG, maybe, I dunno...but don't tell Dave that :):):)
Good to see you making an in depth rugby post Rooi.
...and I agree on almost all your points.
Even on RG, maybe, I dunno...but don't tell Dave that :):):)
Transitioning from a great team to a dynasty is very difficult. Some teams do this aggressively, inevitably losing the core of what they had. Others wait too long so the same kind of ‘the whole team must go’ imperative gets forced on them.
Dynasties, like Real Madrid, seem to be in the mode of constant but small changes. The trigger mechanism is the key…..equivalent performance but different trajectories perhaps.
Bok players who are clearly on a downward trajectory include Willie, possibly Am, Mapimpi, Dud Allende, possibly Faf, Malherbe, possibly Kolisi, and Vermeulen (already retired).
So that’s the obvious list. But not all at once. Make 2 replacements and the sense of team and its functioning won’t be disrupted. Change 5 players and the team is disrupted.
As expected from, Rooinek going backwards is his choice as well. He wants fringe players who at the age of 33 like Esterhuizen to be in consideration for the WC. He is not good enough at present - what will make him better in 2027?
Kolisi is already 33 years old and will be 36 in 2027. Faf de Klerk will be 35 when the next WC comes around.
Koch (33 years old) and Louw (32 yeas old) in 2027;
Bongi 36 years old in 2027'
Rooinek calls it transformation - it clearly is in the Meyer and Coetzee style retrogression. With that approach we will not reach the play-off stage in the 2027 WC.
Kolbe 33, AM 33, AE 33, Pollard 33, Jessica 33, Marx 32 and Snyman 32 can maybe still make it, depending on there physical Condition at that stage…Wilco off Course at 32 is our prime Candidate at 3, with ox or the Tank Thomas at loose head…..the rest of the older core mentioned here, is pushing grandpa status in Rugby terms and should not be considered!!….that would just be farming backwards given our new Form Young guns coming thru…..I sincerely hope that Tassels builds mostly new!!!
I’m sure you have mixed 12 and 13 up.
Surely you want Am at 12 and Willemse at 13?
"Surely you want Am at 12 and Willemse at 13?"
Because the rest are normal shit indications and that would be a logical deduction from what you wrote above.
Unli.ke Mozart I am not an age election BSter. De Villiers said that when he was 31 years old he had to train twice as hard as he did when he wass 29 yeasrs old to maintain his eprformace level. Somme players can last up t 33 ears of age - but those are rarities,
So most of your 33 to 36 year olds are jsut abourt BS forecasts and only the minimsl numbr of players will be able to perform if De Villiers comments are borne in mind. It depends on the ability of players to maintain fitness and abilities for longer than others since aging plays a major role when it comes to physicality andx asociated imjury problems. . . . .
Mike, I get the feeling Rooinek is ignoring you.....do you get the same feeling?
It's just a question.
Ou Rooitwit should talk about going backwards, his speciality.
The renewing of the Bok team will happen incrementally. These days players last a bit longer so maybe a few of the oldies will make 2027.
Deon Fourie showed what is possible.
With the coming through we fortunately are not forced to rely on oldies.
DumbMike, if the players train 10 hours per day - are you saying that Devilliers was training 20 hours per day?
If anything older players train less, especially a few days after a match
It's not Oom Maaik saying it, Jean said it himself.
Or perhaps he meant training was twice as hard….training twice as much sounds like drivel
Haha of course training twice as much is nonsense. The guys train exactly the right amount. There are a ton of factors to consider in working out how much a pro should train.
Simply doubling the amount, or even training "more", is likely the opposite of what actually happens.
"Hey Jean, we are running 20km."
"Sharp, I'll just run 40km, because you know I have to train twice as hard now and being older means I'm far less likely to break down...cos that's how age works, obviously. Also don't worry about me, because Fourie is running 500km...he already started last week and is somewhere in the Karoo at the moment."
Obviously it was not meant literally...and it might have been twice as hard... something to that effect...why is it even an issue?
It’s not….once again Mike makes an out of the blue attack on me, I respond mildly and you rush to his defense. He must be family. Are you also decended from some Griqua queen?
I'm personally just jousting with Mike a little.
Never been nasty to the toppie.
...though he has by default referred to me shit for brains, BSter, and more...
No harm or malice in it really, Draad.
It was not an atack Mozart - I am just descfring your believes in the past that aging plqayers should not be replaced,
Love your post Rooi - pretty much with you on that except Malherbe ahead of Koch at 3 and I’d still have de Allende in the mix
You pretty much nailed the squad and extended - I’d add Green, David Kriel, Papier, Nohamba, Thomas du Toit, Grobelaar, Dweba and Ruben v Heerden to the mix
My RC squad would be:
15. Fassi / Gelant
14. Kolbe / Green
13. Am / Moodie
12. de Allende / Esterhuizen
11. Arendse / Edwill vd Merwe
10. Pollard / Libbok / Sacha
9. Faf / Williams / Nohamba
Utility backs: Willemse / David Kriel
1. Ox / Steenkamp / Kitshoff
2. Bongi / Marx / Dweba
3. Malherbe / Wilco / Thomas
4. Etzebeth / Jenkins
5. RG / Ruben v Heerden
6. Kolisi / Kwagga / Buthelezi
7. PSDT / Elrigh Louw / JL du Preez / BJ Dixon
8. Roos / Hanekom / Dan du Preez
I’d play our best side against NZ and starts introducing youngster against Oz and Argies
vs NZ
15. Willemse 14. Kolbe 13. Am 12. de Allende 11. Arendse 10. Pollard 9. Faf 1. Ox 2. Marx 3. Malherbe 4. Eben 5. RG 6. Kolisi 7. PSDT 8. Roos
16. Bongi 17. Kitshoff 18. Wilco 19. Ruben v Heerden 20. Kwagga 21. Williams 22. Libbok 23. Esterhuizen
vs Oz
15. Fassi 14. Green 13. Am 12. Willemse 11. Arendse 10. Libbok 9. Williams 1. Steenkamp 2. Bongi 3. Thomas 4. Jenkins 5. RG 6. Kwagga 7. Elrigh Louw 8. Hanekom
16. Dweba 17. Ox 18. Malhere 19. Eben 20. BJ Dixon 21. Nohamba 22. Sacha 23. Esterhuizen
vs Argies
15. Gelant 14. Kolbe 13. Moodie 12. David Kriel 11. vd Merwe 10. Sacha 9. Faf 1. Kitshoff 2. Dweba 3. Wilco 4. Eben 5. Ruben v Heerden 6. Buthelezi 7. JL du Preez 8. Dan du Preez
16. Marx 17. Steenkamp 18. Malherbe 19. Jenkins 20. Kolisi 21. Williams 22. Willemse 23. de Allende
This is a Mallet/Du Plessis moment. Like Mallet, even more than Mallett, Eluckmiss has benefited from his predecessor’s squad and tactical naïveté.
Du Plessis and Coetzee never took care of the basics…never played to Bok forward power. And as a result they failed. Mallett and Eluckmiss being forwards smartly made pack power the focus.
But they both failed to evolve tactics and particularly in Eluckmiss’ case, failed to evolve the squad.
So he now realizes he has to broaden tactically with a squad which will need to be mostly new faces by 2027. Mallett fell off his perch the moment he started to change du Plessis’ team, it won’t be easy.
16,077 posts
If it was me, I'd start a transformation process for the 2024 Rugby Championship. (By transformation I mean the word "transformation" in its normal sense, not the bullshit word used to describe racism in SA sport . . . but more on that later.