Team for Scotland still has many questionable players

No country entertains nonentities like South Africa. Look at Jordie Barrett, had he been South African, his error in Wellington would never have been pointed out by our media. The most overtly disastrous mistakes are never pointed out, and are repeated test after test after test. South Africa, at all levels of society, rewards mediocrity and championship mediocrity. There's a bitterness towards excellence. 

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I'm not too sure about that, but it looks impressive...Hugh Jones and WP Nel playing ?

@Herr Draht: This is the best era of Scottish rugby. A potential banana peel. I had us penciled in for two wins at this point, and with the last two tests being the harder games of the tour. The Boks will need to be sharp. I feel that trying to fight fire with fire will Backfire. Do we have the attacking prowess to beat the Scots running the ball? With Papier at 9, it looks like we are going in that direction.

@Moz: I can see numerous differences from Meyer's Boks, but Meyer was saddled with Damian in 2015 due to the injury of Jean and the absence of Frans at the WC. Meyer was more responsive to player performance, making adjustments based on what they could and couldn't do. Rassie has been very slow to catch on. In some cases, the penny has yet to drop. I believe Rassie is the lesser analyst and tactician. He has the tools at hand to deliver more. 

We might be in for a shock come Saturday. Scotland are a fucking menace at the breakdown and their forwards shouldn't be taken lightly. They WILL try stop any momentum we make.

In the backs are the fast, hard Tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland who has a nose like a greyhound for the try line, compliment that with the dangerous running of Hogg and Huw Jones who both have an eye for the gap and pace to exploit it and this could be an exciting game.

Greig Laidlaw has a metronome kick and if the guile Finn Russel goes off, He'll be replaced by Hastings who is sorta their equivalent Willemse.

Scotland could very well do us this weekend.

Mozart

I really am amazed at you not mentioning Du Toit as a weakness in the team.

And then the jargon about De Allende and Kriel having played together for 4  years at center.   So lets see how true that story is,  Before the EC in 2015 the two played together as a combination in 3 tests.   Meyer's game plan in the WC did not allow for any usage of the backline and the center combination of De Allende and Kriel was used in 4 matches  only.

So lets look at the center selections of Coetzee,   In the whole of 2017 and 2018 De Allende and Kriel started as a center combination in 2 tests.   Why did you not check your following statement for correctness:-

"This starts with the centre partnership, now at the end of it's 4th Bok season. Face it there is no synergy between these two players and as individuals they haven't grown. Match after match this year they have drowned in good ball with no tangible results."

Why must I always check your BS for correctness?  Nine tests in three years cannot really match up with the rest of your BS.  

The story about De Jager is another story and can best be described as total BS

My day would be made if Allende, Kolisi and Lood never ever again came close to a bok side. What they offer is embarrassing. On the international market they might crack a cap with the USA.

Spectacular Scotty, my second team ATM. 

BF

My day would be made if Mostert and Louw never play for the Springboks again.   De Jager is ten times the player powder-puff  Mostert would ever be.

I would prefer a better center combination, but at present there is NONE available.  

Mozart

Your effort is very poor to explain the following:-

"This starts with the centre partnership, now at the end of it's 4th Bok season. Face it there is no synergy between these two players and as individuals they haven't grown. Match after match this year they have drowned in good ball with no tangible results."

The emphasis is on CENTE R COMBINATION  and as per normal you did not check your facts before writing BS.   I did something clever - I copied your statement and that stopped you from changing your statement.  

Now liar - I never wrote anything about 2018 and where you said four years I mentioned three years.   Please  BSter - an apology will be acceptable.      

Lood is any 10's bitch..... See the poms this year and NZ last 2 min about 4 years ago. Great against 2nd an 3rd tier sides which is why he belongs with the USA. 

Without Louw the French would have won .end of 

With a little help Kolisi can fetched his jersey nothing else.

Lol.

Oops Mozart - how many times have they played together as a COMBINATION that is the term you used.   Changing the word to partnership does not make a make a huge difference,

However, I deliberately left out the present year because it does add something which I would deal with later on.   Fact is you made a mess of the contribution and is now ducking and diving. 

I did not count in the occasional game where one of them came from the bench and even may have had a twenty minute replacement stint together.  Combinations are not built during bench players coming on.  I admit I miscounted the number of games - it was 8.   5 of those were in the WC where Meyer's game plan cancelled out anything relating to forming and developing center combinations.   There was zero chance that there was any combination building in the WC matches - Meyer's game plan stopped it from ever happening. 

So bearing in mind the real factual situation - the real situation is that up to this year there was no combination being built whatsoever and the real chance of building a combination only started this year - that being the reason why I left this year out.  Furthermore an effort can be made to build combinations during training - but the test is when they have to implement during games.     

Shocking - not so.   I still maintain you will be well-advised to make sure you do not write BS on site - which I had to check and recheck - something you should have done in the first place.

FML

Mike the Mosquito living precariously taunting the fly swatter.

Kriel has had a few runs in Ackermans Gloucester but was replaced in the 2nd half last time out. Not sure if it was injury or niggle as he looked ok coming off.

Poor poor AO

When will you grow up?

It's no fun duck hunting when they shoot themselves. 

Best Scottish team in history. First time they have ever started as favourites against the Boks, although I do believe the Boks should win.

Lol, interesting retrospect...

"Scotland 20-26 South Africa: Handre Pollard scores 18 points as Springboks hold on. South Africa got the better of Scotland for a sixth straight Test after an absorbing match at Murrayfield. The Springboks led 20-17 after a pulsating first half, Jesse Kriel crashing over early on and Handre Pollard adding a second try."

Draad

Why did you bring this item back,   Much of the drivel was sorted out in 2019.  

Mozart and AO obviously attacked Erasmus at the end of 2018 and the team Mozart Posted needs further analysis looking at the key matches of the WV series:-

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Cheslin Kolbe.

I highlighted the starting players on the Italy match and the play-offs.   Now who vanished from the scene to start with:-

11 Aphiwe Dyanty  -  drug problem - replaced by Mapimpi.  Embrose Papier - replaced by Jantjies.   21 Ivan van Zyl, - replaced by Reinach.   

  Only four players was not in the squad that went to the WC - the above three and Francois Steyn,  

Additions were 3 Eben Etzebeth - rested - and Tendai Matiwarira Rested.  Some of  the starting players against Scotland was in key matches off the bench,   So from the 23 players in the team against Scotland three was not WC gold medal winners.   One was an enforced replacement.   The other two were replaced by better players.

The Erasmus squad struggled a bit in 2018 - but the away win against the AB's and the series win against England were positive signs.   Erasmus was forced to use a wide range of players in 2018 trying to determine usability,     A lot of those layers did not make the grade.   Among those were the Du Preez's and Esterhuizen, 

As to the center combination of which a lot was written De Allende was a key player in the WC and since Kriel was injured early in the WC series he was replaced by Am .  Both De Allende and Am were exceptional centers in the WC.

So the question is who of the Gold Medal winners will not play for SA again,   My list includes the following:-

Tendai Mtawarira, Francois Louw, Franco Mostert, Francois Steyn and Elton Jantjies,   Of these three are retirees and two are not up to standard on test level with stronger players in contention.        

When it comes to coaching and the players Mozart and AO have never been right,               

This is an interesting piece Herr Draht. Damian was befuddled in this game. It was essentially Pollard who turned the game in the Bok's favour. 

This tour would see Rassie give up on certain ploys and players. Most notably was the shift to a more conservative pallete of ideas and moving the ball more through 13. The tour wasn't particularly good, a two turnover Louw saved us against France which somewhat glossed over the cracks. The same weaknesses would persist until the semi final the following year, and we would see an even more limited and regressive gameplan; the same faces faltered. 

AO

The same faces faltered when demolishing the English side who beat the AB's easily in the WC. 

De Allende was excellent in the WC and the situation is that you are too stupid to realize that.   The fact is that he was always  5 times better than your hero Esterhuizen wh o did not even make the WC squad,  

.   .     

Mozart

Please describe what you call traditional SA Rugby.  At one stage under Meyer you describe it as part of the 10 man syndrome - so some enlightenment will be appreciated. 

By the way England beat New Zealand easily - so what was weak about the opposition?       

New Zealand were arrogant because they saw the Poms as baitfish....the Poms saw us as baitfish. Neither team was mentally into their  respective games.

As for traditional Bok rugby...I have explained this to you so many times I have no enthusiasm for doing it again.... get yourself a video of the first test against the ABs in 1960. Then ask me to explain the bits that you don’t get.

The Boks beating England was fairly easy to predict. They've been the best match up for us out of the big 5 NH sides. We could do to them what New Zealand couldn't. 

No Mozart

You used to say that traditional SA Rugby requires a kicking flyhalf 90% of the time p in other words virtually only a 10 man game.   The Springboks at present does not play that kind of game under Erasmus - so have you changed your tune since the Meyer era,

As to the psychological aspect - if that was the case why did both collapsed and the fact is that the NZ panel discussers did not give the AB's a chance against the Springboks playing the way they did.

Fact is they were outwitted and outplayed comprehensively by the Springboks in every phase of play hence the massive size of the points gap.   

Just one example - look at the preceding play leading to the penalty that  let to a score of 18-9.   Never used a driving maul  on test level done before,   And the two tries scored was never doen before by SA in a WB Final