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As is evident by reading many of the comments on S24, there is a massive division of pro and anti Heynecke supporters.
I, for one, am just confused about HM’s tactics, as well as core team selections, bearing in mind the WC next year.
As pointed out by one comment “There seems to be so much hopping around with bringing players into the squad and then they have one bad game, get dropped and someone else gets selected for the next game.”
Then the reintroduction of players like Matfield, Bakkies, Juan, combined with the loyalty HM is showing towards out-of-form players like Ruan Pienaar and Francois Hougaard. Added to that the ignorance of the national coach toward players like Heinrich Brussow and Rory Cockett.
Another point I feel uncomfortable with is Pollard as our pivot for the WC. Don’t get me wrong, I rate this kid big-time. I just feel that he is not yet ready for long-term consistency at national level. He has only played a handful of SR games, and has mainly impressed at U21 level. Yes, he will have the odd shining performance in the Bok jersey (eg last game vs. the AB’s), but he will be targeted by many top teams come the WC. I will feel sorry for the kid when everyone (baring the Bulls faithful) calls for his head after a few poor performances.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen what Marnitz Boshoff brings to the table. He has been the backbone of the Lions’ successes & has shown a lot of consistency throughout the season. He is solid in defense & innovative on attack. He ticks a lot of boxes & should have been given a chance against the Argies at least. He may have to wait for a very long time to get that chance.
I can understand those questioning the BLUEprint (pun intended) behind HM’s selections.
After having spoken to my Kiwi and Aussie friends (yes, I do have a few of them) in detail, it seems like they are also surprised about a few “odd” selections within the Bok camp.
The biggest shock for the NZ press and public is the issue surrounding Frans Steyn. The AB’s fear this guy, even McCaw once said that they hate playing against him. His sheer presence on the field instills a certain level of anxiety amongst the opposition.
Personally, I believe that FS has been hard done by SARU, and is being made to look like the culprit. Had SARU not made financial promises a few years ago, he would still have been playing in France earning his deserved salary, as well as honoring his Bok appearances, as is the case with Habana and co.
The other players highly respected by the Australasians are Heinrich Brussow and Willem Alberts, at least from what I am told.
Surely our goal since the start of the HM tenure (even before that) was to beat the AB’s on a regular occasion (certainly at home). In my opinion it is/was always about us against the All Blacks. The Aussies are the team who challenge us & the AB’s every few years, but ultimately are fighting for the bronze with the likes of the Poms. Our games against the rest of the teams should be no-brainers. I know that this sounds arrogant, but we should see the AB’s as the benchmark to beat, nothing else. It should only be a two horse race for the title of being the best. This did not happen. We have struggled to beat the likes of Argentina & have lost to the Aussies. This is not acceptable.
I do not think that our players are worse than the AB’s. At this level it comes down to being psychologically ahead of the opposition. This is the reason why the rest of the world talks about the AB’s outsmarting the Boks, playing more intelligently than the Boks. They are psychologically ahead of our players. In my opinion the national coach is responsible for this.
The other argument might be that perhaps HM is simply not as good a national coach as many would want him to be.
He had great success with the Bulls in Super Rugby, but there is a big difference between franchise rugby and the game at national level. I am not implying that SR coaching is a step down from national level, it is just much different. Perhaps even more demanding.
Come to think of it, I know of very few coaches who had great success at both levels. Graham Henry springs to mind, with his successes with Auckland during his tenure in 1992-1998, and the WC with the AB’s. Jake White also springs to mind, yet his SR & national experiences were in reverse order.
I have not had the time to do some research about other coaches, other than White, who have won 2 world cups (2007 & U21 WC in 2002).
Mind you – things might not be that gloomy at this point in time, if we look at the showing of the Boks in 2006, one year prior to the 2007 WC.
However, I still feel that we are lagging behind the AB’s by quite a distance. This will not change, even if we win the WC next year. We should be challenging the AB’s every year for world rugby domination, not an odd win every 8 or 10 games.
Perhaps HM has the same vision, and is working towards this over the long term. Time will tell.
