Who will replace Butch James?
The question now seems to revolved around how the Boks will play rather than who.
Forget James, Earl Rose, Peter Grant and Andre Pretorius - there are only two realistic contenders to the number ten berth. We don't need to tell who they are, Ruan Pienaar and Morne Steyn have made enough headlines in the last few months to make them household names.
But who should bear the responsibility of pivoting South Africa's attack? Both players present compelling, but rather different, arguments.
When it comes to attacking flair, and by that I mean the pure playmaking which is a large part of a fly-half's job, Pienaar is the superior choice. The former scrum-half passes like a dream and his vision has made him Springbok coach Peter de Villiers' first-choice to unleash South Africa's backs.
Again, there's no need to tell you about the doubts that exist over Pienaar's ability from the kicking tee. The first Test against New Zealand in Bloemfontein was a case in point and pundits from around the country (Pretoria especially) were up in arms after his erratic display. No one can afford to miss easy kicks at goal in Test matches, and the Boks were lucky the All Blacks were as poor as they were to get away with it.
Enter Steyn, who's match-winning kick in the second Test against the Lions ensured his place in the history books. His sharp shooting in Durban last Saturday affirmed his status as the world's best place-kicker.
But let's call a spade a spade. While the Boks dominated the All Blacks in Durban, the fact remains that the visitors gave away more penalties than you could count on your fingers. The Springboks only scored a single try and one must ask the question if that'll be enough when faced with a more disciplined side.
As PDV said in defence of his side's "boring" game plan, the Boks were playing to the strengths of the players they have. And when you have the kicking potential that the Springboks do, who can blame them for kicking the opposition to death? We've mentioned Morne Steyn's ability from the tee, and he's very good out of hand too, Fourie du Preez is arguably the smartest kicker in the game and Francois Steyn has the biggest boot ever to kick the oval ball.
The Steyn - Du Preez - Steyn trifecta is probably the most deadly kicking partnership rugby has ever seen and combined with the Matfield-Botha-Smith threat in line-outs it is extremely effective. But as mentioned above, a gameplan based almost exclusively on bombing your opposition has it's limitations, especially if someone, someday, starts moving the Bok pack backwards.
Those arguing for the Pienaar cause will be quick to point out that if he isn't having a great day from the tee, Frans Steyn is good enough to take over. Pienaar's ability to put his centres into space and/or launch a move that could unleash Bryan Habana cannot be ignored since you must score tries if you want to win consistently.
Unfortunately for those want to see attacking rugby, PDV's initial plan of playing a more open game has been put on the backburner by a combination of the non-adoption of the sanctions ELVs and influence of his senior players who, perhaps with good reason, have returned to traditional Bok rugby where forcing the opposition into mistakes is more important than creating one's own chances.
Steyn fits into the mould of that gameplan perfectly - or does he? If you're going to cash-in on your opponent's mistakes, you can't afford to make too many yourself. With that in mind let's think back to the Bloemfontein Test where Steyn's missed tackle on Conrad Smith put the All Blacks right back into the game. Pienaar is the sounder of the two on defence and the nature of the game means that there will always be gaps that need to be filled.
Perhaps there is room for both to contribute. We'd like to see Pienaar start, but in the light of last week, that might not happen.
The Springboks could well go for the double-whammy effect of starting with Steyn, putting some points in the bank and bringing Pienaar on when the game opens up in the final twenty minutes. But would you want Pienaar to be given a potentially match-winning penalty attempt at the death?
On Tuesday South Africa will name their team to face Australia at Newlands this weekend.
Forget James, Earl Rose, Peter Grant and Andre Pretorius - there are only two realistic contenders to the number ten berth. We don't need to tell who they are, Ruan Pienaar and Morne Steyn have made enough headlines in the last few months to make them household names.
But who should bear the responsibility of pivoting South Africa's attack? Both players present compelling, but rather different, arguments.
When it comes to attacking flair, and by that I mean the pure playmaking which is a large part of a fly-half's job, Pienaar is the superior choice. The former scrum-half passes like a dream and his vision has made him Springbok coach Peter de Villiers' first-choice to unleash South Africa's backs.
Again, there's no need to tell you about the doubts that exist over Pienaar's ability from the kicking tee. The first Test against New Zealand in Bloemfontein was a case in point and pundits from around the country (Pretoria especially) were up in arms after his erratic display. No one can afford to miss easy kicks at goal in Test matches, and the Boks were lucky the All Blacks were as poor as they were to get away with it.
Enter Steyn, who's match-winning kick in the second Test against the Lions ensured his place in the history books. His sharp shooting in Durban last Saturday affirmed his status as the world's best place-kicker.
But let's call a spade a spade. While the Boks dominated the All Blacks in Durban, the fact remains that the visitors gave away more penalties than you could count on your fingers. The Springboks only scored a single try and one must ask the question if that'll be enough when faced with a more disciplined side.
As PDV said in defence of his side's "boring" game plan, the Boks were playing to the strengths of the players they have. And when you have the kicking potential that the Springboks do, who can blame them for kicking the opposition to death? We've mentioned Morne Steyn's ability from the tee, and he's very good out of hand too, Fourie du Preez is arguably the smartest kicker in the game and Francois Steyn has the biggest boot ever to kick the oval ball.
The Steyn - Du Preez - Steyn trifecta is probably the most deadly kicking partnership rugby has ever seen and combined with the Matfield-Botha-Smith threat in line-outs it is extremely effective. But as mentioned above, a gameplan based almost exclusively on bombing your opposition has it's limitations, especially if someone, someday, starts moving the Bok pack backwards.
Those arguing for the Pienaar cause will be quick to point out that if he isn't having a great day from the tee, Frans Steyn is good enough to take over. Pienaar's ability to put his centres into space and/or launch a move that could unleash Bryan Habana cannot be ignored since you must score tries if you want to win consistently.
Unfortunately for those want to see attacking rugby, PDV's initial plan of playing a more open game has been put on the backburner by a combination of the non-adoption of the sanctions ELVs and influence of his senior players who, perhaps with good reason, have returned to traditional Bok rugby where forcing the opposition into mistakes is more important than creating one's own chances.
Steyn fits into the mould of that gameplan perfectly - or does he? If you're going to cash-in on your opponent's mistakes, you can't afford to make too many yourself. With that in mind let's think back to the Bloemfontein Test where Steyn's missed tackle on Conrad Smith put the All Blacks right back into the game. Pienaar is the sounder of the two on defence and the nature of the game means that there will always be gaps that need to be filled.
Perhaps there is room for both to contribute. We'd like to see Pienaar start, but in the light of last week, that might not happen.
The Springboks could well go for the double-whammy effect of starting with Steyn, putting some points in the bank and bringing Pienaar on when the game opens up in the final twenty minutes. But would you want Pienaar to be given a potentially match-winning penalty attempt at the death?
On Tuesday South Africa will name their team to face Australia at Newlands this weekend.
posted by Gabriel at 12:26 pm
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