Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer today named his squad for the traditional End of Year Tour of the northern hemisphere.
The coach named 5 uncapped players in his squad as well as including 2 european based players, the uncapped players are Raymond Rhule, Jano Vermaak, Franco vd Merwe, Lionel Mapoe and Arno Botha while Schalk Britz and Guthro Steenkamp will add some much needed experience.
Bryan Habana has been excluded completely after injuring his knee early in yesterdays Currie Cup final, scans this morning revealed his injury to be a serious enough for him to sit the tour out.JP Pieterson and Chilliboy Ralepelle rejoin the Bok squad after missing the entire Rugby Championship with their respective injuries, Pietersons inclusion will surely help the coach sleep slightly easiers as having to take to the field without him and Habana would have been almost catastrophic, Francois Hougaard struggled to impress while holding the fort.
The Springbok squad will assemble in Cape Town on Wednesday and depart to the UK from Johannesburg on Saturday. They will return to South Africa on Monday, 26 November.
The Springboks touring squad
Willem Alberts
Arno Botha
Schalk Brits
Pat Cilliers
Marcell Coetzee
Juan de Jongh
Jean de Villiers (captain)
Jannie du Plessis
Eben Etzebeth
Francois Hougaard
Elton Jantjies
Zane Kirchner
Juandré Kruger
Pat Lambie
Francois Louw
Lionel Mapoe
Tendai Mtawarira
Lwazi Mvovo
Ruan Pienaar
JP Pietersen
Chiliboy Ralepelle
Raymond Rhule
Gurthrö Steenkamp
Morné Steyn
Adriaan Strauss
Jaco Taute
CJ van der Linde
Flip van der Merwe
Franco van der Merwe
Jano Vermaak
Duane Vermeulen
Where is Ludik????!
What more must ludik do to get a call up from the bok coach
He will carry on with Sideshow until he is dead.
@Quintin (Comment 1) : if plumtree doesn’t rate ludik – he dropped him for lambie when ludik was clearly on form – why should meyer?
Keegan Daniel’s exclusion is a travesty, SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee excluded
I give up. I fucking give up! What is this man’s criteria for selection? What the media and commentators say? Because it sure as hell isn’t common sense!
@Ludz (Comment 5) : keegan is too small, meyer likes arno who is 1,90m 105kg
HM likes em big & strong
Ludik should have been there instead of Rhule. He covers both wing and fullback. Does Heyneke still see Lambie as a fullback?
@Megatron (Comment 7) :
keegan is 1,88m and 100 kg mate. 2cm and 5kg isnt much whilst keegan is far more experienced let alone much better!
please tell me how Bresler,Ludik and Daniel can get into squad!!
seems SuperPat will play at 15 as Kirchner is the only fullback specialist here! HATE MEYER!!
@HORSEFLY (Comment 9) : bresler is not there yet…only sharks fan rate him
@HORSEFLY (Comment 9) : zane, lambie & taute cover fullback plus ludik is not a raw speed merchant like rhule!
Captain Keegan Daniel
was at the table, speaking to his media
officer, not knowing the microphone in
front of him was switched on. They were
discussing his trip to the SA Rugby Awards
to be held in Cape Town on Thursday night.
To the shock of the journalists present,
Keegan said angrily: ‘I’m not flying down if
I’m not winning anything. Surely you guys
will know these things before the actual
event? It wastes a whole day of my break’.
primadonna?
Rhule have speed but its not like he was the best wing in the junior world cup and played the world on fire. Ludik outplayed zane this year and zane was nowhere is the semi finale….
@sharksfan2 (Comment 13) : rhule when on the park at JWC was blistering! in currie cup he blazed another trail. he has x-factor in spades.
according to meyer zane is the incumbent
This is worse that yesterdays loss
@Megatron (Comment 4) : Because you´d assume the Bok coach has more brains and insight than the club coach?
I´m glad Schalk Brits is in the squad. Probably just a token “see we DO look at oveseas players as well” selection, but about time he gets a gap.
@Megatron (Comment 12) : Sounds more like a player frustrated by the SA rugby “system”. In hindsight, Kanko made the right decision to bugger off to Banzai country the moment he hit the form of his life.
Why are Steyn and Sideshow there??? Meyer needs to expand his vision slightly.
@Megatron (Comment 14) : Agree. Rhule is going to rule in the Bok jumper sooner rather than later. Sadly, if he was in NZ he´d more likely than not be in the AB squad of 30 right now.
@rhineshark (Comment 20) : Hahaha didn´t see his name there! Don´t I feel like a doos now.
Well done selectors!
@rhineshark (Comment 20) :
my man … Rhule has not played Super rugby as yet . Im not sure how you can say he while rule anything before you have seen him play at a level that is really worth it .
If he plays anything as useless as Goosen did we will be in for a long tour
Squad announcement – YAWN.
I’ll save my wrath for after Lambie was once again benched for Kirchner and not given his rightfully deserved shot at playing FH.
Ludik’s chances were severely hampered by yesterday’s game, and I knew it would happen, that hurts more than not winning the CC.
Ai tog, at least there’s still hope for our Sharks team who still inspires far more confidence than the Springboks – even after yesterday’s dismal loss.
@Zibbie (Comment 22) : Don’t worry, coach Heyneke is not a selector, he’s a coach….he’ll merely look deep into Rhule’s eyes and install all the skills necessary for Rhule to dominate world rugby…..it worked with Steyn
I like Rhule, tons of talent, sadly he plays for “amateurs R us” – he needs some decent coaching, and sadly that is why Meyer picked him, ’cause he “are” a great coach
Arno Botha – because we are so thin on brain dead forwards who’d rather run through a brick wall than merely using the door opening right in front of him.
@Megatron (Comment 4) : Thats total garbage, not only was Ludick not in good form he was injured. Isn’t this whole excuse that its not Meyer’s fault that he makes these selections, and that the Plumtree is responsible, just a little bit old now?!
If I could select the team for Ireland
15. Jaco Taute
14. JP Petersen
13. Jean de Jongh
12. Jean de Villiers
11. Mvovo
10. Lambie
9. Pienaar
8. Vermeulen
7. Coetzee
6. Louw
5. Kruger
4. Etzebeth
3. Jannie
2. Strauss
1. Steenkamp
16. Brits
17. Beast
18. Franco
19. Alberts
20. Hougardt
21. Jantjies
22. Mapoe
Zibbie
Certain players are worth the gamble. Schalk Burger and Frans Steyn didn’t play SR before they were called up to the Bok squad. I am quite sure Habana was another who only played CC/age group rugby before Jake selected him
@neilster (Comment 26) : lol…”garbage” you say?
how could ludik play against the reds & vs the stormer – at wing – while injured?
it seems you’re the onr spewing rubbish here.
@neilster (Comment 26) : lol…”garbage” you say?
how could ludik play against the reds & vs the stormer – at wing – while injured?
it seems you’re the one spewing rubbish here.
@Megatron (Comment 4) : Rhule picked on Currie Cup form, Morne picked on 2009 form, and Ludik and Daniel not picked based on what?? Size and some super 15 form 4 months ago?? Please…
@Mutley (Comment 27) :
Kruger has been horrible in the CC. Bresler killed him mate and i know our lineouts were dysfunctional but it wasnt his fault.
eish Gurthro is a bit too fat now dont you think?? cant not play Beast and Jannie together.ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE!
HM is a step back for the Springboks.
Morné, Zane, CJ, Flip?
u gotta love it…”bresler killed kruger but bresler didnt get schooled by the stormers it was all burden’s fault” hahaha
@Gaff (Comment 31) : hm said there are players that are marquee players for him that he will build around, ones he sees as “the future” the likes of arno botha, rhule, etzebeth, taute, goosen.
he’ll rather take these players on tour than a guy like ludik who blows hot & cold…
ludik didn’t have better rugby season than willie le roux anyway…
@wpw (Comment 28) : well said & congrats by the way.
@Megatron (Comment 34) : Problem with Burden, once he missed his jumper he got so flustered you just knew he’d never hit his target again.
Our lineout as a whole is one big mess. The only reason it started to function was because of Kanko (never knew he had it in him) and we can but only hope that he’ll have the same impact during SR 2013.
@Megatron (Comment 35) : Ja, now that all of his preseason talk has come tumbling down, he’s also “building towards” that all important RWC 2015
Who knows what happened to winning every game
@FireTheLooser (Comment 38) : no man…building a core group of players that are the best in their positions while winning games.
deans introduced pocock, genia, horwill, ioane, cooper…okes that world class and built around them.
include james o’connor & beale in that group.
@Megatron (Comment 39) : We all know he simply needs one guy to build around – Lambie
It’s not a problem that he’s doing that, but in the meantime we’re not winning anything significant.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 37) : but burden was picked by meyer as cover…he can’t be that bad
@Megatron (Comment 42) : On yesterday and last Saturday’s display, I wouldn’t select any of the Sharks players charged with contributing to the line-out either.
Can’t see Burden being more than a franchise/provincial rugby player.
@wpw (Comment 28) :
thats one side of it . What about all the Derick Hougaard’s and Gaffie Du Toits that could not make the step up ?
do we say hard luck . Bring on the next guy ?
Im not saying dont pick these okes . sure pick them . But manage them . Not like Goosen . That guy is doomed for failure ..
but thats just my opinion .
Zibbie
I suppose that’s why its so tough to coach the Boks.
Each and every selection is scrutinized and heaven forbid he selects a player that doesn’t seem ready yet.
Jake had his favourites, Div too and now Heyneke. It will continue with the next Bok coach.
@wpw (Comment 45) :
true .
. i think its tough to be any sort of coach . you take risks and put faith in your players .
But i personally would rather find out a guy needs more time at a Super rugby level than a bok level .
I think a young guys confidence might be shattered if he does not perform . Older , more experienced guys know how to handle the pressure ect .
But i suppose you have to try to find out …
so lets see
@Megatron (Comment 30) : Lol, thats easy, he came back from injury and Lambie was the fullback incumbent, added to which we needed wing cover and Lambie obviously doesn’t have the pace for wing. BTW, do you have so much too say that you have to post your comment twice?!
7.Willem Alberts (The Sharks, 17)
25.Arno Botha (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 0)
2.Schalk Brits (Saracens, England, 3)
23.Pat Cilliers (MTN Golden Lions, 3)
17.Marcell Coetzee (The Sharks, 9)
13.Juan de Jongh (DHL Western Province, 12)
12.Jean de Villiers (captain) (DHL Western Province, 81)
18.Jannie du Plessis (The Sharks, 39)
4.Eben Etzebeth (DHL Western Province, 8)
14.Francois Hougaard (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 24)
26.Elton Jantjies (MTN Golden Lions, 2)
18.Zane Kirchner (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 21)
19.Juandré Kruger (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 5)
10.Pat Lambie (The Sharks, 17)
6.Francois Louw (Bath, England, 14)
Lionel Mapoe (MTN Golden Lions, 0)
1.Tendai Mtawarira (The Sharks, 41)
16.Lwazi Mvovo (The Sharks, 7)
9.Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, N Ireland, 60)
11.JP Pietersen (The Sharks, 45)
25.Chilliboy Ralepelle (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 21)
20.Raymond Rhule (Toyota FS Cheetahs, 0)
3.Gurthrö Steenkamp (Toulouse, France, 38)
24.Morné Steyn (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 41)
Adriaan Strauss (Toyota FS Cheetahs, 18)
15.Jaco Taute (MTN Golden Lions, 2)
WTF?? Waterboy…CJ van der Linde (MTN Golden Lions, 73)
5.Flip van der Merwe (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 20)
21.Franco van der Merwe (MTN Golden Lions, 0)
29.Jano Vermaak (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 0)
8.Duane Vermeulen (DHL Western Province, 4)
@wpw (Comment 45) :
Put a sock in it pensie; we both know your feelings toward Kolonel Meyer.
I agree with Zibbie; Rhule isn’t a Habana or Burger and still needs SR gametime.
IMO this is like his comment on reconsidering Lambie at 10: playing the crowd.
@neilster (Comment 47) : jy praat klomp kak man!
lambie injured himself in PE fielding a high ball…after the England series Ludik was playing well & as soon as lambie recovered plumtree saw the freddie was in such a rich vein of form he couldn’t afford to drop him for lambie so he DROPPED ludik…
when was lambie ever the “fullback incumbent”?
he played 9 games @ flyhalf & about 5 @ fullback…
#garbagetalker
Big Fish
How I feel about Heyneke is irrelevant. All I’m saying is coaches have their favourites and in some instances (Burger, Habana, Frans) the gamble pays off.
As for Rhule, I don’t mind him being there as I always like a winger with blistering pace which is something the youngster has plenty of.
@Megatron (Comment 50) : Not Lambies 2nd injury, his first one. Can you remember that far back? I disagree that Ludik was playing well, Viljoen was actually the preferred fullback at the beginning of the season. So by your ‘selection deductions’ Viljoen is a better fullback than Ludik! No, Ludik was struggling with injuries early on which affected his form, and actually he admitted as much when we all met him after he joined our kettle-bells class, which he credits with him achieving the best form of his career. Lambie was the fullback incumbent when Ludik made the 22 again yes…and even if he was selected over Ludik it was for his playmaking ability, it doesn’t discount Ludik’s ability as a specialist fullback by any stretch.
@neilster (Comment 52) : well there you have it…ludik had an indifferent season so the wailing can cease
Ludik butchered a try in the dying minutes of the CC final…
@ Megatron..you carry on like one of those Bulls trolls on Sport24…
GIVE IT A REST.
Accept that Ludik is our best 15 and to say otherwise is admitting that you have already checked into Arkham asylum, Morne and Kirchner is kak and Keegan Daniel is the best no8 in the country…cough – SA Rugby Nominee (I dont see Vermeulen, Spies, Botha or anyone else their).
And on that Ludik try ‘ that wasnt ‘ at the end there…
- Pietersen is a WP hero now. He made a judgement call and committed to it and WON. It was pure guesswork, but it worked.
- Imagine if Ludik had held on to it and Pietersen had held his ground. NOW THEN EVERYONE HERE WOULD SAY HE COST US THE CURRIE CUP WITH HIS SELFISHNESS
There are good things and bad things about this squad. Let’s not all be negative about it. The decision to utilise overseas based players is good in my view. I think that choosing Schalk Brits is a breath of fresh air. These players bring a different experience to the squad and a few players have genuinely improved during their time up north. Interestingly one of the advantages of hiring southern talent for northern clubs was that they would get them for the season as the southern countries would refused to play them. Maybe the fact that SA players could end up playing Rugby Championship and EOYT games might put those clubs off our players a bit more.
On the bad side, I think HM could have rested players like Alberts, Beast and Coetzee at little cost. These guys have had long hard seasons and particularly Coetzee as a youngster should be made to put his feet up for the greater good. Steyn should not be in the squad and in my view one of Fourie and Daniels should have been, but not both. Louw will be the starting open side anyway so either of these would be useful bench players. Having said that Brits could play open side from the bench as well..
@Megatron (Comment 53) : Nah dude you can’t say that. This is SW a player only needs 2 or 3 great games to be a Springbok.
@pienaar111 (Comment 55) : He butchered that try. At a minimum he should have done the basics which are taught at u/14 level. Draw the man 1st and then pass.
Average squad. Not terrible, not great, just average.
Heyneke looks determined to stick with players that have plenty of experience. While important it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
His stubbornness will cost us many more games I think.
Regarding Morne Steyn. He needs to let Morne go and move on, because at the moment keeping him around is just dragging the rest of the team down. I don’t see anything positive coming from this. Especially considering Morne supposedly needed rest. Now he gets to go on a month-long tour… Hmm. There needs to be a mental shift
Other selections I’m not convinced about:
Arno Botha: I’m not disappointed with this selection, but do agree in rewarding performance. It should’ve gone to Keegan Daniel. What does it tell other players, when a guy like Keegan can play his heart out all year, and not make a squad ahead of Arno who’s been riding the pine all season?
Zane Kirchner: Again, we need to either move on, or Heyneke will soon find his reign as Springbok coach coming to an end. You also can’t include these guys and not start them… it will just create a negative attitude throughout the squad. Pathetic selection, even if he’s been solid. Offers nothing for the future.
Lionel Mapoe: I’m not convinced. Don’t see him as a genuine speedster/finisher on the outside, nor do I think he’s got the qualities to be a Bok centre.
Lwazi Mvovo: Out of his depth.
Franco van der Merwe: What does this bring? Gets into the squad because of a lack of quality locks at the moment. Should’ve looked to the younger generation (I’m talking Pieter Steph du Toit) for this tour.
Jano Vermaak: Makes no damn sense to continually select him. If he were still at the Lions, he wouldn’t be here… Heyneke buying into the famous ‘Maak die Bulle almal Bokke’.
Lastly I don’t think Deon Fourie has done enough to warrant a place in the team. He started 5 games at hooker all season, and his line-out throwing is abysmal. Alongside Tom McCartney the worst in Super Rugby hands down. Also hasn’t proven himself on the side of the scrum. I remember Pietie Ferreira having a brilliant season for WP in the loosies as well… doesn’t mean he should be a Springbok. If Deon is good enough in SR, his time will come.
@pienaar111 (Comment 55) : ” @ Megatron..you carry on like one of those Bulls trolls on Sport24…
GIVE IT A REST.”
don’t worry about me dude, just bring your opinions to the table & quit making judgements about me!
ludik didn’t have as great a season as some of you are screaming but hey he is a sharks player so you will only be happy when you see 10 or more of your players there…
@Megatron (Comment 60) : No Mega, we’ll be happy when we see 1 player at 10, not the other way around
Megatron have you ever played rugby on any left or are you just 1 of this peolple having a shit opp about players wonder if you always preform great at your work place or also make mistakes but no 1 can see it becuase you dont appear on tv every saterday
@ksa shark its always having a opp after words now he is getting the blame for that but what about the the full 80 min other guys made mistakes and shit tackels when de jonhg went over the try line… But now everybody is talking shit about ludik but in the semis agianst the stormers he was everybodys hero so make up your minds
Here we go again. More disapointment.
@Megatron (Comment 60) : Everyone has their own opinion, but you argue with ANYTHING against Heyneke Meyer. And Well here is my opinion along with those from the commentators from the final (Skinstad, Stransky, Pierce)…
- Ludik has been the form 15 all year and deserves a Bok call up.
@Megatron (Comment 60) :
Seems if you can make first-choice in your position for the Sharks, they struggle to understand when you’re left out of the Springboks.
4-lock is the only position I can think of where this isn’t the case, and it comes down to Plumtree shifting players back-and-forth the whole time.
Heck, if Ryan Kankowski were here, you could take 4 Sharks loose-forwards on the EOYT, and they’d be bitching and moaning about the 5th missing out.
Some of the comments on this thread is beyond the pale.
What I wanna know is why are people referring to Megatron as ‘Transie’
@sharksfan2 (Comment 62) : again you’re also making it about megatron…rubbish my opinions if you can don’t bother about who i am…yes i have played rugby chap ffs.
shocking selection.
@pienaar111 (Comment 65) : did you read neilster’s comment on ludik & how he struggled early in the year & viljoen & lambie were in his spot?
this thing about “form” is always subjective, a sharks player has 3 good games & all of a sudden he is the form player, case in point michalak, he was nowhere early in the season & put up good performances at the end of the season and if he was a saffa some here would be callong for him to start on the strength of 3 or 4 games in 14 game season.
ditto kankowski.
@Megatron (Comment 71) : Now that I agree with. Same as when I think Stransky was saying how we all go on about XYZ being a confidence player…EVERYONE is a confidence player in his opinion. You play well in one game, you get another chance and so the momentum builds and you are ‘in form’. The converse happens with regularity as well. I don’t think we make this into a ‘Sharks thing’ though, most countrywide and saying Ludik is the business.
Megatron why dont you ask for a job at supersport or at HM choaching team because it seems like you sure have the answers to everybodys questions…. And that you know rugby inside out and just wondering if you where that good at rugby why dont you where the green and gold # justasking
With every Bok squad selected there will always be players that should have been included over others. Whether we like it or not EVERY coach has his favourites and his own ideas about what players he wants and the game plan he wants to employ. So yes we can talk all day about who should be there, but lets rather talk about the guys that are selected and how best they can be used to help the Boks win! For example, I would play Alberts off the bench! Same as Rhule.
@sharksfan2 (Comment 73) :
Entitled to his opinion, as are you. When you say something, I’m not going to ask you why you’re not playing for the Springboks. Wow!
Wonder what the Bulls squad is going to look like during the S15.
Arno Botha could find himself on the bench again… considering they tend to stick with their favorite sons in Pretoria regardless of form. Spies will be captain with the two Potgieters taking up the other loose-forward jerseys you would assume.
Morné Mellett (despite some stupidity against the Sharks) and Marcel van der Merwe I think are also better props then the other two jokers (Kruger & Greyling). But unlikely to see much game time.
Franna Venter will have his progress halted by having to give his jersey up to Wynand Olivier again… while we have yet to find out whether they see Lionel Mapoe as a better centre then JJ Engelbrecht (who really has done sweet F-all up till now).
I’d hate to be a Bulls supporter at the moment.
@sharksfan2 (Comment 63) : are you saying if he made a mistake it must be ignored because others made more mistakes or also made mistakes? I think you need to take a step back and look at your reasoning behind that. Also have a look and see if I’m one of the one who were singing his praises last week.
I have my opinions on Ludik’s ability and he hasn’t done much to persuade me that he is better than what I initially thought when he was at the Lions. I am a Sharks supporter but it is rare for me to suddenly think a player must now be a Springbok because his Jersey now looks the same as the one I wear on match days.
& my favorite ‘new’ selection.
Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Wish he hadn’t signed overseas, but he is our best loosehead hands down.
@hendrikp (Comment 66) : Dude you’re overstepping the mark. I am editing you name change back to Megatron.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 77) :
He’s quite feisty for a newby!
@KSA Shark © (Comment 79) :
I assumed it was the same guy using this other name on a blog that must not be mentioned…
Big fuss over nothing IMO.
@sharksfan2 (Comment 73) : Best you DON’T ask for a position there because I believe your objectivity is sorely lacking.
Everyone has opinions most of us about a general player spectrum and some of us about one player only.
I had a bugbear with Matfield and now with Chadwick. Some posters have their favourites and if ANYONE mentions anything bad about them then you best be careful.
Ice has Marcell
Dudette has Bismarck
You have Ludik
the thing is we lose objectivity if we single out a player and only concentrate on him.
@hendrikp (Comment 81) : assume makes an ASS out of U and ME.
Assume all you like, on SW it is not acceptable to bring any baggage from another site here and mess us SW.
In short, keep the Crap on Keo.
@JarsonX (Comment 64) :
Aint that the truth.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 83) :
Go ahead and google this: “Transie” site:sharksworld.co.za
I like the picking and choosing.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 83) :
Howzit old timer ?
@Megatron (Comment 71) :
Dude, tell me about it.
Even Rob suggested Reinach should tour with the Boks ahead of Vermaak. I kid you not!
@Megatron (Comment 71) : I don’t think it’s fair to say that Ludik had only 3 or 4 good games. He brought his good form from pretty early in Super Rugby into the Currie Cup and hasn’t looked back since.
Just because Plumtree decided to play Lambie over Ludik doesn’t mean that Ludik wasn’t the form player either. You might recall that a few of us, that includes me (a huge Lambie supporter), did not agree with Plums decision to move Ludik to the wing, as most of us felt that he was our best bet at 15, even over Pat Lambie.
I always felt that Pat should have been introduced at 10 from the bench, to prove his form over Freddie’s.
Ludik on the other hand – I don’t think he would have been a bad option in the Bok 15 jersey and with his complete commitment would have done the jersey proud, but if I’m truly honest, (and believe me unlike Megatron, I really admire the way he’s been playing and putting everything into getting back to his best) I also don’t think even after the great season he had, that selecting him over a player who’s been save and solid since he’s inclusion would have done the Boks much good.
I made a big hoopla about not selecting any less than excellent for the Boks, it would be worse to replace the less than excellent incumbent (who’s been nothing if not at the very least competent), with a player who at his best has been an admirably committed player and we have admired him for exactly that here on sharksworld – his commitment, but I don’t think that aside from the fact that he runs the ball more than the International team does and than other provincial teams does, that based on only this season and the fact that he’s just regained his form, that we should be this unhappy that he’s name is not on the list.
In fact, starting this early with our unhappiness just wastes all the good unhappy feelings we’ll have when the 15 is selected and when the team plunders to 3 more bad victories, draws or losses.
@csb (Comment 86) : older and grumpier every week.
@csb (Comment 86) :
You’ve been scarce. How are you?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 89)
Lol …I can relate
Reckon this will be HM’s last Bok tour. Setting himself up to fail BIG time. Will be my best Xmas present EVEEEER! Not even going to watch Boks (except if Hurricane Sandy turns to GB and collects MS & Jantjies and drops them in Mother Russia and Lambie plays at 10)#hanging up Bok jersey
@Pokkel (Comment 90) :
I have ..since the Lions demise and HM appointment I felt it best to take a break to maintain some sanity
@KSA Shark © (Comment 82) :
Sharon has 3D Pat aka SuperPat aka LambieGHINI!
@catfish (Comment 92) : Will never happen unfortunately. We’ll come back from the North with a 2 from 3 result and it will be seen as a success.
@Pokkel (Comment 90) :
Pretty good ..how bout u ?
Sorry about the weekends result …atleast u guys had a veey decent season and have lots to be excited about in the new year.
@wpw (Comment 94) : Oh how can I forget that!!
And you had TGHMQD.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 95) :
U reckon we gonna take Ireland ..?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 97) :
You forgot about Eddie Andrews!
And I’m sorry, but I can’t see Anton Bresler becoming a Bok – EVER!
I think he also improved a lot this year and has done a decent Job for the Sharks, but he lacks at line-out time.
Actually, he could become a Bok, but then he’d have to work on a few things and become a completely changed player.
You can’t even consider a guy at the Boks if he cannot become a presence in “his” set piece.
In fact, I would play Franco vd Merwe over him in SR 2013 until he grows and be comes a better reader of the line-out.
The Sharks could have been a lot better this year if we had a player who knew what he was doing at line-out time.
And if that’s not Bresler’s job, then rather play a good ball carrying forward in his position, as he’s pretty average in this area to.
And no, I don’t blame it all on Anton – the coaches, Hooker and other jumpers should also take part of the blame (the coaches most of it), but as far as this season goes and the performances his team delivered at line-out time – it’s pretty sad to think some would still mention his name with Bok selection.
@wpw (Comment 99) :
Lol ..u fought his corner valiantly ..
@csb (Comment 98) : I think that’s the one we’ll lose.
@wpw (Comment 99) :
I actually flippen did.
@csb (Comment 96) :
I’m pretty good. Overworked and underpaid and all that jazz.
The Sharks made me smile more than they made me sad this year. I’m not getting worked up about rugby that much anymore. Not worth the effort and frustration.
I’m pretty excited about the Sharks for next year. They need to work on a couple of aspects but overall they should be very competitive in the S15.
I enjoy how they are playing a more ‘complete’ game.
@csb (Comment 101) :
Hey bud.
Great to see you’re back.
Steady Eddie!
@Pokkel (Comment 103) :
Good for you ..its certainly not worth it …but I must say I’m envious of your squad for next year…
@wpw (Comment 104) :
Hey Wes ..Steady Eddie
Back in the day hey ..
@wpw (Comment 104) :
Is the Cape back to normal yet or is everybody still partying?
Jeandre Kruger must rate among one of the luckiest Boks ever, his excellent in the line out, never commits to rucks , cleans like a baby, is likely to get a yellow card for moaning, spends most of his time at centre….nie ‘n slot se gat nie man….can’t believe his a bok…I think next year we will be replacing Pieter stef du toit or bressler with Kruger in the setup…
@Letgo (Comment 100) : I agree. Bresler has a very high work rate in defense, and hitting the rucks, but there plenty of locks ahead of him in the Bok pecking order come lineout time.
The Sharks are going to have to put in serious effort into the lineouts in the off-season if they want to feature in the S15 next year. This is made worse by the loss of Bismarck (until at least May I believe) who though himself sometime guilty of poor throws is in a different league to our current 2 hookers.
@Megatron (Comment 12) : Where did you read that? I can’t believe a journalist would go so low. By the way I did not detect any anger in his voice And that’s not even a direct quote.
He said it matter of factly more than anything else. He said he would go to accept the award, but can’t see that he needs to be there if he didn’t win anything and that he didn’t really want to go all the way up there (Cape Town) if he didn’t win anything. If a journalist was going to quote him on something he said privately, he should have had the guts to ask Keegan why he did not want to go if he did not win anything.
@hendrikp (Comment 75) : Thank you HP, i didn’t know one had to be a Springbok to have an opinion here on Sharksworld… eish
I honestly don’t know what HM sees in CJ v d Linde. Surely there are better props around such as the other Lions’ props (van Rensburg and Adriaanse) that can add more value at this stage
@Megatron (Comment 111) : What?! You didn’t get the memo
@Megatron (Comment 111) :
@Megatron (Comment 60) : I would prefer to see no Sharks in the Bok team. A big, fat 0.
I see Flouw is in doubt after picking up an injury on the weekend.
@vanmartin (Comment 116) : That may just open the door for Deon Fourie at 6. Even though I dislike him intensely, he has been pretty effective there for both WP and the Stormers.
@Bokhoring (Comment 117) : Doubt it. Deon Fourie has indicated that he’ll move back to the number 2 jersey again from next year onwards. If this tour is to be used as a platform for building future players HM would be much better served picking a specialist 6.
@vanmartin (Comment 118) : I think he needs to attend a hooking school along with Craig and Kyle if he wants to do that
@hendrikp (Comment 76) : I agree, re: the props, Mellett and Marcel are both superior to the incumbents, those 2 are just utter crap
@Letgo (Comment 88) : ” I don’t think that aside from the fact that he runs the ball more than the International team does and than other provincial teams does, that based on only this season and the fact that he’s just regained his form, that we should be this unhappy that he’s name is not on the list.”
a lady and scholar
(i made that up)
What scares me is how young the WP side is and how many youngsters and stars were injured. They are going to be a tough nut to crack in the next few years.