'Graham Henry has to go'

Sunday August 15 2004

'The Boks will murder the Wallabies'

South Africa's emphatic 40-26 victory over New Zealand on Saturday sent our email server whirring to near meltdown. South Africans were elated, New Zealanders were depressed, whilst neutral onlookers were left distinctly unimpressed by the Tri-Nations spectacle in Johannesburg. Here are some of your views.

'HENRY HAS STIFLED ALL CREATIVITY'

"Graham Henry's side deserved to lose. The wrong tactics at this level will cost you the match. He has been lucky in New Zealand, but away from home, his tactics are restricting the best and most dangerous backline in world rugby - just unbelievable!"
- Oliver Young, UK

"As a Pom watching this match was a bit strange. It seemed to me that neither the Boks nor the AB's were interested in using their forwards to shape the game in any way whatsoever.

"There is limited appeal to a match where there is basically uncontested scrummaging and lineout play, and where big, powerful forwards are not being utilised to attack the fringes and suck-in defenders.

The width that both sides were prepared to put on the ball was admirable, but surely this tactic is more effective if defences are being kept honest by switching the angles of attack around the breakdown and not allowing back row forwards to roam the pitch with a free hand.

"The way both sides played fairly neutralized the roles of their tight fives to a point where there were large sections of the game that it looked like a cross between 7's and rugby league. With neither side willing to attack the fringes, any width that (particularly the AB's) put on the ball could be comfortable marshaled by a decent drift defence. Which it was.

"The deciding factor in this match to me was that the South African midfield did their jobs better, pure and simple. They missed fewer tackles, held their defensive line, and took their opportunities. The AB's, on the other hand, were running predictable lines, offering no variation and throwing 50/50 passes for no clear reason.

What happened to the good sense of clearing your lines in your own 22? Did Marshall once try to box kick to turn the Boks around? Did Mehrtens thread a little grubber through, just to check the rush defence?

"The only time the AB's introduced any kind of mixed attack, when Rokocoko came off his wing to pick up Mehrtens beautifully weighted pass, they scored a try.

"Then they played hot potato again from their own line. Watching these guys play week in week out in the S12 and provincially, I am unconvinced that they are being allowed to play their natural game.

"There is a strong coaching element, probably too strong, trying to mould an All Blacks side that could otherwise have won this match playing their more natural game.

"Flat backlines produce flat performances. Forget it. Get deep again and put some pace on the ball.

"As for the Boks - well, another glorious day at Ellis Park. I wish I believed that it heralded a revival of Springbok rugby, but I rather feel that any side with a decent strategy and some decent running forwards would have taken either of these sides apart."
- Justin Penketh, Dubai

"On paper the AB's surely have the best team in the world - however Henry's rigid coaching style has stifled all creativity and individualism out of this potentially great side. Henry did the same thing when he coached the Lions 3 years ago in Australia to the extent that some of the most exciting players such as Healey and Dawson etc.. almost packed their bags and went home mid tour in disgust with his coaching style.

"Henry's knee jerk reaction to make King Carlos the scapegoat for the AB's lacklustre performance against Australia 2 weeks ago and replace him with the predictable and weak tackling Mehrtens, just reaffirms my view.

"Spencer has the ability to ignite a back line with his line breaks but he has been shackled by the shallow back alignment imposed by Henry - the result being that the AB's were not even close to the Boks yesterday This current AB side will always be good but without Henry they could be great."
- Mike Manning, Dallas, USA

"At the beginning of the year if anyone had told me that the Boks would be in a position to win the 3N I wouldn't have believed it considering the shambles SA rugby has been in.

"Now - against all the odds including resignations, player disputes, quota issues etc. - Jake White has managed to build a winning Bok team in a matter of months (not years).

"Sure, they still have a long way to go but I'm proud of the boys. So to all the critics and individuals who enjoyed seeing the Bok down and out all this time I'd just like to say we're back!

"It's not the victory against NZ that were happy about but more importantly the way that we're playing the game. This time its for keeps and to the doubters out there I suppose we'll just have to prove it to you next week in Durban."
- Ashwin, Johannesburg, South Africa

"What an absolutely fantastic game! At this early stage, I think the Boks could be the team to beat very soon. Most impressive in their team has to be young Schalk Burger, I don't remember seeing a harder working flanker, and he is a pleasure to watch.

"NZ seemed out of sorts, without a clear plan as to how they could break down the SA defence, and the much feared NZ backline were humbled by the pace and movement of the Bok backs.

"For all our self admiration here in the UK, nothing beats a game between these two traditional rugby rivals. I am already looking forward to next year's Tri-Nations."
- Andrew Robertson, UK

"Primo game. The All blacks were outclassed by a better team, no excuses. The performance of the Blacks in the last two weeks has opened the doors for players in the NPC. We lacked composure and the Boks midfield took advantage, it could have been a real hiding if Percy had got his kicks over."
- Riwai Grace, Christchurch

"A really good game, and congrats to South Africa. Their back row was fantastic (I thought the All Black back row were disappointing, and well snuffed out), Joubert was superb, and the whole team played with discipline and focus.
 
"It's great to see South Africa back at their best, because Test rugby isn't quite the same with a top class Springbok outfit.
 
"New Zealand's wonderful try was a clear sign of what they can do (and sadly did to the England team twice!), but the All Blacks have got to actually pass the ball to their back three in decent positions to give them a chance - poor Howlett hardly seemed to touch the ball.
 
"Great game, hats off to South Africa, and it will be interesting to see what happens next week."
- Stuart, Bristol, UK

"Excellent game and a fantastic display from a rejuvenated SA. What a difference 8 months and a change of leadership makes!
 
"Just one word about officiating. Doesn't Donal Courtney's commonsense view of Jono Gibbes's mountain-climbing 10 minutes before the end of a cracking game, put into perspective the truly awful decision of the officials who sent off Simon Shaw 10 minutes into what was promising to be a cracking game a couple of months earlier."
- Spanner, Hong Kong

"Hopefully we have seen the last of ten pin bowls rugby and the ABs can get back to some proper depth in the backline. Flat backlines work ok in league where there's a 10m off-side line, but its sheer stupidity in Rugger and even worse when the forwards aren't delivering go forward ball..."
- Andrew N, Christchurch NZ

"I hope we have seen the last of Rush and Gibbes. After having a great debut against a very weak England side, these guys have shown that they're not mentally and physically tough enough for Test match Rugby. Bring back Jerry Collins!"
- Peter Afoa

"That game was just stupid - it was the stupidest game ever. Two of the tries that South Africa scored should not have counted because the one that [Paulse] scored was not placed down - it was lost. And the one that was scored off the back of the scrum, the guy passed it forward - so that's just stupid.

"So yeah, it was absolutely stupid and i hate that ref - I think he didn't want NZ to win. Stupid ref. Well that's what I think of it, it was stupid, stupid, stupid. So yeah, my opinion is just that the game was stupid."
- Tim & Liz, New Zealand

"What a game by the Boks! I have to hand it to Mr. White, he does run an impressive show. 

"The risks he has taken on players this year has certainly paid off.  Examples are abundant, but Big Joe, who played a fantastic 60 minutes with little match fitness, Monty and the Ox are special. 

"The Ox is simply the best prop in the world right now. Not only does he intimidate others at the scrum, but his work rate is second to none!

"I do hope that SA can win the Tri-Nations next weekend. White's tenure looked somewhat shaky, but now the Boks are on their way back to the world elite!"
- Tobin, Canada - a brokenhearted Kiwi fan
 
"Outstanding performance by the Springboks. The All Blacks never looked like being in control. Their decision-making was abysmal, and the lack of concentration was obvious. Marius Joubert was outstanding. It looks like South Africa is back and in a big way. I, for one, cannot wait for next week."
- Allen Beasley

"Firstly, congratulations must go the Springboks ... and the All Black coaching staff.

"Springboks: What a magnificent win last night, in two games you have scored 10 tries to the AB's 3.

"You have taken on what is regarded as the most devastating back three in  world rugby who have now been relegated to 'once were warriors', I would say they feel a bit flat at the moment.

"All Blacks: They have succeeded in two areas: 1. Their flat backline worked, it went flat. 2. We have been told that we must play the Northern Hemisphere style, well we succeeded, good forwards, lousy backs - last year's devastating backs.

"Justin and Carlos have taken the brunt for the poor performance of the AB  backline, with Carlos losing his position. Should that also not apply to the backline coach? He tried to instill a new concept into AB rugby which is foreign to them as they since JAB days have been brought up on deep backline formations, this worked well till last year, and then along came Wayne Cripes. Even the PI team scored more tries against the Aussies and the Boks than we did, relegate the backline coach like you do the players.

"The one thing is, the loss never came as a shock as in our two wins in the Tri-Nations, although we had all the possession, we couldn't score tries and scraped in on the skin of our ask-me-no-questions, the flat backline formation put us close to the opponents, they didn't have to run far to tackle us, sitting ducks you would say.

"I am not looking forward to the end of year tour if the current form prevails  we will keep getting flat and flattened and will be a lousy way to build up to Christmas.

"To the administration, stop blaming the players for the loss, the sooner you all look in mirror the better for AB Rugby. I am a mother of three and have been coach of our U7/8 rugby team, I think I do a better job then current the AB coaching staff."
- Wiki Riani, Rotorua, New Zealand

"I had to listen to NZ whine about poisoning in '95 and Australia whine about everything every year. I had to hear them whine about us being lucky so far. Yet we [South Africans] never used the fact we played 3 tough encounters on back to back weekends, namely PI, NZ and AUS ever as an excuse.

"With a team of highly experienced players in NZ and AUS, it seems people forget this very important fact ... SA is on a rebuilding stage with this team. With a majority of players playing in their very 1st Tri Nations.

"We threw no less then 20 points away today, including Percy's unfortunate wayward kicking attempts. I also counted no less then 3 opportunities thrown away for tries in the 2nd half.

"We are not going to beat Australia next week, we are going to murder them. We destroyed the No.1 team today. We will bury the No.2."
- Jean-Pierre Starke Nel, Centurion, South Africa

"Shameful, shameful dump Henry and Co, bring back John Mitchell. Five tries in 4 Test matches what were they thinking of."
- Michael, The Netherlands

"Magnificent! The Boks have come a very long and lonely way, finally they are standing up to the superpowers.

"In a way all three games so far have been successful. For a start SA has never been that competitive in NZ for a very long time, and against Aus, wether we played poorly or not, they had to work hard! This one, well it's satisfying after they pipped us in the first game.

"Another aspect of South Africa's game that has impressed me is the ability to score tries, so far under Jake White we have never been out done in the try count.

"That was something that really was lacking in the past, there was no penetration, no creativity, patience, commitment or team work, they look lost, hopeless and jaded. A great thanks has to be said to Jake White, he received a lot of criticism but he has shown what he can do with a group of players, they can only get better and without being abused in a boot camp! Long live the Boks!"
- Ivan Waddell, England

"South Africa and Australia play a more exciting, faster brand of Rugby than New Zealand can handle.

New Zealand has become everything they use to hate about England's brand of rugby." 
- Jim, San Francisco

"You can't argue with the result 40-26 is a dicking in anyone's language, and if Percy could kick it could have been 60-26! So congratulations to the SA - deserved victory. But as the an Abs supporter, I'll confine my comments to the ABs' performance.

"The Abs can't be faulted for effort, just accuracy and the same old suspect aspects of the ABs game have reared their ugly heads again. Poor selection, poor coaching, and coupled with today not really getting the rub of the green.

"The northern hemisphere opinion of Henry could be right - failed in the north, probably fail in the south.

"First of all poor selection, why do they persist in picking Marshall - he's abysmal. Xavier Rush is small and low on skill. Pick a front row ands stick with it. Damn this tall one in squat one out etc. Just pick the best XV you have!

"Poor coaching: someone explain to me how this flat backline works? In short, it doesn't! And the defence is horrid. We've leaked something like 11 tries in 4 games, that's just pish. Also why oh why do we try to run the ball from impossible situations. Kick the bloody thing into position, that's why we pick Mehrtens, and he done good, yes ok hes no Wilkinson on defence, but he did the rest well.

"And rub of the green. In SA (or any away games) you need to get momentum. And it just seemed today that all the 50:50 decisions went against us, and that's not saying the ref was crook, that's just what home advantage does.

"But there's a bigger worry for us Abs followers. We've been under performing for so many years now I just can't remember when we ever achieved the glorious highs of the pre-professional era.  Maybe I'm too demanding, maybe this theory that theres always going to be wins and losses as teams get closer to eachother, but I don't buy it. The big worry is - there seems no immediate answer in coaching, or more importantly personnel."
- Jerry, Kiwi in UK
 
"Let me be the first to say it - Graham Henry has to go.

"Sorry mate, but if you persist with the same strategy week in, week out, we will continue to see scorelines like this one."
- Disgruntled AB fan, London