Bokke vs France

[PaarlBok]

Muskiet Aplon ripped them a new one. Olivier and Kirsner not there yet. At last we play a different gameplan and thats not a good sign for our 3 N opponents.

 

[rustycruiser]

You know Jan, I still wasn't quite sold on Aplon, even after last week in Wales. It's his bloody size, and the perception that it is a defensive liability. But hell, playing 7s has taught him how to make low leg tackles in the open field. His performance today went along way to converting me. The other thing is I looked up the size and weight of one of my all time favorite Bok wings. Breyton Paulse managed 64 Tests, and is listed as 2cm taller, and 2 kg lighter than Aplon. If Breytjie could manage while "undersized", Aplon should too. And hell is he fast. On that second try from the Bok tryline, he smoked the Frog backs. Be interesting to see how Klien Liefling Hougaard slots in once he recovers from surgery. He was my number one pick as wing with JP gone. Now Aplon is making the jersey his, will Snor have him as back up scrummie along with Ruan?

 

[PaarlBok]

All in the heart Rusty. Cyc the Bok successe start with a dominant lineout. Once Matfield sniffle them, its game over. This weekend we,ll start with Bakkies and Bekker, scarry?

 

[PaarlBok]

Watching the Bokke warm up , Os drilling them with live scrums, vokket!

 

[cyclopath]

All in the heart Rusty. Cyc the Bok successe start with a dominant lineout. Once Matfield sniffle them, its game over. This weekend we,ll start with Bakkies and Bekker, scarry?

Yeah, well, the dominant lineout is just assumed, Paarl, so I didn't really talk about that. Your second point? - not so much - with those 2 there's a fair chance you'll play with 14 men for some period of the game. Matfield alone worries me far more than those 2 combined.

 

[PaarlBok]

Bloody hell what a hiding. I only watched the 1st half but the Boks looked awesome.

That Francois Louw is a beast, he is scary. 114kg openside that scavengers as good as anyone this Springbok machine just keeps getting bigger & better.

I know Pocock is a very powerful player but Louw just monsters players like rag dolls.

Ja Flo showed his monster blood like I hoped before he made his debut.

Myself obvious a bit biased but excited with the Stormers trio's debut. Muskiet (Aplon) is the kind of attacker that understand space and break lines easily. Have no problem with his pick and he deserve his place. He was huge for the Stormers this year. Test rugby maybe a bit tighter but you need this kind of attacker, he can turn a tight test on its head. The biggest test is for Juan de Jongh. He'll be up against that Roberts giant who nearly ruined the BIL party. Would have trust juans defense with Grant but dunno about Pienaars defense? Pretty confident Flo (F Louw) will grow in a monster pretty quick on test level. The kid have it in his vains, Jan "Bul"l Pickhard a WP and Bok legend's grand child.

Pickhard's Bok Profile

Jan Pickard
Full names: Jan Albertus Jacobus
Date of birth: 25 Dec 1927
Place of birth: Paarl, South Africa
School: Paarl Gimnasium
Debut test province: Western Province
Physical: 1.91m, 106.6kg
Date of death: 30 May 1998 (Age 70)

Test summary: Tests: 4 Tries: 0
First Test: 19 Sep 1953 Age:25 Lock against Australia at Kingsmead, Durban
Last Test: 16 Aug 1958 Age:30 Lock against France at Ellispark, Johannesburg

Test history:
Date Age Position Opponent Result Score Venue Prov
19 Sep 1953 25 Lock Australia Win: 18-8 Kingsmead, Durban WP
26 Sep 1953 25 Lock Australia Win: 22-9 Crusaders (St George's Park), Port Elizabeth WP
04 Aug 1956 28 Eighthman New Zealand Win: 8-3 Athletic Park, Wellington WP
16 Aug 1958 30 Lock France Lose: 5-9 Ellispark, Johannesburg WP

Jan Bull Pickard by Doc Craven
One day I happened to be watching the Maties third team playing when I saw a big fellow, hair longer than was customary in those days, playing at fullback. And, although he played well, I could sense that there was something wrong.

Mr Markotter came along and said: "Danie, that big, clumsy chap will make a very good forward - that is where he will become a Springbok." He was duly moved to forward and that is where Jan Pickard gained his Bok colours.

Jan was Jan. No one could tell him what to do - he wouldn't listen anyway. He wanted to do things his own way.

When Western Province played he had the habit of keeping a few opponents busy by making them so cross that they would want to work him over. He had a unique style for a forward, often standing among the backs and when the ball came out he would make the extra man.

If you left him to his own devices, let him have his own way, Jan Pickard was brilliant. Jan subsequently proved himself in the business world as he did on the rugby field. People like Jan who can make decisions and take chances, will make a success of everything they do.

Jan Pickard is a financial genius and that is one of the reasons why Western Province are in the sound financial position they are today. With Jan Pickard as chairman, particularly of the finance committee, it is not surprising. It's also not surprising that Western Province's golden period in the early '80's came about with Jan at the helm.

Cyc I dont care a bit about the cards Boet, SA have the 4 best locks in world rugby right now.

 

[Blue]

Excellent performance. The only thing more satisfying than the starting front row's scrummaging was the reserves scrummaging.BJ Botha has made a big impact, Steenkamm has improved out of sight and Jannie du Plessis the same.

They mullered the french towards the end of the game.

So positives:
- Scrum
- Intensity at start of match
- Breakdown - jaysus this Louw kid is a growing monster.
- Defense, for so early in the season.

Negatives:
- Lacklustre finish but guys like Rossouw, Matfield, Steenkamp, Spies and Burger looked exhausted.
- Kirchener is no more than adequate. He makes few mistakes but doesnt inspire much in attack. I would like to see Aplon start at 15 against the Italians. We need to find the World Cup 15 and Kirchner is not convincing enough.
- Funny how every Super 14 Olivier loosk awesone and we he ends up in Green and Gold he disappears, and that includes his aggresive defense. With Jean dv and young de Jongh around he is in trouble of dropping out altogether.
- Tactical kicking without du PReez was, as expected, average. Not Januarie's game so canlt blame him. Steyn kicked some aimless kicks as did Zane.

Januarie was good. I still want to see Pienaar get tiem at 9 but Ricky was very, very solid and took no shit from no frog. Ralepele was surprisingly good off the bench and did his job well.

 

[PaarlBok]

After watching the replay of the test I saw all the hard work being done by Flo. Scoring his first try in front of his Grannys pavilion pretty special for the kid.

Aplon about his critics
Keo

Two-try hero Gio Aplon says the rugby fraternity’s obsession with size is something he’ll never understand.

It’s becoming harder and harder to deny Aplon’s talent. He burst onto the scene in 2006 with some outstanding performances for Western Province in the Currie Cup. Critics said he was too small for Super Rugby, but when presented with the opportunity, he proved that size didn’t matter.

A string of superlative performances in the 2010 Super 14 got people thinking about Aplon in the Springbok context. Critics grudgingly paid Aplon his due as a fine Super Rugby player, but said he’d never make the grade at Test level because of his modest 75kg frame.

Then injuries to JP Pietersen, Jongi Nokwe and Lionel Mapoe presented Aplon with another opportunity as Peter de Villiers, as he is wont to do, ignored the critics and picked the small man. Aplon was solid on debut in Cardiff and captured the Man of the Match accolade in the subsequent win over France. It may be too early to say that he belongs in the Bok starting side, but he’s certainly not out of place on the Test stage.

‘Everybody always asks about my size,’ the mild-mannered Bok back told keo.co.za. ‘Every week without fail. Every week I have to prove people wrong. I hope that the topic won’t come up again, but that’s wishful thinking isn’t it? I know that I’m going to have to go out there next week and prove people wrong all over again.’

Aplon scored two tries in South Africa’s 42-17 win over France, who are traditionally one of the more physical teams in world rugby. Aplon’s mixed it with some of the fiercest sides in the Super 14 and the Currie Cup isn’t exactly for the faint-hearted.

He’s arguably the best counter-attacking player in South Africa, but his attacking ability is matched by his defensive determination. He won’t smash players back, but he’ll bring them to ground with those technically sound leg tackles.

While opponents are aware of his counter-attacking prowess, they perceive his height as a weakness. And yet, Aplon is competent under the high bomb, and was recently lauded by Stormers coach Allister Coetzee for his brave performances in the Super 14.

He’s also tough, getting up from a vicious Bakkies Botha cleanout in the final league game of the season. That brutal transgression resulted in a four-week suspension for Botha, and at the time, the Newlands crowd feared for Aplon’s safety.

Aplon has a simple explanation for getting up and carrying on with the game. He’s a rugby player. Being a player that’s smaller than most doesn’t entitle you to special plaudits when you endure the big knocks.

‘Some people think that because I’m small, I must be brave, but I’ve chosen to play this sport and I know the risks. I’m no braver than anyone out there. If you want to play with the big dogs, you have to be up for it.

‘I only have two caps, so I knew France would target me with the high balls. It’s an obvious tactic, as I know that if we played a team with new caps, we’d look to target them as well.

‘If you know they’re going to target you, you have to prepare for it, and then handle the pressure.’

Coaches will utilise players according to their strengths, and carrying the ball into midfield is a job usually reserved for the bigger and stronger players. It surprised to see Aplon bumping off Maxime Mermoz in Saturday’s game at Newlands, especially since the France centre outweighs Aplon by 15kg.

‘I suppose a bit of luck was involved,’ Aplon said. ‘He just fell off me, but I still had to step round and be aware of the cover defence. I knew that once I got past him, I had to get away and score.

‘For the second try, I just had to work to get round the fullback and back my pace.

‘It’s great to score tries for your country, but I can’t take all the credit. The forwards gave the backline great momentum, and guys like Morne Steyn directed play well. At the moment I feel very lucky to be part of this team.’

In an interview with keo.co.za in 2006, Aplon said that bulking up wasn’t an option. He felt that putting on weight would compromise the attributes that make him special, namely his speed and agility.

He spent a year with the Springbok Sevens side in 2009 and has returned to the 15-man code with lofty ambitions. If he doesn’t realise those, it won’t be because he’s too small. The Tri-Nations will offer up a greater test where all of Aplon’s skills will be scrutinised.

For the moment, it seems Aplon is set for an extended run in the green and gold.

‘Guys like Gio, Francois Louw and Gurthro Steenkamp were very good in the Super 14, and that’s why I picked them for the Boks,’ said De Villiers. ‘I think they are repaying me for the faith I showed in them. I hope that they play a lot of Tests for South Africa.’

 

[PaarlBok]

Francois Louw came through WP youth ranks with two other talented players. We saw one playing from the bench for the Stormers Pieter Louw. Pieter a Paarl Boishaai GalPil, also very talented from young age. Myself friends with Pieters Grandad and know him very well. Pieter captain the GalPille to a record score against Paarl Gim in Interschools. He nearly went to France and only his dad tragicg death in a car accident stopped him from going. His dad and Gran Dad leaded the GalPille on their day. Then there is Pieter Myburgh, the other one. Myself thought Pieter Myburgh will progress the quickest of the three but he seem to stuck behind the other two. All three still contracted with WP and the other two waiting patiently to get game time on provincial level. It aint easy when you have to wait for either Schalkie or Duanne Vermeulen to get injured, so I geuss we'll see Myburgh at least moving on to better pastures. Anyway thats not where WP's structures and loose forward depth ends because there are a Paarl Gym 150th year youth lot coming through the ranks and write the name of Helmut Lehmann down, this red hair donkey will play WP U21 this year and a bright talent. Hennie Danillers boet also there or thereabouts and Koster already one hell of a talent.