Rucking Hell!: Meyer Offers England Hope

A few days ago, TCI reported on Meyer's wider training squad and praised his balanced, if not expansive, selections. Today, Meyer announced his final training squad for the tests against England that begin next weekend and he has not disappointed us here by once more demonstrating that South African selection policy is still done with a blindfold and a random name generator.

When we reported on Meyer's suggestion that legend Victor Matfield may make a spectacular (idiotic) return to the international stage, we had a bit of a laugh and said - Meyer must not be watching the Super 15! This was meant as a tongue in cheek joke, of course the Springbok coach watches the Super 15!!!

Yet, with the announcement of today's final squad, we are once more left with the feeling that, not only does Meyer not watch Super Rugby, but he is in fact completely detached from the rugby world. Anyone who watches rugby will tell you (and Sky Sport's The Rugby Club never cease to wax about it), that England do not have an open side flanker. Under sized blindsides have toiled their hearts out since Neil Back retired but nobody has managed to fill the role of a specialist seven. In 2009, Heinrich Brussow burst onto the rugby scene with some unbelievable performances against the Lions and has continued to dominate the breakdown ever since. Meyer may argue that Brussow is out of form - but quite frankly this doesn't matter. Brussow is a world-class fetcher and from this season's evidence, a much improved carrier of the ball. He has been packing down at 8 for the Cheetahs in attack and can often be seen charging from the back of the scrum. Brussow would have given England nightmares at the breakdown; even if he isn't his usual world-conquering self, Lancaster would at least have to of prepared for Brussow. Robshaw's usual hustle and bustle would have been focused entirely on moving Brussow off the ball to give England any chance of quick ball that they desperately suffer to get.

The truly troubling problem is that Meyer has only picked only one open-side in uncapped Sharks' maverick Marcel Coetzee. Coetzee is a carrying open-side who charges recklessly into the nearest body he can see. His tunnel vision is unparalleled, and whilst effective, it is a little one dimensional. Other terrible selections include the injured and completely out of form Ryan Kankowski and the injured and completely unreliable Jacques Potgieter. Potgieter is a complete liability on both ends of the field. He is almost as blinkered as Coetzee and his reckless abandon in the tackle area is more dangerous than it is abrasive.

Brussow has essentially been dropped for two injured players. In the backs, the in form Joe Pieterson has been dropped for the ever disappointing Kirchener whilst the selection of Olivier over De Jongh screams of a completely defensive and negative game plan. This weekend the Stormers overcame the Bulls, yet only three men from Cape Town have made Meyer's squad (and Habana used to be a Bull).

Meyer has not failed to disappoint with another hugely controversial selection. Lancaster will be able to sleep a lot easier tonight and a series that was once a foregone conclusion is now back up for grabs.

Rucking Hell!: Hooper v. Gill: Who is Australia’s next great fetcher?

No nation, in recent years, has struggled as much as England to produce top quality openside flankers who have both skill on the floor and dynamism in the loose. Whether it is the brand of running rugby attributed to the drier climate or simply a natural talent inherent in the gene pool, the Southern Hemisphere is a conveyor belt for opensides who have fully mastered the dark art of the turnover. From Ritchie McCaw, branded as the ‘biggest cheat in world sport’, to the incredible talent and bulging biceps of David Pocock, it is undisputable that the masters of the breakdown reside in the Southern Nations. Two new faces have exploded onto the Super rugby scene this season, both have displayed they have what it takes to fill the Wallaby 7 shirt, however, who is Australia’s next great fetcher?

20 year old Michael Hooper and 19 year old Liam Gill have been frustrating, bewildering and generally annoying opposition on a consistent basis throughout this year’s Super 15 competition. Hooper plying his trade on Brumbies openside flank has helped his team to the top of the Australian conference and has recently been called into the Wallaby squad for the June internationals against Wales. Hooper standing at only 5 foot 11 and weighing 97kg is already developing a physique similar to that of Pocock but does he have skills at the break down to match? Surprising, Hooper has just 11 turnovers this year but combined with his ability to slow ball down on the deck, as well as his 160 tackles, he has become a highly influential figure for the Brumbies outfit. Super Hooper is undoubtedly a prestigious talent, blessed with an imposing presence, self-sacrificing bravery and an eye for a turnover… or so we here at The Certain Interpretation thought… DUN DUN DUHH!

Liam Gill is currently the starting openside flanker for the Queensland Reds and has been in pretty good form for the past 15 weeks of competition. Unexpectedly Gill is taller than Hooper at 6 foot 1 and weighs 95kg although on the pitch Hooper looks by far the superior physical specimen. First off it’s hard to believe Gill is actually as big as the statistics say he is, as he radiates fragility on the pitch. A comparison can be drawn between Gill and David de Gea, both small under-gymed and drowning in their shirts. However the statistics don’t lie. Gill has 23 turnovers this season, only one shy of Pocock, has made 155 tackles and only conceded 11 penalties. These stats are incredible when compared to Hooper’s 11 turnovers and 8 penalties. Hooper’s turnovers only outstrip his penalties by 28.2%... this is a pretty unimpressive margin. Gill on the other hand has a margin of 52.2% between his penalty count and his total number of turnovers. Statistically, in terms of fetching, Gill is nearly twice the player compared to Hooper.  

Animal instinct and our guts say Hooper but our brains and cold hard statistics say Gill. Quite the conundrum. The solution lies in the fact that Hooper is a more rounded player; he dominates the break down, carries reasonably well for a smaller dynamic flanker and has been known to make nearly 30 tackles a game. He does this whilst imposing his presence on the game… Hooper comes across as a big player bred for big matches. Gill is evidently more specialized in stealing the ball at the breakdown but does not offer the complete all rounded player that Hooper is and is becoming. The boy can’t carry… Although we have to remember he is only 19 so his physicality in the contact area and presence on the pitch will improve drastically over the next few years.

Personally, I would pick super Hooper every time. The stats can get stuffed! It comes down to an issue of all round game and most importantly PRESENCE, which Hooper has by the bucket load and Gill is yet to develop. It is a blessing that neither has taken the path of Derick Minnie who clearly believes he is one of the world’s best flankers, flopping all over the ball and achieving a horrendous penalty count of 26 so far this season. Please Derick, call it a day, you ruin the game as a spectacle (not that Lions games are ever much of a spectacle) and are giving a bad name to backrows everywhere.

Hungover as always,

LC