Boks need to change

One thing has become very clear from the Boks two heavy defeats to the All Blacks - change is needed. The team does not currently have the personnel to effectively implement their "kick-and-chase" strategy. What has changed since last year? A couple key ingredients:

1) No Fourie Du Preez. Morne Steyn is NOT the boot in the Bok or Bulls line-up. That responsibility falls to Du Preez. He does an enormous amount of kicking and chasing, and fielding of kicks. His ability to read the play is supernatural... the Boks miss him more than anyone else on the field. We like to hype Burger, Matfield, Spies, etc. The only irreplaceable man in this team is Fourie.

2) No JP Pietersen. This may seem like a strange one, but JP is a master of chasing kicks, and leaping into the air to disrupt the fielding opponent. He has the speed, height and bulk to make opposing him in the air a very difficult and dangerous task. His defense is exceptional too. The All Blacks scored out wide against De Villiers and Aplon... you wouldn't see it happen against JP.

3) No Heinrich Brussow. People talk up the rule change and the rise of Francois Louw. Frankly, he's been horribly outplayed by McCaw, and the Boks have been unable to slow the Kiwi ball as a result. In order to successfully kick-and-chase, you have to be titanic in defense. Without Brussow, the Boks have been second-rate at the breakdown and the All Blacks have run riot.

Add those three ingredients back, and suddenly the team starts winning again. I also wonder if they're missing the mongrel of Juan Smith and Bismarck at the breakdown...

The solution? Change game plan until Du Preez is available again. The team is stocked with runners... so why are the Boks kicking the ball away? Aplon looks dangerous with every touch; Januarie kicks terribly... more importantly, Pienaar runs fantastically and gives much quicker service. De Jongh has looked elusive, Becker is a beast on the gainline. SA need to play to their current strengths.

So... start Aplon on the wing. De Villiers can move back to 12, with De Jongh backing him up on the bench. Pienaar needs to slot in at scrumhalf, and then the ball needs to be moved. The Boks need to implement the Bulls simple strategy of 12 run it up, Spies, Burger or Becker bash up the 2nd phase, and then spread it wide to Habana and Aplon. They're about the two quickest men around! Let them touch the ball. Once the Boks are going forward, the support play of their athletic forwards is fantastic. But they have to be going forwards...  without Du Preez, that means running it. They can revert to their old winning formula once he gets back - just in time for the World Cup.

Week Two: Andrew's Team

THE ORCADIANS - Facebook S14

*New buys in italics

FR Keven Mealamu (NZL) - $1,197,500
FR Gurthro Steenkamp (SAF) - $822,500

LK Tom Donnelly (NZL) - $835,000
LK Victor Matfield (SAF) - $1,175,000

LF Ritchie McCaw (NZL) - $1,107,500
LF Kieran Read (NZL) - $1,015,000

HV Dan Carter (NZL) - $1,350,000
HV Morne Steyn (SAF) - $1,242,500

CT Ma'a Nonu (NZL) - $1,222,500
CT Rene Ranger (NZL) - $840,000

OB Cory Jane (NZL) - $1,150,000
OB Mils Muliaina (NZL) - $1,257,500

Team Value: $13,215,000
Cash in Bank: $88,350

I had a great first week, with my All Black heavy side taking me to the top of the league and a world ranking of 16th. Financially I had a good week too, with my squad increasingly in value by over $1M.

I made a total of four changes this week. Immediately after last week's game, I sold Rokocoko and bought Muliaina, and just as well since the latter's price has risen over $100,000 since then and the former ended up injured. The All Blacks' fullback was in electric form and the highest points earner of the round by a healthy margin, so I just couldn't resist having him in my team for the next game.

With Rene Ranger's introduction to the squad, I swapped out Conrad Smith for his teammate. I thought Smith had a great game last week and there's no reason to expect any different tomorrow, but Ranger's cheap price made the transaction a financially necessary one.

With my extra cash I intended to buy a Springbok lock but I was still a little short, so I replaced Pierre Spies with Richie McCaw, who was a couple of hundred thousand cheaper but earned the same amount of points last week. In doing so I was able to afford Victor Matfield, who despite a seemingly anonymous game made decent points, and is almost certain to score more than a benched Sam Whitelock.

The Boks take on the Wallabies next week, so remember to sell your All Blacks as soon as the round locks and their prices start to drop. You might even think about buying a few players from the Aussie squad before their value rises. Although a lot of uncertainty surrounds the Australian starting XV, the likes of Sharpe, Moore, Elsom, Cooper and Genia seem pretty safe bets.

Good luck everyone!

Week Two: Kynan's Team

NO POOFTAHS - Facebook S14


*new trades in italics

FR Kevin Mealamu (NZL) - $1,197,500
FR Gurthro Steenkamp (SAF) - $822,500

LK Tom Donnelly (NZL) - $835,000
LK Sam Whitelock (NZL) - $530,000

LF Schalk Burger (SAF) - $1,075,000
LF Kieran Read (NZL) - $1,015,000

HV Dan Carter (NZL) - $1,350,000
HV Morne Steyn (SAF) - $1,242,500

CT Ma'a Nonu (NZL) - $1,222,500
CT Rene Ranger (NZL) - $840,000

OB Zane Kirchner (SAF) - $1,205,000
OB Cory Jane (NZL) - $1,150,000

Team Value: $12,485,000
Cash in Bank: $28,850

Okay... so I was soundly spanked last week. It seems to be my first round trend of late. So, once again, the epic catch up must start and fast. This tri-nations series doesn't give you the luxury of 15 weeks, a la Super 14 competition.

To help remedy that, I've made 4 changes... not the one's I necessarily wanted, but it was all I could afford. I would have loved to get Spies and Muliaina... but I went for Kirchner to conserve trades, and had to settle for Burger because of price.

Overall, I think it's a solid team -- not a championship team, but I'm working my way there... I'll be back on equal footing money-wise when the Aussies show up.

Ranger Danger!

All Black selectors threw a lifeline to cash-strapped testrugby players today with the inclusion of dangerman Rene Ranger in the starting line-up for Saturday's game. At a paltry $692,500, he's a good half a million cheaper than most of the other centres. Just think what you could do with all that extra cash - field two starting locks, have hookers from both teams... endless possibilities!

Round Two: Team Announcements

New Zealand: 15 Mills Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Subs: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.

Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James.

New Additions: Guildford & Mathewson

Reflecting their addition to the All Black squad, Alby Mathewson and Zac Guildford were added to the game today. Both are great bargains, with Mathewson at $485,000 and Guildford at $740,000. If Cowan fails to recover, then you'd imagine Weepu would replace him with Mathewson on the bench, but Guildford is surely a good bet to start if Rokocoko remains unfit.

Dream Team: Round One

FR Keven Mealamu (NZL) - 380
FR John Smit (SAF) - 340

LK Tom Donnelly (NZL) - 255
LK Victor Matfield (SAF) - 205

LF Kieran Read (NZL) - 370
LF Jerome Kaino (NZL) - 360

HV Daniel Carter (NZL) - 265
HV Morne Steyn (SAF) - 150

CT Ma'a Nonu (NZL) - 460
CT Conrad Smith (NZL) - 450

OB Mils Muliaina (NZL) - 535
OB Zane Kirchner (SAF) - 360

3 try bonus - 100

Total Points - 4,230