An article in Psychology Today carried the same title. It starts off with the following words:
“Though we are designed to learn from our mistakes, remembering them is rarely enjoyable. Especially when they involve a close relationship. Lost love, heartbreak, and mating misfortunes powerfully impact our sense of self.”
After the test on Saturday, I experienced a sense of betrayal, almost. We had the mighty All Blacks reeling. Despite the poor out of hand kicking, we were still able to tackle and compete on the ground. We held the upper hand in terms of territorial advantage, and the pressure was causing the All Blacks into mistakes. Unfortunately, we were unable to convert these into points.
On Thursday, I suggested that the judicious use of replacements could swing the game our way. Ironically, exactly the opposite applied. Dean Greyling came into the group with the unhappy record of being second on the wrong list. He conceded 28 penalties, finishing second in the Super 15 log for most penalties conceded. Yet, Meyer was loathe to pick a fetcher, for this very reason. The logic escapes me.
While most of Greyling’s misdemeanours stemmed from scrum infringements, he did notch up two yellow cards in the process. On Saturday, he added to his repertoire with a violent attack on the All Black captain which made me hang my head in shame.
Yes, Johan Goosen and Pat Lambie should have come on earlier. Yes, even including Dean Greyling in the squad, never mind as unforced replacement, was a serious error of judgement. Why was Juandre Kruger replaced? With Morne Steyn (again) out of touch with the boot, Frans Steyn or Ruan Pienaar should have taken over the kicking duties a lot sooner. Justifiably, the coach came in for a lot of criticism. Blaming poor execution of the game plan is avoiding the issue.
Soos ons in Afrikaans se, die swak vakman blameer sy gereedskap.
As jy nie die regte gereedskap het nie, kry dan ander. En die aanwending van die plaasvervangers was nie die spelers se skuld nie.
Gelukkig is daar reeds aangedui dat Morne Steyn ‘n blaaskans gaan kry. Sy kombinasie met Kirchner beteken stellig dat laasgenoemde ook voorlopig uit die prentjie is. Goosen op losskakel en Lambie op heelagter behoort die nodige vonk te verskaf wat nog heel seisoen makeer. Wie weet, dalk kom Elton Jantjes ook nog in die prentjie.
Die pak het hulself bewys, en ek sien nie nodigheid vir enige veranderings hier nie, behalwe miskien op die bank, waar Deon Fourie dalk meer opsies bied as Tiaan Liebenberg.
Dis reg dat die afrigter glo in sy spelpatroon, maar halstarrigheid moet plek maak vir goeie oordeel. Daar is ‘n reuse verskil tussen doelgerig en domastrant.
Ons kritiseer, nie omdat ons nie omgee nie, maar omdat ons opreg passievol en trots is op ons span, en dit wat die Springbokke oor baie jare opgebou het.
Let the new games begin. Asseblief.
