The rugby brain (?) of Peter de Villiers

Judgement Day

You've got to love him don't you? The hapless Springboks coach has been busy sounding off again - this time about Sonny Bill Williams. See article below from Scrum.com - he would be better following the example of his Captain, John Smit, who is already getting the excuses in for the imminent loss of their World Cup crown. The Boks will be lucky to get out of the Tri-Nations without egg on their face again and they needn't worry about the RWC.

De Villiers fires shot at Sonny Bill
ESPNscrum Staff
May 10, 2011


South Africa coach Peter De Villiers has launched an attack on Sonny Bill Williams, accusing the Crusaders centre of setting a bad example to young players.

In an interview with the Union Sports Mag, De Villiers criticised the midfielder's off-loading style and insisted that he neglected the game's core skills.

Williams, capped four times on New Zealand's Grand Slam tour in 2011, is set to be a major cog in the All Blacks' Tri-Nations and Rugby World Cup bids after making a flying start to life in Super Rugby.

The former Kiwis league international returned to New Zealand in 2010 following a spell in France with Toulon, taking up with Canterbury and the Crusaders. Last weekend his one-handed offload set up a try for Sean Maitland as the Crusaders overcame the Stormers 20-14 in Cape Town.

"I hope he will mature his game," he said. "He's doing everything wrong what rugby principles require of you in the game. Backhand passes shouldn't be the norm... it has become the norm, now everyone wants to do that kind of nonsense.

"This kind of non-rugby stuff he's doing, if it comes off it's brilliant, but do you have control over these kind of things? If you get to the international level where people work you out, then you have to be in control of what you're doing. He'll spend hours and hours on the things that are not important and never master the most important things of rugby."

http://www.espnscrum.com/super-rugby-2011/rugby/story/139581.html

Kiwi_knock

His type of play has not become the norm, most players realise they do not have the skill to attempt what he does. He has immense offloading skill and should be applauded. Brings excitement to a game unlike a De Villiers backline.

CatFromHue

sonny bill is not the finished article. there are areas he could work on, like most people who have only played the game for a couple of years!

to a degree de villiers is right about what would happen if people could stop sonny bill off loading. the problem is no one has figured it out yet.

it has to be noted that darcy and bod kept him quiet in the aviva.

also peter de villiers reminds me of one of terrance and phillip from south park

freyners

hes right in saying that his skill aint normal..to say its a bad example..well coming from a man who said that this doesnt warrant a card im not surprised

myflipflops

'Rugby principles' like your openside for gouging the eye of an opposition player and then defending the action.

This man is a clown and an embarrassment.

CatFromHue

did anyone see the cheetahs crusaders game?

i didnt but some interesting comments in the article about sonny bill

http://www.sharksworld.co.za/2011/05/16/living-up-to-the-sonny-bill/

Sports 24 reports that Dr Brendan Venter, once a very influential inside centre, then a very astute coach and notable interviewee at Heineken Rugby games, worked with his old Grey College mates (who also played and coached under him at Saracens), Nake Drotske and Michael Horak (Cheetahs defence coach), in nullifying Sonny Boy Williams’ influence in their famous win against the Crusaders.
Venter had recently joined Pieter de Villiers in saying that Sonny Bill had some significant weaknesses in his game, including a lack of a normal passing game (anyone seen him throw a skip or long pass?) and a perceived lack of pace. Venter, applying some of the notable insight that brought such success to Saracens under his lead, further pointed out that the real danger in the Crusaders supporting players, and not with SBW himself.

To exploit the limitations in SBW’s game, and to ensure that his off-loads did not open up the defence, the Cheetahs entrusted hard-tackling Barry Geel to bring him down as quickly as possible, Robert Eberhson to mark the man immediately outside him, and the Ashley Johnson freight-train to run him down from set-plays such as lineouts. Not only did SBW pick up a knee injury that ended his game at half-time, but he was largely a non-factor in the game. An indisputable success for the Cheetah’s coaching staff, and Venter’s pedigree as a coach. one can only imagine how much more effective the tactic would have been had the monstrous tackling of Andries Strauss been available to the Cheetahs.

I still maintain that while SBW is undoubtedly a very good player, the question of whether he is quite worth the hype (which he has handled quite humbly so far) will be answered by whether he can evolve his game as opposition start to work him out. No doubt that his ability to off-load in the tackle will always be good and a factor, but as the Cheetahs showed, it is easier to mark a player that can only pass a metre or two away from himself (which is all you can do if you allow yourself to be tackled before passing) than it is to mark a player with a broader passing game.

It still remains to be seen if SBW can exhibit the ability to pass more conventionally, whether he can develop a kicking game, if his still unproven tackling is good enough, and whether he does indeed lack pace. What has been shown though, is that clever coaching involves objective and clear analysis, as well as an openness to external ideas (as shown by the Cheetahs). Would the Sharks have paid as much attention to Venter’s article on Sports 24 as the Cheetahs did? Would we have adjusted our system or asked for an improved attitude instead? I’m not quite sure at the moment.

From a broader perspective, this entire incident has some interesting implications. It shows again that unlike some people have believed, SBW has not changed the way the Crusaders play. The key to their success has long been their looking to keep the ball alive, and the superb running lines that they run. SBW has just been harnessed in keeping the ball alive for the support player, who must get credit for reading play well enough to be in the right place each time.

Secondly, the Cheetahs coaches mentioned that the success of their tactic to nullify SBW depended on the outside defenders implicitly trusting Geel to bring down SBW, which meant that they could focus on bringing down the support runner. This is what trust in a well-defined and executed defensive system looks like, and what it can achieve. Right now the Sharks do not have it – and THIS is the reason for the revolving doors in midfield.

Finally, it goes to show that despite the media’s love for putting spin on PDV’s words (compounded by his weakness at communicating in English), he was right about SBW’s incomplete game. Unfortunately, since it was him to said it, most people were never going to listen with their heads to what he was talking about. Well, I guess Saturday showed just how wise some rugby experts are

hardCopy

freyners wrote: »

hes right in saying that his skill aint normal..to say its a bad example..well coming from a man who said that this doesnt warrant a card im not surprised

He's also right in saying that it sets a bad example.

If you're a J5 centre or a has-been tag player, please don't try to copy! So may times I've seen this in the last couple of years.

freyners

i wouldnt agree with a bad example, i wouldnt have a kid basing themselves solely on his skill set but if it encourages young players to try and develop their offloading a bit more than how is it a bad example

LK_Dave

CatFromHue wrote: »

did anyone see the cheetahs crusaders game?

A link to the highlights here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS_LVM5_bhI

hardCopy

freyners wrote: »

i wouldnt agree with a bad example, i wouldnt have a kid basing themselves solely on his skill set but if it encourages young players to try and develop their offloading a bit more than how is it a bad example

Absolutely. It's just comical watching some of our lads trying to throw 15 metre one handed passes behind their back in a game of tip.