Really, Saffas thrive on tight game situations, huh ?...of course they do, how could they not, they're South Africa...hopefully for them next RWC they'll thrive on it a little bit more than in the last in that 1/4F, then...
and I have no clue how Burden played in S.A., but I guess he was about 20% the player he is now. The dude did ANYTHING but shrink in either competition this year (H Cup, Top 14). In fact he was brilliant in the final phases.
I get the impression, and this is materializing more and more as it goes, that Saffas (coach or fan) throw away or dismiss their players too quickly. In the stuff they put in the bin, anyone else would find perfectly good, if not VERY good trash wastefully thrown away. The Top 14 isn't a league that picks up old scrap iron from other places anymore. Guys like Hosea Gear, Nalaga, Nagusa, Sivivatu....etc....score tries over any side in the world, and S.A. themselves will still go and pick a Botha or Steenkamp (the latter being a very average often-benched player for Toulouse). On which topic Morné Steyn was benched the whole year for 22yo Jules Plisson in Paris, and need I remind the readers he's South Africa's no.1 choice at fly-half.
Moreover, Juandré Kruger or Kockott could play in any national side, esp. Kockott. Juan Smith or Danie Russow are still world class at what they do. The list goes on. The point being the Top 14 isn't what you guys from abroad might think. The cliché of it being some league collecting old rusty pieces the SH rejects is fiction.
If we throw players away, then why does so many of them still get picked for SA?? Juandre Kruger was almost picked for the Bok-squad for this incoming tour, HM even said that in an open interview.
We never reject players. To us the Springbok is the ultimate accolade a player can get, unlike what's going on in France. We won't pick a guy if he doesn't tick off a few boxes.
Craig Burden, is too small, a poor thrower in the line-outs, a poor scrummager, and gives away a bunch of penalties. All things which an international hooker should excel at, like Bismarck and Adriaan. Deon Fourie is another example, as in Burden's case, and he's now also going to play in France.
You admit that you haven't seen him play when he played in SA, so then how can you go and judge him and how he'll fit in to the SA side? The variables are way too many to draw a comparison.
Now you go and show a video clip of him making a tackle on Brits. Wow! so based on one tackle we should pick him?? We can counter that with a collage of epic moments by Bismarck or Adriaan.
We don't dismiss players too quickly! Burden has been playing in SA for more than 3 years!! how long must we look at him before we decide that he's not going to make the cut? Yes there are the late bloomers, and those players might not always get a chance, but we would rather look at breeding young players that will give us longer periods of service. We prefer to pick players to make their debut only if they are based in SA. It's a way to reward them for staying in the country. But we are also aware of the fact that these guys can't play rugby forever, and has to get a decent amount of money to ensure financial safety for them and their families.
On the topic of Morne Steyn, may I suggest you go and read some older threads? It has been discussed so much that the one reason why he had such a slump is that he was overplayed. for 3 consecutive years he played every Super Rugby and Springbok game as well as Currie Cup without missing a single match. He was burnt out! now that he's getting more rest in France, his back to his old self with a lot more sharpness.
I don't know why you mention Danie Rossouw, He has retired from international rugby, so why talk about someone that's done with that part of his rugby career. Juan Smith, is a guy I'd like back in the squad, but he's not better than Willem Alberts or Schalk Burger at the moment, so he'll be our third choice. If one of them gets injured, then by all means pick him.
As for Kockott, enough has been said about the little shiit.
