Farewell, Butch James

Everybody knew that Ruan Pienaar is a star in the making.

The question was always a positional one, with the laaitie preffering to play at half-back, even though he can play across the entire back line.

Judging from recent perfomances, especially yesterday’s master-class against (a rather lethargic) England, I reckon he’s found his true calling at fly-half.

I can’t help comparing him to that other great outside half who started his international career at scrum-half – Stephen Larkham.

This boy’s career is gonna be Legend. Ary.

27 Replies to “Farewell, Butch James”

  1. The SA defence was superb! The number of times England were camped out by the 5m line and nothing came of it. And the tackles! There was this one tackle in the second half, Pietersen and Fourie vakanama munhu! People always bandy that term ‘hungry for it’ around, but SA were truly hungry for it, and for England to concede a try in the dying seconds of the game was just poor.

  2. But did you see how England tried to play RSA’s game and failed miserably? Trying to play a running game against those guys was wrong, they’re not NZ or anything.

    When they kept it tight and used the forwards to drive forward, that’s when they gained momentum. Soon as they sent it out, they got mullered.

  3. The boks havent had a half-decent fly-half since Joel Stransky; Ruan is a revelation – just wish the critics would give de Villiers due credit for the decision.
    Butch is past his sell-by date but picking Ruan (a scrummy/centre for the sharks) over Steyn and Peter Grant took balls……..and vision.
    The boks have the talent and experience but the problem is huge racial, provincial, language etc tensions in that camp, but when they can focus on the game, they can give what we saw on Saturday.

    Also it was good to see an all-black front row instead of the stereotypical 13 white boys and two black wings.

    England who?

  4. Mos Native, mos def! Ndakatombo vhunduka when I saw the 3 darkies side by side in the scrum! 2 Zimbos in the team to boot!

    Is it still PC to call them the Boks, are they not the ProteaBoks or something similarly stupid?

  5. Truth be told Fourie du Preez is the best SH in the world so Gysie’s son had no choice but to change position. The death of Butch James as a bok FH – you’re having a laugh. Next year with the Lions tour Pieter the screaming banshee will need all his best players available and that will mean three fly halves with Andrew David Jameas a number one.

    SA’s last great FH wasn’t Stranksy but it was Lem – Henri Honiball to the uneducated.

    Cricket anyone – roflmao?

  6. Tonderai Chavhanga could have been a third in the no. 14 jersey but he doesnt perform to his full potential (he might have issues with the frequent injuries that have plagued his career)… All three have started a boks game though earlier this year… fills one up with warm, mushy patriotic feelings!

    bok jersey has two emblems, a dominant springbok and a smaller protea. the protea was chosen as the national sporting emblem for all SA sports teams so the bok emblem (with its apartheid links) was ordered to step aside. legal drama ensured until a compromise was reached to have both emblems, equal size, on either side of the bok jersey.

  7. Fourie du Preez? You’re having a laugh. I know a couple of gentlemen in Australia and New Zealand who’d disagree! A few in RSA too, methinks. Fourie! Pah!!

    Maybe Bitch James may not be done, but I reckon Pienaar would be first choice, barring a disastrous drop in form and a failure to make 10 his own.

    What’s cricket?

  8. Butch has brutal defence and good tactical play but he has packed on the pounds and is not mobile, he is too slow to make breaks and slip through openings, dan carter, cipriani etc will run rings round him; and his spot kicking is terribly inconsistent.
    Remember that Peter Grant had a phenominal super 14 season and missed the bok no. 10 jersey largely becoz of that nonsense period the boks had trying to play Francois at no. 10. the idea was to place laaities to replace percy and butch etc but it only worked with jantjies.
    I reckon if Butch cracks it, he will be third place and worst case; but still taking up space.

    fourie is still brilliant, but ricky is better…

    hougaard, butch and honiball are on par, but, not in the same league as Naas Botha and Joel Stransky.

  9. Cricket, that little game played with ball and bat where Zimbabwe gets bowled out for 67 runs in the 50 over version of the game, less than half a normal squads 20/20 score. The same little game where I am hoping India can complete a 7-0 routing of England in the ODI series. Aside that Mendis lad is a firecracker! What I wouldn’t give to be at HSC right now!

  10. Those Indians are on fire!!!!!

    Zim cricket is sad but i love those youngsters and will support them any day right to the last batsman……on 67 runs…lol..
    They hold their own on a terribly unbalanced battle field. the inequalities with training facilities etc is like a starved barefoot sprinter going up against another in spikes and on steroids…talent alone can only take you so far.

  11. My problem with Zim cricket is that so much talent has been wasted, and we’re left with the dregs. And I’m not talking Whites here, all the youngsters who could have come through.

    Instead, the entire nation is rotten, coupled with a system that rewards patronage over actual cricket knowledge/experience.

    This animal rotted from the head, and I think those at the top of ZC should be fired and prosecuted.

    Just a thought.

  12. Both Chingokas are silly Uncle Toms…the highlights of their calendars are attending Wimbledon and touring with the cricket teams instead of developing the infrastructure…

  13. “hougaard, butch and honiball are on par, but, not in the same league as Naas Botha and Joel Stransky”

    Liefling and Venus de Milo James on par with Lem. Before my blood boils, I will have to dismiss that comment with the contempt that it deserves. SA has spent the last ten years trying to replace Lem. He was the lynchpin in Mallet’s Drie Nasie Series winning team.

    JB name a SH better that Fourie du Preez. I was never a fan of Andrew James but he has grown on me and it’s on the back of his performances that SA won the RWC.

    Anywho – JB agree where are messrs mpfou, panyangara. As annoying as they were Ebrahim, Hondo, etc should still be in the mix. They keep talking about youth and how we will have a great team a few years from now. With Bvute and Chingoka killing the goose there will be no eggs in the future. That team of youngsters who were there after the white boys left should still be there. Even from the young white boys there are a span who should be there i.e. Friend.

    Even my mate Mr. Watambwa should still be in the mix – he’d be a veteran and giving the the kids the much needed BMT.

    Zim sport is shit and the country shitter.

  14. Wonder what marara the ICC team will cook up after their last visit recently on the back of such performances, they don’t exactly inspire confidence in their assessments. A strong backbone is not something you readily associate with those lily-livered paper pushing dithering ponces. The financial clout wielded by the South East Asian market hasn’t exactly helped either. It worries me that associate nations like Canada and Kenya can give us a run for our money and we are talking about making a return to test cricket and it’s a telling statistic that since 2005 Zim have won fewer than 10 ODI games to Bangladesh, Kenya and like 2 against the West Indies.

  15. Let’s accept the facts – Zimbabwe cannot return to Tests in the near future. If anything, Kenya should be elevated. I know it sucks, but we have to face reality.

    Zimbabwe’s cricket is rubbish, and isn’t worthy of the world stage. Period.

  16. That’s always been a myth. Sport is a very integral part of society. And politicians govern any society, and they always have a keen interest of sport. And politicians will use anything to their advantage.

    Especially a financial one.

  17. Jimmy Cowan – that’s funny. If you ask the average New Zealander who is there best SH that bugger is not on the list. He’s shite.

  18. Really? What do you know of the opinion of “the average New Zealander” for you to pronounce on it so? Oh wait, you haven’t actually done a survey and gauged the views across the spectrum and scientifically deduced the views of “the average New Zealander” have you?

    BD don’t fall into the trap of the self-aggrandising pundit class, of projecting your own “expert” opinion onto whole swathes of the unsuspecting populace.

    I accept he’s shit in your opinion. That I get!

  19. yeah, and to fully exploit the talent in Zim we need to raise the standard of living of EVERYONE until meaningful participation in school is not a priviledge of those at private or “better” government schools; and participation in interclub sport is not the priviledge of closed networks; one must not have to choose between pursuing sport after school and pursuing a career or studies… politics…
    SA, despite all the rainbow nation bullshit, and wealth here, have still not found an answer to that…what luck Zim?

    who’s Cowan …lol…no two people have ever agreed on a best 15 (just watch the different opinions of the “ëxperts” on supersport)…you say chibuku, i say scud…

  20. Going back to the original post; if Ruan stays consistent, nevermind getting better at 10, cant wait to watch him spar with Mr Dan Carter…

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