What a game! Firstly, to all those on this forum who doubted the Boks the whole of last week, I hope you are eating humble pie now! Never ever right off the Boks. Right them off at your own peril! Not only did the Springboks win but they inflected the worst defeat England has had on their own home patch. Now I do not hear the All Blacks having the honour of holding such a record.
I will not sit hear and give you a blow by blow account of the game as I am sure you all watched this spectacle. I would now just like to reflect on that wonderful 80 minutes of rugby we saw. What stood out to me in that game was how the Springboks defence stepped up a couple of notches and really gave England no chance to play. There is not substitute to great defence and with it you can launch attacks and thus win games and World Cups!
Many had doubted the Boks chances especially with the loss of Juan Smith and Fourie du Press before the game but their replacements, Danie and Ricky, stepped up to the plate and were outstanding. I will admit that I have never been a great fan of Ricky but I have to take my hat off to him after this game. If I am not mistaken, he was named man of the match. Mention must also go to Ruan who seems to be the solution to our number 10 problems. Yes, he was against an average player against England but he barely put a foot wrong which was good to see. And to top it off his kicking for goal was first class. I know I could get bashed for this comment but Ruan is said to be the next Steve Larkham but I actually think he will be better than him! Ruan does not only have the potential to play like Larkham but Ruan also kicks for posts which Larkham did not do.
Back to the game: Yes, England were terrible but you can not take anything away from the Bokkie. It was just the kind of result they needed after unconvincing performances against Wales and Scotland. PDV always seems to save the best for last, in the Tri-Nations it was the Wallabies at the end being smashed by the Boks and now it is England. It would be nicer not to save the best for last and have the best all the time but this is rugby and anything can happen.
Congrats to the Boks, job well done, now you can put your feet up and rest.
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9 comments
Great Week for South Africa Sport | InTheNews.co.za | South Africa News says:
Nov 23, 2008
[...] Springboks did us proud by inflicting a record defeat on England on Saturday. The Boks beat England 42-6. That was Englands worst ever defeat on their home ground. The Springboks went into this match [...]
Manny says:
Nov 24, 2008
The Boks won. The scoreboard does not lie. I am one of those who has been trashing the Boks as a very average team and I will admit that the Boks did step up this past weekend. Their defence was very good, that we cannot deny, and the absence of Juan and Fourie seemed to have little, if any, negative impact on the team’s performance. But England were absolutely shocking and we cannot ignore this. Did Sackey manage to catch a ball the whole 80 minutes? Cipriani seems to have made it a rule to always pass the ball to ground, behind a player, or to no one in particular. Ditto Toby Flood! Gentlemen, I have seen tackle bags and cones put up a better defensive display than did England!! This is also a team that failed to score points against a team that played a full quarter of the game with fourteen men!
One thing for certain, we will not see many English faces in the Lions next year.
As for the Boks, PDV lives to fight the Lions, the woeful form of certain players is forgotten, and the terrible displays of the past year are also brushed under the carpet. I repeat, one win does not a good team make. I hope this victory does not serve to paper over the cracks in this side but I fear it has. Congrats Boks, now we wait for Lions tour next year!
One last comment which I cannot let slide Tian, and you knew this was coming. Ruan v Larkham……come now….does that really merit any sort of discussion??? On second thoughts I will let it slide, I am sure that comment was made in the euphoria of the England win.
Ron says:
Nov 24, 2008
Congrats to the Boks. Job well done. But as Manny rightfully pointed out, the Boks should not forget about Wales and Scotland. One great performance does not make you the worlds best (that title still remains with the AB’s). If I were PDV i would make sure we fixed what went wrong in the other games.
With regards to the Ruan vs Larkham comment, I think that was just emotions speaking there Tian. Come Tri-Nations we will see how great Ruan is, infact not even tri-nations, Super 14 will give him a good test.
Now if England play the way they did against the All Blacks then we could see this record Boks set being broken!
You saw the way Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record with ease and had time to showboat to the fans, the All Blacks are going to do likewise!
Guru says:
Nov 24, 2008
Tian, I agree with your sentiments, the boks should nver ever be written off. Now I hear some excuses coming from Manny and Ron regarding England’s mistakes and all, come on gents…..just have some humble pie and down it with a good gulp of “tail between the legs” cola. Truth is, you have realised just how potent the boks can be.
A team is only as good as the opposition allows it to be and England were terrible simply because they had the WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS all over them like a bad rash. I actually sympathise with Danny and co, who would not be a little jittery when you have the likes of Ruan and Adi stepping the way they did, Schalk and Danie putting in those rampaging runs and The Beast hitting you with the force of a hurricane, damn, I know I would be. Forgive the English gents, they are only human.
Oh and just by the way Tondikambi, Ron, Manny,Simba and Kamate, please may I refresh your minds regarding 3 important points we all argued about sometime before the UK end of year tour,
1)Ruan Pienaar IS now the OFFICIAL bok flyhalf
2)PDV has SURVIVED the chop and at this rate, will be
the WC coach in 2011
3)Habana did score a try vs England
4)Boks won all 3 matches and bounced back from their
slump
Some of you had the nerve to state that Eng and SA are in the same league and that SA are not in the same league as NZ and AUS!!!!! As humble bok supporters we understand that you may have been carried away with the excitement of finally having a bok team that you can toss around but I am sorry to burst your bubble gents, the boks are definitely in the same league as NZ and AUS and we can and will beat both teams at any given time, never underestimate the men from the south.
BRING ON THE BRITISH LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ron says:
Nov 24, 2008
Guru, let me touch on your 4 points:
1)Ruan Pienaar IS now the OFFICIAL bok flyhalf – I still think Butch would do a far better job than Ruan and you just letting a great player who could offer you a lot more go into the famous Springbok BIN! Boks tend not to know what the throw away and more often than not keep the rubbish inside the house and not throw it away!!
2)PDV has SURVIVED the chop and at this rate, will be
the WC coach in 2011 – lets not push it. A series loss to the Lions and finish yet again LAST in the tri-nations could signal PDV’s depature. Okay, he may win against the Lions but last in the Tri-Nations AGAIN is very likely!!!
3)Habana did score a try vs England – Granted he did score and I can not take anything I way from that but being a winger my self in my glory days; such tries as that of Habana’s is not satisfying for a winger.
4)Boks won all 3 matches and bounced back from their
slump – Fair enough!
Fraz says:
Nov 24, 2008
where mybeers haters???!!!!
Ron says:
Nov 24, 2008
Let’s link up soonest Fraz and I will give you your due rewards. I am a man of my word.
Manny says:
Nov 24, 2008
Guru…..my argument as regards PDV was that he would be sacked after Lions tour..and I still think it will happen depending on how badly the Boks lose!
Fraz, if you are in CT over the New Year period your beers will be presented to you…..isnt it possible for me to win them back at the poker table?
Fraz says:
Nov 25, 2008
Ey manny i will definately take a double or quits bet over a game of poker…….because in my multi talented arsenal poker is high up in the ranks and i will far rather enjoy 12 than 6 beers!!!
Ron keep those beers on ice champ and we’ll make a plan soon!!
Gotta love the smell of barley hops and water in the morning!!