This test started off on a very familiar note, the Boks firing with all cylinders and the opposition struggling to soak it up. From the start of the game, the Boks made their intentions very clear that they would not stray too much from their game plan. But, what they did not prepare us for was their intention to spread the ball wide in the opposition half. Last week, in the preview of this game, I made yet another bold statement but suggesting that the Boks would out score the Aus by 3 tries to 1. Little did I know that the Peter De Villiers led charges wanted 4 tries. My thinking before the game was that PDV is getting his mix right and the boys would be ready to spread the ball as I anticipated more space in the Aus defence. However, I was very shocked by the inability of the Aus team to carry out some basic tasks, catching, passing and kicking.

The Aus front row really came to the fore and both Smit and Beast at some point were found wanting as the Aus front row applied immense pressure. I was really impressed by Robinson who in my books has been the best Aus forward from S14 all the way to this last test vs. the Boks. However, this is where the Aus domination starts and ends. The Bok locks and loosies outplayed their counterparts by a mile. The stats reflect this fact because of the number of line outs and turnovers that the Aus gave away. I was impressed by Juan Smith as usual as he did all the dirty work and carried the ball very well. Pierre Spies also came to the party and his burst from the base of the scrum gave the Boks much needed momentum. Fourie Du Preez had an easy day thanks to Robbie Deans. I still do not understand what Will Genia must do to get the nod ahead of Luke Burgess. Robbie Deans must be blamed fully for either being biased or just plain dumb. He must be the only man in the world who still thinks Luke is a better scrummy than Will.

The Boks backline has finally silenced each and every critic that has been lambasting the Bok strategy. With a try count of 4, 2 for Habana, 1 for Jacques Fourie and 1 for Du Preez, I would like to hear what Graham Henry has to say about the Bok strategy. The backline scored off 1st phase, 3rd phase and off a penalty. What more must this team prove? The Boks used the rolling maul to great effect and at the same time spread the ball out wide. This team displayed the most complete rugby I have seen from any team in the world today. On the other hand, Richard Brown, Rocky Elsom and Matt Giteau had a shocker of a day. These players played out of character and I can only think of the pressure applied by the Boks as the only reasons why players of Matt’s caliber could not catch or kick the rugby ball. The Australian backline was misfiring and with such terrible service from Burgess, they struggled to string together any form of cohesion.

In the 65th minute, the Boks coach rang some interesting changes with Bekker coming on for Botha, Schalk coming on for Smith and Steyn coming on for Pienaar at the back. This gave the Aussies a ray of hope as they seemed to find more space and scored 2 tries as a result. This still begs questions on the Boks ability to maintain their intensity with players coming off the bench. However, it must be mentioned that the last try scored by Australia came from one of their players running past an injured Bekker who could not put in the tackle as he had injured his ac joint.

All in all, this performance by the Boks will certainly silence many a critic, including some of our regular I Love Rugby bloggers. It will be interesting to hear what all the Bok haters have to say after such a stirling performance. Personally, I cannot see any team being able to beat the Boks unless the Boks win the next match in Brisbane and claim the Tri-nations and then have to go to NZ with nothing to play for. Other than that, we are seeing the best rugby team in the world doing what they do best, completely dominate and force their opponents into submission.

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The Springboks have named Ruan Pienaar at fullback in place of Frans Steyn for this weekends test match against Australia. When I saw this change I must say I was a bit shocked! What is PdV thinking? I am not the biggest Frans Steyn fan but the boy is playing well especially with this kicking game the Boks have adopted. I can not recall the last time I saw Ruan Pienaar play at fullback so it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

PdV has come out and said that the reason he has picked Ruan at the back is in the hope that he will spark the Boks attack. In all fairness, the Boks backline has not sparked for a while now but why reshuffle things when it is working for you? As they say, “If it ain’t broken then don’t fix it.”

But then looking a bit more closely to this Ruan selection at the back; chances are high that Frans is going to leave SA Rugby and go play in Europe so thus PdV has to come up with a solution at the back if Frans does end up leaving. So could Ruan be the long term replacement fullback for the Boks? We all know that PdV loves Ruan and he will do anything to find a place in the team for him but I have my doubts with Ruan at the back.

The second change in the Bok lineup sees Shalk Burger return to the bench after his ban. PdV may have been tempted to bring him straight into the starting lineup if Juan Smith was injured but Smith has been declared fit. I would have been shocked if PdV had replaced Burger with Brussow.

What do you make of Ruan starting at fullback?

The Bok Team in full is: 15 Ruan Pienaar, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Frans Steyn.

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There is no doubting that the Tri-Nations is the best international rugby competition there is. We were treated to a thriller on Saturday in Sydney as the All Blacks ran out winners over the Wallabies. Going into the game, the smart money was on Australia as they were playing at home but the Wallabies lacked BMT (Big Match Temperament) as they failed to close down the game after leading for the bulk of the game.

Wallaby fans will blame this loss on a couple of factors:
1) They just do not have the experience to close down games but I guess this will come with time as their team is fairly young and they will mature;
2) The injuries the Wallabies suffered during the game did not help. The loss of Barnes and O’Connor were key as that just disrupted their already disrupted backline which did not have Sterling Mortlock.

Wallaby fans may also blame the loss to the poor refereeing of Jonathan Kaplan but Kaplan had a very poor game and made bad calls for both sides. You can not say Kaplan ‘favoured’ one of the teams more than the other, he was just consistently poor through out the match.

Before I forget, whilst we are talking about Kaplan, why was Jimmy Cowan’s try disallowed?

Looking at the All Blacks; they will take the win and with it they retain the Bledisloe Cup which is a big deal in Australasia Rugby. As much as the All Blacks will enjoy this win, I am sure they will look back at the game and see that they still have a lot of work to do. The execution of the All Blacks during the game was piss poor! Too many knock ons, forward passes and dropped balls. The All Blacks used to be so clinical with their finishing but that seems to have let them down this year.

Their lineout was slightly better on Saturday but it still needs a great deal of work. As I mentioned earlier, the Wallabies may say that the reshuffling in their backline may have cost them the game, but the All Blacks also had problems of their own with the losses of McAllister and Smith during the game. Credit though must go to Stephen Donald who came on and kicked the up and unders well as he went to flyhalf.

You can not review this match without a special mention to Dan Carter. Many had thought that he would not be ready for this game after his injury and that the All Blacks were silly to bring him back so soon. But the guys quality just showed on Saturday as he steered the All Blacks to the finish line. His kicking for goal was accurate as was shown with his winning penalty goal with just two minutes left on the clock. Dan Carter has the ability to single handily turn a game and that should be a concern to the Springboks when they take on the All Blacks. Morne Steyn will really have a test up against Carter.

What will I take away from this game? - It is great to see Dan Carter back in the All Black, the Bledisloe stays in New Zealand and Kaplan should not ref anymore!

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The All Blacks have made a big call! Graham Henry has decided to throw Dan Carter straight into the firing line as he named him in his All Black starting XV that takes on Australia this Saturday in Sydney. Carter comes in at number 10 in place of Stephen Donald who is relegated to the bench. In fairness, Donald has not done much wrong in the Tri-Nations tests so far this term but I guess Henry has decided that Carter may just provide the extra spark the All Blacks need after loosing back to back tests against the Springboks.

Carter has looked good since his return from injury and he has been in great form for Canterbury so I guess there really is no question about his fitness as I am sure he would not have been selected to play if he were not fully fit.

Graham Henry continued to ring the changes to his starting XV for Saturday. Luke McAllister comes in at 12 in place of Ma’a Nonu. I was a bit surprised about this move but I guess Henry has decided that he may need another kicking option at 12 which he will have with McAllister. But reports this morning suggest that McAllister has picked up an injury in training today (Tuesday) and may not be able to start on Saturday which would mean that Nonu would start at 12.

Another big call is the relegation of Rodney So’oialo to the bench as he is replaced by Kieran Read. I would have thought that Rodney would start the test and then have Read come on as an impact player. This is the first time So’oialo has not been the first choice selection since 2005. Could his All Black days be numbered? I do not think so. An inform So’oialo is a great weapon to have for the All Blacks.

I had thought that Henry would drop Joe Rokocoko after his poor display in South Africa but he has stuck with him. My thinking was that Cory Jane may have been drafted in to replace Joey but Jane does not even find a place on the bench.

The team in full is: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Rodney So’oialo, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Ma’a Nonu.

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Robbie Deans has made three changes to his Wallaby starting lineup to take on the All Blacks on Saturday in Sydney. Rocky Elsom makes his comeback to the Wallaby side on the blindside flank, having finally overcome the knee injury he suffered whilst playing in Europe. The return of Elsom means that Wallaby 8th Man, Wycliff Palu, is now relegated to the bench as Richard Brown comes in at number 8. The final changes is an expected one due to the injury sustained by Wallaby captain, Sterling Mortlock. Young James O’Connor will come in at fullback and Adam Ashley Cooper moves from fullback to centre. George Smith takes over the Wallaby captaincy from Mortlock.

All in all, not a bad looking Wallaby side but I just wonder how much they will miss Mortlock. When Mortlock went off injured against South Africa in Cape Town, O’Connor cam on and did not look bad at all. But then again O’Connor had a shocker when he came on against the All Blacks. So it will be interesting to see which kind of O’Connor comes out on Saturday.

The team in full is: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 David Pocock, 20 Will Genia, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Peter Hynes.

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Dan Carter is now back! There have been many players in the game today who have come back from horrific injuries and never been the same when they returned. This is not the first time Dan Carter has made a come back from a serious injury. In 2005, Carter broke his leg but made a successful return from that. Now this time around he is coming back from a ruptured Achilles tendon that sidelined him for six months.

Dan Carter has since played two games for Canterbury in the Air New Zealand Cup and has now been recalled to the All Black squad. Now many people will have different opinions about Carter returning to the All Blacks so soon. Some believe that the All Black selectors are panicking after their disappoitment in South Africa and they are hoping Carter’s return will help them win their remaining games in the Tri-Nations. Whilst some believe that Carter’s return is just what the All Blacks need.

I guess the biggest question is if Dan Carter is ready to be playing test rugby again. There is a huge gulf between the Air New Zealand Cup he has been playing in and Tri-Nations rugby. There is no doubting that Carter has the quality to be playing for the All Blacks but are they not rushing him back into the deep end too soon? I am sure his injury is 100% healed now or else he would not be playing but how is his match fitness and his match sharpness? He certainly can not be at the top of his game right now. But is a 70% ready Dan Carter better than a 100% Stephen Donald?

Could just the sheer presence of having Dan Carter on the field be enough to spur the All Blacks on? Maybe that is just what they need to reignite their Tri-Nations.

Personally, I feel that if Dan Carter himself feels that he is ready to wear the All Black kit again and the selectors believe he is ready, then he should be given a run and maybe not start against the Wallabies in Sydney on 22 August, but come off the bench and see how he does from there.

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This game proved to many who would have still been in doubt just how good the bok team and management are. This is a team that has a good combination of experience and youth within its ranks and good team spirit overall. The Wallabies came with a team that looked very good on paper, a coach that has a track record that speaks for itself and they started off just as most expected, firing. But as the All Blacks experienced in their 2 previous tests vs the Boks, the pressure applied by the men in green and gold proved to be too much to handle for the Wallabies.
 
The Wallabies forwards had a mixed bag of performances as Al Baxter gave John Smit a tough time in the scrums yet James Horwill and Nathan Sharpe struggled to contain Matfield and Botha in the lineouts. Both George Smith and David Pocock did not seem to trouble Heinrich Brussouw in yet another game where Brussouw out played the best of the best. Overall, the bok forwards dominated possession, the breakdown and ensured that the Aus forwards would have to work hard in stopping the rolling juggernaut.
 
The backline however is where the comparison proved to be more difficult. Here, tactics differed between the 2 coaches. Robbie Deans tried his best to utilise his backline and this was confirmed as early as the 2nd minute when off 1st phase ball, Adam Ashley Cooper found himself a gap outside JP Peterson and scored the game’s 1st try. This was in stark contrast with the boks who never sent the ball down the line once the whole game. It appears that JP Peterson and Brian Habana are on the park just to chase up and unders. While I will not lambaste a winning formula, I must say that I understand what Peter De Villiers was trying to do in introducing “Total Rugby”, which many misconstrued as being a deviation from forward play. The bok backline did not get any ball even when at a point in the 2nd half, the boks had a scrum 5metres from the opposition’s try line. I would have liked to see the backline get much more ball because players like Jean De Villiers and Jacques Fourie are being underutilised on attack.
 
Luke Burgess was exposed by his counterpart Fourie Du Preez. I still don’t understand why Robbie Deans keeps on insisting on picking Luke ahead of Will Genia who made a world of difference when he came on. Having mentioned my issue with the lack of backline plays, I was very impressed by the workload shown by both bok wingers. My pre-match concerns about Frans Steyn were thwarted because the youngster’s positional play was spot on. He seldom allowed the ball to bounce and on a few occasions, punished the Wallabies when they kicked straight to him.
 
Special mention goes to John Smit for his grubber that led to the boks’ only try. This play was so good that ESPN (Europe) recognised it as the week’s 2nd best sports play. He may not always be the best in his position but his experience and presence on the field cannot be replaced. With the boks only needing another bonus point victory to clinch the Tri-Nations one cannot see them blowing it from here. They have proven that they are the very best in the world and as long as they can maintain focus, this team could go on to break more records.

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The Boks, fresh from their back to back wins over New Zealand, face Australia at Newlands on Saturday in what promises to be a cracker of a game. A win for the Boks will go a long way in ensuring that South Africa wins their first tri-nations title since 2004; while a win for Australia will place them in a strong position in the tournament given that they are yet to play a single home game. A win for the Wallabies will also send a warning shot to the world of rugby that the Wallabies will be serious contenders for the Webb Ellis trophy come 2011.

Deans has not made any changes to the starting XV that went down 22-16 to New Zealand nearly three weeks ago. The only change sees Peter Hynes come into the matchday 22 in place of Phil Waugh, as the Wallaby coach opts for a four - three split on his bench. This makes sense given the wobbly game that young O’Connor had in New Zealand. Similarly, PdV has kept his faith in the starting XV that ran out against New Zealand in Durban, with the only change being the return of Ruan Pienaar on the bench in place of Wynand Olivier. Pienaar’s presence in the team makes the Boks look a much more balanced side as compared to last week, when there was no cover at fly-half for the Boks. This in itself should make for a good encounter; two settled sides; one on red hot form and the other improving its performances game by game. I am tempted to say that on current form we will be seeing the two best sides in the world go head to head on Saturday.

It’s hard to see the Wallaby front row standing up to the Boks’ scrummagers.. PdV has even tried to initiate some mind games by all but calling the Wallabies cheats when it comes to scrum time! Although I expect the Boks to have an upper hand in this department I do not expect the Wallabies to try and collapse the scrums in an effort to nullify the Bok supremacy in this area. I thought Baxter fared very well against Woodcock but he faces the ultimate test in The Beast. We mustn’t forget however that Benn Robinson showed John Smit a thing or two when they scrummed against each other in the Super 14.

Expect the lineouts to be keenly contested this weekend as both teams pride themselves in dominating this area of the game. I think it will be dead even; but the major difference will be that the Boks are likely to try and use the lineouts as a set up for the driving mauls; a known Achilles heel of the Wallabies. The Wallabies by contrast will use the lineout as a launch pad to spread the ball wide and test what has been an “iffy” Bok defensive line.

Brussow gets another stern test in the form of George Smith but to date, Brussow has passed all tests with flying colours. Richie McCaw’s all round game makes him the king of openside flankers; but George Smiths physical stature makes him the king of the breakdown. Brussow has been the darling of SA rugby because of his exploits on the ground, but Mr Smith will be the acid test of just how good Brussow is and I will put my head on the block and say that Smith will outperform Brussow on Saturday.
If the Boks have the best pack in world rugby, then the Wallabies have the best backline. From 10 to 15 Australia have players who can be described as complete on both attack and defence and I fully expect the Wallabies to create a series of holes in the Bok backline. DeVilliers and Fourie, be warned!
The strength of the benches seems pretty evenly matched, although Ricky Januarie’s presence on the Bok bench continues to mystify me. In a game that’s likely to be as close as this one, Ricky could make the difference between a Bok win and a Bok loss.

Overall I don’t think we will see a Test that is as physical as the one we saw last week. The Wallabies rely more on smart tactics, retaining possession, and stringing the phases together to create gaps outwide. No doubt the Boks will still try to man handle and intimidate the Wallabies. Giteau, Barnes, Mortlock, Mitchell and Cooper all have good boots and they will no doubt try to keep the game in the Bok half; as I am sure Messrs Steyn, Du Preez, and Frans Steyn will try to keep the game in the Australian half. Because of the kicking we are likely to see, the lineouts will become a critical part of the game; and as mentioned, I expect the Boks to try and use the lineouts to attack the Wallaby forwards while the Wallabies will use the lineout to attack the Bok backs. The defense that is able to withstand the most pressure will win it for their side.

This is a really tough game to call; so I won’t. I will simply sit down with a beer in my hand and enjoy the two best teams in world rugby going at it.

South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Adi Jacobs.

Australia:15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12-Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Richard Brown, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 David Pocock, 20 Will Genia, 21 Peter Hynes, 22 James O’Connor.

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There is no doubting that the Springboks are a team in great form right now and a large part of this has to go down to Heinrich Brussow. For the first time in a while, the Boks now have a ‘fetcher’ who has shown us that he can even match, if not better the best in the business in Richie McCaw. This coming weekend he will have arguably an even sterner test when he is up against Australia’s George Smith and David Pocock.

But what does the great form of Heinrich Brussow mean to the future of Schalk Burger, the man whose jersey he took? Let us not forget that Burger was the darling of SA Rugby not too longer ago. An name that would be first on the coaches team sheet. This is a guy with 50 test caps under his belt and was named IRB World Player in 2004. Brussow has gotten his chance to make the number 6 jersey his own due to Burger’s eight week ban from the game for his eye gouging during the Lions Tour. Brussow came in to replace Burger and he has looked amazing. He has just added another dimension to the Bok game at the point of break down. Brussow may not be as big as Burger thus you do not see him crashing the ball up but his low center of gravity is what has enabled him to become one of the best in the business.

Brussow may only be 23 years old but he looks like he has been in the game for years. What I would like to find out from you is what you think is going to happen when Burger’s ban is over and he is legible to be selected for the Boks again? Does PdV stick with Brussow or he calls back Burger? There is no doubting that PdV has two quality players at his disposal to choose from. But then again with Burger’s injury problems, PdV may not have much of a decision to make in Burger maintains his injury proneness.

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This weekend I was visiting family in the Western Cape and watched this game from a pub somewhere in Stellenbosch. I was quite disturbed when 90% of the Springbok supporters only started singing the national anthem on Die Stem. I did not realise that this country still has such jokers who do not acknowledge the full anthem. Anyway, I managed to regather myself in time for the All Blacks’s Kapango instead of the expected Kamate Kaora. This I thought would also mean a different side altogether from the one that lost by 9 last week but boy was I wrong.

I was very tempted to just call this the “I told you so” post by Guru. This would have been a message being sent to some of my fellow iloverugby regulars who for some reason thought that wet conditions would suit the All Blacks more. In response to those suggestions last week, I went as far as predicting that the Boks would win by a greater margin than the week before, even if it rains. That prediction proved to be true and more importantly I am sure these fellows will now give the Boks their due respect. Here is how I saw the game:

All in all, I was not happy with the ref. He got all too technical and messed up the flow of the game on a number of occasions with his stop start whistling. However, as bad as he was, at least he was consistently bad with both teams and I cannot accuse him of any bias, other than that he just did not ref the game well.

I have to give respect and take my hat off to the Bok coaching staff. The tactics they used were sublime and it was very clear from the beginning that the message to the Boks was play in the opposition’s half. Frans Steyn, Morne Steyn and Fouries Dupreez kept the All Blacks back 3 extremely busy with their good tactical kicking. The first 20min of the game were a carbon copy of typical Bulls rugby where kicks were put up and pressure applied. This is where the whole theory of the All Blacks being better in wet conditions was blown out of the water. Sitiveni Sivivatu, Mill Muliaina and Joe Rocokoko all took turns in either spilling the ball of being tackled ferociously as they took an up and under. Thoroughout the game, the All Blacks would try and run everything, even from their own 22. It paid off once but back fired 3 times. The All balcks did not have someone with an intelligent boot to relieve them of pressure from their own 22. Even when Stephen Donald was replaced by Luke Mcallister, all he did was run some more. Not only is it dumb to try and run everything in a test match, but even more so when the ball is wet. With 5min to go, the stats showed that the All Blacks had 29 handling errors to the boks 15, that’s double. While most of SA media would rather give credit to the players themselves, I will take my hat off to Peter De Villiers and say that the man has learnt from his earlier mistakes and the tactics that his team are using are as close to perfect as any.

I was very impressed by Beast, John Smit, Victor Matfield, Heinrich Brussouw, Brian Habana, Morne Steyn, Frans Steyn and Jacques Fouries. While the whole Bok team played well in general, these players proved just how invaluable they are for all their hard work and just doing their basics right. Special mention goes to Morne who has stepped up to the plate and made the number 10 jersey his own. I am also convinced that after 2 games in which he outplayed his opposition, Heinrich Brussow is proving just how good a player he is. He has outplayed, outsmarted and outfetched Richie McCaw in the 2 tests.

All in all, I said it last week and I will say it again. The Boks are a class above the All Blacks both man for man and as a unit. The Boks played smarter rugby and showed that they are better both in dry and wet conditions. The All Blacks will need to go back home and lick their wounds but they should not kick themselves too much because they lost to a better team. Looking ahead, I am much more concerned about the Wallabies because they are more structured, have better quality players and have had enough rest while the boks are coming off 2 bruising encounters. If the Boks can take the Newlands match then the Tri Nations is theirs to lose, otherwise, the competition is still on.

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