We are barely half way through the accustomed year end tours and already we have a few issues arising that I believe deserve some debate. Unfortunately, it stems from Bok failures rather than Bok success. At the end of a dominated Tri-Nations and Lions series, I seriously believed that the Bok camp was set for success at least until next years Tri-Nations. While i take nothing away from the French, who also beat the All Blacks earlier this year, the Boks have looked limp compared to that of the 3N’s and Lions games.

While the Boks have lost 2 key players in F.Steyn and JDV to overseas, the same could be said about numerous players from the all blacks and the aussies losing players over the last couple of seasons.

What has happened to turn the fortunes of the Boks so badly on its head that they head into the Italy game with a 0 from 3 return so far on this tour? Is it down to selection issues? Coaching issues? Fatigue issues? or did we all simply over rate a strong Bok team with a winning, 1 dimentional game plan that when it doesn’t work, there is no plan B or C?

What is the purpose of year end tours if these midweek games are not building/blooding new players but more to be showing who NOT to pick? it seems that these midweek Bok teams are not even the second best players in their positions?

I hope for the sake of SH pride and for the vital role that the Boks play in world rugby that they turn this around and put out a convincing win against the Italians and Irish, but how likely does that look given the last 3 games and players picked for this tour in general?

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So, after a very succesful Tri-nations campaign, what are the Boks future prospects looking like? Will PDV’s kick-and-chase game plan work next year or the year after or will teams have cottoned onto this idea and find a defensive pattern to counter act the effective kicking game recently employed. A fair number of the current Bok squad are RWC 07 winnners and look likely to be there or there abouts in 2011, but who will be the new comers challenging for places and if PDV continues with generally good selection policies, will this Bok squad become the stuff of legends during the next 2 seasons? there is definitely no lack of depth in South Africa, and should be strong contenders to defend their title come 2011.

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Well, well, well, well……..what can we say about this great Bok Side? Have they silenced their critics or have they silenced their critics? The display on Saturday was nothing short of sublime.

The game started off with the ref calling 2 penalties against the Boks that are still baffling me. Never in my short rugby career have I seen a ref calling for obstruction against a player who is supporting a jumper on a kick off. But on Saturday the All Blacks had this penalty given to them within the first 15 seconds. Later on in the 15^th minute, the very first scrum of the game, John Smit slipped upon making the hit and instead of resetting the scrum, the ref decided to award the All Blacks a second penalty. That’s already 6 points that were erroneously awarded to the All Blacks.

However, at this point in time I would like to commend the Boks for a few areas where they dominated and made sure they would do just enough to win the game. The selection of Frans Steyn proved to be monumental as the youngster slotted a 60m kick and two 50m kicks respectively for infringements made by the All Blacks at the ruck. In the preview of this game I had warned that the All Blacks might be caught out in trying to get away with what the Aus got away with a week earlier and it proved just how much a ref’s interpretation can affect a game.

The Bok scrum was much better and as I had intimated, Tony Woodcock is not the same as Benn Robinson. John Smit annihilated the veteran and late in the second half, a boks killed the All Black scrum under their own posts. The breakdown was dominated by the boks as Heinrich and Schalk proved just how deadly a combination they could become if given the time. My man of the match though was Fourie Du Preez who yet again, showed just how much a class player he is. His sniping runs, box kicks and efficient passing made all the world of difference, capped off with yet another try for the world’s best scrum half. The bok lineout caused problems as usual and Brad Thorne and Isaac Ross had no answers for Big Vic who stole quite a few of the Black lineouts at crucial times. Steven Donald was exposed in the middle as Jean De Villiers and Jacque Fourie ran wild all night long. I must say that when Isaia Toeava came on, his presence was immediately felt and I do not understand why Henry did not start with Toeava. The game had an exciting end to it as the All Blacks came back in the last 20minutes. The boks were exposed for their inability to play for 80min and that is something Peter De Villiers will need to address.

My preview was criticised by a few of our regulars on this site and one particular All Black supporter had this to say about my post:

Ø “Du Preez is the best in the world but Cowen is no slouch thus Im not concerned with the matchup”,

Ø “I also disagree that the W have a better scrum than ABs. If I remember correctly, the W scrum struggled a lot against us. I believe we can give smit and beast problems. Woodcock is afterall one of the best looseheads in the world”

I did not respond to these statements simply because I knew that the boks would do the talking for me. Firstly, Du Preez was head and shoulders better than Cowen and Du Preez single handedly scored the first try. Secondly, The All Blacks showed that they have the worst scrum out of the 3 Tri Nations teams by a mile so I rest my case there.

Finally, just a few moments in the game that I really enjoyed, Beast reeling down Kieren Read from behind and tackled him while John Smit revenged for Brad Thorne’s silly illegal tackle on him last year by putting in the tackle of the tournament on the so called “big Brad” and forcing him to spill the ball in the process.

To all the Springbok supporters, congratulations for the team’s fine performance and on their Tri Nations Victory. To all the All Black supporters, I hope you have learnt not to speak too soon and allow your disillusioned thoughts to cloud the facts. The All Blacks have been beaten 3-0 by the boks this year and they are not in the same class.

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The teams have been announced and here they are :-

Springboks – 15 Frans Steyn, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 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 Danie Rossouw, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Ruan Pienaar.

Frans Steyn has obviously been brought back into the fold to counter the Carter/Donald threat at the back. The rest of the team picks itself and credit must go to the Bok coaching team for their consistency so far. I am concerned about Spies as I have heard that he is not 100% fit. I would have liked to see Kankowski brought onto the bench to counter the possibility of a recurring injury ruling out the Bulls number 8 early in the game.

I believe the bok scrum will be much better as they would have worked on their weaknesses. Another point to consider would be that the Australian forwards bettered the New Zealanders and the Aus scrum has been the most consistent in the competition so far.

The bok side has no excuses as they have the better settled combinations and should be expected to put up a much better fight away from home, compared to their weak performance in Brisbane last week.

New Zealand - 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Ma’a Nonu, 12 Stephen Donald, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Subs: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Adam Thomson, 19 Rodney So’oialo, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Isaia Toeava 22 Cory Jane.

With the All Blacks coming off a 3 week layoff and also under pressure to deliver against a firing bok side, I expect nothing less than fireworks from the men in black. Looking at the team selected by Graham Henry, positions 1-11 are very much as expected and Henry must be commended for maintaining consistency, even with players that have mis-fired during the tournament like Kaino and Cowan, he has stuck to his guns and shown faith in his players.

At number 12 however, is where I believe Henry has taken a big gamble. Steven Donald is not a bad player at all and against any other team; I would not be as surprised to see him wearing the 12 jumper. However, when facing the world’s best inside centre in the form of Jean de Villiers, Donald might just be exposed. Furthermore, the All Black centre pairing has not played together before and they come up against De Villiers and Fourie who have been improving since being reunited just over a month ago. It is also about time that Rokocoko and Muliaina step up to the plate and it will be interesting to see how they fare. However, with ball in hand, Donald gives the All Blacks an extra kicking option and this should provide Frans Steyn with his sternest test yet at full back. The All Blacks will not have too much pressure on them in this regard and having both Donald and Carter on the field at the same time might just be a preview of Henry’s intended tactics to kick for territory and force the boks into making mistakes. It also provides the All Blacks options because with Carter being mainly a left footed kicker, it gives the All Blacks the left-right axis when kicking for territory.

Watch out for New Zealand’s counter rucking as I am sure Henry would have learnt from the Aussies that there are opportunities around the rucks and mauls when facing the boks. I am not sure though if the ref will allow as much freedom as Bryce Lawrence allowed in Brisbane because if not, then the All Blacks might just find themselves giving away a few penalties.

This game will be extremely physical in the tight five and expect the boks to bring their A game as they look to seal their Tri Nations victory. For key match ups, look at positions 9, 12 and 13 where I believe the bok superiority will be enough to edge this one. I expect Daniel Carter to be as his usual best and I would not be surprised if either Bakkies or Juan is assigned to put in a few late hits on the Maestro just to rattle him a bit.

This should be a tough and exciting encounter given the pre-match banter both in the respective teams’ camps and on this site. Here’s to yet another cracking rugby match that will lead to some interesting debate come Monday morning.  Enjoy it.

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The Wallabies ended the Springboks’ winning run in the Tri-nations with a well deserved 21 - 6 victory in Brisbane over the World Champions. A try each by Ashley Cooper and O’Connor proved sufficient to separate the two sides. But what an entertaining game! Despite only two tries being scored in the match both teams looked very keen to get over the opposition white wash! On no less than three occasions the Wallabies were denied a try by some last ditch defending and Brussow was denied a try due to duPreez uncharacteristically passing the ball forward to the Bok fetcher.

But was this a case of the Wallabies playing well or the Boks playing badly? I think John Smit said it best in the post match interview when he said that excuses are for losers. The Boks just met up with a team that out played them on the day.

What was once Australia’s Achilles heel actually proved to be a strong point as the Boks failed to match up to the Wallabies at scrum time. Yes, it was an improvement from last week from a Bok perspective but all in all the Wallaby front row proved too strong for the Boks, which must be a worrying aspect for PdV. The Wallabies were also able to match the Boks at the lineouts and very importantly the Australians were also very physical and competitive at the break-down; the presence of “Bam Bam” Pocock having an impact in this department of the game. These three facets, the scrum, line out and breakdown all combined to give Australia the platform that they needed to unleash their dangerous backline; and with Berrick Barnes back at inside centre all these things combined to give Australia the upper hand on the day. Giteau also benefited immensely from the snappier service he received from Will Genia who seems set to retain that number 9 jumper while Burgess may now end up the Whitaker of his generation.

What may have hurt the Boks, especially in the second half, was the absence of Bryan Habana on the wing who pulled out in the late stages of the first half with what looked like a hamstring strain. Combined with the absence of Pietersen on the right wing and the booming boot of Frans Steyn at the back, this meant the Boks were fielding a completely different back three than they have been fielding for the majority of the season. This seemed to seriously hamper the effectiveness of the Bok kick and chase game. It also helped that the Wallabies played it smart by retaining huge chunks of possession and playing in the Bok half.

With a trip to Hamilton next week PdV must be concerned by the comprehensive nature in which his side was beaten on Saturday. By contrast Robbie Deans and Graham Henry must at last have something to smile about as the chinks in the Bok armory have been exposed and a team that looked almost invincible seven days ago all of a sudden looks decidedly ordinary.

My man of the match award goes to Berrick Barnes, the man looks very accomplished and complete for a player so young.

So off to Hamilton on Saturday with the Boks still trying to get the two points they need to win the Tri-nations. If the Boks put in another performance like the one they gave in Brisbane I have no doubts that the Carter inspired All Blacks are going to defeat the Boks.

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I came across an interesting article on the internet today. A journalist was of the opinion that the current Bok team was the best Bok team ever (I assume he means post-apartheid). He then went on to compare it to the 1999 Bok team that won 17 Tests in a row (yes, the same team that was dumped out of the RWC’99 by an amazing Wallaby team) and concluded that the current team shaded it in his eyes because the current Boks have a better lock combination, have the best Bok scrummy ever, have a reliable goal-kicker and have a better backline.

I have always thought the 95 Bok team was a very good side and I was surprised that the journo didn’t mention it. Nonetheless the teams of 1999 and 2009 are below.

What are your thoughts? Is this team the best Bok side since 1994?

Class of 1999: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 13 Robbie Fleck, 12 Pieter Muller, 11 Pieter Rossouw, 10 Henry Honiball, 9 Joost van der Westhuizen, 8 Gary Teichmann (c), 7 Andre Venter/Bobby Skinstad, 6 Rassie Erasmus, 5 Mark Andrews, 4 Kraynauw Otto, 3 Cobus Visagie, 2 James Dalton, 1 Adrian Garvey.

Class of 2009: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn/Ruan Pienaar, 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.

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The Springboks and the Wallabies have named their teams for this weekends Tri-Nations match in Brisbane. We will start with the Boks: They have made one change to their starting XV which sees winger Odwa Ndungane coming in for the injured JP Pietersen. I would have thought that PdV would have drafted Frans Steyn onto the wing as he has played there before but I guess this just goes to show that PdV does not want to integrate Frans Steyn into the starting lineup as he is off to play in Europe.

It will be very interesting to see how Ndugane does especially under the high ball as I have no confidence in him in that aspect of the game. And especially now that the Wallabies have another great kicking option back in the side with Barnes.

The other changes for the Boks is on the bench as Danie Rossouw retrurns to the side as a replacement for lock Andries Bekker, who has been rule out for a month with a shoulder injury.

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

As for the Wallabies they have rung the changes and the biggest one for me is that scrumhlaf Will Genia FINALLY gets to start for the Wallabies. It has taken Robbie Deans long enough to realise that Genia is a better scrummy than Luke Burgess.

Center Berrick Barnes returns to the lineup after missing last weekends game due to injury. His return will bring another kicking option for Australia and a more solid looking center pairing with Adam Ashley-Cooper. Drew Mitchell comes in on the wing for the Wallabies too.

In the forward pack, Zimbabwean born flanker, David Pocock will start which sees captain George Smith moving to number8. In the front row, Tatafu Polota-Nau takes over from Stephen Moore at hooker.

I am impressed with this Wallaby team especially the changes in the backline and seeing Pocock starting with George Smith. Those two should really give Brussow a good test.

The Wallaby team in full is: 5 James O’Connor 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 George Smith (c), 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Subs: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Wycliff Palu, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Quade Cooper, 22 Peter Hynes.

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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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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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