To my wallaby bretheren , enjoy the victory!!
As demoralizing as the boks loss was initially, I have to say that in a weird way, I'm glad it happened this way. IMHO a dominant display of percentage rugby, regardless of the final score.
The boks could hold their heads up.... Worthy ambassadors of Saffaland both on and off the field.
Would have been completely gutted, had the wobs run us ragged. This loss should serve as a marker for bok class of 2012.
Kind of looking forward to 2012 and beyond I might add....... Battleship assuming the rightful title of 'the boks no. 1 ...no. 2' and cementing his position as the best hooker in world rugby, would love to see Sarel Pretorius get a run at scrumhalve and Hougaard, FdP 's understudy, move to left wing in place of Habana. Looking forward to seeing more of Juan de Jong, Ashley Johnson and a myriad of talented players in just chomping at the bit.
Beyond that I am eager to see who the boks new coach would be. That is the 60 million rupee question......
*crossing fingers*
I understand what you mean. It'll serve as a good wake up call and it will likely result in a complete overhaul with both coaches and players. Already PdV has quit, and Smit, Botha, Matfield etc. announced their retirement/overseas contracts before the tournament. Can't wait to see how the new Boks shape up, and I think a lot of it will have to do with the coach. Do you South African posters have a clear preference? I'd imagine Coetzee, Meyer and John Mitchell would all be in the running. I think a coach who encourages a more attacking approach whilst maintaining a clear element of the traditional field-position-orientated gameplan. I'm not sure which coach is best suited to this role, but with players like Francois Steyn, Francois Hougaard and Patrick Lambie all up and coming with long-term futures in the side, you'd think it insane to not exploit this.
How do you see the side shaping up over the next couple of seasons? Captaincy is another big issue, with both captain and vice-captain finishing up. Maybe a team looking like the following is on the cards:
1. Tendai Mtawarira
2. Bismarck du Plessis
3. Jannie du Plessis
4. Flip van der Merwe
5. Andries Bekker (c)
6. Heinrich Brussow
7. Schalk Burger
8. Willem Alberts
9. Francois Hougaard
10. Morne Steyn
11. Bryan Habana
12. Francois Steyn
13. Jaque Fourie
14. JP Pietersen
15. Patrick Lambie
This being said, there'll be a lot of competition in the SA ranks, including:
Props/Hookers: Chilliboy Ralepelle, Werner Kruger, Coenie Oosthuizen
Locks: Alistair Hargreaves, Gerhard_Mostert,
Loose Forwards: Pierre Spies, Ryan Kankowski, Juan Smith, Ashley Johnson, Deon Stegman, Dewald Potgieter
Scrumhalves/Inside Backs: Jaco Vermaak, Charl McLeod, Ruan Pienaar, Juan de Jongh, Elton Jantjies, Peter Grant, Wynand Olivier,
Outside Backs: Robert Ebersohn, Gio Aplon, Bjorn Basson, Gerhard van den Heever, Zane Kirchner
The next few years of 3N Rugby should be incredible with the All Blacks facing a similar 'rebuilding' period with a number of key players moving on and the Wallabies youth brigade (hopefully) approaching their peak. Bring on 2012!
