Springbokke vs Ierland Series

[Slim 293]

I missed the entire first half, but obviously it was a different game because the Boks are playing at such intensity that they should be flogging the Irish............

 

[Benaud]

Much better from the Boks when the bench came on too. Just needed my rubbish chat to spark them into gear.

 

[Ulrich]

Basically.

Lions 1 - 0 Ireland.

 

[Cardiffblue]

Great second half. Difficult to say how much of the Irish drop off was due to altitude but they couldn't stay in the game. Completely shagged out by the end. Final test a sea level? Will be a cracker

 

[Lindommer]

Nice to see the Bokke in white jumpers for these two tests. Same as the ABs when Scotland visit NZ, the home team changes and the ABs wear white with black piping.

We've had this tradition in test rugby for decades when the home team changes if there's a conflict in jumper colours. HTF did we end up with this soccer practice of "away" kit when there's a conflict for non-test matches? And often when there's not a clash of colours. All rugby teams should do as Ireland have on this tour: when travelling take only ONE match kit, home team changes whenever there's a colour clash.

 

[PaarlBok]

If there ever was a test showing that the Springbokke must not select chicken runners, This test was it. Vermeulen looking like a shadow of the player he use to be while Whiteley show he should have been the captain from day 1. Kriel hopefull will start the next one.

 

[Ulrich]

Just a little relieved but not at all impressed.

We need more complete wingers. Combrinck is a start, and one down. I don't know but I don't think JP or Mvovo are complete enough. Perhaps Leolin Zas or Courtnall Skosan can fill the other wing.

Since the heydays of Habana and JP we have yet to unearth wingers who can catch a high ball, run lines, kick and who have genuine pace. Mvovo is a stop gap for me and JP is out of sorts, has been for a long time. Habana has a great work ethic but I'm afraid we need some guys who can keep up with the younger generation of players we face nowadays.

Back-row is imbalanced.

8. Whiteley
7. PSdT
6. Jaco Kriel
5. Mostert / Lood de Jager
4. Etzebeth
3. Redelinghuys
2. Marx
1. Kitshoff

Just a thought. Long-term I'd have PSdT back at 5 when we have a suitable No 7 in the squad. Kolisi, although a good player, just isn't a 7 for me. The Bokke play well when they have an imposing No 7 complemented by a workhorse at 6.

As a bonus the pack above has 4 lineout options.

 

[PaarlBok]

"Maak die Leeus Bokke" problem solved.

 

[Ulrich]

Geez, just read this bullshit.

The Springboks will not be going onto the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium field for the deciding match against Ireland on Saturday thinking that they can start off playing the rugby they finished with in Johannesburg at the weekend.

That much was made clear on Monday by coach Allister Coetzee, who has hinted that he may stick with the players who started at Emirates Airlines Park even though it was a much-changed side that finished the game and was seen to be responsible for the magnificent comeback from a 19-3 halftime deficit to score a 32-26 win.

There was a perception after the game that the way the Boks played in the second half, with the Lions players contributing strongly to an upping of the tempo that took the Irish out of their comfort zone, was an indication of the way forward and would impact on selection this week.

But according to Coetzee, the match in Johannesburg went according to plan, with the second half's quick-tempo approach always being part of the initial script after the foundation had been laid earlier.

“Test rugby is always about two halves,” said Coetzee. “The first half is a battle of attrition. That is when you absorb the pressure and soften up you opponents and wear them down and get physical ascendancy so that in the second half you can dominate. How do you know that the guys who started the game didn’t do the job and weren’t just as responsible for the win as the guys who did well in the second half were?

“It was typical test match rugby in Johannesburg. It was tight and close in the first half, but unfortunately we conceded too many penalties and that allowed them to get ahead of us. But our bench did the job they were expected to do after halftime. If you have a bench it must make an impact. And that is what happened.”

Coetzee spoke about territory and discipline being important at the start of the build-up week to the Johannesburg game, and it was no different as he started to prepare for the Port Elizabeth test match on Monday.
“We won’t be approaching this game any differently,” said Coetzee in response to a question about whether the way the Boks prevailed with ball in hand in the second half might have changed his thinking with regards both selection and game strategy.

“It will be a battle of attrition at the start. You don’t get easy test matches. We must have patience in our plan, we must focus on having a good set piece again, and we must be patient in our kicking game. Our aerial skills must improve this week. The Irish will feel that they’ve had great reward so far with their kicking game. That is one of the things we will focus on at today’s training session in Zwide.

“Although we were well behind at halftime in Johannesburg, I still saw some great stuff in the first half. We had opportunities to score, we just never made use of them. We lost too much ball in contact, and that with the penalties that we conceded, hampered our continuity. One of our other big focusses today will be our handling of the contact.

“The Irish are very good at stripping the player in possession of the ball. We saw that a few times in the first half. They don’t just come at you with double tackles. They also try to strip you of the ball. We saw them do that to Damian de Allende right in front of the sticks and to Siya Kolisi too. I thought our body position was much better in the second half and the way we were rewarded for our carrying the ball will give the players confidence on an individual level.”

In other words: "Government doesn't allow me to select the best players, but I'm hoping the same recipe works again and doesn't turn into disaster".

Toetie looks older already.

He is also contradicting himself. Allister has said that the first half was unacceptable - now he is saying perhaps they played just as big a part?

Well if trailing 3 - 19 at half time and 10 - 26 around the 60 min mark is part of the plan then something is wrong with your standards. 9 times out of 10 we will not salvage such games.

 

[Blue]

y

Just a little relieved but not at all impressed.

We need more complete wingers. Combrinck is a start, and one down. I don't know but I don't think JP or Mvovo are complete enough. Perhaps Leolin Zas or Courtnall Skosan can fill the other wing.

Since the heydays of Habana and JP we have yet to unearth wingers who can catch a high ball, run lines, kick and who have genuine pace. Mvovo is a stop gap for me and JP is out of sorts, has been for a long time. Habana has a great work ethic but I'm afraid we need some guys who can keep up with the younger generation of players we face nowadays.

Back-row is imbalanced.

8. Whiteley
7. PSdT
6. Jaco Kriel
5. Mostert / Lood de Jager
4. Etzebeth
3. Redelinghuys
2. Marx
1. Kitshoff

Just a thought. Long-term I'd have PSdT back at 5 when we have a suitable No 7 in the squad. Kolisi, although a good player, just isn't a 7 for me. The Bokke play well when they have an imposing No 7 complemented by a workhorse at 6.

As a bonus the pack above has 4 lineout options.

You can not seriously think that we will ever see an all white Bok pack again? What planet are you living on?

Beast or Nykane will always start. There has to be a black back rower. I'd be totally confused were this not the case.

 

[Blue]

Geez, just read this bullshit.


In other words: "Government doesn't allow me to select the best players, but I'm hoping the same recipe works again and doesn't turn into disaster".

Toetie looks older already.

He is also contradicting himself. Allister has said that the first half was unacceptable - now he is saying perhaps they played just as big a part?

Well if trailing 3 - 19 at half time and 10 - 26 around the 60 min mark is part of the plan then something is wrong with your standards. 9 times out of 10 we will not salvage such games.

"You don't get easy test matches..."

No you don't but in SA's case they will just be made a lot more difficult.

In no other test team in the world will a guy like Mvovo survive the cut. But he will start again. Has to make up the numbers.

Skosan by the way is much better player. Why is he fucking around with Mvovo?

 

[Blue]

If there ever was a test showing that the Springbokke must not select chicken runners, This test was it. Vermeulen looking like a shadow of the player he use to be while Whiteley show he should have been the captain from day 1. Kriel hopefull will start the next one.

No he won't. He will play off the bench. HE might not even make it onto the bench.

 

[Ulrich]

Here we go again:

Cape Town - Trade union Cosatu has welcomed the transformation in rugby and sees it as a move in the right direction in uniting the nation behind the Springboks.

In a press release on Wednesday, Cosatu stated that head coach Allister Coetzee should be supported and given time to integrate the new style of play that is needed from South African rugby, if the Boks are to keep up with Southern Hemisphere style of play.

The press statement went on to state that: "Members of the Springboks who had previously approached Cosatu to look into the lack of transformation, have signalled that there is a group of white players who want to see this integrated team and coach fail. This may be behind the bad performance of some of the players in the last two Tests (against Ireland). We should never underestimate the attitude of some rugby players and supporters, who are not supportive of this Springbok team and this transformation agenda. These players who sabotage the performance of the Springboks must be investigated and remove from the Springbok set-up.

"The coach must also not relent to the pressures on him; we stand and fall by a representative Springbok team that has all our players included. The days of reserving some positions for some white players must be gone forever and we must also not include foreign players any longer. We have enough talent in the country to put together great teams that can win our country the matches. The coach must not panic and start ignoring players who are part of the squad for imported players we want to see our squad on the field first before the squad is expanded to include others. Cosatu will continue to champion the interests of black players who were excluded for white players who were promised positions from their fathers and the Stellenbosch mafia. We want a team that includes all the players in South Africa, both black and white, with no more guarantees for old white players.
Cosatu added that it wants to see: "An end to the domination of M-Net of rugby broadcasting and that matches should be shifted to the SABC channels or shown during open time on M-Net, whose monopoly in South Africa is part of the old apartheid linked companies state capture. Rugby commentators should reflect the new South Africa and the black commentators defended against M-Net, while the old white commentators should be replaced by younger white commentators, as these old commentators still demonstrate apartheid prejudices.

"The referees and transformation funding and support leaves much to be desired and we want to see more urgency in all the junior areas, including schools and black clubs. The sponsors and businesses linked to SARU also need to be reviewed, so all communities get opportunities and not only the old white boys club."

Cosatu said it would be monitoring developments in rugby across the value chain and will be calling on SARU to speed up transformation at all levels.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^^^^^^ reading that hurts my heart almost as much as my head. Who are these people & more to the point who put them in charge of anything? My guess is that they're pretty much self-appointed/ self-anointed which is always a bad sign. God help South Africa & South African rugby 'cos these guys clearly don't care for either.

 

[Blue]

We are so fucked.

Mvovo will start and so will Kolisi, both who deserve to be dropped simply based on performance and not the color of their skin.

This seems to be the first time that the politics is really dictating selections. Not a good sign.

 

[Blue]

^^^^^^^ reading that hurts my heart almost as much as my head. Who are these people & more to the point who put them in charge of anything? My guess is that they're pretty much self-appointed/ self-anointed which is always a bad sign. God help South Africa & South African rugby 'cos these guys clearly don't care for either.

God seems to be helping New Zealand every weekend. He's too busy.

 

[Pfitzy]

^^^^^^^ reading that hurts my heart almost as much as my head. Who are these people & more to the point who put them in charge of anything? My guess is that they're pretty much self-appointed/ self-anointed which is always a bad sign. God help South Africa & South African rugby 'cos these guys clearly don't care for either.

Bloke I work with was telling me about the riots going on in RSA at the moment - people are fed up with the corruption, and it's at all levels.

 

[KevinO]

Seen photos on a friends fb page yesterday. Its a shame, but while they are not picking the best squad because of racial quotas they should be removed from world rugby again. Until political agengas are no longer influencing selections.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Third Test South Africa vs Ireland
@ Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Lwazi Mvovo

Ireland: 15 Tieran O’Halloran, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Luke Marshall,12 Stuart Olding, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath. Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Finley Bealham, 18 Tadgh Furlong, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Matt Healy.

 

[Quick Hands]

^^^^^^^ reading that hurts my heart almost as much as my head. Who are these people & more to the point who put them in charge of anything? My guess is that they're pretty much self-appointed/ self-anointed which is always a bad sign. God help South Africa & South African rugby 'cos these guys clearly don't care for either.

Alas, things are starting to resemble Zimbabwe and we know what's happened there. So sad on so many levels.