The Rugby Thread - Part Deux

It was such an interesting test match.

So much to dissect and analyse.

Very Tony ball-esque performance from the Boks. Evident right from the kick off, where we ran it out of our 22.

For all the noise over our set piece dominance, the AB's enjoyed near parity at the scrums and had us at lineout time, more so when Deon came on. I think we had one lineout mail the entire match, 5 metres out from where we scored. I think DDA scored, not Malcolm just btw...

We played NZ at their own game and won comfortably in the end. 6 tries to 4 with their 4th a consolation try at the death.

It was a statement performance from the Boks. One which should put to bed the 'one dimensional' narrative so often used as a criticism of how they play.
 
sand_man said:
To be fair, labelling it an exhibition match is a bit unfair. It was a lot of things...

As the fixture drew closer I realized how much was actually at stake...

AB win would have seen them move to 1st on the rankings, they would have avoided the ignominy of losing to the same opposition 3 times consecutively and officially they would have drawn the 4 match away test series 2-2 (see the abnormality)? They would also have gained a psychological advantage over the Boks re performance at neutral venues, ahead of the 2027 RWC. Over and above that NRU stands to make a significant purse out of the fixture, essential given world cup years tend to be rather lean as there are no home tests.

For the Boks, the converse of the above rings true IE stay at no.1, 3 consecutive victories, series win etc etc etc

So yes, to refer to the 4th test as simply an exhibition match is selling it short and rather disingenuous...
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Some of what you say is true.

Nevertheless, I don't buy the underlying premise that the RU higher-ups and the coaches and players are on the same team.

AFAICS, they have different priorities, and the latter would do well not to bury their heads in the sand.
 
Cray said:
But you said this...



arguing semantics on what you meant by "exhibition" doesn't change that original false statement.
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Typical lexie. Cant see the wood for the delusions.

The AB's would have claimed a home series win against us if they had won the 3rd game, and a complete rout of SA in the series if they had also won the last game....and definitely a series draw if it had ended 2-2.
 
lexity said:
Some of what you say is true.

Nevertheless, I don't buy the underlying premise that the RU higher-ups and the coaches and players are on the same team.

AFAICS, they have different priorities, and the latter would do well not to bury their heads in the sand.
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I think all involved in rugby union are aware of the significant financial challenges facing the sport.

Getting buy in from the yanks would go a long way to solving said financial challenges.

Let's not be naive... World Rugby is very committed to capturing, at least some, of the highly lucrative US market. And who can blame them?
 
sand_man said:
I think all involved in rugby union are aware of the significant financial challenges facing the sport.

Getting buy in from the yanks would go a long way to solving said financial challenges.

Let's not be naive... World Rugby is very committed to capturing, at least some, of the highly lucrative US market. And who can blame them?
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Not to mention that the US are hosting the World Cup in 2031 so it makes sense for them to start trying to raise the profile of the game.
 
sand_man said:
I think all involved in rugby union are aware of the significant financial challenges facing the sport.

Getting buy in from the yanks would go a long way to solving said financial challenges.

Let's not be naive... World Rugby is very committed to capturing, at least some, of the highly lucrative US market. And who can blame them?
Click to expand...
I would say again, my concern is actually not the money, per se. To me the concern is how much control, over national sport, will be ceded in the process.

Nobody pays/donates a lot of money without expecting something in return.

That should be a given.

The modern economic era is characterized by competence-by-decree, not by consumers voting on foot. That is a fact. Anyone can see by the level of entitlement-mindedness in the average SAn consumer, that he has abdicated his role-play in the markets.

So, with this in mind and what it means in terms of who rises to the top of the economic food chain, maybe not to every prole out there, but to me it's a worthy discussion among fans as to what will be expected in return.... i.e. how much control will the coaches, players and fans be expected to give up?

I expect some will not be interested in the discussion. And a few others will be more interested in shutting down the discussion. But it just seems to me like a reasonable discussion to have on a rugby discussion thread.
 
sand_man said:
I think all involved in rugby union are aware of the significant financial challenges facing the sport.

Getting buy in from the yanks would go a long way to solving said financial challenges.

Let's not be naive... World Rugby is very committed to capturing, at least some, of the highly lucrative US market. And who can blame them?
Click to expand...
Yeah. Getting more money from the USA is great.

But SA rugby doesn't have a money issue. There's more than enough money and if the unions want more they need to ditch the dying DSTV. It is actively shrinking the rugby fan base.
 
rietrot said:
Yeah. Getting more money from the USA is great.

But SA rugby doesn't have a money issue. There's more than enough money and if the unions want more they need to ditch the dying DSTV. It is actively shrinking the rugby fan base.
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Interesting comment.
 
rietrot said:
But SA rugby doesn't have a money issue.
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Hmmmmm, I'm not so sure about that. SARU posted a loss in 2025, didn't they? R30m odd...?

Rugby union's business model is broken, severely broken. Financially, the sport is actually in a very bad place....
 
Pity it's behind a paywall, but Rassie and the rest of the management team have shaved their heads :)

www.news24.com

Feeling ‘bles’: Rassie and Co’s bald Bok move after Greatest Rivalry triumph | News24

In a post that might just be more remarkable for seeing scrum coach Daan Human without his bucket hat for a change, the Springbok coaching staff is sporting a bald new look after sealing a 3-1 Greatest Rivalry series victory over the All Blacks in Baltimore on Saturday.
www.news24.com www.news24.com
 
sand_man said:
Hmmmmm, I'm not so sure about that. SARU posted a loss in 2025, didn't they? R30m odd...?

Rugby union's business model is broken, severely broken. Financially, the sport is actually in a very bad place....
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They mad a **** ton off the US game.

Baltimore was Baltfontein over the weekend.
 
lexity said:
I would say again, my concern is actually not the money, per se. To me the concern is how much control, over national sport, will be ceded in the process.

Nobody pays/donates a lot of money without expecting something in return.

That should be a given.

The modern economic era is characterized by competence-by-decree, not by consumers voting on foot. That is a fact. Anyone can see by the level of entitlement-mindedness in the average SAn consumer, that he has abdicated his role-play in the markets.

So, with this in mind and what it means in terms of who rises to the top of the economic food chain, maybe not to every prole out there, but to me it's a worthy discussion among fans as to what will be expected in return.... i.e. how much control will the coaches, players and fans be expected to give up?

I expect some will not be interested in the discussion. And a few others will be more interested in shutting down the discussion. But it just seems to me like a reasonable discussion to have on a rugby discussion thread.
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Could you advise how much control over the game you believe the coaches, players and fans have? Then perhaps we can start a discussion.
 
sand_man said:
Hmmmmm, I'm not so sure about that. SARU posted a loss in 2025, didn't they? R30m odd...?

Rugby union's business model is broken, severely broken. Financially, the sport is actually in a very bad place....
Click to expand...
Well if saru posted a loss of R30 mil they can fire 30 useless administors and brake even again.
 
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