The Rugby thread

[Speedster]

Time to start looking for a #10 understudy for Pollard.

Jantjies is done, women and drugs.

Williams is all hot air and no action. So much hype over Williams but only on a few occasions did he impress at fullback.

Manie Libbok has look good so far for the Stormers this year but he still needs to prove himself at top level and to be honest I do not believe he'll be the answer.

So not much left to pick from. Smith from the Bulls, Chamberlaim and Bosch from the Sharks, Hendriks from the Lions.

That brings us back to praying that Pollard makes a speedy recovery.

Robert du Preez an option?

 

[GrootVoet]

Agreed but when the margins are so fine you need to take all the points you can get. Pollard was really good in the previous world cup as was percy in 07. In next years WC we need a back up for Pollard. Found it strange that Willimese was replaced so quickly with the kicking duty yesterday

Because he's not a good goal kicker.

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[GrootVoet]

Robert du Preez an option?

Forgotten about him, can kick and tackle. But he is older than Pollard. Still an option.

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[Agent_Smith]

Robert du Preez an option?

Forgotten about him, can kick and tackle. But he is older than Pollard. Still an option.

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View attachment 1416373

Apparently he's been playing really well overseas. Could be more than useful in tjose French conditions next year.

 

[netstrider]

Not at all worried. Boks have ample room for improvement. It wasn't a great performance but it wasn't bad either and we're still upset. It shows how good the Boks can be.

Just put equal emphasis on Scotland, Boks. We could end up beating Ireland just to lose to Scotland if we're not careful.

 

[Fulcrum29]

 

[Brawler]

Not at all worried. Boks have ample room for improvement. It wasn't a great performance but it wasn't bad either and we're still upset. It shows how good the Boks can be.

Just put equal emphasis on Scotland, Boks. We could end up beating Ireland just to lose to Scotland if we're not careful.

From what I've seen most are just annoyed about the kicking situation. It was a good match otherwise.

 

[MirageF1]

From what I've seen most are just annoyed about the kicking situation. It was a good match otherwise.

Really? Our forward pack certainly met their match with the Irish, no doubt about it. Even the bomb squad was neutralised.
Not 1 driving maul succeeded, far too many turnovers at the breakdown, tried to unsuccessfully batter their way across the goal line on a number of occasions, and ended eventually ended up taking a 3 point penalty for all their wasted energy, also too many dropped out fumbled passes...

The score line flattered us. We had some great opportunities that we just couldn't convert into points.

 

[Agent_Smith]

SA 'A' Team to face Munster on Thursday evening.

15 – Aphelele Fassi (Cell C Sharks)
14 – Suleiman Hartzenberg (DHL Stormers)
13 – Henco van Wyk (Emirates Lions)
12 – Cornal Hendricks (vice-captain, Vodacom Bulls)
11 – Leolin Zas (DHL Stormers)
10 – Johan Goosen (Vodacom Bulls)
9 – Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers)
8 – Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks)
7 – Elrigh Louw (Vodacom Bulls)
6 – Phepsi Buthelezi (Cell C Sharks)
5 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls)
4 – Jason Jenkins (Leinster)
3 – Thomas du Toit (captain, Cell C Sharks)
2 – Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers)
1 – Ntuthuko Mchunu (Cell C Sharks)

Replacements:
16 – Andre-Hugo Venter (DHL Stormers)
17 – Simphiwe Matanzima (Vodacom Bulls)
18 – Sazi Sandi (DHL Stormers)
19 – Dan du Preez (Sale Sharks)
20 – Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Cell C Sharks)
21 – Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks)
22 – Sanele Nohamba (Emirates Lions)
23 – Gianni Lombard (Emirates Lions)

Trying to find out if it is televised or not...

EDIT: Looks like it is!

 

[Pegging]

Really? Our forward pack certainly met their match with the Irish, no doubt about it. Even the bomb squad was neutralised.
Not 1 driving maul succeeded, far too many turnovers at the breakdown, tried to unsuccessfully batter their way across the goal line on a number of occasions, and ended eventually ended up taking a 3 point penalty for all their wasted energy, also too many dropped out fumbled passes...

The score line flattered us. We had some great opportunities that we just couldn't convert into points.

The other side plays well sometimes. Not just your side.

 

[L-Dog]

Very good SA A team, hope some of the guys put in big performances.

 

[RunningFromFat]

Really? Our forward pack certainly met their match with the Irish, no doubt about it. Even the bomb squad was neutralised.
Not 1 driving maul succeeded, far too many turnovers at the breakdown, tried to unsuccessfully batter their way across the goal line on a number of occasions, and ended eventually ended up taking a 3 point penalty for all their wasted energy, also too many dropped out fumbled passes...

The score line flattered us. We had some great opportunities that we just couldn't convert into points.

1.) I think teams have figured out out driving maul for a while now.
2.) The last 20 mins or so was some good rugby and we did take those chances at the end.

 

[Agent67]

Time to start looking for a #10 understudy for Pollard

Manie Libbok has look good so far for the Stormers this year but he still needs to prove himself at top level and to be honest I do not believe he'll be the answer.

Yes, I think he'd be a good idea. I hope he plays this Saturday.

Williams is all hot air and no action. So much hype over Williams but only on a few occasions did he impress at fullback.

He's good at 15, but not so much as a goal kicker.

 

[GrootVoet]

To be honest I can not see how a Bok team can win a France team on Saturday.

France is on 11 game winning streak and the more you win the luckier you get, look what happened against the Wallabies.

I hope I am wrong.

 

[Avbob se stoep]

To be honest I can not see how a Bok team can win a France team on Saturday.

France is on 11 game winning streak and the more you win the luckier you get, look what happened against the Wallabies.

I hope I am wrong.

inverse of that is there starts to build a weird type of pressure since everyone is expecting you to win. Eventually if the moment is big enough you can choke. So therefore I think its fine that we lose now instead of later at the WC.

 

[cenredash]

inverse of that is there starts to build a weird type of pressure since everyone is expecting you to win. Eventually if the moment is big enough you can choke. So therefore I think its fine that we lose now instead of later at the WC.

I agree. The rugby team is actually perfect when they're underdogs with a little bit of a run of confidence.

This WC might be too soon for us to have a win, but hey, I'm happy for us to win every 12 years or so, so I'm happy with bye-ing the next two WCs.

I know it is said that you don't experiment with the national team, but now that there is a hierarchy and the WC sits way on top, its okay that there is some experimentation. We JUST JUST lost out to a good Ireland team. They got the bounce of the ball, and we couldn't kick, and there was still only 3 points in it. I'm happy we're in a good place. Even if we lost to France, we know our best team, we know our strengths. Its all about execution on the big day.

 

[Agent_Smith]

To be honest I can not see how a Bok team can win a France team on Saturday.

France is on 11 game winning streak and the more you win the luckier you get, look what happened against the Wallabies.

I hope I am wrong.

I'll happily take the underdog status. For the number 2 team in the world, they didn't exactly dispatch Australia like I thought they would on Saturday. If we can tweak one or two things, we're in with more than a decent shot.

 

[netstrider]

For all France's consistency, they can play better in some games than others so they may be much better this week.

 

[netstrider]

I've heard Hendrikse (the 9) is an excellent kicker, so why we don't try him I don't know.

Rassie heading to France instead of staying with the SA Select XV as planned initially. Do the management trust Libbok enough to give him a start against France? If so, where do they go with Willemse, 12, 15, or bench?

After we lost to Wales Stokke said we'd be ranked #1 again by the end of the RC. Now rankings don't matter anymore (surprise, surprise)!

We keep mauling with little to no reward time and again.

The only consolation is that the Boks were not great in 2006 or 2018 but there was that victory in Wellington in 2018.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Lood de Jager ruled out of the match against France with a shoulder injury and Jasper Wiese is also doubtful due to concussion. Franco Mostert possibly in de Jager's place with Kwagga Smith coming in for Wiese and maybe a spot on the bench for Roos. A lot of options for Rassie and Jacques in the back row so these injuries, while inconvenient, shouldn't spell too much drama for Saturday.