The Rugby thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
sand_man said:
Yeah. Will be interesting to see how these guys perform.

Bit worrying the sudden injuries to so many key players.

Pollard and psdt have had serious injuries in the past. Sometimes what seems a minor injury can turn into a career ending one for them.

Also, Am is our most significant back line threat, organizer of D and motivator of men. His absence leaves a big hole, literally and figuratively.

We've seen too many times in the past what Kriel brings and it isn't really anything particularly dynamic.

Franco starting is a like for like replacement for psdt but despite his immense work rate and the value that he brings at line out time, I'd opt for someone more dynamic in the form of kwagga.

We not going to beat the aussies with physicality. We need to attack the space and select players who can beat defenders by running around them, rather than at them.

Anyway, will be very interesting to see what Moodie brings. Baptism of fire for the youngster. Nothing he faced in URC will have prepared him for what he will face on Saturday. His progression through the ranks has been rapid. I hope he doesn't find himself way out of his depth all of a sudden.

Willie starting at 15, as always will either be a massive success or a massive failure. That's just the nature of Willie. Either going to kill it or be killed.

Pollard, despite all the flack he's been getting lately, has been goal kicking extremely well, prior the last Saturdays game. I still think he's our best 10 by quite some margin. Willemse at 10 though, is going to be interesting. Again, if he can get a few good touches early on that should give him the confidence required to control the game for the full 80. He's likely to play the full 80 with very little to no cover at 10.

Midfield is my biggest concern.

Can't wait for this match though.

Hopefully the Boks bring something decent. Apparently they had a great training session yesterday. I find this surprising given all the injuries.
Click to expand...
I hate that Lukanyo's out.

I've had a lot to say about our midfield over the years but mainly about one player.

We have a one-trick pony at 12 and the only way to really bring the back three into an attacking game is a long pass.

Jesse should be fine at 13, and sure, Damian will tackle in defence, but he can't or won't pass so everything else will be crash ball, and then more crash ball, and then more crash ball.

Not sure there are defensive coaches playing against us who even worry about a plan for our outside backs if the ball goes from our 10 to the 12 anymore.

Anyway, pleased for Canan, glad Jasper is in at 8 and that Malcolm gets a start.
 
Our best utility forward isn't even in the Bok squad (flank/lock) and no, I don't mean Elstad. More confounding considering his team mate has been in the mix since the Lions tour (Wiese).

www.leicestertigers.com

Hanro Liebenberg appointed club captain

Hanro Liebenberg has been appointed Leicester Tigers club captain.
www.leicestertigers.com www.leicestertigers.com


 
Last edited:
The Springboks don’t have the luxury of starting their best team in every test this year. We had Super Rugby unlocked, Currie Cup, a bit of Rainbow thrown in, URC and Currie Cup again and next season, add the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup to the mix.

These competitions followed one another with little to no breaks in between. The club and franchise game have aligned with the schedule North, but the Springboks still have duties in the South.

To give some perspective, round one of the URC starts on 16 September!

We are playing one very, very long season.

While it’s not ideal that players like Duane, Dweba, PSdT, Steyn and company slot straight into the national setup after lengthy layoffs or little game time, the reality is there’s nowhere else for them to play at the moment.

We need them for the tour North, and they must have a few games under their belt by then.

Then we play England outside the international window. The Springbok management is working around this problem by rotating as they did against Wales in the second test.

Evan Roos and a few others left behind in SA are touted to head to Argentina.

Given the circumstances, I think the Springbok management is doing the right thing. At the same time, cohesion is suffering, but it’s a price we have to pay.

The last time we beat Australia in Australia we didn't exactly have the fastest loose trio. Louw, Alberts, and Vermeulen. I think the trick is to not fall into the trap of playing a running game against Australia, at least not after building a solid foundation and a bit of a lead. Make them suffer in the rucks and tackle them backwards and they will look ordinary like everyone else.
 
From a week ago where the Aussies where the clear under dogs they go to the clear favorites.

The Players: We currently have a lot of senior players not performing, think of Etzebeth & Vermeulen. Then we have like mentioned a string of injuries. I'm not a fan of Williams but maybe he can lift us on #10.

The Couch: He makes strange team pickings, like Galland last week on the wing. Also do we have clear game plans.

The Ref: Kolosi is poor in managing the ref and seldom do you see them respecting them. Not sure how to fix this.
 
netstrider said:
The Springboks don’t have the luxury of starting their best team in every test this year. We had Super Rugby unlocked, Currie Cup, a bit of Rainbow thrown in, URC and Currie Cup again and next season, add the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup to the mix.

These competitions followed one another with little to no breaks in between. The club and franchise game have aligned with the schedule North, but the Springboks still have duties in the South.

To give some perspective, round one of the URC starts on 16 September!

We are playing one very, very long season.

While it’s not ideal that players like Duane, Dweba, PSdT, Steyn and company slot straight into the national setup after lengthy layoffs or little game time, the reality is there’s nowhere else for them to play at the moment.

We need them for the tour North, and they must have a few games under their belt by then.

Then we play England outside the international window. The Springbok management is working around this problem by rotating as they did against Wales in the second test.

Evan Roos and a few others left behind in SA are touted to head to Argentina.

Given the circumstances, I think the Springbok management is doing the right thing. At the same time, cohesion is suffering, but it’s a price we have to pay.

The last time we beat Australia in Australia we didn't exactly have the fastest loose trio. Louw, Alberts, and Vermeulen. I think the trick is to not fall into the trap of playing a running game against Australia, at least not after building a solid foundation and a bit of a lead. Make them suffer in the rucks and tackle them backwards and they will look ordinary like everyone else.
Click to expand...
Yip, the itinerary is absolutely brutal. URC success doesn't equate to success on a national level. The Irish seemed to benefit from not having Leinster play a URC final.

The player drain SA has been experiencing over the last 10 years will be exasperated now that we contesting European competitions. Our domestic franchises have been robbed of their depth meaning if we to remain competitive, we need to field near full strength sides week after week after week. Our squads are relatively small in relation to the top European franchises.

That work load heaped onto top players is inevitably carried over into the international season. Unsustainable...

www.dailymaverick.co.za

Relentless rugby schedule poses danger to SA’s top Springboks

SA Rugby and MyPlayers – the SA rugby players’ organisation – have moved to address concerns about player welfare, but little can be done at present about the fact that South Africa’s top players – particularly those based overseas – compete all year round.
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za

Our record in Australia is 4 from 30. What concerns me is Saturday passed we seemed to lack cohesion and looked rather disjointed and this from a side and combinations that have been playing together for some time now.

This Saturday we going with 8 changes. I'm a little worried.

Starting tight 5 is strong and the loose trio should more than hold their own.

The back line is a worry though.

We don't have the general organizing our D from outside centre, we have a half back pairing that haven't played together much and a 19 year old debutant on the wing, who although very promising, might find himself way out of his depth come Saturday.

Kriel is a 52 cap veteran, yet many pundits don't rate him. He's had 52 opportunities to change opinions about him. Guess the only opinions that matter are those of the coach and selectors. Let's hope his 53rd cap is a memorable one. Big shoes to fill!

The Willie Le Roux\Willemse axis might be the one to spark the sort of creativity the Aussies will battle to defend against. Alternatively it could just be a 30 metre pass that Willemse throws, in the dying moments of the match, that is intercepted ending in an Aussie try and the win.

The Aussies are smart, they play with the rugby IQ that we lack. Lovely running angles, they play with depth, a structured and well orchestrated type of game, on attack and defense. They got big big boys in their back line and we seem to concede easy tries to them, easier than we do to teams which come with a more vanilla approach.

Up front we disrupted their lineout ball but they blunted our lineout maul. Scrums were a guessing game and the ref was basically going, "one for you, one for you"... breakdowns we got a little smoked too. If we to win on Saturday we really need to pump them up front.

We've once again shown that if we don't score from 1st phase play, we generally don't score. Simply can't string together enough phases of play to break down a teams defense.

There was a time on Saturday that we did though but found ourselves going backwards so phase play isn't necessarily the be all.

When we in possession we need to use the ball smartly and ensure a net territorial gain, usually via kicking contestables but if we losing the aerial battle, look for grass. Damien might not be the man to get this right though. I'd expect Willie and Jaden to do the majority of kicking on Saturday, but let's see....
 
Last edited:
sand_man said:
Yip, the itinerary is absolutely brutal. URC success doesn't equate to success on a national level. The Irish seemed to benefit from not having Leinster play a URC final.

The player drain SA has been experiencing over the last 10 years will be exasperated now that we contesting European competitions. Our domestic franchises have been robbed of their depth meaning if we to remain competitive, we need to field near full strength sides week after week after week. Our squads are relatively small in relation to the top European franchises.

That work load heaped onto top players is inevitably carried over into the international season. Unsustainable...

www.dailymaverick.co.za

Relentless rugby schedule poses danger to SA’s top Springboks

SA Rugby and MyPlayers – the SA rugby players’ organisation – have moved to address concerns about player welfare, but little can be done at present about the fact that South Africa’s top players – particularly those based overseas – compete all year round.
www.dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za

Our record in Australia is 4 from 30. What concerns me is Saturday passed we seemed to lack cohesion and looked rather disjointed and this from a side and combinations that have been playing together for some time now.

This Saturday we going with 8 changes. I'm a little worried.

Starting tight 5 is strong and the loose trio should more than hold their own.

The back line is a worry though.

We don't have the general organizing our D from outside centre, we have a half back pairing that haven't played together much and a 19 year old debutant on the wing, who although very promising, might find himself way out of his depth come Saturday.

Kriel is a 52 cap veteran, yet many pundits don't rate him. He's had 52 opportunities to change opinions about him. Guess the only opinions that matter are those of the coach and selectors. Let's hope his 53rd cap is a memorable one. Big shoes to fill!

The Willie Le Roux\Willemse axis might be the one to spark the sort of creativity the Aussies will battle to defend against. Alternatively it could just be a 30 metre pass that Willemse throws, in the dying moments of the match, that is intercepted ending in an Aussie try and the win.

The Aussies are smart, they play with the rugby IQ that we lack. Lovely running angles, they play with depth, a structured and well orchestrated type of game, on attack and defense. They got big big boys in their back line and we seem to concede easy tries to them, easier than we do to teams which come with a more vanilla approach.

Up front we disrupted their lineout ball but they blunted our lineout maul. Scrums were a guessing game and the ref was basically going, "one for you, one for you"... breakdowns we got a little smoked too. If we to win on Saturday we really need to pump them up front.

We've once again shown that if we don't score from 1st phase play, we generally don't score. Simply can't string together enough phases of play to break down a teams defense.

There was a time on Saturday that we did though but found ourselves going backwards so phase play isn't necessarily the be all.

When we in possession we need to use the ball smartly and ensure a net territorial gain, usually via kicking contestables but if we losing the aerial battle, look for grass. Damien might not be the man to get this right though. I'd expect Willie and Jaden to do the majority of kicking on Saturday, but let's see....
Click to expand...
Part of the problem was the breakdown and then both Pollard and de Allende stood statically and passed behind the receiver (so, there was no real option other than to stand still if you were a receiver).

Our backs need to run onto the ball and the pass should be slightly ahead of the receiver (flat) but obviously not a forward pass.

None of this can happen if we struggle to get the ball out of the breakdown. They bashed in there and often came from the side to disrupt our ball. We had to fight hard to retain it.

I'd like to see it cleaned immediately and with vigour as soon as a runner goes down. Kitshoff was the first receiver on countless occasions on the weekend. Need more variation. Hopefully, Wiese and a few other forwards can give us some go-forward momentum.
 
bwana said:
Tuesday, 29 August 2022

Moodie to start as Boks make changes for Sydney Test

Talented young utility back Canan Moodie will make his Springbok debut against Australia in Sydney in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship on Saturday as injuries and the desire to try a few new player combinations saw head coach Jacques Nienaber include eight new players in the starting team.

Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am and Pieter-Steph du Toit were all ruled out due to knee injuries, while Elton Jantjies injured his hand and was not available for selection this weekend, which means Damian Willemse will move from fullback to flyhalf, Jesse Kriel will slot in at centre, and Franco Mostert has been included in the loose trio.

The 19-year-old Moodie earns his first start on the right wing in a positional switch with Warrick Gelant, who has been named among the replacements, while the experienced Willie le Roux will take Willemse’s place at fullback, with the other change in the backline at scrumhalf, where Jaden Hendrikse takes over from Faf de Klerk.

Apart from Mostert’s inclusion among the forwards, prop Steven Kitshoff and hooker Malcolm Marx earn starts in a new-look front row with Frans Malherbe, while Jasper Wiese takes over at No 8 from Duane Vermeulen, who will provide an impact off the replacements bench.

These changes see a reshuffle of the front row on the bench, with Deon Fourie serving as the replacement hooker, and Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane providing cover at prop.

Among the backs, Cobus Reinach will serve as back-up for Hendrikse at scrumhalf, with Frans Steyn providing cover flyhalf and centre, while Gelant will offer options on the wing and fullback.

“We selected a team we thought would be best for this match given that we have several players out with injuries and with an eye on how we want to play,” said Nienaber.

“Handre, Lukhanyo, Elton and Pieter-Steph are all carrying injuries which adds to a list that includes Cheslin Kolbe and Sbu Nkosi, while Kurt-Lee Arendse is also out serving a suspension, and this has forced our hand to make a few changes in some positions.

“With both flyhalves injured, Damian was the natural choice at No 10 where he has slotted in for us a lot. He is also becoming a settled player in our team with over 20 Test caps to his name.

“This will also be a great test for Canan, who was a stand-out player for the Vodacom Bulls this season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. He’s a very talented player, who will enjoy this opportunity.”

Nienaber added: “Cobus at his best is world class and having seen what he offers us at training we think he’s close to that form. With him, Warrick and Frans Steyn on the bench we have sufficient cover among the backs.”

Commenting on the changes among the forwards Nienaber said: “With Bongi (Mbonambi) and Trevor injured in the last few weeks we were in a position where we could test other combinations and we got some good answers in that regard.

“This weekend we opted to make a few switches with Ox and Trevor playing off the bench along with Deon Fourie. With Bongi and Malcolm both settled with over 50 Test caps each, it was always our plan to give Joseph (Dweba) and Deon a chance at hooker, and this week Deon gets a run.”

Zoning in on the match itself, Nienaber said: “We had a thorough review of our performance against Australia last week, and the most disappointing aspect is that were dominant in several areas of the game, but we struggled to show that on the scoreboard.

“This week is a final for us to stay in the competition and we are expecting Australia to be just as desperate, but so are we.

“We let ourselves down in the last two games and we are determined to rectify that this week and change our fortunes in Australia. We’ll prepare as well as possible this week to stay in the hunt for the title,” he added.

Springbok team to face Australia in Sydney:

15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 76 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls) – uncapped
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 53 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 63 caps, 35 pts (7t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 30 caps, 105 pts (21t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 21 caps, 12 pts (1t, 2c, 1p)
9 – Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks) – 7 caps, 5 pts (1t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 15 caps, 0 pts
7 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 56 caps, 5pts (1t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 68 caps, 35 pts (7t)
5 – Lood de Jager (Wild Knights) – 61 caps, 25 pts (5t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 103 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 51 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 52 caps, 55 pts (11t)
1 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 64 caps, 5 pts (1t)

Replacements:

16 – Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers) – 1 cap, 0pts
17 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 12 caps, 0pts
18 – Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) – 57 caps, 5pts (1t)
19 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 24 caps, 15 pts (3t)
20 – Duane Vermeulen (Ulster) – 63 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 21 caps, 40pts (8t)
22 – Frans Steyn (Toyota Cheetahs) – 75 caps, 150 pts (11t, 7c, 24p, 3d)
23 – Warrick Gelant (Racing 92) – 11 caps, 15 pts (3t)


Springbok record against the Wallabies in Australia:

Played 42; Won 12; Lost 28; Drawn 2; Points for: 702, Points against: 925; Tries scored 82, Tries conceded 94; Highest score 38-12 in Brisbane (2013); Biggest win 26 points in Brisbane (2013). Win % 28,6%.

Milestones:
  1. Malcolm Marx is the top try scorer in the squad against Australia with three tries in seven Test matches.
  2. Siya Kolisi has played 38 Tests as captain, making him the second most capped Springbok captain behind John Smit, who led the team in 83 Tests.
Miscellaneous:
  1. The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 727.
  2. There are 257 caps in the backline with 470 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 264 caps.
  3. The average caps per player in the backline are 36, the forwards 58, while the players on the bench average 33.

Issued by SA Rugby Communications
Click to expand...
Gelant should have started. a Teenager on the wing in a crunch game! :cautious:
 
Werner1975 said:
I really hope we can pull of a win tomorrow! We desperately need one. Performance has been too inconsistant this whole year.
Click to expand...

Going to be tough. Australia is starting with the same matchday 23 as last week (for the first time under Dave Rennie), while we have made a raft of changes. My biggest concern is Willemse at 10. If he has an off day, we are going to have a problem.
 
NZ better watch out as well, their current streak isn't looking too great either...

As for the Argies, who knows, looking at their recent performances vs Aus and NZ, their cohesiveness and flair as well as sorting out the usual discipline issues, this might v well be their championship.
They've certainly come a long way from being the outsiders and earned their place in the top 5 teams in RU in my opinion.
 
Let's hope the Boks can pull off a win today but I don't think we can.
 
I think Argentina was robbed there.

Knock on was missed which means the not 10m tackle yellow card must be reversed because the advantage of a quick tap was technically never there.
 
New Zealand means business. I hope we get the same from the boks.
 
NZ making a real statement here. Argentina has just been blown off the park this evening. Chalk and cheese from last week.
 
I believe the Boks will win later. We're seeing a very evenly contested Championship, for a change.

Any side can beat the opponent on the day. Like we dropped a game to the Kiwis, Kiwis to the Argies last week and the Argies to the Aussies, the Aussies will drop a game to us today
 
Australian school made an complaint against a player who urinated under a tree.
www.smh.com.au

Springbok apologises for high school urination

A Springboks team management official said the player, who has not been identified, walked away during training to an isolated location near trees “as it was unfortunately an urgent call of nature”.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au

Forgot how rule driven Australia is.
 
Argentina did the same thing we did
Just shows how quickly NZ can dissect and work out flaws in another teams game
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X