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Gonna be a weird game against NZ. Nobody wil be going flatout. Expect a lot of variety and lotsa chip kicks
 
sand_man said:
What percentage do you think they'll be going at?
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100% you just can't scale down your performance this close to the world cup. Either you have that hunger to win or you don't.

It is more likely that injuries happen if you halfarse it.
 
netstrider said:
Bok team announced for All Blacks match.

Springboks – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Willie le Roux.
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Frans malherbe, and Duane looked a bit slow and tired in the last few games. They should have retired already.

Excellent team. I'm excited for the game and world cup.
 
rietrot said:
100% you just can't scale down your performance this close to the world cup. Either you have that hunger to win or you don't.

It is more likely that injuries happen if you halfarse it.
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I think the hunger to avoid injury is probably greater than the hunger to win.

Tactically too, I'd imagine Jacques is keeping his powder dry on 1 or 2 things...
 
rietrot said:
Frans malherbe, and Duane looked a bit slow and tired in the last few games. They should have retired already.

Excellent team. I'm excited for the game and world cup.
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I thought Duane was ready to retire after the 2019 world cup. But he's got an engine on him and still adds value. I'm happy he's in the squad as a senior. Roos might have brought a different energy though.

Malherbe's work load is prolific. Guy does the hard yards and gets down and dirty. Watch closely... he's 32, still got a season or 2 in him... beast retired at 34ish...

EDIT: Also very excited for the world cup. Hoping for the best, expecting the worse. Can't see us knocking over either of France/NZ in the quarters. Our pool is an absolute s hit show. If we somehow get through the pool stages, our reward is a quarter against France/NZ... go figure!!

3 of the top 5 ranked sides will be out by the semi finals.

It's a worrying statistic.

If France exit in the quarters, what a downer this tourney would become for the host nation? I really hope they do. This was meant to be hosted in SA!!! Bastards!! Having said that I think a France v NZ final is the most likely outcome.
 
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sand_man said:
I thought Duane was ready to retire after the 2019 world cup. But he's got an engine on him and still adds value. I'm happy he's in the squad as a senior. Roos might have brought a different energy though.

Malherbe's work load is prolific. Guy does the hard yards and gets down and dirty. Watch closely... he's 32, still got a season or 2 in him... beast retired at 34ish...

EDIT: Also very excited for the world cup. Hoping for the best, expecting the worse. Can't see us knocking over either of France/NZ in the quarters. Our pool is an absolute s hit show. If we somehow get through the pool stages, our reward is a quarter against France/NZ...

3 of the top 5 ranked sides will be out by the semi finals.

It's a worrying statistic.

If France exit in the quarters, what a downer this tourney would become for the host nation? I really hope they do. This was meant to be hosted in SA!!! Bastards!! Having said that I think a France v NZ final is the most likely outcome.
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I definitely think we can beat either France or NZ.
This warm-up and the opening game Nz vs France should clear things up.

I would like France to beat NZ.

The pools and the draw is great. It adds a bit of unpredictability.
Eg. Pool A is boring. The first game will settle who wins the pool, then there's no real competition.
 
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Crowley said:
With...

A) Frans Malherbe, and Duane looked a bit slow and tired in the last few games
B) They should have retired already
C) Excellent team
D) I'm excited for the game and world cup.
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A & B
 
rietrot said:
I definitely think we can beat either France or NZ.
This warm-up and the opening game Nz vs France should clear things up.

I would like France to beat NZ.

The pools and the draw is great. It adds a bit of unpredictability.
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We can beat anyone on our day and hopefully we will.

However....

The lack of a goal kicker might just be the kicker. It's not that Manie can't kick for goal cause he's been proficient for the Stormers, over 2 URC seasons. He hasn't transferred that form to test rugby. Maybe it's nerves? but the law of averages suggests he'll come right at some stage. But if we don't find some consistency in our goal kicking we not making it out our pool, let alone the final. In 3 world cup finals we've scored 2 tries (both against England 2019). Kicking win matches, especially against the No. 5 and No. 1 ranked sides we share a pool with.

My biggest fear is we don't make it out the pool stages. We will be getting ragged, slagged and bagged for the next 4 years if that happens. The haters (and there a lot of them) will be living rent free for the next 4 years!!

Pool A is a slam dunk, France v NZ fixture aside, it's going to be a cake walk. 13th ranked Italy might put up a fight, 16th placed Uruguay might entertain, 21st placed Namibia might win friends... that's where the challenge ends...

Pool B is the pool of death. 1st, 3rd and 5th ranked sides in 1 pool?!! Makes me sick!! We need to hit the ground running. The Scots are every bit capable of beating us. I think we might pump them up front and our push defense needs to be on point to negate their dangerous backline, one of the best in international rugby. Deprive them of time and space. It's a HUGE game in the context of the pool!! HUGE!! Tonga, the pool banana peel, but shouldn't pose a genuine threat to the front runners. Romania the pools cannon fodder. Ranked 19th and coming into the tourney with zero form.

From the Boks perspective, knock over Scotland with the best possible 23, next Romania where the rest of the squad can be used, Ireland next and the strongest 23 will play, last game of the pool Tonga, 1st October, we will finish our pool games first so some rest before the quarters (if we make it), Scotland v Ireland on the 5th October could decide their fates. My good mate is adamant Scotland are beating Ireland. He's often right with his predicts. But he also has SA winning the world cup.

Pool C/D are quite unpredictable due to the flaky form of what otherwise would be pool front runners. England, Australia, Wales are all teetering.

Pool C, Fiji a dark horse, really like how their game has evolved under first Vern Cotter and now Simon Raiwalui. They've introduced a lot more structure into their game and focused on cleaning up their set piece. I'm expecting them to be super competitive in every fixture. Could they knock over Wales or Australia and secure 2nd spot in their pool? Would be magnificent!! Hope they do and will be backing them all the way!! Portugal are the pools cannon fodder. Georgia the pools banana peel. Under estimate them at your own peril.

Argentina, under Cheika, have already knocked over big dogs NZ, England and Australia (all at home to boot). Not expecting any surprises in pool D though. England and Argentina should qualify, more a case of who wins the pool. Japan's game has done nothing but lose momentum since 2019. Disappointing for them, all the momentum and form they found in the RWC has slowly dissipated since. Currently ranked 14th behind the likes of Italy, Samoa and Georgia. Chile are the pools cannon fodder. Samoa another making up the numbers.
 
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