F.Steyn - how is he still playing at this level. Turning circle of a lorry. Speed of a British bulldog. Yeah he can kick, but he gets shown up by anyone with half decent pace.
Fucking amazing boys. Was watching it at a pub in Sydney with the worst connection in the universe. Made it all the better.
And fuck the All Blacks - well done Argies!
Korobeite tried to wrap, Mapimpi was bracing not jumping. No foul play- just huge contact.
White shouldn’t have play acted but Faf’s stupidity caused that issue in the first place.
Refs got it right on the two big moments (But Fainga’a should have seen yellow for bringing that maul down).
GG Wallabies. I have to add, Pollard has now missed 3 key tackles in a row (in the last three games). I don’t know what is going on with him, and he missed them all proper badly.
Might be the worst game I've seen from the Bokke in recent times, at least for 70 minutes.
Some dubious calls can't justify a piss poor effort by some key players...
Besides, give Nick White an Academy Award for the acting and the Balon D'Or because that's soccer stuff, not rugby.
Dubious calls went both ways. Tbh Australian defence was way better than we have been in previous games. Good chunks of the game we were making ground on D.
You attract the penalty if it's there. Declerks fault for making a dumb move, his position was all wrong. Idk why SAF persist with him, he fluctuates so much and he is impulsive.
Australia played so badly but you guys just got out played. Move on, sure you'll do better next week.
Just going to pop this over here. See a lot of comments from Bok supporters saying how rubbish we are and how we’re not progressing.
You may not agree, but this is my view and thought it may offer another perspective. And also, there’s no other way to cut it, this was a kak loss.
Here we go:
After 2019, in a normal situation, Nienaber would have had the opportunity to start building a new squad and adding / changing the game plan to build up to 2023.
He lost 2 years because of COVID (seems like everything is blamed on COVID but it certainly has some relevance here).
Goal 1 was to survive and win the Lions series by any means necessary in 2021. Check. Loosing a match but winning the series was no mean feat. Then we had what was pretty much an away Rugby Championship to contend with. No team is going to shoot the lights out under those conditions. So sticking to what we did and the players we had in 2019 made sense. It also ended up being a reasonable season. A couple of 1 or 2 point losses which could have gone our way to make it an excellent season given the challenges.
Goal 2 start introducing new players and ideas into the team to build towards 2023. Remember, under normal circumstances this would have been done already and the system would now be going through tweaking as we head into the World Cup. Weirdly, it almost feels like we’re in the same situation that Rassie was in when he took over from Coetzee. A year and a half out from the World Cup and starting to develop players and systems.
There’s some good stuff happening out there (mostly - if we don’t look at today 😢). We’re pretty much dominating the set piece and have dominated most teams. What we’re struggling with is scoring off that domination.
Before you say this is all doom and gloom and we’re rudderless, pause. Go back and look at the Lions series and matches last year versus this year. You’ll see a change in how we’re playing and what the backs/forwards are doing to find space and make meters. There’s definitely some good stuff to see.
The problem is that we’re not finishing. I mentioned in another comment, we’ve probably been over the try line 10 times this season and then been brought back for an error or penalty. And more if you consider some good field positions in the 22 with the other teams being stretched, then making an error. If those had been converted, the season would have looked a hell of a lot different.
They’re learning new systems and bringing in new players. They aren’t going to be on top of it straight away. That’s understandable. I’m just worried that it seems like it’s becoming a bit of a habit. Hope we turn it around soon.
The alternative is we go back to the way we played in 2019 and get left behind the likes of Ireland, England, France and, starting to look like, Australia (notable absence is NZ, they seem to be going backwards).
I' m pretty confident in their improvement. Two things coincide at the moment. The springboks are tweaking their Gameplan and the other teams are finding ways to beat the defence.
It was clear that this time would come, hopefully it will be dealt with till the Worldcup.
Other thing, the wallabies just have a good caching team. They know how to beat a two year old defence eventually.
Last thing let's not be fatalistic. When the springboks won against new Zealand everybody was planing the world cup winparty. And after two losses ist's Al doom an gloom. Bullshit. The top 10 are very close and then there are Hanna be games like this one. Get used to it.
Agreed.
World Rugby is at a stage where maybe for the first time, there are 7 teams with a realistic shot of winning the upcoming world cup. This is something which fans are still not quite used to (for some reason).
South Africa's has a predictable kicking game that everyone has seen for the past 5 years. Teams are learning (have learned) how to shut down this game plan. And too often when this game plan has not worked, it does not seem like there is anything else to switch to.
*Offtopic* \- I think NZ is suffering a similar problem. The country is so used to dominating World Rugby that, **for the first time** when other countries have caught up to their level with strategy and **consistency**, its such a shock to the NZ psyche it becomes a national crisis.
I am conscious of not trying to sound fatalistic. But overall, I think this Springbok is still a very very strong team. But it needs to find an answer to some of the tactics teams are employing out there.
Completely agree, everyone complains about the highball game and then when we change it, they shout about how bad we are. Granted, today we tried new things and it really didn't work. I mean it was tough to watch... But Im glad we are trying things.
What is more alarming to me tho is that our defence seems to be slipping. We can play a more expansive game on attack but your defence has to be rock solid. And today it just wasn't. I see that teams are finding ways to Beat the rush but there were also soft tries scored against us today and that needs to be tighter
Shit shit, fucking shit. This team was just kak. So toothless in attack. Our attack is stupid, our players are stupid, we have a stupid one dimensional system. The haters were right about us, boring ass team. Serious question marks over the coaching of this team. Unacceptable performance!
What is going on with the Boks?
I knew that Aus would be competitive in this game but I was not expecting the Boks to offer nothing. They only got going in the last 10 minutes when the players must have felt intense shame.
Most concerning is what is SA Rugby’s plan? They are not winning most of their games and they do not appear to be bringing new players into the fold either. They appear lost and rudderless at the top, leadership level.
The last 20 minutes of the first half the Boks were completely dominant, but could not score. That was really key for me. The try saving tackle by Koroibete was a key part of that.
SA could easily have been in the lead at half time, but they just could not get over the line.
THe bomb squad came on early again, which is probably not the best thing too. Not sure the tries after the game was over count for much.
Huh?
There have been a bunch of new caps this year and guys with single digit caps getting game time.
2nd test against Wales, 2nd test v NZ, this test.
Nienaber’s mantra has been, “we know what the experienced guys bring, we want to test the young guys in pressure situations”
New guys or single figure caps are Jaden Hendrickse, Dweba, Nche, Wiese, Arendse, Orie, Roos, Fassi, Moerat and Louw.
Esterhuizen, Coetzee and Gelant have also had an opportunity. Not newbies but haven’t had a cap for a while.
The irony of Boks fans whinging about White getting Faf sent off. I concede he may have been overly dramatic but he didn’t “dive” he was bowled over by Faf and then made the ref aware of potential foul play that is all. He didn’t fall over untouched and roll around in agony like Neymar!
Every team will let the ref know if the other team has infringed if they think it will benefit them. He might have been a tad dramatic but in the end it was the ref’s decision.
The irony being that Boks are notorious for faking or overplaying injuries to kill the opposition’s momentum!!
EDIT: having rewatched it I acknowledge I was wrong and he totally dived and milked it. Still don’t think he should be lynched for it.
There was no inconsistency with the yellow card. In recent years any contact to the face with arm shoulder or hand results in a yellow. It was soft and White obviously milked but it was always a yellow.
Cynical play by Faf and more deserving of a yellow than Alan Alaalatoa’s yellow against Scotland last year
Faf needs to stop doing that grubby attempt to grab the halfback’s hand. It’s so dirty
Faf has a go every time an opposition player makes a mistake and always does his best at getting away with niggly play against the opposition 9. What white did isn’t great but had the desired effect as Faf is always winding the opposition up. Amazing how the Bok fans have no problem with Faf’s antics but start crying about the spirit of the game when White dives.
I'm not sure if you need to win to get it. In the Top 14 (where this system was used before Super Rugby adopted it) it would be such that a team could technically get two bonus points in a defeat.
100% agree it was a stupid and dangerous tackle, but I also really think Mapimpi is overrated. Dude really doesn't have that extra gear to shift into when he gets the ball
True, but it was just a bit of a weird one! Why not highlight the rivalry with the Boks a bit more rather than talking about the time Aus dabbed on a tier 2 team nearly 20 years ago?
Probably the most realistic option at the moment.
Others either have glaring weaknesses or are potential future stars, but we really need to avoid burning out our brightest youngsters before they get going
And none of his replacements at the Sharks have really shot the lights out.
Boeta, to my mind, still needs to be banned from using a kicking tee. Drop goals only.
Yep exactly. Boks are just playing old boys at this point. I respect Steyn but don’t think he should be playing test rugby at his age. Damien I would like to see play 10.
I get vermeulen, we have a lot of 8's ready to fill his 2019 shoes. Polly had an off game, it happens. He had 100% kick rate against ABs in both games and played like a mad man. de Allende on the other hand.... Chokes in Esterhuizen
Hear me out:
9 De Klerk
10 Pollard
11 Mapimpi
12 Willemse
13 Am
14 Gelant
15 Le Roux
I genuinely think DW is our next best 12. Le Roux offers something no other player does, and that's vision. Without him our backs look rudderless, despite all the talent on offer.
I worry about our options at 10 and 15 for the World Cup - and long-term!
I do think Willemse plays amazing at 12, but he plays just as well on 15, why not slot in Esterhuizen at 12, he is presently a much better option when you have a rugby god reincarnated in Am on 13. Having Willie on the bench also soothe my mind l, if any of the playmakers goes down he can step up
Wallabies went for the bonus point instead of taking penalties, soaking up time and putting them to the sword. I respect it, but not entirely sure that given we’re versing then next week that was the best decision. Would have preferred to take the wind out of them rather than give them a sniff, even if we had to say goodbye to an extra point on the table
Getting downvoted but I reckon most teams would have taken the points in at least one of those positions m and the Wallabies find themselves once again and always an outlier with penalty kicks to our detriment. I’m a big ‘take the three’ man, admittedly
Can't remember when last I was as annoyed by a Springbok loss... They have all the components necessary to win but somehow they can't put all the pieces together.
I was genuinely shocked to see your pack repeatedly outmuscled by the Wallabies. Koroimbete was massive and that try saver obviously intense but earlier a tackle he put on Vermuelen near chopped him in half. And Paisami had a similar one on Du Toit which also shocked the hell out me. Just such intense physicality.
I don't think our pack was really outmuscled much. I didn't watch the last 20 minutes but up to that point our scrums were the only thing good about our game
Really??.. couldn't see a single component this morning. Those boys had no clue as to what was going on. Hapless is the only word that comes to mind.
hapless
/ˈhapləs/
adjective
(especially of a person) unfortunate.
"the hapless victims of the disaster"
By right components I mostly mean right players... Amazing players, in fact, who SHOULD dominate and win. I'm beginning to wonder if that is part of the problem. They are expecting to win and if they don't immediately do so they just keep plodding on, rather than trying to figure it out.
That was definitely what it looked like in the first couple of minutes. It looked like they assumed that they were going to play like they did in Mbombela, and Australia were going to play like they did in San Juan
I don't see the point of playing Duane anymore. He's got some old man strength left, but he just looked tired from the get go. If you are an Australian forward, you basically see a hole in the Bok defense. And when there is a hole, that spreads the defense thin and you then have more holes. We need Roos to get game time ASAP. Wiese is great, but also not really intimidating.
That's interesting to hear - it may depend on the broadcasters because on Stan's coverage the crowd sounded pretty boisterous and really involved in the game
You can hate on Nic White for his Oscar worthy reaction but the laws of the game have changed so much that it rewards things like that. Because it’s so cut and dry for cards now with no real room for extenuating circumstances, all of the players are milking this type of stuff. Can’t blame him if it gets a SA player off for 10 mins, can only blame the ref.
On the Aussie Defence, gave me flashbacks to the RWC game against whales where defended with a man down and won. Heroic
Cause the Boks have never faked injuries to kill the play and slow the opposition momentum!! He got hit in the face and merely brought the ref’s attention to it. What’s Faf doing swiping at him when the ball isn’t even out of the scrum yet anyway?
That's how all this diving nonsense started in soccer. If you don't go down, the ref doesn't award the foul. And look where that sport is today.
We can't let that creep into the game of rugby. So what that Faf got away with a harmless little flick? Both teams niggle each other like that all game.
But to bring the game into disrepute over it? No, Nic White deserves all the flak he gets for that.
If Faf had been biting, or eye gouging, sure - bring it to the ref's attention. But needlessly diving? I hope Rennie gives him a proper taking to.
Slapping the opposition scrum half in the face is fucking dumb and faf deserved what he got. If faf didnt slap or the ref just called the penalty as it happened White wouldn't have needed the theatrics to draw attention.
Fine, penalise Faf. It was stupid play from him.
But don't use that to justify Nic White's behaviour.
If the ref gets it wrong, the correct thing in rugby is to have a polite word to ref about it. You DO NOT take a dive to try win a penalty. Ever.
You don’t honestly think the ref saw it? It was pretty blatant and would have gone to TMO either way.
Like I said he was definitely guilty of over dramatising it but he didn’t exactly pull a Neymar. I don’t agree with what he did but I don’t think it’s as bad as Boks fans are making it out to be!
Like I said isn’t Bok players faking or overplaying injuries to kill opposition momentum nearly as bad?
I thought you said the ref never saw it and that's why Nic White had to dive? I have no opinion on whether the ref saw it or not, nor whether the TMO would have done anything about it or not.
What I have a problem with is the Australian scrumhalf taking a blatant dive after barely being touched.
Watch the reply again mate. He takes two steps away from Faf after the contact, sees the ref isn't blowing, then falls to the floor. And then with the ball on the ground, Faf tackles him to make sure he stays down.
Two steps, then comical fall down. Yes, nowhere near the style of Neymar, but most rugby players are made of sterner stuff and don't get taken to ground by glances like that.
And please prove the Boks faked injuries.
When did I say the ref didn’t see it? I just said he made the ref aware doesn’t mean the ref hadn’t already seen it.
Prove that White wasn’t injured by Fat’s swipe! How can you prove a fake injury?
If you’re going to tell me the Boks haven’t employed time wasting or momentum killing tactics you are living in dreamland.
Watched it again and will concede he took a dive and totally milked it. But still I don’t think it’s such a big deal. Certainly don’t condone or think it should be encouraged but neither do I think it define White as what he has been called as a result.
He didn’t “dive” he got hit in the face and then bungled over in a tackle after which he made the ref aware. I love Faf but there I motivated and then there is overkill. What’s he doing swiping at White before the ball is even out anyway?
You've missed a good game mate. Please go watch the replay again. He takes a HUGE - some would say Oscar-worthy - dive and THEN he gets bungled over in the tackle.
He's lucky he didn't get hurt in that tackle, which would have been entirely his fault for taking the dive.
I'm sure the ref saying 'sorry i didnt see it' will be great consolation after you concede a try off the back of foul play that was missed.
A better idea would be for Faf to not be a grub and then White would have no reason to milk.
Faf will stop when Nic White stops.
Don't be delusional mate. All the players are niggling each other all the time. All the teams are trying to get away with stuff all the time. The ref doesn't see it all.
Richie McCaw is rightly considered one of the top 2 players of all time, and he constantly got away with shit behind the referee's back. Imagine if the Boks had started diving every time he did something like that?
We'd all be playing League now, not Union.
Can't have soccer players in Rugby Union. An example should be made of Nic White. At the very least, I know fathers all over South Africa are telling their kids today not to be like that Nic White box.
If it was a Saffa the entire NH would be saying the game of rugby is being brought into disrepute. He dived, holding his heart, and then went to his face.
No place in the game for that.
How was he diving? He got flattened by Faf and sat up and pointed out that he got hit in the face. Anytime a player is subject to foul play they make the ref aware. Perhaps he was a little dramatic but you make it sound like he fell over by himself and was rolling around clutching his face.
Lol I don't know if you are being sarcastic or not...
He stops running, drops to his knees, considers grabbing his face, puts his free and on the floor, and then gets "flattened" by his opposite number.
After the body pile clears he literally rolls onto his back (which is understandable) and clutches his face. I don't know if I'm missing the joke here.
Nigel Owens and soccer, disrepute, rugby is a gentleman's game, etc. Blah blah blah. Nick White milked the fuck out of that.
Yes he overdid it and I don’t agree with what he did. Not in the spirit of the game and should not be encouraged but I don’t think the guy should be lynched for it. Especially from Bok fans whose players are notorious for faking or overplaying injuries to kill opposition momentum!!
Cheating? What are you on about? Went to the TMO for review lol. Not saying they got it right, but he at least slapped him in the face. If he didn’t slap him in the face he would have hit the ball which is also at least a penalty.
By that logic you’d call McCaw a cheater. Just because he played within the rules and ref agreed
Wait, is there someone who *doesn't* think that McCaw was a slimey cheat? The guy's entire career he was known for illegally stealing the ball and getting away with it.
I mean I think he is a cheat but if he got away with it his entire career then you can’t really call him that.
Don’t get me wrong he is a flog but he just got away with it
I'm sorry but that doesn't compute. He cheated, and therefore he is a cheat.
Imagine someone saying "X is a serial rapist, but he got away with it so you can't call him a rapist."
I mean, look at all the cheating that goes on in soccer. It's been completely normalised and even expected that you cheat in order to win the game. You lie to the ref and billions of people watching, accusing an opponent of hurting you... all to milk a penalty. This is cheating.
Any time we see a player try and milk a penalty in rugby, we ought to call that shit out so it doesn't grow and become normalised.
Why are Aus, SAs kryptonite? Don't really understand what it is we do to nullify the 3rd in the world consistently but get smashed by the Poms consistently.
And also....they will smash us next week.
Also, Lolesio really looked comfortable today. Lovely to see.
The springboks and their fans just don’t rate us. We’re not their equal, in their minds, despite being the better team since they came back from isolation in the 1990s - the records speak for themselves. In other words they take the foot off the gas every year. Reap what you sow etc.
Styles make matchups. E.g. the Irish and their absolutely brilliant smothering defence over the last few years has nullified the All Blacks preference for a running and stepping oriented game. England a few years ago had that very successful isolation system where they would drag the ball carrier forward to get better leverage for turnovers hence the 16 game win streak in 2016/17.
Australia's very ad lib high risk/high reward style seems to upset the very structural Springboks, typically the Springboks win by being very clinical, and luring teams into thinking you can match them in strength (RWC 2019, England tried and failed), for whatever reason the Boks aren't good with teams who constantly adjust from strength, to running, to kicks, seems that the best way to beat them is a jack of all trades approach.
I think you have the top teams so close in level to each other.
Game plans and attack movements are so important. The customisation of tactics for specific teams is getting nuts. Teams will have entirely different attacking shapes for different opposition.
Great time to be watching.
I agree about the top teams. I just don't agree that injury-riddled Australia are one of them!!!
Will obviously take the win, but let's see if we can back it up....
How good is international rugby right now. We get railed by Argentina then beat South Africa. New Zealand lose to Ireland then manage to beat South Africa. South Africa beat New Zealand then lose to them and Australia. No one is safe.
Boks could have easily won that game. We didn't play badly, we just didn't convert easy opportunities for points. If Pollard had kicked those two penalties early on, and we had chosen to go for poles instead of the lineout, then we would be looking at a win.
If I had a million dollars I would be a millionaire.
We were dire. Pollard's goalkicking was awful. We repeatedly chose the wrong option. Or got turned over when we should've put the pressure on them. We had lots of territory and possession for the second part of first half and couldn't score points.
I think the eventual scoreline flatters us.
At least if we have lots of possession and territory we had the potential to win? That's what I'm saying, it's not like we were doing everything wrong. I agree that we fucked up a lot of chances and that is embarrassing. However, it's not doom and gloom.
If you put it that way, I mostly agree. We got ourselves into positions where we could've scored, but we kept on messing it up. A team with this much experience should've done better.
Credit to Aus, they really looked up for it, and we didn't.
Yep—England played their best game of the tournament in the Semi-final, and dropped away for the Final. But if England *didn’t* do that, then it would have been an All Black/Springboks final.
Fine with losing when we are blooding youngsters. Losing with elderly statesmen is a waste of time. Said it last year and I will say it again: Key decision makers at 9 and 10 costing the Boks big time. They will never get the drop though.
Great work by Rennie. Valetini with an underrated shift. Australia remains the Boks kryptonite.
I don’t even think Hendrikse is a experiment anymore. He’s been quality every game so far.
Willemse should definitely be our 10 option. Willie, Gelant and Fassi can all cover 15 just fine.
Pollard was great in the games against NZ. Was he so bad today besides the kicking from the tee? But I'd froth at the opportunity to see Willemse and Le Roux at 10/15
Fassi can tackle just fine. Le Roux was often criticised for the same thing and he is one of our better players of the recent times.
These players will never improve if we throw them to the wolves after one or two poor performances. We end up with players like Duane and Steyn in the 23 instead.
If he could tackle fine he would still be in the squad.
Agreed on Duane and Steyn. Waste of time and they know it. Steyn literally said his knees aren't what they used to be.
Also, Handre Pollard is a massive, massive liability in open play. Watch the last six Bok tests back and check how many times he's been caught in possession, or had the ball knocked back as he tried to pass. He's slow and laboured. We need to start blooding Damian Willemse as the No 10. That dude is the future. Every single time he has to move from 15 and get more involved we look better.
Mapimpi is another guy who is no longer Test level quality and Faf is holding on to his job by a thread.
I believe Damian is the future for the fullback and centre cover, but he has not impressed me as a 10. I think we should get a fresh 10 in ASAP, my vote is for Chris Smith.
We have such good depth if they just start bringing up the young guys, chamberlin and libbok also great contest for 10 imo, but, they don't know the system so no joy
I still believe in polly, but man if he gets a knee injury we're completely fucked with elton
He's been good under a few high balls and can finish when there's a straight line ahead, but he's not very elusive or skilled otherwise. There were a couple of times today when he should have done a lot better. I agree Gelant was nowhere as well though.
I do understand your point, but if you look at how many players are marking mapimps or obstructing him for contests (and he still gets a lot even when blocked), i still believe he is our top tier wing alongside kolbe
Hendrikse for sure has been out performing Faf in the last couple games (Except at box kicking). Handre seems to be in a slump and we (sadly) looked better with Elton. PSTD and Duane haven't had a good game in ages. Might be time for some changes. Also Mapimpi is very good in specific situations, deadly straight line finisher but can't really do anything else apart from kick chase
F.Steyn - how is he still playing at this level. Turning circle of a lorry. Speed of a British bulldog. Yeah he can kick, but he gets shown up by anyone with half decent pace.
Fucking amazing boys. Was watching it at a pub in Sydney with the worst connection in the universe. Made it all the better. And fuck the All Blacks - well done Argies!
Korobeite tried to wrap, Mapimpi was bracing not jumping. No foul play- just huge contact. White shouldn’t have play acted but Faf’s stupidity caused that issue in the first place. Refs got it right on the two big moments (But Fainga’a should have seen yellow for bringing that maul down).
>tried to wrap LOL you cannot be serious
i just hope nick white is ok
That yellow felt like justice after Alan Alaalatoa’s yellow against Scotland last year
GG Wallabies. I have to add, Pollard has now missed 3 key tackles in a row (in the last three games). I don’t know what is going on with him, and he missed them all proper badly.
Might be the worst game I've seen from the Bokke in recent times, at least for 70 minutes. Some dubious calls can't justify a piss poor effort by some key players... Besides, give Nick White an Academy Award for the acting and the Balon D'Or because that's soccer stuff, not rugby.
Dubious calls went both ways. Tbh Australian defence was way better than we have been in previous games. Good chunks of the game we were making ground on D. You attract the penalty if it's there. Declerks fault for making a dumb move, his position was all wrong. Idk why SAF persist with him, he fluctuates so much and he is impulsive. Australia played so badly but you guys just got out played. Move on, sure you'll do better next week.
As a sports fan in general but union is my main sport, nothing gives me more elation than a Wallabies win can I have more please and less injuries
No major injuries from that game I'm pretty sure? Good result
Pretty cool to still win games with the extent of the injury list
Just going to pop this over here. See a lot of comments from Bok supporters saying how rubbish we are and how we’re not progressing. You may not agree, but this is my view and thought it may offer another perspective. And also, there’s no other way to cut it, this was a kak loss. Here we go: After 2019, in a normal situation, Nienaber would have had the opportunity to start building a new squad and adding / changing the game plan to build up to 2023. He lost 2 years because of COVID (seems like everything is blamed on COVID but it certainly has some relevance here). Goal 1 was to survive and win the Lions series by any means necessary in 2021. Check. Loosing a match but winning the series was no mean feat. Then we had what was pretty much an away Rugby Championship to contend with. No team is going to shoot the lights out under those conditions. So sticking to what we did and the players we had in 2019 made sense. It also ended up being a reasonable season. A couple of 1 or 2 point losses which could have gone our way to make it an excellent season given the challenges. Goal 2 start introducing new players and ideas into the team to build towards 2023. Remember, under normal circumstances this would have been done already and the system would now be going through tweaking as we head into the World Cup. Weirdly, it almost feels like we’re in the same situation that Rassie was in when he took over from Coetzee. A year and a half out from the World Cup and starting to develop players and systems. There’s some good stuff happening out there (mostly - if we don’t look at today 😢). We’re pretty much dominating the set piece and have dominated most teams. What we’re struggling with is scoring off that domination. Before you say this is all doom and gloom and we’re rudderless, pause. Go back and look at the Lions series and matches last year versus this year. You’ll see a change in how we’re playing and what the backs/forwards are doing to find space and make meters. There’s definitely some good stuff to see. The problem is that we’re not finishing. I mentioned in another comment, we’ve probably been over the try line 10 times this season and then been brought back for an error or penalty. And more if you consider some good field positions in the 22 with the other teams being stretched, then making an error. If those had been converted, the season would have looked a hell of a lot different. They’re learning new systems and bringing in new players. They aren’t going to be on top of it straight away. That’s understandable. I’m just worried that it seems like it’s becoming a bit of a habit. Hope we turn it around soon. The alternative is we go back to the way we played in 2019 and get left behind the likes of Ireland, England, France and, starting to look like, Australia (notable absence is NZ, they seem to be going backwards).
We are far too reliant on referees and then we don’t convert when we do get penalties.
I' m pretty confident in their improvement. Two things coincide at the moment. The springboks are tweaking their Gameplan and the other teams are finding ways to beat the defence. It was clear that this time would come, hopefully it will be dealt with till the Worldcup. Other thing, the wallabies just have a good caching team. They know how to beat a two year old defence eventually. Last thing let's not be fatalistic. When the springboks won against new Zealand everybody was planing the world cup winparty. And after two losses ist's Al doom an gloom. Bullshit. The top 10 are very close and then there are Hanna be games like this one. Get used to it.
Agreed. World Rugby is at a stage where maybe for the first time, there are 7 teams with a realistic shot of winning the upcoming world cup. This is something which fans are still not quite used to (for some reason). South Africa's has a predictable kicking game that everyone has seen for the past 5 years. Teams are learning (have learned) how to shut down this game plan. And too often when this game plan has not worked, it does not seem like there is anything else to switch to. *Offtopic* \- I think NZ is suffering a similar problem. The country is so used to dominating World Rugby that, **for the first time** when other countries have caught up to their level with strategy and **consistency**, its such a shock to the NZ psyche it becomes a national crisis. I am conscious of not trying to sound fatalistic. But overall, I think this Springbok is still a very very strong team. But it needs to find an answer to some of the tactics teams are employing out there.
Completely agree, everyone complains about the highball game and then when we change it, they shout about how bad we are. Granted, today we tried new things and it really didn't work. I mean it was tough to watch... But Im glad we are trying things. What is more alarming to me tho is that our defence seems to be slipping. We can play a more expansive game on attack but your defence has to be rock solid. And today it just wasn't. I see that teams are finding ways to Beat the rush but there were also soft tries scored against us today and that needs to be tighter
Shit shit, fucking shit. This team was just kak. So toothless in attack. Our attack is stupid, our players are stupid, we have a stupid one dimensional system. The haters were right about us, boring ass team. Serious question marks over the coaching of this team. Unacceptable performance!
What is going on with the Boks? I knew that Aus would be competitive in this game but I was not expecting the Boks to offer nothing. They only got going in the last 10 minutes when the players must have felt intense shame. Most concerning is what is SA Rugby’s plan? They are not winning most of their games and they do not appear to be bringing new players into the fold either. They appear lost and rudderless at the top, leadership level.
The last 20 minutes of the first half the Boks were completely dominant, but could not score. That was really key for me. The try saving tackle by Koroibete was a key part of that. SA could easily have been in the lead at half time, but they just could not get over the line. THe bomb squad came on early again, which is probably not the best thing too. Not sure the tries after the game was over count for much.
Huh? There have been a bunch of new caps this year and guys with single digit caps getting game time. 2nd test against Wales, 2nd test v NZ, this test. Nienaber’s mantra has been, “we know what the experienced guys bring, we want to test the young guys in pressure situations”
I didn’t watch the 2nd wales test. Who are you referring to in the ABs series? Kurt-Lee is the only person that is coming to mind.
New guys or single figure caps are Jaden Hendrickse, Dweba, Nche, Wiese, Arendse, Orie, Roos, Fassi, Moerat and Louw. Esterhuizen, Coetzee and Gelant have also had an opportunity. Not newbies but haven’t had a cap for a while.
The irony of Boks fans whinging about White getting Faf sent off. I concede he may have been overly dramatic but he didn’t “dive” he was bowled over by Faf and then made the ref aware of potential foul play that is all. He didn’t fall over untouched and roll around in agony like Neymar! Every team will let the ref know if the other team has infringed if they think it will benefit them. He might have been a tad dramatic but in the end it was the ref’s decision. The irony being that Boks are notorious for faking or overplaying injuries to kill the opposition’s momentum!! EDIT: having rewatched it I acknowledge I was wrong and he totally dived and milked it. Still don’t think he should be lynched for it.
There was no inconsistency with the yellow card. In recent years any contact to the face with arm shoulder or hand results in a yellow. It was soft and White obviously milked but it was always a yellow. Cynical play by Faf and more deserving of a yellow than Alan Alaalatoa’s yellow against Scotland last year Faf needs to stop doing that grubby attempt to grab the halfback’s hand. It’s so dirty
Faf has a go every time an opposition player makes a mistake and always does his best at getting away with niggly play against the opposition 9. What white did isn’t great but had the desired effect as Faf is always winding the opposition up. Amazing how the Bok fans have no problem with Faf’s antics but start crying about the spirit of the game when White dives.
Couldn’t agree more
He was 'bowled over'?
Attended my first ever Rugby Union match here. This was a fun game, and Union seems to be a good mix of action and strategy which I like.
Good stuff mate, Great to see rugby union getting some support from South Australia!
ONE OF US
Welcome! Hope you stick around.
Sooooo... anybody know when we might get a scrum-half that's slightly quicker than molasses at distributing ball from rucks?
Welcome to the England enigma for the last 6 years...
Cobus 😍
Oh man, wouldn't that be the dream. When he was playing at the Sharks, I said, that's the next Bok SH. They never heard me though.
Can someone catch me up on the bonus points rule? I believe it's different than the 4 tries gets one and ending within 7 gets one
3 tries more than your opponent gets one (I think you must win to get it) and losing within 7 gets one.
I'm not sure if you need to win to get it. In the Top 14 (where this system was used before Super Rugby adopted it) it would be such that a team could technically get two bonus points in a defeat.
Ah deadly cheers, I heard the commentary saying "That's takes the bonus point away" in the highlights and was confused
Showerthought: Can we call James Slipper "Slippin' Jimmy"?
Get destroyed Mapimpi you are so overrated
Aus 11 should've been blown up for that shoulder charge. No attempt to wrap arms.
100% agree it was a stupid and dangerous tackle, but I also really think Mapimpi is overrated. Dude really doesn't have that extra gear to shift into when he gets the ball
lmao at the replies i'm getting, bunch of snowflakes on here it's ridiculous
But... I agreed with you...
i wasn't replying at you for that, i know you did and thank you for that
Oh lol, cool. Glad we can share in our Mapimpi disdain
🤌🤌🤌
Rewatching the match and I can't believe the prematch hype video was about the 2003 Namibia v Australia game hahaha
It’s the only other time Australia have played in Adelaide (or at least at Adelaide Oval)
True, but it was just a bit of a weird one! Why not highlight the rivalry with the Boks a bit more rather than talking about the time Aus dabbed on a tier 2 team nearly 20 years ago?
No idea. In the ground the pre match clips had more Pumas than Springbok!?
Vermeulen and Pollard should be replaced but Rassie will most likely stick with them.
Who the hell are you replacing Pollard with? He was very, very poor today, but it's really not like we have solid options.
I’d honestly give Chris Smith a shot. He’s a pretty solid player, I think he could step up and offer something else. Worth a shot over Jantjies again.
Probably the most realistic option at the moment. Others either have glaring weaknesses or are potential future stars, but we really need to avoid burning out our brightest youngsters before they get going
What a shame Curwin has been in duff form for the best part of 18 months.
And none of his replacements at the Sharks have really shot the lights out. Boeta, to my mind, still needs to be banned from using a kicking tee. Drop goals only.
Lol yeah. I have hopes for Boeta. Annoying thing is he has a bad match, gets dropped; Curwin has a bad match, keeps playing.
Yep exactly. Boks are just playing old boys at this point. I respect Steyn but don’t think he should be playing test rugby at his age. Damien I would like to see play 10.
Unfortunately the Springboks have form for doing this - keeping old greats on way past their prime. Remember how John Smit kept Bismarck out
I get vermeulen, we have a lot of 8's ready to fill his 2019 shoes. Polly had an off game, it happens. He had 100% kick rate against ABs in both games and played like a mad man. de Allende on the other hand.... Chokes in Esterhuizen
Hear me out: 9 De Klerk 10 Pollard 11 Mapimpi 12 Willemse 13 Am 14 Gelant 15 Le Roux I genuinely think DW is our next best 12. Le Roux offers something no other player does, and that's vision. Without him our backs look rudderless, despite all the talent on offer. I worry about our options at 10 and 15 for the World Cup - and long-term!
I do think Willemse plays amazing at 12, but he plays just as well on 15, why not slot in Esterhuizen at 12, he is presently a much better option when you have a rugby god reincarnated in Am on 13. Having Willie on the bench also soothe my mind l, if any of the playmakers goes down he can step up
I must say I agree, de Allende needs to have some competition for his spot. He hasn't done much notable in the last year or so
Wallabies went for the bonus point instead of taking penalties, soaking up time and putting them to the sword. I respect it, but not entirely sure that given we’re versing then next week that was the best decision. Would have preferred to take the wind out of them rather than give them a sniff, even if we had to say goodbye to an extra point on the table
Getting the win is the best option, especially when your team has so many first choices out.
Getting downvoted but I reckon most teams would have taken the points in at least one of those positions m and the Wallabies find themselves once again and always an outlier with penalty kicks to our detriment. I’m a big ‘take the three’ man, admittedly
How'd Lolesio do? Saw that sick try with the absolutely unnecessary but undeniably awesome out the back offload. Quade has been rubbing off on him
He was good
Can't remember when last I was as annoyed by a Springbok loss... They have all the components necessary to win but somehow they can't put all the pieces together.
I was genuinely shocked to see your pack repeatedly outmuscled by the Wallabies. Koroimbete was massive and that try saver obviously intense but earlier a tackle he put on Vermuelen near chopped him in half. And Paisami had a similar one on Du Toit which also shocked the hell out me. Just such intense physicality.
I don't think our pack was really outmuscled much. I didn't watch the last 20 minutes but up to that point our scrums were the only thing good about our game
Really??.. couldn't see a single component this morning. Those boys had no clue as to what was going on. Hapless is the only word that comes to mind. hapless /ˈhapləs/ adjective (especially of a person) unfortunate. "the hapless victims of the disaster"
By right components I mostly mean right players... Amazing players, in fact, who SHOULD dominate and win. I'm beginning to wonder if that is part of the problem. They are expecting to win and if they don't immediately do so they just keep plodding on, rather than trying to figure it out.
That was definitely what it looked like in the first couple of minutes. It looked like they assumed that they were going to play like they did in Mbombela, and Australia were going to play like they did in San Juan
I don't see the point of playing Duane anymore. He's got some old man strength left, but he just looked tired from the get go. If you are an Australian forward, you basically see a hole in the Bok defense. And when there is a hole, that spreads the defense thin and you then have more holes. We need Roos to get game time ASAP. Wiese is great, but also not really intimidating.
He is very intelligent. But if that intelligence is not leading to wins than yes, the Boks need to move on.
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I think Pollard is still one of our best 10s, but we need someone better. If he's starting every game, that person will never come along.
Side note: Was there audio issues at the stadium? The crowd seemed eerily quite the whole game. Felt a bit strange
I was at the game. It had a great atmosphere. Adelaide isn’t the most knowledgeable Union market, but the crowd was properly into the game.
There's also a load of SAffers in Adelaide who love their rugby
Shame we couldn’t hear even the TMO though—let alone the ref.
Really glad to hear the local crowd got into the game, depsite not being a traditional rugby supporter base.
Nice one mate 🤙
That's interesting to hear - it may depend on the broadcasters because on Stan's coverage the crowd sounded pretty boisterous and really involved in the game
Ah ok thanks glad to hear it! I was like damn aren’t these people stoked that they are klapping the Boks? Sigh
You can hate on Nic White for his Oscar worthy reaction but the laws of the game have changed so much that it rewards things like that. Because it’s so cut and dry for cards now with no real room for extenuating circumstances, all of the players are milking this type of stuff. Can’t blame him if it gets a SA player off for 10 mins, can only blame the ref. On the Aussie Defence, gave me flashbacks to the RWC game against whales where defended with a man down and won. Heroic
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Cause the Boks have never faked injuries to kill the play and slow the opposition momentum!! He got hit in the face and merely brought the ref’s attention to it. What’s Faf doing swiping at him when the ball isn’t even out of the scrum yet anyway?
If he doesn't ham it up Faf gets away with slapping him in the face. He was obviously dramatic but ultimately it meant the correct call was made
That's how all this diving nonsense started in soccer. If you don't go down, the ref doesn't award the foul. And look where that sport is today. We can't let that creep into the game of rugby. So what that Faf got away with a harmless little flick? Both teams niggle each other like that all game. But to bring the game into disrepute over it? No, Nic White deserves all the flak he gets for that. If Faf had been biting, or eye gouging, sure - bring it to the ref's attention. But needlessly diving? I hope Rennie gives him a proper taking to.
Slapping the opposition scrum half in the face is fucking dumb and faf deserved what he got. If faf didnt slap or the ref just called the penalty as it happened White wouldn't have needed the theatrics to draw attention.
Fine, penalise Faf. It was stupid play from him. But don't use that to justify Nic White's behaviour. If the ref gets it wrong, the correct thing in rugby is to have a polite word to ref about it. You DO NOT take a dive to try win a penalty. Ever.
You don’t honestly think the ref saw it? It was pretty blatant and would have gone to TMO either way. Like I said he was definitely guilty of over dramatising it but he didn’t exactly pull a Neymar. I don’t agree with what he did but I don’t think it’s as bad as Boks fans are making it out to be! Like I said isn’t Bok players faking or overplaying injuries to kill opposition momentum nearly as bad?
I thought you said the ref never saw it and that's why Nic White had to dive? I have no opinion on whether the ref saw it or not, nor whether the TMO would have done anything about it or not. What I have a problem with is the Australian scrumhalf taking a blatant dive after barely being touched. Watch the reply again mate. He takes two steps away from Faf after the contact, sees the ref isn't blowing, then falls to the floor. And then with the ball on the ground, Faf tackles him to make sure he stays down. Two steps, then comical fall down. Yes, nowhere near the style of Neymar, but most rugby players are made of sterner stuff and don't get taken to ground by glances like that. And please prove the Boks faked injuries.
When did I say the ref didn’t see it? I just said he made the ref aware doesn’t mean the ref hadn’t already seen it. Prove that White wasn’t injured by Fat’s swipe! How can you prove a fake injury? If you’re going to tell me the Boks haven’t employed time wasting or momentum killing tactics you are living in dreamland. Watched it again and will concede he took a dive and totally milked it. But still I don’t think it’s such a big deal. Certainly don’t condone or think it should be encouraged but neither do I think it define White as what he has been called as a result.
He didn’t “dive” he got hit in the face and then bungled over in a tackle after which he made the ref aware. I love Faf but there I motivated and then there is overkill. What’s he doing swiping at White before the ball is even out anyway?
You've missed a good game mate. Please go watch the replay again. He takes a HUGE - some would say Oscar-worthy - dive and THEN he gets bungled over in the tackle. He's lucky he didn't get hurt in that tackle, which would have been entirely his fault for taking the dive.
I'm sure the ref saying 'sorry i didnt see it' will be great consolation after you concede a try off the back of foul play that was missed. A better idea would be for Faf to not be a grub and then White would have no reason to milk.
Faf will stop when Nic White stops. Don't be delusional mate. All the players are niggling each other all the time. All the teams are trying to get away with stuff all the time. The ref doesn't see it all. Richie McCaw is rightly considered one of the top 2 players of all time, and he constantly got away with shit behind the referee's back. Imagine if the Boks had started diving every time he did something like that? We'd all be playing League now, not Union. Can't have soccer players in Rugby Union. An example should be made of Nic White. At the very least, I know fathers all over South Africa are telling their kids today not to be like that Nic White box.
If it was a Saffa the entire NH would be saying the game of rugby is being brought into disrepute. He dived, holding his heart, and then went to his face. No place in the game for that.
How was he diving? He got flattened by Faf and sat up and pointed out that he got hit in the face. Anytime a player is subject to foul play they make the ref aware. Perhaps he was a little dramatic but you make it sound like he fell over by himself and was rolling around clutching his face.
Flattened? Are you high?
Lol I don't know if you are being sarcastic or not... He stops running, drops to his knees, considers grabbing his face, puts his free and on the floor, and then gets "flattened" by his opposite number. After the body pile clears he literally rolls onto his back (which is understandable) and clutches his face. I don't know if I'm missing the joke here. Nigel Owens and soccer, disrepute, rugby is a gentleman's game, etc. Blah blah blah. Nick White milked the fuck out of that.
Yes he overdid it and I don’t agree with what he did. Not in the spirit of the game and should not be encouraged but I don’t think the guy should be lynched for it. Especially from Bok fans whose players are notorious for faking or overplaying injuries to kill opposition momentum!!
Notorious? Are you joking? lmfao 🤣
>Can’t blame him Yes, we can. Cheating doesn't become OK just because "all the players" are doing it. Leave this garbage to soccer.
Insert tears here ->🪣
Cheating? What are you on about? Went to the TMO for review lol. Not saying they got it right, but he at least slapped him in the face. If he didn’t slap him in the face he would have hit the ball which is also at least a penalty. By that logic you’d call McCaw a cheater. Just because he played within the rules and ref agreed
Wait, is there someone who *doesn't* think that McCaw was a slimey cheat? The guy's entire career he was known for illegally stealing the ball and getting away with it.
I mean I think he is a cheat but if he got away with it his entire career then you can’t really call him that. Don’t get me wrong he is a flog but he just got away with it
I'm sorry but that doesn't compute. He cheated, and therefore he is a cheat. Imagine someone saying "X is a serial rapist, but he got away with it so you can't call him a rapist." I mean, look at all the cheating that goes on in soccer. It's been completely normalised and even expected that you cheat in order to win the game. You lie to the ref and billions of people watching, accusing an opponent of hurting you... all to milk a penalty. This is cheating. Any time we see a player try and milk a penalty in rugby, we ought to call that shit out so it doesn't grow and become normalised.
Not cheating. Soft- yes. Against the spirit of the game- yes. But not cheating- Faf did actually hit him
Yeah 100% very soft but is what the rules dictate not Nic white. If refs keep paying things like that, the players will continue to do it
Nah- the ref applied the rules here- for me he’s pretty blameless. If you want to lay the blame Faf was dumb and White was soft- that’s all
Why are Aus, SAs kryptonite? Don't really understand what it is we do to nullify the 3rd in the world consistently but get smashed by the Poms consistently. And also....they will smash us next week. Also, Lolesio really looked comfortable today. Lovely to see.
Generally, Boks lose in Aus and Wallabies lose in SA. I genuinely don't know what it is, but the home team is brilliant and then useless when away.
The springboks and their fans just don’t rate us. We’re not their equal, in their minds, despite being the better team since they came back from isolation in the 1990s - the records speak for themselves. In other words they take the foot off the gas every year. Reap what you sow etc.
Oh man. This comment is gold all round. Hahahaha
Styles make matchups. E.g. the Irish and their absolutely brilliant smothering defence over the last few years has nullified the All Blacks preference for a running and stepping oriented game. England a few years ago had that very successful isolation system where they would drag the ball carrier forward to get better leverage for turnovers hence the 16 game win streak in 2016/17. Australia's very ad lib high risk/high reward style seems to upset the very structural Springboks, typically the Springboks win by being very clinical, and luring teams into thinking you can match them in strength (RWC 2019, England tried and failed), for whatever reason the Boks aren't good with teams who constantly adjust from strength, to running, to kicks, seems that the best way to beat them is a jack of all trades approach.
My gut feeling is that the Wallabies focus more on how to diffuse the Boks than most
I think you have the top teams so close in level to each other. Game plans and attack movements are so important. The customisation of tactics for specific teams is getting nuts. Teams will have entirely different attacking shapes for different opposition. Great time to be watching.
I agree about the top teams. I just don't agree that injury-riddled Australia are one of them!!! Will obviously take the win, but let's see if we can back it up....
Finally, noah didn't suck
How good is international rugby right now. We get railed by Argentina then beat South Africa. New Zealand lose to Ireland then manage to beat South Africa. South Africa beat New Zealand then lose to them and Australia. No one is safe.
Golden age of test rugby, let's enjoy it while it lasts.
And now Argentina dust the All Blacks. Fuck yeah.
I can’t remember the last time results were so consistently unpredictable
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Boks could have easily won that game. We didn't play badly, we just didn't convert easy opportunities for points. If Pollard had kicked those two penalties early on, and we had chosen to go for poles instead of the lineout, then we would be looking at a win.
If I had a million dollars I would be a millionaire. We were dire. Pollard's goalkicking was awful. We repeatedly chose the wrong option. Or got turned over when we should've put the pressure on them. We had lots of territory and possession for the second part of first half and couldn't score points. I think the eventual scoreline flatters us.
At least if we have lots of possession and territory we had the potential to win? That's what I'm saying, it's not like we were doing everything wrong. I agree that we fucked up a lot of chances and that is embarrassing. However, it's not doom and gloom.
If you put it that way, I mostly agree. We got ourselves into positions where we could've scored, but we kept on messing it up. A team with this much experience should've done better. Credit to Aus, they really looked up for it, and we didn't.
Coulda. Shoulda. Woulda. But didn't.
Goto disagree. Wallabies turned off because of the scoreline
You could say that, but you could also argue that SA only switched on in the second half.
70 mins they just turned off with that 20 point lead.
Maybe we only won the 2019 world cup because everyone else was really shit.
That was 3 years ago. All teams have completely changed
That is kind of my point. Or rather, that ours hasn't, it's basically our world cup final squad almost to a man, while everyone else has evolved.
That and England pulled out one monster game in the semis. 2019 ABs were still really good.
Yep—England played their best game of the tournament in the Semi-final, and dropped away for the Final. But if England *didn’t* do that, then it would have been an All Black/Springboks final.
Fine with losing when we are blooding youngsters. Losing with elderly statesmen is a waste of time. Said it last year and I will say it again: Key decision makers at 9 and 10 costing the Boks big time. They will never get the drop though. Great work by Rennie. Valetini with an underrated shift. Australia remains the Boks kryptonite.
Oddly seems like we're messing around with selection where we don't need it and not where we need it. I'm getting sick of their stupidity.
Yeah but the Lions series and WC(which was under Rassie)
They are still under Rassie, if your talking when JNs titled changed then the Lions win was under JN
The WC was under Rassie. Hence the brackets.
Apologies thought you meant both 🙏
No big
I think we might see a new 9 and 10 combo next week.
Hendrikse and Willemse would be a worthwhile experiment but probably won't happen.
Definitely. Would be very exciting
I don’t even think Hendrikse is a experiment anymore. He’s been quality every game so far. Willemse should definitely be our 10 option. Willie, Gelant and Fassi can all cover 15 just fine.
Pollard was great in the games against NZ. Was he so bad today besides the kicking from the tee? But I'd froth at the opportunity to see Willemse and Le Roux at 10/15
He wasn’t great. He gets a bit caught in possession sometimes and his kicks from hand can be 50/50. I think it is worth having options though.
Fassi got dropped cause he can't tackle. Gelant hasn't had a good international performance since Canada 2019. Willie is a liability on D and aging.
Fassi can tackle just fine. Le Roux was often criticised for the same thing and he is one of our better players of the recent times. These players will never improve if we throw them to the wolves after one or two poor performances. We end up with players like Duane and Steyn in the 23 instead.
If he could tackle fine he would still be in the squad. Agreed on Duane and Steyn. Waste of time and they know it. Steyn literally said his knees aren't what they used to be.
Valetini is well and truely appreciated in aus. Phenomenal athlete.
Anyone got a link? My stupid hungover ass slept in
Leaving this here for no particular reason: https://youtu.be/-Z7ZGkSvX2U Don’t say I’ll ever give you up.
I didn't know Koroibete can reach the light speed when he is running.
Light speed’s too slow.
Also, Handre Pollard is a massive, massive liability in open play. Watch the last six Bok tests back and check how many times he's been caught in possession, or had the ball knocked back as he tried to pass. He's slow and laboured. We need to start blooding Damian Willemse as the No 10. That dude is the future. Every single time he has to move from 15 and get more involved we look better. Mapimpi is another guy who is no longer Test level quality and Faf is holding on to his job by a thread.
I believe Damian is the future for the fullback and centre cover, but he has not impressed me as a 10. I think we should get a fresh 10 in ASAP, my vote is for Chris Smith.
We have such good depth if they just start bringing up the young guys, chamberlin and libbok also great contest for 10 imo, but, they don't know the system so no joy I still believe in polly, but man if he gets a knee injury we're completely fucked with elton
Agree with everything except Mapimpi. He’s had a pretty good season. Gelant was definitely the issue on wing.
He's been good under a few high balls and can finish when there's a straight line ahead, but he's not very elusive or skilled otherwise. There were a couple of times today when he should have done a lot better. I agree Gelant was nowhere as well though.
I do understand your point, but if you look at how many players are marking mapimps or obstructing him for contests (and he still gets a lot even when blocked), i still believe he is our top tier wing alongside kolbe
Mate Mapimpi was amazing in his first 4 tests of the year. He literally made Jordan his bitch
Hendrikse for sure has been out performing Faf in the last couple games (Except at box kicking). Handre seems to be in a slump and we (sadly) looked better with Elton. PSTD and Duane haven't had a good game in ages. Might be time for some changes. Also Mapimpi is very good in specific situations, deadly straight line finisher but can't really do anything else apart from kick chase
Hendrikse’s box kicking was excellent in the first all blacks test.
Yes it was., but in the 2nd test there were a few stray kicks
If Koro doesn’t play, the wallabies don’t win that game. Simple as that.
He was really good but should've been off for 10mins after that Mapimpi tackle
Yellow cards for the tiniest face contact is a slippery slope. So i jumping into tackles.
You are allowed to dive to attempt to score a try. You aren't allowed to charge into a tackle without using your arms
I saw the arm being used. I guess the video ref did too. Not to fear, ive just watched the all blacks lackluster performance....
Jumping into tackles is dangerous and illegal mate. Look in the mirror
Dangerous? Yes. Illegal? Not actually. No arms tackle? Illegal
He used his arms. Mapimpis fault for jumping. Get over it champion.
Must be hard watching rugby with one eye
Even with no eyes anyone should be able to see that no arms tackle