Boks have a point to prove
20 Jul 2006
Veteran Springbok prop Os du Randt is more motivated than ever ahead of the Vodacom Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks on Saturday.
Following the humiliation of the 49-0 defeat at the hands of the Wallabies in Brisbane last weekend, Du Randt says he and the rest of his team-mates are out to prove a point in Wellington.
“That loss was a huge wake-up call,” du Randt told keo.co.za from the Bok hotel in Wellington. “But we had something similar last year when we lost to Australia in Sydney (32-12) and it served to get us back on track.”
“We were just not right for that game and now the difficult thing is getting our minds right for the clash with the Blacks at the weekend.†With the current mood and the slew of injuries to top players the possibility of a Springbok victory on Saturday could likened to extracting blood from a stone. Impossible?
At the end of the day though the old adage of you are only as good as your last game rings true for the Boks. If they manage to pull off a shock win in New Zealand for the first time since 1998 then the Brisbane Bashing will be soon forgotten by the Boks fickle fans.
But another record defeat will have fans calling for the heads of coach Jake White, his management team as well as the players. Conceding 49 points without reply is just unacceptable.
And du Randt says the defeat should never be forgotten. “A win on Saturday will be great, but we must not get ahead of ourselves. The lessons of the defeat to Australia must never be forgotten.
“We should watch that video every single day to remind us of what not to do and how it felt to be humbled in that way. Even if we play well on Saturday we must not try and sweep what happened in Brisbane under the carpet.”
While a Springbok victory at the Wespac Stadium is highly unlikely especially given the current circumstances, stranger things have happened in rugby. This is, of course, a Bok team that has won two of its last four Tests against the Old Enemy.
And they were the last team to beat the All Blacks – at Nelwands in Cape Town last year. No one expects anything but a convincing All Black win, except maybe the Boks, but that is because they have to believe.
By Andrew Hollely
74 Comments
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20 Jul 2006, 09:08 am
If there is a north wester blowing and the wind direction changes 5min into the game will jake yank off butch and put on bosman?
20 Jul 2006, 09:09 am
Who starts if there is light drizzle but no wind?
20 Jul 2006, 09:10 am
I’d love to shift to Durban right now!
We’ve got friends there, who say it’s above 5 degrees now!!
There is a marketing phrase that
‘you can’t beat Wellington on a good day’
They omit to mention that you can’t get much worse than Wellington in a roaring winter southerly, which is what we’ve got right now!!
20 Jul 2006, 09:10 am
If their is a bit of thunder heard in the background maybe butch will start coz he is older
20 Jul 2006, 09:12 am
The Wellington caketin is a fully enclosed circle so the wind rips round and round.
In a good storm if it’s kicked high the ball will change directions several times!
20 Jul 2006, 09:15 am
Sampioen, Catt left when he was 21…had already played fullback for EP.
20 Jul 2006, 09:18 am
I didn’t even know that… So he actually had a choice to stay Andrew?
20 Jul 2006, 09:21 am
Oh, oops! Foot in mouth…
20 Jul 2006, 09:22 am
So the up and under can be lethal down there Ricane?!
20 Jul 2006, 09:29 am
the chances of a win are very slim, but if it occurs, humble pie will be served.
we should then start a process of naming-and-shaming.
20 Jul 2006, 09:39 am
Why dont they let the team players vote for the players they think should be there or in secret black ball sorry white er red yes red ball players in a secret ballot….it would be interesting
20 Jul 2006, 09:52 am
i dont see how jake hasnt change the rush defesh i cant see how he thinks that will win us the world cup
20 Jul 2006, 10:03 am
BlouBul, he never left for rugby actually. He just went over for the two year thing and started playing a bit and then got spotted and then started playing club and so he stayed cos he was being paid and then he got picked for Eng. And now has 60-odd caps and a world cup winners medal…
20 Jul 2006, 10:57 am
Os must go! Prime example of why one should quit at the top.
He is the most overrated looshead in the Tri Nations. ( Scrumming wise)
Move the huge Captain to loosehead where he played most of his rugby ( yes even under JW at U21)
Then get a first class no 2, Brits, Both etc in his place.
20 Jul 2006, 11:29 am
Os is so old that he needs a regular “wake up call” in the form of a record-breaking hiding like the 53-3 at Twickenham and the 49-0 in Brisbane and the 52-16 at Loftus.
The hiding the French dealt to the Boks prior to the Brisbane rogering simply wasn’t enough to wake up Oupa Os who sleepwalked through the whole of that wakey-wakey call.
To get poor old Os to wake up you need his alarm-clock to be wired up to a stick of dynamite these days. The old boy is hard of learning.
20 Jul 2006, 11:55 am
Apart from proving a point it would be wonderful if they can score some!
20 Jul 2006, 12:12 pm
redcard, lets not get ahead of ourselves.
20 Jul 2006, 12:28 pm
I think the ABs are in a terrible position. They are damned if they do damned if they dont. The only way in which this game will be seen as a success by the NZ media is if they can accomplish something similar to what happened last week.
This little metal issue might give the Boks a (although very small) chance.
20 Jul 2006, 14:05 pm
Os is still the greatest! Against France he was immense.
Changes need to made, unfortunately can only happenw when the boys come home.
15 Jaque F
14 Odwa Ndungane
13 Habana
12 Barrit
11 Jean DeV
10 Butch
9 Ruan
8 Big Joe
7 Juan
6 Luke
5 Vic
4 Bakkies (Dont know when hes due back)
3 Os
2 Smit
1 CJ
Reserves:
Pieterson, Fourie Dpr, Bosman, BJ, Gary B, AJ, Dlulane.
Squad:
Pretorius, Januarie, Percy, Brent, Akona, Skeate, Barend Pieterse, Eddie A, Bismark DuP.
20 Jul 2006, 14:16 pm
Against France Os was poor. The French pack got the better of the Boks. Against Australia Os was just plain embarrassing and he got subbed off after less than an hour after being taught a lesson by a rookie.
20 Jul 2006, 14:29 pm
Boetman (Post 68).
Nz does not expect the same SA team to front up this week.
A wounded Bok is a very different beast.
20 Jul 2006, 15:10 pm
karibu – i agree. could see someone more mobile initially and then move on to chilliboy for the end of year tour
21 Jul 2006, 04:15 am
71 come on no confidence in your coach. Ab’s by 10. Why ? cause they are playing at home na duh. But away from home is another story. Ask the Argies.
21 Jul 2006, 05:54 am
Those Argies were actually beaten and on their own home turf and then only by the All Black “B” team, while the “A” team was getting ready to wallop the Wallabies by 20 points.
Ask the Argies.
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