Aussies demand inclusion of top Boks
25 Jun 2007
The ARU will look to overturn Saru’s decision to rest key players in the away leg of the Tri-Nations.
With the World Cup less than three months away, Springbok coach Jake White believes his top players need a rest after a demanding Super 14 season and five weeks of Test rugby. But Australian Rugby Union chairman Peter McGrath slammed the omission of these stars, and said Saru guaranteed this would not occur.
“We had previously sought, and received, an assurance that they would be sending their best available Test team,” said McGrath.
“We recognise that the rugby public has purchased tickets for this match in good faith and would feel betrayed by this decision by the South Africans. The ARU understands their outrage.”
The Aussie administration will now push for the the inclusion of the likes of Victor Matfield and Schalk Burger for next week’s Test in Sydney.
“We are seeking an urgent meeting of SANZAR to overturn this decision [the partnership body governing South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby]. The agreement between us clearly calls for each nation to field its best team and with Saru’s decision this is clearly not the case.
“On behalf of the fans, those people who in good faith bought tickets to the Wallabies Test against South Africa in Sydney on 7 July, we will pursue this issue and seek to get the decision reversed.”
McGrath was unsympathetic to White’s reasons for leaving his best at home and believes they have no excuse given the set outline at the beginning of the season.
“It may be a Rugby World Cup year and the Springboks may have played five Tests in a row but we face the same situation. We all knew the Test schedule well in advance, we all knew about the Rugby World Cup,” he said.
Wallaby coach John Connolly was also disappointed with the Bok selections and although he lauded South Africa’s depth, he also highlighted the financial impact of omitting key players.
“Even though South Africa have great depth, it is an issue for rugby in terms of credibility,” Connolly told RugbyHeaven.
“People buy tickets on the basis they are going to see the best side. Leaving 20 or 30 players out of the Super 14, and major changes to Test teams, can create a problem.
“When you make two or three changes, I don’t have a problem with that. But when 10, 15, 20 players are left out, then it becomes an issue for the game. We saw what happened with the New Zealand teams in the Super 14 this year when they left players out. And the Kiwis have been doing this with their northern hemisphere tours for a while.”
211 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 [5] Show All
25 Jun 2007, 17:44 pm
seems this is turning into a pisstake session, in certain parts of SA we get confused and its known as ‘pulling the piss’.
25 Jun 2007, 17:53 pm
Katman, ‘Currie Cup’ was merely an expression at how disgraceful that lineup is. Ok, put it like this, I wouldnt select ONE of those in your theoretical side for a RWC Final. There are 3-4 in there that MIGHT make the Reserves bench. Aside from that, these squad members have been tried and discarded a long time ago. As for this assertion that Henry has been doing it for years, what Planet are you on ?! At best he has selected 2 teams that toured and mixed starters with reserves to make 2 even teams. At NO stage did he send NZ ‘A’ and call them the All Blacks. Maybe you think that would fool the average Scot or Paddy, but for the TriNations against NZ and Aus ? Where is the respect ? And Weasel is quoted as saying “we’ve had 5 tough matches and they need a break”. Pardon ? Eng C, Samoa, and presumably the S14 Final. So NZ plays France C and Canada and has 2 of their Semifinalists involved and still sends a FULL-strength team to SA. Have we been taken for stupid ? And the Boks would have 2 weeks before their next match, not landing in Durban after 18hrs flight to take on the Boks. Why should SA supporters see our best players ? Why should the Boks play NZs best in front of their own crowds. The same applies to Aus. In fact, why have the TriN at all ?
Sorry, no offence meant. But to me NZ vs SA is sacred. I think its a disgrace. Nothing less than an insult.
25 Jun 2007, 17:57 pm
agreed.
25 Jun 2007, 18:45 pm
I can see why Jake wants to rest his key players. I can also understand why the convicts are questioning Jake’s motives – they want to play against jaded Boks at the RWC should they meet, but what is pissing me off is the whinging coming from the ‘Blacks.
Did they screw the paying rugby public during a SANZAR sectioned competition? Did they not screw the broadcasters a SANZAR sectioned competition?
Are they not still facing legal action from NewsCorp because of their underhanded actions?
No we have a situation where hypocrites who live in glass houses trying to take the moral high ground here because of SARU’s actions based on medical facts in a SANZAR sectioned competition.
You kiwis should be ashamed of your RFU as for the convicts you are just jealous because you do not have 40 players of test match quality and BTW the Bok “Bruiser†team is going to take a convict scalp for the 2bd time in this years 3N.
25 Jun 2007, 19:30 pm
204. As valiant as the lion, as churlish as the bear. Churlish post RedLion.
25 Jun 2007, 19:41 pm
In the Mandela cup match 2 years ago in Joburg, an experimental bok side beat the aussies. Nothing was said of our weakened team then…
26 Jun 2007, 00:04 am
#175 I fear you are correct and if this goes ahead then we will rest our top players, not to save face as you suggest but to shield against injuries.
Where does this leave the fans such as myself and the 50,000 others who purchased these freaking expensive tickets on good faith and White’s assurances to the ARU that he’d field his “best available Test team” ?
26 Jun 2007, 02:51 am
BigRed, you cleary have no regard for the facts, throw out wild assumptions conveniently ‘dressed’ as fact.
Yes, I can understand you’re pissed off, but look in the mirror. Henry has made it a fine art and you, in all likelihood, cheered his ‘strategic brilliance’ every step of the way.
Now that the boot’s on the other foot, you cry foul. Doesn’t wash, I’m afraid.
The truth is, it’s wrong to devalue Test rugby or Test cricket. And we’ve all been guilty of it because there’s this new Holy Grail that supesedes all else – the frigging World Cup.
Blame the IRB, the ICC, if you really wish to vent your anger.
26 Jun 2007, 04:41 am
This probably won’t make me very popular here, but here goes.
In sending a second string Bok team Jake White is contradicting himself. He has been on his soap box for so long talking about this Winning Culture and Winning Momentum. Now we are almost certainly going to go into the world cup have lost our last three matches in a row, one to AUS and two to NZ. Too often it seems White just spits out whatever he thinks people will believe, so now I must ask;
“Do YOU believe in his winning culture speeches?”
Theiretically I believe it is right. But in reality, unless by some small miracle the 2nd string boks upset the Aus and NZ sides on the away leg, I cant see how his campaign for a winning culture can be taken seriously at all.
SA were not smart enough to rest players during Super 14, or take the opportunity to do so against an England C side, twice, and then against Samoa.
Our top players should have been gelling as a unit in training during those games, and their opening trial game should have been 50% against Samoa and 100% against Australia in Tri-Nations. With gears going up a notch on the away leg.
I predict it will be a chocking culture that we will carry all the way to the world cup. Not a winning culture.
26 Jun 2007, 05:24 am
Well done Jake, take a bow.
Nobody wants to c 2nd teams play but every team did this. So no finger can be pointed at him. So all you Kiwi and Ausies, stick that fingers up the brown eye.
South Africa can only win out of this tour. If we roll over 1 or both of these teams on this tour the Kiwis and Ausies will have the seed of doubht. If we lose, so what its our second stringers and our 1st are fit, prepared and ready to fire back home.
Our seconds can nock the 7 bells out of these 2 teams, so they might struggle with injuries come September. If they field 2nd teams against us then we stand a good change of winning the tri nations with a couple of away wins which will boost the morale and confidence of the Boks.
I think Jake has planned this well (even better the GH) and Jake has played his card at the right time.
If McGrath said that our rugby board has lied to them – well they’ve been lying to us and the whole world for years. You guys are just beginning to c it now.
So for all of you – look at the rubbish under your own carpet.
Last but not least – do all the Kiwis think that on the heavy fields of France the Blacks can run around a heavy Bok pack like this one. The All Blacks have a good team, just a pitty the continent would suite the Boks and Irish. No last 10min flurry and the Boks will have 5 of there 1st team players back which missed last Saturdays
game.
Prediction – Irish to beat the Blacks by 5 in Cardiff.
26 Jun 2007, 05:36 am
hillarious! why dont the ozzies just SHUT UP
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 [5] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.