Welsh eye Bok scalp
16 Sep 2008
Former Welsh wing Ieuan Evans believes the Springboks will be Wales’ easiest southern hemisphere opposition during the end-of-year tours.
Wales play the Boks on 8 November followed by Canada, Australia and New Zealand – all at the Millennium Stadium on successive weekends. Former Welsh captain Evans believes the world champions present the easiest opportunity for the Six Nations champs to cause an upset over the Tri-Nations teams.
“South Africa is the best chance of a win. Australia are probably the most innovative [of the three] and New Zealand are going to be a handful,” Evans told Scrum V.
He cited player burnout, which is not easing up as most of the Springboks have gone straight from the internationals into Absa Currie Cup action, as a reason to make the Welsh favourites. He also highlighted how the Bok players have struggled to understand Peter de Villiers’s game-plan as an added bonus for the hosts.
“South Africa are still unsure what sort of game they want to play. Also, a lot of their players are looking tired. Butch James has played two years of solid rugby.”
Not even a year after their World Cup triumph and the Boks already seem to have lost their aura of World Champions in the eyes of the northern hemisphere.
410 Comments
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18 Sep 2008, 05:15 am
#397 foot-in-touch: you are unmatchable ? whats the ledger between the boks and Ab’s now, 42 to 30… man , that has been steadily growing each year… seems you are matchable, in fact beatable, even in your own country, twice in succession ? hell, its taken you guys ten years to beat us at home, seems you got your sides confused.
18 Sep 2008, 05:23 am
#397 foot-in-touch: still, tell me the last time a world cup champion was held scoreless in its own country ??? WC champs losing 19-0 oh my oh my oh my oh my hahahaha that has to be almost as bad as 49-0, or 53-3 (to England, thats farkin embarassing), not to mention the times the AB’s have put 50 past you, and yes, one of those was in your country too…(Loftus)
18 Sep 2008, 05:45 am
#142 Big Hit: hahahah so now we measure how in form JW is by him kicking a field goal, no wonder you hate Kiwis and their rugby so much, your golden boy wants to turn the game into a hybrid version of Australian rules….
18 Sep 2008, 06:06 am
#397 foot-in-touch: check your facts, we havent been the favourites going into every WC, Aussie were in 91, and we were joint favourites with Eng in 2003… do you even watch rugby ?
18 Sep 2008, 14:04 pm
Yep, we feel pretty good about our rugby at the moment – as you SA say, only an average NZ team and a weak Aussie team. You guys had six chances to win and you managed twice and that was with a lucky bounce in the last three minutes in Dunedin! Not bad for a Kiwiteam that lost 17 AB’s from last year. We will take the satisfaction of winning at the moment. Have got over the one loss from 2007. I cannot recall an NZ crowd booing our own team off the field…incidently, who is the top team on the IRB rankings? Another thing – you guys constantly talk about your overwhelming depth – well I seem to remember that South African teams seem to end up in the lower half of the table in Super 14 and last in the Tri nations – AND you only just beat Fiji in the World Cup!
18 Sep 2008, 14:12 pm
poppa69
Jeez, where to start.
After the 95 WC, we heard similar rantings from outside SA about this being the last WC we would win. Describe the comment “the way SA rugby is going”? Do you think we did not hit rough patches before we won the WC again – every year we have a crisis. You seem a person for facts, so check this out and I think the holes you picked in us before are the same ones you pick now, and will no doubt do so again. So I guess this leaves the Kiwis in a quandary asking themselves how they can consistently be the best side in the world (which I do believe – between world cups) but never winning the ultimate prize when all the teams show up. And then asking yourself how those Saffas pull their game through their butt but have won 2 in 4?
I watch rugby with both eyes open. Yes, those smacks your refer to were embarrassing – no doubt. We take the good with the bad here, you don’t read articles about Saffas falling out of love with rugby like those coming out of NZ after the last WC. What’s that about? I am wondering what will happen if you don’t win the 2011 WC at home. The pressure will be huge and I just don’t believe the ABs will handle it. Which is odd for such gifted players. But, with hardmen players like Ali Williams saying that a cricket score against Samoa in a nothing game is better than a boring WC, I am not really surprised.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a Kiwi bleating “When we win one we will win a load…” Let’s see the one first!
19 Sep 2008, 14:22 pm
I think that you will find by the 2011 world cup, NZ will be feilding a pretyy comptent team. A number of current players in the UK/France have indicated that they will be back – we have a good young group coming through from thre World Champion inder 20 team – add these to the very average team in 2008 and I think we will do OK! NZ has pretty well got over 2007 and will once again enjoy taking in the wiins over the next two seasons. Every win means the cafe’s are full and people have agreat night out. They also feel good the next morning. It becomes a habit! We sleep well at night and enjoy reading the morning papers….In some countries with 50million people, they boo their team off after being beaten by Italy, they sack their coach and the daily pa[pers maul them….No winning tests do give you that “warm feeling” of satisfaction!
20 Sep 2008, 00:29 am
#406 foot-in-touch: do you really ? well , have a look at some of the comments on this very site after your teams loss in Wellington, or the two losses in SA this year… then please tell me that SA’s dont fall out of love with rugby…. the constant calls for PDV’s head suggest otherwise, best you open that other eye…
The first one was in 87 champ, yet SA fans dont count that because they werent there ( not our fault your country wasnt civilised then, they would have been invited otherwise) … and heres the fairness of SA fans, and I quote “it doesnt count because we werent there”… well as sooo many SA’s tell us about last years WC, you can only play whats in fron of you, so its different for SA…
and tell me, the fact that Fiji pushed you guys so close in the WC, is that the standard you are happy with ? I was cheering your team on after mine exited, but seeing as everyone seems to think the WC is the measure of supremacy in rugby (which lasts the next 4 years , apparently WTF ? ), then I can only summise that your team CHOKED miserably in this years 3Ns ? waiting for the excuses for that now, you know, travel, ref conspiracy, game plan, PDV, quotas, antipodean alliance, ELV’s , did I miss any ???
21 Sep 2008, 00:59 am
Cmon, people bleating about New Zealand choking every WC assume that NZ were undisputed favourites to win every time. You may be unpleasantly surprised that they were as such only in 2007. In 1991 the main favourites were Australia, 1995 – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, 1999 – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, 2003 – England and New Zealand. And in any tournament the better team won, which clearly indicates that New Zealand weren’t the best team in the the respective tournaments.
Good luck, South Africa in autumn internationals. After England’s misery in their 4 year would cup tenure, hopefully South Africa will do better. However, I fancy NH chances this year and Welsh blokes are not too far from the truth, as SA may be ruthless and brilliant – and may be woeful. For a long time European AI have not been too happy hunting grounds for them.
30 Sep 2008, 11:17 am
The last word is mine.
Wales didn’t make the WC quarters, so he can shut his trap.
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