Boks must play brain game
15 Jul 2009
South Africa will not win the 2009 Tri-Nations if they adopt the high-risk approach that saw them self-destruct in 2008, writes Gavin Rich in SA Rugby magazine.
The standing of the Tri-Nations as the world’s premier international rugby competition, and the challenges faced by the competing teams, was neatly summed up in an interview that former British & Irish Lions great Gareth Edwards did with a London newspaper.
Edwards, rated the greatest rugby player of last century, travelled to Cape Town for a Tri-Nations game in 2005 – and the brutality of it left him feeling quite stunned.
‘After the bashing the Lions received in 2005 I travelled together with the Cardiff chief executive Bob Norster to watch the All Blacks take on the Springboks,’ recalled Edwards. ‘We had left New Zealand after the Lions tour thinking that the All Blacks were the greatest team on Earth and we wondered who was ever going to beat them. Well, in Cape Town that day the Springboks knocked lumps off them. To say the Boks lacked skill would be an injustice, but the Boks really walloped them. Tana Umaga was knocked off his feet, Dan Carter did not know what day it was. To be there in the flesh was almost frightening. I can’t see a British team doing that too often.’
In relating his experience of that Newlands match, Edwards was also pointing to the one element of Springbok rugby that has remained such a key to their challenge throughout the 88 years of fierce rivalry between these powerful rugby nations. In a word: physicality.
To say it was missing from the games between the Boks and the All Blacks in last year’s Tri-Nations would not be accurate. At stages of the tournament the Boks were as physical as ever, and they scored a historic win in Dunedin playing a structured, aggressive game that could have been right out of Jake White’s playbook.
However, those were the days when new coach Peter de Villiers was giving a lot of air to his love of the expansive game. The net result was that, as they did many times during the course of the year, the Boks flitted between playing styles – and they didn’t play to their core strength. Yes, they were physical in all their games against the All Blacks, but they weren’t nearly as direct as they needed to be when the two sides clashed in Cape Town.
For reasons only known to themselves, or to their coach, the Boks took onto the field that day a strategy that could only be described as suicide. Instead of setting play up through the forwards and creating a platform by hitting the advantage line, the Boks ran the ball down the back – and their run-from-everywhere approach copped them an embarrassing 19-0 defeat.
That was the lowlight of the season, but the malaise had set in during the previous match in Perth. Just a week after their epic win in Dunedin, the Boks started as favourites against a Wallabies team playing for the first time in a Tri-Nations match under new coach Robbie Deans.
Instead of taking the good from Dunedin into this game, the Boks abandoned the template. De Villiers telegraphed his intentions to run more by bringing back Conrad Jantjes for Percy Montgomery, who had been steadiness personified at Carisbrook.
Instead of playing the structured rugby that had earned them their first win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil since 1998, the Boks embarked on the policy that ran them into a blind corner at Newlands. The Wallabies had started tentatively, but the Boks allowed them off the hook by playing away from the South African traditional strengths.
‘To me the big disappointment of last year was not so much that we finished last on the Tri-Nations log, but that we finished the New Zealand leg with one win each, and yet we did not build on that platform,’ admits Bok assistant coach Gary Gold.
One former Bok who watched the world champions getting handed a rugby lesson during their penultimate Tri-Nations match in Durban was Mark Andrews. That was the day when the Boks were booed from the field afterwards, and were booed again by patrons in the King’s Park parking area as their bus left the stadium.
‘When I spoke to some of the people involved, such as [assistant coach] Dick Muir, it was stressed that it wasn’t supposed to be as disorganised as it appeared, the players did go onto the field with structure in mind,’ says Andrews. ‘But it was evident to me that if there was a structure, the players didn’t understand that structure and were battling to get to grips with it. You could make that out when someone like [lock] Andries Bekker ended up taking three balls at flyhalf. The players simply didn’t appear to know where the play was going.’
This makes sense, for De Villiers used to talk the heads-up approach, with the Bok mantra being ‘we’ll play what‘s in front of us’. There have been some high-ranking coaches down the years who have believed in this policy, but can you tally those who have been consistently successful, and more particularly, won trophies? I thought not.
‘You don’t want to be too rigid in your structure, but in my years as a Bok we always seemed to struggle when we had coaches who took on board a philosophy that moved away from structure. I am thinking parts of the Harry Viljoen era, and Carel du Plessis,’ recalls Andrews. ‘In the successful years, such as in 1995 when we won the World Cup and in 1998 when we won the Tri-Nations, we built our success around the physicality and dominance of our forwards. We took on strategies that would ensure that our bigger forwards would always be on the front foot, and we would set up our play through the pack.
‘Last year, in those early Tri-Nations games, we looked like we were trying to set up play through our backs, from behind the advantage line, something that has never worked for the Boks. When we feed the backs we need to be at the gainline or across it. We need to have the opposing defences back on their heels, and bring the forwards in behind, with the ball in front of them.’
For Andrews, as well as another former Bok in Brendan Venter, the selection of the squad will be the key to the chances of South African success in this year’s Tri-Nations.
‘You have to have the players that will suit the game, and vice versa,’ says Andrews.
Venter explains what is needed by holding out one hand and then letting his second fall into place on top of it, all the fingers interlinking.
‘You can’t go out and play a certain type of game if you don’t have the players to do it, or the skill levels required, or if the players are just not used to it,’ says Venter. ‘Everything has to fit together. The combinations have to fit one another, the game plan has to suit the combinations you have and the individual players you have. There are reasons why South African teams tend to be more successful when they adopt a more direct approach, but we keep making the mistake of moving away from this.’
Last year there were some oddities in selection. And even when the right selection was made, there were times when the game plan didn’t appear to suit the player selected.
An excellent example of this was the aforementioned Newlands match. When Fourie du Preez was recalled ahead of Ricky Januarie at scrumhalf it was assumed that the Boks would use his gifted kicking boot to play the territory game. As one official said on the eve of that game, ‘When you pick a guy who can kick from his team’s own 22 to the opposition 22 and he is a scrumhalf, it would be idiotic not to use him to do that.’
Yet the Boks hardly kicked in that game. They ran from everywhere, were repeatedly caught in their own half, and although the player could hardly be blamed, as by then the Boks were forced into playing catch-up, the try that the New Zealanders scored when Jean de Villiers passed to one of them near the Bok line summed up the match.
Du Preez did not look comfortable playing that game, and the Boks, particularly Butch James, were far more effective when they returned to traditional strengths against the Wallabies in the final match. Unfortunately, by then all the pretty birds had flown, and the Boks were playing only for pride.
‘I was encouraged by the fact that after the Durban game against Australia we did seem to return to proper Test rugby, so maybe the penny dropped. I certainly hope so,’ says Andrews. ‘The three matches on the end-of-year tour were encouraging, so hopefully we will stick to that. If we don’t, we could be in as much trouble in this Tri-Nations as we were last year. The one big potential problem that is easy to pinpoint is goal kicking. Like it or not, Test rugby is about kicking your goals, and we don’t have an 80% kicker like we did when we had Percy [Montgomery] playing.
‘I would also like to see the Boks make greater use of the drop goal as a source of keeping the scoreboard ticking. On our home grounds the firm surfaces encourage drop kicking. For a forward who has been throwing everything into defending, there is nothing more demoralising than the opposition sticking over a drop. I have a good recollection of the England faces when Jannie de Beer did it to them in the 1999 World Cup.’
Even if the Boks do bring the structure and levelness to their game that was missing last season, they may find themselves up against better opposition than they encountered in 2008. The Wallabies have lost lock Dan Vickerman, flank Rocky Elsom and Mark Gerrard since last year’s Tri-Nations, but this will be their second year with Deans as coach.
The big question mark over the All Blacks centres on Dan Carter. The ace flyhalf – such a key player in that Cape Town victory last year and the crucial element in New Zealand’s switch to more pragmatic rugby halfway through last season – is unlikely to play.
While the bulk of last year’s players will be back, and there hasn’t been quite the same loss of personnel to the north as there was immediately after the World Cup, Carter was, with skipper Richie McCaw, one of the few really special players in the All Blacks’ line-up. Without him they might lose a bit more of the aura that they appeared to be missing before the Boks and Wallabies let them off the hook at the start of the last Tri-Nations.
The Boks will have to hit the tournament running this year, as the home leg comes first. They will require a minimum of two wins from their matches in Bloemfontein, Durban and Cape Town if they are to be competitive when the show moves to Australasia, where Perth, Brisbane and Hamilton are their ports of call.
– This article first appeared in the July issue of SA Rugby magazine.
596 Comments
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15 Jul 2009, 17:04 pm
#329 Optimus Prime: YAAAWWWNNNNNnnnnn.
I get the message but lets look at it like this;
1. what has friedman suggested will fix the problem that he sees?
2. does his ‘fix’ have the support of ALL south africans
and
3. historically ‘white’ south africa’s biggest buffoon was VanDerMerwe – a white man apparently laughed at by other white men and other races and cultures (possibly)
So Optimus – what did YOU hope to achieve by this posting?
15 Jul 2009, 17:04 pm
pap en vleis poker face.
15 Jul 2009, 17:05 pm
#446 gunther: even pietman’s prized uct is bollocks? ha ha ha ha
15 Jul 2009, 17:17 pm
#414 BlackPanther: JW’s thrashing at Twickenham was with a different side altogether mate, not comparable.
15 Jul 2009, 17:21 pm
#414 BlackPanther:
Panther and what happens if the Boks win?
No excuses?
Will you bow down on bended-knee to the pea-brained Maestro?
I can see some are in for a big-shock here.
15 Jul 2009, 17:25 pm
I am curious what do you think we should hold our Springbok coach to in terms of winning percentage. Obviously there will be good years, bad years injuries etc. But let say over a four year period what is acceptable? 60% 70% 80%. Let me know what you guys think?
15 Jul 2009, 17:31 pm
#447 Nils: True to a certain extent. I would say though that SA have more chance of winning the next WC than NZ simply becos of the added pressure playing at home. Look to be honest for rugby’s sake I hope NZ win the dam WC in 2011 as that would be a fair reflection of their dominance in World Wugby the last 20 off years.
Normally I would say home team is favourite but when you make the ABS favourites and add some pressure they fold , granted it happens to most teams as you say but I think its becos they are the ABS and for many teams they are looked as the scalp. Most teams dont ind losing if they beat the ABS , I know that if the Boks lose in the WC I would feel bad but if they beat the ABS along the way it would go along way making me feel better , like in 99.
15 Jul 2009, 17:35 pm
#452 cab:
Since when are there ever ‘no excuses’ on THIS blog ?
I didnt see any excuses by Kiwis after the Boks won at the Brook last year.
Coaches should be judged solely on results, thats my only point.
If they dont win (and Im assuming you mean the TriN title) with the most experienced squad, the best travel itinerary and against unsettled opposition squads, THEN you can moan. But why dont you wait til then….
15 Jul 2009, 17:39 pm
#453 Sanchez: Personally for now I would be happy with a 75% plus. To expect anthing more is absurd as no South African coach achieved this WC champs or not.
We are a team on the brink of greatness , for us to become great though we need to buy into Div’s idea’s and amalgamated the structure and playing without the rugby ball philosophy of Jake with the play in front of you approach of DIV , only then will we become great. Also we need to believe we are champs and not accept defeat even when we down 20 points in the last 10 minutes of a game. I believe we achieved the latter.
We are 2/3 of the way there already , we know the Jake way , we good in it , in fact we are Champs of the scructured game where we can win games without the rugby ball , we also believe in ourselves as WC champs , we just need to think a little outside the box more , become dynamic , play the situation a little more when it presents itself , then and only then we will become great and I will expect nothing under 80% win ratio !!
15 Jul 2009, 17:40 pm
#455 BlackPanther:
whose moaning? i am actually particularly condifent this year for once.
true ABs dont have carter, which is a shame, cos i know there’ll be excuses, but Bokke don’t have burger, so its about even.
15 Jul 2009, 18:05 pm
#457 cab:
Boks are stronger without Burger than with. Brussow gives Boks far more balance and will, in some way, negate the advantage the ABs had thru McCaw.
Burger is a great player. But he’s not technically perfect, which is why McCaw brings more to the party. Brussow is technically stronger at his chosen task. He looks a wee gem.
Safas have ritualistically called McCaw a ‘cheat’ for years. So every penalty against him was cheered to the rafters. Kiwis have similarly called Bakkies and Burger ‘thugs’ for a long time too. What goes around….
Carter has not been in NZ for whole season so his absence cant be used as an excuse. On the contrary, Donalds lack of talent will be…
Tell me, who will Boks pick at no10 ? it seems like Pienaar will get the nod. Personally I think Steyn looks like a classic Bok 10, will kick the points and has a great temperament. But PdV seems to want the attacking game which Pienaar is more tailored for.
And Boks will persevere with Smit at TH. That mistake will come a cropper at some stage.
So perhaps selection is Boks toughest opposition this year ?
15 Jul 2009, 18:23 pm
#458 BlackPanther:
Nah, Burger at 8thman would’ve formed a formidable alliance with Brussow and Juan Smith. He know the ABs, whereas Spies is still learning the ropes. So we def down, and if Carter was playing the loss of Burger would’ve been far biggers, cos if there’s one player DC watches its Burger.
Lets be quite honest McCaw is a huge cheat, a fantastic cheat, perhaps one of the greatest cheats outside of Fitzy, and they know it, its all about getting away with as much as possible undetected.
I dont mind that, its just the ways you boys play and the Boers need to learn how to be smarter cheats, but Brussow is coming on at a rate of knots.
At 10, tough one, i’d go ruan pienaar since he’s not so telegraphed at steyn, but the latter is a kicking machine and probably better on defense, i.e. the conservative option.
Smit at 3 should be very interesting, he held the Lions, but the AB scrum is always a test. Woodcock has tried to rough him up a bit before CJ came to the rescue, but Smitty wont mind if Woodcock gets sent off.
15 Jul 2009, 18:40 pm
Gavin Rich and his long, boring, structured tripe. Clearly we will not win the WC in 2011 with the so called structured kicking away of the ball. JWs away record in NZ is proof of that. I have said it here on many occasions that we need an alternative to FDP kicking the little ball we get away. PDV is correct in trying to move away from the robotic, no thinking ****. We lost last year in CT because FDP and BJ kicked badly and players like Spies had a nightmare in executing basic skills.
Gavin Rich’s continued unjustified criticism of AJ is ridiculous. He also called for WO to be in when after so many opportunities he cannot cut it at test level, unlike AJ who actually thrive at this level. It was WO and not AJ that was run over by the BIL and clear for all to see.
15 Jul 2009, 18:55 pm
Gavin,
I do agree with you that a structured game plan is non-negotiable. However, to state that the last 3N game of last year saw a return to a structured game plan is wishful thinking.
In fact, during that game, SA was as expansive as can be.
IMO the big difference was better first time tackling and defenders targeting the ball of the ball carrier instead of merely the ball carrier (who, during the AB game in CT and Wallaby game in DBN had more options to offload to fellow supporting players). Jamie Roberts during the Lions series too had way too much room for offloading for the exact sins from the Boks mentioned above.
Smarter defense on the ball allowed our loosies with limited breakdown skills with shorter distances to travel to breakdown points, and with much more time on the ball on the ground.
However, I do agree with you that we need to resort back to a more structured game plan, such as the one we adopted against England last year. We only played structured rugby for 60 minutes against the Lions. We can even be more destructive playing constructive rugby now that we have discovered a more capable fetcher, provided we defend on the ball.
15 Jul 2009, 19:01 pm
#459 cab:
1. Im on record here as saying Burger could be a good no8. However, he struggles – again – at technical aspects; picking up at the base, linking with halfback, making advantage line from retreating scrum. He doesnt strike me as an Einstein, much better when given a free reign to go out and cause damage. Kiwis know a good openside flanker when they see one, and my money is on Brussow in that position. His battle with McCaw will be fascinating.
2. Safas have an absolute OBSESSION with ‘cheating’. Refs are cheats. Players are cheats. Administrators are cheats.
Its like ‘well we cant just acknowledge they were better, so we’ll just accuse them of cheating. Therefore we dont have to make excuses for our own shortcomings’.
Cheating is NOT entering a ruck from the side or getting the ball with 1 knee on the turf or running lazy-D. Cheating is not slowing down opposition ball by getting yr body on wrong side of ruck. Hell, show me 1 loose-fwd that doesnt do that and I’ll show him the changing sheds ! L.Dallaglio spent his whole career killing ball and his shirt was always in shreds. Was he a ‘cheat’ ? No, he was doing his job as a loose-fwd.
Cheating IS marching ball up 5-10 metres when ref turns his back (Kockott, Sharks vs Blues). Cheating IS taking a quick lineout with a different ball (Bismarck, Sharks vs Canes). Cheating IS handling the ball on an opposition scrum-feed (Niel Back for Leicester, Heineken Cup Final). Cheating IS faking injury so your subbed Capt gets back on field (Smit, 1st Test vs Lions). Thats ‘cheating’.
McCaw is just tehnically brilliant. So fast at execution of the basics that sometimes he gets away with those grey lines and sometimes he gets pinged. But they are the grey lines that loosies deal in.
So Safas have ritualistically called the AB Capt a ‘cheat’ for years. Muller and Smit, both in position as Bok Capt actually called McCaw “a cheat”. Unbelievably disrespectful. So much for diplomatic roles by a nations Captain.
And yet Bakkies is universally known as a thug. Has been banned for eye-gouging. Has been, more than once, been accused of biting. Has taken OUT opposition Capts (Mortlock) with flying-headbutts. And yet when he gets a banning, we have JUSTICE rammed down our throats.
Nah – you can ram ‘cheating’ where the sun dont shine and have a long hard look in da mirror, boet.
3. With Boks incredible pack, Steyn is tailormade for the role. Certainly, Kiwis see more of a threat from a kicking machine than Pienaar (albeit he’s very talented, altho not quite, erm, ‘Tiger Woods’). Boks didnt do toooooo badly when Naas Botha was around.
4. Woodock will test Smit more than the Lions did. Smit is a stopgap prop and should, undoubtedly, be selected at hooker. Hopefully Woody takes my advice from 2 above, you’ll hear the cheer on the high veldt if he does.
15 Jul 2009, 19:04 pm
#459 cab: I agree 100000% with you.
15 Jul 2009, 19:11 pm
Why do you keep putting on stories from the magazine? Nothing new happening?
15 Jul 2009, 19:11 pm
#450 Transformation:
its the top ranked sa university by some way…
15 Jul 2009, 19:26 pm
“When Fourie du Preez was recalled ahead of Ricky Januarie at scrumhalf it was assumed that the Boks would use his gifted kicking boot to play the territory game. Yet the Boks hardly kicked in that game.”
What incredible unadulterated rubbish. Both FdP and James had exceptionally poor games kicking the ball out or over the dead ball line one several occasions. They tried to play a kicking game but the execution was poor. Blame it on the coach again you damn twat of a journo.
15 Jul 2009, 19:47 pm
#466 klingon_x: join the club buddy, we’ve been @ it the whole day…but you know keo & gavin rich are preaching to the ” delusional disciples” and trust me there are a lot of them on this blog…ha ha
15 Jul 2009, 19:52 pm
#462 BlackPanther:
what is wrong with you, i thought the kiwis prided themselves on the dodgy stuff? i mean come on Fitpatrick was always up to something. As for richie mccaw, i could compile a list of infringements each game where he does EXACTLY the things you say are cheating including coming in from an offside position and playin on one knee. who said anything about slowing it down, i aint got a problem with that at all provided its done fairly and they release when the ref calls it.
McCaw is an utlimate competitor, all the great opensiders are, what they lack in size they make up for with determination.
Its not me that only thinks so, at one stage McCaw was routinely show the yellow. Great player, what a fantasic cheat. Unfortunately ours is committed in open sight. The Bokke still have some ways to go to match the ABs finesse in the dark arts.
15 Jul 2009, 19:52 pm
#467 Transformation:
I understand that but the lengths that they are going to rubbish PdV at each and every occasion is unbelievable and resorting to blatant lies top do so. There is also something called “journalistic ethics” that requires a fair, balanced and truthful recount of facts and events. These cowardly scumbags have none.
15 Jul 2009, 19:54 pm
#463 willievz:
if you see this later, what are your thoughts on the 3N?
Will the Bokke win it?
I hope so my house has been bet.
15 Jul 2009, 20:17 pm
ag nee fok!
nog ‘n eenetjie teen PdV?
het julle klomp konte daar by keo nie die castle ads gesien?
bou ‘n ****** nasie julle donners.
ek is siek en moeg vannie bullshit oppie site.
siek en moeg.
15 Jul 2009, 20:20 pm
Rugby will always be our main focus here on keo.
But it is critically important that other matters are debated and discussed here.
15 yrs after 1st democratic election SA really a teenager with huge baggage.
Some people’s opinions will never change, but many think about the topics raised here.
We must debate these issues for the next 30-50+ yrs but move forward as a collective all the time.
15 Jul 2009, 20:20 pm
ag nee fok!
nog ‘n eenetjie teen PdV?
het julle klomp c#cksuckers daar by keo nie die castle ads gesien nie?
bou ‘n ****** nasie julle donners.
ek is siek en moeg vannie bullsh#t oppie site.
siek en moeg.
15 Jul 2009, 20:22 pm
ag nee fok!
nog ‘n eenetjie teen PdV?
het julle klomp c#cksuckers daar by keo nie die castle ads gesien nie?
bou ‘n foken nasie julle d#nners.
ek is siek en moeg vannie bullsh#t oppie site.
siek en moeg.
15 Jul 2009, 20:50 pm
#468 cab:
read the post again – the ‘exactly’ offences listed are those that are NOT ‘cheating’.
How priceless that you list McCaw and Fitzy as ‘cheats’ and paint Boks as innocents compared. It would be like Kiwis labelling all Safas as ‘thugs’ whilst ignoring likes of R.Loe, C.Meads…
And you say McCaw is ‘routinely shown yellows’ ?! you are making this up as you go ! that is, how shall we say this, a fabrication.
Neither does it explain why a host of referees have been labelled ‘cheats’ over the years. And even attacked on rugby fields on that premise.
‘unfortunately ours are committed in open sight’ – oh please, stop this concept of naivety. There is no less naive rugby team on the planet.
What amazes most people is that you actually appear to believe this nonsense.
15 Jul 2009, 20:51 pm
#472 rangerman: dankie ranger! Baie dankie!
15 Jul 2009, 20:55 pm
#462 BlackPanther: Smit will have no problem with Woodcock. You’re quite correct however that Jenkins didn’t bother Smit, just like I said he wouldn’t.
15 Jul 2009, 21:10 pm
#475 Big Hit:
Woodcock has been widely rated the best LH in the World and was named in the World XV last year by The Times, SARugby.com, Scrum.com, rugby365.com. Bob Dwyer has said he’s the best LH prop over the past few years.
But then, those critics probably dont know rugby like you, Big Hit. Who does ?
15 Jul 2009, 21:19 pm
#473 WakaNathan:
The AB’s and Boks are actually as “dirty” as one another. It just happens from time to time. Poms, Welsh, Paddy’s, Jocks and Frogs, Wallabies and Argies are dirty too in their less than dignified moments. In a contact sport as rough as rugby is, the dark side will emerge from the male psyche from time to time. Its not for sissies. Sometimes its very dark and that’s not cool. No one likes that.
Colin Meads was a legend player player in his day but a Sir? Wow…I think he even thinks how did the Queen of Pomland get THAT right? He was often over robust and at times down right dirty. I dread the day that Richard Low is made a Knight. He is a psychopath.
SA has a long line of hardcore screw loose upstairs experts. In the mid to late 60′s the Bulls and Boks had a hooker named Gys Pitzer who occasionally scrummed binding only with the loosehead prop. His right arm roamed free at scrum time so he could punch the living daylights out of the opposition hooker. He was damned “vuil”. He seemed to love pain. Inflicting it and receiving it. F@cking nuts he was.
15 Jul 2009, 21:28 pm
#476 Transformation: plesier Transie.
ek is nie afrikaans nie, maar as ek regtig die moer in raak, is dit ‘n lekker taal.
i dont like being led by the nose and only come here for the bloggers really.
15 Jul 2009, 21:31 pm
#478 rangerman:
Howzit Ranger.
15 Jul 2009, 21:31 pm
#476 WakaNathan: which Times? anyway, we’re talking about scrummaging and Woodcock while competent is no monster in that department. Smit will be fine.
15 Jul 2009, 21:34 pm
exactly listen to jinx, i mean richard loe, holy ****, there is a saying in afr for that sort of player, we had some really dirty ones you okes never got to see in our local Currie Cup.
The afr word for such individuals is: ‘vuilgat’. (dirty arse)
Now Richard Loe was as vuilgat as has ever set foot on a rugby field.
Richie and Fitzy are not vuilgat, they are great cheats that will do everything to get their team the advtage, John Smit will have to learn from the masters…
15 Jul 2009, 21:37 pm
Our lads are christians. Unfotunately, there may be a few vuilgat christians among them, but they need to learn some cunning.
some ‘what me ref?!’ McCaw innocent-like expressions…
15 Jul 2009, 21:38 pm
#481 cab:
Cab I think you take the Ritchie/ Fitzy cheat thing too far.
SA are no angels.
We had refs in SA that used to “cheat” in the bad ole days. Max Baise was seen as a cheat by overseas teams.
15 Jul 2009, 21:39 pm
#483 Jinx:
15 Jul 2009, 21:39 pm
#482 cab:
15 Jul 2009, 21:40 pm
15 Jul 2009, 21:40 pm
was Baise really that bad? has a chat to my old man the other day, he reckons he was horrific. there was also gert bezuidenhout.
lmao, must have been bladdy funny.
15 Jul 2009, 21:42 pm
Jinxie,
i cant believe they wanted to win so badly…were the kiwis hamming it up like suzie or do you think it was really a bit questionable?
must admit i was’nt sure who the hell andre watson was penalsing come scrum time in 2003 RWC, thought someone had been offering leather jackets…
15 Jul 2009, 21:43 pm
#481 cab:
I mean does Richard Loe have a wife or girlfriend? Geez, she must **** herself daily for that expected unexpected tweak in his brain when he wants to do her damage. 8)
15 Jul 2009, 21:45 pm
#489 Jinx:
hehe .. yeah he was one mean son of a gun.
15 Jul 2009, 21:46 pm
#489 Jinx: Naand Jinx… hoe hang die ghoenne?
15 Jul 2009, 21:47 pm
#487 cab:
Max Baise denied Willie John McBrides Lions a 4-0 drubbing in of the Boks ’74. In the last test he disallowed a Fergus Slattery try that WAS a friggin’ try. The Lions had to settle for 3-0 and one draw. (13-13)
Gert Bezuidenhout was a “skelm” too. Absolutely.
15 Jul 2009, 21:47 pm
#491 grootblousmile:
Duidelik boetie.
15 Jul 2009, 21:49 pm
#490 cab:
Richard Low should be behind bars. ( Not those bars…but THOOOOOOSE BARS.)
15 Jul 2009, 21:49 pm
#492 Jinx:
yes, Baise was the Lions read all about it, Bezuidenhout the ABs.
Mind you, Norling’s shocker in new zealand was also a poor effort.
The kiwis also brought in that pro boxer skinner at prop after losing the first test. Kiwis always been ruthlessly dirty when losing.
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