Mauger expects bruising battle
5 Nov 2009
Leicester captain Aaron Mauger rates his side’s chances of victory over the Bok XV, but stresses they will have to be physical.
The former All Blacks back will play flyhalf at Welford Road on Friday, in his second match after suffering a groin injury. Mauger emphasised fronting the Boks in the collisions would go a long way to controlling possession and the game.
‘It’s a huge occasion for the club to be facing the world champions but, if we play well enough, we’re in with a chance,’ Mauger told the Leicester Mercury. ‘They have to be matched physically, and it won’t be easy.
‘They have some good athletes and good ball-carriers. The way they are hardened and conditioned to play the game will make it difficult for us, so we have got to deny them the ball and try to control the game.’
Mauger fronted the first-choice Boks in Tests on 10 occasions from 2002 until 2007, and he has a successful 70% win ratio against them.
‘I’ve always enjoyed the physical battle against them and they have been close games,’ he said. ‘I can recall only one year when we put a few points on them [52-16 at Loftus in 2003].
‘Probably the one that I remember the most was my first game in Durban when we won [30-23] and I scored our last try. That was the match when a fan [Piet van Zyl] ran on the pitch and attacked the referee [David McHugh].’
Head coach Richard Cockerill has not yet announced his side as they also have an LV Cup match against Leeds on Sunday, which will test their depth.
‘It is going to be a huge ask for the squad over the two games so there will be a few sore bodies at the end of the weekend,’ said Mauger.
69 Comments
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5 Nov 2009, 19:29 pm
Its clearly obvious that:-
#46 SodaJoe:
You’ve lived away from ‘home’ a lonnnnng time
and that
#44 bokfan1:
many of you “werent even born yet” !
now theres a *SHOCK*
If youre looking for where it all went wrong for Kiwis, it was when the 1976 ABs were cheated so blatantly out of 4 Tests in SA, by 1 hometown Afrikaaner ref, that a 10yr old Paddy O’Brien was traumatised for life and the young NZ nation of new fathers did not forget.
And so for the next vicious spin of the wheel….
Anyway, get over it. SA only gets it for rugby. Aussie get it for simply everything.
5 Nov 2009, 19:31 pm
#47 Jozi:
We’ll also have to travel to Argentina, so that’s just another trip for us, as well.
5 Nov 2009, 19:40 pm
#52 David: You’re right but isn’t our travelling time shorter in comparison? either way I really hope it comes to fruition can you imagine bantering with a bunch of passionate argies here on Keo. I’m sure it would beat anything that Waka has to offer.
5 Nov 2009, 19:42 pm
#44 bokfan1: Sorry you and Bighit have it all wrong, you cant judge a whole nation by a couple of bloggers on this site. I have been to NZ and they are the most laid back and friendly race I have met in my travels , and yes the ones that i met respect the boks. I worked in london with saffas and kiwis that all got on well and gave each other a lot of banter over a few beers during a game of rugby there was respect and no hatred.
Its just traditional rivalry that gets a few people on this site saying a few crazy things but to try and bring the boar war into it come on!!!!!
5 Nov 2009, 20:08 pm
#53 Jozi:
Yeah, we might have to brush up on our Spanish, though.
5 Nov 2009, 23:20 pm
#42 Big Hit: Some of it is hangover from the events of 81 but I hate losing to South africa because they are such gloaters when they win, gracious in defeat but terrible winners. I actually cheered for England over SA in world cup final and I never thought the day would come when I wanted england to win.
6 Nov 2009, 00:31 am
#55 David: uno cerveca por favor?
6 Nov 2009, 00:39 am
#54 west: Totally agree with you on those 2 points:
1. You cant judge a whole nation by a couple of bloggers on this site – Ive also had my fair share of great encounters with Kiwis, but there there is this myth amongst Saffas that Kiwis and Saffas love & respect each other and so on. Ive been in a London in Walkabout and /most Kiwis dont respect anyone during a game. They cheer dirty play (Thorne was cheered for dumping Smit for example) and are quite openin their disdain for opposing teams. If you respected the opposition fans standing around you, surely you stick to the game and show some respect for the others?
So no, you can’t judge it by a few bloggers, but increasingly my experience of Kiwis and rugby disillusions me.
2. …bring the boar (sic) war into it come on! – I couldnt believe my ears when this “respected” former AB told ESPN that his grandpa had told him to beat South Africa on the field because of the Boer War (not “boar” – that would be a war against wild pigs dude
)!
).
If you ever venture over to Silver Fern or those Kiwi sites, you will be shocked (well I was) at the language used! It borders on hate speech! “Boer” and “boers” is used often for the Boks. Is Beast a boer? None of those guys are “boers” (Schalk’s dad has a wine farm so maybe him
Its shocking.
6 Nov 2009, 02:18 am
#30 bokfan1:
You need to understand that New Zealanders at the time of the Boer War – and later; indeed perhaps even now for some old school Kiwis – saw themselves as British. They were Britons who had left the Old Country and moved to New Zealand to farm the land (or whatever). But in terms of culture and allegiance, they remained resolutely loyal to the Crown.
The same was true of Australians and Canadians (and many Natalians and Rhodesians and Cape Colonists). There was no contradiction between being both Australian and British until about the 1950s, just as for many in the north of Ireland today there is no contradiction between being both Irish and British.
These precious ties of kinship across the seas tend to be overlooked in today’s ultra-parochial world. Regular sporting contests between the countries of the Empire has had the unfortunate effect of accentuating the differences between our nations. Rest assured, however, that should Britannia be threatened by the Hun, or should Australia be menaced by the Chinese, then millions of freedom-loving young Anglos will flock to the Queen’s colours.
6 Nov 2009, 02:32 am
#59 Viscount Crouchback: Menaced by chinese? Threatened by the Hun? Hopefully you are taking the piss there, this is a rugby site
6 Nov 2009, 03:22 am
#43 Sodajoe
The AI’s are being shown live by Setanta Premium in the US in bars that carry SP (many). They are not showing the club games though.
6 Nov 2009, 09:16 am
#53 Jozi: I have said it a number of times on this site that in my opinion the 4 nations should be hosted by 1 country every year and everyone gets to play everyone. This could replace the RWC LOL.
The travel will be a nightmare, have people settle in 1 place over the period of 1 month, much easier.
For the rest, the poms have always hated the Germans and the french, they also dispise the Aussies (even though they secretly want to be them), the french hate the poms, the Germans dislike every one, the poms hate the poms and it;s all linked to history … stuff that happened 100 years ago or more. Maybe it boils down to too much time on peoples hands, take up a hobby instead.
6 Nov 2009, 09:28 am
#62 Timbo: Bwahahahahahaha…..I like your idea of the 4 nations replacing the world cup and your brief summary of world politics LOL
The poms have issues full stop.
6 Nov 2009, 12:38 pm
#59 Viscount Crouchback:
hilaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarious !
and spot on.
Welcome back.
6 Nov 2009, 12:50 pm
#62 Timbo: hahaha a very interesting proposition for the Quad Nations (its my name for the new tournament – I may send it to SANZAR and they will have to pay me millions to use it
) – but its tricky to have 3 teams away from home for over 2 months, every year, for 3 years in a row, before its their “home” turn isn’t it?
It would be cool though – and probably better than the RWC! Although no, you need France there to take out NZ, and Eng to now and then surprise Oz
Your best observation was the one about poms “despising the Aussies (even though they secretly want to be them”
That is SO true
#59 Viscount Crouchback: Almost a good post “Viscount” except for the very broad brushstrokes used and until that last sentence. The only thing Britain is threatened by is its own teenage hoodie youth and the morbidly obese citizens eating their way through £1 million of NHS money a year
It is funny though how the “young Anglos” are now “freedom-loving” when it was the British Empire which took freedom from SO many countries – South Africa included, for a very short while…
6 Nov 2009, 14:47 pm
#59 Viscount Crouchback: I think you’ll find that very few former colonies would touch modern day England with a fck-off big barge pole. Gordon Brown’s Blighty is a pathetic shadow of the old empire. When you take the trouble to put down your cup of tea for a minute and peer over the fence, you’ll see that everyone else has moved along. The Queen is but a cheap tourist trinket these days. And England hasn’t offered the world anything of real value since punk in 1976. Sorry.
6 Nov 2009, 18:51 pm
#66 katman: Ahem katman… Alan Partridge (circa 1995) and The Office (circa 2003) – but since then nothing
Punk Rock – a lasting gift that keeps on giving
6 Nov 2009, 18:54 pm
#66 katman:
and 11 year olds that threaten to “f@ck you up” from the street corners
6 Nov 2009, 18:57 pm
#68 charo:
#66 katman: And those wonderful velour tracksuits dont forget
The chav is an amazing creation isnt it?
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