Expect a red hot Cardiff clash
4 Jun 2010
There is no such thing as a ‘nothing’ Test. Saturday’s Bok confrontation with Wales in Cardiff has significance.
The Springboks, in the build-up to the 2007 World Cup, relished every chance they had to play – and beat – England. Even when they thrashed an England side in South Africa missing the core of their regulars the Boks spoke up the meaning of constantly winning against blokes wearing the English white jersey.
Wales have only beaten the Boks once in 100 years, but they’ve come bloody close on a couple of occasions, and the 20-15 Bok win in Cardiff in 2008 could very easily have been a Welsh victory.
Both teams are missing regulars, but it is by no means the best of Wales against a second string Bok team. It is the best available Welsh team and it isn’t that far off the best Bok team, especially now that Fourie du Preez is out for the year.
The Bok tight five is the best that currently can be selected and while I’d always select Schalk Burger and Juan Smith to start at next year’s World Cup, Francois Louw and Dewald Potgieter were the form South African loose-forwards in the Super 14. Joe van Niekerk has been outstanding at flank and No 8 for Toulon for the last two years and there isn’t much to choose between an in-form Van Niekerk and a firing Pierre Spies.
At halfback one of Ricky Januarie or Ruan Pienaar will start for the Boks this season and how they perform against Wales will have a huge bearing on the Boks’ season. The Springboks cannot play the same quality kicking game without Du Preez and his unavailability is a leveller because it forces the Boks to adjust their attack.
Butch James should have played and the intention was always to move Pienaar to halfback in the second half and James to flyhalf. Hypocrisy and greed, in terms of Player Welfare and remuneration, means James has to watch from the stands. It is an opportunity lost.
Jaque Fourie is the best outside centre in South Africa, Francois Steyn is the best selection at fullback and Juan de Jongh has been on the rise all season and would have been in an extended Bok squad, regardless of Jean de Villiers’s availability and that of Bulls centre Wynand Olivier.
Gio Aplon and Francois Hougaard were the most exciting of the wingers in the competition and are fighting it out for one place with JP Pietersen and Lionel Mapoe injured. So when you consider a match 22 of who is fit to play for the Boks in the next two months, the players missing for Cardiff are Bakkies Botha, Burger, Spies, Morne Steyn, Bryan Habana and one of De Villiers or Olivier at inside centre.
This team isn’t as second rate as some have made out, and 10 of those starting in Cardiff would always start.
The preparation for the Boks has not been easy because of the chaos around James’s selection and withdrawal three times in three days. What is important in the context of the Test is the presence of John Smit and Victor Matfield, the two most experienced tight forwards currently playing international rugby.
Wales, since Warren Gatland became coach, have closed the gap on the Boks in every Test, and there is a belief within the Welsh squad that Saturday will be the occasion they actually close it completely and win.
I would not bet my house against it happening. Victory for the Boks will show this side can win without the halfback kicking game of Du Preez and (Morne) Steyn, which as a combination has no equal in rugby.
Defeat will give every one of the chasing pack belief that there is a vulnerability to the Boks when Du Preez isn’t wearing No 9.
I don’t buy the dismissive attitude some have to this Test. I think it is massively significant in terms of the World Cup and because of the nature of the build-up trying to pick a winner would be the equal of picking a lotto number.
You’ll know within the first five minutes who is going to come out on top, but on a Friday afternoon trying to call this one would be like taking a leak in the dark. You may think you know which way it is going, but there can’t be any certainty.
If the Boks win this Test it has to be acknowledged what a good win it is. If they lose, there has to be a similar acknowledgement that the defeat will have an impact on their season and especially their pysche with respect to Wales at next year’s World Cup.
294 Comments
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5 Jun 2010, 10:42 am
does this Black Panther chappie ever sleep?
his anti-SA slant in everyone one of his oh so boring posts is tiring (not to mention bitter and predictable) to others but not him obviously
5 Jun 2010, 10:44 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-249:
Time to front up.
A Test is a Test is a Test is a Test.
No avoiding it.
Besides, you could hardly call a team with Fourie, Morne, FdP, Beast, Smit, Matfield, Bismarck, Spies, Frans, Pienaar Brussow and Juan Smith as an entire ‘Second team’.
or, are you ?
5 Jun 2010, 10:46 am
eish ordinary tourists here for the SWC are paying between R2000 – R4000 per day for bodyguards.
Over the top surely.
5 Jun 2010, 10:47 am
@papertiger: #251 when he does sleep he dreams of the Bokke moering the 3-0 so he wakes up from the mare mad as hell hence the vitriol he spews here. But i like him, he can be quite eloquent & amusing
5 Jun 2010, 10:48 am
the ‘test series’ had ALREADY been won 2-0 so we played our B team and lost. Big wank. Who cares about the minor details. Move on.
5 Jun 2010, 10:49 am
@Paper Tiger(Paper Tiger with Nuclear Teeth)-251:
Sensitive wee soul arent you. Found any of those trophies in Durban yet ?
Im a Highlanders and a Counties fan btw. Theyve won even less than your hopeless lot.
5 Jun 2010, 10:54 am
@black panther: #252 you missed, chiliboy ralepele, johan muller, wynand olivier, zane kirchner, jongi nokwe, odwa ndungane. our 1st team beat the lions in the 1st 2 test, clear?
5 Jun 2010, 10:54 am
team vs BI Lions in 3rd test:
Tendai Mtawarira
Chilliboy Ralepelle – B player
John Smit
Johann Muller – B player
Victor Matfield
Heinrich Brüssow – first season 3rd cap; at the time B player
Juan Smith
Ryan Kankowski – B player
Fourie du Preez
Morné Steyn - first season 2nd cap; at the time B player
Jongi Nokwe – B player
Wynand Olivier – B player
Jaque Fourie
Odwa Ndungane – B player
Zane Kirchner – B player
9 of the 15 were B players. You would call that a ‘B’ team.
Don’t talk **** on here Black Panther.
5 Jun 2010, 10:56 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-256: bwahaha never been called sensitive in my life. always a first.
Shame, your Highlanders have only made one super final ever so a long way to go to be called the “Manchester United of rugby”
The Sharks, with all their foreign signings, have made 4. So I guess that makes them Portsmouth. Making finals but never winning. (At least they get to finals)
5 Jun 2010, 10:58 am
If anyone can be called sensitive its a kiwi guy who spends all his time on a saffa blog defending his own country at ALL costs. Wonder what caused the bitterness?…
5 Jun 2010, 10:58 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-254: you forgot the baabaas game Trans, the one many on here claim as a fourth victory over the ABs..
also a B team, and not even a test, but many here claim it as some sort of superiority victory… surely we can then throw it back at you guys?
5 Jun 2010, 11:00 am
anywhoo. I am not going to spend all my time on here arguing and playing cat and mouse with some poor bitter internet souls. The real world beckons! Have fun chaps and play nice.
5 Jun 2010, 11:01 am
game day!!!!!! kickoff is at 2.30 in Wales so what time is that local time?
5 Jun 2010, 11:03 am
@Paper Tiger(Paper Tiger with Nuclear Teeth)-258:
God, Id be far too embarrassed to write that.
Brussow is now “a B player”. He wasnt at the time, it was his 3rd consecutive Test.
Muller has Captained the Boks.
Theres no point going over the rest of your list actually. The ONLY player on debut that day was Kirschner. The rest all had been capped.
Besides, my list is correct.
All of these players, if they didnt already start, had no less than 30-40mins:-
Fourie, Morne, FdP, Beast, Smit, Matfield, Bismarck, Spies, Frans, Pienaar Brussow and Juan Smith.
Not good enough. I suppose that why they call it a ‘Test’.
The ABs started many squad members in the 3rd Test in 2005, vs a vastly more capped Lions team, and thrashed them by 20pts.
5 Jun 2010, 11:03 am
@poppa: #60 hey Pops, long time no see, you kinda ran away there after the super14 final
as i said to black panther, i have at no time before mentioned the barbarians game as a fourth tri-nations game, it is madness to even contemplate it. But i certainly will admit that some on this blog have used it in their thrash talk. Happy now?
5 Jun 2010, 11:05 am
@Paper Tiger(Paper Tiger with Nuclear Teeth)-259:
The Sharks have only made one Super Final. I hope youre not so desperate to include the invitation-ONLY tournaments pre-’96 ?!
Um, I wasnt the one comparing my team to ManU or Real Madrid. You were.
5 Jun 2010, 11:06 am
@Paper Tiger(Paper Tiger with Nuclear Teeth)-253: that is ridiculous…but hey if they want to spend R4000 a day on security then so bet it….just shows what perceptions can do. For a lot of these tourist its their first time to ‘Africa’ so they don’t really know what to expect besides what they read in the paper or see on tv
5 Jun 2010, 11:07 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-265:
Maybe you just blended in with the majority.
But, Transie, despite your recent bout of PMS, Ive always counted you as 1 of the fairer ones here. Fair dues.
5 Jun 2010, 11:09 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-264: can i just ask….whats the relevance of bringing up the b&i lions 3rd test on the day we playing wales?
5 Jun 2010, 11:15 am
@mustard: #269 black panther, like mike phillips the welsh scrummy believes that the 3rd test is the perfect springboard for warren gatland & his dragons to psyche themselves up and believe that the Bokke are beatable.
5 Jun 2010, 11:18 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-266: man you can talk kak. Its all you do.
2007 – Super 14 final vs Bulls
2001 – Super 12 final vs Brumbies
1996 – Super 12 final vs Blues
1994 – Super 10 final vs Queensland
Even if you rule out the Super 10 final that’s still 3.
As I said above, you talk kak. Plain and simple.
5 Jun 2010, 11:20 am
A4Y’s
Nuff said – cheers.
5 Jun 2010, 11:21 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-265: hey Trans, when all your spare time is spent visiting the hospital, you dont really want to come on here…. glad to see you missed me though
5 Jun 2010, 11:23 am
@Staal(Staal)-272: originality plus… A1 for effort… gees. that aussie influence is getting stronger in SA isnt it? first the love affair with Eddie, now quoting Gregan… whats next??
5 Jun 2010, 11:24 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-270: false sense of security… i like
these okes never learn do they….when you play the boks just shut up whole week and not give them any added motivation but ag. Im still nervous about today though…the guys had so little time to prepare…im hoping they settle quickly
5 Jun 2010, 12:01 pm
@transie:don’t come on here and lecture me little boy.keo isn’t your personal fiefdom little boy.
5 Jun 2010, 12:10 pm
@scorpion: #276 alright sir, yes sir, won’t do it sir
5 Jun 2010, 12:28 pm
Does anyone know where I can see this game in the UK?
(Sorry if someone has already given this info!)
5 Jun 2010, 12:34 pm
@Jim Bobby the Lumberjack(Jim Bobby the Lumberjack)-271:
Chokers.
5 Jun 2010, 12:35 pm
@Mustard(Mustard)-269:
Actually, Im not the 1 that keeps bringing it up. But BS demands an answer, plain’n'simple.
5 Jun 2010, 12:37 pm
@Jim Bobby the Lumberjack(Jim Bobby the Lumberjack)-271:
ps – I was wrong. But all the losses start to blend.
5 Jun 2010, 13:29 pm
Wales can only win the test if they give it all, which is unlikely, it’s their last test of the season and many played already nearly 40 rugby games last 12 months, a huge toll
Expect plenty of up and under from Stephen Jones to rip off dividends from Aplon, Ndungane and De Jungh, nothing else
5 Jun 2010, 13:34 pm
@Hondo(Hondo)-282: optimistic, I think they’ll go all out in this one as Gatland/Edwards know it’s winnable.
5 Jun 2010, 13:44 pm
@UK Bok(UK Bok)-278: Millenium Stadium?
5 Jun 2010, 14:28 pm
@BLACKPANTHER – Can you please refresh my memory – when was the last time the All Blacks won a game against the Springboks?
5 Jun 2010, 14:29 pm
@Pam Anderson’s left ( . )(Pam Anderson)-284: LOL, yes I know.
I meant to say internet site!
5 Jun 2010, 14:41 pm
@Mountainsausage(Mountainsausage)-285:
If you can answer me a Question first.
How many times does 13 go in to 27 ?
that would be under neutral refs in the post-isolation years.
OR
do the numbers 42 vs 33 mean anything to you ?
Over History.
Got lots of catchin up to do, Sausagedog. Continue that 3-0 every year for another 3-4 years and maybe, just maybe, I’ll answer your Question.
5 Jun 2010, 14:46 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-287:
1) Twice, rest 1
2) a. The 6th multiple of 7
b. The amount of tomatoes in a bottle of All Gold tomato sauce.
5 Jun 2010, 14:48 pm
(*)
5 Jun 2010, 15:13 pm
@Hondo(Hondo)-282: I see you still think Up and under’s pose problems for black players, fcuken move on, its 2010
5 Jun 2010, 15:31 pm
@BLACKPANTHER –
Nevermind, I think I remember now – about 2 years ago.
Re your hilarious neutral refs inferral – you guys are seriously funny. For a proud rugby nation cloaked in history and tradition you sure do whinge and whine a helluva lot.
And as for you coming over to our shores and blatantly trying to poach and steal our young talent….well what can anyone really say about you now?
5 Jun 2010, 19:00 pm
Apart from Fransie, I wouldn`t select any of the overseas players in my starting 15. A prop or 2 may make it to the bench. Joe looks like a donkey compared to Spies. LOL
5 Jun 2010, 23:46 pm
@Mountainsausage(Mountainsausage)-291:
Yes, the comparison between pre and post isolation years is rather hilarious and no little revealing. Just confirmed what we always knew all along.
6 Jun 2010, 18:26 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEO MY MAN!!
MAY YOU LIVE TO SEE YOUR GRAND CHILDREN’S CHILDREN…
AND CONVERT TO THE BULLS IN TIME TO PRESERVE YOUR SANITY.
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