The new face of Super Rugby
20 Dec 2010
Find out everything you need to know about the expanded competition in the bumper 156-page issue of SA Rugby magazine.
We kick off our Super Rugby preview section with an idiot’s guide to the new format (if you still don’t know how it works after reading this, we can’t help you). That’s followed by three pages on each South African team (how they are shaping up, player signings/losses, fixtures, previous log finishes, numbers that matter etc) and one page on each of the Kiwi and Aussie sides.
Also in the new issue:
– The Springboks failed to make any progress on their end-of-year tour
– Is Victor Matfield too conservative to be Bok captain?
– The All Blacks capped off an outstanding 2010 with their third Grand Slam in five years
– The Wallabies were frustratingly inconsistent on their end-of-year tour
– If England are to seriously challenge for the World Cup, they will have to stand up to the big beasts of the game
– Behind the swagger lies a secret diary that is driving England wing Chris Ashton to new heights
– Why the Barbarians are still relevant in the professional era
– Yet again the World Cup schedule helps the big nations and hinders the smaller ones. Why can’t the IRB make rugby’s showpiece event fair to all?
– Plus: Why Stuart Abbott is back in SA, Tim Noakes on the Boks ‘doping’ controversy, Heinrich Brussow’s injury battle, SA players in Europe
Click here to subscribe to print edition
Click here to subscribe to digital edition
2,264 Comments
Pages: « 1 … 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 [44] 45 46 » Show All
5 Jan 2011, 17:48 pm
@Puma : Tendulkar can only bat. I use that word ‘only’ loosely. But Kallis is a front line bowler and a brilliant fielder. In my book that makes him a better cricketer. Slightly.
5 Jan 2011, 17:48 pm
@TASSIES : 2149 – Yes Kallis has done the business here Tassies. Very proud of him. Steyn too has bowled brilliant. Pleased we have both them in our team.
Okay cheers everyone. My anniversary today. So one more last big jol….hehehe. Catch up tomorrow.
5 Jan 2011, 17:49 pm
@Puma : Meant from tomorrow want to be eating healthy…..hahahaha. Probably only last a week. Festive season has been very long.
Cheers all.
5 Jan 2011, 17:52 pm
@grant10 : howzit Mr G. Why aren’t you at Newlands boet? I’d give my left ball to be there right now. But a man’s gotta eat.
5 Jan 2011, 18:01 pm
@TASSIES : too damn hot Tassies….went 2 nd day, wanted to go tomorrow….but now have a couple of business appointments lined up….so thats that idea in its glory!
Hope we bowl them out tomprrow….guys have fought back brilliantly
5 Jan 2011, 18:04 pm
Feet off the ground everybody. Triple nelson.
5 Jan 2011, 18:09 pm
This game has been set up nicely after we were dead and buried in the first session.
Well done Jakes – you master.
5 Jan 2011, 18:11 pm
@TASSIES : 2151 I agree. For me the fact that he’s basically second in the all time batsmen’s list in many instances, with a higher average than Sachin and he’s one of only 4 test cricketers in history to have taken over 200 wickets, 100 catches and over 2 000 runs (which doesn’t sound like a lot given that Jaques has 12 000 of them but is quite an acheivement for a bowler) gives it to Jaques. If all jaques had to do was bat like Sachin, I’ll bet he’d be steaks ahead by now.
King Jaques. The rest are just pretenders.
5 Jan 2011, 18:12 pm
And a chase of 340. Enough if we bowl well, even if we are missing a seamer.
Have at them boys!
5 Jan 2011, 18:16 pm
@stormersboy :
100%. Jacques Kallis will go down as one of the all time greats to have played cricket. And that includes guys like Tendulkar, Sobers, Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Ian Botham, to name a few.
He is that good.
And he is South African.
5 Jan 2011, 18:27 pm
@E.T. :
Anything you want to add to your comment @ 1967?
Plonker.
5 Jan 2011, 18:42 pm
Kallis not the shotmaker of some of the alltime greats but for sheer allround verve and pulling it out when it counts he’s up there with the best and then some, steve waugh and punter bulldog, but also about 5 years ago he was a fiersome fast bowler, there was a spell where i remember him bouncing the ozzies out, def one of the greats, seems like the replacement hair and car are good omens, of hoe?
5 Jan 2011, 19:14 pm
all time greatest skittle stickers, what a f’ng misnomer, no such thing.
Its the Punch and Judy show, Jakes and Sachin, without them there wouldn’t be a show on. The rest just filling in.
Why not just have Kallis at one end Tendulkar at the other and see who goes out first that way you can declare the winner, amounts much the same thing anyway.
Tendulkar far better batsman than Kallis as classic strokemakers go, Kallis got that bit of tenacity and luck that pulls him through. De Villiers don’t have the grit that Kallis has developed over the years but he’s a better stroke player to Kallis, same with Gibbs.
5 Jan 2011, 19:23 pm
classic strokemakers WTF?
Stop talking out your bum.
Kallis have every shot in the book and then some.
5 Jan 2011, 19:25 pm
oh dear
starting to to talk like mighty…
5 Jan 2011, 19:42 pm
@skopiskoobidoo :
Can’t believe what I’m hearing.
You don’t like cricket, you love itta!!
One thing though, as Gunther said. Kallis has every shot in the book.
Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsman but Kallis will go down not only as one of the greatest batsmen ever seen but one of the greatest ever cricketers to have played the game.
5 Jan 2011, 19:46 pm
Kallis not even near to same class of batsman as Tendulkar in pure stroke play, Kallis strength is his patience and mindset, but class for class he’s no Lara or Tendulkar or Sobers or Richards or G. Pollack or Botham
He’s dogged and digs in and stays in but even De Villiers and Gibbs are better classic stroke players to Kallis
5 Jan 2011, 19:53 pm
@skopiskoobidoo :
Disagree totally.
5 Jan 2011, 19:56 pm
in terms of classic strokeplay there are few better exponents than kallis.
certainly not gibbs or de villiers.
rather stick to rugby.
5 Jan 2011, 20:03 pm
yeah i mean kallis has never been a freeflowing batsmen that can really dominate all attacks, look at lara when he gets set all hell breaks loose, but kallis has great concentration and is very difficult to get out, i reckon his mental ability and contained technique are probably worth more than the flash to any team. he’s def a great, but SA have had better ballstrikers like gibbs and cullinan, and the best of the lot richards and pollock. richards apparently had every shot in the book, but pollock had the best out-and-out timing i ever seen. gilchrist could moer a ball, but he’d muscle it, pollock was just class.
5 Jan 2011, 20:05 pm
I have to disagree with most you on Kallis.
He is one of the most pleasing batsmen to watch when it comes to pure stroke play! If you have ever played cricket you would know and enjoy the artistry.
5 Jan 2011, 20:06 pm
problem with cricket is it takes too bladdy long, otherwise a great game.
5 Jan 2011, 20:07 pm
@cab :
Kallis has dominated most attacks mate! He can adjust to whatever the situation requires.
5 Jan 2011, 20:07 pm
@Bill Reyts :
yeah but he does’nt really moer it, isnt that the point? look at dale steyn, what a lovely 6…
5 Jan 2011, 20:09 pm
@cab :
I have seen Jacques hit the ball many a mile mate! His stroke play is so perfect that it only looks as if he doesn’t moer it as the timing is perfect.
5 Jan 2011, 20:10 pm
Gibbs and De Villiers don’t have Kallis temperament which is his strength but they got far better cricketing shots in their arsenal
Kallis strength is his determination and patience and strong mindset, but he don’t come close to the greats like Lara, Tendulkar,Sobers, Richards, Pollack and the like in pure batting class.
5 Jan 2011, 20:11 pm
oh dear.
5 Jan 2011, 20:11 pm
consistency is the word i think, he always makes runs, probably the most valuable player in cricket, but i fall asleep watching him, he’s no lara that can smack em all out.
how did he prang his car? couple of dops or tired?
5 Jan 2011, 20:12 pm
@skopiskoobidoo :
Gibbs was one of the most gifted cricketers ever to walk this planet mate – unfortunately as you say the temperament was lacking. I watched him play rugby, tennis and football. He was for sure gifted in all. His sister Lucinda is also a mean tennis player, having represented South Africa as well.
5 Jan 2011, 20:14 pm
crickets for the birds that’s why its all those soft feathered variety you always see at the games supporting this so called poefta sport.
Last bastion of colonialism in all its puffed up regalia
5 Jan 2011, 20:19 pm
All batsmen have had their trademark shots. For Pollock it was the cover drive – often he didn’t even leave his crease.
But Kallis has a magnificent cover drive, square drive and on drive – you name it, he can play it. And can be mentioned in the same sentence as all the other exalted batsmen mentioned above.
As great a batsmen as Kallis is, he will go down as one of the greatest all round cricketers to have played the game. And can be mentioned in the same breath as Sobers and Warne.
And will go down in cricket folklore as a legend.
5 Jan 2011, 20:19 pm
yeah i dunno what cameraman british tv has got, but he’s got a keen eye for the birds, all you see is bikinis, only part of the game i get excited by these days. we got no big hitters. and why’s he holding his ribs, cant be that hard to swing a bat, besides they all got pads and helmets unlike the old days.
5 Jan 2011, 20:22 pm
@cab :
He was tired. It was 2:30 in the morning.
5 Jan 2011, 20:23 pm
@I am a stormer :
oh right. say no more.
5 Jan 2011, 20:23 pm
agreement on Gibbs Bill
now tennis there’s a sport for displaying determination, skill, class, perseverance, tenacity, control, dexterity, power, athleticism and mindset.
If Connors or Mcenroe or Sampras or Borg or Agassi or Becker or Federer or Nadal had to pick up a cricket bat they’d moer these last bastion poeftas to Timbuktu and beyond.
5 Jan 2011, 20:25 pm
The only thing Kallis can’t drive is an Audi R8.
5 Jan 2011, 20:30 pm
gibbs was class, but as the yanks used to say about some of their talented pitchers, 5 million dollar arm with a 5 cent brain, that’m i’m afraid summed up gibbsey, but apparently could play every sport under the sun.
tennis also a mental game with alot of ball skill, the lean cold czeck ivan lendle was also unbeatable at one stage
5 Jan 2011, 20:32 pm
On the brink of winning the Ashes series……!!!
Great to be English at the moment…..
Then the Six Nations starts and it will all fall apart again
5 Jan 2011, 20:33 pm
@carol :
yeah, the ozzies got no sledgers anymore, pietersen was ripe for the picking, but there’s no-one to do it these days.
5 Jan 2011, 20:40 pm
some clinical finishing from the roundball if u bored
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/26763/
ta ta.
5 Jan 2011, 20:50 pm
@cab :
Very funny.
5 Jan 2011, 20:53 pm
@carol :
Hope the Poms do it.
Aussie cricket is at the crossroads now. They’ll be back – but hope it takes them a while.
5 Jan 2011, 21:18 pm
@cab :
@I am a stormer :
Cheers Chaps..!!
5 Jan 2011, 22:45 pm
@cab : Ha ha, that’s woefully funny.
5 Jan 2011, 22:48 pm
On Kallis: Anyone who says he is not a strokemaker is confusing flair with strokes. Kallis waits for the bad ball and chooses the perfect shot for that delivery, be it a drive, cut, pull you name it, he can play it. Gibbs used to chase every ball and it often got him into trouble. De Villiers sometimes does the same.
I remember watching one of his first provincial games against the then Transvaal at Newlands, who were led by Clive Eksteen at the time. Kallis was facing one of their quickies and left or blocked most of the balls in the over, until he got the length he was looking for and stepped into the shot and cover drove the ball for six! He held that classic extended cover drive position with his back knee on the ground and arms extended above him. I have not seen a sweeter hit shot ever. Not from Lara, not from Gibbs, not from Cullinan (who also had great form when he had it), Tendulkar anyone.
On Tennis: I’ve just finished reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography and It’s one of the most engrossing books I’ve read in many years. I’d just finished the “Stig” Autobiography and it didnt grab me at all, in spite of being a big fan of the show (isn’t everyone?). Anyone who is a fan of Tennis and sport in general may enjoy it. I was always more of a Sampras man, but I was amazed about how open and honest Andre was in the book, and how frankly he speaks. No scandals and cheap tabloid type stuff (although there is plenty of “inside” info), just great sincerity and humility. I couldn’t put the book down, the **** that this guy had to get over and how he did it is unbelievable. He hates tennis by the way. Not just hates part of it, truly hates it. Always did. And if that sounds strange or ungrateful, you need to read the book to truly understand what he means and why he probably has a right to feel the way he does, and always has. Crazy stuff.
5 Jan 2011, 22:57 pm
@stormersboy : Sounds like a good read. I was always a Lendl mand back in the day. Something about his unflappable ice cool mentality that I smaaked.
On Kallis – don’t listen to Skoppie, who is a self-confessed cricket hater. Skoppie wouldn’t know a good stroke if it was being delivered to him in the back row of the movies. Kallis is the guy they base the text book on.
5 Jan 2011, 23:08 pm
@>^..^< katman : Yeah i know that. just wanted to share my jaques cover drive for six story.
Lendle was great. He probably can’t believe that he lost to Pat Cash in the Wimbledon final that he was “supposed” to win..
5 Jan 2011, 23:11 pm
@stormersboy : That was a classic final. I remember it well. And I also remember the headline in The Star the next day: Pat cashes in on big Czech.
5 Jan 2011, 23:17 pm
@>^..^< katman : haha yes. I’d reccomend you read Andre’s book. He speaks of both in it, and mentions games that he played against them. Fascinating stuff.
5 Jan 2011, 23:23 pm
@stormersboy : One of my brother’s mates got one of Pat Cash’s checked headbands after an SA Open game.
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