… shows he has some balls after all.

HE gave his all and had some awesome moments, but TBH he also screwed up the side at times, and we can’t afford that.

Ah the old ‘distortion of truth blinkered perspective’ so frequent on a site of this ‘calibre’…

Smit is the second choice hooker as well as LH all rolled into one… Burden plays VC rugby… Plum-tree has been extremely lucky in this respect… when Smit actually started in his preferred position for the first time… he scored their first try and they blitzed the Canes… they beat the might of the Tahs pack with him starting at LH and then pipped the the table-topping Blues with him off the bench in the 49th minute for an injured BDP…

So yep the old ‘distortion of truth blinkered’ perspective… ho hum… doesn’t surprise me…

Oh dear… another ‘poor me I’m Cullid persecution complex’… grow some pal or change your nickname to Shaun…

As for the one out-playing the other in that first Bulls game… neither even faced each other on the paddock other than in the scrums where neither team lost one on their own ball… lineouts were almost even despite three chief Bok jumpers in the Bulls… and Ralepelle had his best game ever… but was still no more than a tackling prop with the most tackles out of the forwards (albeit he still has too many assists to his name without out-right tackle-power)… his lack of speed to the break-down and impact in the tackle-zone will always hinder him from being an all-round top-class hooker… no matter how hard he tries…

Heading into 2011 Strauss is currently the form hooker in the land… and has excelled replacing Smith as Cheetahs captain… it is no coincidence the Tah’s fortunes changed when he returned from injury with immediate effect… Bismark is just behind him… and hopefully Liebenberg remains in the land and there is ample impact depth with Fourie… and then there is Ralepelle… sorted for the next 4 years…

Bulls have not had any top-class hookers this season and it shows…

A prop mature from 25 and older. Did not Vickery reached his peak when he was in his 30′s? Os, MoM, in the WC final at the age of 33/34, was it? Jannie Dup, after 5 years of being in the Bok mix, is only starting to look like an international prop now.

…and that goes for the whole front row.

So, maybe Chilly is only now growing into his position. Now that he gets game time for his franchise. In the past he only sat on the bench for the Boks.

The dual between him and Bissy will be most interesting in the next few years to come. I just hope that the next coach won’t be forced to make him the captain and in so doing “chase” Bissy away. Let’s have two hookers who vie for the same spot on merit.

I think Chili will be a great Bok but for me props and hookers need to be in their peak strenght range which starts from 24. Thats why I worry too about Coennie.

……..and the supporters are:

…. way to racially orientated in their criticism.
…. fickle.
….stupid.
….etc.

I see your point.

In Durban especially. Go watch the tapes if you don’t believe me.

Let’s wait and see then. Respect to their agents if they can get them into Europe.

@Hondo(Hondo)-206:
Ricky will still get paid until his contract expired at the end of the year, not so?

If you think that PdV will go with FOUR SH’s to the RWC that is your prerogative.

FdP, Ruan Pienaar and Hougie will be in the RWC squad. You know that as well as I do.

Ricky was always going to be the back up.

“Januarie made a good FH into a bad one (Butch 2008) and a mediocre FH into a disaster (Morne Styen 2010),”

So, tell us about Januarie in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009? He also played for the Boks in those years, didn’t he?

Thank-you Ricky for the great service to Bok Rubgy, might not have been the best but he gave 100% every time, which was more than some of your counterparts…now just to see WO, Smit, Spies and a few others take the honourable way out and let those youngsters in.