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• 101.Mustard:
  4 Aug 2011, 16:56 pm

  @XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-80: my point is that the answer to all of those questions should be the same person, but it isnt so something is not right.

• 102.Hooker22:
  4 Aug 2011, 16:57 pm

  @XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-90:

  So neither white nor black have a very high opinion of him, then?

• 103.Transformation:
  4 Aug 2011, 16:57 pm

  @Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-94: hey man you said “our best available” ie saffa and my answer is, we don’t have one.

  now internationally, ewan mckenzie would be my first choice, assisted by brendan venter – if he can keep his ego in check and dave hewitt as the other assistant coach.

• 104.ET.:
  4 Aug 2011, 16:59 pm

  99:

  The lame chancer attempts to ‘strike ‘ again but failingly so.

  Thankfully a meeting calls. Always new things to learn from visiting profs.

• 105.Transformation:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:00 pm

  @XhosaKid(XhosaKid)-90: “sell out” you’re talking ET’s language now. can you believe that this was the same guy being interviewed here?

  De Villiers: Believe in me

  Even the bad times are good for new Bok coach Peter de Villiers.

  There are no photos on the walls of Jake White’s former office at Saru headquarters in Newlands. Nails, hammered in at various angles, balls of dried Prestik and traces of double-sided tape are the only evidence that this room was once well decorated. On the modest pine desk is a laptop, a silver pen and pencil set and a telephone. The comfortable-looking black chair behind the desk is the only sign of luxury in a room that now belongs to Peter de Villiers.

  The new Bok coach is stuck in traffic and I’m sitting alone at a round table next to the desk. It’s only after a couple of minutes that I notice the small picture frame. In it is a poem. After two weeks in the job, this is the only personal item De Villiers has brought with him from his Paarl home. The words reveal a lot about its owner.

  BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
  You are your greatest asset,
  There’s nothing you can’t do.
  No one can keep you from dreaming,
  Only you can make them come true.
  What you achieve is determined
  By the desire you possess.
  There is no better feeling
  Than the feeling of success.
  Believe in who you are
  And what you do,
  Don’t leave things up to fate,
  It’s strictly up to you.

  When De Villiers walks in, I shake his hand and ask how he is. “Even the bad times are good,” he says with a smile, before pulling up a chair.

  Interviewing the new Bok coach is like having a verbal joust. When I ask questions he’s comfortable with, he gives insightful, intelligent answers. But when I ask anything controversial, he either deflects the question with a question of his own or uses a range of metaphors.

  De Villiers was born in Paarl in 1957 – nine years after the introduction of apartheid. When he was a child, his family was forced to leave their comfortable home because of the Group Areas Act.

  He was a small child, but he refused to be bullied. “You know, there’s no fight like a fight with no rules,” he says. “I never allowed kids to push me around then, and I don’t let people push me around today. You don’t need a big body to have a lot of brains, you know.”

  De Villiers began playing rugby at the age of nine, represented Boland Schools in primary and high school and made his provincial debut while studying to become a teacher. Later on, he was invited to Saru trials but missed out on selection for the non-racial national team.
  He has no regrets about his playing career, even though he did not play Currie Cup and Test rugby.

  “If white people didn’t want me to live among them, why would I want to play with them?” he says. “Rugby was only one part of my life, not my life. By not playing in white competitions, I was telling them I didn’t like the way they treated my people. However, those black players that chose to play with whites were not traitors. A traitor is someone who sells his country out. I decided to stay; my best friend – who played flyhalf in my team – chose to go, and we are still friends today. He later told me that the people [in white rugby] were dishonest with him and he wasn’t treated well.”

  When asked about apartheid and the affect it had on him, De Villiers tells two stories. The first is about his family being forcibly removed from their home by the apartheid police. The second was later in life when he was a teacher and a respected member of his community. De Villiers was pushing his eldest daughter on the swings in a park when a white security guard threw them out. “He treated us like dogs,” he recalls. “But apartheid affected the lives of all South Africans – black and white. If you were a white person, you were not allowed to mix with black people. You can’t be a holistic person if you don’t interact with people from all walks of life.”

  De Villiers, as the poem on his desk confirms, believes in himself. He also loves himself a lot.

  “Loving myself enables me to love others and congratulate them when they achieve something,” he says. “I know what I want from life, and I always back my own abilities. I’m not afraid to use the expertise of others, but most of the time I rely on myself.”

  De Villiers says his top priority in life is God, “because God is everywhere”, but admits his other priorities are determined by circumstance. “My job could be my top priority today, and my family tomorrow. When I wake up in the morning, I decide what my priorities will be for the day.”

  While he gets on with most people, he often clashes with those who are economical with the truth. “I don’t like dishonest people. I tend to interfere in their affairs,” he explains.

  De Villiers was always going to coach after he stopped playing rugby. “I knew I had something to offer other players,” he says. De Villiers enjoyed instant success with the SA Correctional Services and SA Colleges sides, before being approached by Tygerberg. After two years with the Cape Town club, he was appointed coach of the Western Province Disas, the union’s senior B team. However, although he took the Disas to three consecutive finals, he was never considered to coach Western Province’s Currie Cup team (he was only made an assistant coach in 1998).

  I ask De Villiers if this lack of opportunity, early in his coaching career, frustrated him. Does he believe WP used him just to add colour to their coaching staff? Was there ever a plan to groom him to become the Currie Cup head coach?

  “There’s nothing I can do if people are dishonest,” he says. “I don’t get cross if people don’t believe in me, because that’s their view. I got a job at WP and I was successful in that job. That’s all that mattered to me.

  “As for only being an assistant coach, you don’t have to be a pilot to fly from Cape Town to Durban; you can be the co-pilot too. You still get to your destination safely.”

  However, De Villiers was given a chance to coach internationally at age-group level – his SA U19 team finished third at the 1999 World Championship. Although he was also an assistant with the Bulls in the 2001 Super 12, no provincial union approached him to coach their senior side. It was only in 2002 that the Falcons finally gave him a break.

  When he left the Brakpan-based union in 2004, there were allegations of racism, a claim the coach denies.

  “Those three years at the Falcons made me the coach I am today,” he says. “It was a tough three years, though, because I lost 33 players and had a budget of R1.2 million compared with the R10 million at the disposal of the previous coach. But I’m grateful for the opportunity they gave me.”

  When SA U21 coach Jake White got the Bok job in 2004, De Villiers was given another opportunity on the world stage. His Baby Boks finished third at the World Championship that year, won it in 2005 and finished second in 2006.

  Yet in 2007, De Villiers was still waiting for another opportunity to coach at Currie Cup or Super 14 level. Instead, he worked as a consultant to Maties first team in Stellenbosch, and the club won the WP Super A League and the National Club Championships. Later in the year, he took the Emerging Springboks to Romania and won the IRB Nations Cup. When he returned home, he was amazed by the low-key reception the team received. Even more hurtful was the fact that no-one from Saru contacted him to offer their congratulations.

  De Villiers was close to Newlands rugby stadium when he received the call from SA Rugby CEO Johan Prinsloo. “Hi Peter, Johan here. I need you to come to the fourth floor of the Sports Science Institute for a press conference. You’ve got the job.”

  “I cannot describe the way I felt at that moment,” recalls De Villiers. “I had prepared myself for both eventualities, but I was still blown away by the enormity of it all.”

  At just after 1.30pm, De Villiers walked into his first Springbok press conference wearing the Bulls blazer he’d earned in 2001. After facing the media – and hearing Saru president Oregan Hoskins admit that transformation had played a part in his selection – De Villiers drove home to find his house covered in Bok flags and messages from well-wishers scribbled on the windows in white wash-off paint.

  At that moment De Villiers realised just how close his community really was.

  The new Bok coach had switched off his cellphone before entering the Bok press conference and turned it on only later that night when things had calmed down. On his voicemail was a message from Jake White, wishing him all the best.

  I ask De Villiers if he spoke to any of the other contenders in the days that followed. “Chester [Williams] was the only one who phoned me and we had a good chat. If I had missed out on the Bok job, I definitely would have called whoever got it and said well done.”

  If De Villiers had spoken to Heyneke Meyer – who he edged 10-9 in the President’s Council vote – what would he have said? “I’d have told him to get on with his life,” he replies.

  De Villiers won’t divulge the details of his presentation to the coaching committee, which recommended his name to the President’s Council. “I’ve been told it’s confidential,” he says. “But I can tell you I made them a couple of promises. I promised I would do everything in my power to ensure the Boks stay No 1 in the world, and I promised to take the game to the people.”

  He aims to keep his promises by playing an expansive style of rugby – the total opposite of what we came to expect from Jake White’s Boks.

  “Structure in rugby came from Australia, a country which doesn’t have a lot of rugby talent,” he explains. “I believe the more talent you have, the less structure there should be. We have a massive amount of talent in South Africa and I want to give them the freedom to express themselves. I want my players to be the best they can be, on and off the field.”

  I ask De Villiers whether he thinks the Boks can realistically expect to beat the All Blacks at their own game. Under White, the Boks won three Tests against the arch-enemy by dominating up front and playing to a set structure – not by throwing the ball around.

  “You’ll get your answer in July [during the Tri-Nations],” De Villiers replies. “I believe we can beat the All Blacks with an expansive approach. We just need to have a positive mindset. If we can be successful with a negative mindset – as has often been the case in the past – imagine what we could achieve with a positive one.”

  Another White trait was to favour tall, big backs (Jean de Villiers, Frans Steyn, Butch James etc) over pocket rockets such as Brent Russell. Can the smaller provincial player in South Africa now dream of Bok selection under De Villiers?

  “Let me put it this way,” he says. “A small talented guy will always be better than a big untalented guy, and a big talented guy is better than a small talented guy. I will select the best player for the job.”

  Perhaps White’s greatest achievement was to create a winning culture with the Boks. So it’s good to know that De Villiers is a very bad loser. He says he can’t even handle losing a game of marbles and doesn’t know how he’ll react if his Boks lose a Test in front of a global audience.

  “The Boks play 12 Tests this year, and I want to win all 12. One loss in a season is one too many. Any defeat hurts me,” he says.

  There are those who say De Villiers is in a no-win situation. If he wins every game in 2008, he’ll have done it with the team Jake built. If the Boks start to lose, he’ll be the coach who stuffed up the world champions. De Villiers, however, refuses to accept that.

  “No, no, no, no,” he says loudly. “If we win all our games, it shows we’ve built on the winning culture created by Jake. If we lose, perhaps it’s because there have been a few changes and we are busy rebuilding. So I think I’m in a win-win situation.”

  I’ve saved the most hard-hitting questions of the interview for last, and as they start coming De Villiers gets more agitated and his answers more evasive.

  “When the Boks struggled under Jake White in 2006, his kids copped abuse at school. Have you warned your daughters what could happen if you go through a bad patch?”

  “No, why would I do that? We’re only going to have good times this year.”

  “When will you pick your Bok captain?”

  “After we’ve chosen the first match 22 on merit. I can tell you one thing, though: one of those 22 players will be the captain.”

  “Do you rate Luke Watson?”

  “I don’t want to discuss Luke Watson because it will put pressure on him. Why didn’t you ask me about Gcobani Bobo? Don’t you want to know about Bobo?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Then leave Watson out of this interview because he’s the same as any player to me.”

  “Do you have a relationship with Cheeky Watson?”

  “Definitely. I am talking to you now, so I have a relationship with you too.”

  “Do you have a close relationship with Cheeky Watson?”

  “I only have a close relationship with my wife. [Pause] Look, I listen to most people in life and then I make a choice who makes sense to me. Cheeky Watson makes a lot of sense to me when I talk to him. He’s a very intelligent man, and he’s a very honest man.”

  “According to a newspaper article last year, you said you’d select 10 blacks in the Bok starting XV.”

  “I never said that. What I told the journalist is that I don’t see colour, I only see rugby players, and I will choose the best possible Bok team.”

  “If the best Bok team, in your view, is all-white, will you pick it?”

  “You will never, ever in your life again see an all-white team. And you will never see an all-black team either. Each race group has different skills that complement each other.”

  “According to some scientific reports, the white Afrikaner is more suited to rugby than non-white players for genetic reasons. Could that explain why 13 out of the 15 Boks in the World Cup final were white?”

  “That’s absolute rubbish. Over the weekend I watched a white player [Stormers centre Corne Uys] carried off the field after being tackled by a coloured player [Boland wing Alshaun Bock].”

  “How will you ensure Super 14 coaches select more black players this year?”

  “I believe they will do that without me interfering.”

  “Wouldn’t official quotas make more sense than this gentlemen’s agreement?”

  “Quotas do more harm than good. Look what quotas have done to the crayfish industry in this country. When there are official quotas, those non-white players in the team are regarded as quota players.”

  When our time is up, De Villiers breaks into a smile and claps his hands together. His PR manager, Neil de Beer, walks in and gives his client a new 2008 diary, with gold-edged pages. “Wow, look at this!” De Villiers enthuses. “It’s even got my name on it!”

  As I prepare to leave, they start discussing a gala banquet to be held in De Villiers’s honour in Paarl. “I spoke to [minster of sport] Makhenkesi Stofile this morning and he confirmed he’ll be there,” says De Beer. “Oh, and Ceres is sponsoring the juice.”

  As I walk down the passage, I can hear De Villiers laughing.

  By Simon Borchardt

  This article first appeared in SA Rugby magazine. The new issue will be on sale from Wednesday, 12 March.

• 106.Brigadier Van Zyl:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:01 pm

  @Big Hit(Big Hit)-96:

  well, mallet also opted for gaffie du toit at flyhalf against the kiwis.

  with frikken dave von hoesselin, whatever the frikken hell that okes name was.

  mallet is a good coach but was just as suseptible to brainfart selections as any other. As a good coach, he just had fewer of them.

• 107.Robbie Fleck is a legend:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:01 pm

  @ET.(ET.)-104:

  Enjoy, old fruit.

• 108.XhosaKid:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:02 pm

  @Mustard(Mustard)-101: No, its really easy, the person or persons that you have credited before, should get the balme or more credit, simply really, whats being reported by journalists is irrelevant. This is about you and your own conscience.

• 109.rangerman:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:02 pm

  @kaksioek(kaksioek)-93: et is not annoying at all.

  unless you let him be.

  he is my bunny and it is true that he is ka kking all over the yard and digging up the grass but all bunnies end up in the pot eventually.

  

• 110.kaksioek:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:02 pm

  @ET.(ET.)-100: My culture has never been better, Old Bean. Why, just this morning it went for a five mile run before sitting down to a hearty breakfast. Meanwhile, yours is best restricted to Petri dishes.

  I’m noticing a distinct pattern with the pain: it comes and goes when you do.

  On that last point, the feeling is mutual.

  Nice chatting, as always.

• 111.President_of_the_Sharks_rugby_experts:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:04 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-109:

• 112.kaksioek:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:04 pm

  @rangerman(rangerman)-109: It can’t happen soon enough.

  I have to run now but will pop in later. ET: ensure that you are elsewhere when I do. It will be like old times.

• 113.JL1:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:16 pm

  @Transformation(Transformation)-38: Well that is just my point, you can win anyway that you want to as long as you win, stay with me now, I understand that it is going to fast for you, or shall I draw you some pictures

• 114.rangerman:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:18 pm

  @President_of_the_Sharks_rugby_experts(sharks_lover)-111: @kaksioek(kaksioek)-112: the real pity is that et cant really speak english properly and cannot really argue a point effectively.

  he quirps for “free”(read: steals bandwidth from his neighbour) from across the water like a cor-pus.

  but claims to have his finger on the pulse of south africa?

  i have decided to read et’s posts as though they are all written as EXTREME dry humour.

  even more extreme than a savannah.

  i advise you all to do the same.

  because otherwise we will have to assume his insanity is clinical and that would be very, very sad.

• 115.Transformation:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:20 pm

  @JL1(JL1)-113: puerile as always when you can’t get your way grow up

• 116.JL1:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:30 pm

  @Transformation(Transformation)-115: So which bit do you not understand?

  Is winning not the number one criteria?

  Pre 90s we played a mixture of backline and forward play, still kicked, but kicked intelligently

  PDIvvy has made us regress, let down by his support, I believe

• 117.Mustard:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:36 pm

  @Transformation(Transformation)-105: Classic PDV

  “Do you rate Luke Watson?”

  “I don’t want to discuss Luke Watson because it will put pressure on him. Why didn’t you ask me about Gcobani Bobo? Don’t you want to know about Bobo?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Then leave Watson out of this interview because he’s the same as any player to me.”

  “Do you have a relationship with Cheeky Watson?”

  “Definitely. I am talking to you now, so I have a relationship with you too.”

  “Do you have a close relationship with Cheeky Watson?”

  “I only have a close relationship with my wife.

• 118.Great White Shark:
  4 Aug 2011, 17:53 pm

  He’s on drugs for sure. No-one is that weird in real life.

• 119.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:00 pm

  Ja well, PDV just did not prove to be strong enough to handle the pressure. Pity, he had the right idea in the beginning.

• 120.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:00 pm

  On more positive news, it looks like SA Rugby are starting to get their house in order.

• 121.fromthecouch:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:01 pm

  @PissAnt(PissAnt)-120: well overdue, but better late than never!

• 122.Robzim:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:22 pm

  @ET.(ET.)-76:

  Just saw u post after being stuck in traffic and rain.

  It is indeed possible that here are good players from the clubs who do not get selected. I believe Jerome Paarwater is responsible to watch club rugby and identify new talent. Not sure how successful it is and whether any players have really managed to become part of the “super” group via this route. Probably not too many (if any).

  Lately, he are many letters in the Argus from irate fans who believe there are very good players out there who are ignored. Sadly, it appears to be very much a racial issue – tonight for example someone provided a list of about 10 players black players who he believes are good enough to “transform” WP rugby.

  I do not think people like Allister, Jerome, Rassie etc will deliberately ignore the credentials of promising black players- as they are already under pressure from people who are claiming the teams are too “white “they are obviously aware that it will be better for their own longer term futures in rugby if they can identify and include more black players in the senior WP teams.

  It is certainly tough to become an established top player in WP rugby (also for white players). Take for example a good player like Nic Koster- He sat on the bench for just about the whole super 15 (2 starts only of which one was enforced) and is now improving week by week as he is getting some exposure at last . However, the moment Vermeulen (already appointed as Captain) comes back from injury Koster will be relegated to the bench again and when Schalk and PLouw return it will be even harder for him. Same applies for Kolisi who will find it tough to get a start or even a place on the bench. And then there is the promising Nizaan Carr waiting in the wings and also Rayno Elstadt who is a better flanker than a lock.

  It cannot be easy to be a coach and to please everybody and also win the matches.

• 123.Jinx2:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:28 pm

  (at Kelvin – playing pool)

  Rassie: So you looking for a job, Nick?

  Nick: What are you offering, Ras?

  Rassie: Funny. (sinks one) Bokke. (Nick smiles over the brim of Castle)

  Nick: No thanks. I am looking for a winning franchise.

  Rassie: Or almost winning. (both laugh)

  Nick: Alistair’s doing a great job.

  Rassie: Very true. He may get a call up.

  Nick: Or you? (Rassie plays a bad shot)

  Rassie: (long stare over the bar) The Stormers will beat the Bokke in a years time. Green point stadium will be full. Sarries/WP coalition. I’m staying here. And we want you too, Nick. For the kids. Let’s get serious. We are considered foreigners in our own country. I’ll settle for Province. Local is lekker.

  Nick: My thoughts exactly. Count me in, boss. (lighting a cigar). I bet Alistair stays too. He is respected.

  (sun sets over a smokey silence)

  Rassie: Nick. Put it out, boet. This isn’t Naples! (laughter).

• 124.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:35 pm

  @Robzim(Robzim)-122:

  The sham which is WP rugby is a much deeper rooted problem which cannot be solely blamed on WP rugby’s top structures although they are in a position to effect change.

  I suppose this goes for most parts of SA but in WP specifically if you are not in the right school, or not playing for the right club, you have zero chance of making it.

  Catrakilis as an example would never have seen a WP jersey had he stayed at False Bay rugby club (and False Bay is one of the more fortunate rugby clubs in the Cape!).

  Of course the argument for moving to UCT helped him get noticed in the Varsity Cup does hold some water but the point is the lad had the skills at False Bay already, it only got noticed when he started playing for UCT because that is one of the few places WP rugby looks to identify talent.

  Schools rugby – the same.

  When the WP Craven week team was announced Paul Roos had the majority representation, at the time according to the FNB schools top 20 they were just inside the top 20 with 4 or 5 other Western Cape schools ahead of them if I remember correctly…

  The old-boys club in WP Rugby has a hell of a lot of influence behind the scenes, and these guys are mostly old boys from the institutions I mentioned.

• 125.Robzim:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:48 pm

  @PissAnt(PissAnt)-124:

  What is your view on the issue that there seem to be proportionally more black than white players who make it into the age group wp teams only to disappear the moment they move into senior rugby?

• 126.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 18:53 pm

  @Robzim(Robzim)-125:

  The last two seasons has seen something different happening, where age-group stars actually brought through the system for a change, but in the past, even very recent past, WP’s senior teams contracted players from outside the union (WP and Stormers team specifically of course).

  I think in general little faith has been shown in age group structures in the past, there seems to be a change in attitude now so I think those numbers (if this is kept up) will change.

  I think it will also be worthwhile to do an exercise to see where a lot of those players (U/19′s and U/21′s) are now – are they in the wilderness or are they contracted to other unions?

• 127.willievz:
  4 Aug 2011, 19:45 pm

  Do we need a new plan if the old one worked just fine?

• 128.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 20:00 pm

  @willievz(willievz)-127:

  Worked quite well in 2009 didn’t it?

  Good point.

  It only needs to work well for 8 games.

  (Man I hate the RWC)

• 129.Treehugger:
  4 Aug 2011, 20:54 pm

  @willievz(willievz)-127: Why try fix something if its not broken.

• 130.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:03 pm

  @Treehugger(Treehugger)-129:

  Because everyone think it is…

• 131.Robzim:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:06 pm

  They lost 8/12 over the last year.
  That is why confidence of the public is low.
  The curve seems to be heading downwards.

• 132.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:13 pm

  @Robzim(Robzim)-131:

  And that will all change if they win 8/10 in the next 10 tests – they will be heroes…

• 133.Treehugger:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:15 pm

  @PissAnt(PissAnt)-130: I actually enjoy our style of playing rugby, its like a battle, I find constantly flinging the ball around and running a bit like that league rugby, I enjoy the scrums and love our rolling mauls (must be my fav) .

  Nope, our rugby rocks, now we just have to get back to our winning ways.

  SPRINGBOKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

• 134.Robzim:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:25 pm

  @PissAnt(PissAnt)-132:

  No doubt about it. Everything will be forgiven.

  Btw. I share your sentiments re the RWC- the tourney carries far too much weight imo too.

• 135.Mustard:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:34 pm

  @PissAnt(PissAnt)-124: Thats always been the problem with WP rugby and its even more prevalent in WP cricket.

  Talent scouts pick and choose which schools/varsities to look at.

  Also there is little development when it comes to coaching the coaches, i have from a friend that even referees are getting a raw deal here in the Cape.

  There is so much issues at WP and the administration from the top down needs to effect change and have a centralized system while giving divisions in the cape the autonomy to grow the game in the game with emphasis on development.

• 136.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:36 pm

  @Treehugger(Treehugger)-133:

  Love your passion lady, how about I organise you a pair of Bok shades?

• 137.TheAgent:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:41 pm

  @Transformation(Transformation)-34: 2009 – 61 -17???

• 138.Mustard:
  4 Aug 2011, 21:43 pm

  The Boks need to win 4 big games if we are to retain the Bill.

  Wales, QF, SF, Final. Most likely Wales, Ireland, AB, England

  For the AB:

  to win: France, Argentina/England, SA, Aus

  But that said everything can change with one upset

  France could knock AB, Ireland knock Aus then everything changes

  Gona be fun next month to see how things play out.

  If we dont win the WC i hope at least we go down fighting and not roll over like in 2003

• 139.Treehugger:
  4 Aug 2011, 22:11 pm

  @PissAnt(PissAnt)-136: LOLOLOL lovely, the guys on ruggaworld are going to track you down and do you an injury, I didnt win any of the competitions and never will, go with my heart to much.

• 140.PissAnt:
  4 Aug 2011, 22:23 pm

  @Treehugger(Treehugger)-139:

  They won’t mind if I give one to a lady – men are like that! Will email you soon.

• 141.Hondo:
  4 Aug 2011, 23:25 pm

  @Jinx2(Jinx2)-123:
  Amazing!
  I started storing it: the insight, the subtle sharp, dry humor, the observation, the way it implies in an undertone is commendable.
  Well done Jinx2, many here keep missing Jinks badly and for a long time but seemed we have a very worthy another Jinx!
  In one of his last postings it got me dumbstruck when he wished a happy yontov, I have to say I didn’t suspect that!

• 142.Nils:
  5 Aug 2011, 02:51 am

  @Mustard(Mustard)-138: Well said. For any major contender there are 4 most important games (as others in normal world are a must) – the crunch game in the pool and playoffs. SA start with the most important game (just like England), good luck to them.

• 143.Agile T*t-Tyrant:
  5 Aug 2011, 03:23 am

  Guys, Keo and Ryan and JC,

  I know this site is mainly so that we have a place to go and read news and talk rubbish, but here and there you can find some good rugby comments and the freedom we get to say whatever we please is (mostly) refreshing and generous.

  Unfortunately the material of the articles usually don’t really provide food for thought.
  I understand that there is only so much to write about, and poor guys like J Cardinelli and Ryan have to find something to write about daily. Respect to them to be able to do that.

  But, I think the site has stagnated somewhat. Keo TV is a good initiative, but the problem is that it is only a video format of the same articles and opinions we already read all over the web. It just usually comes with purposefully contrasting views to other posters and aims to generate some controversy and thus conversation surrounding that.
  But that is not enough, in my opinion.
  Yes most bloggers here are casual fans, but that is exactly the point. If the initiative was seized we could attach some serious rugby fans as well.

  Can we get some real rugby analysis? Please.

  I don’t mind Ryan’s opinion in this video above here, but I don’t really like a journo taking the coaches on about their plans when nothing is clearly dissected and explained, or the pros and cons laid out.
  There is a total lack of technical information, and usually nothing new or that hasn’t been said numerous times over in the comments from different sites.

  For those who are incapable of forming a quick opinion or seeing the bigger picture, or unable to deduce a few of the points gathered in the video- have a Keo Kiddies Korner where you can post your vlogs (video-blogs) for those interested.

  Is there any way that we could see some expert opinion on here every week? Any chance of some proper analysis of the elements game (especially since things are so scientific nowadays), or whatever the hot topic of the week is?
  Please?

• 144.Slartibartfast:
  5 Aug 2011, 03:59 am

  @Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-143:

  Did you pee in your bed? Why are you up this time of the morning…

• 145.Waster:
  5 Aug 2011, 04:07 am

  @Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-143: hear hear

• 146.Nils:
  5 Aug 2011, 04:14 am

  @Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-143: +100

• 147.j59:
  5 Aug 2011, 05:15 am

  “According to some scientific reports, the white Afrikaner is more suited to rugby than non-white players for genetic reasons. Could that explain why 13 out of the 15 Boks in the World Cup final were white?”

  I wonder if white Afrikaners can hew wood and carry water?

• 148.Hendrik Pienaar:
  5 Aug 2011, 05:23 am

  How about an injury update on the Springbok squad Ryan.

  Are Gurthro Steenkamp and Juan Smith still on track to make the World Cup?

  If Gurthro doesn’t recover, will Smit be the reserve loosehead?

  What is the number expected for coloured players in the squad? I can count 8 selections that would be justified. Beast, Gurthro, Ralepelle, Johnson, Habana, Pietersen, Aplon and de Jongh.

• 149.HongKongSlong:
  5 Aug 2011, 05:34 am

  @Hendrik Pienaar(hendrikp)-148: i wouldn’t say Chilliboy is justified. One good performance of the bench, doesn’t justify anything. Loads of better hookers then him in SA.

• 150.Hendrik Pienaar:
  5 Aug 2011, 05:39 am

  @Robzim(Robzim)-122:

  Problem is many of the guys come up through the bigger schools and play for age-group sides where they are developed.

  I can’t imagine there are many players who could step up from fairly weak club rugby and suddenly perform against professionals at Currie Cup level.

  Someone like Kolisi for example… he wasn’t found at club rugby level. He was spotted playing Craven Week & for Grey PE.

  If you don’t make Craven Week or get spotted very early, you are very very very unlikely to ever get a look in for top Currie Cup sides. You’d be better off trialing for First Division sides. Otherwise you need to really be a superb player at club level (as in look like superman out there) for a large club. Gio Aplon is an example of a player who was only spotted later on.

  If anything it’s just sour grapes from some clubs in WP.

Pages: « 1 2 [3] 4 5 » Show All

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