Bring on the Aussies, enthuses De Villiers
2 Oct 2011
The Springboks will play Australia in the World Cup quarter-finals – and Peter de Villiers reckons it will be easier and more familiar than playing the Samoans.
It is the clash of the last eight with the Tri Nations champions against the defending World Champions.
Ireland, in emphatically beating Italy 36-6 in Dunedin, ensured a quarter-final against Wales in Wellington next Saturday with the Boks to play the Wallabies a day later in New Zealand’s capital.
Hosts the All Blacks will play Argentina in the late Sunday kick-off at Eden Park in Auckland and England clashes with France on Saturday at Eden Park.
The winner of the Boks match will play the All Blacks with the other semi-final an all Northern Hemisphere affair.
(Bok coach) De Villiers told the South African media website SuperSport he welcomed playing the Australians, added the Boks would have the advantage at scrum time and that he felt it would be easier playing the Aussies than it was against the unfamiliar Samoans.
De Villiers said he expected the Australians to try and match Samoans for physicality and didn’t believe either Australia or New Zealand could do that to the Boks. He also backed the improved Bok defence to counter Australia’s attacking threat.
Australia has won five of the last six Tests between the two countries, with two of the wins in South Africa. The Wallabies have also scored four-tries or more in four of the six matches.
De Villiers was unconcerned by this statistic and said that while the Aussies could also believe it to be easier because of the familiarity he felt the Boks were playing outstanding rugby at the World Cup and peaking at the right time.
The New Zealand media generally have backed the Boks to beat the Wallabies, but among former Australian players and within the media the feeling is the Australians will be too smart for the Boks and that David Pocock’s return will neutralise the Boks, as he has done successfully on most occasions in the last two seasons.
Former Australian World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones, in the Herald on Sunday, wrote the Boks looked like a champion at the end of the road and that the last 30 minutes showed the vulnerability of an aged giant. He commended the Boks’ fighting qualities and scrambling defence, but said too many key players were no longer the players who stood tallest in Paris in 2007.
Former All Blacks World Cup-winning prop Richard Loe, in the same paper, disagreed, saying the Boks would have too much muscle for the Tri Nations champions.
Quarter-finals (NZ kick-off times – 11 hours ahead of SA)
QF1: Ireland v Wales at Welllington Regional Stadium on Saturday, October 8, kick-off 6pm.
QF2: England v France at Eden Park on Saturday, October 8, kick-off 8.30pm.
QF3: South Africa v Australia at Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday, October 9, kick-off 6pm.
QF4: New Zealand v Argentina at Eden Park on Sunday, October 9, kick-off 8.30pm.
511 Comments
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2 Oct 2011, 22:47 pm
@David(David)-399: Rub it in you Canary *******.
2 Oct 2011, 22:47 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-398:
Yes agreed However here’s a thought
Aplon for Habana
Bench Ruan and Jdj (if 5-2 split
2 Oct 2011, 22:49 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-396: If you read what I said, you would not make that statement Coach. I know we all have opinions, including you. My point is, and I tried my best to simplify my view, is that knocking the same players for the same reasons over and over gets too much after a while. Those doing it, know who they are. The whole Smit, Spies, FdP, Steyn thing has been talked about, shaked up, spat out thousands of times.
But yes, you are right, This is a blog for opinions. So I’ll try not to read certain posts. The problem is with me.
2 Oct 2011, 22:49 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-398: I am a Ruan fan unfortunately. I was also a massive Darryl Cullinan fan.
2 Oct 2011, 22:51 pm
@TheAgent(TheAgent)-403: Sorry, Soda, not Coach.
2 Oct 2011, 22:51 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-402: I would be ok with Gio for Habana.
But the big issue is 9 it seems, particularly if Frankie is out. FdP’s shoulder will always be a concern. And he’s playing quite a lot below his ability right now.
2 Oct 2011, 22:51 pm
Ashampoopaloo364;
Totally agree with Spies on bench, only problem is we don’t know what he is capable of. Big f……………..up by management to date.
2 Oct 2011, 22:51 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-402:
I got plenty time for Aplon he will most times make my 22 .. I got plenty faith in his head and his heart more so than most twice his size.. same with De Jongh
But Habana has shown some improvement and defensively he has come to the party last couple games and scored a good try vs Samoa.. so to drop him now could be wrong…
For Aussie I might even be tempted to play JPP and Aplon on right wing / full back and have Lambie off bench to cover 15 and 10 with Pienaar covering 9
Anyway its getting late
I’m out…
2 Oct 2011, 22:53 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-406:
As skoppie says I believe there is a 2 week rest from contact
Its going to be Ruan on the bench sorry to say
he covers 9, 10, wings and 15
Thats why I say start aplon at 14 and add jdj to bench to cover center (Jdv has rib issues remember)
2 Oct 2011, 22:54 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-408: night skops.
2 Oct 2011, 22:55 pm
@bokke bo(bokke bo)-407: yip for me Spies, Smit and FdP should all play off bench .. but now Hougaard is out (because they dumb arse played him at 11 instead of his correct position which is 9) and we will have to go with FdP to start…
anyway so long …
2 Oct 2011, 22:55 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-408:
Cheers skoppie
2 Oct 2011, 22:55 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-409: Ruan could have been an all time great based on ability. I always thought he was a 15 like his pop.
I think Jean is vulnerable physically, and he gets targeted early to see if he goes down.
2 Oct 2011, 22:57 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-413:
He got bumped around all over the place at sharks and boks his metal state affected
2 Oct 2011, 22:59 pm
Ok girls I have to go. Read a book, then sardines on the braai. Hey I could be in Durbs.
Anyway see you through the window.
2 Oct 2011, 22:59 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-413:
lambie could move to 12 if Jdv goes down but it means aplon needs to be on field or on bench and ruan could got o 15 too
2 Oct 2011, 22:59 pm
Night guys. We’ll never know if our opinions are right or wrong.
2 Oct 2011, 23:00 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-415:
Cheers
2 Oct 2011, 23:02 pm
Hey guys, Frankie absolutely fine according to my daughter’s close contact. Tell you what man, he’s gonna do to the Aussies what he did to the dragons.
Have put 1K’s on it just for fun. Got 65:1 odds for it.
2 Oct 2011, 23:05 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-372:
I think you meant ‘impenetrable’.
2 Oct 2011, 23:07 pm
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-415:
Cheers Soda, I thought they had barbeques where you are.
2 Oct 2011, 23:09 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-390:
Point being he did not win 17 on the trot and then get tossed as you said… he won 3 out of 7… not that I agree with mallet’s choice… I don’t and didn’t… just keeping it real…
How do you know “smit brings no team ethic cohesiveness to this team”? you spoken to guys in the team…?
@352… “EVERY time he’s led the team in recent times He’s LOST… Go f’ng figure..”
well wales, Fiji and Namibia were his our most recent games captained by smit… record shows we won…
“when was the LAST time he actually WON a test against strong opposition..”
ahhh… against wales…
you also go on about IF smit had started against samoa we would have lost… or IF bismarck had started against wales we would won more comfortably… again that is only supposition on your part… not fact… and does nothing to bolster your argument…
skop… you offer as fact that which is only your opinion and berate facts that counter your opinion as fiction… of course you’re entitled to your opinion as is everyone else… but show everyone else the same courtesy and let them have their opinions with the insults and cursing…
and I know it’s your style… but swearing and insulting and berating and shouting does not add one iota of credibility to what you say… just the opposite in fact…
we may very well lose against Australia… but it won’t make you any more correct than you are now… you also said we wouldn’t get through the pool stages… so I understand you sticking to your guns because you think if we lose to Australia you were right all along… but we have already got further than you originally thought…
thing is skop, you have a good rugby brain and have value to add to debates… but sheesh bud… years of your constant ranting and cursing just wears thin and just ain’t doin’ you no favours…
I say this with best intent…
2 Oct 2011, 23:22 pm
UFO422; “we may very well loose adainst Australia” Oke, where is your mindset. You just can’t go there man. In any case bra, evidence base very thin. Too late to put forward facts right now, but clean your mind man. Quickly………or produce the evidence
2 Oct 2011, 23:23 pm
@JL1(JL1)-357: We did, in the 2007 QF, when both Carter and Evans went off injured and we were left with Luke McAlister.
The AB’s have had some long periods with poor options at No10. Post 1991, there were dalliances with some very poor options at 10 – including Stephen Bachop for example.
Merthens hadn’t played for the AB’s before the warm up games for the 1995 World Cup – man he was a lucky break for us!
While Slade and Cruden are nowhere near Carter’s level, I still think they are comfortably ahead of Luke McAllister and Stephen Donald, both of whom have worn the No.10 jersey for the AB’s a fair bit in 2009 and 2010 (with largely disatrous results I might add).
Cruden could yet end up being a star of the WC. He has fixed his main technical flaws, being lack of distance in his tactical kicking and goal kicking. OK, he is an ugly b*gger, so he won’t ship the merchandise that Carter did in the AB jersey, but I think the NZRU have taken us down the wrong path going for the good looking, buff, jersey sellers.
Cruden is a tough mongrel, he is an amazing runner, and is super fit. Oh – and he and Piri like playing together. He’ll be fine.
2 Oct 2011, 23:24 pm
@Bagel(Bagel)-381:
watch the 1995 reels again.
See flags of opposition teams being waved by Home supporters ?
See them covered in face-painted flags in support of the minnows ?
See Johnny No-Name (eg Georgian no7) being mobbed by schoolkids and parents as they leave the field ?
See Sold Out signs for Minnow vs Minnow in isolated towns ?
See Minnow teams inspired by playing above themselves in the Home of Rugby ?
I watched the endless RWC-nostalgia shows on tv too. I saw automatons at neutral matches observing the sport as-if rubbernecking a car crash. The same crowds that came alive like Bulls supporters, but only when ‘their’ team was on the pitch.
Dont go kidding yourselves that ‘the Best’ means ‘the Biggest’ just because White-Elephant stadia stand shoulder-to-shoulder. Dont fool yourself that large crowds in 1 City with a population far greater than the whole Nation of NZ makes you better. Dont chase the lemming who believes that a Winter code needs to be played in brilliant sunshine to showcase the players skills.
As 1 anti-Kiwi British scribe said last week, this NZ RWC “has soul”. Its just that unlike others, we havent sold ours to The Devil.
2 Oct 2011, 23:27 pm
Yawn.
JAKIT.
*Just Another KIwi Troll*
2 Oct 2011, 23:31 pm
@bokke bo(bokke bo)-423:
hehehe… you jumping in before you checked the layout of the land…
i believe we can and will win… said before the comp started i believe we can defend the title…
but i’m also a realist and anything can happen in a knock-out comp… just saying that should we lose it doesn’t make what is being said here any truer… of that it will be smit’s fault
2 Oct 2011, 23:34 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-425:
your desperation is palpable…
shame… i still feel very sorry for you…
2 Oct 2011, 23:34 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-426:
this whole ‘ignore me’ gig seems to be working out well.
oh
thats right
calling me a ‘Kiwi troll’ is supposedly what I “hate”
after all these years wasted on Keo, my pet Nanny goat thinks he’s unlocked the magic formula…..
~~~~~~~burrrrrrrp~~~~~~~
2 Oct 2011, 23:35 pm
@cane(cane)-82: Check out these ANZAC Australasian posters licking each others bums! Good grief how pathetic are you lot?
Sounds like there’s a bit of small-man syndrome going on here. “My team scored more points than yours did” sounds too much like “My dad’s bigger than your dad!”. Bit of ***** envy going on there Cane? I think so.
2 Oct 2011, 23:35 pm
JAKIT.
2 Oct 2011, 23:37 pm
“your desperation is palpable.”
classic.
the troll will say anything.
2 Oct 2011, 23:39 pm
@ufo(ufo)-428:
watch the 1995 replays
oh, its funny alright.
dont forget, this very “anti-Safa anti-SA anti-anteater” said, 2months ago, that the 1995 RWC was the standardbearer, “the Best”, before RWC’11 even kicked off. Its just that Chip Nation cant quite get their heads around the focus being on someone other than them. Its the Carly Simon Syndrome, huh Boy George ?!
2 Oct 2011, 23:40 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-432:
you’d be p1ssed-off too if you had to exist under a bridge…!
2 Oct 2011, 23:43 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-433:
desperation sits so awkwardly on the shoulders of those who would pretend it isn’t there…
2 Oct 2011, 23:43 pm
Interesting stories filtering out from Albany after Fridays match. Lots of niggle in the crowd. 2 big fights broke out. Security guards escorting fans from the stadium. This was a first for this RWC.
No Sa”moans” involved. Just men AND women dressed in Green’n'Gold.
Let Transie come on here and call my bluff. No doubt he was there, like he was at the Tongan practise match.
2 Oct 2011, 23:44 pm
@ufo(ufo)-435:
like a u t o m a t o n s
2 Oct 2011, 23:45 pm
Is Hougaard definitely out? Haven’t heard any word officially of him being ruled out of QF
Please keep Pienaar as far away from Bok jumper on matchday as possible.He is utter rubbish..Over 50 tests of absolute mediocrity.Talent this talent that,Gysie this Gysie that blah blah blah,the bloke is average at best.Brainfart 101,no BMT whatsoever.Kicked 1 penatly ayt end vs Saders yrs ago bt has faiked in pressure cooker almost every other time in majority.
Would play a half fit Frans Hougaard.now that kid is BMT personified.
2 Oct 2011, 23:46 pm
nothing will come close to the 95 RWC, ever.
NZ v AB final, nelson mandela, Jonah Lomu, extra-time drop-kick.
get serious, they made a movie about it.
2 Oct 2011, 23:48 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-437:
shame shame shame… desperate dan…
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-438:
hougie tweeted he was fine and ready to play…
hope he is and does…
2 Oct 2011, 23:51 pm
@cab(cab)-439:
watch the coverage yourself, of a Pool match between neutral-Minnows.
like a u t o m a t o n s, rubbernecking. Zero passion, nada, niente, zip.
Its true tho, the ’95 Final was Epic and almost as good as the 2003 Final. Not that you would remember that one given that it didnt involve your team.
Because its not ALL about Chip Nation. Its about the R U G B Y.
2 Oct 2011, 23:51 pm
@cab(cab)-439:
apparently a mass delusion… the whole world got fooled…
but the truth is out there…
check the replays…
2 Oct 2011, 23:52 pm
UFO427; I also believe Pumas can win, i believe Poms can win, and yes belive it or not even the AB’c can win. However only the Boks will in. Your mind is busy being brainwashed me beliefeth. Come right man. Stop believing and start knowing…… it is quite liberating!!!
Panther429; We put on an opening on a shoestring man, stop bitching k. Anyway, how many Maoris have you guys bussed in, except for the lone ranger who blows the horn. Get a life man- sort your weather out cause I’m comming over in a week. Wonderful country and wonderful people, Can’t wait.
2 Oct 2011, 23:53 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-152: PdV is the biggest dumbfck Smit worshipper around! No-one is more blinded than him so why don’t you start moaning to him. Smit worshippers on here got nothing to do with selecting him. Its Div every time.Stop making trying to blame this kak state of affairs on the Bok fans! Admit it, PdV has no clue what he is doing!
2 Oct 2011, 23:54 pm
passion, soul – get serious, u obviously never been to a match in the republic, ellis park on matchday is like no other cauldron atmosphere on earth, especially on those days, ask fitzpatrick about soul, they got so much soul they bordering on the insane – rugby is a lifeblood that runs right through SA, just like NZ. they had a 747 that broke every rule under the book by flying so low, the ABs were shitting off so badly they created the mythical Suzie, Nelson Mandela had just been released from apartheid SA backing the Boks – good god almighty there will never be anything vaguely like it again – just ask those ABs and fans in the stadium on the day.
2 Oct 2011, 23:55 pm
ignorant twat – go surf another great wave on the kiwi coastline ekse.
2 Oct 2011, 23:59 pm
@bokke bo(bokke bo)-443:
“Your mind is busy being brainwashed me beliefeth…” by some mighty fine sh!!t.. !!
3 Oct 2011, 00:01 am
@bokke bo(bokke bo)-443:
Every Pool match has been played out in the atmosphere of a 1995 Bok match. Ask Brian O’Driscoll. Ask the Russians. Ask the Georgians. They’d never even heard of Palmerston North or Whangarei or Nelson before. They do now.
What did I have to gain by saying the 1995 was “The Best’ prior to RWC’11 ? Who’s bitter now ?
You’ll know the very second you step off the plane. Youre ‘now in the Home of Rugby’. This place isnt a factory line. This is my 5th RWC – will this one be your 1st outside of Chip Nation ?
3 Oct 2011, 00:02 am
@cab(cab)-445: Many heroes that day… Jouba with the broken hand…
Mad James Small piggy backing Lomu at every opportunity…
Joost pulling off the tackle of the tournament on Lomu up the middle…
Andrews at no 8…
Ruben the Legend scoring the only try (disallowed)…
Francois Pienaar leading from the front…
Mandela in no 6…
Heroes all…
What a day!!!
Actually, not just one of the best matchdays in rugby, but in sport as a whole… One match that managed to be more than rugby…And it was.
3 Oct 2011, 00:03 am
@cab(cab)-445:
oh, yes, great atmosphere. Noone denies that. least of all me.
but ONLY when the Boks are in town.
ONLY when the odds are stacked in the Boks favour.
no Boks ?
a u t o m a t o n s
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