Thats the only way that you beat the AB’s. It is all a pressure game. Huge tightness in defence, massive pressure on attack, keeping it tight. Any looseness is punished.

Their set piece running even from broken play was impressive. Our team needs a month or two together for intensive practice NOW to try and play catch up a bit.
We will not cacth up their 9 years of consistent selections and coaching and systems and their familioarity with their systems ina few weeks before the RC. We need to put in extra effort at this time.

Otherwise, when will they ever gel as a TEAM? In 6 years? Perhaps SARU should set aside a long period every year for Bok team practice and conditioning exclusively. Twice the amount that the AB’s set aside.

In the bad old days, when we toured in 70, 76 etc, the boks game was all about players 1-10, and for the part it worked, when the game was to merely win by 3 pointers, and the home town refs could always find an excuse to blow the whistle to help achieve this. It disguised the need way back then to play better rugby, more expansive rugby, that appreciated all 15 players. the boks were winning series, albeit narrowly, but a win was a win and thats all that mattered.

Move forward 30 plus years, and those in charge who are now in their 40′s/50′s etc, hang on to that romantic mindset of bullying their way to victory – because it worked back in the 70′s.

Things have changed.

Rugby is far more dynamic, its professional, players are fitter, and most importantly we now have neutral refs. We play each other more – which suggests 2 key things – that the Boks refuse to embrace the changing nature of the game, and are introspective about seeing where other teams are improving.

The false dawn was set last week against Aus, as Aus allowed the boks to move the ball a bit more creating holes for Habana to wander through. everyone got the hot sweats for Goosen, but all he was doing was flicking it on – the Aus backline was a defensive nightmare.

Your forwards are great at set piece, and spot tackles, gang tackles, but the ball is too slow in the recycle, so when your backs do get it, the pace of the game has slowed right down, the opposition have re-aligned – and your 10 reverts to kicking again. Many SA folk say their forwards are fantastic, their biggest strength etc, but are they? They’re damn good, but they could be better in their jobs by playing quicker, and allowing your backs to play with front foot ball, not static ball. We could then then see a back line playing with zest, skill, flair – as they do in practice. I am sure the desire is there by the players, but it has to start up front.

Has there ever been a “weak” AB team? No. Even when they’re rebuilding, they remain immensely competitive because they’re continuously drafting in new players and managing them well. Graham Henry traveled to the US to learn from the NFL. Even though the ABs were already excellent, he was still looking at other ideas to solidify them and improve them further.

In SA we keep talking about our “traditional” strengths – which, without innovation are fast turning into our weakness, because it’s all we know. There is no sense of development, no one appearing to take a really hard look at our game and asking “what’s missing?”

And “what’s missing” is abundantly clear. We are one-dimensional, our selections are off, we have no coherent backline nor backline play. We doggedly insist on doing things our way when an injection of techincal nous from someone like Plumtree or Mitchell might really help. Is it a surprise that the Sharks played so well in the Super 15? They have a Kiwi coach and we have players who can offload and play exciting incisive rugby…except when they show up in the Bok team.

As has been pointed out recently, the Kiwis manage their players better. We have far too many key players injured for it to be merely due to chance.

Until we rectify these things and add what’s missing, we will continue to stagnate. It’s amazing that we go through the same soul-searching year after year and never really see progress in our game or our approach to it. Everyone is so worried about our inability to play like the ABs, so they default to this nonsense about our “traditional” strengths.

The definition of a delusion is adhering to the same beliefs against all evidence to the contrary. Our focus on these so-called Traditional Strengths is preventing us from developing new strengths and new traditions.

You are the optimal myopic bok supporter, so much so, that you have provided an insight as to the psyche of your culture (if you can call it that) that restricts your growth. Your continual envy and accusations towards NZ rugby conveniently hides your problems on dealing with how to play better rugby – youre too worried about us!

Haha, please, .. your tiresome rhetoric on filth/cheating is brutally ironic considering SA are the biggest thugs in world rugby

1. driving off players without the ball.

2. hands.

3. macaw falling onto the wrong side of the ruck.

4. different players going onto the wrong side of the ruck.

5. hands.

6. offsides.

7. going off feet / to ground at ruck.

8. hands.

9. taking up position ahead of the ruck.

10. ab prop drops bind *should be an immediate penalty*.

11. disengaging early from scrum.

12. lineout distance infringement.

13. macaw blocking at scrum.

14. entering maul from side and continuing to play.

15. hands in ruck playing ball.

16. tackling support player without the ball intentionally – nonu.

17. *spear tackle* – retalick (is this even a debate…?..but i’ll bet you the citing commisioner if a saffa let it go).

18. offsides.

19. macaw slowing ball in ruck blatantly.

20. forward pass read – try.

21. sealing off at ruck.

22. obstructive running.

23. offsides again.

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THINGS TO REMEMBER:
this is just the first half and is by no means a full and final assesment of their filth.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/our-experts/7780405/Untouchable-All-Blacks-take-game-to-next-level

Our forwards were immense – problems in the backline…

Game plan not up to standard and HM does not instill any confidence in his team with his strange behaviour during a game. I can’t see him being with the team for much longer. Time for the rightful person to take over…

Welcome home Nic Mallet welcome home…

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing him get the boot.

And the bulls lose a promo against the queens