The Official Rugby Thread

[brazed]

I'm still waiting for WP to show up.

[hawk]

I really hope Lambie gets to play on the Springbok tour!

[MrDeVil_909]

I'm reasonably satisfied with the touring squad.

Adi Jacobs has just been put on standby due to injuries to De Jong and Devilliers. It's really surprising considering what a demon Andries Strauss was in the final. He proved the value of a strong defending center, so while Adi is a good runner he's just not suitable for a Northern Tour. Every time Strauss got near a ball carrier he hit them so hard I felt my teeth chip.

I'm also very anti Matfield as captain. I don't think he has the temperament on the field. Juan Smith would be a better captain, he's very calm.

*edit*

Oh, my moment of the final. Lambie's hand off of Schalk when he was going for his first try. What a beauty.

*another edit*

Traveled all the way from Cape Town to witness first hand how bad my team could play, but the atmosphere of the Shark Tank and the decency of the supporters made up for my teams poor showing. Now to wait for next year and start hoping all over again.

Glad to hear it. I don't like when Sharks fans become arrogant like Bulls fans. It's important to be gracious in victory or defeat.

I hope you went to Eighties after the game. Even if super commercial stuff isn't your style it would have been insane after the game. Well, pretty much all the clubs would.

[wisp]

Lambie jou doring , what a game , what a finish and as predicted the Currie Cup is back in Durban were it belongs.
Good luck to Lambie, Daniels,Alberts, Jantjies and all the other new bokke , lets see what happens on Saturday in Ireland .

[brazed]

I know it's Monday, but do you guys think the real WP side showed up yet? I mean, I didn't recognize whoever it was calling themselves WP on Saturday.

[echo]

I'm reasonably satisfied with the touring squad.

Adi Jacobs has just been put on standby due to injuries to De Jong and Devilliers. It's really surprising considering what a demon Andries Strauss was in the final. He proved the value of a strong defending center, so while Adi is a good runner he's just not suitable for a Northern Tour. Every time Strauss got near a ball carrier he hit them so hard I felt my teeth chip.

I'm also very anti Matfield as captain. I don't think he has the temperament on the field. Juan Smith would be a better captain, he's very calm.

Yeah got to agree with your first point. Strauss played bloody hard and should be in the squad ahead of Adi. Jacobs hasn't been 'n great player since 3 years ago and I doubt if he will be again. Would also go with Juan Smith or even Schalk ahead of Matfield (great player, mediocre captain).

I hope you went to Eighties after the game. Even if super commercial stuff isn't your style it would have been insane after the game. Well, pretty much all the clubs would.

Well, we were drinking from about 10am on Rovers' field so by the time the game ended, we were kaput. But the atmosphere around after the game was still magnificent, despite the rain.

@ Brazed, yeah we were bad, but I have no qualms against losing to a better team. It ****es me off when we lose against teams that we know we can beat, but the Sharks were just more hungry on Saturday. Just one of those things (I think our problem is with coaching, but that is a whole other can of worms).

[MrDeVil_909]

I wouldn't be too harsh on WP.

They were outplayed, and I think they were a little complacent after the last pool game against the Sharks, but the Sharks were just hungrier and more accurate. The Sharks worked very hard to make WP look ordinary and force mistakes. The Sharks have always done well thanks to individual brilliance on the background of pretty ordinary performances, on Saturday they played like the Bulls or Crusaders.

If the Sharks can carry that attitude into the Super 15 they are going to be very dangerous. I'm not convinced they will, I've been disappointed too often, but they've shown that they can dominate if they try.

It's funny, 6 years ago I could give two ****s about rugby, now I'm so over the moon after that game.

[Ranger_Dan]

Ah Monday morning and at least we have something to smile about in Natal :) must be a blue Monday down in the Cape, sorry guys. The final was fantastic, the atmosphere at the stadium was really something special. Even if the WP team didn't show up their supporters sure did, it looked like a sea of blue on our side of the stadium!
Well done to the boys, now go Bokke!

[hawk]

WP didn't play badly, they had the better territory and possession stats, the sharks just played much better.

I also think WP's handling errors cost them, I remember a stat that came up sometime during the game:

Handling errors:

Sharks: 0
WP:8

I'm just happy the Bulls didn't get to win :D

[KraMGarD]

Well done Sharks! TBH it was more 30 - 3 than 30 - 10. That Burger try looked a bit dodgy ;P

About the Springbok squad:

So glad Mvovo and Lambie got in. They deserve it. We are a bit thin on the centre side. I take it Fourie is injured? At least Frans can slot in at no. 12 if need be. They MUST put Lambie at no. 10 as a backup for Steyn and not waste him at fullback. I will go super saiyan on PdV's ass if he put Pienaar at no. 10. Willem Alberts was a beast on Saturday and also fully deserves to be there. So looking at the squad, who will you guys choose to be your main team for the tour?

Here's mine:

Forwards

1 and 3 - CJ vd Linde and Tendai
2 - Bismarck
4 and 5 - Bakkies and Victor (I have my doubts, but they have the XP)
6 and 7 - Schalk and Juan Smith
8 - Pierre Spies

Backs

9 - Francois Hougaard no doubt
10 - Morne Steyn (Lambie as backup)
11 - Habana (has got the XP but has to pick it up some more)
12 - Juan de Jongh (has shown he belongs)
13 - Jean de Villiers (would rather go with Fourie, but at least he's seasoned)
14 - Gio Aplon
15 - Frans Steyn

The rest as backups of course.

[Gammaray]

WP didn't play badly? Did we see the same game? All those handling errors, turn overs lost, line outs lost, tackles missed ... That was definitely not the Province team performance we expected. The Sharks did play very well, and they undeniably deserved the win - well done to them. The one thing that really ****ed me off about "them", was when Bismark tried to impede the camera's vision to the ball after Schalk's try went over. Trying to wriggle in there - that's just bad sportsmanship. I could go on and on, but it's all over - so I won't.

As for the Bok side, I'm not so concerned ... except for Pienaar and Ralapele. I can't, for the life of me, understand why they're there.

[MrDeVil_909]

WP wasn't great, but a lot of the errors were forced on them by hard defence, then they panicked.

Ruan Pienaar has been playing very well for Ulster, so he will be handy to have in the squad, particularly for the Ireland game. Ralepele is tough to judge, he does okay whenever he's on the field, but he just doesn't get enough game time to play himself into form. He's got the talent, but he's badly managed.

Need to think over my squad for the series. Ireland is the big one.

[wisp]

WP didnt take 5 kickable kicks at goal , instead they went for the trys which didnt work. Burger should have taken the kicks at least then the score would be a bit better on WP side , but the Sharks have gone from strength to strengh this year , We beat both finalists of the S14 and that with a lot of youngersters in the team . Lets hope for a repeat in the S15 .

As for the bokke , this should be a interesting tour , lets see how much game time the youngsters get , at least Janaurie is not going(he could catch a buket of KFC if he tried) but its a pity about Dwanye Vermeulen he deserves a chance . And why for the love of rugby does he keep picking Chiliboy ,i will never understand it

[echo]

****

Johannesburg - Schalk Burger and Juan de Jongh have been withdrawn from the Springbok squad as a result of injuries suffered in Saturday’s Currie Cup final.

The pair were scanned in Johannesburg on Monday morning and were immediately ruled out of the tour.

Burger has a broken rib while De Jongh suffered a hairline fracture to his left ankle. Experienced centre Adi Jacobs - who had been called up as a precaution - has been drafted into the tour squad as a replacement for De Jongh.

Burger is replaced by the uncapped Deon Stegmann of the Blue Bulls while his team-mate Zane Kirchner has also been added to squad to restore the party to 30.

“It’s a blow to lose players but we’ve rolled with the punch and already moved on,” said Springbok coach Peter de Villiers.

”We trained without them this morning and we already had contingency plans in mind which we’ve begun to put into operation. It’s not an ideal situation but we’ve all got on with our jobs and are focused only on the players that we have in camp.”

Meanwhile Jean de Villiers (groin), Willem Alberts (calf) and Chiliboy Ralepelle (flu) took no part in either of the Springboks’ two field sessions on Monday. The Springbok team for the test against Ireland will now be named on Thursday due to the injury disruptions.

“We’ll give the players some more time in rehab before we confirm the team,” said De Villiers. “We have the line-up in mind but want to make sure everyone’s OK before making the announcement.

The latest withdrawals take to 13 the number of players who have been forced out of the tour by injury. They are: John Smit, Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier, Andries Bekker, Fourie du Preez, Heinrich Br?ssow, JP Pietersen, Gurthr? Steenkamp, Butch James, BJ Botha, Ricky Januarie, Schalk Burger and Juan de Jongh.

So, there goes our chances of a Grand Slam. Maybe not, but it's gonna be difficult as hell.

[Die Jason]

Congrats to the Sharks, WP were completely outplayed.

Echo, that is bad news, would have especially liked to see De Jongh get more game time for the Boks.

[MrDeVil_909]

It's a damn shame, but I'm not surprised that Schalk was hurt. He was never the same after Ndungane tackled him in the first half and he struggled to get up.

[Chuluka]

@ Wisp

Just taking the only chance you've had since the 2008 Currie Cup to brag about the Sharks, I see. The Bulls will get their revenge on you guys in the Super 15 :P

@ Everyone

I really hope Morne Steyn doesn't play as he can't do much other than goal kicking. Despite me being a Bulls supporter, I think Patrick Lambie should really be given the chance to play flyhalf (he may be a bit young but Francois Steyn played in the World Cup at 19).
I'm glad that Francois Steyn is back. Definitely a must for the World Cup. Maybe PDV should give him a go at centre or flyhalf.

[MrDeVil_909]

While I think Francois Steyn is the most natural fullback I've ever seen I suspect we are going to see him cover centre. Field kicking from deep isn't as important as it was, but he's a good runner from the back too. Fly half, not so much, I don't know if his decision making has improved in the last couple of years, but it was never great.

Morne Steyn has become a better fly half during the running game, but he struggles if the forwards are not doing their jobs. His goal kicking is still great, but Lambie isn't far off. I would still start Morne against Ireland, that's the biggest game of the tour, so I wouldn't take any risks, maybe have Lambie in Fullback and move him into flyhalf at sub time.

[Chuluka]

I really don't think Morne Steyn has the ability to be an Springbuck. He just doesn't look confident or comfortable while playing. He has moments where he does completely retarded **** like trying to run the ball from our 5m on his own and ends up losing it. He's a good provincial flyhalf but nothing more.

Its going to be interesting to watch the "Grand Slam Tour" with all the new players. Hopefully PDV tries some new stuff and actually encourages the team to use its backline more instead of relying on the forwards. New players and new plays will at least give us an indication of what needs to be done before the World Cup.

I'm glad most of the veterans are sitting it out because some of them *cough* John Smit *cough* have gotten far too old and unfit and are a burden to the team as they can't make any meaningful impact on the game.

[MrDeVil_909]

John Smit is in a tough situation. He has always been a bulky hooker, but he picked up weight to play prop and he's obviously struggled to drop it. The time off after his surgery with proper conditioning is going to be very good for him.

He's really not old for a forward. Like most players in the team, he started pretty young so we forget their age because they've always been in the team. And his leadership is very important when the team is under pressure.

It's funny. I hate the Bulls, but I'm backing Morne Steyn. ;) I don't think he's super amazing, but he's won us games all by himself. Whether he will fit in the new style of game, and if P Divvy tries the new style, is a question that needs to be tested to be answered.