Folks, a lot of people seem to be all rugby’d out… but damn man, it is 5 days before a Tri-Nations Test against the old foe…
Wake up, shake yourself, get in the mood… it’s time for International Rugby again, time to watch the Green & Gold, time to stand behind our Bokke!
I know, I know… it’s a B-side… but it’s a Springbok side and the rugby will be good, hard and fast.
Let’s use this Article to go absolutely crazy with news snippits, discussion, analysis and banter about the Tri-Nations.
How would YOU combine these Springbok hopefulls into a solid unit, who would your team be, why… and what type of game plan would you embrace for the away leg against Australia and New Zealand?
Team Choices:
I would pick the following side:
15 Patrick Lambie
14. Gio Aplon
13. Juan de Jongh
12. Wynand Olivier
11. Bjorn Basson
10. Morné Steyn
9. Francois Hougaard
8. Ashley Johnson
7. Danie Rossouw
6. Deon Stegmann
5. Johann Muller
4. Flip van der Merwe
3. Werner Kruger
2. John Smit
1. Dean Greyling
In addition I would have the following bench players:
16. Chiliboy Ralepelle
17. Coenie Oosthuizen
18. CJ van der Linde
19. Alistair Hargreaves
20. Heinrich Brüssow
21. Ruan Pienaar
22. Lwazi Mvovo
Now why might you ask do I not play Heinrich Brüssow or Coenie Ooshuizen in the starting lineup? Well I believe with the injury scare surrounding both of them, that it would be better easing them into the Tri-Nations!
Would be interesting to see how Dean Greyling & Werner Kruger combine with our cappie, John Smit… with another full front row on the bench to really scrum the Wallabies to pieces.
I was tempted to opt for Danie Rossouw and Flip van der Merwe as the lock pairing, but decided it would be better to use Danie at blindside, for his hard running, his dedication and grunt from that position.
Ashley Johnson deserves a spot at No 8 after a very complete Super Rugby season by him.
The forwards are big, heavy but yet mobile… this might just give us the edge.
In the backline I would play combinations… 9, 10, 11 & 12 from the Bulls… it would make for at least some familiarity on attack and defence, with the combination of Juan de Jongh and Gio Aplon from the Stormers side and Patrick Lambie a solid fullback and second kicking option.
This would or should see to a good defensive and great attacking balance. No obvious weaknesses… well I suppose one could say the best under the circumstances.
Ruan Pienaar could cover scrumhalf, flyhalf and fullback and Lwazi Mvovo can cover outside center and / or either wing.
Come on, challenge me, challenge yourself… make up a team yourself and discuss the merits of the selection.
Game Plan:
1. We need to do the basics well, scrum well, get good solid lineout ball – sort our set pieces out first and foremost.
2. Then we need to cut down on the simple handling errors and play clinical territorial rugby.
3. We need to have an absolute obsession with dominating the collisions and ground ball situations.
4. Our defence needs to be top notch, right in the opposition faces and making ALL first time tackles. No space allowed for the wily and silky Aussie runners, no time on the ball for them to run us ragged!
5. We must take points when it’s on offer and for that Morné Steyn’s boot is essential.
… After that, everything else becomes a bonus…
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is looking to move on from the outpouring of indignation over Australia’s shock loss to Samoa, instead turning his attention to Saturday’s Tri Nations opener against South Africa.
The Wallabies’ team announcement for the ANZ Stadium clash against the Springboks has been brought forward from Thursday to Tuesday.
David Pocock, Quade Cooper, James Horwill, Kurtley Beale, Will Genia and James O’Connor, provided he can prove his fitness, are set to be rushed back into the starting side.
New Zealand media report that a Rugby World Cup match between Samoa and South Africa has sold out after the Samoans’ historic 32-23 win over Australia on Sunday.
The New Zealand Herald quoted a spokeswoman for World Cup organisers as saying demand for tickets to the September 30 match at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium had increased rapidly since Sunday’s match in Sydney and all tickets had now been sold.
The spokeswoman said “there’s been an increase in demand to Samoa matches since the result. Samoa-Fiji and Samoa-Wales are also both selling really well.”
The Samoa-Springboks match is only the fourth World Cup match to sell out so far after the tournament final and matches between New Zealand and France and France and Canada.
2@ superBul:
The Samoans must not get delusions of grandeur.
After that game, NOBODY will be putting half baked teams in against any of the Island teams, and indeed, the result from Saturday should really be on Snorr’s mind when selecting his final squad.
Everyone knows that when a game gets loose against the Islanders, the opposition are on a hiding to nothing.
Play good old “10 man” Rugby, and they have little to work with.
The Aussies were p1ss poor and had little idea on the field. Back line lacked penetration and crabbed along like an U9 team in a lollipop scramble, and the forwards didn’t (for the most part) seem to have the appetite for the hard stuff.
Congratulations to the Samoans, but it won’t happen again in a hurry.
3@ Scrumdown:
Sorry, game was on Sunday Aus’ time, but Saturday Samoan time.
4@ Scrumdown:
Just tried to find out why Samoa should be so far behind Australia in time and found the following interesting snippets on Wikipedia.
Since 7 September 2009, the government has changed the driving orientation for motorists and Samoans now drive on the left side of the road.
This brings Samoa into line with many other countries in the region. Samoa is the first country in recent years, and the first country in the 21st century, to switch to driving on the left.
From 29 December 2011, Samoa plans to jump forward by one day when the nation moves to the west of the International Date Line.
This is anticipated to help the nation boost its economy by doing business with China, Australia and New Zealand.
Currently, Samoa is 21 hours behind Sydney, but the change will mean they are three hours ahead. The current timezone was agreed on 4 July 1892, to work in line with American traders based in California.
Interesting indeed, but probably totally irrelevant to Rugby.
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